ABOUT US
Weskit is a small, independent family owned business based in Wales.
It is made possible by skilled craftspeople throughout the British Isles.
Our shop is in Abergavenny.
Weskit was conjured out of a desire for well-made, well-fitting waistcoats in beautiful textiles. It was made possible by happenstance and persuasion.
Weskit's parent, EdNerat makes coats here out of British textiles. As EdNerat set about its business, it quickly became evident that the wonderful tailors behind its coats would, on occasion, end up with a short-ends – too short for ladies' coats, but sufficiently long for, say, mens' waistcoats.
It was also abundantly clear that EdNerat's wonderful tailors had the skills and appetite to make waistcoats, however it took skilled persuasive powers to convince EdNerat to release the lengths ... and whole a lot more time (and quite a lot of sampling) to refine the cuts, collars and sizing to progress to a debut.
Parents are as tricky as parenting, and EdNerat and Weskit will doubtless enjoy all the tensions, joys and difficulties they involve. But for now it's all upside. Being born of EdNerat gave Weskit a wonderful standing start – not only with those short ends – but having done all the heavy-lifting, unearthing makers from right across the British Isles, with an introduction to the the best of makers.
Our waistcoats are carefully and individually cut by hand, stitched, tailored and finished in our London workshop. Our labels are embroidered to order, in close proximity and our care labels are woven in Neath.
Our packaging is made for us by hand, by a brilliant family-owned box-maker in Woolwich. We design, measure, model and photograph our clothing in Wales and ship from here through our trusted Postie.
The short-ends from EdNerat were the starting point, but Weskit was born for more. Sticking to the "well made' and "woven here" principle of our parent, we set out to source an interesting range of tweeds, flannels and linens from a host of makers around the British Isles, expanding EdNerat's healthy range in the process.
Between the conception of Weskit and its debut, we had our share disappointments and set-backs. Some of the makers we had in mind were acquired and their production moved offshore; others were closed down; a third set purported to be weaving here, but weren't. The more we learnt, the more urgent it became to source from British makers – and only British makers.
We are privileged to work with the very finest of British makers – highly skilled tailors, patternmakers, cutters, weavers, embroiderers, seamsters and finishers. By sourcing and making in the British Isles, we are able to collaborate closely with our suppliers and makers at every stage of production, from design and development through to fabrication. As a result we can ensure that the quality of the materials and craftsmanship never falters, and that our coats are produced without any hidden costs, whether environmental or ethical.
Going the extra mile to do everything we can in the British Isles, we hope we can play a part – however small – in showcasing the fabulous fabrics that are made here and artistry that survives here, helping to sustain skills and to support the livings that depend on them. We know that we must do so now if current livelihoods are to survive and future generations are able to train with and succeed them. The cost of us not using them is bigger than we might imagine. We trust that you will also feel proud to support these wonderful, talented people and the many small and family-owned businesses that we work with, while understanding that the cost of proximate production must also be reflected in price.
