the bloke magazine - issue 2
DESCRIPTION
The Bloke magazine is a new publication for the discerning gentleman with an interest in style, elegance, and some of the finer things in life. We use no models, no big-name brands, and no scantily clad women. If you're a man that can live without these things, then you owe it to yourself to read further.TRANSCRIPT
BLOKEt h e m e n ' s m a g a z i n e l i k e n o o t h e r
http://dhiglobal.com/hair-loss-treatments/direct-hair-implantation/
DHI Hair Transplant - Direct Hair Implantation
BLOKE L e a d e r
Rules are there to be broken
EditorialMark Anthony - Mark Anthony [email protected] 456 166
Sales DirectorBen [email protected] 899823
General Enquiries01903 899823
Publisher Mark Anthony
CirculationMark Anthony - Mark Anthony [email protected] 456 166
Production, design & reproductionBarry Morgan - Down to a Fine [email protected] 259 737
Published by Chambers Media Ltd9 William Evans Road, Manor Park, Epsom KT19 [email protected] 456 166
Bloke is published 3 times a year by Bloke Publications.
The subscription rate is £60 per year. Subscription recordsare maintained at Bloke Publications9 William Evans Road, Manor Park, Epsom KT19 7DF
Articles and information contained in this publication arethe copyright of Bloke Publications and may not bereproduced in any form without the written permission ofthe publishers.
The publishers cannot accept responsibility for loss of, ordamage to, uncommissioned photographs ormanuscripts.
As we have seen from the proliferation of the once taboo brown shoes with blue suits and an
abundance of tweed in cities where – traditionally – it has no place, rules are there to be broken.
So, when we proudly announced that our magazine was going to be a celebrity free-zone, we
had not allowed for a chance encounter with the elegant, erudite thespian that is Richard E.
Grant. And when he agreed to pen an article on how he took time out from being an actor, writer,
TV presenter and national treasure to start his own fragrance, well it would have been churlish to
refuse. (And if either David Beckham or Tom Hardy are reading this, we’d probably make an
exception for you too).
In truth, our previous (and launch) edition was a shot in the dark; a punt; a suck it and see
venture that was dipping its toe into the publishing water to see if there was actually a demand
for a magazine like this. Well, readers sucked it and – much to our delight – they enjoyed the
taste. And so we’re back, bigger, better and bolder than before.
As you will see in the pages that follow, we are still not a fashion magazine and we are still not
aimed at anyone for whom a 28-inch waist is not just a dim and distant memory. What we are is a
magazine that is aimed at men that like the finer things in life, whether that’s an Aston Martin on
the drive, a handmade shirt, or a quality suit or jacket liberated from a local charity shop.
We sincerely hope that you enjoy this issue and that you share it with your friends, family and
colleagues.
The Bloke
BLOKE C o n t e n t s
Crisis? What Mid-Life Crisis?
With the economy on the up,
we decided that the time had
come to try out a car from
the more luxurious end of
the market. It proved to be a
near-religious experience.
Man of the Moment
Harley Peters,
welder/fabricator and
owner of
www.equipped1928.com
specialising in 1940s' style
t-shirts.
Don’t
know
Jack
The ever-eloquent and
erudite Richard E Grant. In
this exclusive article, the
debonair actor and author
tells – in his own words - the
story of how he came to
create his own signature
scent.
Whole New Bag of Tricks
Leather jackets have always
been a staple item of any
man’s wardrobe, and most of
us will have one lurking in
the back of our wardrobe we
can't bear to part with.
However there is now an
innovative way to upcycle
your precious jacket, rather
than hand it over to the
charity shop
Thrifty but Nifty
the thrift store or charity
shop has become the go-to
destination for many of the
most dapper individuals.
www.wizardJeans.com/mens.html
BLOKE O b j e c t o f D e s i r e
With the economy on the up, we decided that the
time had come to try out a car from the more
luxurious end of the market. It proved to be a
near-religious experience.
