Blog

I've just come across this video on the Creative Review blog, it's lovely.

Filmmaking duo Koja made this hand-made 3D stop motion film from recycled materials for the Body Shop, showing how small gestures can help take care of nature.

The Body Shop - Earth Lovers from Koja on Vimeo.

an important message..and also, who doesn't like to watch little stop motion bunnies on a rainy grey day like this?

Film for The Body Shop - Earth Lovers
Directed, Art Directed & animated by Koja WeLikeToPlay.com
Light: Mirko Beutler
Music by CA Smith

We have two types of pen in the office.

The ones on the left that people guard with their life. The thing they choose write with every day. The pen of choice in every meeting. Kept in their draw, never on their desk. And never lent out.

The ones on the right always go missing through neglect. No one ever knows where. And we have to buy another box.

I estimate we use 1 loved pen to every 10 unloved pens.

What ever you buy, buy something that you love. If you love it you will care for it.

Make sure it is made well.  If you love it you won't want it to wear out.

Made to last the duration.  One day landfill will be landfull.

Made to do what it say is does, perfectly. Then you won't want to replace it.

Buy well, buy once.

This is Peace Plane, one of our older t-shirt designs. But as relevant now as it's ever been.
Click here for Men's or Click here for Women's

The idea is simple, and we think it's pretty well summed up by Mr. Edwin Starr here -

Have a peaceful weekend.

The wild garlic is just breaking through, and before it gets tough go pick some. You can make so much great stuff;

Wild garlic pesto

Sea bass stuffed with WG and steamed.

Mussels, white wine and WG.

While onion and WG soup.

Stick it in salade.

Wild garlic bread.

Nettle and WG soup.

Weathers going to be alfresco perfect this weekend.

Last week I spoke to Martin Dorey who has a series on TV called "One man and his campervan" you might have seen it on BBC2, and he also has a book out too.

We had a chat about what to wear when you're out and about camping or doing stuff which is one of my favorite topics, and today I arrived into work to receive one of his lovely books, thanks Martin.

It's got loads of recipes in there for what to cook when you're camping, some great photos (including an appearance of a howies tshirt) and other little gems too.

Martin is a surfer, a TV presenter and writer currently working on a new book, you can see his website and his blog and buy a copy of his book here.

With Easter around the corner it's got tons of inspiration in there for getting outside and cooking yummy food.

Martin Dorey

If like mine your kids bring home the tadpoles, here are the top line tips.

1. Make sure there is plenty of spawn left when you take some.
2. Put them in a glass container if you can. Never heard of a plastic river bed.
3. Keep them in dechlorinated water. Leave tap water in the sun for a few hours before you drop them in. Preferably use the water you found them in. Change it when it looks like you wouldn't live in it.
4. Stick in some aquatic plants for food and oxygen.
5. Feed them on frozen then thawed lettuce or spinach and good flaked fish food. Not too much, think how much your kids eat then scale down to suit tadpole size
6. Don’t pick them up, they have delicate skin. Licking soap off your hands and you'll get the idea.
7. When they frog up, make sure they can get out the water to breath. Work out the exit strategy as they belong outside.

I woke up cold this morning and consequently feeling a bit sorry for myself. But before I had even emerged from beneath my duvet I realised how feeble I was being. I was under a duvet, inside a house, in balmy England. And so, with my mid-morning tea, I sat down with a sublime book to remind myself what cold was really like. Opening 'The Worst Journey in the World' completely at random I also reminded myself how brilliant the best polar books are and why I am desperate to see Antarctica for myself.

So here, to while away the last of the long cold evenings until spring springs, is a reading list of some of my favourite polar books. No more whinging under the duvet allowed! Read one of these masterpieces and be inspired to get out and enjoy the beautiful cold, frosty days...

1. The Worst Journey in the World - Apsley Cherry Garrard
2. The Birthday Boys - Beryl Bainbridge
3. Mawson's Will - Lennard Bickel
4. South: the Endurance Expedition - Ernest Shackleton
5. Ninety Degrees North - Fergus Fleming
6. Scott of the Antarctic - David Crane
7. Philospohy for Polar Explorers - Erling Kagge
8. Mind Over Matter - Ranulph Fiennes
9. South - Chris Orsman

And finally here's a little video to remind you that your house isn't that cold!

This past week I have been evading the snow and cold and instead touring around some of Andalusia’s smaller pockets of mountain biking, whilst attempting to avoid heat stroke in shorts and t-shirt and sipping ice cold beers... Well not quite but the sun shone for the whole week.

Travel has been in a very small van. I slept a night in the small room at my sisters house, 1 night in a small cave, 2 nights on a small floor space in the corner of a small apartment and 1 night in a small bed in a hut.

And I saw a full size man in a very small car.

That man was Jason Wolfe who we (myself and Rowan Sorrell) bumped into just after arrival, and kindly let us stay in his amazing Malaga apartment in the central Plaza, our only night of luxury in the week (I slept on a large sofa)!

We spent a day riding the trails near the city whilst awaiting Mark Huskisson [of Reset films], ate pizza and supped a few Alhambra Verde’s (best beer anywhere), then the next morning we trundled out of the city and into the hills for a week of filming in El Chorro (beautiful), Granada (freeeeezing) and up into Bubion (backward) and La Alpujarra where I lived for 3 years doing a guiding job.

Nice to see nothing much changes in Spain – they certainly have the right idea down there. Tostadas, café solo and the great Spanish work ethic (..work..? ¿Qué?) certainly lured us in a bit more than Mark probably would have liked, but we got some great days filming in the end and had a fun time doing so.

Here’s to Spain and life at a slower pace.

Feliz Navidad!

Guide to snow

1cm - Can still get to work. Unsatisfying.

5cm - Schools closed, people start walking
like the marionettes from Thunderbirds.

10cm - Wear walking boots to work.
Snowmen appear on lawns.

15cm - Bike wheels collect ice and snow.
Braking gets interesting. Kettle works overtime.

20cm - Get your snowboard out and build the
biggest jump you can in the local park.

25cm - Head for the hills.

There are a few empty seats in the office today. The snow is coming back.

If you place an order over the weekend, we will get your parcel over the mountain to the
outside world on Monday and it should be with you by Christmas, depending on the snow.

Don't forget the 50 things under £50 offer, which is full of great last minute gift ideas.

See the Men's here
See the Women's here

Just to let you know, we're running low on a lot of sizes already so if
there's something you like, order now before it sells out.