Finisterre (Technical Apparel)

Finisterre is an outdoor clothing company based in St Agnes, Cornwall, UK. Founded by Tom Kay in 2002, they are recognised as a cold water surfing company.

History

In 2002, Tom Kay founded Finisterre after noticing problems with the ethics and design of many action sports brands. The initial concept for the company was to create a warm, technical clothing range for surfers to wear before and after surfing. Tom understood the needs from his own experiences, as a keen surfer himself he has been surfing all year round in all weather conditions.

Products

Finisterre produce a range of technical clothing including merino underwear and base layers, waterproof and insulated jackets, sweatshirts, hoodies along with clothing for running and yoga. In all lines of the companies clothing range performance and sustainability are key factors. The products have been well reviewed by a number of sources for both their performance and green credentials. Exclusive fabrics such as “C-shell” used in the “Anabatic Jacket” have been developed using recycled polyester and is fully recyclable at the end of the jackets lifespan. Recycled polyester is also used to make the fill in the range of insulated jackets as well as fleeces. The range of sweatshirts and t-shirts are all produced from Organic Cotton that is grown in Eastern Europe and spun in Portugal. Finisterre produce a range of merino wool layers including long johns, underwear, vests, and short and long sleeve t-shirts. The merino wool is sourced from Australia with full traceability reports to ensure none of the sheep subjected to the practice of mulesing. Although this is not organic wool with the traceability programme ensures better welfare for the sheep producing the wool. One of the biggest developments in the Finisterre's wool range is the Bowmont Project. Finisterre have also introduced an initiative called i-spy which is clear tracability resource for all their products and materials.

Finisterre (album)

Finisterre is the sixth studio album by English alternative dance band Saint Etienne, released on 30 September 2002 by Mantra Records. A double-disc deluxe edition was released on 3 May 2010 by Heavenly Records.

Background

Following two relatively uniform albums, Good Humor and Sound of Water, Finisterre contains a wide mixture of sounds and styles (as would its successor Tales from Turnpike House). The album returned to the inclusion of vocal interludes between songs as last heard on their album So Tough and a more angular, electronic sound, particularly on tracks such as "Action", "Shower Scene" and "New Thing". "Language Lab" and "Summerisle" recall the ambient style of Sound of Water, while "Stop and Think It Over" would not have been out of place on Good Humor or its predecessor, Tiger Bay.

The vocal interludes were supplied by Michael Jayston's narration as featured in the film released to accompany the album, also called Finisterre. The film was directed by Paul Kelly and Kieran Evans and was born out of visuals used to accompany certain tracks from the album shown during their live shows. The film debuted at a sold-out show in October 2002 at the Royal Festival Hall on London's Southbank, and was re-released to select screens in 2005. It is currently available on DVD. The album sleeve features a photograph of the East London tower block Ronan Point shortly after it collapsed in 1968 with the loss of four lives.