This Week's Kit | Seasonal Planning w/ Farfetch

Everytime Black Friday rolls around Hollie reminds me that it's a perfect opportunity to buy the things we've had on our wish list for months, for a slightly discounted price - be that for ourselves or gift ideas for Christmas. The things that we maybe haven't been able to afford at the time. We don't see the sale as a means to buy a bunch of stuff that we don't really need or hadn't found attractive until the price tags drop.

This year I've been sensible with my wardrobe purchases. I am fortunate enough to receive items of clothing from brands as part of my job, but I've become very selective with what I accept. I'm increasingly conscious of the longevity of clothing + my own wastefulness. When I do buy or accept something I ask myself these questions; "do I need it, will it replace something that's feeling a little worn out, will I wear it often?"

With that in mind I have partnered with Farfetch to share my picks from their current collection; items and styles that I've had my eye on for a while - no quick fixes here. I'm just hoping a few of them end up in their Black Friday sale:

Universal Works heavy twill shirt | Vans Sk8-hi leather checkerboard sneakers | Diptyque Mimosa candle | N Peal cashmere beanie | Issey Miyake block socks | Garrett Leigh Hampton sunglasses | The Beatles On The Road book | Joseph cashmere roll neck jumper | Makavelic waist bag | 032C loose fit trousers 

The Farfetch Black Friday sale starts 23rd November.

This post is in partnership with Farfetch and contains affiliate links. Your support of the brands + businesses we work with helps make this blog happen.

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Exploring the City of Easton, Pennsylvania, with Majestic Athletic

 Wearing - Detroit Tigers Cool Base Jersey by Majestic Athletic | Uniqlo Shorts | Vans Anaheim Authentics | 

Universal Works Tote Bag | Moscot Sunglasses | Percival Cap

  Getting to know the film crew on wanders around old town Easton

This blog post is in partnership with Majestic Athletic + MLB.

After an exhausting first day of filming at the Majestic Athletic factory in the small town of Easton, Pennsylvania, we got to doing what we crew were craving – sitting down with an ice cold beer.

Just a quick recap of part one; myself, Jordan Bunker + a film crew were visiting Easton to work on documenting the cultural importance of this small city – the home of the US-made cool base jerseys, worn by MLB players + fans all over the world. My first blog post was all about our day at the Majestic Athletic factory, and for part two we're sticking to the city.

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At 10pm the evening before, the cameras stopped rolling. Full up on pizza, burgers, pasta from one of the city's many old school bars, we headed back to the hotel to get some rest. Truth be told it felt like one of those 2-second sleeps the likes of Salvador Dali championed in the surrealist movement.

Our next day was all planned out; up at 7am for a quick breakfast before heading back to the factory to make sure we hadn't missed anything, followed by a couple of hours of exploring the city before driving back to New York to catch a game at the Yankees stadium. A dream day!

Visiting Key City Diner for cherry pie + coffee, and what the locals call a "hoogie". It felt like I'd just stepped into the original Twin Peaks film set - clashing colours, a mixture of food smells and families just being families

 Wearing - Philadelphia Phillies Cool Base Jersey by Majestic Athletic | Banana Republic Shorts | Converse 70s Sneakers 

In several way Easton felt like many small towns I've visited across America. Welcoming and warm, sleepy yet full of life, slightly unpolished but reassuringly organised. In a round about way this city is what I think of when I picture working class America.

A visit to Key City Diner – just across the river where Pennsylvania meets New Jersey – was an experience to remember. I've been visiting America all of my life, but the countless trips to Universal Studios couldn't prepare me for stepping into what felt like a real-life film set."Dya want curly fries with that?" hollered the waitress as she took our order – the answer is always yes. I'm yet to have a better strawberry milkshake.

Our group probably stood out like a sore thumb, but after the food arrived we settled in and became a part of the furniture. No trip to an American diner would be complete without an order of homemade cherry pie and a cup of coffee – this one came directly from David Lynch's well-referenced playbook.

It felt great to be wearing these Majestic Athletic jerseys all day, especially knowing how much worth the factory and its workers brings to the local economy. The locals know it too, I received a bunch of nods + compliments as we wandered the city. True, my limited baseball knowledge has all been acquired through Seinfeld, but at least I looked the part.

 Exploring the city's craft beer scene - the beautiful interior at The Separatist taproom + the raw authentic feel of Weyerbacher Brewery

Saying goodbye to our three days in Easton, PA, with Majestic Athletic. Long days, short nights, but one of the most rewarding projects to date.

For me, researching before you've got to a new place is all a part of the fun, and food, coffee, local stores and beer are always high on my list. Easton is a true 9-5 city, so I should have expected no less than the evenings being driven by American cooking and the craft beer scene. Visits to two local beer spots made for the perfect ending to Part Two of our trip. 

The beautiful interior of The Separatist taproom contrasting against the grassroots set-up at Weyerbacher Brewery felt similar to how I now see baseball. On one hand you have the polished side of MLB, with players looking perfect as they hit the stadiums, ready to entertain all, and then you've got the Majestic Athletic factory workers with 40+ years experience, just quietly getting on with their jobs. Both contrasts, but both parties working towards the same goal – to champion a wider movement.

