Pestle & Mortar: Say Hello To The New Malaysia Boleh!

By Miranda Yeoh  •  in Interview
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What is the process of each product/line, from the drawing board to the finished product? Also how/where your tees are made?
Each design goes through a process that starts with an idea or a thought that ends up in a brainstorming and research period, to understand the workability of the design. If a design has been decided on we then move on to working the idea of the design, sometimes even opening up to our friends for a more diverse take on a design. Once the design gets finalized and is executed, we test it out on print with our manufacturer to see what the final product will look like. We usually have discussions after that to go over our designs and which to approve for manufacturing. Right now, everything is produced locally, simply because we have quality control capabilities here. We can oversee each product from start to finish and make sure we get it exactly how we want it. Although, we’ve recently decided to expand our range to more than just T-shirts and thus have been poking and prodding around South East Asia looking for certain things.

What were other names suggested before settling on “Pestle & Mortar”?
The moment we decided and agreed we would actually be doing this, we knew we had to think of a suitable name for ourselves. Two brainstorming sessions and countless names later, we narrowed it down to a few choices and were quite set on the name “The Fifth Estate” but one Google search later and we were back to square one. Then one day at the mamak, someone mentioned “Pastel”, to which Arnold asked if we knew what a “pestle” was, and the rest is history.

So tell us what’s in the plan for Pestle & Mortar this 2012?
We’re trying to step up our game and run Pestle & Mortar like a proper business, which is why Mark has joined us to handle our accounts (it used to be a sheet of A4 paper hand-written by Arthur that never balanced out!) and ensure we’re not trigger happy with company funds. We’re also working towards releasing collections more “conventionally” e.g Spring/Summer and so on, which means 4 drops/collections a year. We are also slowly making the move to expand into other products besides t-shirts. We are currently moving into cut & sew shirts like Oxford shirts, which will hopefully be hitting the shelves soon. We have also been researching and working our way into more technical wear like jackets and how to make them suitable for our weather as well as snapback caps.

What do you think separates Pestle & Mortar from others who have come before you but have not achieved the kind of success your brand has?
Having a great team to work with, perseverance, hard work and more importantly the tremendous support we have from our friends and family. Everybody brings something different to the table.

If you guys could do 1 thing differently, what would it be?
We probably wished we‘d learned to work out the structure and system of the company earlier instead of having to re-work everything and clean up the dust we’ve swept under the carpet. Double work is no fun.

What advice can you give to someone who would want to start a tshirt label too?
Arnold Don’t think too much around it. Go out there and do it. To quote a wise friend (Sukeats from Wheel Love) “If you don’t do it now, you won’t when you turn 30”. Or something like that *laughs*
Hugh You should have an answer for everything you do.
Arthur When I started doing this, I asked my friend what he thought and he said “Just do it and do it well. If you fail, at least you’ve learned something. Then apply it and do it again!”
Mark Keep in mind what financial resources you have and your current and projected revenue streams. Have budgets for marketing, production, operation and most importantly entertainment (you need money to hold parties!)

Lastly, who would you like to thank for Pestle & Mortar’s success?
We’d like to thank all our friends and family who have continued to give us their unconditional support as well as the local media whom have given us the opportunity to be seen in the market time and time again. Without any of these people, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

Find Malaysian apparel at www.pestlemortarclothing.com.