ABOUT US

Harold “Hal” Young was born in 1943 on the outskirts of Youngstown, Ohio—a town of steel, sweat, and second chances. The son of Eastern European immigrants, Hal was raised in a house where toughness wasn’t just admired, it was expected. His father worked the night shift at the blast furnace, and his mother repaired uniforms for local factory workers. It was from them Hal learned the quiet dignity of labor—and the beauty in things that endured.

By the time he was a teenager, Hal was already different. While other boys daydreamed of fast cars and baseball glory, Hal was fascinated by fabric. He’d collect old workwear—overalls, jackets, beat-up denim—and take them apart to see how they were built. The stitching. The rivets. The wear patterns. “Clothes tell stories,” he’d say. “But only if they last long enough to finish the tale.”

In the late 1960s, while working as a machinist by day, Hal began sewing at night in his basement—experimenting with raw denim, reinforced seams, and the kind of structure he saw in bridges and buildings. He didn’t care about fashion. He cared about function. And he believed that a good pair of jeans should outlive the man who wore them.

Decades later, a new generation discovered Foundry Denim—revived by craftsmen and creators who believed in the same things Hal did: authenticity, grit, and the enduring power of well-made denim. Today, Foundry Denim Co. still carries his spirit—stitched into every seam, weathered into every pair.

 

Because Hal didn’t just make jeans. He made a promise.

Built to last.