21 Sept 2012

Home of Millican



 In order - Les the Cooler bag, James the Duffle bag, Keith the Writer's bag, Rob the Traveler bag, 
Ryan the Domepack, Peter the Doctor's washbag

I've been itching to post about Millican's latest offering for a couple of weeks now so here goes. The Millican story began not too long ago in 2008 when the now married couple of Jorrit & Nicky met while backpacking around in South America. Their friendship grew on their love for travel, discovery and design; the pair moved to Keswick in the Lake District, soon set up a HQ (the shed) and started to produce a range of organic bags and travel goods.

The brand took its name from the legendary outdoorsman and self-styled "Professor of Adventure" Millican Dalton. Dalton left his life in the city and moved up to the Lake District in the early 1900s, to be entirely self-sufficient and live off the land. His life and values rang true with the pair and the Millican brand was born.

For their latest shoot they didn't have to look far for a suitable location, the above shots were taken in an abandoned pencil factory in Keswick (home to the UK's first graphite pencil, first produced in 1832 none-the-less!), just down the road from their offices. The wannabe Urban Explorer in me is mentally bookmarking this place for a trip in the future. Every piece in the collection is made with functionality in mind; using organic canvases, recycled polyester, tanned leathers and locally sourced wools. Each bag has been named after local friends who live in the Lake District, as a little tribute to the area. That's a pretty nice touch isn't it?

For such a young brand Millican have a real sense of identity and direction, taking inspiration Dalton's alternative lifestyle and turning that into products fit for the modern day. I just wish I got to venture out in the countryside more.

For more information on the brand and their products visit Millican.

Have you entered the Urbanears Giveaway yet? It closes on 25th September.

23 comments:

  1. Oh my!!! These shots are amazing. I know we share a twisted love of abandoned places so I know that you know that I am in awe of this post!

    Did you ever see my abandoned paris post?

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  2. Great photos,

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  3. Thanks for sharing, I've not heard of this brand before. Great shoot, I love the gritty location. I'm from Cheshire and love to visit the Lakes when I can, but like you this is not as much as I would like (especially as I live near London now!)
    Nice idea to name styles something that has a meaning to them too.
    http://paulatasker.squarespace.com

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  4. Cool I am pretty into urban exploring too. I think I am collaborating with a professional one soon, doing like a fashion shoot.

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  5. Love them photos, every little details are stunning. It is also a great location, I am starting on a new project, which is taking photographs of derelict/abandoned buildings in UK! I am starting with London for now because of travel costs.

    Glad you loved my painting!

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  6. the quality of all your pictures is a blessing :))
    I follow you ! :))

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  7. Anonymous19:11

    I love that they are based in Keswick - I love Keswick!
    Really great shots, obviously a pretty cool brand.
    x

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  8. I am definitely liking this brand - the photos make it all the more interesting, they are really good!

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  9. great this post and photos honey, i really love ittt

    xx

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  10. sooo great pics and very nice bags! perfect to carry more and more food hahaha!

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  11. what a fabulous bunch of pictures x

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  12. These are great- I like the wash bags and the backpack- and I love that there's a cute story behind it too!

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  13. Those walls 0_0 amazing! Also thanks for blogging about this brand this may have solved my dilemma of what to buy my boyfriend for his birthday!

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  14. That pencil factory looking great! Itching to get in there and take some shots for myself...

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  15. stunning shots!

    Check out my new blog:http://asparklyhanger.blogspot.ro/

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  16. Anonymous20:04

    Ahh I really like the look of these campaign shots - they have a really urban sort of feel to them. I like how they call a bag 'the perfect companion'. That's clever! I would enjoy to do more outdoors-ey sort of stuff. I have a friend who used to hike when he was at university. I need a slice of that action!

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  17. great shots! loving your shoes and bag x

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  18. What amazing photos! The brand sounds awesome.

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  19. Regarding your piercing questions: In first three months, I clean them with surgical spirit. All recommended daily but my golden rule is every two days, I feel my healing process is less sore that way. Never got caught with stuff, apart from microdermal implant I had years ago- it got infected in 6 months and had to get it removed. I can imagine a delicate silver nose stud on you!

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  20. Anonymous00:54

    Stellar shots!

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  21. I really love the tone and color palette of these photos. I wish we had more stuff like this around here.

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  22. Fantastic shots for the campaign. Great story around it too. Xxxx

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