After the passing of his uncle-in-law in 2007, he discovered a box of leather working tools in his in-laws garage. He initially made a wallet, sketching it out of scrap leather. Soon enough, after a year of trial and error, he began to create more elegant and well-crafted pieces.

Hollows currently hand makes a selection of accessories including belts, wallets, key reins and covers. One of his most popular items, the Waveform Bi-Fold Wallet has two oversized hidden slots, comfortably holds 8-10 cards and has one full-length bill slot. It’s available in 4 different tan leathers and is available from his site for US$135. Another popular item are his leather key covers, a great way to add character to your mundane pieces of metal. Available for $15 each, however currently sold out.

Check him out at: http://www.hollowsleather.com/

BURBERRY LONDON – DOUBLE-BREASTED TWILL TRENCH COAT (Click To Buy)

BURBERRY PRORSUM – LEATHER DERBY SHOES (Click to Buy)

CANALI – DARK BLUE PRINTED LINEN SHIRT (Click to Buy)

MACKINTOSH – DUNOON HANDMADE HOODED BONDED-COTTON RAIN COAT (Click to Buy)

NUDIE JEANS – HARALD WASHED ORGANIC COTTON-JERSEY SWEATSHIRT (Click to buy)

PAUL SMITH – STRIPED POLKA-DOT COTTON-BLEND SOCKS (Click To Buy)

RICHARD JAMES – HYDE SLIM-FIT HARRIS TWEED BLAZER (Click to Buy)

SLOWEAR – GLANSHIRT V-NECK LINEN SHIRT (Click to Buy)

SUNSPEL – PAISLEY-PRINT COTTON BOXER SHORTS (Click to Buy)

THOM BROWNE – 18-KARAT GOLD AND ACETATE ROUND-FRAME SUNGLASSES (Click to Buy)

The Sydney Opera House Concert Hall

Too hard to summarise in one article, Bespoke Wrap-Up will be divided into Three-parts and will detail a few key trends evident on the day including the importance of a brands community and the current utilisation of social media. Part Three will be dedicated to a personal favourite of mine and all-round Dapper Gent, Mr Jeremy Langmead – Editor-in-chief of Mr Porter.

Louise Herron, CEO of Sydney Opera House addressed the first trend perfectly saying that the culture surrounding a brand can end up being bigger than the product itself. This idea was further developed with the boys from Saturdays Surf NYC, where it was never just about the product, they endeavoured to constantly create a conversation and experience for consumers through their stores (also coffee shops), social media, surfing events and even community barbeques. This respect for a strong culture not only allowed them to evoke community feelings within the hustle and bustle of NY but also turned their passion for a recreational sport into a successful, international surf brand.

Morgan Collett, Colin Tunstall & Josh Rosen (Co-Founders – Saturdays Surf NYC)

In addition, not only is community important for consumers, but Jeff Rudes, CEO and Founder of J Brand (Header image) knows that it’s equally significant for his employees. He believes the essence to success and high quality work is creativity, innovation and passion which will only come from a comfortable work place. This strategy has paid off and has turned a once simple denim company into a multi-millionaire dollar empire which is featured in specialty stores and luxury retailers in more than 20 countries worldwide.

However you choose to describe it, these speakers have showed us first hand that in a saturated market a company must offer more than just a good product. They need to have a holistic view of the business and both internally and externally provide an experience, create a culture and in turn build a community that reflects well of that brand.

Feel free to let us know your thoughts on the above and make sure you check out Bespoke Wrap-Up: Utilisation of Social Media which will be up in the next couple of days.

William Codey (Twitter @williamcodey)

Image Sources: The Versatile Gent & Bespoke Summit

The night was put on by The Spice Cellar as one of their new Spice Black nights. Spice Black aims to bring a unique partying experience to Sydney-siders, and unique it was with its strong Japanese theme. Cherry blossom flowers were hanging delicately from the roof, cold Japanese beers were flowing all night and the unavoidable smell of the teriyaki BBQ enveloped the rooftop terrace.

But like many, we were there for the music and Nina did not disappoint. From the start she played out some heavily German influenced music, which may or may not be attributed to her current relationship with German techno maestro Ben Klock. Before she could scare the crowd off too much though the last hour brought back some funkier and housier sounds, finishing with a fantastic mix of old school and vocal house.

The thought and consequent execution that went into this event was incredible. Red Bull and Spice Cellar managed to turn an office into a fully functioning bar and club, not too mention the funktion1 sound system. It’s exciting to see brands thinking outside the box when it comes to musical entertainment, especially brands such as Red Bull who have such strong and influential access to so many great artists. We hope this is the first of many events curated by Red Bull and local club promoters, as it’s a sure way to differentiate from the sometimes-monotonous Sydney music scene.

Photos: Red Bull

Fox and Brie: pocket squares are handcrafted & made from 100% natural fibers. Using a mixture of new, vintage & dead stock fabrics, each limited edition pocket square is a unique addition to a gentleman’s wardrobe. They also offer a 3 letter monogram service on all purchases!

For the Guys: offers a great selection of prints for the gentleman that wants to add a little flair to their outfit. They are all handmade in Maine and come in at a shockingly good price of $13.38.

Hanks Haberdashery: focuses on bow ties (which are lovely) but they also do pocket squares that are hand-cut and crafted in Seattle from limited edition new or vintage fabrics. Each pocket square is tailored with careful attention to detail using proper techniques, and comes with a handy folding guide so you can practice a range of folds.

