The integrity of one original brand inspired a walk to view the legacy of another known 'round the world.

There's something utterly American about blue jeans, no matter where in the world they are made. Time tested tough, a favorite pair that fits in all the right places feels like an old friend. Ride, shovel, bend, bump a door closed, wipe your hands on 'em, climb, carry – we're talking about the keep-going-kind of men's jeans that work for a living.

Cut, stitch, sew, detail, check, fit – every brass rivet pounded to hold, last, endure. At The Hartford Denim Company, a dedication to craftsmanship creates jeans with character.

“Hartford is our home. We want to bring about change within the city, our state, the world – to connect people to where and how things are made and the people who make them.”

David Marcoux (left to right), Marshall Deming, Luke Davis, the men of The Hartford Denim Company LLC.

They stand behind what they make. Period.

“The materials and techniques we use for construction are durable,” said David Marcoux. “Anyone who spends $250, knows it's a value with a life-of-the-jeans repair policy.”

Yes, $250 for a standard pair. Esquire magazine regularly features stylish men in must-have denim pants that cost $450 and up. Yet the original purpose for clothes made with denim, rivets and reinforced seams is to withstand blistering hard work all day long in the field, mines, or saddle.

Hartford Denim steps into that legend, one leg at a time.

A stitched-into-place Connecticut-outline leather emblem on the rear right top is a sure-fire conversation starter that sparked questions during a photo shoot-walk about the now-shuttered (once world headquarters) Capewell Horse Nails Company and to the blue-onion dome atop the Colt factory.

To pull on a pair of Hartford Denim jeans over favorite boots and walk the capital city to find legendary products, it was natural to stop to see the rampant colt atop the Colt factory. For future reports on how the jeans wear to hunt up history and horse country – visit the denim page with more photos.

“Growing up we spent a lot of time together, sharing frustrations and ideas,” said Marcoux.

From leather work, to building with wood, sewing, tinkering, making, they noticed how people responded to handmade things and that propelled them along life's path.

An ironic twist along the way was a yen for jeans made half a world away.

“In Japan there are denim pants built like vintage Levis, made to the specifications of a 1947 or 1953 pair – ‘more Levi than Levis' of today,” notes Luke, who has amassed a personal collection, sort of a denim archive. To continue to import jeans from Japan was counter to all they believed. Then came a revelation – seeing an online photo series about the work of Ande Whall, a New Zealand jeans maker.

“There were no descriptions, just photos. That unlocked the idea of making our own jeans,” he said. “Right now, our focus is production, 25 to 50 pair at a time with variations in stitching, fabrics, cuts – for sizes 31 through 40.”

They click with people who value innovation. At the annual Connecticut Antique Machinery Association (CAMA) fall festival in Kent, doing a rivet demonstration got a “really nice response” from the organizers. CAMA has the largest collection of operating industrial steam engines in the state along with internal combustion engines, trains, and agricultural machinery. Located adjacent to the Eric Sloane Museum, it's a combination of people dedicated to the American ingenuity and functional beauty of things built to last.

“Hartford used to make everything. We want to continue to re-instill that tradition in all we do,” he said. “The ‘denim‘ in our name – the letters also are an acronym for ‘doing everything now is more.' We want to work with others who value craftsmanship – be that knitter or leather worker – for collaborative projects.”

With classic good looks and integrity in every stitch, The Hartford Denim Company is on its way.

Source: Find Hartford Denim on the fourth floor of 30 Arbor St., Hartford; hours are listed along with information about custom bags, work shirts and a boot line they carry on www.hartforddenimcompany.com.

Update: The company is now called Hardenco, with a workshop and showroom in the basement at 30 Bartholomew Ave., Hartford. Hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.