The story behind us

A tight edit with a clear point of view moves faster than a wide one with no spine.

Thomas Openshaw opened Emerald Junction in the spring of 2018 after eight years working in wholesale buying for a mid-market fashion group. The job paid well and taught him a lot about how clothes move through a supply chain, but it also showed him exactly what gets lost when you are buying for volume. Fit gets averaged. Fabric gets value-engineered. The interesting stuff gets dropped because a buyer in a regional office flagged it as too niche. He left in late 2017 with a spreadsheet of makers he had been quietly tracking for years and a strong opinion about what a small shop could do that a big one simply cannot.

The first year was genuinely difficult. The original shop was about half the size of the current one, on a side street that took people a while to find. Thomas stocked too many categories at once, tried to please everyone, and ended up with a floor that felt confused. The turning point came in the winter of 2018 when he stripped the womenswear section back to twelve pieces and sold out of all twelve within three weeks. That taught him something he has not forgotten: a tight edit with a clear point of view moves faster than a wide one with no spine. The current shop, which moved to its present location in early 2020, reflects that lesson in every corner.

Emerald Junction now carries womenswear, menswear, and a small accessories section that Thomas curates personally. The makers change slowly. Some have been with us since the beginning. A few have been dropped because the quality drifted or the minimums got too high for a shop our size. We are not precious about it. The shop is open five days a week, private fittings run on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Thomas is usually on the floor on Fridays. If you have a question about a specific piece, the best way to get a real answer is to come in or send an email.

Current edit

MERINO ROLLNECK, SLATE

¥35,150

A 12-gauge merino knit from a small mill in the north of Portugal that has been spinning fine wool since the 1970s. The weight sits between a summer layer and a full winter knit, which makes it genuinely useful for about eight months of the year. Washes well on a cold cycle, keeps its shape after repeated wear.

TAILORED LINEN TROUSER, SAND

¥39,900

Cut in a mid-weight Irish linen that creases in the way linen is supposed to, not in the way that makes you look like you slept in them. The waistband has a single hook-and-bar fastening and sits just below the natural waist. We have had these altered for customers ranging from a 28-inch to a 38-inch waist without losing the line.

WAXED COTTON FIELD JACKET, OLIVE

¥64,600

A re-waxed British cotton jacket with a map pocket on the left chest and a corduroy collar. The wax finish is applied by hand at a small workshop in the West Midlands and needs re-treating roughly every two years depending on use. We stock the re-wax tin at the counter.

SILK CREPE BLOUSE, IVORY

¥37,050

A 16-momme silk crepe cut with a slightly dropped shoulder and a single mother-of-pearl button at the cuff. The ivory reads warm rather than stark white, which means it works with most skin tones. Dry clean only, but the fabric holds up well to careful hand washing in cold water.

VEGETABLE-TANNED LEATHER BELT, TAN

¥18,050

A 30mm belt in full-grain vegetable-tanned leather from a tannery in Tuscany. It will darken and mark with wear, which is the point. The brass buckle is stitched and riveted, not just glued. Available in waist sizes 28 to 40 inches, cut to order in the shop.

HEAVYWEIGHT CANVAS TOTE, NATURAL

¥12,350

A 16oz cotton canvas tote made by a small manufacturer in Japan. The handles are long enough to go over a shoulder, the base is reinforced with a second layer of canvas, and the interior has one slip pocket. It is not trying to be anything other than a very good bag.

News & Announcements

2026-07-30

Choosing the right merino weight for year-round layering

Merino wool is sold in a range of weights and the labelling is not always consistent between makers. One brand's 'lightweight' is another's 'mid-weight', and the difference matters when you are trying to build a wardrobe that works across eight or nine months of the year rather than just the depths of winter.

2026-07-20

How to care for a waxed cotton jacket properly

Waxed cotton is one of those materials that rewards neglect up to a point and then needs a specific kind of attention. Most people either over-clean it or ignore it entirely until the finish is gone. Neither approach is ideal. Here is what we tell customers when they buy the field jacket from us.

2026-06-12

How vegetable-tanned leather ages and why it matters

Vegetable-tanned leather is one of those materials that people either understand immediately or find confusing. It looks pale and almost stiff when new, and it marks easily in the first few months. That is not a defect. It is the leather before it has had time to become itself.

Why people keep coming back

A small, considered edit

We carry between 40 and 60 pieces at any one time. When something sells out, we think hard before restocking. That means the floor never looks like a clearance rack, and you are never wading through noise to find the good stuff.

Private fittings by appointment

If you want the shop to yourself for 45 minutes, you can have it. We do private fittings on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and the occasional Saturday by arrangement. No pressure, no hovering, just honest conversation about what works.

Alterations in-house

We work with a tailor two doors down who has been shortening hems and taking in seams for us since 2019. Most alterations are turned around in five working days. We will always tell you upfront if something is worth altering or if it is simply the wrong cut.

Who does the work

Thomas Openshaw

Founder, Established since 2018

Thomas Openshaw spent eight years in wholesale buying before opening Emerald Junction in 2018. He trained under a senior buyer at a mid-market fashion group, where he learned the mechanics of large-scale sourcing and developed a lasting frustration with what volume does to quality. He left in 2017 to open a shop that stocked only things he would actually wear. Outside the shop, he runs most mornings, collects out-of-print cookbooks, and has strong opinions about the correct weight of a wool overcoat. He is usually on the floor on Fridays and answers his own emails.

OH, YOU DRESS WELL. LET'S TALK.