24 Hours in Barcelona | City Guide

In partnership with Joseph

Blocking three days out of our week to visit Barcelona for the first time sounded pretty ace. With my case packed with a selection of my favourite pieces from the SS19 collection by Joseph, and some cheap fights booked, we were all set to see the city with fresh eyes.

Sometimes those cheap flights have you arriving into a city quite late and force you to leave wayyyyy too early - but hey, that's what we signed up for. Our "three days" ended up really just being one, but you can really shift pavement when you're under a tight time restriction.

Armed with a handy list of recommendations from folks on Instagram + Twitter, we launched into our 24 hours exploring a new city with an early rise and a solid planned mapped out. The early bird catches the siesta, or something like that...

On our agenda; architecture, coffee, food and craft beer:

 

 Breton Top by Joseph | Perfect T Shirt by Joseph | Trousers by Arket | Sneakers by Converse | Sunglasses by Moscot

 Maxime Twill Bicoloured Jacket by Joseph | Socks by Margaret Howell

Walden7

Ctra. Reial, 106, 08960 Sant Just Desvern, Barcelona

What a way to start the day! This mind-bender of a building was suggested by our mate Jordan Bunker. Created from the genius mind of Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill, Walden 7 is a super surreal looking housing development on the west side of the city, which has become a much-loved icon of the city. The otherworldly labyrinth-like passageways, stairwells and jutting balconies of this place made for a slightly off-balancing yet unforgettable experience

It's the kind of place you see on the internet but never have a clue as to where it actually is. Being a private housing development means access isn't easy to come by - I'm told that there are regular tours, but we made our way inside behind some happy looking locals who had no qualms with us being there when we showed them our cameras. Worth the risk!

Syra Coffee

Carrer de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats, 8, 08012 Barcelona

Ain't it amazing what you can do when you're under restriction. I'm constantly impressed with the design solutions people come up with when coming up against issues such as space, money and time. Syra Coffee is a perfectly example of this how to create a inviting and wholesome place inside a tiny unit, located in the middle of the city's vibrant Vila de Gracia district.

I didn't realise how affordable good coffee and very good cakes can be in Barcelona - 4 Euros for a tasty flat white + a locally made ginger and white chocolate cookie is a 10/10 every day of the week. Syra was definitely a highlight from my day. I just loved how this place looked, the geezer making the brews was really friendly and there was even room for a small Japanese photography exhibition at the back.

Parking Pizza - Parking Pita

Passeig de Sant Joan, 56, 08009 Barcelona

Food - the heart and soul of every city visit. Torn between a list of 10 cafes and restaurants to decide from, we ended up choosing a place that served more than one speciality. Mega looking pizzas and absolutely packed pitas. Communal benches promote sharing and unexpected conversation, and the open-plan setting allowed the midday sun light to flood in via well placed skylights. As for the food, the falafel pita takes the winnings // Parking Pizza - Pita

 Mer Parachute Shirt by Joseph | Breton Top by Joseph | Plage Linen Shorts by Joseph | Vans OG Slip

Skye Coffee at Espacio88

Carrer de Pamplona, 88, 08018 Barcelona

Just look at this place! I don't associate converted industrial warehouse spaces with Barcelona at all, in fact, Jake commented that the whole El Poblenou district of the city felt similar to San Francisco. Agreed. Along with Cloudstreet Bakery, Skye Coffee's resident coffee truck can be found inside Espacio88; a multi-faceted architectural space used for experiential events, workshops, creative talks and home to one of the city's most striking coffee outposts. Serving speciality coffee from a restored 1972 Citoën HY to locals and visitors looking for a truly unique experience. For more about Barcelona's coffee culture see Kaffeine Kick.

Mikkeller Bar 

Carrer de València, 202, 08011 Barcelona

It's become a tradition of ours to end a city break with a beer at a local Mikkeller bar. With 40+ locations now, these guys are becoming easier to find as the years go by, and while they're not Barcelona-local they have found their place within the city's booming craft beer scene. Natty doodles anywhere you put your eyes are wrestling against vertical wood panelling (a theme through their bars), marmalade orange pendant lights, a sea blue hi-shine floor which could throw up some issues after a few IPAs, and tap list covering all bases from 2.5% easy goers to face-melting 12% imperial stouts. Sounds over the top, but it works so well.

My favourite piece from the Joseph collection, the Plage Linen Shorts. Photography by Jake Millers

Thanks for reading,

Mat.

This post is a paid partnership with Joseph, but all travel + activities above was paid for by me. Your support of the brands + businesses we work with helps make this blog happen.

