Nicholas Schmidt USA.

It all started with alcohol.

Well, a lack of alcohol, I should say. 

Nicholas was expecting a daughter, and decided to make a change.

His mentored recommended that he take up a hobby, to fill his free time.

So, because earlier in life, Nicholas had been forced to tailor his store-bought jeans in order to fit his unique and bulky frame (a product of his days of heavy power-lifting), he decided to make a pair of his own jeans. 

his first pair

And so it began. 

Moderately melo-dramatically, but interesting nonetheless. 

A few awkward pairs of roughly-constructed, oddly colored (read: neon green), jeans later, 
Nicholas had a nearly perfected the laborious process and built up a loyal customer base
of folks unwilling to go back to H&M-quality denim. 
[these things fit like a glove  - 
if a glove were measured, drafted, and hand-tailored, to fit every single curve of your hand]

It's noticeable, too. 
The jeans don't look like anything else. 

In fact, the way I first learned about Nicholas Schmidt's jeans not by an advertisement, or a website, 
or a well-timed networking opportunity, 

but because of their sheer quality. 

Upon complimenting a friend's jeans, she mentioned that she'd had them custom made by a local denim artist. 

My narcissism flame was irrevocably lit.

Tailored jeans?
Made for me? 

Just for me??? 

So I asked Nicholas about what makes his jeans so different from most? 
He told me that his are made from "selvage" denim - a hand woven type of denim made on a shuttle loom. 
He also pays incredible attention to small details - 
like from where he sources his buttons, 
and with what he dyes his leather patches. 

Which brings me to my next obnoxiously cool thing about Nicholas ... 

not only does he make custom jeans, but now leather goods as well. 
Both of them, as he describes it, allowing you to be "an artist."  

You might not be a fledgling Picasso, but the ability to take a material that may start off pristine, and slowly wear it to reflect the movements of your lifestyle (like the right knee on Nicholas's first pair - which is worn deeper than the left as a result of the time he spent teaching his daughter how to walk), is an absolutely unique experience. 

color darkened over time

hand-stitched

wallet worn from use

keychain darkened from use

It's rare to find such uniquely-made and personal goods in today's mass produced world, which is why I find these handmade, custom-fit to your body pieces of art so appealing.

 Nicholas's fascinating self doesn't hurt either. 
This guy oozes sincerity. 


You can check his 
work, or commission a pair, here. 

(or head to his FB page here)

 

3 photos by Andrew Schmidt via Nicholas Schmidt USA

Cheers.