Garmology - A podcast about clothes, and stuff.

Well, it's that time of the season again, when we call it a wrap, take a break and plot our movies. As usual, I'm joined by Shaun & Jon, well-known and popular voices from previous festive specials, and we have a friendly chat about what we're wearing, current males fashions, what we're into and out to, buying and selling, socks, pervy plastic jackets, collecting stuff, what makes shoes comfy, resoling, waxed jackets and whatnots. Like overhearing three guys having a conversation free of prying ears.

Featuring Shaun Brown and Jon Fowler, aka These_Rough_Notes and HeavyJon on Instagram.

Early reviews of this episode are mixed, so your listening pleasure is uncertain:

• Tortoise Trends commented, "We appreciate the slow pace of the proceedings".
• VintageWear Weekly gushingly praised "At least they don't mention whiffy vintage garms this time!"
• Giffnock Advertiser noted, "Local celeb Shaun gets properly stuck into the proceedings and we love it."
• Stationary Engine Magazine said, "These guys sound like our kind of people.“
• Teddy Bear Times said, "Gets a bit boring in the middle then better at the end.“
• The Country Smallhold said, “They dress for the occasion but are they up to it?”
• Business of Fashion stated, "Clearly our days of shilling for the man are over, all hail the three kings."
• Gentleman's Quarterly: "A laidback and comfortably paced chat perfect for accompanying the preparation of sprouts".
• Amateur Carp Fishing Monthly said, “ It’s not really our thing.“
• Carnoustie Guide & Gazette said, “It’s a podcast with men talking.“
• From Twitter @JeansAndSheux "The scene appreciates the respect shown and offers a Peroni in return."

Garmology is researched, booked, hosted, edited, published, paid for and everything else by Nick Johannessen. There is no advertising or sponsorship, but you are welcome to support the podcast at buymeacoffee.com/garmology

Nick Johannessen is also the editor of the WellDressedDad blog and WellDressedDad on Instagram. You can email Nick as Garmology (at) WellDressedDad.com.

Garmology theme music by Fabian Stordalen.

Something a little different today! Not a fresh slice of garmology for your ears, but by way of a feed swap, I'm introducing you to the podcast Check Your Thread, a podcast about sustainable sewing. The idea of a feed swap is to introduce a compatible podcast to a swapped listenership, so to speak, to help reach fresh ears.

Check Your Thread is a weekly podcast that looks at how to sew (and live) more sustainably. For those who are concerned about the climate crisis but love sewing their own clothes, it’s an opportunity to nerd out about garment sewing, whilst discovering ways to reduce the impact it may have on the planet. CYT is hosted by Zoe Edwards, a writer, blogger, dressmaking teacher and general sewing and sustainability obsessive.

The listeners of Check Your Thread have been enjoying an episode of Garmology this week, specifically the outdoor gear-repair episode with Rosanna Watson of Snowdonia Gear Repair. Now you can listen on and hear Zoe chat with the mysterious person known only as the crap activist.

"Do you consider yourself a climate activist? If many of your everyday life decisions are made with the planet in mind, then you definitely should. Rachel, AKA The Crap Activist, chose to fast track her activism by making one positive change every single day for an entire year. She shares her surprising wins and fails, and gives tips on successfully bringing your family along for the ride…"

As always, I really appreciate the feedback. If you'd like to rate and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or rate on Spotify. Please follow or subscribe to get new episodes immediately in your app. This really makes the episode statistics very pleasing!

Find and follow The Crap Activist on Instagram @thecrapactivist.

Find more about Zoe and the Check Your Thread at checkyourthread.com

Today we follow our nose and head to Oslo, Norway to chat with Rasa Maria Gundersen of Naturales Oslo about the world of scents. We enjoy a chat about her background, influences and experience, how she constructs scents, the difference between natural scents and the more commonly used synthetics, what scents mean to us on a fundamental level, and even what would be my preferred scent. And no, it's not damp wool!

You can find Naturales on the web here and on Instagram as @naturales_oslo.

Garmology is made by Nick Johannessen. There is no advertising or sponsorship, but you are welcome to support the podcast at buymeacoffee.com/garmology

Nick Johannessen is also the editor of the WellDressedDad blog and WellDressedDad on Instagram. You can email Nick as Garmology (at) WellDressedDad.com.

Garmology theme music by Fabian Stordalen.

Today we head off to rural Northern Ireland to talk to Mario Sierra, third-generation weaver at the family-owned Mourne Textiles. While Ireland has long been known for its linen, Mario is concerned that after some parts of the linen industry were closed down around 30 years ago, the skills and technology to process flax are on the verge of being lost forever. This has led him to seek out remaining machinery for processing linen fibres and people that have the know-how and skills to operate them. To aid in this he is running a crowdfunding drive to start up a micro-mill to process linen fibres through to yarn. We talk about the ambitions and the challenges, of life in in a family-run weaving business and quite a bit about what makes a product meaningful. Oh, and Mario's urge to weave Irish denim!

You can find the "Fibre to Fabric" crowdfunding on the web here.

Mourne Textiles are on the web here and on Instagram as @mournetextiles.

Garmology is made by Nick Johannessen. There is no advertising or sponsorship, but you are welcome to support the podcast at buymeacoffee.com/garmology

Nick Johannessen is also the editor of the WellDressedDad blog and WellDressedDad on Instagram. You can email Nick as Garmology (at) WellDressedDad.com.

