Q&A with George & Callum, Co-Founders of Original Fibres
This week, we’re delighted to be popping up in the beautifully curated Original Fibres store on Lamb’s Conduit Street (16th–22nd June), bringing a hand-picked collection of our glassware, throws, and lighting to this menswear space.
We caught up with George Rutherford-Jones and Callum McCall, the co-founders of Original Fibres, to hear more about the story behind their brand. Born from a shared love of London’s menswear scene - OF is all about refined off-duty dressing, crafted using the world’s best natural fabrics.
Read on to discover more about the duo’s journey, their design philosophy, and what’s next for the brand.
Tell us about the origins of Original Fibres. What inspired you to start the brand?
We - Co-Founders George and Callum - started Original Fibres off the back of a shared enjoyment of the London menswear scene and the lifestyle that went with it. More specifically, the soft tailoring houses of Berwick Street, Soho and Jermyn Street, Piccadilly.
We decided to convert passion into profession by launching our own brand, hoping that we’d be able to show people there’s a better way to buy and consume clothing, using the full breadth of the world’s best natural fabrics.
We now see Original Fibres as a provider of discerning, off duty uniform. Clothes that make people look and feel good during their well earned time off.
We’re so excited to be popping up in your Lamb's Conduit Street store! Can you tell us a bit about the space and what you wanted to create with it?
We started from scratch at the Lamb’s Conduit Street shop, moving into a space that was literally just concrete floors and bare walls. It was a cool opportunity to create a totally original flagship store. The idea behind the space was to create something that feels a bit more like a home than a traditional shop, which is largely down to lighting, furniture and layout.
To help us bring it to life, we employed the help of a great brand friend, Annie Harrison, whose interior design studio - Fare Inc - specialises in domestic and hospitality design. The majority of the furniture is antique or repurposed, something we felt lent the space an immediate authenticity, alongside the more modern aspects. It feels like the Issy Granger collection sits very naturally and adds great value to the space.
What drew you to working with natural fabrics like linen and wool?
Initially, the attraction to natural fabrics revolved around texture and longevity. We have always been drawn to fabrics that wear in, not out. Where the patination of age improves rather than detracts from the clothing. Natural fabrics tend to fall into that camp much more than synthetic ones.
The other key consideration was the environmental impact of the clothing we made. When we first started, we worked exclusively with linen. When we researched the fabric, we realised it was one of the world’s most sustainable fabrics. It made sense, therefore, that we should collectively be wearing more of it. Hence our original mission to make linen for all seasons, using heavier linens with denser weaves to make 100% linen clothing that you can wear outside your summer holidays in the Mediterranean.
What does a typical morning look like for you? Any rituals that help set the tone for your day?
We’re big believers in getting up and moving. We’re lucky to have pretty easy access to the toe paths along the Thames, so you’ll likely find one or more of the team on a morning run or bike ride along the river. Otherwise, we try to carve out a little time to do some reading with a cup of tea, just to claim a bit of the day for ourselves before the work day starts.
Running a brand can be full-on! How do you balance work and personal wellbeing?
As much as we feasibly can, we make sure time off is actually time off. Which can be a vital chance to reset and re-energise ourselves. Otherwise, it’s about making sure there’s always fun to be had and humour to be found in whatever task we might be taking on. However seismic it might be to the future and wellbeing of the brand.
What’s next for Original Fibres? Anything exciting on the horizon?
Scale, hopefully. We’re at a really interesting juncture where we’ve hopefully proven the strength of our product and built an authentic brand story that’s underpinned by integrity. If we can turn that into a commercial advantage at scale, we’ll be very happy. In that pursuit, we’ll continue to challenge perceptions around the world’s best natural fabrics, using the full breadth of each one to create a full menswear wardrobe for discerning dressers. At a more granular level, we’re very excited about introducing our first proper Wool Overcoat this winter. It’ll be long, roomy and a great showcase of what we can do with wool.