I, #1PG, attended the Make Good festival last Friday and Saturday. The Make Good festival is a Pop-Up market and a series of talks, debates and interviews. Make Good is under the auspices of the School for Creative Start-Ups, which is the brainchild of the ex-Dragon Doug Richards and his team. We think he is doing a good thing with this endeavour and if this Make Good Festival is anything to go by it will be a success for years to come.
It was held in the shell of the old Selfridges hotel, which is an interesting choice of venue. It seemed to work well, though it could have been dressed a little better and it was a tad rough & ready. Though I met a great many interesting and delightful people over the time I was there, I will focus on the ones that are relevant to PG and I am delighted to say there were more than one or two.
I was most happy to find our friends Couer Menswear there and Peter seemed to be having a good show, if you want to know more about Peter and his brand you can watch our ‘A Gentleman’s Talks’ interview with him here.
Talking of Menswear, there were two other interesting stores, firstly Geraldine and her brand Knots and Folds, a colourful and dandy selection of ties, bowties and pocket squares. Though the ties were not quite for me, the pocket squares certainly will be making an addition to my collection in the future.
The other was Sajid, who was at the other end of the spectrum completely, he was the founder of Knightsbridge Luxury Shirts, whose brand is about bespoke shirts with gemstones as buttons, and we mean proper diamonds, rubies and sapphires. The concept is intriguing and Sajid was a dapper man, with the price tag of £25,000 per shirt might make it out of the reach of most gentlemen, well certainly this one.
I had a long conversation with Rebecca & David Cahill Roots from Betty Etiquette about her most elegant stationery, but mostly about our passion for handwritten letters and the fact that it is still the best feeling in the world to receive that letter. It certainly makes a change from bills. We think we should start a campaign to start writing to each other, something to ponder.
Another great conversation was with Katie Moh and her sister from KAMO, about there very colourful leather bags for the creative person. I even had my photo taken with them, the bags that is and Katie.
We are always partial to a little tea at PGHQ and we found a most refreshing cup at Lady Tesla’s Loose Leaves & Mud, tea emporium. They do have a store in Margate but they ship all over the UK. They have some fascinating blends and we did like the Steampunk vibe of their brand.
One of my favourite companies at the event was the Secret Date Club, as you know I think that wooing is a lost art and romance needs to be revived. Michelle, the founder of this company has the same idea. She takes the hassle out of dating and sorts out everything that will make a date something extraordinary. I am looking forward to going on one.
We are always looking for great Men’s Grooming products, we were delighted to find Gavin Green and his new range at Make Good. He is focused on the travelling market with ethical, non-animal tested products with a large focus on great ingredients. I think he will go far and the products are very fine too.
We shall follow these brands, people and companies over the next year and let you know how they fair.
We are always looking for new PG related brands and companies – if you know one drop us a line at enquiries@theperfectgentleman.tv or send us a Tweet @thePGentlemen