Garmology theme music by Fabian Stordalen.

Today I bring back Niamh Carr of NemCee and Gary Newbold of English Utopia for a catch-up on how they are getting on. The idea was to have an open and frank chat about aspects of the fashion business from the point of view of small brands, what makes a brand, what quality implies and how that impacts how you work, etc. Suffice it to say, rabbit holes were found and scurried into!

You can find NeemCee on the web here and on Instagram as @_neemcee

You can find English Utopia on Instagram as @englishutopia and on the web as englishutopia.com.

Garmology is made by Nick Johannessen. There is no advertising or sponsorship, but you are welcome to support the podcast at buymeacoffee.com/garmology

Nick Johannessen is also the editor of the WellDressedDad blog and WellDressedDad on Instagram. You can email Nick as Garmology (at) WellDressedDad.com.

Garmology theme music by Fabian Stordalen.

It's been a long time coming, but this week finally sees iconic British designer Nigel Cabourn guest Garmology for a wide-ranging and openhearted chat about why he really got into fashion design, his inspirations and heroes, the ups and downs of life and business, his love of travelling, meeting people and collecting vintage garments, the collection that never happened, and being taught fitness the traditional way. Oh, and comparing his designs to Mr Potato Head?

Warning: Nigel does swear occasionally and the sound quality is dodgy at times, but it does improve again.

You can find Nigel on Instagram as @nigel_cabourn.

Garmology is made by Nick Johannessen. There is no advertising or sponsorship, but you are welcome to support the podcast at buymeacoffee.com/garmology

Nick Johannessen is also the editor of the WellDressedDad blog and WellDressedDad on Instagram. You can email Nick as Garmology (at) WellDressedDad.com.

Garmology theme music by Fabian Stordalen.

This week's guest is Eva Kittelsen, author and visible mending activist, sewing bee contestant, fashion and textile designer and entrepreneur. We talk about her starting out in the fashion industry, her experiences in fast fashion, how getting involved in ethical production changed things and how mending came to be so important, both as a way to repair clothes and as a way to reassemble life.

You can find Eva on the web at www.myvisiblemend.no, on Instagram as @myvisiblemend.no and @evakittelsen, also on TikTok as @myvisiblemend.no, BuyMeACoffeee and on Facebook.

Garmology is made by Nick Johannessen. There is no advertising or sponsorship, but you are welcome to support the podcast at buymeacoffee.com/garmology

Nick Johannessen is also the editor of the WellDressedDad blog and WellDressedDad on Instagram. You can email Nick as Garmology (at) WellDressedDad.com.

Garmology theme music by Fabian Stordalen.

This week's guest is Dr Kat Jungnickel, sociologist (from Goldsmiths, University of London), cyclist, tweed enthusiast and keen investigator of historical clothing patents. We talk about how the popularity of 'safety' bicycles in Britain in the 1890s became a catalyst for the women's rights movement and led to sartorial inventions and patents for new forms of (convertible) cycle wear that switched from street wear to cycle wear. Kat and her team of sewing social scientists reconstruct many of the innovative solutions from the past and reflect on how these designshelped women lead active independent lives.

You can find Dr Kat Jungnickel's various projects here:

• Bikes and Bloomers on the web
• Politics of Patents and the excellent "Women on the Move" film on the web
• The full Kat Jungnickel website here

Garmology is made by Nick Johannessen. There is no advertising or sponsorship, but you are welcome to support the podcast at buymeacoffee.com/garmology

Nick Johannessen is also the editor of the WellDressedDad blog and WellDressedDad on Instagram. You can email Nick as Garmology (at) WellDressedDad.com.

Garmology theme music by Fabian Stordalen.

This week's guest is Guy Hills, bon vivant and founder of Dashing Tweeds, makers of innovative tweed and dashing outfits thereof. We get into the joy of tailoring, menswear history, why tweed is a top technical fabric, old money fashion, tweed runs, why tailored tweed is the hard drug of garments and more. Oh, and what a true garmsman does when your wife demands you cover your cycling tweed with a reflective vest.

You can find Dashing Tweeds on the web here and on Instagram as @dashingtweeds

Garmology is made by Nick Johannessen. There is no advertising or sponsorship, but you are welcome to support the podcast at buymeacoffee.com/garmology

Nick Johannessen is also the editor of the WellDressedDad blog and WellDressedDad on Instagram. You can email Nick as Garmology (at) WellDressedDad.com.

Garmology theme music by Fabian Stordalen.

This week's guest is Allon Zloof, a fourth-generation hatmaker with the family-owned Tom Smarte. We talk about different styles, a bit of history, where hats are at today, changes in the hatmaking industry, how to select a hat to suit you, sizing, materials and maybe more importantly how to find the confidence to don a hat!

You can find Tom Smarte on the web here and on Instagram as @tomsmarte.

Garmology is made by Nick Johannessen. There is no advertising or sponsorship, but you are welcome to support the podcast at buymeacoffee.com/garmology

Nick Johannessen is also the editor of the WellDressedDad blog and WellDressedDad on Instagram. You can email Nick as Garmology (at) WellDressedDad.com.

Garmology theme music by Fabian Stordalen.