How Thomas Stege Bojer became a Denimhunter?
As a teenager in Denmark, Thomas became obsessed with denim, and the more he learned, the more he wanted to know. Now, through his blog, his book, and his new ACADEMY he’s become an influential source of knowledge for professionals in the denim industry.
Thomas Stege Bojer is, to put it simplistically, a denim geek. As a teenager in Denmark, he wondered about the unique fading of the jeans he wore. His efforts to understand that unique characteristic of denim fabric sent him on a journey that has culminated in his influential blog, Denimhunters, and a book he co-edited for the German design publishing house Gestalten, Blue Blooded: Denim Hunters and Jeans Culture.
This year, he’s adding podcasts to his blog content and, in an even more ambitious approach to reaching denim professionals, an online academy, with courses designed to be useful to retailers, marketers and manufacturers of denim.
Bojer has become an influential voice in the world of denim, for professionals and aficionados alike, and continues to delve into its history and its cutting-edge. Carved in Blue caught up with him via Skype.
Carved in Blue: You have become a very influential voice in the denim industry. Denimhunters has become a destination among denim enthusiasts. Could you tell us your vision and mission for the site?
Thomas: In 2011, I started Denimhunters as a passion project to learn about denim. Today, Denimhunters is an online learning platform for people who sell denim and jeans.
At the time there wasn’t really a big community of denim bloggers. Denimhunters kind of became a voice for at least the European denim community. Then, of course, denim became big around the time that I started.
In 2011-2013 that’s when denim really became big. And for me it was wonderful just being out there at trade shows and forging relationships. I’m talking to quite a specific audience. Now you go to Japan and the U.S. and it’s like: “Oh Denimhunters!”
The thing about jeans … it’s not just a garment. It’s not just a fabric. Jeans are so tangled up in so many values. You express your opinion, you express so many things with what you’re wearing. For me, it’s about what it means to you. I’m not wearing my jeans to show off to anyone else. Most people don’t know what I’m wearing. It’s not flashy — it’s pretty basic and solid.
Carved in Blue: Now that you have shifted gears, what is your new business model? What type of companies are you trying to help?
Thomas: For the next thing I’m doing, the Denimhunters Academy — it’s for the more commercial denim retailers. They’re missing some of the basics of denim knowledge. It’s not that I want everyone who sells jeans to be denim geeks. Because the “average Joes” — the consumers — usually don’t want to hear every little facet of all the stories. Still, staff can’t rely on one-liners; they need to know the stories behind them.
In terms of a mission basically it’s always been about helping people know more about the jeans they consume, about what they buy, why some denim is more expensive than others. These days, you can get more or less any kind of jeans sitting on the couch — so why should I buy from this specific retailer?
Carved in Blue: What was your inspiration for starting an education company?
Thomas: I’m focusing now on education, and I’ve developed it by thinking of what I have would have liked to know. Starting with “Denim 101,” really essential knowledge, like the history and details of jeans. Why do they have rivets? How jeans are made? How denim is made? And customer service — what do you tell people about how to wash their jeans and so on?
I also want to have courses on how to run a store or how to run social media for your store. There are several opportunities.
The site will be subscription-based, which is why I’m offering ongoing updates. It’s basically going to be a premium version of the blog, but only for members who have access, with interviews, behind-the-scenes and masterclasses, maybe something about trends.
Carved in Blue: How did you get a start in the denim industry?
Thomas: When I was studying, I was working part time in a store where I was selling jeans, so on a weekly basis I was interacting with customers. I was realizing I had to do research online because no one could really tell me, for example, what selvedge is.
I was spending so much time developing the blog, it’s been six years now. For the first three years it was just a hobby project; it was one of the first blogs of its kind.
I put out a lot of content and Denimhunters brought me deeper into the world of denim. It was basically my own networking platform, like my own LinkedIn, I was building.
