The Casual Times

Wearing - H&M Hawaiian shirt, Lee t-shirt, Gap shorts, Converse c/o Surfdome.com, Copperstown cap, Northern Goods Co. Key Clip, Comme des Garcons wallet, Timex watch.

It's been about a month since I've been back from Orlando now but the casual, relaxed lifestyle seems to have rubbed off on me. I'm finding myself dressing increasingly like one of those old retired chaps who you see sitting around, reading the paper, smoking a cigar, not really waiting for anything to happen. That's the Floridian way of life really. The heat slows you down, no one's in a rush, It's a whole different way of life to here. 

 So I took inspiring from these carefree dudes and I think I'm pretty close to getting the Hawaiian shirt vibes down to a tee. I picked up this blue chambray number in H&M just before we left. Along with the red Levi's one a blogged about, that's two crackers in my collection. As it's permanently sunny in the North of England at the moment I decided to wear it with a plain white t-shirt, navy chino shorts and these Converse All Star Hi from Surfdome. Beige Converse have been a staple of mine for donkey's years now, I find them such an easy colour to chuck on with anything. You can find them here.

If I do end up slowly turning into one of those retired Floridian fellas I'd probably have to trade in the baseball cap and trainers in for a Panana hat and a pair of comfy slip-ons. Suits me just fine though, who's with me?

 Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Bloglovin' / Pinterest

Houndworthy - Quality Dog Goods

Top to Bottom - The Randal Water Bowl / Angler California Bandana / Nice Grill Leash & Collar / The Wood Chuck / Houndlounger / The Lighthouse Long Throw / Miles Waterproof Jacket / Doghouse Magazine Issue 4

Houndworthy have got one of the best selection of dog toys and accessories I've come across. Their lovely store is stocked full of fun, useful, well designed, carefully chosen products which dog owners will love just as much as their pooches. 

For more about Houndworthy visit their store.

I'm heading down to Jacket Required tomorrow in London, is anyone else going?

 Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Bloglovin' / Pinterest

A Visit To...Raw Creative Agency

Raw Design Agency. Islington Mill, Salford, Manchester.

On one of the hottest days of the year so far, just a few weeks ago I headed down to Manchester to pay a visit to the Raw studios. Raw are a Creative Design Agency based in Islington Mill, a converted Victorian Mill, which houses masses of studio space for local designers and artists to use as work space and hold visual art exhibitions.

After a few wrong turns here and there, we found our way through the backstreets of Salford, finally arriving at the mill which is located about 5 minutes from Manchester city centre. After a brief background into the type of work Raw have been creating for the past few years I was able to go for a nosey around their studios, with my finger on the trigger. The spacious studio was packed with graphic, design and branding inspiration as well as previous design projects and lots of funny collectables and keepsakes (always good to see!).

Thanks to the whole Raw team for inviting me down to their offices. Find out  more about what Raw do and examples of their work here.

 Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Bloglovin' / Pinterest

Northern Goods Co. & Win £50 ASOS Voucher

Northern Goods Co. Key Clip, now in seven colours!

We're very excited to have some news on the Northern Goods Co. front, there's now a total of seven colours available in both our Shorty and Key Clip (pictured above). As well as Camo and Blue we've added Kelly Green, Saftey Orange, Purple, Red and Yellow. What colour is your favourite?

All Northern Goods Co. products are handmade by myself and Hollie, in NW England, using materials sourced from the UK and USA. We've had a few requests and suggestions in terms of new products, so we'll be experiementing with various techniques over the next few weeks. Vist our Etsy store here.

15% off all order with code BUCKETSANDSPADES15

So straight to the giveaway! The good people at Appliances Online have offered me a £50 ASOS Voucher to giveaway to Buckets & Spades readers. Just fill out the Rafflecoper form below and get yourself entered, easy. Enjoy your weekend folks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wood & Faulk Coasters

Image source

Perfect to pop your coffee or beer bottle on, these leather coasters by Wood & Faulk are pretty much everything I'm looking for in a coaster. Coming in four lovely colours, Tan, Chestnut, Brown and Black and handmade in Portland, Oregon. They're $30 for a 4-pack, sorted.

Wood & Faulk are a brand I've been silently following for a while now and been itching to feature on here. If you like what you see here you should check out all their over gear, they're got some seriously cool hand made leather accessories.

Visit their shop for more details.

 Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Bloglovin' / Pinterest

New Balance 576 Made In The UK - Tea Pack

New Balance are gearing up for the release of this season's limited edition 576 trainer, the "Tea Pack." Each sneaker takes inspiration from a different cuppa, English Breakfast, Peppermint and Earl Grey. Made by hand in Flimby, Cumbria. They've also produced this pretty sweet video to go with the launch.

Very British indeed, if you're making one mine's a Peppermint.

New Balance 576 "Tea Pack" available from End Clothing this August.

 Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Bloglovin' / Pinterest

For The Home

Image source - 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

I've been collecting interior inspiration on Pinterest lately like there's no tomorrow, so instead of pinning and letting them get lost in a dark cupboard somewhere I thought I'd actually share a few. Aspirational, yes. Attainable, well that's the tricky bit isn't it. Most of my daily pins come from Design, Style and Graphics but my Home board is something I've been adding to ever since I signed up. They're ideas for later, I'm saving them for when we're actually at a stage where some of the elements picked out when suitable.

It soon becomes apparent that your place is never going look like a catalogue, and who really wants that? That's why I find finds like Freunde von Freunden and An Afternoon With... so appealing, cos it's real people doing their own thing; it's hard to see something as your own when it's in a brochure. Without trying it out for yourself you never really know if it's going to work, plus it's impossible to buy everything at once. It's always a work in progress. A piece of old furniture from your parents house, something you've collected from your travels, plenty of second hand bits that you can have a bash at renovating and making good use of promotions and final reductions at sale times. It's got to be done.

Having recently had a new bathroom fitted I know first hand how considered you have to be when you're on a budget, every penny really does count. But there's plenty of options out there without breaking the bank, you just have to be savvy with your choices. To help you plan and make the right decision you could try using a handy online guide, starting with shower enclosures, available at Mira Showers. The guide takes you through a specially designed selection process, taking you through several stages, helping you to choose the right fixtures suitable for your bathroom. Up to now bathrooms have been pretty "bog standard" and these designs above are serving as great inspiration as to what to aim for. Personally I'm a fan of traditional and modern mixed together, working as a tag-team a la Legion of Doom. White subway tiles and brass fittings with colourful accessories and wooden fixtures is very much my bag.

It's a pretty exciting time for me and Hollie. We're at the very early stages of planning our wedding, looking at ventures and think about where the heck we're going to live after. I can't wait to get my hands on a place that we can actually inject a bit of life into. These pins  above might not be much help right now but they serve as a great starting point and something to aim for.

This post is in partnership with Mira Showers, all views are my own.

 Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Bloglovin' / Pinterest

Jack Spade Jam Shorts

   

I freaking LOVE Jack Spade, for many, many reasons. They're a brand I discovered while I was researching for a project at uni and have featured several times on the blog thereafter. For me they can do no wrong. They've even got a Lending Library scheme at their London store.

Reason I love Jack Spade #1 and #2 -  They're a whole lot of fun and don't care about being too cool for school. Click the video above showing off their new Jam Shorts, you'll see!

 Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Bloglovin' / Pinterest

The Hawaiian Shirt

 The Hawaiian Shirt - Levi's

I picked up this Hawaiian Shirt by Levi's while I was on my jollies in Orlando recently, it has to be one of my favouite purchases of the whole trip by far. I've got tones of short sleeve printed/patterned/striped shirts in my wardrobe but I'd been looking to add an Hawaiian doozy into the mix for quite a while now. Maybe it's down to the Seinfeld re-runs I've been catching. 

Like buses two happened to come along at once. Just before we left for holiday I managed to find another show-stopper in H&M no less. Let's just say I fitted in extremely well with the Floridian natives at the Celebration Town Tavern; which I highly recommend if you're ever in the Orlando area. Work your way through all 100 bottled beers (not all at once of course) and you get a special CTT tankard. I managed five.

For me this shirt is almost perfect but not quite there. I would have preferred a traditional open-neck collar rather than the button down but hey, I got it in one of the discounted outlets so I can't complain. I'll mostly be wearing this with a plain white t-shirt, Levi's denims and Jack Purcell's sneaks, easy.

Have you recently found any items you've been on the look out for, or are you still holding out for the ideal version?

Also see -

The Fisherman knit
The Blue Jeans
The Stripe T-Shirt

 Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Bloglovin' / Pinterest