Attention to detail: Pressing
The quiet work behind every piece before it reaches you.
Some jobs are invisible the moment they're done. A shirt arrives folded into a box, crisp and square, and nobody thinks twice about the hands that got it there. At our factory in Congleton, those hands mostly belong to Jayne – who has been pressing, folding and keeping standards high at Derek Rose for nineteen years.
MEET JAYNE
Jayne does a bit of everything on the factory floor – quality checking, ensuring every parcel is perfectly packed, and pressing more shirts than most will own in a lifetime. She thrives on the camaraderie of the factory floor, and when she’s not keeping our standards sky-high, you’ll likely find her planning her next getaway or experimenting with a new recipe she discovered while abroad.
What's your favourite memory of working here?
Mr Rose taking us all out for lunch in London before we went to see The Pyjama Game at the theatre.
Is there anything you really don't like about pressing? Or love about pressing?
No complaints about the pieces themselves – it’s the head that gets her. “I get very hot whilst pressing, which makes my hair curl.”
What unusual things do you come across whilst pressing or working?
I have found all kinds of things in pockets of returns: vapes, bottle openers and sweets. Someone once sent a full box of crayons with nothing to do with Derek Rose inside it.
JAYNE'S GUIDE TO PRESSING AND FOLDING A SHIRT
A well-pressed shirt looks simple. It isn't. There's an order to it and skipping a step shows. This is the method Jayne, and the team follow on every shirt that leaves Congleton.
- Lay it flat and fasten all the buttons.
- Iron the front first, starting from the sleeves.
- Turn the shirt over and work from the hem up.
- Fold the right sleeve towards the centre, then the left.
- Position the right cuff so it sits visible from the front.
- Fold the left sleeve neatly into the centre of the shirt.
- Fold the shirt up to form a neat rectangle.
- A final smooth by hand and the shirt is ready for the wardrobe.
100 Years. A hundred pieces.
