Nick Hand

The little shop at 42 Carnaby Street

The little Carnaby Street shop that howies had for four years and one month has shut its doors for the last time.

What I remember most about the early days of the shop  is David (Hieatt) saying before it opened that he wanted it to be like no other shop, to make people think more and to do stuff that hadn't been done in a shop before. I remember staying up all night (at both shops) getting ready for openings.

It could never be said that selling clothes got in the way of ambition in those days at howies.

There were some mighty fine events in both the Bristol and Carnaby Street shops, notable amongst them the John McFaul organised Beautiful Machine event in Bristol and the evening talks that took place in London and Bristol. There was also a brilliant skateboard art show that Tim March organised. And many fine artists showed work in the gallery space at both shops.

I loved the fact that we got some great art straight onto the walls (a lot of it from David Sparshott and Nicholas Saunders). I even look back fondly at the things that we planned that never quite happened, like the machine that was going to spew out photo cards from a flickr feed for customers. Somehow the thinking and planning was as much fun as the doing, and so if it didn't quite happen it didn't matter too much.

Nowadays of course, the bean counters rule, everything has to have a reason to be there, and that reason is about making money (or I suppose, just surviving). It's a shame the Carnaby Street owners demanded more and more rent from howies, knowing that the likes of Nike, Puma and Adidas will always pay whatever is asked to get onto Carnaby Street. Pushing the little companies out won't make Carnaby Street unique or special.

I salute the great staff at both shops, never an easy thing running a shop, but the Carnaby and Bristol folk always did a lot more than asked and were always enthusiastic about running an evening event after a day in the shop.

I'm reminded of Jack Nicholson's JP McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. After McMurphy has tried with all his might to lift the sink block off the floor, he says "But I tried, didn't I? Goddamnit, at least I did that".

Things move on and we all use our experience to go on and do new and different things. Some of our friends are still at howies flying the flag for the crazy and good things.

It's exciting times in Cardigan right now. David and Clare Hieatt have a new business Hiut Denim that will be the only UK company making its own jeans. The factory has machines and great people ready to make the first jeans in January. We are producing the a yearbook and David said the other day "I want this yearbook to be like no other yearbook, to make people sit up and think and do stuff never done before".

I'm hoping that we will better our warm up act, but I also want us to look back with pride at what we achieved.

Road Bike Dave

One of the things I am sure about is that it's people that matter, more than anything. I've written and talked a lot now about riding around Britain and each time I've said that what I remember most are brilliant inspiring people.

One of the people I got to know through Twitter on my bike ride around the coast two years ago was David Hargrave, better known to many of us simply as @roadbikedave. We have followed his life via Twitter through his love of family, people and of course cycling. He wrote about eating, I know Dave and I shared the love of a simple cake after (or before) or during a ride. I loved to hear word from him. Some little tweets have stuck with me. His pride at seeing one of his boys ride for the first time. His first session this winter in the gym. His first ride on his winter bike. You just new this man was the real deal in terms of his love of riding, his love for his family and his love of life.

I met Dave on the road somewhere near Newcastle in August 2009, it was like meeting an old friend and he had invited me to stay at his house that night. So we rode on to Sunderland nattering all the way. I found out a lot about Dave and his life. It's odd but I remember a lot of what he had to say. He told me about his work (at John Lewis in Newcastle), about his brilliant family, about his past, and his sporting background. He told me he had gone to Africa on a charity walk, about how it had affected him seeing real poverty for the first time, and how on his return he had given many of his possessions away. He realised that they didn't have so much value and that it was people who mattered. 

On that ride, I remember laughing when he asked me about eating and quickly phoned his wife Hannah to tell her that I didn't eat meat and to put the steaks back in the fridge.

That night we talked late, and in the morning Dave and Hannah had to get off to work and I took some photos of them as before they left. It struck me how close they were, that  they were true soulmates, you can see that in the photo. I stayed awhile after they had gone with instructions about eating this and that, so that I had all I needed.  David gave me loads of bits and bobs that I 'had to have', he stuffed my pockets with energy bars etc. I just looked out this little bit from my blog that I wrote a day or so later and it says alot him.