Our time in Easton had come to an end, but our journey wasn't quite finished yet. Next stop three days in New York - I'll can't wait to share more with you soon!

The Majestic Athletic Cool Base Jerseys which feature in this post are all available here.

Photography by Jordan Bunker.

This blog post is a part of a wider documentary project in paid partnership with with Majestic Athletic + MLB.

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Visiting the Majestic Athletic Factory in Easton, Pennsylvania

 This blog post is in partnership with Majestic Athletic + MLB.

When something curious drops into your inbox an eyebrow can often be raised. Too good to be true? A spammy scattergun email approach? But these emails can often be worth a second glance. A few months back I had one of those emails staring back at me. It started with sometime along the lines of, "...we think you'd be perfect for an exciting project we're working on with Majestic Athletic and Major League Baseball". Whoa. They got me hooked.

After several phone calls, brainstorm sessions and small bits of pre-project photography I found myself boarding a plane heading to New York, in preparation of meeting up at the small city of Easton, Pennsylvania, with the Majestic Athletic team, a production crew from London + my stalwart travel buddy – and photographer for the project – Jordan Bunker.

The idea behind the project was to document the journey which Majestic Athletic's iconic US-made baseball jerseys go through to finish up on the backs of professional players of MLB and the millions of fans worldwide. From the cutting room floor to the finishing room of Easton, PA, to the final product on the MVP players at Yankees stadium in New York. We'd follow the process, from start to finish.

An integral part of this brief was to also look further than the product; to dig deeper and find out more about the people that make this all happen. Who were the personalities behind each step of the production, what makes this small blue-collar town really tick and how this historical factory effects wider community.

As a last minute surprise I was told that I'd have a hand in creating my very own Majestic Cool Base Jersey. I'd shadow the whole process, from the tailoring and fitting to sewing down the name + numbers on the back. This was going to be a fun day!

 Resident tailor Micheal Pannuccio was on-hand to take my measurements for my custom Cool Base Jersey

 Myself + the adorable "Button Babe" Lori J. Smith after my attempts of sewing buttons onto a one of the jerseys

A 4:30am start on the day of filming was quite a shock to the system. But, we were there to shadow the working day of some of the Majestic factory's most invaluable workforce – we were on their time. From the 6am clock-in and mid-morning precision at the cutting table, to the magically rhythmic sewing team and the all-important quality control stations – seeing this US production line in action was an experience not to be forgotten.

Easton's community spirit runs deep throughout the Majestic fleet. These guys have been responsible for creating the official MLB jerseys in the factory since 1976. We spoke with Plant Manager Mark Todd about the buzz he gets when seeing the MLB players hitting home runs on TV while wearing jerseys made on his floor, and watching the charismatic "Button Babe" Lori J. Smith sew the mother of pearls on faster than you'd ever imagine. The day was filled with these short but memorable interactions; each worker connected by a passion for their job and the drive to hone their craft.

Creating A Home with Flexibility | Samsung QLED

If you were to visit our house regularly you'd soon notice that we're constantly moving things around. Our current partnership with Samsung has given us the perfect opportunity to create each space with its own purpose.

This post is brought to you in partnership with Samsung.

The role which design plays within our daily lives is of a huge importance. It affects our buying habits, how we choose to lead our lifestyle, the way we use of technology, and how we go about spending our downtime. We each hold the values of design differently, and in my opinion there really can't be a right or wrong way. Everything has been created to fit a brief; a solution to a problem, an enhancement to a solution, or something purely aesthetic.

How design can impact the individual is something that interests me greatly. A simple tweak of material on a swimming cap, the narrowing of frame on a bicycle, or the shape of a fork in a dinner set - each changes the user experience in the aim of being memorable or useful. Buying into "design with a purpose" generally leads to a lesser chance of us falling out of love with it a few months down the road.

Samsung is at the forefront of home design technology, and as longstanding advocates of the brand it has been a pleasure to welcome the QLED collection into our home for the past few months. I wouldn't call myself a tech-obsessed person, but the items that I do use throughout my day hold a high level of importance. My laptop, camera + phone each play invaluable roles within my freelance life, so it may sound silly to call a television "important", but hear me out.

I've battled with switching off from my working life since I began as a full-time freelancer around three years ago, but over last few months I've started to feel more at ease with disconnecting. Television plays a huge role in that feeling. Turn the clocks back two years, and the idea of me sitting down watching back-to-back episode of shows on Netflix would have been an alien concept, but the escapism that it brings me has become invaluable to my well-being. Add this to the experience that Samsung's QLED technology offers, and we're on to a winning combination - its unrivalled picture quality makes it tower above anything else I've ever experienced.

 The Samsung QLED, styled with furniture by IKEA, HAY + vintage finds

Giving Time to Explore Edinburgh, with Timex

 Jacket by Paul Smith (similar) | Shirt + Denim Trousers by Weekday | Sneakers by Converse | Easy Reader Watch by Timex | Sunglasses by Moscot

13:00 – Hyde & Son's on George Street is one of the city's newest + most exciting spaces. From the team behind Leman Locke, Hyde & Son's offered a relaxing environment for coffee, drinks + food.

