Many years ago we used to raise silk worms in Thailand and weave our own silks using traditional Thai designs at first and later adapting Thai silk to modern designs such as British regimental stripes. We did our own silk weaving by hand and it was a labor of love both fascinating, interesting, and a very difficult and slow process...
We created a small and unique niche in the tie market and all worked well at first; then we started to slowly grow and developed a backlog of orders... that reached 8 months at one point in time after Sam (Samantha) Hober was born (note she is in college now - time flies) and we had moved ourworkshop from Denver to Thailand. We also found that over time our English and Italian silks were very popular.
I remember in college studying about Adam Smith and his theories about about the efficiency of specializing in different eras of production. Turns out there was a reason we were studying him - he was right. So almost without realizing it we stopped hand weaving our own silk. Instead we started to order classic stripes, at first from Vanners in England and then geometric designs, pin dots and paisleys. Closely followed by textured Grenadines from Fermo Fosati and Bianchi in Como, Italy. As time went on we added more types of fabrics and hundreds and then over a thousand designs. We may return to weaving and printing silk in-house in the future - but not soon...
Bryan, recently asked the following questions:
"Your philosophy on knot-sizing. How should the size of the knot look in proportion to the collar blades?"
it should fit nicely in your collar I prefer not to see much empty space.
We are flexible with creating the knots and can adjust the knot size a small amount but the silk type and knot type are the big variables as is the width at the widest point. The interlining weight and type can also have an influence on the knot size. Of course no interlining at all tends to make the knot smaller.
"What tie knots do you like and/or suggest with different collar styles (narrow vs. wide collar styles)?
As long as the knot fits well, all knots are fine. If the collar is very wide a full Windsor is a good idea.
"Ties & materials that work better for informal sports jacket/slacks & those to be paired with more formal suits?"
This is a cultural question - for formal suits most of the time silk with dark colors and simple patterns. But not always - bright colors in the middle of the winter are a great look to cheer the office up. For an informal look simply be more flexible and try designs that are not always classic and try different fabrics and weaves. As an example we
often suggest Thai silk which is handwoven for an interesting and
unusual look. So anything other than a cartoon unless it is for a holiday or event... Grenadines can be formal or casual.
"Tie materials you prefer to match with certain suit fabrics (i.e. solid, pinstripe, smooth vs. more coarse wools).?"
Silk goes with everything. Smooth weaves that are tightly woven lean more towards a formal suit. Wearing a Harris Tweed jacket gives you room to wear wool and cashmere and textured shantung and grenadine silks.
"How tie thickness impacts visual aesthetics, strategies around optimizing for this when matching with different suits/jackets?"
This is a personal style question which has no correct answer. I can say
that if you are thin a tight knot can look good and if you are a NFL
linebacker a thick full Windsor may be perfect. As for different suits
for the same man let the fabric lead the way. For example a Donegal
Tweed (note they can be hand-woven or machine-woven) might look better with a full knot with a thick fabric for the tie. Overall I let the body
size lead the way for clothes, tempered by fashion and personal style