The Fast Show – a UK TV show from the mid-1990’s – had a wealth of characters created by Charlie Higson and Paul Whitehouse – amongs others. One particular favourite was “Louis Balfour” – played by John Thomson – who was the oh so slightly pretentious presenter of “Jazz Club” with a catchphrase – when all else failed – of “Nice!”. You rarely got to see his feet but my bet is that he would’ve worn Clarks Desert Boots
Now you have to follow this, Louis was cut from a very similar cloth to a couple of Art Masters at my last school. They insisted on being called “Chris” and “Steve” as indeed I suspect they were their real names and as 6th Formers it seemed odd to continue with “Sir”. They wore corduroy jackets – in brown and country green – one with contrasting leather elbow patches – they had a penchant for practical Farah Hopsack trousers – don’t ask – and each had several pairs of iconic Clarks Desert Boots.
Quite what desert there were planning to cross in leafy Cheshire was uncertain but none the less these two were simply the coolest guys in the school. “Steve” with his long hair even drove a late reg VW Beetle – click here to our previous post Volkswagen Beetle – an icon re-imagined– you can imagine he was already ice cool to me.
Assured not to be bitten by scorpions nor rattle snakes, Clarks Desert Boots to this day are an iconic and a highly flexible wardrobe essential that you can wear with jeans, moleskins or chinos and they will always look the part. Just avoid wearing in the rain – they are suede and, after all, are intended for deserts!
C. & J. Clark International Ltd, (“Clarks”) was founded in 1825 by Quaker brothers Cyrus and James Clark in Street, (Somerset, England) where its HQ is still based – although manufacturing is now predominantly undertaken in Asia. Clark’s continues to be 84% family owned.
Since 1879 the Clark’s trade mark has been the distinctive Glastonbury Tor with the St Michael’s tower.
The Desert Boot was launched in 1950 having been designed by the co-founders, James’, great-grandson, Nathan Clark, a serving British Army Officer based in Burma. It is said that the Desert Boot was based on the unlined boots made in the bazaar’s of Cairo for returning British Army Officers during the Second World War.
Post War the Desert Boot saw adoption by the Mod Culture in UK, the Beatnik Culture in the US and were known to be a favourite of the Student anit-capitalist demonstrations in Paris in May 1968.
Why not be like Steve McQueen or Liam Gallagher and get a pair of Clarks original Desert Boots – please click the links below the images below to be directed to AMAZON – the two links show the full colour range available.
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Images courtesy of C & J Clark International Limited
Hand’s up who remembers 21st July 1969? Did your parents wake you up, in what felt like the middle of the night, to watch on a small black and white TV screen the moment that Neil Armstrong, leader of the Apollo 11 mission, stepped out of the Lunar Module (‘Eagle’) to became the first person to walk onto the lunar surface? There are a handful of childhood events, including this momentous step, that this viewer, as an eleven year old, remembers with absolute awe and clarity.
The enormity of men being shot into space ahead a giant fuel canister to orbit the Earth and then be pointed in a different trajectory to the Moon’s orbit and surface, there to land safely, open the sealed hatch and climb out. Simply breathtaking both in its spirit and execution. The First Walk on the Moon was simply awe inspiring.
Armstrong was followed onto the Moon’s surface by his co-venturers, Buzz Aldrin. They spent a couple of hours making auspicious speeches and collecting rocks. After nearly a day in the Sea of Tranquility they blasted back to the command module (‘Columbia’) piloted by Michael Collins. They were returned to terra firma having safely splashed down in the Pacific on 24th July 1969.
I was certainly old enough to realize that the Mission to the Moon was the most magical blend of evolutionary technology of semi-conductors and computers, the guile of America’s military aviators, the obviously immense resources of the NASA Space Program. It was also the culmination of the dream of a brilliant and driven leader, the late President John F. Kennedy, who in 1961 launched his country’s aim to land a man safely on the Moon before the end of the decade.
Aside from the warm and fuzzy feeling of all things vintage and American, Coke fridges, leather sleeved varsity jackets, Levi’s and classic muscle cars what else can be seen as the legacy of man’s early musings with space travel?
The Apollo mission kick-started a series of major innovations the legacy of which continue to be seen, felt and enjoyed today. Some of the many spin-offs from the Space Race include the following:
The Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) scanner now more regularly used to detect cancer and other abnormalities was used to identify any imperfections in space components that would only be magnified by the unique stresses and environmental issues associated with zero gravity and the g-force associated with space travel.