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A venture across the Scottish boarder is always a welcomed one. Having had the opportunity to explore some of Scotland's most beautiful landscapes and its vibrant cities, I can safely say that I'm a member of the fan club. I'll try to organise a trip as frequently as possible, and I'll take any excuse to further install my love for its history, people and landscape.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Timex's best-selling Easy Reader collection, we wanted to visit a city within the British Isles that mirrored the brand's core values and heritage, while still having a firm grasp on progression and willingness to evolve. For us, Edinburgh was the perfect place.

10:00 – The borough of Stockbridge is full of independent restaurants, coffee shops and retailers. You could easily spend hours shooting the breeze with locals + getting lost in the side streets. Aesop and the newly opened The Method stores are setting a high standard.

Jacket by Several (similar) | Shirt by Jigsaw | Trousers by Topman | Watch by Timex | Socks by Paul Smith | Sneakers by Common Project (similar) | Sunglasses by Ace&Tate

For many of us, a Timex evokes a certain childhood memory of receiving our very first watch. In 1977 the first Timex Easy Reader pootled off the production line, and since went on to sell 25 million+ worldwide. Fast forward to its 40th anniversary and we see the new collection being brought up to date with some sweet new additions; the iconic INDIGLO® night-light still features, but this time the face reveals a back-lit "40". New life is carried over into the strap design too, with American Horween leather, along with complimenting stitched edges, being used for its durability and comfort – a natural patina will begin to form over time.

The city is full of hidden treasures; from the independent community in the borough of Stockbridge coming together to support the notion of thinking smaller to create something bigger, the city's ever-changing entertainment scene to the recent renovation of the Quartermile – an area which seems to be obsessed with Swedish bakeries!

For me, a travel experience has a lot about those details that you don't first see at first glace; a tiled staircase which leads to a restaurant's bathrooms, the smell of freshly baked cherry brownies, an unassuming cobbled street which serves as a cut-through towards something more tourist-friendly.

Everything is down to detail. I feel that same passion towards design.

 12:00 – Making time out to explore the city's much-loved botanical gardens + its surrounding area. Feeling ready for food, we took to Instagram for recommendations.

 15:00 – Taking recommendations from the Edinburgh locals. Photographer Murray Orr took us to one of his favourite lunch spots, Checkpoint, just off the Royal Mile.

Adapting To A New Routine

It's fair to say that over the past few months this blog has been neglected a little. With a couple of huge life events – buying our first house + getting married in a foreign country within the same year was never going to be easy – I knew something had to give. Blogging has always required consistency and patience, I had plenty of this. Taking time to immerse myself within the community is extremely rewarding – daily visits to blogs, joining conversations and offering something (hopefully) inspiring was always the top priority for me.

This post is in partnership with Rotary's brand new Oxford Collection.

As events started to creep closer this summer I assessed the way I handled time, making a conscious decision to dedicate more effort to concentrating on platform that could track my progress in real time. Instagram became my main creative outlet while we were on our West Coast road trip, and since then I've settled into a routine of creating daily Stories, and taking more care with the images + the message I was sharing.

Jacket by Several | Sweatshirt by Beams | Trousers by Topman | Sneakers by Converse | Hat by Fairends | Watch c/o Rotary

I've struggled with time management in the past – starting the day off with the best intentions, but often failing to complete due to the fact that I try to do so many tasks at once. Things have improved, but I can feel those bad habits creeping back in.

Travelling frequently has had a positive affect on my drive to "always be doing something", but the thought of arriving home to a maxed-out inbox and an even longer to-do list (both work and personal) is always a daunting one.

My current daily freelance routine just doesn't feel productive anymore. I need to adapt it into something more suitable for my current workload, travel commitments + creative projects. This will hopefully help with my well-being, work anxieties and productivity.

For me, time holds a lot of value; it reminds me if I'm on track, when I need to be somewhere and when I need to rest. I'm a creature of habit, someone who relies on doing things in a certain order, at a certain time. And once those times go out of whack I can feel the stress start to build.

Photography by Jake Millers

The Oxford Collection by Rotary acts as that simple reminder to keep on going. Nothing about the watch lights up, beeps or buzzes – its architectural-inspired design sticks to theory of form follows function, nothing extra is needed. Maybe I should think about applying this theory to the way I approach my work?

"Having relocated our headquarters to Great Britain in 1946, Rotary watches are conceived, designed and developed in-house in the heart of London, one of the world’s most iconic and creative hubs. The natural choice was to pick a place name that exudes the same characteristics as the inspiration behind the product and, with its young collegiate nature and traditional architecture, Oxford had it all."

Head of Design at Rotary Watches, Matthew O’Neill

 
As it stands I'm not 100% sure how many routine will change, but I aim to try out a few different methods over the next month. Maybe I'll start work earlier, mix up the locations I work from, prioritise jobs more efficiently, or simply turn my phone off...but what I can guarantee is I'll still put all my time and efforts into meeting up with more new people + start to make things happen.

The Oxford Collection by Rotary is available here.

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

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