Meet The Craftsmen: Dan Pounder, Supervisor

Team work is everything when it comes to working at Globe-Trotter, as our latest candidate for Meet the Craftsmen Dan Pounder, reveals.

PHOTOGRAPHY: KENSINGTON LEVERNE

My job at Globe-Trotter is supervisor for the blocking, embossing and inking sections.
We use heat machines to stamp logos on the products. Blocking and embossing uses a plate to emboss the stamp on an item.

I joined Globe-Trotter in 2000.
I started as a temp just before Christmas and ended up staying. It was really a case of hitting the ground running and learning on the job.

The process starts with a flat piece of leather, where we'll place whatever logo needs to go on it.
Then we hand it to the guy who makes the product and come up with the inking. Basically everything you see will be inked. We've got the Pantone inks and we'll decide what works best. You can't go too dark on some leathers – sometimes it's about going through the process of finding the right one. We've found the most popular to be the classic colours, so black, navy and ivory. Then there's the poudre (light pink), sand and tan colours.

A typical day involves scheduling the amount of people we need on each section.
We've got 11 inking machines and I've got one guy who does the embossing with me. Everything depends on quantities, it could be that halfway through the day more work than we were expecting turns up.

I always say to the guys that everything we make is bespoke; don't treat it like you've done it before and don't expect the next job to be the same.
There will be times where people can't get to the finish line on certain things and we all help each other out to get to that goal. We're all in it together, as a team. For me that's the best thing about working for a company like Globe-Trotter.

The most challenging design we did recently was the John Booth range.
Every level was different so it was tricky to get everything right. All the different combinations of colours and inks as well – it was definitely a challenge for the inkers. When a technique works for one product it doesn't mean it will work on another and it's down to me to find a solution. It was definitely a rewarding project when we got to see it through without any problems.

For my sins I'm a Tottenham fan so – home and away – I watch them all season.
Otherwise in my spare time I enjoy music, so I go to a lot of gigs and catch up with family and friends. I work hard during the week and play hard over the weekend.