Meet Our 1 Million Readers!

For six years I have been writing a blog which has in the process developed into it's own identity. It is a place where we share what we do and what others do. By 'we' I mean myself and those that we work with. The stories we create are not for sale. That is, we do not write cash for comment. Our interviews serve to educate our readers or to give details on how products are made and how ideas develop.

The world of statistics and website analytics is still fairly murky but we can tell you that we have almost reached 1 million page views which is a great deal of readers for a niche blog that's raison d'etre is 'Anything To Do With Bow Ties'. Those one million page views have come from people searching artists, artisans, silks, fabric weaving, fabrication techniques, leather goods, luxury board games makers, pens, writing, textile artists, patina artists, quilting,  costume designers, shoes, socks, suits, wools, bow ties, ties, cravattes, pocket squares and much much more. Anything we have covered for our readers is what draws people back to the blog.

The reason we tell you this is because we are looking to interview and hear from interesting people from around the world who are making something unique related to menswear and men's fashion. Our aim is to shine a light on things that previously may not have been seen before. Are you making something for the first time? Are you weaving your own cloth? Do you paint on textiles? Have you designed something people may not have seen before? Do you have a skill that very few have?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, perhaps it's time to contact us. We enjoy collaborating with people like you, we enjoy writing about people like you and we don't ask for freebies.

The Art Of Writing And Improving Your Penmanship - Barbara Nichol's New Book Is Worth A Read

Barbara Nichol, the principal of Pen-Ultimate in Sydney's Queen Victoria Building (QVB) , has recently released a book on helping both men and women improve their penmanship. In an age where children are adopting iPads and styluses before crayons and paper, it is important that we teach our children and improve in our own selves the art of penmanship. Being able to put pen to paper coupled with the ability to spell is one of the most impressive skill sets that you can come across in the business world and yet almost every day we are consistently moving from our traditional forms of communication to keyboards and touch pads. The increasing use of predictive text on keyboards and touch pads does forewarn me of a day in the not too distant future when our children or grandchildren will perhaps not be able to communicate via pen to paper in an articulate and legible manner.

This book, therefore, is something of a god-send for those of us who wish to retain our writing skills. The book is available in Pen-Ultimate and if you are lucky enough to catch Barbara on a day when she is in the shop you can ask her to sign it. Watching Barbara Nichol write with her pen is something of a treat in itself.

Visit Pen Ultimate:
QVB  : Shop 15-17, Level 2, QVB
455 George Street Sydney NSW 2000
Ph: (02) 9264 4991

Barbara Nichol's 'Polishing Your Penmanship' book which aids both men and women in improving their hand-writing. The book rests on our latest iteration of our rope design silk.

A Review Of The Cook And The Baker In Bondi Junction, Sydney - There Is No Substitute For Quality

It was in the late 90's I recall that a cafe called 'Crave' emerged in the quaint and quieter part of Bellevue Hill in Sydney's East. It made for an unlikely cafe. It was a dingy looking space with a sloping pavement outside and it made it almost impossible to enjoy your coffee for fear that the table was never on stable ground. Despite all this, the surviving principle of this particular cafe was that the quality of the food was so delicious that despite whatever protestations the wives had as they parked their SUV's and stations wagons outside, they paid the price because they knew they couldn't get the same thing elsewhere. Of note were the bacon and egg with cherry tomato breakfast tarts which relied on creamy eggs, a generous rash of thickly spiralled bacon and a cherry tomato that popped in your mouth with the crumble of the pastry -  and if you weren't lucky the tomato juice would burn the roof off and ruin the rest of the experience. You could rely on a consistent coffee, an excellent tuna focacia sandwich with capers, dill and potato; an excellent ham, cheese, tomato and mustard baguette and a chicken pie which made your eyes water when the tiny flakes of pastry got caught in the back of your throat.

The reason the cafe did so well was because of the driving energy of the female owner, Cherie. It was a husband and wife team but I certainly felt, as did one of my gourmand friends, that she was the heart and beat of the operation.

That was then.

Today Crave cafe, on my last inspection, was like a ghost town. Cherie had sold the business and was nowhere to be seen. The new operators seemed lackadaisical and this trickled into the offering. Suddenly there was no stock in the display hood, the coffee seemed off, those wonderful sauce bottles disappeared. Before long the throng of SUV's and station wagons no longer stopped, they just kept driving.

