Whilst Blackshore Coastal Clothing is currently the only clothing workshop in Southwold, it is very far from being the first. The town has a long and rich history of textiles. A century ago Southwold was buzzing with the making of clothing and other fabric items.
One of the great advantages of being small and independent as a business, according to Blackshore Coastal Clothing founder Simon Middleton, is the freedom to respond to moments of inspiration as well as to the suggestions and requests of customers.
We describe this hybrid business model as: make well, stock well, commission well.
What it means for you is that you get the very best of British craft apparel making: whether you're choosing a handmade-in-Southwold piece, a branded product from a British manufacturer that we've carefully selected, or a Blackshore piece that we've designed and commissioned to be made elsewhere (but always in the British Isles).
All you have to do is wear it well!
The unique Blackshore Seaspray Ventile® Hooded Jacket is in production now! And we're going to make it out of one of the world's best performing cotton weatherproof fabrics.
We're incredibly excited, and also just a little sad, to tell you about the next stage of the Blackshore journey! We're coming home.. to Southwold. Our workshop in an old fishing net factory on Whapload Road, Lowestoft gave us a wonderful start. We moved in there in June 2019: such a short time ago, but somehow it seems much, much longer. In an extraordinary old building that is so full of history, and in a town and community that made us feel so welcome, we began to make our clothes. We imagined, when we started out in Lowestoft, that we would stay longer, building the business online. But our experience – of trading as well as making – quickly showed...