The Computer Microchip, the integrated circuits and semi-conductors used in the Apollo mission’s guidance software spawned the modern microchip that appears in everything from you laptop, to you TV remote control and your oven’s regulatory systems.
Cordless tools. Lacking the inability to plug in electrical tools on the Moon’s surface, power tools including cordless drills and vacuum cleaners were developed – initially by Black & Decker in 1961 – with integral battery packs enabling the collection of rock and dust samples.
In-Ear Infrared thermometer. A detector of infrared energy that is felt as heat that was developed to monitor the birth of stars found an alternative use with In-Ear thermometers.
Freeze-dried food. Since the Moon mission we have been fascinated by rehydrated food, Thai pot soups, noodle dishes and the like. Originally devised to minimize weight these packets of goodness fueled the men in space. This technology had first been developed in the Second World War for carrying blood long distances without refrigeration. Nasa was first to create freeze dried iced cream – but it doesn’t seem to have been that popular amongst the astronauts.
Home Insulation materials. If you have ever unrolled in the your attic reflective insulated matting you may not know that the shiny material used was developed to deflect radiation away from spacecrafts.
Invisible braces. Each of my three children has received the attention of the dentists and the application of braces that resulted in perfectly straight teeth. The process has been improved by the use of transparent ceramic brace brackets made from materials developed for spacecraft.
Joysticks as used on computer gaming consoles were devised for Apollo Lunar Rover.
Memory foam – for many, me excluded, they say that sleeping on a memory foam mattress or pillow results in a splendid night’s sleep. For me they are usually too firm but the underlying tech was created to improve the comfort of aircraft seats and helmets.
You may not be surprised to hear that satellite television technology, primarily devised to repair relay signals from spacecrafts and to unscramble satellite sound and images sent from space now sits at the core of home satellite driven services.
At the optician when ordering a new pair of glasses you will almost certainly have been asked if you would like a ‘scratch resistant coating’ to be added. Substantially improving the long term wear and tear on glasses these coatings were developed to make astronaut helmet visors scratch resistant.
Whilst shoe insoles have been around for years, indeed the likes of trusty beach worn Birkenstocks are based on the eponymous insole a challenge for athletic shoe companies was to adapt an insole for the Space missions boot designs to maximize on ventilation and springy comfort.
An absolute must around any home is a smoke detector with good batteries. It may surprise you to know that Nasa invented the first adjustable smoke detector that was programmed with a level of sensitivity that prevented false alarms. Just as essential in the small cabins on board spacecrafts.
The design of a space rocket is perhaps a classic example of drag reduction. Interestingly Nasa deployed the same principles of drag reduction to help create for Speedo a world beating, but highly controversial, swimsuit the LZR Racer.
Aside from bottled oxygen, filtered and clean water was one of vital elements needed in space. NASA developed a filtering technique that killed bacteria in water. This has subsequently been used to deliver filtered water in millions of homes.
Velcro – whilst not strictly a product developed for the Space Race, the system of a hook-and-loop fastener was originally conceived in 1941 by a Swiss engineer George de Mestral. NASA made significant use of touch fasteners in myriad of ways including the closing of astronauts’ suits, anchoring equipment during maintained and for trays at mealtimes to avoid them floating away.
Artificial limbs – Nasa is a world leader in the science of robotics devised primarily to remotely control space vehicles. The technology had been adopted to give artificial limbs greater functionality.
If you have ever completed the London Marathon, for example, you may recall crossing the line to be shrouded in a silver foil blanket. These blankets were developed in 1964 they are excellent at reflecting infrared radiation but they also enable the body to they retain heat and reduce the risks from hypothermia.
The Bacon hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell celebrated British engineer, Tom Bacon, developed an existing and century old technology to create a patented fuel cell that provided electrical power for the Apollo mission. The science that combined hydrogen and oxygen to create a reaction that caused heat that could be converted to electricity also had a useful by-product, water: which the astronauts drank. Fuel cells have been used to create electric vehicles including the Toyota Mirai, Honda Clarity and Mercedes-Benz F-Cell, where the technology is seen as a having great green credentials.
The Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch is part of a range of manually winded chronometers launched by the Swiss watch brand in 1957 and used as part of Omega’s role as the official timekeeper for the Olympic Games. The “Moonwatch”, a combination of both timepiece and stopwatch, was water-resistant, shock-proof, and could withstand 12Gs of acceleration endured by the astronauts during their mission. It was first worn during NASA’s Gemini missions that included the first space walk. The Moonwatch was on the wrists of Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, when the former two took their first steps on the Moon. It remains a firm favourite with those who love this Swiss watch brand which has created a series of Special Editions to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the first Moon landing.
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Music has for close to fifty years been a key component of the jigsaw of my life. I have loved music since I was a child captured by the exotica associated with some fine recording artists including Three Bob’s, Dylan – see my earlier post here – Bob Dylan – Marley and Springsteen, Leonard Cohen, The Eagles, The Doors, Paul Simon, The Rolling Stones and Tom Waits.
In later years, and for the best part of quarter of a century, I earned my living in the Law, specifically Music Law representing some fascinating entrepreneurs, vagabonds and minstrels. It paid the bills and kept my music opiates topped up. I met some truly extraordinary people, who often lived complicated but wonderful lives devoted to engaging and entertaining others. Equally, I have met a fair proportion of consummate egoists, disinterested in those who don’t pander to them.
Simply put, music talks to my soul. It evokes memories. It causes the recall of sights, sounds and emotions.
Asked for my favourite song – that’s easy – U2’s “One”. I can rarely listen that complete wonder of a composition without tears in my eyes.
My favourite – what we used to call “Album” – being a collection of several songs that the artist (or their record company) has deliberately chosen to join together in some overall theme, concept or message. Honestly, again, that’s an easy one, the 1989 iconic debut album of the Manchester band “The Stone Roses” is simply one of the most complete and luxuriously beautiful bodies of work ever collected onto a 12” vinyl record, 4” digital CD or stream.
Depending on the format and country of release, “The Stone Roses” comprises a minimum of 12 recording that lasso a time, a mood and a vibe of the UK pre-BritPop explosion of the early 1990’s. Along with fellow Manc, The Happy Mondays, this album defined an era and is the soundtrack to the lives of me and many of my contemporaries.
Ian Brown (vocals) and John Squire (guitars) who had known each other from Altrincham Grammar School For Boys – somewhere I often played rugby on Saturday mornings in the late 1970’s – formed and disbanded several bands prior to being joined by Gary “Mani” Mounfield (bass) and Alan John “Reni” Wren (drums) to form The Stone Roses (Squire’s name), a guitar indi-rock band that sprung from the vibrant Madchester scene of the UK’s second city.
Having composed and recorded songs for a demo, the band sent out 100 demo cassettes that featured the artwork of Squire, a very talented fine artist. This was followed by touring, further production and the release of some tracks to little commercial effect.
In August 1988 the band played Dingwalls in London in the presence of A&R representatives from South African owned label, Zomba and Geoff Travis one of the founders of the seminal indie, Rough Trade.
Rough Trade paid for some studio time and suggested Peter Hook bassist with New Order as a potential producer, when Hook was unavailable, Geoff suggested John Leckie a former Abbey Road award winning producer with an amazing production pedigree including Pink Floyd, XTC and Radiohead. The Stone Rose were signed to Zomba by Roddy McKenna and appeared on Andrew Lauder and Andy Richmond’s Silvertone inprint. Rough Trade sold their tapes of “Elephant Stone” to Zomba.
Singles from the eponymous album were released in early 1989 and drew the attention of the all important Radio One. The Album, with John Squire/Jackson Pollock inspired artwork, was released on 2nd May 1989, went on to win the NME Reader’s Poll for Best Album of the Year. The Album is certified in the UK as triple platinum, notching sales in excess of 900,000 units.
To add a copy of The Stone Roses to your collection – click the link below the image:
Images used with grateful thanks – Sony Music and Ian Tilton/NME
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I like boats but I have always thought that a conventional rigid hulled version was somewhat limiting. The practical reality of an inflatable boat means that it can easily be moved from one location to another and stored away from the water when not in use – thus saving a killing on mooring fees.
There are certain iconic products that through familiarity, usually based on exceptional built quality or performance, become the noun that defines the object. Hoover, Durex and Zodiac. A heritage brand.
Mrs W. spent many summers on Spain’s Costa del Sol as a teenager and when describing an inflatable boat she uses the term “Zodiac”. The boat owners she knew had their Zodiacs equipped with Mercury or Johnson outboards for use as ski boats, fun day boats or as tenders to larger vessels.
