Bank Holiday Fun

So how was your Bank Holiday?

We all know how important it is to make the most of the last Bank Holiday of the year. I always make a conscious effort as I interpret the August bank holiday as a marker for the end of summer...

It certainly felt like the end of summer on Friday evening. As we sat in the tent with the the rain lashing down I did wonder whether I'd made the right decision to opt out of the Notting Hill Festival and go for the camping.

You'll be pleased to hear that the rain cleared up and although the first night was a little cold and windy the sun certainly had his hat on for Sunday and Monday.

We're big fans of camping here at Millican, with MD being recognised as one of the original cycle campers (a camper who's mode of transport was a bicycle). Here at Millican we spend most of the summer months in a tent at the many shows we attend up and down the country.

So when I heard via Selectism that menswear clothing label Griffin had opened up a camp site I had to get it in the diary.

Loveland Farm is a camp site with a difference, a place where sustainibility comes first, the beautiful basics are encouraged and life is just a little bit simpler. A space that is completely unique, a solution to the busy modern world.

Image courtesy of Selectism

Located on the Hartland Peninsula on the border of North Devon and Cornwall, Loveland is the dreamchild of husband and wife team Jeff and Karina. Sustainability is high on the agenda at Loveland and the camp site has been developed using green technologies, the composting toilets are just one example. I have to say it was certainly a more pleasant experience that the ones I remember from Glastonbury.

The couple both have a really interesting and inspiring background, I highly recommend popping over to the Griffin website and checking it out for yourselves. This short video also gives a further indication of what Griffin stand for as a brand.

Walking with Jeff Griffin from Highsnobiety on Vimeo.

A few personal highlights:

Dinner at the Old Smithy Inn on Friday evening (Lamb Shank was awesome).

Surfing at Sandymouth Bay on Saturday.

Pick of the weekend has to be the Sunday walk along the South West Coast Path - doesn't get much better.

Camp

One of many beautiful coves

No idea, something to do with the spies?

Never too old for a rope swing

Blackberry picking (never pick below the waist!)

Hartland Quay Sunset

What a great way to spend the last weekend of the summer...

You Gotta Love Explorers

Exploring is close to our hearts here at Millican. Unfortunately the standard holiday leave is not enough to satisfy our travelling needs.

Recently we have been working on new product ideas for the coming seasons. I have to say this is probably one of highlights of the job, as you have the opportunity to directly influence a product and the Millican range with your input.

We've an ever growing collection of vintage luggage that we pick up from flea markets, vintage and charity shops, in fact wherever we see them. Just a few weeks back Jorrit picked up an awesome military duffle bag from a market stall in Berlin.

I am always inspired by the explorers and mountaineers of days gone by- Sir Edmund Hilary, George Malloy, Bentley Beetham and Chris Bonnigton are amongst the most famous. These guys were tough and also pretty cool. Before Gore Tex and the latest kit, they were up there getting the job done. Legends.

The sole purpose of their clothing and backpacks was pure functionality.

Bentley Beetham

Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay

Sir Edmund Hillary

The 1924 expedition base camp

Chris Bonington

Those backpacks are pretty special.

We're currently in the process of putting together some designs for a dual purpose duffle pack as well as a wheeled version of Harry (think Harry on steroids). As ever there will be some references to the functional packs that these guys were using.

Cave Living

People have been living in caves for thousands of years. Millican Dalton made a nice summer home from a cave just up the road from our HQ in Borrowdale.

Back in prehistoric times it was easier in some parts of the world for people to carve out warm dry spaces than to use other building methods. In China and the Middle East, houses were cut into the soft sandstone cliffs; and into volcanic ash and lava flows on the Pacific Islands.

The idigenous people of North America went as far as to build elaborate cities under cliffs.

Photo courtesy of the Mesa Verde Company

While some of these ancient structures are still standing, few are still inhabited.

However, today people are once again experimenting with the benefits of modern cave living. Anyone who has visited a cave will know that they are naturally quiet and maintain a constant temperature - cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Cool in the summer - maybe, but I think it's more likely to be freezing in the winter. When I try it out I'll let you know.

