A Poster a Day by The Good Life Society

CultureShort Reads

May 15

Lockdown advice from the powers that be has been a little confusing – to say the least. It was Frankie Boyle who highlighted the fact that we’re now told to ‘Stay Alert’ of a virus that’s 0.125 microns in diameter. So, we’ve decided to take news into our own, well scrubbed hands. We want to provide clarity – and a dose of fun.

These are the headlines of our times. Welcome to the The Spring 2020 Daily News.

Written by Tom Cronk

As I write these words, our creative team at Some Good Ideas has been apart for well over two months. We last saw each other in early March, having taken a relatively early decision to cease commuting to our new office in Southwark. We had only been there a few weeks before all this happened. And while it was all new in many ways, with new key cards and new views and new pubs to explore, it had very quickly become home for us; a hub of creativity that helped spark some of our best ideas yet.

We truly are great together. We’re a powerhouse of ideas fuelled by a genuine passion for what we do and, occasionally, a few too many jammy dodgers. So how would we fare now that we’re apart, connected solely by WhatsApp and Zoom, with more time alone to self-motivate, taking proper lunch breaks, making stuff, sticking it on the wall and scribbling hurried notes to one another? Early on, I knew there was a risk of a semi-hibernation state taking hold. Perhaps we’d go through the motions, get the work done in our pyjamas (nothing wrong with that) and do what was expected, of course, but would we really have the spark to come up with new ideas and execute them while we’re all separated?

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The first hint that creativity was firmly off the back-burner came as we created this website, Some Good Ideas, in a fortnight. It saw Seamus, our Head of Design, working with a team of 15 truly exceptional designers to build something wonderful from scratch. “Yep.” I thought. “Everything’s going to be alright”.

“Yep.” I thought. “Everything’s going to be alright”.

Tom Cronk

Then, with a million other nuanced and interesting projects on the go, Charlie (our founder) and Seamus came together with an idea to create a daily headline for every day of lockdown. From disinfectant-gate to the sourdough revolution, we were hardly short of Good Ideas. After a few days of back and forth settling on design styles and precise wording, we were on the cusp of something great, something hugely powerful in its simplicity and confidence.

They’re big, they’re bold, they’re full of colour. They’re all I hoped for and more. I know we’re all proud of them. We’ve even printed a few of our early favourites as big A0 posters to bring some life back to our sister business, Hawarden Estate Farm Shop, while it’s shuttered and under refurbishment.

We’ll be putting every poster on our Instagram over the coming days and we’d love for you to let us know your favourite, so do please leave a comment and feel free to suggest your own headlines. Day #33, DON’T DRINK DETTOL, is an early frontrunner for crowd favourite, but for me, it’s Day #40, JOIN THE LAND ARMY: GROW SOMETHING GOOD.

Buy something good.

Shop

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.

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The good ideas don’t stop!

Articles

Carrot, Parsnip and Thyme Soup

Charlie Recommends… November 2021

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.

For The Love Of Pumpkins

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.

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…

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.