Blackpool Tower Ballroom & Competition Winner

Here's something a bit different for a Saturday, a few weeks ago a couple of us took a trip to Blackpool Tower. A lot of you guys probably know that I live in Blackpool (for none British readers it's a seaside town based in the north west of England) and have done most of my life, but I have never been up to the top of the tower! Madness I know, I guess I just never got around to it.

Situated on the bottom floor of the Tower complex is the "world famous" Tower Ballroom, a dance hall build in the late 1890s by Frank Matcham. Along with some of the rooms in the Winter Gardens, it's one of the most beautiful dance halls I've ever seen and is truly iconic to the residence. We visited on a Thursday afternoon and it was great to see people still enjoying it for what it is. It's also where my Gran and Grandad met in the early 1950s, they were visiting on holidays respectively, fell in love and moved to Blackpool and lived happily ever after.

You can't beat a happy ending. Enjoy your weekend guys.

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Competition Winner

Thanks to everyone who entered the Hackett x GQ notebook competition, but they're can only be one winner.....

Canh of Say What Canh

Sorry to everyone else but stay tuned as I'm planning a couple more competitions over the next month, as a thank you reading my blog.

Chester Wallace Waxed Tote

Pretty awesome tote bag for you today, in the way of this fold-over wax cotton shopper by Chester Wallace. The bag itself comes in a heavy duty, water repellent waxed cotton and is handmade in their factory in Portland, Oregon. What really attracted me to this style apart from the design was the range of colourways they have available, they specialist in this style so you know it's going to be a good'en. 

It's a pretty roomy number, measuring at 46cm x 37cm, with loads of space for your files and laptop. The nylon strap is long enough to go around you and not just over your shoulder so it's perfect for commuters and cyclists. Along with the Amsterdamn Shoe Co. Market tote this style is the best one around at the moment for me. Very reasonably priced at £120, well worth it for the design process.

Which colour do you reckon you would go for?

They're currently available at Flatspot. Visit Chester Wallace for more details.

The Desktop Wallpaper Project

The Desktop Wallpaper Project is an ongoing collaboration between LA based design blog The Fox Is Black and a whole bunch of talented designers and photographers from around the world. Wallpapers aren't as big as they used to be, I don't think so anyway? When you get to a certain age they don't seem to be much fun anymore, be it an inspiration quote, picturesque landscape or an image you took of your pet. How about displaying some independent design work, choosing a different designer each week? I'm pretty sure that's what I'm going to do, it's going to be a great way to discover new talent, plus they're all pretty fun too, no doom and gloom.

Sweet, fun graphics created by independent design, especially for your desktop.

Get your own slice of the pie at The Fox Is Black

Competition Reminder - The Hackett x GQ notebook giveaway is open for a couple more days, closing date is Thursday, 28th June.

Instagram

Will they ever finish painting Blackpool Tower?

I've started using Instagram again, I did get bored of it a while back but I seem to be back into it. Hope you're all having a lovely weekend, I'm about to watch the lads lot against Italy, come on England!

You can follow me at mat_buckets on Instagram, same name for Twitter too. What's yours?

Competition Reminder - The Hackett x GQ notebook giveaway is still open, closing date is Thursday, 28th June.

Advertising - VW's Bluemotion Ads

It's been a while since I featured some advertising on here, in fact I can't actually remember when the last time was. So straight back into it today with Volkswagen's recent Bluemotion campaign, to promote their "less fuel, fewer emissions" way of thinking. I may not be the best one to candidate for the the message they're trying to send out, as my emissions couldn't be lower, not having a car and all; but I know I like the general theme and style of the ads. I must have said it a million times, simple graphics work if they're easy to read, quick and get to the point quick.

My favourite thing about the series is the inclusion of the logo in each one, V,W and the O as the circle.   Love or hate car firms, we all use them and for VW to bring out a clean and simple series instead of all guns blazing flashing ads, well I doff my hat.

Designer - Pete Mould for VW

Image source 

Competition Reminder - The Hackett x GQ notebook giveaway is still open, closing date is Thursday, 28th June.

Competition - Hackett x GQ Notebook - Closed

To coincide with the recent London Collections: Men, Hackett have hooked up with GQ to create an exclusive line of notebooks to commemorate the event. Hackett have given me one of the limited edition notebooks to giveaway to one of my readers! This leather lined doozy is proper hot property and hasn't been released to the public as yet, if you were lucky enough to attend any of the shows you might have ended up with one of the special London Collections printed versions.

It features a pretty sweet little metal bowler hat and a black and grey nato style elastic strap to keep things together. This may well be more suited to a chap, but it would make a pretty cool gift for any male figure in your life. Or if you're like me a lover of stationery and seem to hoard notepads like they're going out of fashion.

Competition - Closed

To be in with a chance of winner the Hackett x GQ notebook (and I'll also bung in a couple of pencils from my own collection) just comment on this post saying that you want it. That's it, easy.

The competition is now closed.


I've been messing around with a new background for this post, what do you think?

The Hill-Side & Co. Short Videos

Today I wanted to share with you some amazing 10 second videos by The Hill-Side & Co. The Brooklyn, New York based small accessories connoisseur usually concentrate on ties, pocket squares, scarfs and smaller good but they have recently extended their range to clothing, hats, bags and quite excitingly, furniture.