Visiting the Jack Daniel's Distillery, Lynchburg, Tennessee

Imagine travelling for 15 hours to spend 48 hours in Tennessee...Jack Daniel's invited me over to exeperience the brand in the way it was intended

 

A tour of the one and only Jack Daniel's distillery in Lynchburg, followed by a tasting class

 

Have you heard the story about how the late Mr Jack Daniel never revealed what the iconic no.7 - found on the front of the top selling American whiskey in the world - actually represents? Or how it's always been tradition of the company to gift each employee a bottle Jack along with their monthly pay check? Even more intriguing, the strange and unfortunately circumstances of how the man himself passed away from a freak incident involving a safe?

I was oblivious to all of the above until I had the pleasure of being invited by the Jack Daniel's brand to spend a couple of days in Tennessee, with the aim to discover what makes this globally recognised brand tick, and how they have built up a grass-roots empire from a sleepy town in the middle of nowhere.

 

The water used in the distilling process comes from within the distillery grounds

I’d hold my hands up and be the first one to say that Jack Daniel’s isn’t a brand I’d generally reach for on the shelves. I've always seem myself as quite open minded when it comes down to it, but I am guilty of overlooking certain things if I don't have some form of connection with them. My obsession with pop culture extends to having an deep appreciation for how brands can become ingrained within daily life - through clever marketing, memorable branding design, familiarity, hard work, and deep down a (usually) honest, homegrown product. Similar to how iconic brands such as McDonald's Coca-Cola, Disney, Apple + Nintendo are all instantly recognisable by the design of their logo, Jack Daniel's is just as synonymous worldwide with whiskey and music.

My whirlwind of weekend - which involved a 15 hour journey from Blackpool to Nashville, one way! - was something I'll never forget. The journey into the depths of Tennessee felt like it was never going to end, but our opened-armed welcome into the sleepy town of Lynchburg, where every single drop of Jack Daniel's whiskey has ever been made, quickly eliminated any tiredness. The air smelt industry-sweet and smiling faces graced every front porch.

A tour of the working distillery was done by our guide, Sam, with an enthusiasm and energy that only our American brothers can seem to achieve - showing us the inner-workings of the process but also emphasising on the finer points of the brand's heritage and infrastructure. For me, these were the moments where the brand started to come alive.

Revisiting Belgium with Heverlee | Connecting Street Art + Craft Beer

Renovation progress at Park Abbey, Leuven

As soon as I arrived home after my previous trip to Belgium, back in October 2016, I knew that I wanted to return some day. A plane journey from Brussels to Manchester takes exactly the same time as it does to drive from Blackpool to Manchester...one hour. In just one hour and I can be transported into the heart of a country that feels fairly removed from everyday British culture, yet strangely familiar at the same time.

It was my second time visiting Belgium – a country that prides itself of world class beer, first-rate cycling credentials, fine-cut diamonds and 5-star chocolate – and my second visit with Heverlee Brewery. It may seem like a strange choice to hop on what effectively was a very similar trip to my previous, but the strong draw of the county's beer culture + grassroots work that Heverlee has done in this short space of time was enough to want to punch in some extra air miles.

The instantly recognisable work of Belgian street artist Dzia

 A morning of getting to know Antwerp's street art scene

A whole lot has changed for me in those 10 months; buying our first house + getting married being two huge milestones in our lives. Our responsibilities have shifted, business plans have been tweaked and relationships have grown stronger. And similar seems to have been mirrored within Heverlee's growing community + progressive thinking.

For those of you who aren't too familiar with "Heverlee", let's get up to speed. Heverlee Lager was originally produced by the monks of Park Abbey in Leuven, with its first inception in those heady days of 1129. The brewery was later demolished when commercial brewing became tenfold, as it was deemed too expensive to produce in small batches. Leap forward into modern times, local beer expert and entrepreneur Joris Brams recently made it his mission to unearth as much as the original recipe as possible, with the aim recreate the distinct flavour of their Belgian Pils Lager.

With the street art scene in Belgium being so prevalent right now, it makes sense for there to be a crossover of cultures. Belgian beer + street art are best buddies. After our tour at Antwerp we were treated to lunch at Junkyard, accompanied by street artist Dzia, who Heverlee have been collaborating with to create a new range of glassware. It was fascinating to hear about Dzia's original design inspiration behind his lion and how he adapted to be suitable for a different media altogether.

Wearing - Norse Projects T-Shirt | Folk x MR PORTER Trousers | Paul Smith Sneakers | Filson Cap

After an evening of amazing food + drink with Heverlee we hit the city of Brussels the next day with fresh eyes. Eager to explore, the group – which included Jordan Bunker and photographers Christopher Byrne + Jin – set out on their own way to seek out pockets of the city that they didn't know existed. 

Myself + Jordan opted to find a tour guide, someone who would know the good spots to visit. We reached out to "Tibods" via Instagram. We slowly sipped our black coffee, chatted about the IG community and watched the Sunday play out in front of our eye. Nothing much happens on a Sunday in Belgium, but we were fully content with savouring our time and enjoying the moment.

