The Chicago based, made-to-measure tie brand, Peter Field teamed up again with Kickstarter to promote their multi-functional micro fiber pocket square. I managed to catch up with the brand’s owner, Nick Monterotti for a quick Q&A on the company, why men should care about a custom ties and the idea behind his latest Kickstarter project.
1.What is Peter Field?
The company is always evolving but we’re completely committed to affordable priced menswear, custom when possible, and always made in the USA. Today our product line is pretty small, but that’s about to change in a big way.
Right now we’re a team of rock stars. We have been able to pull together every piece of the puzzle and create a great team to build around. We have a technical designer, Sage Cichock, with one of the most analytical minds that I have met. A tailor, Don Kinnard, with 35+ years of experience tailoring custom garments. And a COO, Ben Wilson, that makes our customers feel like a million dollars when they visit our studio to buy Peter Field products. This is only part of our team as well, the bench runs deep.
2.Why should men care about getting a custom tie?
Most men don’t wear ties… so they shouldn’t; our mission as a company is not to get men to care about ties. But for those that do wear ties, they will find ours very unique. We make every tie to specifically fit each customer individually, they’re custom in length, width, and fabric selection; we literally shape the tie to fit their body. Nearly everything that Peter Field sells, or will sell, will be very customizable, primarily in fit. We want clothes to fit, that’s #1 for us. When people wear clothes that fit, they feel good, and when people feel good they do amazing work.
3.How does the city of Chicago influence the collection?
We’re committed to manufacturing in the USA, but after the past year of truly diving into the industry I’ve realized that we could potentially have a very large impact on the city of Chicago and the fashion/manufacturing industry within it. So our design is not greatly influenced by the city, but the infrastructure of Peter Field is.
We’re not just trying to be another menswear company, we’re trying to be a menswear company that does the right things and improves the quality of life for not only our customers but also our team and community.
4.What’s next for the brand?
The next several months are looking like a roller coaster for us. We have plans to launch 10 new products by the end of the year, everything from a valet and duffle bag to custom shirts and pants. The exciting part is that we will be making
nearly all of these new products in-house, meaning that the actual Peter Field team will be making everything with our own hands; very few clothing companies can say this.
We’ll have a couple products launch on Kickstarter, the custom shirts and a very unique set of pocket squares; these will go to Kickstarter because they will be game changers and we expect a lot of excitement around them.
5. What was the inspiration behind your new microfiber multi-functional pocket square you are rising money for through Kickstarter?
I’m a little OCD about keeping my phone and glasses clean. I don’t use a phone case or screen cover because I love to feel the actual design and technology in my hands. But inevitably my phone always gets smudges and grease on it, and my glasses seem to attract smudges and dust like it’s their job. I’m typically wearing business casual attire (wool pants, cotton button ups, polos, jackets) and can’t wipe them with anything I have on.
So originally I wanted to put microfiber on a tie, since we make custom ties in our studio in Chicago, we could easily integrate the material, but it would be very difficult to clean/wash and it didn’t feel quite right because I wasn’t ALWAYS wearing a tie.
The next logical step in our thinking was that a microfiber pocket square would be perfect. We could put it in our jacket or pants pocket and use it as a fashionable and functional piece to compliment our style. We ended up designing 16 patterns and decided to launch them on Kickstarter using a very unique and comedic Zoolander spoof video.
6.Five things you can’t live without?
- Family – Nothing has had a greater impact on me than my family and I credit them with a lot of who I am today.
- The Internet – I have an undying thirst for knowledge.
- Graphing paper and a pen – There is not much better than being able to write & draw out my ideas.
- Silence – I need to recharge my batteries, mind, and creativity in silence sometimes. It’s very helpful for reflection and planning.
- Peter Field – This company has been fueling my life for several years now, it’s a pretty big part of me.