Store Visit | Oliver Sweeney, Leeds

Oliver Sweeney - Victorian Quarter, Leeds

After a brief Twitter exchange whilst researching for an upcoming Leeds-based project (more on that soon!), we were given the heads-up that Oliver Sweeney had just reopened their store in the beautiful Victorian Quarter. In fact, I'd go so far to say that this old Victorian arcade is one of the most stunning places I could imagine a store to be location. Nice one Sweens!

The store itself is typically Oliver Sweeney; with dark brown wood and off-white steel fixtures, and dimly lit lighting, against dark marine blue and dove grey walls. Neater in size to their Covent Garden store, but still generously stocked with their latest range of casual shoes, modern sneakers, Goodyear welt collection, and more formal offerings. Alongside the footwear there's a decent selection of jackets, sweatshirts, knitwear and accessories. The staff were also buzzing about the well-stocked fridge, which has just been decked out with local beers, ready for the pouring.

 

In the arcade you'll also find stores by Jigsaw, Whistles, Reiss, Culter & Gross, Kiehl's, Paul Smith, just to name a few. It's a busy old place, and well worth a visit if you're in Yorkshire.

Oliver Sweeney - 38 - 40 County Arcade, Victoria Quarter, Leeds LS1 6BH. See more of our Store Visits here.

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Store Visit | Oliver Sweeney, Covent Garden

 Oliver Sweeney, Covent Garden, Henrietta Street

After our visit to the newly opened Natural Selection store at Seven Dials we moseyed down the road to Henrietta Street; Covent Garden's most exciting road when it comes to menswear.  With Nigel Cabourn, The Real McCoy + Fred Perry (and soon to open Edwin) propping up each side the pavement, this one cut-through street is starting to space up nicely.

Just around the corner from our favourite barbershop, Ruffians, you'll find the new Oliver Sweeney store. With its modestly sized front, the store makes you do the old double take once you step foot inside - anyone without their specs may struggle to see to the rear of the shop, it's massive. The store contains the brand's new collection; formal and casual footwear; shoes, boots, trainers + beachwear; key pieces from their clothing range, and a selection of exclusive concessions from Left Field Denim + Karas Kustoms stationery.

Kitted out with dark brown wooden fixture and dimly lit lighting, against the dark marine blue units, the store definitely has a gent's clubhouse feel to it. And when you finally reach the back of the store you'll find a whiskey bar, which caters to those in need of something wet. But this doesn't distract from the fact that the store is a beautifully considered space, one which could lend itself nicely to events, classes or exhibition space. Covent Garden, you're on a roll.

Oliver Sweeney, 10 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 8PS.  See more of our Store Visits here.

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Loake Shoe Fitting Service | Princes Arcade London

After previously visiting Loake's Northamptonshire factory back in May of last year I've become more aware that my shoe collection is way below par. I'm talking smart shoes here...trainers, now those I can do. For anyone that knows me (and probably you guys too?), they'll probably be able to count the times they've seen me in smart shoes on one hand. I'm all about comfort. Trainers hit the button, and have done for most of my twenties. I reckon I've worn shoes on two occasions in this past year, one of those times being in France on the Courvoisier trip. Good memories!

With a summer wedding coming up soon – as well as my own at some point – and my new appreciation for well made shoes, I knew when the time was right there would be only one brand I'd turn to.

I'd arranged an appointment at Loake's Princes Arcade store in London, just off Regent Street, bright and early one Friday morning. The man taking me through Loake's Shoe Fitting Service was Store Manager, Colin Austin. I was in experienced hands. We talked about my footwear history, the occasions I might wear shoes, which styles I'm most drawn to and my issues with wearing shoes on a regular basis. What was the real reason, had I become lazy and just got used to the feel soft, squidgy soles?

One of the main issues with footwear, Colin informed me, was that the a lot of people do indeed wear the incorrect size shoes. One of the reasons for this is because most brands simply don't offer a multitude of widths, alongside the standard shoe sizing structure. Another fact is the quality of materials used and construction techniques. Loake pride themselves on getting it right the first time, never rushing to produce a new style or keeping up with a passing trends.

A Visit to Loake Shoemakers Factory, Northamptonshire

3 a.m. starts usually mean one of two things to me; we're off on holiday and slept approx. zero hours or I'm traveling the length of the country for a worthy event. This time it was the latter, as a few weeks back I was invited for a tour around the Loake Shoemakers factory in Kettering, Northamptonshire. The British shoemaker has been producing handmade shoes on our isles for over 130 years, and are arguably one of the most recognised in their field.

My earliest memory of Loake involved my Grandad; a working-class cockney born in the 1930s. He wore Loake shoes all his life. Back then people saved for quality and something which could be repaired easily. I'd guess he had the same pair of smart shoes for 40 years. I remember sitting by his feet, playing with my toys cars (my Grandad was a footballer-turned car factory manager), he'd always wear black Oxford shoes on without fail. We called them his "Aladdin" shoes, as he'd worn them so much the toes had curled up.

