By Jimmy sANDISON

Across our businesses, and in our homes, the walls are smattered with wonderful prints featuring joyful designs, typographic headlines and incredible artworks by experts we're proud to know within our community. Here is a list of some of the great ones, found in our Directory.

1. Debbie Kendall

Original prints, cards and gifts for dog lovers. We sold her Doggeral prints in Pedlars for many years, they were always an absolute hit!

2. Ploterre

You can spot a Ploterre print in most locations around Glen Dye Cabins and Cottages, they are a real favourite.

3. ant Oram

Buy something really good from the genius, Anthony Oram.

Prints and objects inspired by old matchboxes, vintage tin toys, folk art, children’s books and stamps. A long time friend of The Good Life Society and Some Good Ideas, Tom has produced brilliant Good Life Experience festival posters for us for many years.

5. Callie Jones

Illustrator, printmaker, artist, digital artist, we’ve worked with Callie on many great projects, she never ceases to dazzle us.

4. Gail Bryson

Some Good Ideas’ product designer, Gail Bryson. Obviously, we’re obsessed with her work.

7. Toucan Tango

A printmaking, illustration and design duo with impeccable style. They created the phone box installation at Hawarden Estate Farm Shop.

8. Mark Mckellier

And finally, if you’re feeling crafty, buy Mark Mckellier’s wood type fonts for printing a poster yourself!

Discover more good ideas.

Articles

Carrot, Parsnip and Thyme Soup

Read more →

Charlie Recommends… November 2021

Read more →

Ten Things You Need To Make Winter Good

Our thoughts this winter, across our businesses, are focused on getting our guests and customers outdoors. I believe that winter is every bit as good as summer and that our relationship with the colder and darker months has become weirdly soured.

Autumn and winter last for about half the year, so we might as well try to make the best of them.

So here’s a short piece on my favourite kit -indoor and outdoor- for winter.

Read more →

For The Love Of Pumpkins

Read more →

The Very Real Ups And Downs Of Life As An Author, As Told By Christobel Kent

Christobel Kent was born in London and educated at Cambridge. She has lived variously in Essex, London and Italy.

Her childhood included several years spent on a Thames sailing barge in Maldon, Essex with her father, stepmother, three siblings and four step-siblings.

Read more →

10 Good Gift Ideas For Christmas 2021

I love Christmas. It’s called the most wonderful time of the year for a reason. And I hope this love never leaves me.

So, whilst this may feel early to some, what’s the harm in getting ahead of yourself and saving the Amazon Prime panic on December 23rd? We can do better than that.

Here are 10 good things to consider for the ones you love this year, and yes, there is some shameless self-promotion present…

Read more →

A Creative Experiment In Passionate Non-Attachment

Steve is an artist, writer and speaker interested in creativity and the human condition. He has sold work across four continents and exhibited alongside the likes of Pablo Picasso and David Shrigley. He has spoken around the world on creativity and is the host of Sound of Silence – the world’s first silent podcast, featuring special guests.

He is at his best when he is right on the edge of not quite knowing what he is doing.

Read more →

Five Books I Loved That I Think You’ll Love Too.

Read more →

My Weekend Managing The Some Good Ideas Stage At Camp Good Life

Read more →

The Folklore and Mythology of the Rowan Tree

Read more →

Enter Shop.

Shop

Register Your Interest

A Good Tea Pot

£59.00

This is a good tea pot.

It’s good because it is made in Britain, it looks amazing, it works well and it’s ethically sourced. Our tea pot was designed by 1882ltd in Stoke-on-Trent by 5th generation makers. No corners were cut in making this product.

We hope that you appreciate its deep integrity and that it offers you years of satisfying use.

To find out more about the manufacture and costs involved in making these tea pots, scroll to the bottom of this page where we’ve included lots of detail. We’re really trying to be transparent here, because our mission is not just to sell great things but to help people to understand that it’s possible to make good things in Great Britain and what, precisely, this costs.

We aim to pay everyone fairly, to make things as sustainably as possible and to support British manufacturers. Inevitably, this means that our goods will cost more than most others, but we think that that is a price worth paying and hope that you’ll agree.

Read more →

Register Your Interest

A Good Jacket

£275.00

Honestly, we think that this is a perfect piece of clothing. It’s the first item to be made under our new brand, SGI Threads.

Please scroll down the page to view more images.

First a bit of history.

A lot of people associate our work with Pedlars and The Good Life Experience with the classic vintage workwear jackets that we used to sell. We sold thousands over the course of many years and about twenty years ago we even designed and sold our own British-made version. Either it wasn’t very good, or it was ahead of its time because it didn’t sell well.

Ever since then we have wanted to do another. Now every fashion company makes one and so in order to stand out we decided to try to make one that is truly exceptional. And we genuinely believe that we succeeded.

(Keep reading, plus size info, below.)

Read more →

Register Your Interest

A Good Apron

£79.00

At Some Good Ideas part of our mission is to prove that amazing goods can be made in Great Britain and in so doing to show precisely what this costs. We are happy to share any other information so that you, too, can make things here.

At Some Good Ideas we make goods in Britain using the finest components. This is a way to guarantee the very best quality and to prove that it can be done in Britain; it may not be the easiest thing and it definitely isn’t the cheapest, but it is worth the effort. Part of our challenge is that we’re designing our own things and choosing the components, rather than going to a factory -which would be a lot easier- and just saying ’those things you make, please make some for us in a different colour’.

Anyway, here is our apron. It’s taken us five months to build this and it was worth the wait. The original idea was to see if we could make an apron for the staff in The Glynne Arms, one of our sponsors, that reflected their keen eye for the provenance of their food and drink. And, we succeeded. But we’ve made some for other people too -you!- and here they are.

