Things I loveThe grit that should be in an ‘about us’ page not just some marketing wank
We’re supposed to have written and submitted a short personal biography along with a photo to furnish the HebTroCo ‘about us’ page. I got as far as writing ‘I like old stuff’. The irony is that this is the first thing I look at on any company website. I want to know who they are, what the backstory is and if they are making stuff, where is it made?
This got me thinking. How I spend my day says a lot about the choices I’ve made and what I really value. This is the grit that should be in an ‘about us’ page not just some marketing wank.
I’m going to take you on a great BOTHER day out to show some of the things that I love and that inform our HebTroCo culture. We’re going to be travelling by motorcycle and we’re going to Sheffield, the Milan of the North.
In issue 4 of BOTHER there are two features on Sheffield, a folklore tour and a chef’s guide to good eating. I followed the food.
I love taking the scenic route.
It might not be the quickest or easiest way but it makes for a richer experience. The small roads let you get up close to the country and you go through places rather than bypassing the good stuff for the sake of efficiency. The bike is a 1970 Triumph TR6 650cc, custom built in the desert sled style. These were originally desert race bikes popularised in America, luckily they’re also ideal also for the damp uplands of the Pennines. One thing to remember: never think you look like Steve McQueen, (it’s OK to quietly imagine that you do in the privacy of your own imagination though).
I love good ingredients.
Clothes or cooking, the most important thing is what you pick to make it with. First stop on my day out was the fishmonger’s JH Mann where you can have anything from the counter cooked and served up to eat in the shop. Scott recommended pan fried sea trout with white truffle mash, tempura broccoli and curried carrot puree. This is high end restaurant food, they also have a restaurant called Native but I love the setting of the fish shop and go here as often as I can. They also have the BOTHER bog of the week, which is as rough and ready as a trawler man but full of character none the less.
I love the independents.
Tonco, also featured in BOTHER is a bakery, grocery store and cafe based in what must have been a car tyre fitting workshop. It has an amazing sun trap terrace, proper coffee from the Dark Woods roastery and naughty pastries.
I love good service and people who will take their time because they care.
We go to see Karl and the team at Eyeye opticians because they provide unhurried and thorough eye testing and offer a cool range of frame without flashy external branding. I’ve got lots of specs for different occasions and moods and they’re all from here.
I love old stuff that has stood the test of time with style.
There’s nowhere quite like Rag Parade, run by the knowledgeable JoJo, for the best pick of vintage menswear. Wow buy lots from him and there are many HebTroCo products like the Jacksnipe Jacket and Chopped Duffle that started here as vintage finds. On this visit I scored a 70s Japan Railway Jacket and a 50s workshop coat.
Now I’ll write my bio I promise.
Ed Oxley