But now.

I had an animated telephone call from my brother. "You won't believe it, Cherie's back in business! The new place is called The Cook & The Baker, it's on Oxford Street". 

A visit to Officeworks this week to stock up on stationary meant that I got to indulge in Cherie's cooking. I am here to tell you that you can't keep a good woman down. It was onwards and upwards for Cherie as I dove straight into a salted caramel slice, a plum tart, a piccolo latte, a chocolate dusted doughnut with caramel jam inside and a flaky chicken and taragon pie. Heaven is when you get great food and good service. Cherie was cheerful, walked me through the new selections and came out to hand me a 'must have' doughnut which I hear is making ripples across Sydney's gourmet magazines. 

The secret to Cherie's success is simple. She is not afraid to use fat in her cooking. She understands how to blend flavours, textures and consistencies. And, she knows that if you give customers quality food they will gladly pay for it. 

I thank my lucky stars she is back in business. For a while there I was starting to 'crave' her cooking...

Delivering quality food once again, Cherie from The Cook And The Baker

Silk Under The Magnifying Glass - Your Design Translated Into Woven Jacquard Tie Silks

When you design a new silk you must always keep in mind a few things. First, how will it repeat over your products. For example, given the confined space of a bow tie, how many times will your customers see the design played out. Enough that they will realise you have designed it specifically for a bow tie? Will the smallest and finest parts of your design be seen on the silk? How will the silk look in a tie? A cumerbund? A lapel flower????

Today I added this little silk flower lapel button to the website and as I did so I saw the silk up very close. You can see the construction of the design and the mechanics of how it was realised by zooming in on the silk to it's maximum focus. In this particular case, the silk, which off the top of my head was from our 2012 collection, has been woven on a black warp with three colours of threads used to make the design. The alternate colours, which appear like little rectangular bricks as they poke up through the black warp and then go back down, are made up of a teal coloured thread, a purple thread and a white thread. All in all there are four colours of threads in this design. Black, teal, purple and white.

Woven silk is a trial and error game. I am quite sure that even the very largest companies in the world of men's fashion struggle to ensure that every design comes out perfectly. For this reason most silk companies offer a range of colour ways during the sampling process so that designers can choose the best of the iterations run by the loom and potentially order alternate colour ways further down the track. The problem is, and this might be likely for most other design houses too, is that the sampling is often done on one colour of warp. This is most commonly black, white or navy. The reason so few warps are offered by silk looms is the high cost of making a single warp in one colour of thread (each warp has on average 15,680 threads across a 1.4 metre cylinder. For this reason, one of our preferred suppliers offers alternate colours and seasonal colours of warps to ensure that designs can reach their full potential.

Why would the colour of the warp affect the design? As you can see from the image below, weaving this design on a black warp means that wherever the warp thread is buried, the black warp thread shows through. Whilst on this realisation it wasn't too bad, on other silks this can cause a ghosting affect which can I either dull a design or else offer an unwanted shimmy to the silk.

In the end, most woven jacquard silk is beautiful and you very rarely are turned off a silk entirely, almost every one has a redeeming feature, but as you continue to challenge your Italian friends with new designs, so too you have to work out ways in which you will bring out the best of each design. In the meantime, take advantage of this particular silk which turned out to be not only great as a bow tie, but equally as beautiful as silk flower lapel button. Shop it now. 

Pascall - For Those That Are Not Afraid Of Being Hemmed In By Colour

The 36th Annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is happening in Sydney on March 1st 2014. I am not suggesting that the bow below is 'gay' but I certainly think it falls in with the colours of mardi gras and the vibrancy of Sydney during this period. The obstacle to wearing this bow tie is not your sexuality and your ability to express it, but your wardrobe itself. A bow like this either has to be worn with similar colours or else it could be offset by something like a cream suit, a white suit or a bone coloured suit. Ideally I would wear a panama hat with this bow tie too. We will only make a handful of these bow ties so I would suggest, if it's you and you think that you can pull it off, buy it today. Shop it now. www.lenoeudpapillon.com

To add to the unique style of this bow tie we have used our limited edition red Le Noeud Papillon bow tie clips. 

