I have a mantra when it comes to Mallin & Son, ‘never complain or explain’ and it’s so far served me well. I’ve kept us on track, working away in our own little corner of the world, just doing our thing. But just for one day, I’d like to break that rule and talk a little about our current direction.

Since I waxed that first Barbour gamefair back in 2019, the road has taken us to some weird and wonderful places. It’s given me personally some unbelievable opportunities and I’ve met some amazing people on the way too. Quite a lot of them I now call friends. 

The natural progression for the brand was to make our own clothing, taking what we know about jackets we’ve fixed up and creating our own. We flirted with casual wear and wools which thankfully sold really well but you may have noticed a wane on the clothing front over the last few months. 

There’s a few reasons for this and I wanted to give you full insight into why that’s stopped and what the immediate future holds for us. 

Manufacturing clothes costs money. Lots of money. For me, it is a really nice-to-have side project that brings in very little revenue compared to what the workshop brings in. I would simply have to place rrps out of my own price bracket to make it worthwhile and that’s something I wasn’t prepared to do. 

Finding a manufacturer is also getting harder by the day and especially ones that produce the quality I want. And I want to make the best. And if I can’t do that, then what’s the point?

I only want to create something that is better than what’s out there otherwise I feel I am adding to the problem. Right now, I’m not sure that our clothing was doing that, no matter how proud of it I am (and thankful for those that buy it). This doesn’t mean it’s stopped altogether but you can be certain it will be less frequent. 

Another reason is how busy our workshop is. 

Last week we took on a new member of the team as it has never been this busy. Year on year, we continue to grow and a few months back I made the decision to switch focus. 

Our workshop is known for our quality of work so rather than rest on that I looked at how we can do that even better. This is still ongoing and shifting into how we offer better touch points from postcards to scents in the wax. This is what built us our reputation and trust, so I want to solidify that further. 

And this is where it gets weird. 

2025 saw us approached to work in TV and film. Namely (or not so until release) with some of the highest profile companies in the industry. We have helped to develop and resource jackets for filming which has been both an amazing experience and opened more doors into more worlds. 

It’s an angle I’d never considered until the phone call arrived but people are seeing our experience and expertise as an asset. For this I’m unbelievably humbled. 

To follow that, brands making jackets are now contacting us for consultancy on development, using our extensive notes on what makes a good jacket and what makes a bad one. We see jackets from all brands from all over the world, so it makes sense for people to tap into that when developing their own. 

Instagram followers may have also noticed a lot more of me in front of the camera, showing how I style outfits around my favourite jackets. This has garnered so much attention and engagement that it has become another job. 

Our follower count has grown by the thousands, engagement by the millions (genuinely) over the last few months and the jobs booked in on the back of that we’ve lost count. 

Behind the scowl, I am an awkward man in his 40s and I am still struggling with this new angle, though it means more than people will ever know when they message to say my post has inspired them. 

Other brands have now started to see both our reach but more importantly the trust we have built through our work and that means a lot. Brands I couldn’t previously afford to buy are asking me to review and/or capture content to showcase their products. 

This is where you come in. 

Whilst flattered to work with these brands, there are quite a few that I turn down. Everyone I work with has to share the same ethics that we do here at Mallin & Son and has to offer quality that I am prepared to tell you is ‘good’. 

As twee as it sounds, I am here to serve you guys through the work we do in our workshop but also by offering a trusting resource to simply tell you if a thing is worth your time and money. 

You can hold me to account when I become the face of Shein though you'll have a better chance of seeing me push next season’s Man Utd kit. 

So I just wanted to take the time to break my mantra before stepping back into the ‘don’t complain or explain’ mode and hope you understand where we are heading as a business. 

I also want to thank you for your continuing support of any level and trust in my own outlook as we all just simply try our best. 

Thanks 

Ryan

PS. I've never sure how may people actually read these, so if you're on Instagram, drop us a comment on a post to let us know if you have.