Speak Louder: lots of loud silk floral squares from the world famous Liberty Of London, exquisite cotton lawn fabric that is finely woven, light weight and ultra soft. They aren’t the cheapest of the bunch with little change from $50 but if you’re after a square that will ‘peacock’ for you, look no further.

Bow Tie and Cotton: make both cotton and silk squares in a range of classic and more fashion forward styles (including a camo for those inclined). All their squares are hand stitched and hand rolled made to order with cheap shipping to Australia.

New York to Nashville: make all of their squares out of vintage and reclaimed fabrics meaning their products are all limited run. They also offer a pocket square subscription service which will deliver a new pocket square to your door each month. Too easy. 

Human Made: Hand made in New York these guys make squares out of silk, linen and cotton. They offer a phenomenal range in all three fabrics from classic paisleys to Gingham checks. Have a look at their vintage range (pictured below) printed in Italy on silk twill. Loving this paisley!

Goods for Life: With winter looming Goods for Life have a slightly different offering to the rest of the brands in this list, wool pocket squares, adding a little warmth to your winter wardrobe. Their range is more conservative than the other brands in this list with lots of checks and plaid stripes but they also have every other colour you could imagine in organic cotton squares and circles. 

April Look: This shop offers some lovely colours and textures in linen and cotton with beautiful branding and I’m a sucker for beautiful branding. (Feature Image from April Look)

A Chic Touch: These pockets are expensive, too expensive if you ask me but I saw this image and had to include them because if money wasn’t an option I’d buy a range of these with different colour edges. Gorgeous and subtle detail on white. Can’t imagine they sell many at $146!

Dr Bill is a seriously amusing gentleman and provided some top shelf chat amongst the depth of whisky knowledge he possesses. He’s had a very interesting life at the helm of Glenmorangie and more recently Ardbeg. I found myself in awe and complete envy of a number of his stories but most notably his session with Jim Murray the night after the group acquired the Ardbeg distillery when the two men picked out a bottle of every whisky the distillery had produced and sat down at a dimly lit Islay pub and sampled the history of Ardbeg.

The four whiskys on offer that day were the Ardbeg Uigeadail, the Ardbeg Corryvreckan, the Ardbeg Galileo and of course the Ardbeg 1977, a whisky Jim Murray describes as “simply one of the greatest experiences – whisky or otherwise – of your life”. Each of the whiskies were paired with a suitable course and the 1977 was left for the finale.

Entrée
Seared Scallop with Salt-Baked Beetroot & Caramelised Apple Reduction
Ardbeg Uigeadail

Main
Slow Roasted Kurobuta Pork Shoulder, Smoked Eggplant Puree & Grilled Leeks
Ardbeg Corryvreckan

Dessert
The Sailors Club Tiramisu
Ardbeg Galileo

The Tiramisu and Ardbeg Galileo were easily my favourite pairing, but whisky wise, I couldn’t pick a real winner out of the three. I’m almost positive it was the Corryvreckan but wouldn’t bet my life on it. One thing was certain however – I’ve never been more impressed with a lineup of whisky from one distillery in my life and would happily recommend all three to anyone interested in not just a top shelf Islay whisky but one of the world’s best single malts.

Finally we sampled the 1977 as Dr Bill told us a painful story about his wife gifting one of the last remaining bottles he had to a local town raffle while he was away on a business trip in Singapore. Luckily the bottle helped to raise a significant amount of money for a local school and was won by a true whisky fanatic so Dr Bill assured us it went to a good home. It was a delicious dram and made all the better by the fact I got to drink it with the man who created the other three phenomenal whiskies I’d sampled that day. Ardbeg has won the coveted World’s Best Whisky three years running and it’s due to the hard work of Dr Bill Lumsden. If you’re a real whisky lover I urge you to get to your nearest quality retailer and pick out one, two or all three of the Ardbegs sampled that day because I can assure you not one will disappoint!

Read more about the range here and stay tuned for TVG’s write up of the limited edition ‘Ardbog’ launching June 1.

To be held on Thursday 16th May, the event will be hosted by Marion Hume, International Fashion Editor for The Australian Financial Magazine, and will be supported by an array of guests including Jeremy Langmead (Mr Porter), Jean-Marc Lieberherr (Rio Tinto Diamonds), Jeff Rudes (J Brand), Imran Amed (The Business of Fashion) and James Packer (Crown Resort

The program includes discussions, presentations and an interactive Q&A that will be followed by cocktail networking drinks overlooking Sydney Harbour.

For a detailed list of speakers, sessions and prices check out http://bespoke.afr.com.au/

TVG is attending the Bespoke Summit and will present a wrap-up featuring the key trends, topics and discussions early next week.

However you like your bourbon, straight, over ice or with a dash of water, the Bourbon Buffet has what you what, when you want it. The Bourbon Buffet has been finished with a dark stain; to complement the oaky caramel colours of your fine bottle of bourbon. It has also been covered in a thin vanish, to maintain its long life. It comes with two glasses, an ice bowl, tongs and a bottle notch to fit your selection of fine bourbon.

No matter what preference what your martini preference may be, shaken, stirred or dirty, Robert Lock has you covered. The Martini Buffet gives you a perfect presentation and serving apparatus, allowing you to sit back and discuss your preference with your fellow gents. Each Martini Buffet comes with two glasses, two stainless steel toothpicks, a condiment bowl, bar spoon and a mixing vessel, as well as a notch to fit your choice of spirits.

Available from Etsy

Image Source: Etsy.com