Where To Find The Right Wedding Bow Tie: For Some Customers Who Are Happy To Pay - It's A Journey In Finding The Right Bow Tie

Some of our customers are particularly fussy but for a good reason. When one is finally tying the knot after many years spent in search of the right partner, you don't want to look like everyone else on your big day. We often find that the groom will want the same bow tie for all his groomsmen but he needs to set himself apart from them. This particular New York client I know very well, more a friend than a client but I'm quite sure he wants his name left out of it. I received a phone call last week suggesting that it was time to start thinking about his neckwear for his wedding. He was very undecided between reds and blacks and satins versus twills silks. He was wearing a double breasted peaked lapel jacket with a satin facing so he didn't want to clash with his suit but he wanted some contrast or something to brighten up his ensemble. Below you will see the first iteration; a black satin silk mogador bow tie with contrasting side of red silk twill. It's not the first bow tie we have made with contrasts but it is the first time we've mixed a twill with a satin silk. Grooms like this man are not unusual. Last week we had to work with a 24 deadline after one groom needed a midnight blue mogador satin silk bow tie and matching cummerbund post haste. At Christmas we made a tartan bow tie out of a scarf wool which was brought in by one groom who was bent on bringing some of his Scottish heritage to his wedding. In fact, rather amusingly, when he had trouble tying the bow we met in the reception of a hospital so I could re-tie it the day before his wedding.

Finding the right bow tie for your wedding day is important, especially if you want to set yourself apart from your groomsmen. If you require such a service, please contact us through the website.

A groom's custom made bow tie from Le Noeud Papillon. Prices start from $195 AUD (176USD 25.2.2014)

You Need To Get Your Head Checked Before You Shop Online

It is incredibly difficult finding a hat that fits (not just the head band but the style too) and buying a hat online is a challenge just like any other aspect of online shopping. With hats there is the redeeming feature that you have the added ability stuff the inside of the hat band to try and make it snug but it's a band-aid solution and I've greedily accumulated but never worn two wonderful limited edition Akubra hats merely because the size is wrong. Of course, you don't care about the size so much as the style until you genuinely need a hat to stay on your head and to wear it for a full day in, for example, a rural environment. Then you really get to understand that a hat that fits stays with you until it's absolutely dead to you, until it's been eaten away to it's bare skeleton - like a half decomposed animal. Spend a day with a proper Australian farmer and you will understand this a bit better.

Luckily, Stephen Temkin of Leon Drexler has a very functional and well written instruction sheet on his website on how to measure your head. As our heads don't change girth very much as adults unless we grow our hair out, you will find this a very useful bit of information, which, once done properly, will give you a lot more confidence to shop online for hats. Click on the page here . To see more of the spectacular work of Stephen Temkin, log onto Leon Drexler now.

Measuring Your Head
(Courtesy Of The Leon Drexler Website)

Understanding the bone structure of the skull will help you to properly measure your head for a hat. The bottom rim of your hat’s sweatband should sit securely and comfortably a little bit above your ears, supported by the outermost protrusions of the front and back of your skull. These protrusions are

the shallow ridge just above the middle of your forehead where the frontal bone begins to sharply slope down toward the brow, and the bulge at the back of the head formed by the occipital bone. When measuring your head, the tape should clear the top of your ears and traverse these two points. The red dotted line on the picture below shows the basic idea. Of course, depending upon the particular proportions of your head, the size and position of your ears, as well as any preferences regarding how you want your hat to fit,

you may want to apply some adjustments to this position.

You can measure your head by yourself, but it is much easier if someone assists you. You are asked to provide the measurement in both inches and centimetres. However, do not merely convert one to the other. Taking each measurement separately and then only checking afterwards to see if they align will help to ensure a consistent and reliable reading. It never hurts to repeat the procedure two or three times. To measure your head, wrap the tape around your head as shown, making sure the tape clears the top of your ears. Pull the tape so that it feels secure, without slack yet comfortable. Take the reading of the circumference to the nearest eighth of an inch. If you need to round off the number, it is best to round up. Then do the same with the metric side of the tape, rounding up to the nearest millimetres. Check the two numbers on each side of the tape to see if they line up. If there is a discrepancy in the alignment of more than a couple of millimeters or a sixteenth of an inch, try again. Repeat until you feel confident your measurement is correct.