'Monday last, I stayed with brilliant folk in Sunderland, Dave and Hannah. Dave is one of those rare folk who spends his life helping and doing things for other folk and giving stuff away (saying he's got two of this and that and I might as well have it, though I wasn't entirely convinced that was the case). Dave and Hannah have three boys who were spending the night at the grandparents, so I slept in a Power Rangers bed (thanks Will) and left with a bag of extra stuff (food, pens and a booster charger) from Dave.'

I have met many people who ride bicycles, but I know of nobody who was happier simply being on a bike than Dave.That much was clear to us all every day. You would get a report on Dave's ride into work, what the weather was doing, who he encountered. I'm sure he gave many a inconsiderate driver a pretty hard time (and told us about it). We knew and looked forward to reports of his rides to and from work. We knew about his friends, and got to know them a little too.

I'm so please I had the pleasure to have met Dave and that I got to keep in touch through the magic of his Twitter feed and messages since.

I'm also convinced that Dave's real passion was just people, he was one of life's total givers. Things of course didn't matter, it was time, effort, love and care that did, and he gave all without a thought. It's just what he did.

Dave died last Monday very suddenly on his bike (of course). It seems he died of a heart attack. All I can feel at the moment is complete sadness.

But I know that lots of people who will have met Dave briefly (like me) or over a longer time, will look back and feel that we are all better people for having met such a champion of a man.

Dave's wife Hannah is raising money for Cardiac Risk in the Young. You can donate here

 

The Balvenie Masters of Craft Awards

A couple of months ago, I visited the twenty finalists of the Balvenie Masters of Craft Awards. It is a privileged thing to be in the studios and workshops of such fine and skilled people. Apart from the obvious skills, we have so much to learn from these makers, such as patience, learning skills over a long period and doing things in a considered way. In nearly every case their skills have been handed down from previous masters of craft and they consider it a duty to hand on these skills.

I have been meaning to put some portraits up of the twenty finalists in their studios and workshops. They are in no particular order, and I will add more in the following days.

Christoph Gotting: Violinmaker, Romsey, Hampshire. gottingviolins.co.uk

Adrian Morgan, Boatbuilder, Ullapool, Highlands. viking-boats.com

Alex Ramsay, Silversmith, London. alexramsay.co.uk

Linda Bloomfield, Potter, London. lindabloomfield.co.uk/

Stewart Hearn, Glassmaker, London. londonglassworks.com

Deborah Carré, Shoemaker, London. carreducker.com

Amanda Winfield, Stained glass maker, Abinger Hammer, Surrey. abinger-stained-glass.co.uk

John Cornforth, Shoemaker, Harrogate, North Yorkshire. shoemaker.org.uk

The South Downs Way

My friends James Bowthorpe and John McFaul invited me along to record their attempt to complete the 200 mile South Down Way double (that's there and back). The mostly off-road route starts in Winchester and ends in Eastbourne.

My job for the day was to chase ahead of the boys in my old Volvo, park up, find a spot and take photos as they passed by. I don't know the South Downs at all so relied on John's expert notes to guide me along the route.

I met the boys at 9am and tucked into a hearty breakfast on a beautiful morning in Winchester before the start. I haven't seen John or James in a while, and it was very nice to have a little time to catch up.

Without any more ado, I'll lead you through some of the journey with a few photos from the day. It was a magical summer's day, so I was transfixed by the huge landscapes and skies on the journey. I know that at some point James will write about this journey in more detail.

Climbing the hill at High Titten near Amberley

Big brooding skies high above the sea at Devil's Dyke

Ditchling Beacon

The lovely old wooden bridge over the River Ouse at Southease

13 hours later, the boys appear in the distance on the golf course above Eastbourne

It was a great day chasing the boys and seeing some of the beautiful downs. As for the ride itself, James had a problem which involved me taking him to get a repair on a tubeless tyre (which didn't turn out to be tubeless). The help meant that the attempt (for James anyway) wasn't going to happen as the 'Alpine' style journey means that you take everything you need for the return journey and not have help along the way. The flow of the ride was broken and from that point James and John struggled with getting back into their stride.

At about 11pm they arrived above Eastbourne, and it was clear that they weren't going to attempt the double this time around.