It will come as no surprise that these air filled and thermobonded tube-gunwaled boats can trace their origins to the airships of French company, Zodiac Aerospace founded in 1896. In the 1930s, Zodiac engineer, Pierre Debroutelle, developed early prototype inflatable boats for the use of the French ”Aéronavale” – the aviation arm of the French Navy. In 1934 he invented an inflatable kayak and catamaran and in 1937 Aeronavale commissioned Zodiac to produce inflatables pontoons to carry naval ordinance.
Following its development for military use, in the 1950’s French Navy officer and biologist, Alain Bombard, is credited with designing the combination of an outboard engine, a rigid floor and the boat-shaped inflatable. The resulting design was built by Zodiac. Bombard sailed a version across the Atlantic in 1952 and with his friend and fellow naval officer, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, it’s excellent performance made the Zodiac the tender of choice. See our previous post on the inspirational Jacques-Yves Cousteau here – Jacques Cousteau
The 1960’s saw a growth in the recreational use of small boats and Zodiac answered this demand partly by increasing their own production and partly by licensing others, such as Humber in the UK, to produce their boats. Further, US culture was exposed to Zodiac inflatables in Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau“ – get your copy by clicking the AMAZON link below the image.
Increasingly from the early 1970’s the modern rigid inflatable boat (RIB) was a development of the classic – almost unsinkable – inflatable boat, enhanced by the addition of a rigid floor and solid hull – in GRP, steel, wood or aluminum. Adding a transom mounted powerful outboard engine made these craft highly manoeverable and able to cope with the roughest seas.
RIBs became a favourite with the military – Zodiac established a separate division Zodiac Milpro to service this demand – and sea rescue services. Illegal smuggling gangs, intent on landing contraband whilst avoiding detection, in a part of the world I know well, made RIBs their vessel of choice – the authorities using even more military grade versions to thwart this ambition!
Image Credits – with grateful thanks – Zodiac Nautic.
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STOP PRESS
20.07.18 – It’s been announced in Madrid, as part of Spain’s ongoing war on drug smuggling, particularly on the Costa del Sol and Gibraltar, that the Spanish Government is taking steps to ban the private use of RIBs that are longer than 8m or smaller but with a 150kW engine or bigger. Once sanctioned the ban will come into effect after six months.
As I control the creative direction of Aestheticons I choose what’s featured. Largely that means that I chose aspirational gems. However, instead of looking up in awe and appreciation we need to consider the more mundane.
The items featured in this piece are neither glamorous, alluring – unless you are into the really weird – nor really do anything in excess of their primary function. At that, they are superlative and without them elements of our busy lives would be a struggle. They are Unsung – not enjoying massive Instagram accounts with millions of adoring followers – but Essential Icons.
Cable ties
I defy anyone who derives the smallest amount of pleasure from tending a garden, to fix a plant to a trellace or a bamboo cane or a brush screening to a gate without the use of a cable tie. Not only can this devilishly small but wonder strips of plastic fixing be a the gardener’s friend, they, with equal competence, support the work of electrician, plumbers and builders and many others in thousands of conceived and yet to be conceived ways.
Known as originally as Ty-Rap, cable ties were first invented, primarily to secure airplane wiring into the bulkhead, in 1958 by US based electrical business Thomas & Betts and more particularly their employee, Maurus C. Logan. Mr Logan developed into production the idea he’d conceived of aboard a Boeing during construction. The Patent was submitted on 24th June 1958.
Why not add to your tool drawer with this Amtech selection of 500 cable ties? Click the AMAZON link below the image
As our readers know I Like to cycle but over the winter months my bike has a tendency to be a little neglected and exposed to the elements. When the cooler seasons have done their worst on my waistline the time is right to look for the foot pump and adaptor and get some air into those bike tyres. The tyres are only half the battle. The gears, brakes and chain scream out for the TLC that can only be lavished on them by WD40 the spray delivered a light penetrating, protecting and lubricating oil.
As the saying goes a “Sucess has many Fathers” and there appears to be some controversy as to originator of WD-40. It seems that the formula of WD-40 was developed in 1953 by The Rocket Chemical Company in San Diego, California and first produced in commercially available quantities in 1958. The contributions – depending on sources – of a Iver Norman Lawson and a Norman Larson (President of Rocket) are named as the “inventor” of the formula with the name WD-40 seemingly stemming from the expression “Water Displacement 40th Formula” – suggesting there may have been a 39th, 38th and so on versions of the formula.
