Never content with producing the finest knitwear around, John Smedley have a few budding adventurers in our ranks. Towards the end of May, four intrepid members of staff will be taking part in the Prima Solutions Adventure Challenge. Martin, Gemma, Jamie and Mark will be hoping to complete a 10 hour endurance course consisting of walking, cycling and canoeing. The event itself will be taking place around the beautiful surroundings of Wimbleball Lake and Exmoor. The team are currently raising sponsorship and donations with all proceeds being split between two great causes, Care International UK and Cancer Research UK. The entire Challenge event is hoping to raise a whopping £50,000 for charity – well done guys!
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Archive for April, 2010
Spica
26th April 2010 | Style | Leave a comment
My new best friend
Sunday Afternoon, Cardigan Dilema
26th April 2010 | Style | Leave a commentYesterday in the Nottingham area the weather was to say the least very changeable! So on venturing out to support my other halves Sunday football team I was torn between the beautiful sunshine and the dark clouds looming in the distance. I whimped out and decided although the sun was warm a cardigan was still necessary. I grabbed my trusty Carina cardigan in Silver and threw in on over my casual jeans and vest top.
Strolling along to the park whilst noshing a strawberry cornetto was delightful and I briefly regretted bringing along the cardigan which I then thought I’d have to carry rather than wear, for the duration. But no! As soon as I found a comfortable viewing spot on a nearby bench the clouds blew in and I found myself rapidly buttoning up. Phew!
After the match a couple of ‘nearly at the top of the table’ drinks were in order and I am pleased to say a couple of cardigan compliments followed.
Top-to-Toe
26th April 2010 | Style | Leave a comment
True Top-to-Toe style
The past few seasons have been an exciting time at John Smedley with the introduction of our sock collection, the merino jersey pieces and not to mention the men’s capsule tailored collection. All of which have helped to create ‘top-to-toe’ looks for our John Smedley man.
If, like me, you often find your shirt collar peeking out from under your Bobby v-neck our tailored shirts offer the perfect solution. The rounded Mayfair collar sits effortlessly underneath, and stays put, which means your won’t constantly need to check your reflection to ensure everything is still in place.
Instead you can just admire at how Dandy you look, particularly if sporting one of our co-ordinating knitted ties!
Grab them now, at our current special price of £70 – reduced from £157. We have a great selection of classic ticking stripes and checks in easy to wear colour options. Gingham is my personal favourite, a timeless fabric which looks fresh whatever the season.
As worn by The Courteeners
23rd April 2010 | Music, Style | Leave a comment
Liam from The Courteeners
The rest of the band are huge Smedley fans, often choosing pieces from our latest menswear collection for their stage performances. Needless to say, the gig was a huge success, in the sound and style stakes.
Blackwell in Morocco
16th April 2010 | Style | Leave a comment
Blackwell in Morocco
The past, present and future
12th April 2010 | History | Leave a comment (2)
The Past and Present
With roots going back 225 years, John Smedley has long represented a treasure chest for historians. Naturally enough, Derbyshire Museums was keen, when the mill fell within a heritage site two years ago, to tap the path, from 1784 to the present day, of such tradition and history.
Since Derbyshire Museums’ initial interest, John Smedley has continued this quest to document and preserve the John Smedley story. Among the first discoveries of John Smedley’s team of archivists were photographs from 1927 of work at the mill, which represented an extraordinary insight into the manufacturing industry of the day. At the latest count over 2,000 items have been archived, including huge numbers of documents and marketing material, machinery, and incredibly rare historic garments with the potential to become highly valued museum pieces in their own right.
Overseeing this ‘dig’ is Jane Middleton-Smith, a local museum archivist. Her dedicated team delve deep into what has, over the years, often been stored in unused offices and rooms throughout the John Smedley site. The database of what has been found is beginning to reflect just how much material exists, It is the cornerstone of a process that should make an archive accessible by 2011 to historians ‘ both researchers and students ‘ and staff.
“It has been hugely exciting to be involved in archiving a collection as rich and diverse as John Smedley’s,” Middleton-Smith confides, proudly. “We discover new information and objects every week. Thankfully, Derbyshire Museums recognised that John Smedley represented a gold mine in terms of historical reference.”
