Store Visit | Percival, London

Any time I visit London, my “downtime" blurs into my “uptime” (is that a word?). It seems like it’s a done-deal now that Nik and I will no doubt end up searching for new, interesting, and curious shops to visit, no matter what area of London we find ourselves in.

It never feels like work though - yes it’s all research, but most of the time you end up seeing new things you like and get to chat to new people about their businesses (or rather just hearing where you're likely find them on a Friday night: #menswearchat).

Percival is one of those brands we came across on our latest walk around Soho.

Seriously, how confusing is that place? It’s like a maze.

The upside of this is you stumble across stuff you had no intention of finding. I’m no stranger to Percival as a brand - featuring them on Buckets and Spades a few times previously - but for those who are new, they’re a menswear brand from London.

The cool thing about Percival's flagship Soho store on Bewick Street is that they design all of their collections from the basement below their retail space.

Cool right?

The guys behind the brand are passionate about keeping production as close to home as possible, using tried-and-tested factories, all a stone’s throw away from Central London. You can really see the passion coming through into their designs too - spend a few minutes in their store all you'll quickly see that their quality and designs are second-to-none.

It’s not just the gear that’s good looking though. One look at the well-designed print on their brown paper bags or the intricate laser-cut concrete flooring, and you know Percival mean business.

Check out this short video on the brand to hear more about their design process.



You can find Percival at 43 Bewick Street, Soho, London WF1 8SB.

- Mat. Editor of Buckets and Spades.

You can find Mat on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Images: Mat Pike.

Shoreditch Stores | Club Monaco + Number Six

A quick post on a couple of stores in Shoreditch.

First up, Club Monaco - a US brand that offers a level of style I can only dream to aspire to. Loafers, chinos, and slim-fit shirts, sit alongside more rugged sweaters and parkas. The store itself is like a miniature gentleman's club, with chairs and hatstands nestled between the well presented clothes, many a nod to it's heritage as a former gunsmiths, and even a small bourbon counter.

Second, Number Six. Perhaps not technically in Shoreditch, it's close enough and definitely decent enough to warrant the short walk along Brick Lane. Sat alongside the Truman Brewery, Number Six is in great company, with Son of a Stag almost next door and Albam only a stone's throw away.

While Club Monaco is a narrow and cosy store, Number Six is a wide-open, ceilinged room, where all of the colour and vibrancy of the clothes is immediately on show from the door. Just check those socks!

Last time I visited Number Six, I noticed some good-looking coats from Penfield and Patagonia, gloves from Barbour, and bags from Herschel.

Both stores are well worth a visit. Although, if you can't get there, both Number Six and Club Monaco can be browsed online - just don't expect that glass of bourbon.

Pictures: Club Monaco, Number Six Instagram, and my Instagram.

Twisted Time + Boxpark | Online watches in the real world

I doubt there's many folks out there who've visited Shoreditch and not visited Boxpark. It's a fantastic space to discover new innovations from bands you know well, as well as brands you might never have heard of before.

Twisted Time - a watch 'boutique' - have been online for a few years now, but have only recently taken a step into the physical world, with a store in one of Boxpark's pop-up spaces.

As you'd expect from a boutique store, the focus is on showcasing undiscovered watch brands and designers, sometimes from unusual sources. Braun, for instance, is a well known appliances brand, but not one I'd associate with watches. That said, I was put firmly in my place by my girlfriend and by Mat when I once displayed this shocking level of ignorance in public ;-)

Personally, I'd go there to hunt a Daniel Wellington watch, as my classic Rotary has long since died. A little too different for me, but I'd love to see the HYGGE 2089 series in action and might also be cheeky enough to take a shot with a Junghans on my arm.

If you have some spare shopping time before Christmas, or some cash to spend after, the Twisted Time pop-up at Boxpark would be a good place to visit.