It may be that Lawson invented the low viscosity formula – still a trade secret but still has the original and distinctive smell – and sold it to Rocket where Larson had the bright idea of putting it into aerosol cans. It arrived in the UK in the late 1960’s.
For those many jobs around the home or office for which only WD-40 will do, why not pick up a can or two by clicking the AMAZON link below the image?
As a lawyer I am very pro the paper-less office, technology can teach us loads about sensible digital storage and retrieval. In parking our fears and posting to the Cloud we make a statement that’s more about efficiency and less about tree hugging.
For years we relied on the trust paper clip to secure our files, ensure correct attachments to letters and avoid inevitable embarrassment on a windy day. Called a “Trombone” in French, a literal use that I find very appealing, the simple paper clip does exactly what the tin says.
History tells us that in the US on April 23rd 1867 Samuel B. Fay successfully obtained the first Patent for a bent wire paper clip. On November 7th 1899 William D Middlebrook obtained a Patent for a paper clip making machine that produced an item – made popular as the “Gem Paper Clip” which went on sale in the UK in the 1870’s – and are similar to those sold today. The name Gem – trademarked in the US by Cushman and Denison in 1904 – became known Worldwide and in Sweden, I am told, that the word for paper clip is “Gem”.
No desk is complete without a selection of plastic coated paper clips – please click the AMAZON link below the image to get yours.
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Like most people with an interest in the popular cultures and arts of the last hundred or so years the name Man Ray is well known to me. His body of photography, particularly that featured in the galleries of London and Paris, seems very familiar but I know little of the artist behind these iconic photos aside from his key roles in Dadaism and Surrealism and his frienship with those including Salvador Dali – see Dominic Baker’s earlier post on Dali’s work here – Salvador Dali by Dominic Baker
Born Emmanuel “Manny” Rudnitzky on 27th August 1890 in Philadelphia, the eldest of four children of Jewish tailor and his wife, Max and Minnie Rudinitzky, who had emigrated from Russia. During Manny’s childhood the family moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The family changed their surname to “Ray” in 1912.
Man Ray’s artistic ability was evident early on. In 1908, following Brooklyn Boys High School, he pursued his art studies at the free thinking and socialist Ferrer School/Modern School and with Alfred Stieglitz – an influential photographer – who owned gallery “291” that featured European Modernists.
The Armoury Show in New York in 1913 featured works by Picasso and Kandinsky that greatly inspired Ray. In 1915 he met French artist Marcel Duchamp – who later described his use of a camera “as a paint brush “ – and together with Francis Picabia they comprised an informal grouping of New York Dada artists. From this era, Ray’s 1921 sculpture “The Gift” was created featuring a tailoring iron with tacks welded to its surface – thus rendering the iron’s true function, useless. Our image below shows his version from 1958 that, like many of his earlier work, were re-created by Man Ray – following his return from the US.
Europe called and in 1921 Ray moved to Paris where he associated with the Dada and Surrelists artists in the French capital – along with Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway. In Paris he pursued a lucrative career as a portrait photographer – taking photos of James Joyce amongst many others – and as fashion photographer for titles such as “Vogue”. His commercial work provided resources to developed his own style of photography called “rayographs”. These involved Ray placing and manipulating objects on pieces of photosensitive paper.
In 1924 Ray composed and shot the iconic “Violin d’Ingres” featuring his muse and lover Kiki. Kiki also featured again in “Noire et Blanche”.
By the late 1920’s Ray had a new muse, the fashion model, Lee Miller. In 1929 he produced the stunning “Solarised’ work featuring her profile headshot.
Our featured image “Glass Tears” dates from 1932.
Man Ray left for California in 1940 where he concentrated on his painting but returned to Paris in 1951 to continue to paint – really his preferred media – to write and sculpt. Aged 86 Ray died in Paris on 18th November 1976.
A friend from the art world once told me that often the most collectible pieces were “self portraits” – because simply it depicts how the artist sees themselves. This mischievous half bearded self portrait of Man Ray comes from 1943
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I wasn’t early to the party. It was about 1975 when my sister introduced me to Bob Dylan’s astonishingly iconic performances on music-cassette. It was a Greatest Hits Album with Dylan shot in blue in profile on the inlay card and I am forever grateful.