Have you ever had that
feeling? You’re in a top-class
restaurant; you are suitably
attired; you have brushed up
on your cutlery etiquette; you
have learned the menu in
both English and French; and
stuffed into your pocket is
sufficient money to pay for
the meal several times over.
And yet, for some reason, you
feel out of place; like the
maitre d’ will suddenly twig
that you don’t belong and
lead you to the door, asking
you never to return.
Well, multiply that feeling by
about a hundred and you have
some inkling of how I felt
climbing behind the wheel of
an Aston Martin Vanquish. It
is like being handed the front
door key for Buckingham
Palace. It is quite possibly the
most daunting and yet
sumptuously inviting place I
have ever been.
C r i s i s ?
W h a t
M i d - L i f e
C r i s i s ?
COILED COBRA
In truth, the exterior of the
Vanquish doesn’t really
prepare you for what lies
within.
For while it is low and sleek, it
suggests stripped down, raw
power.
Don’t get me wrong – It has
power to spare. The six-
cylinder V12 engine lurking
beneath the elongated hood
is like a coiled cobra, ready to
strike and ready to roar
through all six gears to a top
speed of 188 mph.
But airline-style dash and
flappy-paddle gear controls
aside, the interior could quite
easily be from a high end
Mercedes, such is the level of
comfort.
Even the driving position – sat
erect rather than lying
horizontal – speaks of a luxury
car rather than a supercar.
Where others make do with
bare metal, Aston Martin has
leather peeled from cows that
have been to finishing school.
But make no mistake. This car
goes. And it keeps on going.
JOHN RILEY CLOTHING
07715 38 38 69 · 07730 [email protected]
www.facebook.com/johnriley
100% TRADITIONALLY BRITISHAND MANUFACTURED IN THE UK
ESTABLISHED 1942. BRITISH HERITAGE
BLOKE
The car goes from 0 to 60 in
roughly the time it takes to
utter the fourth syllable of
“Dear Sweet Mother of God”.
It is about the same time it
takes to realise that – in
addition to steering and
providing a home for the
flappy-paddle controls – the
steering wheel serves a third,
equally important purpose. It
is something to hang onto
while 550 horses and a huge
dollop of G-Force is trying to
suck you out through the rear
window.
And that feeling never
subsides. With each gear
change comes another burst
of whiplash-inducing
acceleration that pins you to
the seat and squeezes the air
from your lungs. Indeed, I
have never felt more
conscious of my chest than I
did in the Vanquish. The
acceleration works like a boa
constrictor on your lungs, and
when you apply the brakes,
the seat belt catches like a
swift kick to the sternum. In
tests, the brakes have stopped
a car from 100 mph in less
JOHN RILEY CLOTHING
07715 38 38 69 · 07730 [email protected]
www.facebook.com/johnriley
100% TRADITIONALLY BRITISHAND MANUFACTURED IN THE UK
ESTABLISHED 1942. BRITISH HERITAGE
than 50 metres. This is only
marginally less efficient than
hitting a wall. A comforting
thought, until you realise that
the person driving behind you
is unlikely to be similarly
blessed in the braking
department.
SAFETY FEATURES
That said, facts such as these
are reassuring, as are the
heaps of safety features
including a hardworking
traction control system that
makes the car more forgiving
when you’ve been a little
eager on the gas. In fact,
although it is unquestionably
exhilarating, I felt constantly
secure, safe in the knowledge
that this car had my wellbeing
at heart. The same cannot be
said of a Ferrari or, as I prefer
to call it, a near-death
experience.
Does it have any drawbacks?
Well yes, of course it does; and
chief among them is the
asking price You could buy
Wales for less than the asking
price of the Aston Martin
Vanquish but believe me,
you’ll never have this much
fun in Wales. The Vanquish
doesn’t so much use fuel as it
inhales it. Then again, if you
have spent that much on a car,
the hourly visits to the petrol
station probably hold very few
fears for you. And think of the
Nectar points.
But all these are petty niggles;
like discovering that your
supermodel wife leaves the
cap off the toothpaste from
time to time.
