Stuff I Love: From Religion to Books to Places
We spoke to Good People We Know and love
We love those pages in magazines or newspapers where a special guest answers a series of set questions.
They can be intense, silly, personal, insightful… But they’re always a great read and a snappy means to get to know someone in a new light.
So, we’ve made our own! Click on a friendly face below to read their answers to our 13 questions.
Nicole Clark is a graphic designer and maker and long-term friend of all of our ventures who has worked with us at Glen Dye and The Good Life Society for many years.
Here, she shares here passions.
Callie Jones is an artist and printmaker from Cornwall.
She lives in North Wales with her Welsh photographer husband and their two children.
Callie works from her studio in a 15th century farmhouse which she is currently renovating and lives surrounded by ponies, sheep, chickens, ducks, cats and a tortoise.
Paul Farrell is a graphic artist based in his home city, Bristol.
After studying in Bristol and London he became a graphic designer in the capital for 25 years before becoming freelance in 2009; since then he has worked as a brand designer, illustrator, print maker, lecturer and author.
Laurie Avon, 25, is an illustrator, lino-cut print maker and part time lecturer.
We’ve worked with Laurie on projects for our sponsor The Hawarden Estate Experience and have plans to do more work with him at Glen Dye this summer.
Laurie lives in Brighton where, when not working, he cycles or watches Arsenal (the latter, he points out, always involves a beer).
Charlie Gladstone (57) is an entrepreneur, enthusiast, author, podcaster, husband, father and grandfather.
He founded or co-founded Pedlars, The Good Life Society, Glen Dye Cabins and Cottages, The Hawarden Estate Experience and Some Good Ideas.
His latest book Do Team: how to get the best from everyone is out now on Do Books.
Kate Higginson lives in Hackney with her husband and two sons, in a glorious townhouse that is currently being renovated.
Kate and her husband, Fred, run Print Club London, an online art gallery with studios in East London.
We’re huge fans of what Kate and Fred do, so caught up with Kate to ask her about the stuff she loves.
Australian-born, London-based artist Matt Jukes (44) creates abstract monoprints of forgotten landscapes and misremembered places. Entwined with the idea of memory, Matt’s artworks expose the layering of his process-led style.
Matt’s work is both meditative and nostalgic, he reimagines landscapes through an emotional response, and transforms them into something far off yet evocative and familiar.
We have worked with Matt to create a limited edition print for Glen Dye.
Dr Freddie Baveystock will be appearing at Camp Good Life (Autumn) as the Book Doctor.
He says “I’m 50-something (let’s not be too precise), and I’m a teacher, writer and devoted dad who lives in South East London with three girls, a few hundred records and more books than I can count.”
Sandy is 43 years old, long time husband to Jane (who he married in 1997), and proud owner of his grey, striped cat Zelda and young dog Cooper.
He’s spent his working life in and around the world of luxury food, drink and cigars, and is passionate about all three.
He loves mixing up his own drinks and is especially proud of a recent batch of pear-rosé-wine which we’d love to try, but we’re sure it’ll be gone before we blink. He also has a penchant for whisky.
Buy something GOOD
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This is a good book. Why?
Because the funds raised by this book will do something amazing. If you can afford to contribute to our 50/50 Project please do so by using the payment value of your choice.
The 50/50 Project was conceived in the weirdest spring most of us will ever know. Lockdown was imposed and, within days, endless creative freelancers lost all of their work.
We have a number of small businesses and creative freelancers are our people. We are their community and they are our community. We need them and they need us. Without hesitation, we decided to commit to employing 50 people for 50 days, paying them what they would normally charge.
Set of 7 Pin Badges.
Join the Lockdown Loaf Club.
These are baking badges of honour, for the new baker and the old, messages of encouragement and words of advice.
Find out more about the Lockdown Loaf Club here and your chance to win these badges.
Delve into our long reads…
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.
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.
In an unexpected turn of events, brothers Harry and William Rolph became the owners of two fields of ancient olive groves located in the far eastern corner of Crete, in the small rural village of Zakros.
Two Fields Zakros was founded producing small batch cold pressed olive oil.
It's been a few days since we said our fond farewells to our final Summer Camp guests, so today we're taking stock of a month of hard work, fun and new friendships.
We are celebrating the strong community of small and independent businesses of Kincardineshire and Aberdeenshire with photography by Jamie Brogan.
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.