My sister had a small Sony Music-cassette compact system featuring a cassette deck and radio with two detachable speakers – mid-seventies cool for sure. Remember this?
She was training as a Nurse in the City of London at one of the UK finest teaching hospitals, paving the way for my arrival in the Smoke within eighteen months. She is two years older, had tried Gitanes before me and she had discovered Bob Dylan before me.
The Greatest Hits album – was in fact it was the Greatest Hits Volume 2 – from 1971 and was released in view of the dirth of new material from Dylan at the behest of Columbia Record’s label boss, Clive Davis. He became of some influence over my later career in music and some time later he left under a cloud. Initially reticent, Dylan had then agreed to compile it himself adding unreleased material from the Basment Tapes era but I am getting ahead here….
Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Volmne 2 – click the link below the image
I simply don’t believe anyone who says they don’t like Bob Dylan’s songs. I love almost all. That’s like saying I don’t really like Spring or Tulips. I get that his singing may sometimes be a challenge. His voice varies hugely from the sonous and walnut to a croak but his words, his rhymes and his use of language are simply sublime. Weaving morality tales and fables with the support of a simple folk riff, a country slide-guitar, a brassy pomp or a more complicated cajun orchestration.
Dylan – together with able foot-soldiers Leonard Cohen, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen – is the Voice of several generations. From the early 1960’s and the era of the Protest Song and the Civil Rights movement, to Woodstock and to the Summer of Love – see here our previous post – Peace Sign and The Summer of Love – to later “difficult albums” that explore love, loss and religion to more recent masterpieces that dwell on death and legacy.
In 2016, Dylan became the first songwriter ever to win Nobel Prize For Literature.
Dylan has sold more than 100m copies of more than sixty albums. He has written, prolifically, broadcasted and podcasted for years and has nurtured a diverse and talented family.
I have seen Dylan perform live on several occasions including at Harvey Goldsmith’s promoted “The Picnic at Blackbushe Aerodrome” show in 1978. I still have the poster!
Despite at times ill-health, his commitment to endless touring – since the late 1990’s – has become an enduring legacy allowing the faithful to flock to see his performances. In the earlier years shows performances were loyal to familiar songs, more recently Dylan’s treatment of his standards, deconstructing them to within an inch of their lives, has not always been well received. I guess the master artist needs stimulation and revising original orchestrations must be a way to keep things interesting. After all they are his songs!
I was in Los Angeles in 1980 and visiting the celebrated and iconic Polo Lounge at Beverley Hills Hotel. Arriving in a city taxi we pulled towards the entrance of the hotel and there, getting into a cherry red compact car, was the diminutive and slightly stooped stature of our hero. Something very domestic, almost deliberately improverished and above all not really giving a f**k about expectation, perception or pretense. The very anthesis of the image of Californian life.
Every filmed interview of Dylan – and there really aren’t many – from 1965 in San Francisco, to D A Pennebaker’s “Don’t Look Back” – 1967 traipse around Europe – to the media coverage of the his investigature as a Nobel Prizewinner is punctuated by his well intentioned and sincere confusion by all the fuss. The younger Dylan explaining to an overly fawning interviewer, who was clearly irritating, that he had nothing of interest to share and shouldn’t presume to be able to. His reluctant assumption of the role as “Spokesman of his Generation” is just ours for the invention. His “I just set up my stall, played a few tunes and the rest is down to you” appears to be his honest belief. No master manipulator, no synical plan.
Like many have before you – can you help understand a little more about Dylan’s work by reading his own writing from the autobiographical “Chronicles Part One”? – Click the link below the image
The Music – there are sixty albums to chose from but can I suggest a couple of starting places. I’d also suggest that you don’t stream – please enjoy the packaging as well as the songs – please click the link below the image
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Images courtesy of Milton Glaser, Sony, CBS and Columbia Record.
A friend posted an image of a pristine pair of Red Wing Chukka boots to which he’d applied trusty Mink Oil to feed the leather and lengthen his enjoyment of his shoes. Another friend commented that “We become our Fathers”; as, of course, that’s what the previous generation would have, sensibly, counseled us to do – see, some of it sank in.