Then, of course, is the fact that
its sleek shape and outrageous
speed scream midlife crisis
just as loudly as a
questionable tattoo or an ill-
advised piercing. But, as a
reformed Porsche owner, I
disagree.
Driving a Porsche in your 40s
– I now see - is a desperate
and vain attempt to be young,
carefree and careless one last
time. A middle-aged man in a
Porsche is Rod Stewart,
milking past glories long after
they ceased to be cool, even in
an ironic way. “Do ya think
I’m sexy?” No Rod, not for at
least 40 years. Driving an
Aston Martin speaks of
aspirations realised, goals
achieved, mountains scaled, a
life lived. A middle-aged man
driving an Aston is Keith
Richards, still vital, still
relevant, looked up to by his
peers, and yet not caring a jot
what others may think.
So yes, it is expensive and yes,
it will make you the envy of
just about everyone you meet.
But I assure you that driving
an Aston Martin Vanquish is
about the most fun you can
have with your clothes on.
And if, like me, you’re in your
40s, it is as much fun as a
good many of the things you
can do with your clothes off
too. So go on, treat yourself –
You’ll thank me for it.
BLOKE
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B E LT S • BAG S • ACCE SSOR I E S
Handmade from oak bark tanned bridle hide, a belt to last a lifetime*.
*Subject to waistline!
T: 01452 771012www.ottely.com
BLOKE P e o p l e
Name? Harley Peters
Age? 27
Location? North London
Occupation?
Welder/Fabricator & owner of www.equipped1928.com specializing in
1940s style t-shirts.
Style Icon? Steve Mcqueen seemed to get it right.
Favourite gadget/device? My record player
Favourite book or film? ‘The Birth Of Hot Rodding – Story of the dry
lakes era’ it has it all, the best in cars, clothes and 1940s styling.
Dream car? Far too many to name and definitely not enough time to
build them all. Mainly 1930s/40s era.
Dream holiday destination?
A road trip around the back roads of America, buying a 1940’s truck,
filling it full of stuff and then bring it back home.
Do you have a daily grooming regime?
Only when I get told I look like a scruffy git
How much do you spend on grooming products each month?
Not a lot, unless my pomade runs out.
How much do you spend on clothes each month?
More than my wife knows about.
Do you have a favourite clothing brand?
LVC Levis Vintage Clothing
Do you have a favourite grooming products brand?
Generally blue Dax or Black & White but have started using Murray’s
Super light which I found whilst in California recently.
M a n o f t h e M o m e n t
How often do you get your hair cut? Every month
Who cuts your hair? A good friend Steve ‘Deluxestyling’
Favourite item of clothing?
Has to be my Carolina engineer boots that were resoled by Brian
‘the bootmaker’ at Role Club in LA
Most expensive item of clothing you own?
My Rising Sun ranch hand duck canvas jacket.
Most ridiculous item of clothing ever purchased?
Pretty much all of them if you ask my wife!
What clothing item in the world would you most like to own?
At the moment its a Palomino horsehair/hide jacket.
What grooming product could you not live without?
Does a penknife count?
What, in your opinion, is the greatest fashion crime?
Wearing a Belstaff or Barbour jacket and not having the
motorcycle to go with it!
If you could have anyone’s wardrobe, whose would it be?
Just send me back to post war California and I’d have everything
I want to own right there.
Who, in your opinion, is the world’s best-dressed man?
That’s a tough one, Paul Newman
M a n o f t h e M o m e n tIn honour of our
unrequited love of
Twitter, in each edition
we will bring you a
Tweet-style interview
with a notable BLOKE.
BLOKE W h i f f
Rules are there to be broken. So when we said in our first
edition that Bloke would be a celebrity-free zone, we had
not allowed for a chance encounter with the ever-
eloquent and erudite Richard E Grant. In this exclusive
article, the debonair actor and author tells – in his own
words - the story of how he came to create his own
signature scent.
Setting up my ‘One Man Brand’
JACK perfume business was the
result of being encouraged by
handbag and accessories
supremo Anya Hindmarch who
said “just do it”.