Millican Dalton's cave is no longer a permanent address for anyone. However it still serves the local climbing community effectively and is often used by climbers and walkers as an overnight stop.

Jorrit and Joe (of iPad Cover fame)

So how about living in a cave? The primary structure is all-natural material, and it's as locally sourced as it gets.

Well, I have to admit I'm not totally there yet but there's a possibility I could be persuaded, particularly by the following examples.

Photo courtesy of MAKR

Mediterranean Cave Home

Photo courtesy of Zoo Patrol

Tucked into a 17,000 square foot hole left by a sandstorm mine in Festus, Missourri (see above image), the spacious, beautiful home was bought buy a guy on ebay. (I guess it's true what they say, you can find anything on ebay).

The next Millican HQ?

Making a difference

I am currently in the process of reading Yvon Chouinard's 'Let My People Go Surfing'. It is clear to see why Yvon, founder of outdoor technical clothing label Patagonia is cited as one of the original revolutionary entrepreneurs of his time.

Photo courtesy of Thos

He describes himself as a reluctant businessman. He certainly doesn't fit your average stereotype- who aims to establish a profitable company, sell it for as much as possible and then retire to the golf course.

Yeah, he wanted to make incredible products, and those products would be part of a bigger greater vision - creating a role model for people who wanted to build a sustainable and responsible organisation.

Patagonia has been a pioneer in the use of organic cotton and in using recycled plastic bottles to make its 'fleece' garments. In 1985 the creation of 1% for the planet (a pledge to donate 1% of sales to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment) has made a great impact on putting sustainability on the political agenda in the U.S, Europe and Japan.

Yvon never sought to be head of a multi-million dollar company.

Much of his early twenties saw him spend April to July on the walls of Yosemite, then heading out from the heat of the summer to the high mountains of Wyoming, Canada or the Alps, and then back to Yosemite until the snow fell in November. In Yosemite, Yvon and his friends often had to hide out from the rangers as they occasionally overstayed the 2 week camping limit. Both he and his friends took pride in the fact that climbing rocks and ice-falls had no economic value. They considered themselves as rebels.

Photo courtesy of Patagonia

He began by making mountaineering equipment as a way of sustaining his lifestyle. The motivation for growth was fuelled by the need to access better equipment and clothing for climbing. Having found himself in this role, he has seen the opportunity it provides to, if not change the world, then at least change some people's perceptions of it.

Photo courtesy of Patagonia

Forty-odd years after he started, Yvon remains a maverick. His business approach is 'management by absence' - meaning that he spends part of the year testing the goods and coming up with ideas which enables him to indulge in his life long passions for climbing, surfing, fly-fishing, canoeing and being outdoors.

Yvon Chouinard

Why not go to their website and check out Footprint Chronicles. It's an interactive mini-site that allows you to track the impact of specific Patagonia products on the environment and humanity - from design to delivery.

It's this type of interactive transparency that inspires others toward more responsible thinking and thoughtful actions.

2nd Use

Whether you're a speaker aficionado or not you'll probably be familiar with the Minipod series from Scandyna.

Photo courtesy of Scandyna Shop

The iconic design was the brainchild of design engineer Simon Ghahary. It was his creative, music and sci-fi inspired designs that earned him a level of fame. Whilst under the employ of the B&W Loudspeaker company in the early 1990's Simon and his colleague Laurence Dickie came up with a design for the curved speaker cabinets, known as the 'pod' series.

Ghahary refers to his designs as functional pieces of art. Coincidentally we refer to Mark the Field Bag in much the same way!

He was one of the first to question whether speakers actually needed square box type enclosures to work; he then discovered that round enclosures improved both the sound quality and performance.

Photo courtesy of Nikon Holic

Ghahary pushed the limits of design and the overall brand experience to the extent of overseeing the creation of nylon bags that would encase the Minipod loudspeaker, but then could also be re-used as rucksacks as an environmentally sensitive alternative to conventional packaging.

At Millican we are huge fans and advocates for all things that can have many uses, we aim to install this philosophy where ever possible e.g. our brand bibles also double up as a notebook.

