THE BRITISH COASTLINE HAS ALWAYS HELD A PARTICULAR POWER. IT IS NOT POLISHED. IT DOES NOT ASK FOR ATTENTION. IT STANDS IN SILENCE, SHAPED BY PRESSURE, WEATHER, TIME AND REPETITION. IN THE EARLY THINKING BEHIND THE ODYSSEY COLLECTION, THIS SENSE OF RESTRAINT BECAME DEEPLY IMPORTANT TO 1812. AMONG THE REFERENCES THAT HELPED DEFINE THAT BEGINNING WAS RICHARD LONG'S STONE LINE, 1979 — A WORK FORMED FROM CORNISH SLATE, ONE STONE AFTER ANOTHER, ORDERED WITH REMARKABLE CONTROL AND CLARITY.
WHAT DRAWS US TO THIS PIECE IS NOT SPECTACLE — IT IS INTENT. LONG TAKES A RAW NATURAL MATERIAL AND PLACES IT INTO A MEASURED LINE. THE GESTURE IS SIMPLE, THOUGH NEVER SIMPLISTIC. IT SPEAKS OF MOVEMENT, DECISION, PATH AND DISCIPLINE. HIS WORDS CARRY A QUIET FORCE: IT IS JUST ONE STONE AFTER ANOTHER. THEY REDUCE THE ACT TO ITS ESSENCE. STEP BY STEP, FORM EMERGES. MEANING ARRIVES THROUGH SEQUENCE, NOT NOISE.
THAT PRINCIPLE SAT CLOSE TO OUR PROCESS AS WE BEGAN TO SHAPE ODYSSEY. LONG'S WORK CAPTURES SOMETHING THAT MATTERS DEEPLY TO 1812: NATURE DOES NOT NEED TO BE IMPROVED — IT NEEDS TO BE UNDERSTOOD. THE SAME CAN BE SAID OF CRAFT. A LUXURY SHOE SHOULD NEVER FEEL OVERWORKED. IT SHOULD FEEL RESOLVED. ONE STONE AFTER ANOTHER. ONE DECISION AFTER ANOTHER. ONE STEP AFTER ANOTHER. THAT IS OFTEN HOW ANYTHING LASTING BEGINS.
