Hi. Ignacio Quiles aka Sartorial Pairings here.

Some of you may know me from Failure Club online. Some of you may know me from Artists & Fleas, Hester Street Fair or The Market NYC in New York City. And some of you have been my friends for years. But what you may not know is that I have had a long-held desire to launch a menswear line and open a haberdashery. I’ve been working on the retail part of my dream at my New York City based vintage emporium QP & Monty.

Now I’m ready to take the plunge, overcome my fear of failure, and launch Sartorial Pairings my menswear brand.

But I need your help!!

SARTORIAL INSPIRATION

Everyday I work with customers from all over the world. Some are dandies like me and some are not. Some love all the sartorial flourishes and some do not. But I find that they all want to feel pulled together. It is for all of them that I have been inspired to launch Sartorial Pairings.

SARTORIAL OFFERINGS

Sartorial Pairings will initially include a capsule collection of vests and bow ties and fobs and chains. I decided to start with vests because I believe they are a wardrobe staple. They work for everyone whether you are more comfortable in jeans and tees or in a full on three-piece ensemble. But well fitting examples can be hard to find – many are not long enough for today’s low cut pants and many do not cinch properly in the back. Additionally, I find that a lot of my customers admire my style and the antique Victorian and Edwardian accessories I wear. But they’re never quite sure how to use them in their daily lives and, on top of that, they don’t want to pay the high cost of true antiques.

HANDMADE IN NYC, USA – WITH A LOT OF HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

Since I learned to sew as a kid from my mother I knew what I wanted to  design for myself, but I wasn’t sure how to get a sample or a pattern made. So I did my research and found an amazing woman, Zoila Cruz of Zoila's Sample Room, right here in NYC who is helping me realize my vision.

She is working to keep manufacturing alive in NYC and I want to help.

She made the first vest pattern and sample for me – two additional versions are on the drawing table – and she stands ready to produce the line.

Also I love jewelry and have quite a collection much of which I’ve modified on my own. But I didn’t know anything about this production process either. So I asked my friends Ronnie Aminov and Cynthia Catera, the designers behind FSMNYC, the hip urban jewelry that’s been tearing it up at markets all over the East Coast, to help me out.

Together we’re reinventing old school accessories for 21st century lives and making them right here in NYC as well!

With your support of my Kickstarter campaign we’ll be able to realize my dream and launch Sartorial Pairings in the Fall of 2012. Initially, I plan to produce two variations of fobs in three finishes– the Albert (12” chain) and Double Albert (24” chain) – and three variations of vests – single breasted with lapel, single breasted without lapel and double-breasted -- in three fabric choices in the following sizes: S, M, L, XL.

HOW WILL I SPEND THE MONEY?

Specifically your contribution will help me:

• have the samples and patterns made for the next two vest styles - no lapel single-breasted and double-breasted
• grade the patterns
• make the molds for the decorative elements of the fobs - medallion and animal motifs
• produce the decorative elements of the fobs
• purchase chain and fabric
• manufacture of the first run of vests and fobs
• offset labor costs of creating the line
• pay for the studio and photographer to shoot the collection
• fund reward fulfillment including shipping and production costs of pocket squares and bow ties
• support design and printing of promotional materials including developing the sales presentation kit for wholesale sales

WHAT WILL YOU GET IN RETURN?

In exchange for your support I’ve come up with some awesome rewards that range from acknowledgement on our website and Kickstarter-only pocket squares and bow ties to special packages that include a styling and makeover session with me in NYC. Moreover this is the best opportunity to get in on the first run of vests and fobs by ordering them now through this campaign.

Most importantly you will have the satisfaction of helping revive manufacturing in NYC, USA and of course you’ll receive my undying gratitude for support of our work.

All friends and backers of the campaign will have access to project updates and insider information on Kickstarter. I look forward to corresponding with you and maybe even meeting you at a launch event in a few months. Thank you in advance for your support!! 

“Enjoy what you wear. Wear what you enjoy. Then go out and show the world exactly what you’re made of!”

KICKSTARTER IS AN ALL-OR-NOTHING PROPOSITION: SO HELP ME SHARE THE LOVE

And remember Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing funding platform so I’ll be doubly grateful if you share the 411 about my campaign for Sartorial Pairings with your friends!!

Find out more by:

Checking out my retail website!

Liking us on facebook!

Contacting us on twitter!

Reading my blog!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OR MANY THANKS!

I couldn't have come close to launching this project without the support of many many artists and friends. My partner Pamela Moore and I began this journey two and a half years ago and we owe a debt of gratitude to Mike Ricatto of the Meeker Avenue Flea Market, Suhyun and Suchin Pak of the Hester Street Fair, Ronen Glimer of Artists & Fleas, David Ornstein and Maureen McGill of the Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show, Metalbelly Michael Ginsberg at Chelsea Market, Nicolas Petrou and Alex Pabon of The Market NYC for welcoming us into the family of artists, collectors and makers that populate the markets they curate. 

I've also had the great pleasure of being captured by a number of great photographers, artists and filmmakers including Joel Henderson of Shoot Me Please Photo, Bill Gentle of Backyard Bill, Rog Walker and Bianca Pandit of Speaking Pixels, Dash Harris, Andrew Jordan, Dustin Cohen, Helene Pe and Stephen Chew of The Chew Chronicles. Their work has inspired me and helped me hone my vision.

This past year I also had the great honor of being selected by Morgan Spurlock to participate in his web series about Philip Kiracofe's Failure Club. I could not have achieved half as much as I have in the past year without the prodding and cheerleading of my fellow cast mates  -- Elizabeth Chan, Eric Norlander, Gina Bruce, Jessica Hayden, Liz Picarazzi, and Meg Ferrill -- and the crew who really have to put up with me and my fiercely independent nature. You guys all inspire me!

Most importantly Sartorial Pairings the brand is a collaborative effort. And I owe an debt of gratitude to Ray Marrero of the serif design for his incredible branding work, Oriana DeAmicis for her amazing product shots and her friend Danny Lane for modeling the vests and chains, Ricky Becker of The Spooky Boutique for his styling mentorship, Andre Wagner of abstract elements for our killer kickstarter video, Andrea Diaz, Marc Anderson, Stephen Anderson and Tomas Diaz of the band City on Fire for allowing me to use their song The Road as the soundtrack,  Zoila Cruz for bringing my vest to life and Ronnie Amanov and Cynthia Catera for producing the fobs and chains, 3rd ward in Brooklyn for the classes and room to hone my creativity, Mechlin Moore for seeing our project's potential, Matt Shapoff for designing the fabric for my exclusive-to-kickstarter pocket square and Cynthia Rybakoff-Shapoff for her jewelry design consultation and support of our vision! And to my newest collaborators Jonathan de Castro for his guidance and assistance with marketing of our campaign, Janice Lim for her marketing and event expertise along with her discerning eye for vintage, and Alexandra Johnson from Kent State University for offering to be our intern -- I hope it's an exciting ride for everyone.

I also need to give a shout out to Moustache Greenwich Tonsorial and Teddy Telles Photography for helping make some of my most awesome rewards true experiences. Additionally I need to thank Ariel Elias for her design and merchandising assistance and constant inspiration!! Finally I want to thank my son Ian Quiles for his unwavering support this year - it truly means a lot that you have my back. And to my mom in Puerto Rico you will always have my heart!