Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Ward.
Hi Jonathan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Respect Your Perspective! That is my mantra and encouraging words to all creatives! I have been a lifelong tinkerer. A serial craftsman. I have studied many different lost arts and traditional skill sets combined with 3D modeling and CAD software. All of my brands started as hobbies born out of these interests. My first automotive brand (tlc4x4) and ICON grew from my interest in classic automotive design and tinkering in my garage. J.Ward Collection grew out of my traditional leather craft skills and design interests, and Campfire Coats was started by my interest and collection of vintage textiles. With my automotive brands, I initially understood and conformed with traditional styles and classifications (concours, stock, hot rod, street rod, etc…). Over time, I thought that the classic car market was stuck in a rut, repeating defined approaches and techniques but not evolving with consumer tastes and interests, not evolving to apply new manufacturing and engineering resources. With ICON, I saw an opportunity to create a brand that celebrates classic automotive design revisited in a modern context. Respect paid to the original design details, but a fresh approach to re-engineering the entire experience with the resulting goal being to create/upcycle classics into a vehicle featuring modern performance, enhanced safety, reduced emissions, and elevated details.
At this point, my TLC brand had already been established for over a decade as the top restoration shop specifically for vintage Toyota Land Cruisers. Mr. Toyoda visited the shop and offered me the opportunity to design and build three design study vehicles for what became the FJ Cruiser. That experience left me dreaming of what I would want in a modern interpretation of the original FJ40 without the constraints of the Toyota commission. As is often a sign for me that I must proceed and realize a design idea, I found myself in bed at night, building out a virtual 3D model of the concept. In an effort to preserve what remained of my sanity, I had to get it out of my head and make it a reality. So, I did. Once completed, I worried that it would be too expensive for people to engage with. Millard Drexler was (and is today) a good friend and trusted consultant/client. I told him of my concerns and of my reservations to start dumbing it down to meet what was a perceived tolerance of price point. He wisely told me to stick to my vision. “If you build it, they will come”. He then ordered one, and we were off to the races!
At that time, no one was in this “resto-mod” space. Friends and industry leaders thought we were nuts. Now, this space has seen enormous growth, and is arguably the most popular sector in the classic car/truck global market. Less and less people have the patience for the archaic vintage mechanical martyrdom reality. They want the style and individuality of a classic but no patience for the vintage driving experience. We are honored to have built and delivered over 300 ICON vehicles.
During COVID, my wife was fighting breast cancer. Due to her compromised immune system, we hunkered down. During that time, I built out a home studio and did a deep dive to define my design language with high-end leather goods. I am an expert leather crafter and had studied with several masters in several countries.
Looking back at my interest in automotive design, I realize that a big reason that I had been drawn to such is because it is a highly communicative, extroverted, and useful platform that combines my many interests and skills (color & material, woodworking, CNC, leather…
I developed the patterns, hand dyed and hand stitched several prototypes of many articles, which became my production model bags & wallets. At first, I did not think of it as a brand, just a fulfilling hobby. I started gifting them to friends & family; then I started to get many requests for them.
To celebrate my wife being cancer-free for 2 years, we planned a long trip to Italy. On the second day of this trip, we got in a boat accident, and my poor wife broke her back and shoulder! Argh… This led to a 3-week hospital stay and surgery. Coincidentally, this coincided with the largest leather industry show in Milan, LINEAPELLE. So, I snuck out of the hospital and went to the show with one of my bag designs in tow (The Randoseru backpack). I met with a few tanneries I was friendly with, which led to an introduction to a top manufacturer. While they appreciated my design and priorities, the minimums were way too high for what I wanted to do, and the traditional craftsmanship details were not a part of their modern production techniques. As I was leaving the meeting, the owner of the company happened to be walking by. Upon introduction, turns out he was a fan of my ICON automotive brand, and a friend of his had one of our vehicles. He stopped and told his manager that he knew that despite my low volume, what was important to me was also important to his family-owned company. They waived the minimums and allowed me to train their artisans on some forgotten traditional finishing skills, such as burnished edge finishing and fileteuse creasing. This led to such a perfect partnership, so the J.Ward Collection brand was born!
Last but not least, I have always been a collector of antiques, including textiles. While buying more vintage blankets and textiles that I needed, on a Ca-TX road trip with my wife (Jamie), I started justifying these new additions to my unreasonable hoard by saying, “Maybe I will learn how to develop patterns and draft some traditional American style jackets and make some jackets for my wife and I out of these old blankets. Again, with no intelligent foresight or brand plan, I worked with a tutor to apply my skills to this new application. Started making us coats, then friends coats, then came the demand. So, campfire coats were born. I personally design and hand make a collection of vests and jacket designs using remnant leather and top European design house textiles, yet mostly use vintage or new Pendleton® Jacquard woven wools or cotton Beacon blankets. Buttons are all vintage Bakelite, American Indian silver, or 1930’s Buffalo Nickels.
So, at root, it seems all my brands start with an interest that grows into a passion, which leads to a deeper education, eventually landing on defining a style based on some sort of tradition revived or re-imagined!
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
If others think you are crazy, that may be a good design! Again and again, my brands start with a personal interest or passion and from disappointment that no such product is available or done to my standards. I find that is you are passionate about what you do, you will have the resilience and be able to stay committed to the effort/brand. If you compromise or conform, you will lose both your passion and your product will suffer because then it is just more of the same…
If you protect your original vision, customers will find you, and partners (suppliers, etc.) will honor you with great opportunities because you are the exception in the modern world!
I am certainly not saying that it is easy. I feel that in the early days of the internet, it was easier to tell a story and define a brand. Today, there is so much noise, too much hype, and misrepresented content. I feel it is difficult to communicate the true quality and value when most consumers are just looking at tiny images…. scrolling by…
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I currently have three brands. All born out of passion and an obsessive commitment to quality engineering and details.
1. ICON (icon4x4.com) – CEO and lead designer ICON focused on revisiting classic transportation design in a modern context. We offer three production models: ICON BR (based on 1st generation Ford Bronco), FJ (based on first-generation Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 offered in four body styles), and the Thriftmaster (based on 1947-1953 Chevrolet pick-up trucks).
https://www.instagram.com/icon4x4/
2. J.Ward Collection.com – CEO and lead designer JUST LAUNCHED!
A mildly disruptive brand focused on reviving traditional luxury leather goods. It is handcrafted and devoid of the B.S. veneer that is most “luxury” brands in this space. A collection of bags, wallets, and flasks.
https://www.instagram.com/jwardcollection/
3. Campfire Coats (Campfirecoats.com) CEO and lead designer JUST LAUNCHED!
A revival of the old west trading post-traditional jackets crafted from Indian trade blankets and other rare textiles and leathers.
https://www.instagram.com/campfirecoats/
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
My first career started when I was seven, due to a chance meeting with Mikhail Baryshnikov. He sponsored me at a dance studio, which led to me being in three Broadway shows, then a long career in TV & Film!
Pricing:
- Campfire Apparel – $450-2,500
- J Ward Leather $125-2500
- ICON $250-1MM
Contact Info:
- Website: icon4x4.com campfirecoats.com jwardcollection.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/campfirecoats/ https://www.instagram.com/icon4x4/ https://www.instagram.com/jwardcollection/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ICON4x4Design https://www.facebook.com/campfirecoats/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555630193166
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWBzWXHGLP-xnlhkGF0JHiw
