WAYFARING GEAR: Barnes & Moore - Belt Up
Barnes & Moore Garrison Belt (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
A good and trusty belt is well and truly the workhorse of a well appointed wardrobe. A trusty side-kick to your prized selvedge denim no less.
With that in mind if you want to elevate your trouser: belt pairing I’ve set the compass to point towards the North Star of Barnes & Moore Leatherworks.
Founded by Steve Moss in 2015, Barnes & Moore, based in Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter, is a small-scale craft worker focusing on high quality British tannery sourced leather goods.
The company sources its materials from renowned British crafts makers. For example, J&FJ Baker, Devon, which is the only remaining oak bark tannery in the UK. and J&E Sedgwick in Walsall, noteworthy for their equestrian sports bridle leathers. Furthermore, buckles are hand-cast in a traditional English foundry with a Royal Warrant.
This ‘no corners cut’ ethos extends to manufacturing where 19th Century techniques underpin many of the production processes. For example the belt edges are hand burnished with natural waxes.
The company’s sustainability credentials are strong - vegetable tanned leathers which are biodegradable, recyclable packaging and a rather neat feature, a small bottle of neatsfoot oil is supplied with many of the products to encourage maintenance rather than replacement.
So, do their belts hold up in practice?!
Barnes & Moore Garrison Belt (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
I’ve got several of the Barnes & Moore “Garrison” belts (black and brown with chrome hardware).
Starting with the exquisite packaging - the belt is wrapped and placed in a straw filled sturdy cardboard closure, you are already sensing a feeling of artisan craftmanship employed in the product.
The belt itself compounds this feeling - the thick, strong but supple leather with its solid chrome buckle, exudes heritage, quality and longevity. No more twisting of the belt on trouser loops or widening belt holes and with a 37mm width, will comfortably slot into the notches of most jeans.
As Barnes & Moore proudly proclaim, these belts are “Goods for Life”.
The belts are priced around the £100 mark, so perhaps a premium to what you may be used to, and there may be a lead time in receiving the order, but bear in mind what you are receiving is a quality and enduring product from a company helping perpetuate British heritage and industry, backed by materials from J&FJ Baker tannery and Royal Warrant buckles.
It’s definitely a case of ‘belting up’!
Barnes & Moore Garrison Belt (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
