I have some terribly sad news to share. Our friend German recently passed away due to Covid 19. German was the owner and operator of the cutting service that helps make every Pyne & Smith garment that we sell.
As an expert in his field, a mentor and most importantly, a dear friend, German took us under his wing back in the early days of P&S, when we knew very little about the fashion industry. Pyne & Smith was going from being an at home dressmaker to small batch production and just starting out in the fashion industry. German took a chance taking us on and even though we had little experience, customers or business to give him, he welcomed us in and unselfishly helped guide us through those first years of small batch production. Without his kind assistance, I don’t know how we would have got through our first few years.
The first time that we sent fabric to German to be cut, he called me and the first thing he said when I answered the phone was “NIGHTMARE!”, because the washed linen was so fussy to work with - I had no idea what I was doing and we had miscalculated the quantity of dresses to be cut. I often recall that conversation and chuckle about it, remembering how he was so kind and how he thoughtfully helped us to understand how to produce our garments the right way. Thankfully his son Edgar, who has worked with us from the beginning of our time with German, will continue his legacy running the business with the same expertise as his father.
German was, and is still loved and respected by many, but especially his family and his dogs (although he pretended that his dogs weren’t that important, he always had a picture and a story to share of them with us when we visited). He was an expert in his field and a truly humble and kind man. We will miss him terribly.
Some of you have asked how to donate to Germans family - you can Venmo @Eddie-Salgado11 or zelle @7147438909.