We were fellow house guests
in Mustique and she had
noticed that I missiled my
nose at everything in sight.
“Are you going to do
something about it?” she
asked when I had my head in a
gardenia bush. “Do you mean
psychiatrically?” “No, create a
perfume of your own.”
This prompted me to confess
that when I was twelve years
old and had a crush on an
American girl called Betsy
Clapp.
Y o u D o n ’ t K n o w J A C K
Y o u D o n ’ t K n o w J A C K
BLOKE My pocket money couldn’t
stretch to buying her scent for
her birthday, so I stole all the
gardenia and rose petals in my
parents’ garden in Swaziland
where I grew up, boiled them
in sugar water, sealed them up
in jam jars, and then buried
them underground, in the
mistaken belief that they
would transform into scent.
PASSION IS EVERYTHING
Anya whipped out her iPhone,
pinged me a list of contacts to
approach back in London and
declared that, in business,
passion is everything.
I met with perfumier Lynn
Harris of Miller Harris, who
was very encouraging, whilst
detailing the pitfalls of the
industry.
Then onto Marigay McKee,
head honcho at Harrods, who
basically read me the Riot Act
of how the business operates.
She introduced me to
perfumier Roja Dove, who has
been a benign Svengali to me
ever since.
He set up a meeting with
Catherine Mitchell at IFF, one
of the big five fragrance
MET WITH THE NOSE
Catherine took me seriously,
said that Liberty were looking
for a bespoke unisex British
scent and set up a meeting
with head buyers Gina Ritchie
and Sarah Coonan.
Felt like Dragon’s Den meets
The Apprentice. Twenty
minutes later, we emerged
with a deal to produce a
perfume in the months ahead
that they would launch
exclusively at Liberty, if it was
good enough.
Met with ‘Nose’ Alienor
Massenet who transformed my
ideas into multiple ‘test’
options, crucially adding a
base ‘note’ of Oud to give the
fragrance “va-va-voom”. Back
and forth testing sessions over
six months, and ‘road testing’
it on all my friends, I finally
had a Eureka moment in the
middle of the night,
combining two of my ‘almost-
but-not-quite’ tester
favourites into a bottle,
phoned Alienor at dawn and
declared “this is it!”
Asked Dylan Jones at GQ if I
could write a monthly diary of
my A-Z journey into business
in lieu of having no
companies on the planet, who
asked if this was to be a
‘celebrity fragrance’? When I
said ‘No’, she ordered me to
sit down, asked what the
ingredients would be and
what the packaging would
look like.
“Financing this all yourself?”
“Entirely.”
“Risky.”
“I know, but my accountant
worked out what I had ‘saved’
by never drinking or smoking,
and I decided to take a punt
starting a business with that
money.”
I wanted a unisex,
quintessentially British brand,
which is why the packaging is
pillar box red, whilst the
bottle is ‘sleeved’ inside a
vintage-style Union Jack
calico bag with a luggage
label attached, so that it can
be personalised once opened.
The ingredients – lime,
marijuana, mandarin, vetiver,
nutmeg, pepper and tobacco.
I wanted the scent to be
addictive and almost lickable.
advertising budget, which he
generously agreed to, before
asking “what’s it called?”
Stumped for a name, he
suggested ‘JACK’, as it’s British
and comes in a flag bag.
Applied to get the name
patented and at the 11th hour
was issued with a lawsuit by
an American company who
claimed it was too like one of
their perfume brands.
Felt like David fighting a
corporate Goliath. Took legal
advice and encouraged to
stand my ground. They finally
conceded just before going to
court, exempting them from
paying my legal costs.
AWARD WINNER
Approached Swallowfield
company in Wellington,
Somerset to produce the
perfume in relatively small
volumes as a start up
business, which they
generously agreed to.
Mid-January 2014, I hand
delivered bottles of JACK to
30 magazine editors in the
hope that they might give me
editorial coverage. I am as
‘hands on’ as it’s possible to
Fragrance Foundation.
