This blog post is in partnership with Majestic Athletic + MLB.
When something curious drops into your inbox an eyebrow can often be raised. Too good to be true? A spammy scattergun email approach? But these emails can often be worth a second glance. A few months back I had one of those emails staring back at me. It started with sometime along the lines of, "...we think you'd be perfect for an exciting project we're working on with Majestic Athletic and Major League Baseball". Whoa. They got me hooked.
After several phone calls, brainstorm sessions and small bits of pre-project photography I found myself boarding a plane heading to New York, in preparation of meeting up at the small city of Easton, Pennsylvania, with the Majestic Athletic team, a production crew from London + my stalwart travel buddy – and photographer for the project – Jordan Bunker.
The idea behind the project was to document the journey which Majestic Athletic's iconic US-made baseball jerseys go through to finish up on the backs of professional players of MLB and the millions of fans worldwide. From the cutting room floor to the finishing room of Easton, PA, to the final product on the MVP players at Yankees stadium in New York. We'd follow the process, from start to finish.
An integral part of this brief was to also look further than the product; to dig deeper and find out more about the people that make this all happen. Who were the
personalities behind each step of the production, what makes this small
blue-collar town really tick and how this historical factory effects wider community.
As a last minute surprise I was told that I'd have a hand in creating my very own Majestic Cool Base Jersey. I'd shadow the whole process, from the tailoring and fitting to sewing down the name + numbers on the back. This was going to be a fun day!
Resident tailor Micheal Pannuccio was on-hand to take my measurements for my custom Cool Base Jersey
Myself + the adorable "Button Babe" Lori J. Smith after my attempts of sewing buttons onto a one of the jerseys
A 4:30am start on the day of filming was quite a shock to the system. But, we were there to shadow the working day of some of the Majestic factory's most invaluable workforce – we were on their time. From the 6am clock-in and mid-morning precision at the cutting table, to the magically rhythmic sewing team and the all-important quality control stations – seeing this US production line in action was an experience not to be forgotten.
Easton's community spirit runs deep throughout the Majestic fleet. These guys have been responsible for creating the official MLB jerseys in the factory since 1976. We spoke with Plant Manager Mark Todd about the buzz he gets when seeing the MLB players hitting home runs on TV while wearing jerseys made on his floor, and watching the charismatic "Button Babe" Lori J. Smith sew the mother of pearls on faster than you'd ever imagine. The day was filled with these short but memorable interactions; each worker connected by a passion for their job and the drive to hone their craft.
It could sound like a cliche to say that work becomes more than just a job to some of us, but to this charming, humble and salt-of-the-earth workforce – many who have been with the company for over 30 years – it's much more profound than the monthly paycheck.
Mark Todd - Majestic Athletic Plant Manager. An enthusiastic + driven man, with a great passion for his job, the team and the product. He describes seeing the MLB players wearing his jerseys as a "special feeling".
I helped create my very own custom-made Majestic Cool Base jersey. A start to finish US-made product, complete with the silent signature of many of the factory workers we met that day. Spade, 10, batter up!
We finished filming in the factory at around 3pm. Combining the early start with our heavy jet lag meant we weren't sure whether to rest or keep going. There was so much more of this blue-collar city that we were yet to explore, so we set about making dinner plans for the evening + researching stand-out places to visit for the next.
I have lots more to share with you guys from this project, including a blog post from the our day exploring the city of Easton and the short film documenting our time visiting with Majestic. It'll feel good to get some fresh video content out there for a change!
The Majestic Athletic Cool Base Jerseys which feature in this post are all available here.
Photography by Jordan Bunker.
This blog post is a part of a wider documentary project in paid partnership with with Majestic Athletic + MLB. I'll be sharing more across my blog and social media accounts soon.
Awesome article :)
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed reading through this!
Loving the baseball jersey!!
Keep up the great work :)
Ben Backhouse | Ironmongery Experts