Denim’s workwear roots laid the foundation for Iron Shop Provisions founder Josh Guillory’s accidental journey into denim retail and design.
As an architectural blacksmith, Guillory favored Japanese denim jeans—a balance of craftsmanship and professionalism—for client meetings squeezed between long days welding staircases and chandeliers. “I needed a more durable and better-looking denim,” he said.
It was 2010 and denimhead culture was thriving across social media apps like Instagram. Guillory’s “went down that rabbit hole” and began following and searching denim-related hashtags, learning about shrink-to-fit denim, the history of Japanese denim and which brands were leading the heritage revival.
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By 2018, the front showroom of his Lake Charles, La. welding workshop was Iron Shop Provisions, a curated selection of niche men’s denim, tops, outerwear, footwear and accessories—many from brands limited distribution in the U.S. like Freenote Cloth, Indigofera, Japan Blue and Iron Heart, which continues to be a bestseller.
Four years, later, Guillory opened a second store in New Orleans’ Central Business District, a streetcar ride away from fashionable Magazine Street and the buzzing French Quarter.
Painting the picture of a classic denimhead (i.e. Red Wing boots, selvedge denim, Japanese-made tee), Guillory said Iron Provision Shop’s clientele are keeping alive an appreciation for timeless style and superior craftsmanship.
“I’ll be honest with you; 90 percent of our customers, if I had to guess, don’t ride motorcycles or weld. The guys that we communicate with through DMs and feedback are working in a cubicle, but they look the part, and they feel good about it,” he told SJ Denim.
Sales associates who are knowledgeable about the histories and distinct qualities of each brand help customers navigate Iron Shop Provisions’ shop floors, but Guillory said most customers are plugged into the culture themselves. “This is a small, very niche group and half of them know more than I do and are really nerdy about it,” he said.
It’s a niche but global community that has found Iron Shop Provisions online. Guillory fields a broad range of online orders from consumers in small towns and don’t have access to men’s stores to customers in Los Angeles and New York who appreciate his brand roster or can’t find their size locally due to many of the brands’ limited quantities.
While the two physical stores offer an opportunity engage with customers, Gilly admits that online sales are what’s helping keep the lights on, especially during Crescent City summers. “If it wasn’t for the summertime, if we could calculate just nine months out the year, we would be ok. But it’s like a drought over the summer. We take a hit in June, July and August, which ends up screwing the whole year up. But we enjoy it—it’s a labor of love,” he said.
Another labor of love is Guillory’s small batch men’s brand, A New Medium (ANM). The brand launched in 2023 with a denim jacket and a wool over-shirt made from Hainesworth wool, the U.K. mill that has produced the iconic scarlet fabric worn by the King’s Guard outside of royal residences. Since then, the collection has expanded to include 8 oz. Japanese loopwheel T-shirts, sashiko button-down shirts, vintage-inspired chinos and jeans made with 14 oz. and 20 oz. Japanese Kaizen denim. A chore jacket is planned for next spring.
ANM is sold by Iron Shop Provisions and is available through wholesale accounts in New Jersey, Atlanta and Los Angeles.
Though the fabrics are sourced in Japan, the jeans are sewn in Los Angeles. “It’s badass denim, made with real craftsmanship right here in America,” Guillory said. “When you support American-made, you’re also supporting local shops. That’s the beauty of it: your support keeps small, boutique businesses alive instead of feeding the big corporate machine.”
