A representative for Jay-Z's new clothing line tracked an old letter jacket from the ‘70s to the shop in Ogden and ordered a batch of them for the musician's new clothing line. The Grammy Award-winning artist is also part owner of the New Jersey Nets NBA team and already owns the clothing line Rocawear.
When the rep called Richard Coleman, owner of Coleman Knitting Mills, about the order, Coleman admits he didn't know who Jay-Z was.
"Never heard of him," he said. "He told me somebody had found a jacket in a thrift store that had our label in it, and it was made back in 1971."
Now Coleman and his crew are making 88 jackets for a new clothing line Jay-Z purchased out of England, called Artful Dodger.
The jackets are all handmade with the best materials -- just like what's used in the letterman jackets and cheerleading outfits the company makes for Utah high schools.
That's what Jay-Z's representative liked about the jackets.
"He says, ‘I love the quality of your coat;' and he says, 'and I assume that the quality's still the same today.' I said, ‘Yes, it is,'" Coleman recalls.
Jay-Z was adamant the Coleman name remain on the jackets so people know they were made in America.