Shop Leon Drexler Now

Violetta Kurbanova Submits Her First Two Squares For Le Noeud Papillon

Behind the scenes over the past two weeks I have been working with Violetta Kurbanova, a Sydney based textiles artist, in creating a set of 1 off hand-painted silk pocket squares. Violetta's first two submissions are up on the website www.lenoeudpapillon.com . Over the coming weeks we will show you how these are made. In the meantime, if you want to brighten up your day, consider something hand-made and a one off piece which will forever give you a story to tell.

Marguerite - A Work In Progress

Following on from our La Belle Dame Sans Merci square I have decided to begin preparing for our next limited edition designed pocket square. The new designer I found is an illustrator in Los Angeles and working on his illustrations is something he does in his spare time, not as daily work. The theme for the next work is borrowing from the works of Belle Epoch poster artists to bring to life a gypsy styled bohemian woman who will will at the same time be more towards the vein of art that our new illustrator specialises in, which is cartoon characters.

Stay tuned. We will reveal his identity as we progress. At the same time, we have commissioned an Australian illustrator living in New York to produce an Australiana themed pocket square. Very exciting stuff. We hope the results will speak for themselves.

First sketch for our latest illustration to be turned into a pocket square. 

If There Is One Thing I Hate It's A Proper Spammer

I don't mind people who genuinely want to get in front of you because they have an idea or a product or a comment to make. I don't mind people who leave you a proper message or craft you a proper email. If there is one thing I do absolutely abhor, loathe, hate, despise, if there is one thing I really can't tolerate, it's a spammer. And I think there is a definite distinction between the two. 

Every day I receive 50 emails from spammers ranging from Indian companies offering to improve my SEO, Chinese companies wanting to make me mugs with my logo on it, offers of microwaves, made to order Hawaiian T-Shirts, silk neckties, pharmaceutical products, Nigerian bankers. You name it, I get it. One such troublesome emailer goes by the name of Yessenia Mayer and he's an aggressive automated marketing consultant who probably affects a lot more people than just myself and never ever lets up. A nuclear armageddon might have transpired but somehow Yessenia Mayer will still be sending emails to computers offering what remains on earth, of cockroaches and ants, an opportunity for them to improve their SEO....

What is more troubling for me than the spam, which I now filter through my Google account but which even google seems to have trouble handling, is the blog comments section. When I read other people's blogs (Eg: Permanent Style, A Suitable Wardrobe)  they always have such lovely interacting readers who genuinely wish to share something sincere, something personal about tailoring, clothes, lifestyle etc. For some reason I seem to attract hundreds of rats from all across the world who write spam posts in something not quite English and wish me to then proceed to publish their rotten comments. Here is what I propose to anyone out there that wants to make the next big tech company.

1. Design a system to lock out spammers from sending SEO emails. Surely this one should be easy and will knock out about 80% of my spam in one go.
2. Design a way to VERY EASILY take over your email server side to start managing emails at the server for emails where the company is web hosting through a third party with very poor filtering services.
3. Design a way in which the end recipient can give feedback as to what is spam and what is not in a more detailed way to help provide constant help in fighting spammers on the fly by those who receive spam.
4. Hurt the spammers. Physically find a spammer and treat him worse than you treat anyone who wants to blow up a bus. Deprive him of sleep. Make dogs bark at him. Treat him worse than Hugh Jackman treated that freak in Prisoners. A spammer takes more time out of my day than I've ever devoted to dealing with the effects of terrorism.
5. Spam is terrorism. I fear it. I loathe it. It is my nemesis.
6. Spam the spammers. Wouldn't it be f'ing nice to spam a spammers email and watch him on a web cam deleting his emails. This would become my screen saver if it could happen.
7. Make spammers pay back the time they waste in people's lives by doing community service and make them clean all the public toilets across the world with their tongues and hair.
8. Castrate male spammers but do not kill them. Make them look at their genitals in  jar every day of their remaining rotten lives.

We Want You, We Want You, We Want You As The New Recruit! The Portrait Competition 2014

Sadly, as yet we have not received an entrant for the portrait competition. It's easy to enter. Just click here. We want to see your style. We want to hear your stories about where your outfit is from, what cloths you like, the cut of your jacket, your accessories. Join us! It's fun, it's exciting, and if you win first prize, it's rewarding. 