It's amazing what you can do in such a short period of time, I cannot think of a better way to spend 10 seconds. I don't tend to post videos much but please do watch them, trust me you won't regret it!

The Hill-Side & Co. is available at Hickoree's Hard Goods. For more of their videos click here

Snap - Thomas St, Manchester

I took this shot in the Northern Quarter, Manchester a couple of weeks back. It's a street a walk down Thomas Street almost every week as a work around the corner, I'm usually in a mega rush so I don't tend to look around all that much. Me and Hollie (Did you see she won the Barcely's New Business Award at Graduate Fashion Week?!) travel down to Manchester for the day out maybe about once a month and we're always got our eyes peeled. 

This terrace is above a take away shop and squished between restaurants, pubs, shops and solicitors. What I liked about it is the amount of different textures and materials all going on in one tiny place, who knows how it's got like that but I hope they don't go fixing it.

Have a great weekend guys!

Buckets & Spades - Open For Business

If you have a keen eye or you follow me on Twitter you may have seen that I've taken the plunge and opened an Esty shop. I've been wanting to for a while, over the last couple of years I've been collecting small home goods, old advertising stuff and stationary. To start with I've got a few vintage milk bottles from in and around the UK. All the products that I'll be selling have been individually sourced and hopefully over the next few weeks I'll be uploading some more interesting odds & sods. I've installed the shop on my side bar on the right so do please take a look.

Currently I'm shipping to the UK and US, hopefully my American chums will be into a bit of British paraphernalia.

I'm a new comer to the Etsy world so if anyone has any advice and tips please do comment below, that would be a massive help.

Buckets & Spades - Honest Home Goods

Nike Pre Montreal Racer

 I don't think a month goes without me mentioning a pair of trainers on the blog, I can't get enough.  I'm constantly browsing but never really know what I'm looking for, hence why I don't buy many. This pair of Nike Pre Montreal Racer in vintage green (hmm doesn't seem very green to me) caught my eye and are one of my favourites at the moment. It's mostly to do with my love of turquoise and old sportswear and the way they make this 1973 design seem so fresh.

When it comes to trainers I like 'em sporty, I've never been one for the terrace casual styles that Adidas  and Nike do so well with court styles. I prefer them with a mixture of premium suede and nylon/mesh, heavy cushioning and a sportier sole. All in all I do still want maximum comfort, something I can go for a quick jog in if it's called upon. I could forego the vintage treatment on the Racer soul but it does add a certain characteristic that is hard to achieve if you don't have 20 years spare to keep them in your attic.

Are they are trainers that are taking your fancy at the moment?

Nike Pre Montreal Racer available at Tres Bien

Tomas Alonso's Desk Trays

Rubberised desk trays, we all want one right? Probably not, but if you were in the market for a super cool desk tidying solution I reckon you wouldn't go far wrong with these. Designed by Spanish craftsman Tomas Alonso for stationery experts Praxis, this projects toys with the relationship between squares and circles. I stumbled across Alsono's work online last week, the man has some serious skills and an eye for colour, shapes and materials. For anyone that's been to the Camper shop in Covent Garden in London or the store in Glasgow, he is the man behind the design.

All I need now is a desk like Jen's to put them on.

Image source and more of Tomas Alonso's work click here here

Buckets & Spades x Balibaris Selection

From left to right - Steven Spieldberg t shirt/Nouveau Droit indigo selvage slim jeans/La Cie du Kraft A5 notepad/Madras navy gingham shirt/Pijama fluo Ipad case/New Balance 420 "Road to London" sneaks/dark green socks

I was recently asked by Parisian retailer Balibaris to to pick out some of my favourite products from their store, and here's the result. Balibaris started out in late 2009 selling ties and other small accessories, a couple of years on and the chaps have branched out into their own range of clothing which is all produced in France and a few other countries around Europe (apart from the Japanese denim). They also stock brands like Han Kjobenhavn, Opening Ceremony and Sanders as well as having some pretty cool, low-key collaborations going on. The online store has been a big hit, so much so that they will be opening their first boutique in Rue de Marseille, Paris this coming September.

The fluo Ipad case sticks out like a sore thumb I know. Every time I go shopping these days I end up looking at the same old stuff so I'm making an extra effort to challenge my normal tastes at the moment. I reckon this would make a pretty cool additional to my daily carry-arounds. Which is your favourite item from the selection?

Thanks to Balibaris for this opportunity and their photography.

What's New With Slowdownjoe

Liberty Bottleworks Flask

Pen Knife Bandana

 The Independent Coffee Book

 The Superior Labour Blue Mug

 Midori Brass Pencil

 The Superior Labour Shoulder Bag

Lovat Lambswool Blanket

By now you guys will know I'm a sucker for stores like Slowdownjoe, they usually stock products that I have no use for (I'm looking at camping goods when I've never slept outdoors in my life) but also have well designed products in nice packaging. And that's why I like this sort of stuff, I'm obsessed with design and all the little design decisions that come with it. "Why did they use that font and size, how come they used that colour, why is there a funny label or handle on that side"....are they sort of things that generally run through my mind. I don't really need to know the answers but knowing a bit more about products that you're going to spend 50 sheets on is always a plus, even if you don't have use for it right now.

Slowdownjoe is a new shop to me, they're an online store that sells "Good honest goods". If you're into this sort of thing then go check it out. Report back and tell let me know what tickles your fancy.