An open letter, blog article, life story ( as i need to get the lounge decorated )
Ok, where to start. Don’t forget you asked for this… are you sitting comfortably.
Also out of respect i’ll try not to use my brand label if i can get away with it. I don’t pay to be on here so i shouldn’t get a mention. So please stop talking about us!
Let’s deal with the elephant in the room.
Why “Designed in England”?
Easy, but I do get that the words on their own cause confusion to anyone looking further than what was written above it.
Offset Edge.
Those that really want to pursue this will know I worked along side a pretty talented bloke called Andy at SafBats two years ago or so. For the important stuff we clashed and my intensity to ask question etc would have tested a saint. Although things ended in a cloud the guy gave me nearly everything i had from a decent understanding to challenges, later motivation and ultimately (and annoyingly) more questions. The one thing i admired was the offset edge argument, i still have the first Hades he made and it sums up everything positive that a creative artisan can achieve. I both love it for what it reminds me of and at the same time hate it for what it reminds me of. Only one person will ever get this if i decide to part with it and he gets that reason.
The idea of the offset is his (Andy) and his alone in that he saw something beneficial in the redistribution of wood from toe and edge. Yes it has been done before by other, I have even had one of Tony’s old bats from Warsop come in which had to all intents and purposes an “offset edge”. But this guys saw reason to promote it and for the first time “market it”. I get that too, I had a bat i kept aside for month after leaving Saf almost as a two fingers up as i had replicated the hades in a childish response to say anything you can do… It was as i say childish. The offset design though is both valid and viable, i have my own theory and rules i apply and as i went to work on a new bat for a younger generation I employed the idea. Its very purpose is to make the hitting area more forgiving than as concentrated as other i had designed and made. The label that carries the words “offset designed in england” whist subtle for some, confusing for others is my way and was my intention to ensure that stayed with him. Am i going to put his name on something i do… not a chance. But for those that “really” know me will get why i would find it hard to take credit for it. I was not the first, it’s simply not mine to claim ownership of.
Next question you’ll want to be asking.
Do you as an individual make very bat?
Answer hell no! I planned Affinity as an idea more than 2 years ago, take your theories Marcus and put your money where your mouth is. Kinda show your workings rather than simply talk a good game on forums and alike.
I started with the hope that I could maybe get 30-40 sales in a calendar year based on two shapes i had a “theory on”. I used a small willow supplier to get 50 pieces in … waded through it and saw 8-12 i liked so bought more. Step and repeat until i had willow i liked the look and sound of. The Carbine proved to be a pain in the bum and i had the rough cut bat part made as it saved a shed load of time (literally) and allowed me to get stuck into the Spectre. For those that knew me on the run up to christmas last year would have know i work solid from late august right up until a week before christmas. Even the forum owner swung by im sure to pay me a visit rather than have a look to see what was going on.
What happened after january has shaped what we have done since, i use “we” as no one man can do all this as its impossible. By March and before the season had started i’d seen 15 bats head to the US alone and more interest by the day. Carbines were a little slow but with 5-6 gone and we hand’t even had a local friendly game played i thought i’ll be undoing all the work if the whole waiting “2 months for a bat issue” arose this time in my care. The cricket industry is a tight knit one, most people are in their roles for 20-30 years and if you plan to be around a while, walk slow, respect the traditions however frustrating and earn you seat at the table. There is nothing however in the cricket manufactures etiquette handbook that stops you asking for help. So I did exactly that, since late march i have spoken and spent time with 8-9 owners, makers and in one case a sports group god. In that you get a feel for who you can trust and also who will with all their experience listen to your thoughts and theories. From that month onward i had a bit more of a decent infrastructure and old school eye contact agreements for help. I am more than pleased to say I have made good mates of the back of it too. Guys that either run their own business or work independently have supported the growth but done so on my terms. Whilst necessary, until you have worked and seen all they have its a big ask for them to alter how they’d work The ones that care do. Even now i’ve been looking at what will happen if we have a growth spurt next season and will it put these guys under too much pressure, do you employ people, do you rent an industrial unit? do you borrow more money?
