Over the past few months, since launching Hand & Lock Japan, we’ve taken part in a series of live embroidery demonstrations in Japan with John Smedley - one of Britain’s oldest and most respected knitwear houses.
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Hand & Lock and John Smedley share a long tradition of British craftsmanship and both hold the Royal Warrant for providing services to the Royal Household so bringing these two historic brands together for in-store collaborations felt like a perfect match.
Across boutiques in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Ginza, we featured an exclusive goldwork embroidered brooch designed for the special collaboration, as well as a curated selection of brooches from our Classic collection.
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Our embroidery artist Pom Zyquita was in-store for live goldwork demonstrations, showing visitors the techniques and delicate process behind traditional goldwork embroidery.
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About the Special Collaboration Brooch
The event-exclusive brooch was inspired by John Smedley’s iconic jay bird motif, drawn from archival materials at its UK headquarters.
The jay bird, known for its vivid blue feathers, has long been associated with the brand’s heritage at Lea Mills in Derbyshire, where John Smedley has manufactured since 1784 and where the bird can be found in the surrounding countryside.
It felt fitting for this special collaboration that we created the brooch design in Hand & Lock’s signature goldwork technique and using gold bullion to unite two heritage brands through British craftsmanship.
It’s been a wonderful few months sharing our craft and connecting with new audiences in Japan and with sincere thanks to the John Smedley Osaka, Kyoto, Takanawa Gateway and Ginza stores, as well as the head office team.