Over the last 6 months we have been exploring the possibilities of developing our current packaging. As yet we are still in the process of finding a solution that we feel is beneficial to both the packaging of our product and the environment.

If you have any suggestions on sustainable alternatives to our current packaging that doesn't compromise the delivery of our products then we would love to to hear from you.

Please send any suggestions through to info@homeofmillican.com. Thanks.

Unruly Times

As you will be well aware over the last few days riots have occurred in many of our major cities up and down the country. Living in North London, I have seen the devastating effects that these riots have had on our local communities

The scenes were quite unbelievable as I'm sure many of you have seen from the news. My heart goes out to those who have been affected directly by the consequences of this wanton vandalism.

Picture courtesy of Someday

Photo courtesy of Marc Gascoigne

Photo courtesy of Graeme George

Photo courtesy of Olivia Harris

It was therefore heartwarming to see yesterday that many people from the local communities were meeting with their brushes to help clear up the debris, a reminder that the majority of people are caring and responsible - a thought that we should keep with us during these troubling times.

Load Carrier for Labour

Firstly, big thanks to the guys at Carryology for bringing this to my attention.

Secondly, congrats to Vikram Dinubhai Panchal (principle designer) for coming up with the concept of the Load Carrier for Labour and winning the prestigious Core77 Design Award.

Photo courtesy of Carryology

The Load Carrier for Labour project is an impressive innovation designed to improve the working conditions of labourers and workers at destinations in the developing world, such as construction sites, factories, ports, and railway stations etc.

It's fantastic to see innovative design working towards supporting a higher standard of living for those who really need it.

Photo courtesy of Carryology

The design is aimed to cater for three methods of lifting and shifting heavy loads by the worker, such as above the head, at the back and to push or pull the load.

The materials used are cane, plastic and metal; designed to be made by local craftsman throughout India. It weighs around 2kg in total and is estimated that the 300 rupee cost is approximately £4.10.

Photo courtesy of Carryology

Vikram is currently in the process of looking for sponsorships, marketing or a manufacturer to take his design to the next phase - I'm sure it's only a matter of time...

Change

Change is good, right?

Perhaps the goal and reason to change is required first, before change is effective. Needless to say a certain amount of reflection or intervention needs to happen for one to choose change.

This is why doing nothing is a choice and it gets you to the goal of nothing (David Hieatt).

I think there are also times when change is not required - times when not doing anything is the right thing to do. Sundays for example.

The danger of course with doing nothing is that you can be accused of being lazy and not taking the time to look at what is around you and assess what's working and what isn't.

I realise that I'm sounding a little philosophical this morning, but I am going somewhere with this post - stick with me.

We are planning to launch our new updated website mid August. Super exciting for all at Millican.

There was nothing particularly wrong with our existing website but we've just felt for a while now that there are a few improvements to make both to the front end (the bit you guys see) and back end (the boring bit where we process the orders).

I have a few sneaky screen shots from the new website for you all to enjoy.

Homepage

Our bags

As always we will be making a few last minute adjustments so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Big thanks to Mark, Chris, Matt, Liz and everyone involved in the build.

Birthday Celebrations

A few too many pints on Saturday night left me with a rather hazy head in the morning. Nothing like a relaxing trundle on the bike along the Thames to freshen me up.

One of the best cycling routes is Richmond to Hampton Court, especially good as it's flat all the way. On the way out we stopped by at a sandy beach for a picnic, then proceeding upstream past Eel Pie Island to Teddington Lock, beyond which the river's tidal section ends and the countryside begins.

Photo courtesy of Martin H. Watson and Alice Laird

Continuing for a mile or so we then crossed the river at Kingston Bridge and picked up the path on the other bank and cruised on to Hampton Court Palace. After 7.5 miles of cycling we had earned our tea and cake which we enjoyed on the lawns of Hampton Court whilst absorbing a bit of culture before returning to Richmond.

Richmond, Thames Path

There are no shortage of pubs on route, however I was only half a pint away from a two-wheeled dive into the Thames.