Nursey of Bungay
History;
There’s been a Nursey of Bungay in Upper Olland Street since 1790. And there’s been a Nursey heading up the firm every year since.
Not every change is a change for the better.
Some things, we’ve discovered, are best left done the way they’ve always been done.
The story of Nursey is one covering 200 years of tradition, experience and uncompromising craftsmanship. Back in 1790, Samuel Nursey opened for business declaring that, first and foremost, he would work with only the finest lambskins. It’s a principle that successive generations of Nurseys saw no reason to divert from, and one which Tim Nursey, the current Managing Director, adheres to to this day.
Of course, 200 years ago, best quality skins could be found within a few miles of Bungay. Now, we have to go further afield. (Toscana skins, for instance, which are selected for their unique softness and the stylish way they drape, come from Spain and Portugal, but we have been known to extend our searches as far afield as Iceland and Australia.)
Once the skins have arrived at our factory, they’re examined the way they always have been. Meticulously. So that they can then be sorted with absolute accuracy, according to colour, texture and weight.
Rather than machine cut them, which is quicker and cheaper, we then hand cut them. Yes, it’s slower. Yes, it’s more expensive. And yes, it results in a better crafted product.
Just as unusually, and just as true to our time-honoured practices, one sewing machinist is responsible for sewing the whole garment. (In most clothing factories today, a machinist only sews part of the garment.)
Finally, choosing the painstaking, time-consuming, and traditional over the modern and cost-effective isn’t down to any nostalgia kick or backward-looking cussedness. We continue this way for one reason and one reason only. When your name’s been a by-word for quality for six generations, you tend to be very picky about the clothes wearing your label.
All skins used at Nursey are a meat industry by-product.
