Gift Guide - The Creative Dad

Fathers Day is creeping even closer! Yet again, we’ve been discovering some awesome gifts for all budgets, this time for those Dads and Grandads who like to get creative! - Whether they love to make art, music, food or anything else in their spare time, we’re sure you’ll find the perfect gift amongst these amazing items made by artisans from around the UK.

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LEATHER GUITAR STRAP & CUSTOM LOGO - £75

This leather guitar strap is the perfect gift for the guitarist or bassist Dad. Ready to be personalised with your choice of custom logo, imagery or text to make it truly unique. You can even choose the colour from a range of dyes! This hand cut and dyed strap is incredibly strong, resilient and comfortable; it’s fully adjustable and of course looks awesome.

HORD - Custom Logo Guitar Strap

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Home Bacon Curing Kit - Ross & Ross - £20

A great gift for the Dad who likes to get creative in the kitchen! This kit from Ross & Ross contains everything you need to make your own original, sweet and smoky cured bacon at home.  Bacon is delicious, as we all know, but home-cured bacon is a whole other level, with the added satisfaction of having made it yourself.

Ross & Ross - Home Bacon Curing Kit

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Pencil Mountain Art Print - Sean Mort - £25

This beautiful screen printed illustration is perfect for those Dad’s who always have a pen or pencil in their hand or behind their ear. Sean Mort has a great range of print based gifts for creative folks and hobbies of every type, including a massive selection of pick’n’mix mini prints. “A no.2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere.”

San Mort - Pencil Mountain Art Print

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Maker’s Balm - Old Faithful - £27

We’ve raved about Old Faithful’s Foot Balm before and this Maker’s Balm is perfect for the Dad who’s always using his hands. Your hands are the greatest tools you will ever own and just like all tools, your hands need care. This Balm contains Shea Butter which moisturises and protects while the Calendula acts as anti-inflammatory for dry, chapped skin. Not to mention, it smells fantastic!

Old Faithful - Maker's Balm

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Vinyl Record Notebook - Melodies - £17

A music lover and creative writer’s dream, the cover of this lined notebook is made from a unique vinyl record. Melodies offers a handful of unique notebooks amongst plenty of other trinkets made with music paraphernalia such as records, guitar knobs and drumsticks.

Melodies - Vinyl Record Notebook

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Outdoor Cooking Tripod & Griddle Plate - Netherton Foundry - £190

This outdoor cooking tripod and cast iron griddle plate is absolutely perfect for the guy who loves to get creative with his cooking. Netherton Foundry are experts in pre-seasoned cast iron cookware. You can fry or cook directly on the griddle surface or use it as a hob for pans and kettles. The tripod folds and can be disassembled for easy storage and carrying. A real treat for him, but hey, you’ll get to enjoy the food too!

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Canvas Pencil Case - Wild Marshmallow - £24

This understated waxed canvas pouch is the perfect companion for Dad to carry around his pens, pencils, brushes and other creative tools! At 9” x 5” you could even fit in a small sketchbook! This could be used as use a pencil case, toiletry pouch, or for travel accessories and we think it looks great.

Wild Marshmallow - Canvas Pencil Case

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Vegvisir Leather Cable Holder - HORD - £10

This leather cable holder is perfectly designed to keep earphones, chargers and other small cables organised and tangle-free. Made from resilient veg-tan leather and hand dyed, this handy little gadget will keep Dad’s cables tidy for many years to come.

HORD - Vegvisir Earphone Cable Holder

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Gift Guide - The Adventure Dad

Fathers Day is around the corner and so we have been doing our best to find awesome gifts for all budgets for those dads who love to get in the outdoors and have a scramble - made by artisans from around the UK.

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Personalised Fire Steel - by Hunter Gatherer - £20

The weather is heating up and those dreams of starlit camps are becoming more of a reality with each passing day. Hunter Gatherer has the perfect gift for those who want to prove their fire building finesse - these fire steels can be personalised with your choice of memorable text! All you need now is some dry kindling a bit of practice (and don’t forget the big bag of marshmallows for toasting!)

Personalised Fire Steel by Hunter Gatherer

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Cycling Recovery Kit - by GumOn - £27

For those long stretches out on the bike, GumOn have formulated a kit full of restorative and soothing products perfect for a pamper after hitting the trails. A must for all cyclists, this kit contains an anti-chafing Chamois cream, a Stressed Muscle Soother Gel and some Muscle and Skin Detox bath salts. Guess what is even better? They are vegan friendly, paraben free and scented with essential oils to stimulate and soothe.

