Showing posts with label blackpool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blackpool. Show all posts

1 Oct 2019

From Light to Dark

transitions lens clear frame glasses by cubitts at palma cafe blackpool
old seaside typography inspiration in blackpool
transitions lens clear frame glasses by cubitts at parma cafe blackpool
transitions lens clear frame glasses by cubitts at parma cafe blackpool, wearing COS, Albam and Converse
transitions lens clear frame glasses by cubitts on blackpool beach

Light responsive lenses by Transitions Optical UK (gift) | Shirt by Albam (gift) | Jeans by COS (gift) | Trainers by Converse (gift by size?) | Cap by Brooks Brothers | Socks by MHL | Watch by Void Watches

Paid partnership with Transitions Optical UK

Back in the days when I was in short trousers - and we're talking late 80s / early 90s here - we were lucky enough to take our summer holidays in Orlando. Me, my Mum, Grandparents and my older brother and sister would pack our bumbags, lace up our rather ugly matching Airwalk trainers and don our colourful Disney baseball caps, in prep for two weeks of mega times in the Sunshine State.

And when I think about it now, not much has changed; we still live in the same seaside town as we grew up in, we still head to Orlando every now and again with the family, and we still all enjoy a good ugly trainer. Memories of my family wearing light sensitive glasses spring to mind when thinking back to those trips in Florida – they both took to wearing them in the early 90s, due to perpetual sunny days out at theme parks and lazy days by the pool. It’s quite a nice feeling to think that three generations of our family have been linked by something as simple as these lenses.

When you combine the craft of Transitions lenses and the design credentials of London's own spectacle maker Cubitts, the outcome is a modern, discreet design, good for any occasion.

These reactive lenses are UV sensitive, meaning they look just like regular optical glasses indoors, but when the lenses are exposed to UV rays they will automatically start to darken, with them becoming fully engaged outside in direct sunlight. I'm wearing the Cubitts Flaxman frames in quartz with Graphite Green lenses - somewhat of a dream combination of my love of clear frame glasses + anything that comes in khaki. So here's to not carrying around two pairs of glasses anymore!

Mat.

28 May 2018

Support Your Friends

pop trading company long sleeve tee, campbell cole o tote collection
pop trading company long sleeve tee, campbell cole o tote collection
pop trading company long sleeve tee, campbell cole o tote collection

 O TOTE c/o Campbell Cole | Long Sleeve Tee c/o Pop Trading Co. | Shorts by Uniqlo | Watch by Goodhood x Timex | Sneakers by Converse | Sunglasses by Ace&Tate | Cap by Percival

Support your friends. Celebrate their achievements, buy their products, send them constructive feedback, attend their exhibitions, share their work, listen to their ideas and issues, comment on their captions, read their blog posts, visit their gigs, purchase tickets to their shows, notice their nuances, subscribe to their podcasts, shout them dinner - build a community.

And if you're lucky enough to be gifted one of your friend's products then repay the favour by sending them something which you know they will love, just as much as you do. Congratulations to Campbell Cole and Oliver Hooson on the continued success of a product of their love, the O TOTE. I'm proud to call these guys my friends.

Photographs by Jake Millers

23 Jan 2017

A Fresh Routine in a New Neighbourhood



 Wearing - Jaeger x Lou Dalton Bomber Jacket | NN07 Jumper | Dickies Chinos | Cap c/o Percival | Form&Thread Socks | Converse Sneakers | Universal Works Tote Bag | Timex Watch


Over the past five years I've become accustomed to long, tiring travel days. This isn't me moaning it's the lifestyle I have chosen. I've previously spoken about making the decision to stay in the North of England, rather than moving to London to pursue a career in the creative industry, and even though it has restricted my opportunities inevitably missing out on stuff because I'm not constantly on "the scene" I've put every effort in to making things work.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you need a pretty high level of commitment to your passions, and a decent grasp on time management (those never-ending to-do lists...) to make things happen for yourself. My routine far from perfect, and I do have organisational issues, but I'm getting there.





Our house is a five minute walk to the gym, seven minutes walk to the local shops and a stone's throw away from a lovely park. There's nowhere you can't get to in our town within a 20 minute car ride, but since last Summer decided to try a new mode of transport for those shorter deals cue the 30+ guy trying to look cool on a Penny Board.