Carved in Blue: Can you tell us a little bit about your book Blue Blooded: Denim Hunters and Jeans Culture? Where did you get the idea and how long did it take you to write?
Thomas: In the spring of 2015, I was working on a proposal and figuring out how do I get from blog to book, and [then I was approached] out of the blue to do a book, pure coincidence. It felt a little like destiny. That’s how we were able to turn it around rather quickly. [Co-author] Josh Sims, a London-based British journalist and author, wanted to work with me for my contacts and my knowledge of denim, the technical and historical sections.
Although I’d written hundreds of blog posts, I had to rewrite everything from scratch. At first, I thought I could take these blog posts, but reviewing all the legacy content, I quickly realized that I’d developed so much, even my writing style alone and my English. I could use the ideas because they don’t change, but because the content is so factual, it just needed to be correct. I had to do a lot of research to write it this well. I relied on my network to get it done.
Carved in Blue: Do you have any plans for a second book … and, if yes, how will it be different?
Thomas: I can certainly consider an update or a sequel, but I’ve also been thinking about doing something on other topics that are related. It could be leather for instance. Otherwise, I’m planning to do more books, but probably not published in print — I’m planning to offer eBooks for free for Academy members.
Carved in Blue: The apparel industry is in so much turmoil, each day we see another brand folding or closing doors. What advice to you have for the industry?
Thomas: Basically, there’s a story in any kind of product. I think it’s finding the nerve of the product and its story. There’s a lot of storytelling in any pair of jeans.
Over the past six months, I’ve scaled back on reviews on “here’s the new jean.” Now I’m working on becoming something for professionals and looking at what problems they have. It could be people working in retail stores but it could also be brand reps or developers and designers who want to brush up on their knowledge or gain new knowledge. That’s why the blog has become more B2B than B2C. It’s actually something for people who work with denim. That’s why I got into it, because it was working with it myself.
Carved in Blue: In your view, what denim trends should we expect to see the second half of 2017 into 2018?
Thomas: The trend part I never really got into as far as forecasting. If I were to feature something about forecasting the trends, I would talk to someone who’s an expect in that area. I think I’m more like the host of this thing called Denimhunters.
Carved in Blue: What do you think the denim industry can do to keep consumers coming back into the stores?
Thomas: It’s very much all about identifying who you’re actually talking to. How can this product become part of their story? It’s what I’ve been doing; using basic storytelling methods to communicate what you’re doing. Also, storytelling makes an idea tangible. So if you’re talking about “authenticity,” what does that mean?
Carved in Blue: What is the worst denim look you have seen?
Thomas: I don’t exactly remember when it happened but it has to be the Justin Timberlake/Britney Spears thing from [15] years ago. http://www.usmagazine.com/stylish/news/britney-spears-justin-timberlakes-double-denim-outfits-15th-anniversary-w451495 [when the stars wore matching double-denim outfits]. Actually, something that is much more relevant; it’s crucial to dress for your body type, really, rather than someone who didn’t get any advice in the store about what fits you.
I wouldn’t tell anyone not to wear skinny jeans— if it works for you, go for it. I like a vintage style, high rise, full leg. It can be quite flattering if you have the pocket placement correct; if the pockets are correct, it’s elegant for sure.
Carved in Blue: If you were not in the denim industry, what else would you be doing?
Thomas: I’m a perfectionist and I’m quite nerdy, I like to geek out on things. About three or four years ago I got really into BMWs. I’m not a car guy. I can’t fix the car. But we were getting our first car, looking around, and started looking at old BMWs. I was almost spending more time on that than I was on denim! So, it would be interesting to work for BMW. Then again, maybe the glory of it and the romanticized idea would pretty soon fade.
Carved in Blue: What does Carved in Blue mean to you?
Thomas: There are some good stories here. It’s really great to see something like this — it’s something that I would advocate that brands and retailers do, to tell their stories. Tell us something that is relevant. They’ll get to know you and get to like you and they’ll trust you.