"When Moses went up into Biblical Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:12-18), he left the Israelites for forty days and forty nights. The Israelites feared that he would not return and demanded that Aaron make them "gods" to go before them (Exodus 32:1). Aaron gathered up the Israelites' golden earrings and ornaments, constructed a "molten calf" and they declared: "These [be] thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." (Exodus 32:4)"
Style
Tones And I - What A Talent - I Hope She Becomes A Global Success
I went to the Oxford Arts Factory last night to watch Tones And I, a busker from Byron Bay who has made waves and now seems to be on her way to national and potentially international success. I found her so gutsy and raw, like an unpolished diamond (sorry, but they invented cliches for a reason). I cannot wait to see her career evolve and wish her every success. She has talent in every fingernail.
Feedback - We Love It - Keep Sending It Down The Line
Bow tie enthusiasts we are witnessing something special. LNP undoubtedly is in a class of it's own. The quality is unsurpassed. The designs are pure artistry. They have revolutionized self-tie with their unique pre-tie technique. There’s always something on the platform that satisfies my taste and style. I thought I had a pretty good tie collection until I discovered LNP.
K.Dillard, Maryland
Myle Vs Juul And How These Vapes Normalised A Traditionally Bad Habit
The writer Leo Tolstoy once, in his savage indictment on the institution of marriage by way of his novella The Kreutzer Sonata, said that both marriage and cigarettes were extremely similar in the sense that they were both terrible habits that one couldn't kick.
Tolstoy himself found it hard to give up cigarettes all his life and if my memory serves me correctly, his biographer Rosamund Bartlett said that he never quite kicked it.... Read more....
New Carlo Riva Fabrics Have Arrived For Bespoke Shirts
My fixation with white shirts hasn't quite dissipated. In fact it might of gotten worse. Though I rarely get more than one wear out of a shirt before I have a dirty collar, there is something deliciously simple and elegant about a white shirt which works for bow ties. It is like white bordering a painting or having a blank canvas on which you build out from.
The Carlo Riva fabrics chosen on this round are the Voile Etamine and the Linen Arsenal. Very clean fresh fabrics from looms that are considered the best in the world. And though I have tried and love Alumo, Canclini, Monte and the now defunct SIC Tess range, I always feel like Carlo Riva is the only one which creates a second skin.
Bespoke shirt appointments can be booked by sending a Whatsapp to +61413140994
The #SALE codes are live.
The basic philosophy is this - we cut a range of bow ties each week, many of them one-off pieces, then we load them up onto the website and sell them down by Monday morning. If I have done my work correctly, you will pay the RRP I have put on them. If I haven't, you will pick up what I personally think is a bargain. You live by the sword, you die by the sword. If I haven't done my job then I lose. It's that simple. And by the time I have finished packing the bow ties to be shipped Monday morning I am after lunch able to start cutting again. Some people I know think I am in idiot for doing this, that I am ruining my brand - I understand their perspective. But from mine, we don't wish to hold onto silk and the cash we generate simply gets plied into new designs. It's why we will run three to six to ten times the amount of designs on our website that our nearest competitor is able to offer. The one off pieces, all finished with rose gold hardware, are, in my opinion, some of the best if not the best bow ties in the world today. None of them are perfect. My ultimate goal is to hone my craft over time and keep exploring new textiles, new designs, new knots. Like the Japanese woodblock artists, I never seek perfection, I seek excellence over time. For custom work please Whatsapp me on +61413140994.
The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread - Superfeet And Other Luxury Insoles
It came about quite randomly, I was on Murphy Street in South Yarra, Melbourne. I was strolling around in a pair of penny loafers I had sourced on Ebay to patina. I always take the chance that they won't fit properly, I always have. I'd love to buy great English shoes in Australia but outside of Double Monk the number of stores that sell them are few and far between, what is on offer is limited. I wish I lived in England, just kidding, but for shoes it would be a great place to live. You have Cleverley there, Gaziano & Girling, John Lobb, Foster & Son, Churches, Crockett & Jones. No matter how hard those poorer nations try to catch up, the English keep their edge in style and construction.
The penny loafers were slipping. I stopped in at the bootmaker and asked him if he had good quality insoles. He did. He had German ones. I put them into the shoe and boyakasha, it was a perfect fit. That was March. Since then I have done some research and I wish to report back on my overall experience of the insoles I have played with.
It is worth noting that the average sports shoe company spends just 6 cents on your insole. So getting additional ones that are made of quality materials and have supportive functions can increase the longevity of the shoe, improve your ability to run or walk by up to 25% per day and, most of all, give you a more comfortable journey.
The penny loafers were slipping. I stopped in at the bootmaker and asked him if he had good quality insoles. He did. He had German ones. I put them into the shoe and boyakasha, it was a perfect fit. That was March. Since then I have done some research and I wish to report back on my overall experience of the insoles I have played with.
It is worth noting that the average sports shoe company spends just 6 cents on your insole. So getting additional ones that are made of quality materials and have supportive functions can increase the longevity of the shoe, improve your ability to run or walk by up to 25% per day and, most of all, give you a more comfortable journey.
There Is A Reason We Are So Fond Of Goldmember
I cannot tell you how often one of my friends will quote Goldmember at any given opportunity - you only need give him the slightest window and out it comes "I loove Goooold, the look of it the shmell of it". Humans love gold - our obsession with it is biblical - think of Exodus.
The Political Landscape 2019 - The New Window Painting By Peter Howard
I'd like to think I was apolitical - but if I had to place myself somewhere it would be to the right of the spectrum. My father once gave me the compliment of being enterprising - and I would like to agree - I don't think I would make much of a communist factory worker. As we approach the Australian federal elections I asked Peter Howard, the local Vaucluse resident painter, to paint something with political comment (I did not care to ask him if were left or right) in time for the election. This was a fabulous outcome, totally irreverent and as one Instagrammer commented - "it would be funnier if it weren't so true". Bravo Peter, another great job on the window.
Hand-Selecting And Hand-Cutting Silks Makes A Difference - Black Tie Peacock Bow Ties
By using see-through patterns and hand-selecting silks we are able to create unique one off and subtle silk bow ties that have an air of spunk whilst retaining the elegance of traditional black tie. They are not for everyone, nor do we wish to sell to every one.
Our Silk Eye Shades Are Still Very Much Exceptional
Last week I logged onto Mr. Porter to buy some silk eye shades. I just wanted to see what the competition was offering. You see I know where our silk comes from and I know it's from the most reputable silk mills in the world. And I know the linings we used can't be found anywhere else. I know our customers love them, I know they make for a great gift.
The Great Pleasures Of This Job...
The last customer I caught up with was Phillip Carmody in Melbourne. He is a school teacher specialising in music and when I saw him standing there in a bowler hat I thought 'no, that can't be him'. We'd spoken on the phone but I'd never managed to get an image of him. He has a radio announcers style of voice, one which did not befit the eccentric tartan suited bow tie wearing beard loving bowler hatting man in front of me. And what a pleasure it was to sit down and just talk. Such a pleasure and I am so glad he let me take this photo of him. Mission documented. Now to the next eccentric!
Oliver Rose - What A Way To Do Three Piece Suits
This week it has been all about The War Of The Roses. I watched it mid week in the evening and I was struck by how elegant the clothes were on Michael Douglas' character, Oliver Rose.