We return back to the UK with are own little part of Belgian – a keepsake to be used over and over. Along with a suitcase jam-packed with with beer paraphernalia (I should have left more space for Tintin stuff, but opted for those unmissable 9%ers...) we came home with our very own piece of Dzia x Heverlee's glassware.

Not only will every sip instantly evoke memories of my three days exploring Belgium, it will reinstall the notion that modern day beer culture really isn't about cheap pints, sticky pub carpets + tacky slot machines; it's about experimentation, building communities and striving for something just a little bit more exceptional than the norm.

Have you ever been to Belgium? I'd love to hear about your experience. You can see what else Heverlee are up to in their community on Instagram + Twitter.

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

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Hey Gents Magazine

 

In early 2016, in a bid to find an online publication that spoke to me as young man with an interest in great design, I stumbled across Hey Gents.

With a focus on design and style, the Sydney based men's lifestyle website explores products and experiences that aim to enhance the life of the modern man. Under the tutelage of Editor Nick Vodicka, a man who shares my love of a minimal aesthetic, Hey Gents quickly became my go-to source of menswear, grooming, interiors and design inspiration.

So, when Hey Gents announced recently that they were releasing a print magazine I wasted no time in ordering my copy.

Issue 1 features everything from home styling tips courtesy of 'Hunting For George', a guide to indoor plants, tips on men's skincare essentials, a look at modern architecture in the Maldives, an interview with Sydney based menswear label Venroy and plenty more. Printed on uncoated paper from sustainably managed forests, the 72 page publication is perfect bound and printed in their home city of Sydney.

In his Beats One show this week, Apple Music’s Zane Lowe claimed that "when it comes to 'lifestyle' nowhere does it better than Australia". I may not always agree with Zane's choice of music but from what I've seen of Hey Gents so far, I see no reason to doubt him.

Hey Gents Issue 1 is available to order online now - pick up your copy here.

You can find Shaun at - Manimalist Blog | Twitter | Instagram 

A Conversation with Ashlyn Chesney of MR PORTER's Style Council

Town Hall Hotel, Bethnal Green, London

It's fair to say there has been a slight shift in my priorities this year. Buying our first house has brought on a whole heap of new responsibilities, and when you add a wedding to the mix (yep, 8 week to go, flipping heck!) – as well as starting up a new agency, Three Letters, with Nik – I have somewhat neglected my regular two-blog-post-per-week goal. 

One of my weekly visits to our capital city was to spend an afternoon with Ashlyn Chesney, the main driving forces behind MR PORTER's Style Council. If you haven't heard of the Style Council, simply put, it's a regularly updated travel, food + drinks guide, as recommended by some of the coolest + most well-connected chaps on the planet. 

I met up with Ashlyn at the beautiful Town Hall Hotel, in Bethnal Green, to find out how she came to be in the role of Style Council Director, where her enthusiasm for design + interiors comes from, how she decides which locations to recommend + a little bit more about the MR PORTER's Style Council.

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Mat - Tell us a little bit about how someone from Maine, USA - a state known for its fishing trade and shipyards - comes to work in fashion, travel and lifestyle?

Ashlyn Chesney - I’ve always chosen to express myself through fashion and was encouraged by family and friends to do more with it; however, growing up I actually wanted to be an archaeologist – I wanted to travel and explore and learn about the origin of things yet to be discovered. I also loved creating moments for people and wanted to understand more about what motivates us as a society, the hows and whys of when we can come together and the turning points at which we are motivated to do better/create better/be better…It led me to study business and psychology and eventually move to NYC where I managed fashion events and later worked in the hospitality business.

And where does MR PORTER come in, how did the role as Director at The Style Council come to be? Did the role just seem like a perfect fit for you?

In 2015 I decided I needed a change. I was working non-stop, based in NYC but on schedule with London, NY and LA; I hadn’t taken a holiday in several years and my role had become my biggest fear: a desk job. I decided to move on, visit my mom for the first time since I’d started, and then embark on 8 months of travels that brought me to Paris, London, Italy, Argentina and Uruguay. 

I was introduced to Jeremy [Langmead], MR PORTER’s Brand & Content Director, while I was in London, at Mark’s Club. After learning about what I’d done for work and what I was looking for, he told me he might have a perfect role…he wasn’t lying. As Style Council Director, I’ve been able to take the best parts of what I’ve done over the years and I get to do what I’ve always dreamt: travel the world, work with incredible people to experience new places and help others to connect with the world around them.  

 

Folk Shell Jacket | Beams Plus Long Sleeve T-Shirt | Dickies Trousers | Converse 70s | Persol Sunglasses | Instrmnt 

Watch. All linked items c/o MR PORTER.

 Origami-inspired interior is a really unusual contrast against the original Edwardian building