The first time I came across the truly iconic US brand of Red Wing was in conversation with Eric Clapton. He is known for his sartorial touches and is a very active co-owner of the Cordings business with its shops in Piccadilly (London) and Harrogate (Yorkshire). See here Eric talking about his love of the Cordings and their productsEric Clapton on Cordings
I cannot remember where, but it must have been late the early 1990’s and he was wearing a pair of favourite 875 Red Wing Moc-Toe classics. He explained they were the most comfortable boots that he’d owned and a complete favourite. So much so that in 2001 he and Red Wing collaborated on what was called the Clapton Classics Boot.
Red Wing Shoe Company, LLC was founded by Charles H Beckman – an already established shoe merchant – and fourteen fellow investors in 1905 in Red Wing, Minnesota.
By 1915 Red Wing were producing 200,000 pairs annually including for the military used in both World Wars.
In 1966 the celebrated artist Norman Rockwell was asked for his unique touch to the marketing – see our earlier piece here – Norman Rockwell – “Triple Self-Portrait”
Many of Red Wings early and now heritage products stem from the boots provided to local trades including oil, lumber and mining. To continue to comply with health and safety requirements many Redwing models are made with steel or Aluminium toe-caps, offering puncture resistance, electricity dissipation and metatarsal supports.
It’s clear that when you really like a brand you want to make sure you enjoy them for a long as possible. Many of Red Wing’s boots are “Goodyear” welted meaning that as the sole wears out – so long as the uppers stay in good repair – they can be resoled.
As regular readers will know that I am visitor to New York City. Whilst there I don’t miss out on a visit to Dave’s at 581, Avenue of the America (New York 10011) they have an excellent range of Red Wing boots alongside a wealth of American and American-made brands – well worth a visit. Their website is Dave’s New York
If you are not planning a trip to the US and would like to buy a pair of Red Wings we have five of their iconic models available by clicking the link below each of the following images.
These are the classic 875 – Eric Clapton’s favourites. So much so that it is said that when receiving delivery of a new Ferrari he insisted that Ferrari should reduce the size of the clutch pedal to enable him to wear his favourite boots. Not surprisingly Ferrari accommodated their celebrity cient’s reasonable request!
Add a pair of Moc-Toe’s to your wardrobe – by clicking on the link below the image
Image Credits courtesy of Red Wing Shoe Company LLC and Cording and Company
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As a kid, in my parent’s car – in addition to Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit Chewing Gum to avert the inevitable bout of car sickness – we would always have a Frisbee in a door compartment or the boot. A country walk, a trip to the beach or a camping holiday would always feature some time to rest up and any combination of the four of us would start flicking the Frisbee.
I have no understanding of the science but I can very happily recommended Wrigley’s iconic Juicy Fruit Chewing Gum as an effective car sickness prevention that I was plagued by as a kid. Try it for yourself by clicking the following AMAZON link
As we got older we started getting cocky about using the wind to bank the Frisbee, like a boomerang, catching it on one finger and attempting to keep it spinning. Often a disaster would result. I have memories of rowing a small Campari inflateable dingy out to sea to recover a red Frisbee that had banked too steeply and crashed into the ocean. On other occasions our dog, “Kimbo” would be come overawed by the flying disc that he’d catch it and run away to knaw it in a quiet corner.
Not only a classic design icon of an earlier era there was a simplicity to its design and feel that has left an indelibale mark on several generations of users and has spawned competitive sports, particularly in the US, with Ultimate Frisbee, Freestyle Frisbee and Frisbee Golf.
On 23rd January 1957 Wham-O Toys Inc. a company founded in 1948 and based in Carson (California) started to make plastic discs that became known as “Frisbees”.
The idea was not wholly original. Aside from the Discus of 8th century BC Ancient Greece, the aerodynamic discs were based on empty tin pie cases as used, since 1871, by William Frisbie’s of the Frisbie Pie Company initially of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Legend has it that local universtity students – that included Yale, Princeton, Amherst and Dartmouth – would throw these Frisbie pie cases – that had the name “Frisbie Pies” embossed on the base.
In the late 1940’s, Fred Morrison and Warren Franscioni invented a plastic version of the disc and following his split from Franscioni, in 1957, Morrison, having made further improvements, sold the intellectual property rights in the plastic discs, then called “Pluto Platter”, to Wham-O. In 1958, Wham-O changed the name to the Frisbee disc and, following the addition of concentric ribs on the top surface for stability, patent protection was applied for in 1967. Sales really took off in 1959.
