The Entire Amount Donated To The Wayside Winter Appeal

The Entire Amount Donated To The Wayside Winter Appeal

Here is a chance to do something for someone else. It's been a very cold winter in Sydney and you and I have a roof over our heads and heating. Imagine what it might be like to be living out on the street with nothing to shield you from the elements, walking 25 kilometres a week on average just to find places to stay. Not having anyone to nurse you when you are sick. Not having anyone to talk to when you are down. This is the reality for a lot of Sydney's homeless. Fortunately, The Wayside Chapel gives these people a place to come to, to get a hot shower, to have a dignified meal, to clip your nails and see a doctor and spend some time talking to those in similar situations. 

Today and tomorrow until 8am on the 1st Of August you can take 70% OFF your purchase on all but black tie and the entire sale amount will be donated to The Wayside Chapel. I made our first donation this morning. The remainder will come from your generosity. 

If you want to donate straight to The Wayside Chapel, you can do so by clicking here. 

The super George Michael once wrote that "charity is a coat we wear twice a year" which is all to true. So the code today to get 70% OFF will be PRAYINGFORTIME. 

Good luck and any questions please text +61413140994.

Nicholas Atgemis
The ABC Rule - Don't Leave Home Without It

The ABC Rule - Don't Leave Home Without It

Once upon a time I approached a friend, he is much closer now than then, and I poured my heart out about a woman that had driven me to distraction....
Nicholas Atgemis
The 3 D's Of Property And Mornings On Bondi

The 3 D's Of Property And Mornings On Bondi

So many interesting characters turn up to Bondi in the morning after we have our swim. At the moment it is getting as low as 6 degrees when we hop in. The water hovers between 14 and 17. It gives you that most excellent thrill as it passes over your neck as the wave crashes against you. The water is dark, not black, but very dark. A small amount of light comes from the street lamps and the homes and apartment blocks that flank the north and south headlands. It is usually quiet but for the waves and at the moment the waves have been smaller, the water further out from the shore, a bit of a hike really. You worry there are sharks of course, but to date I’ve never seen one. One thing is for sure, you are a helluva lot more confident when you have one or more friends joining you.
Nicholas Atgemis
Can't Be Cloned - For Now

Can't Be Cloned - For Now

The Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping once said "it doesn't matter what colour the cat, so long as it catches the rat" . I believe I had just altered the original quote to rhyme but I believe it makes it more catchy. 
Nicholas Atgemis
The Next Silk Scarf Limited Edition Is Almost Done

The Next Silk Scarf Limited Edition Is Almost Done

The next silk scarf design is almost ready. It is telling the story of Tom Brady and Giselle Bundchen - their divorce - the changes in their lives that come - the idea that glory is fleeting, then comes the aftermath - and often it can be a lonely place. 
Nicholas Atgemis
I LOVE MY SILK SCARVES IN WINTER

I LOVE MY SILK SCARVES IN WINTER

I love my silk scarves in winter. I tie them in a four in hand so that I can adjust them so as the weather heats up during the day or I exert myself physically I loosen them, when it gets cold I keep them close to my neck. When it starts to blow a gale and the snow is whipping past my face or biting into it, I re-wrap the scarf so it becomes a face mask.

I have always been understanding of our loyal bow tie customers who can't bring themselves to don a bandana or a silk scarf, but I must say, they are just unbelievably versatile and have so much panache. In the end, most of my collection I do for myself, so if you happen to own one I sincerely thank you for following me in on a passion project. 

Nicholas Atgemis
Carlo - Bow Ties For Life

Carlo - Bow Ties For Life

There are some men who despite the changes in menswear from casual to formal to casual to formal and all segues and sub movements in between still wear bow ties like a tree that stands in a paddock for years undisturbed by the weather and the goings on within the paddock. For those men bow ties continue to be part of their oeuvre as they pair them with shirts, vests, jackets and trousers to constantly find new ways to wear the collection they have accumulated across their lifetime. This is Carlo, at Pitti Uomo in Florence, he is one of those men I just mentioned.
Nicholas Atgemis
At The End Of The Day

At The End Of The Day

At the end of the day we have to move on with the next cut of our silks, so when you see our sale codes to clear off what remains of the week or the month, jump on them. 

We are here to serve you and what we do is unique and cannot be copied - it can only come from us, each one is hand-cut and -hand-made by us, every knot is knotted by us. If you can find anything else like it in the world, please text me on +61413140994 and I will send you a bow tie from us so you can compare the difference. 

Nicholas Atgemis
Why Do We Do It?

Why Do We Do It?

On other websites and with our competitors they will produce no more than 24 designs in a year. It means their websites are drab and frankly overwhelmingly boring. By contrast, because we design, cut, sew our own silks in Sydney, Australia - it's possible for us to cycle through 300 designs or more in a year. 

It also allows us to bring new silks and merge them with ones that have been stored. It gives us a chance to be creative and directional in our cut each week. We want you to feel that every time you come back to the website you did it to see something new. Never dull. Never boring. 

And if we do become dull and boring - let us know on +61413140994
Nicholas Atgemis
Long After Sales Service

Long After Sales Service

This week we have been having many customers call in to the studio to have their bow ties re-tied before celebrations. Obviously this is mostly for Sydney customers but we are always open to pressing and tying them again for you wherever you are, just make contact with us first on +61413140994 .
Nicholas Atgemis
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord  - Survivor

Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord - Survivor

As I draw to a close the biography by Duff Cooper on the famed French diplomat Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord – often referred to in history as just Talleyrand – I am reminded that in spite of our belief that the world is in fragile state – it has – roughly speaking – always been the case. Born in 1838 to an aristocratic family with a long lineage, gammy legged, his titled conferred to his brother and sent off to be part of the clergy, Talleyrand first managed to become the Bishop Of Autun (recall former Prime Minister Paul Keating’s insult against then opposition leader John Howard), survived the French Revolution, survived being decapitated within a hair’s breadth, survived the terror, emigrated to London, then Philadelphia, made safe passage back during the First Assembly, promoted Napoleon to office, presided over his affairs as he became Emperor, devised his downfall, oversaw and implemented the architecture of Europe as we know it today and reinstalled the Bourbon Kings. And that’s where I am up to at the minute.
Nicholas Atgemis
Shunga - The Art Of Japanese Pornography

Shunga - The Art Of Japanese Pornography

If there is one country that has endlessly inspired my design work it is Japan. Last night I was explaining to a photographer how I believed that the work of Australian artist Brett Whiteley was inspired by the form of shunga art from Japan. The word “shunga” literally means “spring pictures” and they are on the interface of art and pornography - a form of Japanese art which appeared from the 1600’s to the early 1900’s.
Nicholas Atgemis