It’s not easy to uncover everything and in some respect nobodies business, but the foundations and ethics of what i set out to do are there in everything that has our label on. Whilst i’ll be responsible for possibly 1 in 5 of every bat that leaves and 100% of all the specials and custom work. I am also the guys that sees everything before it leaves. Nothing is left to chance. Been there, too controlling (a bad thing) to change that. The truth is a gap will naturally appear as we balance growth and ambition with the realisation that to grow you must invest heavily. No doubt until I am in a position to employ full or even part time I’ll have to use people i trust to cover the numbers. After a period of growth it could well leave us in a position to invest in premises and staff but without an investor first up its a long road. Me i’ll always have my shade and my garage as thats where the passion lays, the solace of being able to design and create new things. I have been opened up the garage for a few people to come in, when a lads comes from holland even if on work… its the least you can do!
For those of you still awake ;-)
India!
Am i responsible for importing Indian bats to the UK to sell, YES.
Not only have i spent a little time in india and made friends i still have a vested interest in the sub continent as a whole. The way things are made, growth along with the well being of the people i work with and their staff. (real people not just drones as they can often be thought of) As i have been to India i’ll soon be going to Pakistan too to gain a little more knowledge and spend time with a manufacture and their family. Has this anything to do with the name in this thread.. sorry but no.
It’s not really a secret but since july i have worked through a few ideas for not only designs, growth of a business but also the loyalty and fascinations of trends within cricket. A lot of people invest to work the uk typical english cricketer and this as we know is saturated. Next year with the help of another from this very forum and with the help of some great local friends both Indian and Pakistani i’ll start (i have to name a “brand name” here admins as it adds context to the argument) a small company called Khan Cricket. I have possibly 60 odds bats from a number of manufactures in Jalandhar and Meerut as i searched for a regular source to get the shapes we need made for Khan. As you can appreciate the Asian bat market is a lower cost but i still think their can be a few cool things done. Why shouldn’t an englishman want to work in that arena? its intoxicating, vibrant challenging and exciting. If you have seen some of the work that comes out of india and often in one or two factories in Pakistan you’ll know like i do they “ can” make some of the most special bats. I have and always will be infatuated with a Beat All Sports bat i once owned and also one a forum legend owns that i cleaned up for him.
So yes, i do intend to design bats that will be made in india to be sold in the uk but from Khan cricket.
Are indian bats used for my Aff adult work, no.
Will they be used in some of the junior ranges as we grow. Yes.
It’s simply too much to ask someone to spend £££ on a bat smaller than a harrow, most grow out of them in a year. Keep the cost down but do what you can to get the best. You’ll see all this later from march anyway.
Back on track.
I set up a business to show my theories and ploughed my own time and money into it. It’s grown beyond what i thought possible and i continue to do the best i can to not only maintain a responsibility to those people that trusted the label but build on it and kick on. Passion alone doesn't get you where you need to go, but having a built up a decent contact list many makers on the forum too that are at the end of a phone as we bitch, whine and put the world to rights its important I stay true to what i set out to do. The truth is I can only do so much. As in any business, those attached to it, part of it, grow with it or as a purchaser invest in it need to know as much as you can offer and have a right to know something they may believe in is true. That responsibility is not lost on me as the simple term follower on something like twitter comes with it’s own responsibilities.
We know people can take all this seriously and we know the marketing of products can be love or hate. We also know that people”listen” to what you push or promote. That why we do push the charity events like we do and use the interest from certain day to day forgotten items as ways to generate money for charities.
I know some don’t get it all, but having seen over £4000 go into charities this year off the back of our use of social media and over £1000 of our own money given or used for prizes I am personally comfortable with it.
Why the fuss? and for a nobody and nearly unheard of?
I am not the man to ask. But the truth is the isn’t really the response an instigator wants. Some just want to see harm, cause gossip, undermine or simply get under the skin of an “individual” as a company has no feelings.
If such a passionate crusade is all encompassing, expect to see them ask many others in the coming months and follow it all up with vigour. If not and I'm deleted or edited then you have your real response. The full email is sent to a few on here that gave me the heads up. They may send it to you if i do get edited.
If by some way i have not answered any of the points, get in touch… be warned i do talk the leg of a chair.
To those that have spoken with me, know me and spend time with me cheers!
To those that aren’t sure what to believe, or just don't want to thats free will and also not life or death now is it.
And you have the choice to buy what you want.
If you got this far you are as driven as me!! well done ;-)
PS, apologies for any typos and merry christmas.
Marcus
Author
Topic: Affinity Phantom (Read 19728 times)