After finding the only chippy open in Eastbourne at midnight it was impressive to hear them both be so positive about the day. Though the double didn't happen we had a brilliant day, I hope that you get a bit of a feel for just how stunningly beautiful the downs are from the images. As for the double, I'm pretty sure that both James and John will be back to give it another go some time soon.

On Nature

I've known Richard King for some years, I meet up with him at least once a year at the Do Lectures (he organises the brilliant music). Through Richard I got to know about Caught by the River, a lovely blog about, well rivers, the countryside and all the nice slow things that make living in Britain so good. Robin Turner and Jeff Barrett (from Heavenly records) help keep the site ticking over. They also publish one or two great books. I was very happy to be involved in the new book by writing a chapter about seeing Britain from a bicycle saddle.

In a couple of weeks we are having an evening in London where I will be lucky enough to be talking with Rob Penn and Mike Carter about cycling around Britain (Mike was the bloke who did the same journey and wrote about it in the Observer each week) and Rob is the bloke who did the TV programme about building the perfect bike (It's all About the Bike). Not only that but Martin Noble from the brilliant British Sea Power will be talking about his piece for On Nature (the CBTR book). Well, here's all the info, and if you around, it will be great to see you there on the 6th July at the Stag in Hampstead.

 

The Saddlers

A master saddler, Frank Baines has been making saddles since 1964. His workshop in Walsall in the West Midlands makes some of the finest saddles in the world. Each craftsman makes a saddle from start to finish, making about four saddles each a week. His saddles are used by some of the world's top riders. Like Sheffield, the local football team has adopted the local craft as it's nickname (Sheffield United are known as 'the blades' and Walsall FC, 'the saddlers'). Frank says that in 1881 there were 6830 saddle makers in Walsall, now just a handful remain. Franks chuckles as he tells me that the last big break through for saddle making was in 1846 with the invention of the sewing machine. Frank talks here in his softly spoken black country accent about the saddlery and the highly skilled team that works with him.

The Balvenie Masters of Craft is looking for the finest craftsmen in Britain for details go here. Entries close on Thursday 21 April.

 

The last glover in Worcester

One thing that you can be sure of is that when Les Winfield moves to the great glover in the sky, his young apprentice will be out of a job, and 'that will be that' for glove making in Worcester. You see Les is 91 (though you would never guess it) and his glover in the workshop is Brian Fincher, 64.

Les is a third generation glover and has spent 68 years in the trade. When I visited the workshop, Les was getting a bit of treatment for his legs (that'll be the 68 years at a workbench I suppose). So Brian talked me through the process.

The story reflects the decline of the cutlers in Sheffield. There were around 150 manufacturers of gloves employing 30,000 people at the peak in and around Worcester in 1820.

Using the finest leathers from Pittards of Somerset, Les, Brian and a team of local outworkers fashion beautiful gloves that can be bought directly from Les (who, bad legs or not) manages the website from his home. www.alwyngloves.com

I hope that Les and Brian have a few more years in the business yet. They make a beautiful crafted product and it will be a sad day when the last pair of gloves comes out of Worcester.

Sit back and enjoy Brian talking about his life as a glover and the process of making a pair of gloves.

The Balvenie Masters of Craft is looking for the finest craftsmen in Britain for details go here.

 

 

Made in Sheffield, the best scissors in the world

 When Philip Wright joined the family firm of Ernest Wright and Son in 1960, he took a look at the competition and found that there were 63 companies who made just scissors within a mile of their company. The company is now one of only two scissor companies that survive in Sheffield.

 Nick Wright (the & son part of the company), joined the company just a few years ago and has been responsible for helping the company survive through developing marketing for the business. When he joined the first decision he had to make was to either pay himself a wage or take on an apprentice. He decided to take the apprentice on. The highly skilled staff are mostly in their 60s and so taking on an apprentice to learn the skills is essential for the future of the company.

Nick says that the company are part of the Heritage Crafts Association, but worries that you become a heritage craft when you the last skilled person has left or died. It's also the case that many crafts people such as dressmakers or embroiderers help keep their business going because they are the people that need a really good pair of scissors.

I liked the fact that the cutlers of Sheffield are a close knit bunch, Philip at Ernest Wright knows Trevor and Reg (the knife makers) very well, and each talks very highly of the other.

