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What can you do when you cancel a sailing trip in March due to bad weather and rebook in May, only to have the weather fail you again? Well you do it knowing you can't trust that's it's ever ging to be on your side! Timberland had invited us to go sailing, testing out their new Formentor sailing gear (you've never seen me look so good!) We were sailing out the port of Portsmouth in two teams to learn the ropes, swab the decks, man the crows nest etc, the weather was pretty grim and once we'd got out the port we were thrashed from side to side - this could have just been because Laura was behind the wheel, mind you. We learnt how to tack in and out, turning the sail in the wind which was quite difficult; steering was my forté, pretty much like driving a car and when your standing at the center back you don't feel the waves thrashing you from side to side so much! After two hours on the seas, we settled down for lunch and a much needed glass of wine, before heading out to race the two teams around the harbour. Donna and Graham were naturals at the helm, trying to persuade the team for press trip number two out in Mexico.. I can dream!
To talk about the actual sail-wear, I was impressed by the formentor shoes. They allow water to flow in and out with drainage ports in the bottom. I'm planning to test these out when I get back to Devon, I think they'd be perfect for climbing over the rocks, as I usually fall into a rock pool or two. I've just booked a week down there at the start of June so excited for some country air!
Thank you to IPR and Timberland for inviting me out for the day, and to the rest of the team for such great company!
It's so exciting for me to poke around a busy factory of such an established brand as Tusting; marvelling at all the different machines and jobs to complete one bag, making mental notes of the machine parts that I should be ordering for my studio; it all reassures me that I'm heading in the right direction for my own brand and excitingly, that I'll have a factory of my own to poke around in one day. Don't you love that each workspace had it's own cheesy calendar? Anyway, getting a little off the point, Tusting is the second largest manufacturer in the UK, based in the small town of Bedfordshire, the workers even walk to work from the nearby village! They started their company by importing leather from india in the 1870's and selling shoe soles to companies like Church's -which they still do today; now they have been manufacturing bags for over 130 years, giving them a timeless quality and heritage.
They're even involved with the young British design scene, helping Richard Nicoll design his bags for AW12, with Vodafone. I went to the breakfast launch just under a year ago to hear them talking about 'an exciting new accessory' to be debuted on the runway, so it was fun to see it come around full swing. The bags on the runway were all white and have a battery pack in the botton that can charge various devices, a pretty nifty idea in theory.
After we'd seen the factory, we went for lunch in the village pub where Tusting brought along some bags and leathers and we got to choose our own! I'm excited to show you the finished result when it arrives. We also got to discuss manufacturing in the UK and debate why it's obviously so important for brands to start bringing their factories back. Ella told me that Burberry were planning on returning their factories to England, which would be amazing! Tusting's largest export is Japan, where they go crazy for traditional Western products therefore they must be made in England; I would think this must fall on Burberry as well; when you sell your brand as heritage I think you subconsciously expect these products to be made in the original country, it's time we all realised how much this isn't happening and start bringing our brands back home.
Thank you Tusting for having us and to Louisa and Push PR for organising the trip!