JOIN NOW

Photographer Magnus Omme in our bow tie. Magnus is responsible for the Le Noeud Papillon portrait series photographs. See more of his work at http://www.magnusomme.com/

And Whilst On The Topic Of Stefano Ricci

It seems that they have just released another fascinating video on their Vimeo channel not more than 19 hours ago on the Florentine silk mills.


The Antico Setificio Fiorentino Short Movie from Stefano Ricci on Vimeo.

Stefano Ricci - Just Plain Polished In My Book

In the world of luxury menswear and goods there is a brand which is synonymous with quality and a dedication to craft but which you will very rarely hear people talk about in the same vein as an 'it' brand like Tom Ford or even for that matter a heritage Savile Row tailor like Henry Poole & Co. The brand I am referring to is Stefano Ricci. His stores exist around the world and he has an extraordinary reputation for quality and product but he is also a person that doesn't seem to need or want big press. In the Como region of Italy I met a man who knew vaguely of him. He said to me 'Stefano Ricci is the kind of man who walks into a fancy restaurant in Los Angeles and knows every celebrity in the room on a first name basis'. And yet Stefano Ricci himself does not seem to bother with being front and centre like some other menswear designers. When I first googled Stefano Ricci I was so surprised by what he looked like. He was the antithesis of what I had anticipated. I expected something of the Italian showman style like Roberto Cavalli. Instead I found a man who looked more like Stanley Kubrick with a face full of deep character and wit.

In a world where every style icon is for the most part either slim or buffed with an excellent crop of hair and a perfectly put together tuxedo ensemble for the red carpet, Stefano Ricci, for myself at least, represented a genuine and tangible style icon for the man who is not slim, who does not have perfect hair and who enjoys food and wine. So, on the face of it, I have found a style icon for myself. 

I recommend you log onto his website and view his range of products, watch his videos and enjoy his craft. This is more than a fashion designer for men. This is a renaissance man who is on the one hand engrossed in his craft and on the other paying homage to all those that came before him. I take my hat off to Stefano Ricci for creating a unique world in which everything he touches holds his DNA. Regardless if it is not all to your taste, there is a respect you can't deny to someone who ensures that everything he sells is of impeccable quality. A man who has clearly spent his life bringing art and menswear closer together.

See more videos
Shop Stefano Ricci online

Stefano Ricci Tribute to Galleria degli Uffizi from Stefano Ricci on Vimeo.


STEFANO RICCI TRIBUTE TO RENÉ GRUAU from Stefano Ricci on Vimeo.



STEFANO RICCI Luxury Ties - 100% Made in Italy from Stefano Ricci on Vimeo.


Stefano Ricci - One Family Story from NEW SOLID di Valentino Mario Con on Vimeo.

Italian menswear designer Stefano Ricci - reminds me somewhat of an older Stanley Kubrick

Stefano Ricci's homage to the self-portraits of the Uffizi in Florence - recreating menswear fashion to meet old classics

Muted On Muted - Be Careful Not To Wash Yourself Out

As Australians approach autumn and then winter it is very important that you consider how you are going to play with the seasons. If we are to go by what was hot in Europe this winter, the strongest image I got was of browns, greys and muted blues in suedes and corduroys from the Tod's new menswear range. Whilst I love muted colours and feel that these kinds of clothes conjure up images of the 60's and 70's, of Alpine ski fields and vintage brown Porsche targas, there is a problem I have with too much of those soft and muted colours and not having enough colour. I believe that when you solid block these colours, for example a grey flannel trouser, a grey turtle neck and a brown suede jacket, you can start to look too heavy and dark as though you ought to be on your way to your analyst rather than a party.

To remedy looking too dark and too foreboding it's necessary to use a contrast fabric to your wool or suede and the ideal fabric is of course either brightly coloured cotton or silk. The brightness of silk, as we are often told by luminaries like Will Boehlke of A Suitable Wardrobe, is what offsets the muted colours of wool and it is for this reason that one often uses a silk pocket square or tie to balance the softer colours of wool. In saying this, however, as wool has become finer and finer over the last three decades, wool tends to be more sheer and therefore refracts more light. Where you are using a super 150's or more fine wool, my advice is that you don't need as bright a colour on your silk as you might have used in the past has when your wool was duller.

Overall, coming into autumn first, the trends seem to be browns and greys this season and to wear a suit with either a long sleeve polo or turtle neck. If you choose either of these combinations, my advice is to wear something in your pocket, on your lapel or around your neck to break up the depths of colour.

