Firstly, happy Easter!
I don’t mean to get biblical on you but there are many things that Jesus said that resonate today – one of which springs to mind is to treat others the way you would like them to treat you.
At this time of year there is a lot going on spiritually – Easter, Passover, Ramadan. It is always different for us Down Under because above the equator it signifies spring and rebirth. For us here, in Sydney especially, it spells awesome weather as things cool off from the February heat and humidity, the days get shorter but the ocean is great for swimming and if it is a fine day, you can have one of those non sun-invasive days at the beach or on the harbour. And, we start to think about our wardrobe as it will soon get colder.
Neck ties – such a pain in the arse really. I love making them but as I wrote to one of the world’s best dressed men last night in a plea for help, I cannot for the life of me figure out what will actually make men want to shop for them on our website. We tend to focus on them only for bespoke orders. It’s also the most fun, because the men that drop into the Studio love to see all of our fabrics, all sixteen years on hand, and that selection process is not something that’s offered anywhere else in the country save one tailor in the city of Sydney who has some small amounts of silk on hand.
Sometimes I worry I’ve been type casted. We do so many beautiful different products but you seem to hit our bow ties with the greatest relish. And even then, sometimes, owing to the fact that many of you now own more than 200 each, you all become extremely cunning in the sales. Ah, but as my friend says to me, if you offer them the discount you can’t hold a grudge if they take it. No matter, I soldier on, nurse my wounds, heal me broken ego, go back to the cutting table.
The same might be said of our scarves (formerly I called them kerchiefs in the hope that men would be more adoptive of them). They take up so much of my love and time and they give me a great opportunity to work with my own hands and those of more skilled artists, like Lucy, or, as is in this email, our new collaborator, Henry Gair.
Henry has a wonderful relationship with cars. His uncle, a friend of mine, is a classic car lover, a lover of all things F1 and Ayrton Senna too. From a young age his father and he would restore or add value to anything they put their hands too. I won’t name him but he is most likely going to be happy to be reading this email. His family has found so many wonderful classic cars from Jaguars to Mercedes to Ferraris and everything in between and meticulously restored them to the finest of details.
Their family passion to take what is old and breathe life into it again, with a no holding back on what they spend until they get it right, is admirable to say the least.
I walk with Henry’s uncle two or three times a week. Over the last 7 years I have heard so many tales of artisans and specialist mechanics and engineers, all working in different locations around the world that each perform a specific task to ensure that the final result is, another cliché, a work of art.
And out of respect for this dedication they have to ensure that these automobiles are given their rightful restoration to former glory, I asked Henry to begin sketching the story of a racing car that might have been found on a rustic farm, as was the case a year ago with one particular car, laden with debris which had to have a tractor pull it out from the shed which looked near collapsed, which was then loaded onto a truck to begin its journey from a place of refuge for small animals and insects, back to it’s shining original condition when it was winning races in Bathurst and beyond. A Jaguar to be specific.
Together we chose a Mercedes, one which Henry was more familiar with than myself. One of which he has a story to tell about it, which will come later.
We are almost at the end of the design process before it will be sent to the printers.
It is a timely scarf for this time of year. Spring. Rebirth. Restoring one’s health. Outliving the winter. (Only we do it back to front in Australia).
And so my Easter message is one of hope, restoration and resurrection. That we continue to look forward to better days and that we work on ourselves to bring back our own former glory.
Take care.
N