If you would like to find out more about the Masters of Craft then go to Balvenie Masters of Craft. There is also information about Masters of Craft in the Sunday Telegraph Life Magazine

If you are interested in buying a pair of the best Sheffield scissors, then go to Ernest Wright and Sons.

Here is a soundslide of Philip talking about his life making scissors in Sheffield.

 

 

The Little Mesters of Sheffield

Trevor Ablett makes pocket knives, small everyday penknives and his workmate Reg Cooper makes larger bowie knives. Trevor is 70 this year and Reg 80. Both start work in their workshop behind Sheffield United's ground at 7am each day much as they have all of their working lives. They are really happy though to stop and natter over a cup of tea to people who drop by from time to time.

As with most craftsmen they make their skill look easy, they both work amazingly quickly and the end products are beautifully crafted and will last a lifetime.

In 1945-46 just after the war there were 30,000 workers in the cutlery and silverware industries in Sheffield, now there are just a few hundred.  Little Mesters are self employed skilled cutlers who make knives, scissors and silverware for larger companies in the city. At one time there were up to 20,000 people working this way. They often worked in husband and wife teams filling the tenement buildings of the city. But as the industry has declined, so the skills and fine craftsmen have gone as well. Trevor and Reg are amongst the handful of Little Mesters remaining.

If you listen to the soundslide below (and it really is worth spending the time listening to them talk about their work and lives), you will get a feel for the modesty expressed in their own skills. But they are examples of amazing craftsmen and are brilliant people to spend time with.

I am really pleased and proud to have been invited to record these crafts for the Balvenie Masters of Craft competition this year. I also spent some time at Ernest Wright and Sons, who make the best scissors that money can buy, and I will add a soundslide of my visit there in the next week or so.

I really hope that we can save some of these dying crafts and skills, and at the same time promote the best and more thriving crafts in Britain.

One of the things that I have observed in my travels is not just the crafts, but the passion that people have for their craft and I really think that we should be celebrating both the people and their work. Please enter or pass on the information on the website to anyone that you know who you think should be included. Meanwhile spend seven or eight minutes in the company of Trevor and Reg.

 

 

 

36 days and 1800 miles later, I'm back in Belfast

Well that's me done, I've still got a bunch of soundslides to edit and put up still.

I rode into Belfast last night about six and had booked into the Premier Inn in the centre of the city, so was all set to find a curry house and think about getting home today. But I got a call from Colin McCadden, an old design friend who I hadn't seen since, we reckon, 1989 when we were both young whippersnapper designers. He had heard me on the Belfast radio just before I set out. So we met up and I ended up canceling my room at the Premier Inn (they were very nice and didn't charge me) and heading back to Colin and Geraldine's with a take away. And it was great to catch up (and a lot of catching up to be done). Colin has written and produced a beautiful set of books with a photographer Chris Hill called Scenic Ireland. The images are stunning and show how beautiful Ireland is.

There was some sad news too. A designer, a lovely man called Rodney Miller who I had met several time back then, had died earlier this year. Rodney was one of those optimists and visionaries of the time, and was full of passion for design in Northern Ireland and was one of the first to energise design in the region. So it was very sad to hear that news.

But his city is looking great even in these difficult times, and there is a great legacy of design and quality here.

It's a bit of an odd thing finishing a journey. But I know that I have met some amazing people, seen wonderful places and feel very privileged to have done this from the slowness of riding my bicycle. I can honestly say it is the best way to see and find out about a country. And Ireland is one special place, that's for sure.

I'm going to say goodbye to Austin and Martin over at Lawrence Street studios and to Emma at Craft NI. Then a train to Dublin and then another to Rosslaire. Then the ferry in the morning to Fishguard and a 25 mile ride up the coast to see the start of the Do Lectures (which I'm very excited about). Then home on Sunday. Thanks for following the journey and all the nice comments along the way.

The Just Giving page is still up and I would love to get the total up to £10,000, so please pass the website on to anyone (with £10 or so to spare) who might be interested. I have loved doing the soundslides, I see them as little audio visual portraits. There are some wonderful, talented, passionate, funny and good folk in there and I hope that they will be looked back on with affection.