To connect the past with the present, John Smedley commissioned some modern-day photographs of the current factory to be set alongside images of 1927 that had been unearthed. This has created a reference for how John Smedley both echoes the past and moves with the times.
To learn more about this history of John Smedley, visit our “Discover” pages.
Rock And Roles
12th April 2010 | General | Leave a commentJohn Smedley has landed a leading role in the film remake of Graham Greene’s classic 1939 novel Brighton Rock, due to be released this year.
The British gangster film, which stars Oscar winner Helen Mirren, John Hurt and Sam Riley, has been updated by writer/director Rowan Joffe to a 1964 setting, at the height of the clashes between the Mods and Rockers.
The original 1947 film, starring Richard Attenborough as the psychotic lead character Pinkie (played by Riley in the remake), was set in the 1930s. The decision to make the setting more contemporary gave costume designer Julian Day the perfect excuse for selecting a range of John Smedley garments for the lead characters.
He said: “John Smedley is a classic British institution that creates great quality, longlasting and exciting clothing. The reason I initially looked at John Smedley for Brighton Rock is that it seemed to fit the era and the personalities of the lead characters so well. The clothing is so well made‚ it’s just beautiful and it looks fantastic on camera. Among the Smedley garments featured in the film, Mirren wore the quintessential Merino wool cardigan Buttercup, in black, while Riley sported the timeless three-button polo shirts Dorset and Elliott, both in ultra-fine New Zealand Merino wool.
Brighton is not the only form of rock that has been singing the praises of John Smedley lately. Manchester indie rock band The Courteeners have revealed that the lyric, “I’ll get my dignity, Smedley, my brogues and I’ll go” in their song Revolver, is a direct nod to the brand. Meanwhile, Nottingham band The Soundcarriers have recently been photographed in their favourite Smedleys for their new album, Celeste.
Holiday Wardrobe
11th April 2010 | Style | Leave a comment (1)At this time of year as the weather brightens up (finally) in true British style us men head straight for the shorts. Now, at times this can be dangerous territory, but I feel confident that this season, our fine flannel or lightweight wool options will ensure we cut a dash as we stroll along the promenade.
The prospect of holidays also brings with it the ritual and buzz of shopping for new clothes. If you’re anything like me you started in January and have stored them in a separate part of your wardrobe, reserving that smell of new cotton for the first day away.
Although I don’t intend to stray very far from the pool, when I do I’m opting for a nautical theme in the day so top of my list is Mercury in the navy and silver stripe Ganymede in silver and Oberon with its fine red, white and blue story. In the evening I‚’ll be keeping it simple yet classic with Perseus or Boris t-shirt in white teamed with Neville in every colour I can lay my hands on! However, as usual, I’ll be trying to snap up everything which means I’m going to need a much bigger suitcase.
See you by the pool!
John Smedley Board Member Awarded OBE
09th April 2010 | General | Leave a comment
Tony Langford OBE
Since 1984, Tony Langford has served John Smedley in a range of roles right up to the present day in the boardroom. For this and for taking on other industry responsibilities such as chairman of the British Knitting and Clothing Export Council (today the UK Fashion Exports), he received an OBE from the Queen in her 2010 New Year’s Honours List.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the superb efforts of everyone with whom I have worked at John Smedley mean they should all share in the honour for services to the knitwear industry,” Langford modestly insists. “We are a great company, and the fact that we remain a great company is due to the efforts of not just one or even a few but all of those who work at John Smedley. We have worked for the long term, to maintain standards and not chase fanciful short-term notions. That takes a special, proud partnership of all those stakeholders.”
The ceremony at which Langford will receive his OBE is later this year at Buckingham Palace. “At the beginning of last November I received a very official looking letter which I opened rather fearfully,” Langford now jokes. “I thought some branch of government must have caught up with me. They had, but rather pleasantly this was to tell me that I had been awarded an OBE.’
Custom is that those honoured are first invited to accept the public acclaim. Langford laughs: “Needless to say this was one of the easiestdecisions of my life. I immediately ticked the ‚’yes’ box and I think the letter was back in the post within an hour.” Langford’s turnaround of this correspondence is in contrast to the long, distinguished and ongoing service on which the award is based.
