Reviving Reading's Textile Heritage With a Modern Twist

Julia Novak bought three decommissioned knitting machines from a shuttered Reading hosiery mill at an equipment auction, intending only to restore them as a personal project. Four years later, they form the backbone of a small apparel brand producing limited-run sweaters and base layers.

"Reading used to make more hosiery than almost anywhere in the country," Novak said. "I wanted to see if any of that manufacturing knowledge still existed in the machines themselves, not just in history books."

Finding technicians who still knew how to service the vintage equipment proved harder than acquiring it. Novak eventually located two retired mill mechanics willing to consult part-time, training a younger maintenance hire in the process.

The brand markets itself explicitly on domestic, small-batch production, a positioning that has resonated with buyers willing to pay premium prices for garments made in the same city, on machines with a documented manufacturing history. Novak says she has no interest in scaling into mass production.

"The moment I need ten of these machines instead of three, I've built a different company than the one I set out to build," she said.