About Us
The view from here
The 45 or so years I worked in the denim industry — mostly as a fabric marketer and founder of the Kingpins Show — went by too fast. I know a lot of old people reminisce about the past and say “oh, that was over before I knew it” and here I am saying the same thing. It’s embarrassing to be so boring, but it’s true.
I may be putting that part of my life behind me, but I’m not done and I have a lot to say. There are so many people I want to meet; people I want to talk to (or talk to again — and maybe again and again). There’s so much I read every day that I want to share with anyone and everyone who has interest in our industry. So get ready. Jeansland is a place to find all those conversations and articles. I’ll talk to consumers, to mill owners, to people who started famous brands and so on. I’ll bring you factory owners, factory workers, activists and association heads. Like I said, there are an awful lot of people I want to talk to. The plan is to talk to them and share those conversations with you.
What’s in a name?
In the late 70s, I moved to Jeansland. Technically, I was in Toronto, and then New York, with a brief stop in Hong Kong. But it was around that time when denim became my business. Jeansland was where I grew up at work, lost a lot of money and made more. Jeansland is where I got to teach and where I got to learn and absorb a lot of hard lessons. Jeansland is where I met an amazing number of great people, where I fell in love over and over again with product and deals and ideas and watching young people succeed. As they say in Texas, where I now live, “I ain’t ever leavin” Jeansland cause that’s where I’m from.”
On Jeansland, you’ll find my interviews and my opinions about a lot of different topics — news, new developments, where things are going — and where they’re going wrong — and, obviously, the denim business. I’ve got pretty broad interests and I’m planning to cover a lot of ground here. Some of it will be politically sensitive. But there is no point to any of this if we’re not talking truthfully to each other, or worse, if we’re not talking to each other at all. With that in mind, you are welcome to write me anytime you want. I love talking to people and I love learning, so go ahead correct me, teach me and let’s share knowledge. This is going to be fun.
