Workshop marks

A garment that is built one at a time can be documented one at a time. That is the idea behind the marks: not branding for its own sake, but a record that travels with the piece — who made it, which design it is, which attempt, which one of how many, and whether it was checked.

The marks, in order of what they say

Mark	What it says	Page
MB monogram	Whose. The workshop's initials, the smallest form of the mark.	The maker's seal
Maker's seal	Whose, and how. The round seal with the monogram and the line "Built one at a time". The physical stamp.	The maker's seal
Project number	Which design. Fixed for the life of a design — Project 004 is the jean, whatever version.	Project, prototype and run numbers
Prototype number	Which attempt. Increments each time the pattern or construction is revised and made up again.	same
Run / serial number	Which one. A piece's place within a run of a settled version.	same
Workshop Record	All of the above, written down. The card or label that carries the numbers, the date, the cloth and the verdict.	The Workshop Record
Workshop Verdict	What the maker thinks of it. One line, chosen from a short list, on the hang tag.	Verdicts and verification marks
Maker Verified / Inspected / Approved	That it was checked. Marks a piece passed a look-over before it left.	same

Read together they say something like: Mash & Burn made this; it is the jean; it is the second attempt at the jean; it is the third one made; it was checked; and the maker thinks it is probably overbuilt.

How they are applied

The same marks appear in different materials depending on what they are applied to:

• Brass embosser — presses the seal into vegetable-tanned leather: patches, tabs, handles.
• Rubber stamp — the seal and the record fields, in ink, on paper and on cotton tape.
• Stamped cotton tape — the workshop's label for now, sewn inside a garment. See Labels and tape.
• Workshop Record card or label — the written record, on paper with the piece or on a label inside it.
• Hang tag — the paper tag carrying the verdict.

What is in use and what is not

Honesty about the marks matters more than the marks. As of this writing:

	Status
Monogram and seal on the site, on paper and on tags	In use
Project numbers	In use on every project page
Workshop Verdict on the hang tag	In use
Seal as a hand stamp (a cast of the ~4 cm seal, on a wooden mount)	Being made
Stamped cotton-tape labels	Being made
Prototype and run numbers on physical pieces	Recorded on the pattern; not yet marked on a finished piece
Workshop Record card / label	Designed; not yet issued with a piece
Brass leather embosser	Planned
Maker Verified / Inspected / Approved marks	Planned
Woven labels, leather patches, care labels	Planned (brand-asset work, not started)

When a status changes, this table changes. Nothing on this page claims a mark exists on a garment before it does.