Manufactured in Ipswich. Screen printed in Huddersfield. Tape made in Cheshire. Labels designed and printed in London. Buckles and fabric from Europe.

Read more →

Register Your Interest

A Good To Do List

£12.75

Everyone needs a To Do list. So, why not buy this one?

Its paper was milled in Scotland, the printing was done in England using Dutch manufactured mineral based inks and vegetable based inks, the glue is from the West Midlands, the manufacture took place in Lincolnshire, the photographs were taken in Sheffield and the design was created in London.

That’s a lot of information for a To Do list, but we’re proud of these facts.

We haven’t cut corners, we’ve kept production in Britain and we’ve paid the people involved a fair price at every step.

This is a To Do list that champions proper manufacture and design.

It’s also just really, really useful.

You should buy one.

100 sheets.

Read more →

Register Your Interest

A Good Notebook

£29.50

The notepaper in this book is made in Cumbria and the end leaves are made in Britain too, by GF Smith. The cover card is recycled board and is made in Scandinavia.

The book in entirely made in Stamford, GB on a machine built in 1948 and the thread is strong natural linen.

It’s a lovely thing with a mix of lined, checked and plain paper and there’s an elasticated closure.

To find out more about the manufacture and costs involved in making these notebooks, scroll to the bottom of this page where we’ve included lots of detail.

Read more →

Register Your Interest

A Good Mug

£28.00

These mugs were hand made in Stoke-on-Trent by someone who is relatively new to the manufacture of tableware but who is employing time-proven, traditional methods of manufacture. The method employed here uses machinery that luxuriates in the unusual name of a Jigger Jolly; this sounds to us like something made up by Roald Dahl but is in fact a piece of machinery that enables the potter to make specific shapes.

This style of mug is a traditional one called a Telford and it uses locally sourced stoneware clay which is strong, vegan and natural. The stripes have been applied by hand using traditional lithographing techniques.

To find out more about the manufacture and costs involved in making these, scroll to the bottom of this page where we’ve included lots of detail.

Read more →

Register Your Interest

A Good Tea Towel

£19.00

This was designed for us by colour specialist and designer Gail Bryson and is made in Great Britain. It was printed in Sheffield using environmentally safe inks on Fairtrade organic cotton. The label is also printed in Britain. The cotton was grown on a single origin farm in India which has a long and close relationship with the printers.

To find out more about the manufacture and costs involved in making these towels, scroll to the bottom of this page where we’ve included lots of detail. We’re really trying to be transparent here, because our mission is not just to sell great things but to help people to understand that it’s possible to make good things in Great Britain and what, precisely, this costs. We aim to pay everyone fairly, to make things as sustainably as possible and to support British manufacturers. Inevitably, this means that our goods will cost more than most others, but we think that that is a price worth paying and hope that you’ll agree.

Read more →

Register Your Interest

Some Good Pencils

£12.50

These joyful pencils are made by long-established specialists in Nottingham. The sturdy box (which will last a lifetime in its own right) is made using traditional stitch methods in Nottingham.

The wood used in the pencils is Weymouth Pine which is widely regarded as one of the finest woods for pencil manufacture; it was approved by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification.

To find out more about the manufacture and costs involved in making these pencils and boxes, scroll to the bottom of this page where we’ve included lots of detail.

Sold as a boxed set of four.

Read more →

Register Your Interest

DO Team: How To Get The Best From Everyone

£8.99

A book by Charlie Gladstone, co-founder of Some Good Ideas, The Good Life Society, Hawarden Estate Experience, Glen Dye Cabins & Cottages, Pedlars and many more.

Words by Charlie.
Illustrated by Matt Blease.
Cover design by James Victore.
Published by our friends at The Do Book Co.

Read more →

Register Your Interest

The Good Life Society Hand Book

£25.00

We’re really proud of this book which includes instructions for 35 activities that are suitable for all ages and abilities. This is a book oozing fun, inspiration, knowledge and passion.

The Hand Book started life as a pamphlet that was designed to keep people connected to The Good Life Experience during the weird summer and autumn of 2020. But as we received submissions, we rapidly understood that we had something special on our hands and decided to make a proper book. This was something we’d dreamt of doing for a few years and hadn’t quite got around to; and now it was happening.

Here you’ll find detailed instructions for all sorts of activities from natural dyeing to podcasting, from cooking to learning about trees, from fly fishing to natural navigation, all of which are written eloquently and passionately by experts.

Read more →

8 Great Printmakers

Across our businesses, and in our homes, the walls are smattered with wonderful prints featuring joyful designs, typographic headlines and incredible artworks by experts we're proud to know within our community. Here is a list of some of the great ones, found in our Directory.

1. Debbie Kendall

2. Ploterre

3. ant Oram

4. Tom Frost

5. Callie Jones

4. Gail Bryson

7. Toucan Tango

8. Mark Mckellier

Discover more good ideas.

Enter Shop.

SomeGoodIdeas

8 Great Printmakers

Across our businesses, and in our homes, the walls are smattered with wonderful prints featuring joyful designs, typographic headlines and incredible artworks by experts we're proud to know within our community. Here is a list of some of the great ones, found in our Directory.

1. Debbie Kendall

2. Ploterre

3. ant Oram

4. Tom Frost

5. Callie Jones

4. Gail Bryson

7. Toucan Tango

8. Mark Mckellier

Discover more good ideas.

Enter Shop.

Do Team: How To Get The Best From Everyone

Anna Jones’ Top Tips To Prevent Food Waste

SomeGoodIdeas