NORTHERN PLANNER

So I got to see the Howies shop on Thursday. After getting lost on the way to The Breakfast Club (I’ve been there half a dozen times, there really is no excuse), a kindly individual guided me to Carnaby Street.

I like Howies. I like what they stand for as well as the clothes themselves. And it makes life easy to mostly buy their stuff, and just replace things when they wear out. There’s no need to worry about the tyranny of choice every morning when I dress, or when I shop.

So I was looking forward to seing it. It wasn’t a shop really, more Howies in the flesh. You see so many brands that have pretty good ads, but fail miserably at the most important stage – the actual experience. This isn’t one of those cases.

It shows that working on retail can be a joy if you let it. There’s so much room for ideas.

Carnaby Street has a rule that all shops must keep the lights on at night, which is a bit silly when you consider the wasted energy. So they’ve put a light switch outside, that way you can see the shop if you like, but there’s no energy wasted if you don’t.

And any company that has this view on tea is okay in my book.

I met Adrian again, which was a pleasure. He mentioned how their brand is really precious, which is why it makes more sense to sell direct than put it in someone else’s hands.

I also talked to David. He’s a brilliant illustrator (see tea picture) but it’s struggle to get enough work – which is why he’s working in the shop too. Makes me thankful I do something I like AND it pays a living wage. It’s easy to forget that sometimes.