Over the years I’ve heard plenty of people begin a story by saying, “To make a long story short”. If ever I had the chance to do so myself, here it is.
I’ve worked with the Stan Ray brand since 2019. They are a heritage workwear brand based in Crockett, Texas. East Texas, the Pinelands, to be exact. The brand was founded by family member Earl Beard in 1972 and their trade of clothing manufacturing has been handed down from generation to generation. Earl and his wife Billy Jean’s four children all grew up working hard at their sewing factory. Each person played an integral part to maintain the Earl’s Apparel manufacturing facility and multiple brands they produced over the years. With 2022 being their 50th year in business, they are proud to say the Stan Ray USA brand is still family owned and operated.
My first visit to this sewing factory was in December of 2018 with a business colleague of mine. I’d rather just say “friend”, because that’s what we are. In the fashion business, we can become wrapped up in professional titles sometimes. For this story, I’ve chosen not to do so. Titles can be limiting, and I like to believe there is no limit to how far one individual’s dreams can reach.
For me, there has always been a refreshing aura around the sewing factory. It’s like taking a trip back in time to when life was simpler. The clothing is produced here in a manner which I would describe as “the lost art” of clothing production. There are no fully automated machines, so patterns are traced and cut by hand. Each machine takes an experienced person to operate. So the people who have worked producing the brand over the last 50 years are one of the most important parts of its history. Through decades of evolution in the clothing business, many of the brand’s competitors chose to take their production outside of the USA. Especially after the NAFTA agreement in the early 90’s. Not the Stan Ray brand. The company has always believed their employees to be a part of their family and brand’s heritage.
Thinking back to my first trip to the sewing factory in 2018 has me very nostalgic right now. I chose to document the space on 35mm film with an Olympus Stylus. It just seemed appropriate. I have limited digital photos from that day. The photo documentary you are viewing above begins with my 35mm photos from December 2018 and are continued with images below from my visits over the past four years.
A huge part of this story, and the collection now available on Crust Bikes webstore, jumps to March 1st, 2020. I flew into Texas to work with the family and ship our Spring 2020 collection. Within a week, my home city of New York, like many other cities, was under quarantine due to Covid-19. I ended up staying in Texas for three months and began a new project. Not knowing what I stumbled upon at the time would become the most challenging fashion project I’ve ever created or have been a part of. Come to think of it, I’d say it’s been the most fun too.
Afterall, I was in a factory full of vintage fabrics and garments ranging from denim, canvas, twills and plenty of various camouflage patterns. I should mention the camouflage again because I was drawn to it more than anything else. It was a full archive of camouflage mostly from the time period of the 1980’s.
Every day, I traveled around the small town of Crockett on my bicycle, spending most of my time at the factory cataloging my findings throughout the warehouse. I’d take photos with my iPhone and upload them to a digital showroom. This three-month period became very influential in the next year of my life. From spending time with the family there, people I met in town, and of course working at the sewing factory. I also found time to ride local dirt roads and camp at a nearby pond which had some good fishing.
I eventually found myself back in NYC in June 2020, biking in many of the vintage garments I discovered on that trip. These pieces became my new riding favorites on local NYC commutes to bikepacking trips later that Fall. Most days while back in NYC, I still dreamt of returning to Crockett to finish the work I had started.
The Collection / New Leaf – June 2021
The collection being offered here from Stan Ray is the first of its kind. It’s produced with available fabrics upon my return to the sewing factory in June of 2021. By this time the fabric supply chain had slowed. Specific fabrics were scarce, so it became the perfect time to implement the vintage yardage of fabric from the archive.
We chose to focus on camouflage that the factory had used to produce various garments back in the mid 1980’s.
These leaf patterns began to take on new meaning once applied to other fabrics we’ve used for workwear and military inspired garments over the years. Base fabrics of natural undyed twill and sturdy denim compliment the vintage camouflage. We are proud to repurpose these fabrics and update them with Stan Ray workwear styling.
Conclusion
I’ll end this story with something I say more often nowadays. I hope you enjoy this collection as much as we did creating it. It’s been challenging, beautiful, and fun over the past year. It was made from hundreds of bike trips to and from the sewing factory. It was made by the same family of employees that has always made Stan Ray USA products. This time with the help of a new friend.
Sincerely,
Todd Nisbet / Concrete Trails
Check out some of the camo infused Stan Ray goods bellow:
Natural Drill/ Camo Painter Pant