For our People Make Places series, we spent five minutes with Denny Calder from Aero Leather.
Tell us who you are and what you do here in Galashiels.
I’m Denny Calder, director of Aero Leather Clothing here in Galashiels, although I do a bit of everything. We make handmade leather jackets using traditional methods and designs inspired by the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Everything is made right here in our factory, with each jacket created from start to finish by one machinist.
Aero is built on methods from the 1930s–50s – why is it important to you to stick to that era?
We stick to those classic eras because, in our opinion, that was when leather jacket design was at its best. The workwear, military and sports jackets of the 1940s and 50s were incredibly well made, both in terms of quality and design. After that, clothing became much more mass-produced, and the quality and craftsmanship declined. We still use traditional materials, patterns and construction methods because we believe in making jackets that are built to last.
What’s something people might not realise about Aero – whether that’s your history, your work in film, or the scale of what you do here in Galashiels?
From behind the closed doors, lots of people might not realise that we’re making jackets that go all over the world, supplying everyone from students to rockstars. We’ve also worked on costumes for films and TV shows including Peaky Blinders, Bohemian Rhapsody, Captain America and Masters of the Air, creating pieces for productions seen worldwide from our workshop here in the Borders.
And finally – what does Galashiels mean to you personally and as a business?
We think it’s important that we continue manufacturing in Galashiels, especially considering how much the town and the wider region have lost in terms of textiles over the years. Galashiels has such a rich textile history, and while it’s difficult competing with companies producing things far more cheaply overseas, we believe keeping production local matters. We could outsource, but it wouldn’t be the same quality or the same product. By staying here, we’re helping keep skills, craftsmanship and jobs in the town alive, and we like doing things differently.