Cyclist Recovery Kit by GumOn

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Personalised Hand Painted Mountain Patch - from £10

For the conqueror of Peaks, these patches are personalised with the name of a mountain or expedition. Engraved and hand painted, these patches have pre-cut stitch holes to make them even easier to stitch to their favourite rucksack or hat.

Mountain Climber Patch by Hord

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Adventure Cuff Link Dish - Not A Jewellery Box - £6

When the adventure weekend is over and the day job reality comes flooding back, we recommend filling your home with trinkets that remind you of all those wonderful elements you love out there! And this trinket dish entirely fits the bill. Perfectly sized for the nightstand, this dish is great for cuff links, rings and small jewellery.

Cuff Link Dish by Not a Jewellery Box

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Axe Camping T-Shirt - by Sight Hound - £22.50

Sight Hound have a great selection of t-shirts that are perfect for climbers, cyclists and off-roading enthusiasts. But, I fell in love with this anatomy of an Axe t-shirt - combining my love for technical drawings reminiscent of Haynes Manuals and the outdoor iconography of a wood axe - I mean, how perfect?

Axe Camping T-Shirt by Sight Hound

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Sole Salvation - by Old Faithful Co - £22

Sole Salvation is the perfect name for this foot balm - as an avid hiker, my feet get quite the punishment and this foot balm is the perfect bit of pampering after a long hike. The next morning, my feet are soft and born anew! This little pot of miracles makes the perfect gift for those who are always on their feet, adventuring or otherwise!

Sole Salvation by Old Faithful Co

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Ramblers Roll - by Moorswood - £48

Not all walks are dry and this Ramblers Roll solves a lot of hiking problems! Despite a myriad of natures seats out there, adverse weather can often mean a wet behind whilst you pause for a much needed energy boost or to swig from your flask. Moorswood have created a fabulous range of Ramblers Rolls and this one is perfectly suited for rainy or dewy days - a picnic blanket for one, this portable seat mat adds a little luxury to your hikes.

Ramblers Roll by Moorswood

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The Outdoor Club

We have lots of gifts perfect for those adventuring dads in both cork and leather. From our double walled drink bottles to custom map wallets. Take a look at our outdoorsy collection here.

Follow our Trails... Coniston Old Man

It’s late February and we have made a mad dash to the mountains. One of the benefits of working for yourself is setting your own deadlines and time scales, and so we checked the weather forecast, worked as hard as we could and managed to get a few days of respite in the Lake District.

It was unseasonably warm and so we made our way to hike up over the usually foreboding Old Man. My memories of the mountain (even in the heights of summer) being that it is usually cast in waves of shadow and has a stalwart presence. This day, the sun was in full glory without a cloud in the sky.

We started our journey from Walna Scar car park - full of frightening reviews claiming how hard it is to get there and a small car wouldn’t cut it. In drives myself, proving everything wrong in my tiny 1 litre engine. If you’re used to cumbrian roads and farm tracks, this car park is the perfect place for a circular walk without having to hike up a few miles of narrow, yet busy, road.

The path from Walna Scar Car Park

The trek from the car park is a nice gentle ramble, weaving around some of the lower fells - the views are already beautiful from this point, and indeed, the whole walk rewards you with miles upon miles of hills, mountains and lakes.

As you start to loop around, large graves of industrial heritage come into view, sweeping from the lower copper mines to the slate mines above you. You stride over thick coiled cable (used by many as a banister it would seem) that erupts from piles and piles of slate. You see lone standing and collapsed metal structures - old pulley systems to bring raw materials down from the mountain side.

It was breathtaking to see these abandoned remnants of industry strewn amongst such beautiful landscapes.

From here, a short climb takes you to a serene spot to rest your feet and hydrate before the final stretch to the summit of Coniston Old Man. Low Water is a small tarn with a reflection like glass, cupped by the mountains and surrounded by plenty of natures seats. The climb from here gets more steep, a zigzagged path above the tarn lending to dramatic views above the water.

The summit is slow to arrive. As you get closer, another mound makes itself known. Before long the large cairn and trig point comes into view along with the distant mountains toward Skafell Pike and out toward the Coast.