Click to enlarge

New Season Shoes From Pierre Corthay - It Sounds So Much Better In French

I received an email from Francois Pourcher of Corthay last week but I have neglected to post up the images until now. Following on from my email to our email subscribers yesterday  I would like to reiterate once again that everything sounds better in French. Yesterday I talked about the fact that the English call a floral arrangement a 'boutonnière ' which in French merely means a 'button hole'. But of course, doesn't the word button-hole just sound a whole lot less appealing than it's French counterpart 'boutonnière '.

Following in that vein I opened up Corthay's collection PDF to meander through the images and work out what I thought were the picks of the bunch. As I turned the wheel of my mouse I was flabbergasted by how appealing the names and descriptions of the shoes were. There was 'Bucy' 'Bernay' 'Bel Air' and 'Sergio' (the last one I gather is not entirely French) and even the descriptions of the treatments sounded so much more glamorous. For example, one shoe was labelled 'Calf with Vieux Bois Patina' . Now, the English equivalent would be 'Old Wood Finish'. I just don't think English is quite as beautiful at describing things as French is. Anecdotally I will add that often when I ring my shirt maker, who speaks French because of his Lebanese heritage, he will often, as I describe what I see on blogs, break out into a French accent in a form of respect and at the same time a small amount of envious mockery. 'Monsieur, your chemises are ready to go' he might say and put down the phone.

You have to hand it to the French, they certainly know how to shroud their products in mystery by the mere use of words to describe their products. In the meantime, enjoy the beautiful work of Pierre Corthay below. My picks of the bunch are the hybrid jodphur / chelsea boots which I think are some of the most beautiful boots I have seen this year. 

A touch of Pierre Corthay - lime green leather piping contrast with purple interior leather on these stunning chelseas.

Pierre Corthay hybrid jodphur / chelsea boots with 'vieux bois' patina in brown.

For more information:

Corthay

1 rue Volney 75002 Paris
T/+33(0)142610889
www.corthay.com

More Silk Flower Lapel Buttons Have Been Added To The Website

A Complimentary La Belle Dame With Every Two Or More Bow Ties Ordered This Week (17.2.2014 - 24.2.2014)

This week receive a free limited edition La Belle Dame Sans Merci pocket square with every order for two or more bow ties from www.lenoeudpapillon.com . These unique pocket squares were hand-drawn by an illustrator in Cologne, Germany. They were then sent to our print room in England where they have been printed in the traditional screen printing methods used to create a square which has a comparable front and back side to the silk. Almost a year in the making, we think they are very special and we want you to enjoy them whilst they are in stock.

Kyle Mumford Photographs James Andrew Wearing The Le Noeud Papillon Zalman Bow Tie

These photos of James Andrew wearing our Zalman bow tie were taken by photographer Kyle Mumford . You can read more about Kyle by clicking here. James Andrew needs no introduction, he continues to inspire us with a mixture of fashion, interiors, furniture, art and photography over at What Is James Wearing .

An Enjoyable Video On Dashing Tweeds

I was on the website of Dashing Tweeds yesterday when I watched their great little video on how their cloth is made. If you are into fabric weaving this will give you a great deal of insight and enjoyment.

More Of Those Silk Flower Lapel Buttons Are Online!

We think our new silk lapel flower buttons are pretty fantastic. We made quite a number of iterations before we decided upon this model. Some of the less expensive flowers out there are made of all sorts of fabrics and are usually stuck together with a variety of different fusing fabrics. Some are then stuck to a pin. They are still lovely but we wanted to add a little bit more handwork. Ours are made almost solely by hand and are made through folds of silk which are turned together and then anchored to the base with a limited edition Le Noeud Papillon corozo button. We only ask you to try one - because it's seeing them on your jacket that really brings them out. Shop them now on www.lenoeudpapillon.com

Superb Silk Flowers For Your Lapel Button Hole By Le Noeud Papillon

Just arrived. These are our silks turned into lapel button flowers. They are superb. They are made entirely by hand and finished on the rear with a Le Noeud Papillon engraved corozo button. If you can't wear a bow tie, if you don't feel like a tie, at least break up the monotony with one of our silk flowers. They are lethally good-looking. Buy one of the first ones to be made right now.... www.lenoeudpapillon.com  NB: You will need to make sure you have a lapel button on your suit first!

