Uptown Yardie is a British shoe company, specialising in luxury footwear, made in Northampton the heart of British shoemaking.
Uptown Yardie is a British company inspired by Jamaican heritage, selling a lifestyle, captured through shoes for men and women. Inspired by a Bob Marley quotation ‘me ah bring downtown uptown’, meaning he is bring the man dem from the ghetto to where he was living uptown at the time. The original uptown yardie is someone who comes from the more affluent parts of Jamaica.
The Uptown Yardie brand today embodies a progressive man or woman who does not follow fashion. Who refuses to be put into a box, but thinks outside of it. Who is aware of current trends and the lover of well-designed beautiful things but not at all dictated by them. Who likes to wear clothing that does not wear them. Who has a passion and love for things that are well crafted and that has more longevity than one season.
Our vision is to create for a community of people who have not been catered for by mainstream fashion. We believe that our product should have a distinctive and individual character like that of its owner, without compromising quality for uniqueness. Quality is paramount to the Uptown Yardie brand, it must have a purpose and functionality not just be different for difference sake.
IT’S APPEAL
Although inspired by Jamaican heritage, Uptown Yardie appeals to people that think outside the box. It is a brand that crosses boundaries, ages and races.
At Uptown Yardie we are passionate about the shoes we produce; we know this is a passion shared by our enthusiastic buyers. We are poised upon the threshold of something that is truly special and we need your help to get to this next stage.
THE COLLECTION
The collection is made in Northampton, the art of tradition and expert English shoemaking. The craftsmanship can be found in the perfect stitching detail of the leather, the hand finished soles and the punching of the uppers.
Black Label
We have created a diverse and exclusive range of hand-finished and hand-made (Black Label Collection) shoes, designed and patterned by British footwear designer/maker Rohan Clarke, influenced by his Jamaican heritage. Available for both men and women.
Made to Order
The made to order range gives the client the opportunity to choose the colour and materials from existing Uptown Yardie shoes to make their own.
My Yardie Girl
My Yardie Girl will only be available as a limited edition. This open toe style with a cut away lace up front is offered in two colour ways. The first colour way is offered in the softest of black kid leather fused with chalk white matt python skin quarters. The second colour way is offered with once again black kid leather fused with canary yellow matt python skin quarters. For added comfort and softness My Yardie Girl has been lined in nude suede.
Kaya Collection
The Kaya collection is a range of wing-cap brogues with a modern day twist.
Marcus Collection
The Marcus Collection is a modern day take on the oxford bowling shoe. Available in goodyear welted leather or airwear soles.
Remixed and twisted monkeyboot
The original monkey boot has been remixed and twisted by Uptown Yardie. We’ve replaced the original sole with a micro-cellular sport sole, which makes them more contemporary; and the added bonus is that they are much more comfortable. Keeping the original colours of Oxblood and Black we’ve added a perforation details around the stitching to give it an Uptown Yardie look. This unisex shoe is made to order.
What’s next for us
Our first collection was a capsule range but we need to grow and to reach out to new markets. We have the ideas for our new collection but we need to make the samples. We will take these samples to the trade shows where we can wholesale the brand. We are conscious of growing steadily, we’ve seen brands grow too quickly and then disappear, so with this in mind we want to start with the Asian market.
We know from our research that the Asian market is growing, specifically Taiwan and South Korea. We know that our shoes would be well received in Japan and China. And that’s why we need to get to the Tokyo trade show in October 2017, to maximise on these opportunities.
We are confident that we could sell a minimum of 300 shoes at the Tokyo trade show. This is a conservative estimate based on our contacts in the shoe export industry. Sales at the show will help to finance our expansion to the America and European market and to pay for PR and marketing support to raise awareness of our brand. This will also help to position the Uptown Yardie brand within the competitive marketplace.
We also want to work on e-commerce growth and maximise the sales we get through our website www.uptownyardie.com. The PR and marketing support will work with us to ensure that more traffic is driven to the website and turn the traffic into sales.
Your money
In summary your support will enable us to do the following:
1. Create samples for our new collection.
2. Produce new stock for the website from the new collection.
3. Take the Uptown Yardie brand and new collection to Tokyo in October. The money will pay for a stand at the Trade Show.
4. It will also pay for a sales agent familiar with the Asian market who can generate interest in the brand to the right buyers in preparation for the Tokyo trade show.
5. Pay for PR and marketing support to grow brand awareness in the UK and rest of the world. Additionally to grow our e-commerce.
Be part of the Uptown Yardie Community
We want to thank you in advance for your financial support and becoming part of our Uptown Yardie Community. Dare to be different because being different is what makes you special.
Special Thanks
A special thank you to Michelle and Abigail for the video.
Shoe chart
We have minimised the risks to this project by doing our research before coming to kickstarter. We have sourced our factories and before production starts we will put in place contracts with penalty clauses if they do not deliver the product on time or the product is poor quality.
All collections will start as production samples before going into production. We do this to ensure that shoes are made to our exact specification and quality.
Your funding will pay for an agent for the Asian market who has knowledge of buyers and PR contacts. This will enable us to maximise attendance at the Tokyo trade show and sales.