Along with a couple of other menswear writers I headed off into the heart of the factory - a building which was alive with buzzing machinery, decades of stories and a passion for the art of shoemaking.

Store Visit | Grenson Bloomsbury, Lamb's Conduit St, London

 Grenson Bloomsbury - Lamb's Conduit St, London.

A trip to London wouldn't be complete without a visit to Lamb's Conduit Street, just off Russell Square. I'd heard on Twitter that British footwear brand Grenson had just opened a brand new store, so I thought I'd stop by the check it out. The store itself is much more spacious than expected, with room to house their extensive SS14 collection, core styles + G:Lab range, along with luggage + leather goods, new range of sock and lifestyle publications. The photo wall and hand-painted window graphics are both a lovely touches.

If you are interested to see how Grenson shoes are made, see our factory visit here. Their brogues are definitely on the cards for our wedding! You can find Grenson at 40 Lamb's Conduit Street, London, WC1N 3LB.

London Store Visits - Jack Spade | Red Wing | Present & Correct | Folk |
 Margaret Howell | Private White V.C.

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6th Birthday GIVEAWAY - Clarks £80 Vouchers!

It's Buckets & Spades's 6th Anniversary, I can hardly believe it! The blog has grown into something I'm extremely proud of, but the concept of sharing I'm passionate about has never changed. Never in a million years would I have thought I could actually have a go at doing this full time! To celebrate our 6th Anniversary we've partnered up with some great brands to bring you some cracking giveaways. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for reading, commenting, emailing and sharing, I'm met some amazing people along the way and I don't think that would have been possible without this space on the internet.

This week's giveaway - You could win £80 Clarks Vouchers to spend in-store!

Clarks is known for their timeless styles but also the ease in which they re-invent their classic shapes. The Desert Boot, notable for being one of their most iconic models, has featured in most men's wardrobe at some point in their lives, but their popularity over the last 10 years has seen their Originals range flourish. The Women's Originals range is also really strong this season. The Desert Trek have been a firm favourite of mine (See here, here, here) since my late teens, but over the past couple of seasons Clarks have been delving further into their archive and bringing back some cult classics. Playing around with new shapes and collaborating with a bunch of established companies is something else they love to do. My current favourites are the Seam Trek.

How to Enter

To be in with a chance of winning £80 Clarks Vouchers (can be used on any product in-store) you must be a subscriber of Buckets & Spades Blog. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter. The more ways you follow, the more chances of winning you have. You can come back and enter this giveaway daily! This giveaway is open to UK only, winning vouchers can only be spent in-store.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Image source - Stuarts London

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Grenson x Togs + Clogs G-Lab Archie

 

Today I'm very pleased to share with you the Grenson x Togs + Clogs G-Lab collaboration. You may remember a few weeks back I posted about my visit to the Grenson Shoe Factory, well the main reason for our visit down to Northampton was to watch the filming of Hypebeast's Process: Crafting The Togs + Clogs x Grenson film. Featured in the video above is the G-Lab Archie Brogue with electric blue welt, limited to 12 pairs.

Above is a concise look into how the shoes were produced. Documenting each process, from start to finish, showing just how many skilled hands it takes to create something pretty special indeed. Filmed by videographer Santiago Arbelaez and commentated by Grenson's Creative Director Tim Little. Enjoy.

Read Hypebeast's full story here.

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A Visit To...Grenson Shoe Factory

Back in May I had the opportunity to visit the Grenson Shoe Factory along with  Togs + Clogs and Hypebeast videographer Santiago Arbelaez. Filming was taking place for a collaboration coming this AW. My iPhone alarm was set for 4 am the night before, I anticipated it was going to be a long old trek down the Rushden, Northamptonshire but I also knew that this was not an opportunity to be missed.

We arrived in Rushden at around 10:30 am in what seemed like a regular English town, with no obvious factories to be seen. A few whacks of the sat-nav later we stumbled right into shoemaker's-central. Nestled between rows of residential housing and several other prestigious footwear factories up pops the humble, red bricked building that is the Grenson Shoe Factory.

Grenson Shoe Factory, Rushden, Northamptonshire. The "Good Shoe" Since 1866.

We spend hours in awe around the factory, being shown the whole shoe-making process from start to finish. Designer's sketches to the finished product and everything in between. It really was a wonderful process to witness, with such a high level of craftsmanship and love for the company. I have a memory card chock-a-block full of photos but hopefully the few that I chosen to share explain the process of a Great British Shoemarker.

 A big thank you to Grenson for inviting me to have a look around. I hope you enjoyed this post as much I as did putting it together. 

Have a great weekend folk, any exciting plans?

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