This has enabled me to launch
a second scent JACK-COVENT
GARDEN in the spring of 2015.
The third incarnation JACK-
PICCADILLY launches later this
year. I now employ my
daughter as our business
expands.
As it says in very small print
on the back of the box: “JACK
is my signature in scent.”
Richard E Grant
www.jackperfume.co.uk
get in every aspect of the
business and respond directly
to customers via the website.
Launched online and at
Liberty in the Spring of 2014
with a party crammed with
every famous face I could
persuade to show up and
within six months, JACK
became a best seller and my
fledgling company went into
profit. Topped off with the
award for Best New
Independent Fragrance at the
perfume ‘Oscars’ given by the
Meccanica
Classic British clothing
with a contemporary twist.
Born out of a racing heritage our
classics are inspired by
individuality, speed, style and the
beauty of things with two wheels
or four.
We fuse a passion for British engineering with
Italian design; our aim is to celebrate both
nations’ rich cycling and motor racing heritages.
Available sizes small to 4XL
while keeping a great cut and style.
www.meccanica.cc
+44 (0) 1565 651155
BLOKE G e a r
T h r i f t y y e t N i f t yThere was a time when the very thought of wearing second-hand clothing would have
been considered unthinkable for all but the least fortunate in society. But with the steady
decline in the quality of modern clothing, a growing desire for longer-lasting menswear
and an uncertain economic climate, the thrift store or charity shop has become the go-to
destination for many of the most dapper individuals. The Bloke reports.
www.samuel-windsor.co.uk 0871 911 7044 8am-8pm 7 days a week. Calls cost 13p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge. Offer ends 31st May 2016.
visit our website and enter the discount code SWBLOKE10 at the checkout to claim your exclusive 10% discount
tailored quality outstanding prices
EXCLUSIVE 10% DISCOUNT FOR READERS OF BLOKE MAGAZINE
BLOKE
We live in austere times. The
recession might be over – for
now, at least – but neither my
pockets nor my wallet feel
suddenly swollen with excess
cash to splurge on throwaway
fashion items. Little wonder
then that an increasing
number of people – including
some of the best-dressed
people you’re ever likely to
meet – are eschewing the high
street in favour of charity
shops and thrift stores.
And before you voice your
concerns about “dead man’s
clothes” or the vague whiff of
mothballs, it is worth bearing
in mind one important point:
If an item of clothing is of
sufficient quality and
distinction to be sold not once
but twice, the chances are that
it is an item worth owning.
Thrift stores do not generally
sell t-shirts from Primark as
these are made – effectively –
to be disposable.
07971 853172
www.alybond.co.uk
AlyBondLeatherRecycled Repurposed Leather Jackets into Bags
The ultimate upcycling for a beloved leather jacket.
Alybond will transform it into a beautiful, and useful
objet d’art. A truly unique and novel metamorphosis
that will breathe life back back into a treasured jacket.
BLOKE
FINE AND FRUGAL
Many years ago, I was having
lunch in an up-market London
restaurant. There was a man at
the table beside mine who
was sporting a really nice
window-pane check blue
blazer.
The jacket was clearly good
quality. Besides the surgeon’s
cuffs that he wore open, the
buttonholes were just so; the
buttons themselves even
more so. Despite my usual
English reluctance of striking
up conversation with total
strangers, I complimented the
man on his jacket and he
quickly admitted that he had
bought it in a charity shop in
West London. “I would rather
spend £25 on a quality jacket
and £50 getting a tailor to
adjust the fit to my liking than
buy something of lesser
quality off the rack,” he said.
I can relate. I have shopped in
charity shops regularly for
many years, partly out of
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BLOKE
narrow nor wide, it is just…
right. It is beautifully lined
and sufficiently thick to take a
proper knot, not that awful
four-in-hand excuse for a knot
favoured by tattooed
footballers and TV
newsreaders and which look
like the work of a four year-
old. It has been cleaned a few
times over the years but it has
retained its body and lustre.
And it has been tied so many
times now that the cloth
almost knows where it needs
to go.
