Zace Myers is a man of exceptional nature, though one would even go as far as to call him an unlikely candidate for the life that he leads. Born in Arizona, Myers spent the early part of his life interested in music and worked as a drum and bass DJ. An interesting turn of events saw him move to Ohio, where he now lives and works as a father, farmer, and denim designer. His brand, Zace Myers Overall Co., produces a line of garments that span from raw selvedge jeans to workwear, including overalls.
As the One Man Brand series of articles suggests, Myers is the brains and brawn behind his whole operation. He oversees sourcing, designing and even manufacturing of each and every pair of jeans and overalls that come out of his workshop; thus ensuring each piece is of top quality and construction.
Myers started the brand in 2001 in LA after a stint at the Fashion Institute for Design and Marketing and a period of working for American Apparel in their accounts receivable department. After an inward revelation, Myers decided that his calling was not only denim making, but also organic vegetable farming. With this in mind, he packed his belongings up and shipped out to the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio to begin a new era in his life.
Once set up in Ohio, he got stuck in his work and cranked out 3,000 (yes, that number is correct) pairs of women’s jeans in 6 different styles, only to be disappointed by the initial response they garnered. The timing was not quite right for raw denim and distressed jeans were still very much in vogue. Realizing this, Myers set out and hand distressed each pair and opened his very own Zace store in the town near where he lived.
It was at this store where he was initially recruited by local women to begin making custom jeans. He wanted to make sure that each pair fit its buyer just right. With this in mind, Myers designed his own proprietary 12 point fit guide to ensure the perfect fit for any body type that requested a pair of his handmade jeans.
Fast forward to 2009 where Myers reformulated the entire Zace line. Taking a more serious approach, both men’s and women’s lines were designed with new fits. Myers also made a contact that was able to supply him with some of the most coveted machines that a denim company could ever dream of. The end product of this friendship resulted in the acquisition of 40+ vintage Union Special and Singer sewing machines from the early 1900s. Each one found a home in the Zace workshop in Ohio.
As mentioned earlier, everything Zace produces is handmade on vintage Singer and Union Special sewing machines. Each pair of jeans has Zace’s own signature pattern details and is constructed out of vintage deadstock denim. All of their denim is sourced from the Cone Mills in the USA or Kurabo Mills of Japan as well as the more exotic Candiani Mills of Italy.
As described by the man himself, Myer’s daily routine consists of rising early to tend his crops before making the best quality denim products that he can produce. Currently the Zace line consists of jeans, overalls, vests, hats, and jackets. Ever the visionary, Myers wishes to hire more employees in the near future.
From there he wants to expand the Zace brand to a substantial enough size to provide consumers across the nation with “fashionable workwear at an affordable price” while still being able to maintain the standard of perfection that he holds his own personal work to.
For a final statement Myers had this to say :
The older I get, the more I begin to realize the importance of making the right decisions not only specific to making denim and farming but also ensuring that my legacy left behind will be a positive foot print for future generations that will also devote their lives to living the American dream. I wake up each day and work towards maintaining a clairvoyant perspective and not losing sight of it.
See original article on heddles.com