Moving to new neighbourhood has given my a fresh perspective
 on my daily routine. A new structure
is what I needed.


In fact, this is actually my second skateboard by Penny, so after a bit of basic Tony Hawk training I've found myself using it frequently if I'm needing to pick up a few bits from the shops. But I'm not going to lie, I had to practice for a few months at the darker end the day before I had the confidence to rip up the mean streets of our new neighbourhood.



And confidence is something that is definitely tested in the world of self-employment; extreme highs, exciting projects + big smiles can easily be followed by sheer disappointment, self-doubt + contracts falling through. It's something you become accustom to, but it never really gets any easier, does it?

Those moments I find myself training at the gym, wandering to the shops, or just sitting down with a coffee and a new magazine are the point where I'm recharging and freeing my mind from the uncertainty of what might happen next. It ain't perfect, but then, what is?

Have you switched up your routine recently, or sticking to a tried-and-tested method?

This post is in partnership with Penny Skateboards. Thank you for taking the time to support the brands + businesses that make this blog happen.

16 Jan 2017

Updates on Blogging, Fresh Starts + Issues with Fake Followings




2017 came at me like whoa. Buying a house a few weeks before Christmas sounds crazy but it wasn't actually a bad idea it gave us the drive to get the place is a decent shape before the holidays arrived. We managed it, and enjoyed a decent amount of downtime over New Year too. Phew!

This year is set to be an interesting one for me on a personal level. I'm planning to revise my current goals and weave in some new ones. I know I'm on the right track so I'll keep plugging away with creating content (which I'm extremely proud of), freelance roles and connecting with people in the real world. For me the latter is the big pay-off - social media can be an amazing tool, opening us up to a new world of people, but you can't replace that real life interaction.



 Wearing | Jacket c/o Barbour International | Sunspel Sweatshirt | Whistles Chinos | Red Wing Boots | CHUP socks | Penfield Beanie | Banana Republic Gloves


We decided to buy a house in the same small town that both myself + Hollie grew up in. But for me, even though it's a 15 minute walk away from where I previously lived it feels like a completely new beginning. 

We finally have the space we've always wanted, and I now have the time to really knuckle down with the much-needed redesign of Buckets & Spades. There has been a transition with how a lot of us consume content online, and many bloggers including myself have seen blog readership dip, which is why made a conscious decision to put more effort into my Instagram account

Sadly, the rise of IG's popularity has also seen many users faking their way to a big following - using underhanded tactics. This has somewhat tarnished a lot of the genuine effort that many of us have put in for years. If anyone is interested in the subject of "Instagram-fraud" then take a look at this experiment I did.

Honesty always prevails, and I have faith in the people and industry to do the right thing. I "follow" people for many different reasons; for inspiration and creativity, or the personality + likeability I like to think that the people behind these accounts do it for the love, no matter how big or small their numbers are.





So with all that said it felt appropriate for the first piece of editorial-style content of 2017 (with Jake Millers on the camera) to be shot in the town where it all began Blackpool. The original idea behind Buckets & Spades was simple to document "the life of a boy who lives by the seaside". A lot has changed since those days, and I'm certainly not "that" boy anymore...

I graduated in Fashion Promotion from UCLan, worked in marketing, did some travelling, got engaged (getting married in June!), turned a hobby into a job, became a full-time freelancer,  bought a house...but we're still in that very same small town in Lancashire where it all began. The blog has progressed into something I'm extremely proud of, and I'm still buzzed that you guys come to us for our own unique style of blogging.

I have a few realistic goals for this year, both personal and professional, but I think I'm going to keep those close to my chest until I feel it's the right time to share them. One that I'm happy to share is the long-overdue redesign of the blog. And boy does it need it, you don't have to tell me twice!

Any big plans for 2017? Got some travel dates planned in?

Photography by Jake Millers.

24 Nov 2015

Video | LUMIX 4K Photo Editing Walk-Through



Following on from last week's post on, What I've Learn So Far From 4K Photography, we've produced this very short tutorial video, which walks through the edited + photo selecting process on the LUMIX 4K LX100. Hopefully you find the video easy to follow, and yes I'm aware that I sound a little wooden (this talking lark isn't really my speciality!).

It gives you a better idea about how I've been achieving certain shots, and capturing precise moments using the 4K Photo technology. Next up I'll be sharing some 4K photos from my recent trip to Marrakech.