SIGNS OF QUALITY
Of course, a designer label is
no guarantee of quality
(although it often helps).
Many so-called fashion houses
outsource the production of
clothing to low-end
producers. In addition, it is not
unusual for designers to have
a variety of quality levels and
brands to match: a genuine
Armani suit is always going to
be better than an Emporio
Armani number.
With that in mind, the thrift
store shopping experience is
more a matter of what you
know than who you know.
frugality but, more often, out
of a desire to own something
different, unique and
noteworthy. My wardrobe
currently contains at least six
blazers and sports jackets that
arrived home wrinkled and
crinkled in a bag with Oxfam
emblazoned down its side.
These include a ginger
number in cashmere that is a
talking point whenever I wear
it; and a tweed shooting jacket
– trimmed with leather at the
cuffs - I tried on in a Glasgow
charity shop and which fitted
every bit as well as any of my
hand-made, bespoke suits.
Although I do not have what
you might call a favourite item
of clothing, I do have one
piece that I return to time
after time after time. And it
too came from a charity shop
about 35 years ago. It is a
black silk Nina Ricci tie with
the designer’s name brocaded
repeatedly into the weave.
I originally bought it to go
with a suit I inherited from my
grandfather when I was going
through my thankfully short-
lived New Romantic/film
noir/European cinema phase
and it has been a wardrobe
staple ever since. It is neither
BLOKE
There are innumerable signs
of quality, but here are a seven
basic guidelines:
* Look for trousers with
quality details. Split or fishtail
waistbands, pick stitching in
the fly, buttons to carry real
braces, side adjusters, and a
closure with a generous tab
are good signs of a quality
piece.
* Look for shirts with mother-
of-pearl buttons. They’ll look
more lustrous and feel cold on
your lip. They’re more
expensive and are prone to
chipping, so they’re only used
on high-quality shirts.
* Better jackets will have three
discrete layers in their chest -
an outer, a lining and a canvas
in between.
Pinch the cloth to distinguish.
If you only feel two, they
canvas and outer are glued
together, a sure sign of a
lower-quality jacket.
* Shoes that have a shiny,
plasticky look are made of
“corrected” or “polished”
leather.
Because of imperfections, the
top layer is sanded off, then
replaced with a plastic
coating. This is cheaper than
picking undamaged hides, so
it’s most of what you’ll find on
the thrift store shelf.
* Never buy synthetics. If you
see a label that reads
polyester or nylon, put it back
on the shelf.
* Don’t buy third-world-made
goods. The words “Made in
England” (or Italy or the US or
Canada or Switzerland or
Germany) don’t guarantee
quality goods, but the words
“Made in Bangalore” generally
paint a rather more telling
picture.
SHOPPING SERENDIPITY
One of the main pleasures of
thrift store shopping is the
sheer serendipity it
occasionally affords.
There are few things that give
me greater pleasure than
spotting a rose among the
thorns; an undiscovered
diamond in the rough.
And of course, no amount of
heritage or luxury can replace
that feeling that an item is
just, well, you.
But, as a further protection, it
is worth knowing your brands
so you can recognise a gem
when you see it.
Many thrift store enthusiasts
are armed with a physical or
mental brand list that sorts
the wheat (a Brioni jacket)
from the chaff (a Baroni
jacket).
And, in the age of smart
phones and eBay, don’t forget
that you have a constant and
well-informed ally. Search for
completed auctions on the
web or in the eBay app and
get a sense of the market.
Some brands fly under the
eBay radar, but for larger
brands, it’s an easy way to
distinguish between the good,
the bad and the somewhere
between the two.
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BLOKE G e a r
Leather jackets have always been a staple item of any mans wardrobe.
Whether you are a fan of the blazer, biker or bomber style, most of us will have one
lurking in the back of our wardrobe we can't bear to part with.
However there is now an innovative way to upcycle your precious jacket, rather than
hand it over to the charity shop
W h o l e N e w B a g o f T r i c k s
W h o l e N e w B a g o f T r i c k s
by Martha Stewart about how
to make a leather bag by hand
- so I tried that but ended up
using a machine.