Break up the monotony of your woollen suit with one of these sublime hand-made silk lapel button flowers from Le Noeud Papillon Of Sydney. 

Join The Mailing List For A Different Kind Of Email

At Le Noeud Papillon we value your time and your money. We also know you don't want to be fed endless emails about our products, so our emails are not just about bow ties. Instead they are about everyone we meet, interview, what we see as emerging trends, the artisan makers we meet, the music we listen to, the movies we watch, the books we read. So, for a different kind of email, join our email list.

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Jean-Claude - An Arresting Bow Tie

In Paris two years ago, wow, time really flies huh!, I saw a pair of shoes in Corthay which were done with a special patina of fire red and orange. It was quite a visual sensation. The same can be said of this bow tie, named Jean-Claude, as it is very punchy and really stands out. I would not know how to recommend to pair this bow tie. My assumption would be to do a soft colour on the shirt or perhaps a standard white and then pair if with a contrasting navy twill wool suit jacket. This would give a very clear and defined look. For the pants I am thinking a very soft brown corduroy. Anyway, it's up to you how you wear it. In the meantime, you can see it on www.lenoeudpapillon.com

La Belle Dame Sans Merci Matching Set

Made for a private client in the United States, this bow tie and matching pocket square are for an entertainer who wishes to use this piece for an upcoming event.

La Belle Dame Set - Matching Tie Your Own Bow Tie And Pocket Square - www.lenoeudpapillon.com

Watching The Magic Of An Artisan Makes You Realise That It's Mostly Perspiration

The Bordeaux wine company Cordier Mestrezat commissioned 4 boxes to be made for carrying 4 bottles of wine. Each was done by a different discipline. One is in leather, the other is in an ornate gold leaf plaster, the other of wood. As yet I haven't found the fourth box. This is a visual delight to watch and something which shows you that there are still people out there that do those things which most consider to be dead or lost. It is also evident from watching the videos that most of it is about hard work, perspiration and patience. I certainly felt like I could learn a lot from these artisans in terms of discipline.

 

A Realist Portrait Of A Realist Artist - Erling Steen Photographed By Magnus Omme For Le Noeud Papillon's Portrait Series

In the middle of November last year we interviewed Erling Steen after I discovered his blog on his realist art. You can read that article here . When Magnus Omme announced he was coming to Sydney I asked him to make contact with Erling when he got back to Denmark. This is the portrait Magnus took of Erling by one of his realist paintings. You can see more of Erling's work here.

All LibriBox Recordings Are In The Public Domain

Years ago I spent hours of each day reading books. I mean it. Hours! These days I am lucky to spend minutes reading a book. My brand new daughter tends to need some form of assistance or nurture every five to fifteen minutes. Either her mother tends to her or else I receive a directive from her mother as to what my daughter needs. I won't bother you with the ins and outs of my private life but needless to say, I pretty much hop to it. That means, book down. In the chaos that ensues one loses track of time and when you finally get back to your book it could be hours if not days away and by then you've lost the impetus required to keep you thrashing it out with the usually long and tedious setting up of the narrative for which, for example, Russian authors are famed for.

It was therefore a fabulous discovery the other week that I had stumbled across and added to my USB stick a downloaded recording I found on a bit torrent of an audio book. It was in fact War and Peace by my most treasured author Leo Tolstoy. The narrative was introduced by a woman who said "This is a LibriVox recording, all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information visit www.librivox.org" . Well, after I listened to chapter 27 of book one of War And Peace and I was rekindled with Bald Hills and old Prince Bolkonsky's dry wit, immediately I was hooked. 

As soon as I got home I could not turn on my old rusty laptop fast enough and I began downloading anything I could get my hands on. Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and more, the great authors of the zeitgeist period of the novel were all there waiting to be downloaded for free. Having downloaded my fill I realised I needed to be selective. I noticed that next to my bed I had my old copy of The Brothers Karamazov of which I had never managed to get past the fourth chapter. 

I am here to tell you that with the help of modern cars having a USB drive, LibriVox and a decent amount of drive time across Sydney during the work week, I no longer have as much anxiety surrounding the fact that I have no time to read any more. In fact, I estimate that within 3 more weeks I will have covered more ground than 3 years of my own reading. And the best news of all is: "All Librivox recordings are in the public domain".

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