'It's a special niche de luxe,' says designer Matt Dick, facing his extensive aprons rack on a sunny San Francisco afternoon. Set in the Heath Ceramics factory building in the trendy Mission District, his showroom studio is a destination in itself. The bright space meticulously displays bounties of craft and fashion rarities. They are either hand-made on the spot – like his own collection of khadi cotton kurtas – or curated from across the globe: from esoteric jewelry by collaborator Llane Alexis, to leather goods from select Japanese brand i ro se, blankets from bhujodi weavers and abstract mobiles in elm by local artist Ruth Charlotte Kneass.
Dick, a former collaborator with the legendary designer Tamotsu Yagi, has traveled extensively. Fluent in Japanese, he educated himself about rare fabrics and endangered traditional processes. Founded in 2010, his Californian Small Trade Company (st/CO) is the epitome of his high, refined, Asian-inspired aesthetic, transcending the indie terms of 'slow-fashion' or 'stealth luxury'. Hence the aprons.
The workwear line (and Dick's company name) stem from Irving Penn's 1950 book Small Trades, a collection of black and white portraits of retro professional looks. st/CO's contemporary versions dress baristas, hotel staff, servers and clerks for clients such as Blue Bottle Coffee, Heath Ceramics, Durham Hotel, the Mast Brothers and Tartine Bakery. The de luxe feeling comes from the aprons' stunning simplicity, attention to detail, and crisp or heavy natural fabrics, as well as the radical efficiency of their expert geometry.
Canvases experiment with raw dark denim, wheat linen, crisp muslin, natural poudré leather or even hemp 'stained in turmeric spice tea' (for a SF tea company). Waist ties in thin natural leather and pockets aligned in strategic positions welcome all sort of personalisations. The st/CO credo of essential chic in working contexts will next be unveiled on the staff of massage therapists, aestheticians and lifeguards at the Shibui Spa at New York's Greenwich Hotel.
The company takes its name from Irving Penn's 1950 book Small Trades, a collection of black and white portraits of retro professional looks
Matt Dick, who has collaborated with the legendary designer Tamotsu Yagi, has traveled extensively, educating himself about rare fabrics and endangered traditional making in the process
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Small Trade Company's website
Photography: Daniel Dent
ADDRESS
Small Trade Company
550 Florida Sreet
San Francisco, CA 94110
-
A suburban house is expanded into two striking interconnected dwellingsJustin Mallia’s suburban house, a residential puzzle box in Melbourne’s Clifton Hill, interlocks old and new to enhance light, space and efficiency
-
Zaha Hadid Architects’ new project will be Miami’s priciest condoConstruction has commenced at The Delmore, an oceanfront condominium from the design firm founded by the late Zaha Hadid, ZHA
-
This Beirut design collective threads untold stories into upholstered antique furnitureBeirut-based Bokja opens a Notting Hill pop-up that's a temple to textiles, from upholstered furniture to embroidered cushions crafted by artisans (until 25 March 2025)
-
Sundance Film Festival 2025: The films we can't wait to watchSundance Film Festival, which runs 23 January - 2 February, has long been considered a hub of cinematic innovation. These are the ones to watch from this year’s premieres
-
What is RedNote? Inside the social media app drawing American users ahead of the US TikTok banDownloads of the Chinese-owned platform have spiked as US users look for an alternative to TikTok, which faces a ban on national security grounds. What is Rednote, and what are the implications of its ascent?
-
Architecture and the new world: The Brutalist reframes the American dreamBrady Corbet’s third feature film, The Brutalist, demonstrates how violence is a building block for ideology
-
‘Gas Tank City’, a new monograph by Andrew Holmes, is a photorealist eye on the American West‘Gas Tank City’ chronicles the artist’s journey across truck-stop America, creating meticulous drawings of fleeting moments
-
Intimacy, violence and the uncanny: Joanna Piotrowska in PhiladelphiaArtist and photographer Joanna Piotrowska stages surreal scenes at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania
-
First look: Sphere’s new exterior artwork draws on a need for human connectionWallpaper* talks to Tom Hingston about his latest large-scale project – designing for the Exosphere
-
Marc Hom reframes traditional portraiture in Cooperstown, NY‘Marc Hom: Re-Framed’ has taken over the grounds of the Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, planting Samuel L Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow and more ‘personalities of the world’ into the landscape
-
Alexander May, founder of LA studio Sized, on the joys of creative polymathyCreative director Alexander May tells us of the multidisciplinary approach that drives his LA studio Sized and its offspring, a 5,000 sq ft event space and an exhibition series