"I made that bag very badly,"
she says with a slightly
embarrassed laugh. "I still
have it though; it's an upright
messenger bag with a flap.
"A few people spotted my bag
and asked me to do one for
them, so I started collecting
leather jackets and my
addiction was born!
"Now it's a full time career
which I can do working from
home, although now I have
the industrial sewing
machines which makes it all a
bit easier."
Most customers send a coat
for Aly to create a bag from,
but if someone would like a
bespoke bag and likes the
idea of upcycling, but doesn't
have their own jacket, then
Aly has a collection for them
to choose from, usually
sourced from charity shops
and ebay and kept until they
are needed.
"The style and size of the bag
is then chosen and I
deconstruct the coat, but keep
original features such as
buttons, zips and other
details," said Ally.
"I line the bags with old shirts
and I have a number of nice
old Ted Baker ones, but I can
use one a client has. am now
The jacket may have been a
second hand find you
treasure, a present from a
loved one or snaffled from
family member - you may
even have one your dad or
brother used to wear before
they passed away.
For Aly Ashton, that's the
point. Creating these bags
from leather jackets is actually
a way of upcycling your
memories.
"Every bag has a memory,"
says the 49-year-old mum of
two simply. "It's a way of
finally making use of that
jacket which is sitting in your
wardrobe.
"The first bag I made was
about ten years ago and it was
from my own coat which I had
worn forever, through my late
teens, twenties and even
thirties. It was second hand
when I got it, which made it all
the more loved, but it was
getting pretty threadbare.
"I had seen a YouTube video
BLOKE
Along with selling her work
through her online Etsy shop,
they can be found at Wears
London at Greenwich Market
London and The Royal
Exchange Theatre Manchester
who stock Aly's work.
It takes eight to ten hours of
work on average to create one
of the bags which can cost
anything from £50 to £250
depending on the size and
detailing.
"I have been sewing since the
age of 12 and always used to
make my own clothes, but I
really feel like I have found my
niche now with leather.
"In the past I have worked as a
receptionist, building printed
circuit boards and making
lycra leotards and other
stretch clothes. Making the
bags has been a real learning
curve, and it has been difficult
at times but I have got there
now.
"I do love doing this; I bounce
out of bed knowing I have a
day of doing something I
love.I get such a buzz out of
making something that
someone will keep forever, out
of items of clothing of loved
ones - not just those who have
very recently lining some bags
with Liberty and Laura Ashley
fabrics too."
Aly doesn't follow fashion, but
after consultation with the
client, lets the details of the
jacket guide her design. She
believes one of the most
interesting aspects about
repurposing the leather is the
fact that before it landed in
Aly's hands, it had a whole
other life, something she can
then preserve as a memory
bag for someone to cherish.
As well as the bags, Aly also
creates coin purses, pencil
cases, laptop bags, basically
anything which can be
created from leather.
battered look and I thought
he might like what I do, so I
sourced an old vintage blazer
and lined it with levis,
contacted him and he's
agreed to use it in the series,"
she says proudly.
So far Aly has made around
500 bags, plus lots of smaller
items and has a waiting list of
a few weeks for customers
who want Aly to make them a
bag of their own.
She was even contacted by a lady
from Adelaide who has turned
into a loyal customer,
commissioning her to make two
bags as well as a handbag tidy.
"It's nice to think of my bags
going across the world," she says.
"I hate waste and throwing things
out....the loft is getting very full,"
she admits. "I can't look at
anything without wondering
what else I can turn it into.Up-
cycling has become a bit of a
passion for me, I'll do it until I die!”
passed away, but from old
clothing of children and
husband too.
"The winning thing for me and
for customers is that each bag
is one of a kind. The shops are
full of beautiful bags, but they
are all the same type of thing.
These are original. They are
also earth friendly as we are re
using material."
One of Aly's bags is due to make a
TV appearance later in the year
when Drew Pritchard uses
Salvage Hunters on Quest TV.
"He's into the very old vintage