Realm & Empire Knitwear + GIVEAWAY

This season sees British brand Realm & Empire embark on their first journey into knitwear, using traditional designs and military influences as a starting point. British production was a key factor when producing the 3-piece collection and to make sure they got things spot on they enlisted the expertise of a prestigious family-run factory, based in Midlands, England. The collection features a shawl collar cardigan, boat neck jumper and wool hat, each available in two colours.

I first came across Realm & Empire at Jacket Required back in August, in fact they were the first brand that caught my eye at the tradeshow. Ever since then I've wanted to work with them on a project, so to conincide with their first knitwear collection we've joined up to bring you this week's giveaway!

Realm & Empire is offering Buckets & Spades readers the chance to win 1 of 2 pieces from their AW13 knitwear collection! 1st prize is the Boat Neck Knit in either Navy or Rustica (orange), 2nd prize being the Commando Hat in Black.

Jacket Required SS 14 - Part 1

Victoria House at Bloomsbury Square, London houses menswear trade show Jacket Required and early this month I decided to take the big hike down from the North West to check it out for myself. It was a great chance to connect with some guys in the industry and actually put names to faces, especially the ones I've been chatting to online for years.

I bloody love menswear, as we all know and going to a trade show is basically the ultimate tease. It gives you a chance to see what your favorite brands have been working on for SS14 and also a  platform to discover new ones. Notable favourites included - Burtonwode's ace silky pajamas and underwear, Levi's Vintage Clothing and Made & Crafted's offerings were as mad as a box of snakes but totally genius, which is another reason why I love Levi's so much, Ebbets' baseball caps and a new discovery Realm & Empire. Fascinating story behind their collection and history and lovely people too. The floral pattern on the shirt above was taken from a piece of wallpaper found in a building that was bombed in WW1. Plus they've produced their own ale, what's not to like?!

I won't start to dissect the collections one-by-one as we'd be here all day, I'll leave the images to do the talking. Jacket Required SS 14 - Part 2 coming next week, I've got plenty more good stuff to share.

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City Guide | 24 Hours in Nottingham

It’s true that a little local knowledge definitely goes a long way. When we set off to Nottingham a couple of weeks back, we’d done a bit of research, asked a few folks where we should go and what we should do; but, at the end of the first day we were feeling a bit down.

Partly, it was because of the weather (after a sunny start, it rained almost non-stop). Partly, it was because we were struggling with the controls on an old version of FIFA, back at our Airbnb. But, mainly, it was because we hadn’t seen much of the city that really captivated us. Don’t get me wrong, we’d been to a couple of good shops and bars; we just hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary or anything particularly noteworthy.

Realm & Empire – a British brand, with roots in the Midlands, that we’ve known and loved for a long while now – had read through our other city guides and thought we could do something similar in Nottingham. This was a project for our friends and we really didn’t want to let them down!

Thankfully, on that first day, we also spoke to the right people. The guys at Waste Studio, a creative agency with one epic toy collection, and the folks at Ideas on Paper, a really cool magazine shop, stuffed full of every magazine you’ll ever want to read, pointed us in the right direction.

It turns out, Nottingham is a pretty cool place and, not only that, it’s small enough to visit more-or-less everything on foot. Win-win!

Store Visit | Realm & Empire x IWM, Seven Dials

Realm & Empire x IWM Pop-Up Store, Seven Dials, London.

In collaboration with the Impertial War Museum, Realm & Empire has set up their first official retail space. I took the opportunity to stop by while I was doing the rounds in London last week, by all accounts it's been a long time in the works. As soon as you step into the store – which can be found just five minutes from Covent Garden – you instantly realise that a lot has gone into making this store happen.

Seven Dials has become known for its good lashing of men's style (see our Farah Vintage visit), design stores, and independent shops, and the R/E store fits in perfectly; sitting between outdoor retail Finisterre, and the Carhartt WIP flagship, on Earlham Street. 

The store itself has been designed inkeeping with the brand's strong links to the military and war history – Realm & Empire is the only clothing brand with access to the Imperial War Museum's vast archive – with exposed brickwork, wooden floors and utilitarian furniture. The gear matches the interior too; their take on practical outerwear, utility shirts, heavy jersey, British-made knitwear, and gifts can all be found within.

Realm & Empire x IWM Pop-Up (open until 31st December), 5 Earlham Street, Seven Dials, London, WC2H 9LL.  See more of our Store Visits here.

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Getting To Know Us A Little Better | Russ Erwin, with GANT

Russ Wears - Oxford Shirt + Selvedge Jeans c/o GANT | Realm & Empire Jacket | Desert Boots | Victorninox Watch

Over the next few months we aim to bring a more personal series to the blog. We share the things we love, and have always prided Buckets & Spades on having both a personal and relatable feel. But we also try to think bigger and share subjects which may reach a wider audience. But how well do you really know the people behind the blog?

Currently there's myself (click here to get to know me better), Nik, Hollie, Yasumi + Russ, all doing our bit to make this thing run smoothly. In partnership with GANT, and their new Never Stop Learning campaign, I followed my mate Russ Erwin (who you may remember from shoots with New Look Men + Kickers) around for a day; exploring his daily routine as a musician, his influences, and love of fitness and style.

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Buckets & Spades - When did you start playing the guitar, and did song writing come naturally to you?

Russ Erwin - I first picked up the guitar when I was about 15/16 years old, and I started off by just covering songs I enjoyed at the time. I never really thought too much about writing until I started piecing together my own chord progressions - writing seemed to come out of nowhere really. I suppose you could say it came naturally, yeah.

Tell us a little bit about a normal day for you; where are some of your favourite spots to visit, and cool places to eat, grab coffee etc...

I try to be up for 6:30-7am, jump in the shower, and put the clothes on that I've usually picked out the night before. Now breakfast. If I'm pushed for time then a protein shake does the trick, ideally I have natural yogurt + muesli, accompanied by a cup of tea.

I like to head up to Lytham or Preston for lunch. There's a few great places; Zest do a great chicken, bacon, egg + avocado sandwich, or if I'm in Preston Cocos Soul Food hits the spot with a burrito. Coffee is next on the list, before having a general mooch around. A double macchiato is my usual order. Preston has the upper-hand with coffee though, there's a lovely independent place called Cedarwood. From there I usually grab a flat white, a peanut butter flapjack.

 

Realm & Empire SS14 + £75 Voucher Giveaway

Over the past few months I've become quite friendly with the guys behind British menswear brand, Realm & Empire, and last month I headed down to their pop-up show room at Holborn, London to preview their AW14 collection. Over a cup of coffee we chatted design processes + their close ties with the Imperial War Museum, our current favourite blogs and even the possibility of working together on a project in the future! You never know what's going to happen, but I'm very passionate about British production, so I'd snap up the chance in a second.

You may also remember Realm & Empire recently inviting me to put together a Blogger's Edit for the SS14 collection, above are a some images from their SS14 looking, which accompanies some of the pieces I chose. To celebrate their new collection we are giving away a £75 voucher to spend on the SS14 collection, to one lucky Buckets & Spades reader! So what would you choose, have a look here and let me know what you're thinking?

How to Enter

To be in with a chance of winning the £75 Voucher to spend at Realm & Empire you must be a subscriber of Buckets & Spades Blog. Remember, if you follow you can come back and enter this giveaway daily. This giveaway is open worldwide. Best of luck!

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