By 1977 over 100m units had been sold and in 1994 Mattel Toys acquired Kransco, the company that had acquired the rights to Wham-O and the official Frisbee in 1982. In 1997 a group of investors re-purchased Wham-O from Mattel, it was subsequently sold in 2006 to a Chinese group and, in 2015, Stallion Sports and InterSports Corporation acquired global rights to Wham-O.
Wham-O also own the Morey brand name of bodyboards. Please see here our previous post on Morey – Morey Boogie boardsof which I am a huge fan and still use their boards today.
We understand that in 2016, Dan O’Connor, a local Frisbee player and historian realised a thirty year dream of resurrecting the Frisbie brand when he was granted certain rights to use the name “Frisbie Pie Co” that has ceased to bake in 1956. In November 2016, O’Connor, who had discovered an old Frisbie recipe book at an estate sale, began making, distributing and selling pies in the Bridgeport (CT.) region.
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Image Credits – grateful thanks to Wham-O Toys Inc and the Frisbie Pie Company.
It must be a Marketing Director’s dream. Develop a brand that begats a killer logo, place that logo strategically on your products and allow a willing purchaser to spend their hard earned cash to buy them. In buying your brand it says something of their taste and aspiration. In them wearing their purchases they deliver in their role as an “influencer” to their peer group, assuring their nearest and dearest that they too would do well to chose the same brand. For your brand, aside from the inevitable free advertising, the result is a triple whammy – 1. You have sold your products; 2. Your brand is seen – eyeballed – by others, a constantly moving reinforcement exercise and 3. You should be able to spend less on advertising. Why? Because your customer is doing the hard work for you! Marketing Director sleeps deeply knowing a good job’s been done!
There are many examples of aspirational brands that a purchaser is willing to “Show Off” wearing – and I make no judgment as I too am a very willing victim. Perhaps the definitives are:
Ralph Lauren and their famous Polo Shirts – see our previous post here – Ralph Lauren Polo Shirt
Louis Vuitton – so popular that it is probably the world’s most copied brand!
Perhaps the best examples of brands that court conspicuous displays of their logos on arms, shoulders, legs and even tattoos, are the two iconic Goliaths of the sporting brands market: Adidas and Nike.
Odd isn’t it when there is a simple choice of two: The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Oasis and Blur, Amazon and E-bay, Adidas and Nike that the market is often quite vehemently polarised. For me it’s the Stones, Oasis, Amazon and Adidas but for others will be equally determined in their selection and the reasons for their choice.
Adolf “Adi” Dassler – Adi Das (geddit?) – founded his business in 1920, he started making shoes in 1924, registered the company name in 1949 and first used the three stripes identity on footwear in 1967 – that’s fifty years ago this year.
The first use of the trefoil logo – intended to represent the three continent of Europe, Asia and America – that has become synonymous with their Originals range – was on Franz Beckenbauer’s tracksuit in 1971 and it later becoming the company’s corporate logo. By 1990 the three stripes arranged to represent a mountain, symbolising those challenges to be confronted and goals to be attained, became Adidas’ core and hugely recognisable logo.
The truly iconic Adidas “Superstar” range has been available since 1969, along the way they have been given very heavy promotion by RUN-D.M.C. such that today they have achieved the classic cross-over from sports shoe to street wear.
Although a much younger business than Adidas, Nike (known as Blue Ribbon Sports until 1971) was founded in 1964 by Bill Bowerman and Philip Knight, and first produced footwear in 1971.
The now famous Nike “Swoosh” was commissioned by Mr Knight and Carolyn Davison was paid $35 for her design that implied movement and speed. It is said that Mr Knight was less than excited about the design commenting that he thought it would “grow on him” – him and millions of others now share a love for this simple device. In 1995, given its distinctive market recognition, the company chose to replace its then logo, that comprised the combined Swoosh together with the company name, with just the Swoosh.
Having nailed my colours to the mast – I prefer Adidas – last year, my team, Chelsea Football Club, threw me a curve-ball. The Club announced, after many years of Adidas supplying the team’s kit and associated merchandise, that a many multi million pound deal has been conclude with arch rival Nike for the next ten seasons. I must say the new first team’s shirt is a classic, really well designed and made, and my son is a proud owner.
Images Courtesy of Adidas, Nike, Ralph Lauren and Rolex
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