We had decided on a circular route that horseshoed around Goat’s Water, allowing us to conquer Dow Crag, Buck Pike and Brown Pike before descending back down toward Walna Scar. After finishing our summit picnic, we descended Old man and trod onwards toward the magnificent Dow Crag - its striking sculptures of fragmented stone pointing skyward. Here, you can traverse across the stone or skirt around the bottom. We intended to go over the tops, but it was a narrow walkway already filled with people - so we took the lower route and snagged a geocache on the way.

From here a lone Raven followed our trails - so much larger than I imagined them being. The beating of its wings made a breeze on the backs of our necks and its chattering squawk accompanied us across the ridge to Buck Pike - here it settled and watched us as we made our way toward brown pike and flew off down to Goat’s Water.

After conquering brown pike, our true descent had begun. The sun had been with us all day and had seen us hiking in just t-shirts in February. All base layers and fleeces thrown in the back pack. So after hours of rambling in the heat, the true thirst had kicked in. Despite carrying litres of cold water in our packs, we began to dream of a refreshingly cold pint awaiting our return off the mountain. But first we had a few more miles of ground to cover as we traversed a well established bridle toward the car park.

Back in the car, we head to Torver and to the welcoming Wilson’s Arms. With a pint of Windermere Pale by Hawkshead Brewery in our tired grip, we sat and soaked up the last of the winter sun in the sprawling and beautifully located beer garden before grabbing a bite to eat. Followed by a long soak in the hot tub under the clear night skies, we really felt like we were winning.

Old Man of Coniston - you may get some bad rep for being a bit of a grumpy fellow, but you sure changed our minds that day.

The Wonders of Cork

The Cork Card Holder

Why Cork?

For some time now we have been wanting to find a natural leather alternative - one that works with our love for texture and which is visually stunning in its own right. Cork has always been a firm favourite and for the past few years we have been secretly testing and sampling cork ‘leathers’ alongside other contenders to ensure they make the perfect material for our goods.

We’re so glad to say that all that testing was worth it!

We have found Cork to be so resilient. The material we source from Portugal is completely different to that of the cork you imagine from your wine bottles or coasters. We have manipulated it and attempted to tear it and failed - it is the opposite of brittle! It also has a natural water resistance, making it a great alternative to leather.

The Campfire Flask in Cork

Despite its good looks and tests of strength, cork is a renewable material. Cork is made from very thin bark shavings from the cork oak tree, ensuring that the tree suffers no damage at all. As a material, cork is eco-friendly, 100% natural, renewable, recyclable and biodegradable. It's soft, lightweight, versatile, impermeable, insulating and very durable, dust and dirt repellent.

We really hope you love the new collection as much as we do! And we are so pleased to be able to provide a vegan alternative which we know our fans have wanted for some time. You can find our hip flasks, key fobs and card holders in cork below and keep an eye out for wallets, water bottle covers and patches coming soon!

The Unity of Two - Part 1, outfits and accessories

So, you may have heard us ramble on about our nuptials on various social media - or even our website.

Well, what a whirlwind that was! With 6 months of solid preparation (we decided to make most of the decor and accessories by ourselves) and still working the business full time, I think it is fair to say that by the end of it all, we were both burnt out. 

Our engagement occurred in the wilds of Iceland under the night sky whilst the aurora borealis attempted (but ultimately failed) to form. Needless to say, in the years we had to plan our wedding, we hoped to include our previous travels, love of the outdoors and history into the general feel and look of the wedding.

We chose our venue early on (with a three year waiting list) after viewing lots of different places that would become wildly inappropriate in cost (I’d rather buy a house, thanks.) Our venue was the fantastic Oakwell Hall - with acres of woodland and a country park, a hall clad in such wonderful oak panelling for our ceremony and a listed barn for our reception. Oakwell Hall allowed us to have the freedom to decorate, feed and water our guests with our own choice of caterers (including ourselves). This was so important to us - we didn’t want to be tied into a set menu with lack lustre choices and through the roof prices per head. We wanted an informal affair, that embraced the venue and the summer months we were intending to marry in.

All this choice ultimately meant a lot of work, but upon reflection it was the best thing we could have done. Our wedding was a true representation of who Jason and I are, and our relationship (including Hord).

Neon Sign by Add Vintage

Outfits

I entered the whole “dress shopping” approach thinking I had already found ‘the one’ and that I was sorted. My initial find was online and in Canada - no option to try without an expensive holiday. I decided I needed to try some different silhouettes to see what works for me - enter Glory Days, a York based company focusing on vintage dresses from the 1900’s to the 1980’s. What more could I need to get an idea of silhouettes and styling? I booked an appointment, dragging my mum and sister in tow and tried a myriad of beautiful dresses. From 1920’s flapper, to floaty 70’s offerings. Here, I also managed to try on some of their in house designs by Rolling in Roses, beautiful dresses that are inspired by their vintage sister brand. I learnt that all the vintage dresses could be added to and manipulated and that they offer bespoke dresses too. And so my journey with Hayley began - she crafted a beautiful dress for me which was a tweaked version of her Witch-hazel dress - an over layered boat lace neck line over a silk plunge V bodice, Ivory lacing and a fuller skirt with back detailing. My whole experience with Glory Days and Rolling in Roses was fabulous. I heard many a nightmare story about how boutiques treat their potential customers, but Hayley and her team were an absolute dream to work with.

For myself, I made my leather cinching belt, backed with leftover silk from my dress. Hooked with a vintage buckle at the back of the belt, it echoes the deep V’s that appear throughout the dress. The belt was engraved with our wedding logo and my illustrative details from carvings which appear in the venue. I made myself a fur stole for the evening (but alas, it never cooled down enough to use it). I purchased two necklaces for my outfit, one is the elaborate large piece which echoes the shape of my belt buckle and the other is the gold locket. I attached the two temporarily for the day - the locket held photos of my Grandparents who couldn’t be there on the day. My hair was done by the lovely Faye at XTG hairdressing, Huddersfield and I engraved my own boots, made leather spats and paired them with lace socks.

Necklace from Mimischkä , Locket from Vintage at mums

Jason’s approach was almost as haphazard - he knew the style he wanted but colour palettes were being thrown here there and everywhere. One thing was certain, and that was Jason didn’t want to wear a three piece. Our wedding was in the beginning of July and we felt that even if the weather was dire, it would still be seasonally warm. Here starts our hunt for the perfect waistcoat! We wanted a tweed full back waistcoat - no shiny satins here please! This proved so difficult to source! We found a beautiful harris tweed waistcoat with cotton back and so I bought it on a whim - the colours were perfect but that back was still not in a matching tweed. I decided I would try to make one for him and utilised that degree from years ago… Whilst I started work on the patterns and fittings, slowly but surely Jason fell in love with that original waistcoat and I was freed up from a job! Paired with some comfortable chinos and a lightweight and super soft shirt the outfit was nearly complete.

To accessorise, we made an engraved leather belt which matched his brogues, a leather wrapped hand made corsage and a full leather tie - made from the same leather as my belt. Oh, and of course the wind up pocket watch!

Jason’s best man and groomsmen wore matching shirts and chinos to Jason and they were fully kitted out in Hord gear. We decided we wanted the groomsmen to wear leather suspenders, dicky bows, and belts.

My Maid of Honour also wore leather braces, whilst the bridesmaids wore wide leather cinching belts with ornate brass buckles. All of our bouquets and corsages were arranged by Jason and I.

My wedding ring was commissioned by Midnight Alchemy Design who are based in West Yorkshire. I wanted a slim, gold wedding band that would be timeless whilst still echoing our woodland wedding - Hammered with a bark like texture, it catches the light beautifully. Jason’s ring combines his love of wood and brass with the hardiness of titanium and was purchased from the Etsy store RingsDepot

Gold Wedding Ring by Midnight Alchemy Design, Ebony, Brass and Titanium Ring by RingsDepot

In Part 2 of Unity of Two, we shall venture into our venue decorations and graphic work (and we might even be able to fit in food and booze!). If there are any other elements you would like to know about, leave a comment below!

PHOTOGRAPHY - SHUTTER GO CLICK

Instagram

Most of our daily endeavours can be seen over on Instagram and in our Instagram Stories. We love being able to share with you snippets of our work behind the scenes, how things are constructed as well as our inspirations and developments. 

We are going to endeavour to work on this new blog to help bring that slice of life to everyone who visits our website as well - but with a more in depth insight (and more words - is that a good thing? I guess we shall have to wait and see...). With articles on what makes us tick, what we are currently working on and doing and to showcase some projects. Who knows where it will take us!