Forty Ounce Clothing

Fantastic new T-shirt brand has that has recently come up on Made from Plastic’s radar is Forty Ounce Clothing, a small independent clothing company based in Norwich. Their prints combine pop culture icons and with quirky designs, to brilliant effect.

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Sean Ward (The Unconventional): Interview

Made from Plastic was recently fortunate enough to have a chat with Sean Ward, one half of the driving force behind Bespoke Boutique and The Perfect Pad. His latest venture see’s him going solo with a new online store The Unconventional, fastly becoming the mecca for new and emerging talent in emerging talent and design.

What made you want to start the unconventional?
The unconventional was launched to showcase some of the most exciting underground and emerging talent helping them to aid in their development. with a juxtaposition of artisan craftsmanship and avant-garde collections this creates the subtle foundations from which the unconventional was created. offering a new take on what is readily available across the web.

What are you hoping to achieve with it, given the success of bespoke boutique and perfect pad?
I would like to achieve the recognition of being the first place to source the newest and exciting talent emerging from around the world. to put it in a nutshell world domination would be perfect.

what's your favourite store other than your own?
This is a tough one, I think it would have to be Ink Clothing a store that pushes the limit with the collections they sell gains a lot of respect in my eyes.

What is your favourite brand?
My favourite brand at present is uncommon creatures, they're debut collection for this season is absolutely flawless the attention to detail is second to none, plus I am the only UK stockist and one of a handful in the world (shameless plug)

Favourite piece for next season?
Anything from Mjolks SS11 collection, Lars Stoten continually has a well crafted and defined collection that seems to get better and better, the single piece that stands out for me is the cable knit tee.

Who is your personal style icon, fictional or non fictional?
I can never pin it down to just one person as my taste changes and evolves all the time, at the moment it would have to be thom browne the way he changed mens tailoring was genius, and also Colin Firth from Tom Fords Movie a single man. understated class at it's purest.

What's next for the unconventional?
the next steps are to build on what I currently have adding more depth to the family of designers, once I feel the mix is strong enough I would like to launch a pop up shop tour of a few cities in the UK, a few collaborations would great too!

Men's File

Men's File is a modern magazine tracing the Roots of Style. Everything from product reviews of garments, motorcycles, boots, fashion, shops around the world, travel, and every other thing you want to read about. All the material is original and shot and written very well. Everything a men's magazine should be.

Crocodiles

San Diego's Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez, AKA Crocodiles make highly melodic, yet drenched in fuzz, electronic music, with lots of reverb to spare. Their debut Summer of Hate, has just been released and well worth checking out.

  Crocodiles - Hearts of Love by Made from Plastic

Kate Steciw: The Strangeness Of This Idea

Photographer Kate Steciw's debut book, The Strangeness Of This Idea, juxtaposes highly altered digital images and collages with seemingly naturalistic shots, resulting in a carefully planned confusion for the viewer, who is constantly forced to reassess exactly what is and what is not real.

Huxley

There are two things that puzzle Huxley. Where has all the vibrant coloured knitwear gone? And why are we all so quick to eschew British manufacturing? In order to address both these issues Huxley has set out to produce high-quality, brightly coloured, British-made knitwear.

The provenance of their factories is of the utmost importance to us at Huxley. Their jumpers are produced in Scotland by a knitwear manufacturer, which can trace its heritage in Scottish knitwear back to 1874. For our socks, we rely on a family owned firm that has been in the business of socks since 1895 and is run by the 3rd and 4th generation descendants of the founder.

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Home Sapiens Magazine

Home Sapiens Magazine is an independent publishing project that explores what makes home. It is not just a new title on interior design and lifestyle trends, but rather a cult series of monographs on contemporary domestic living. Home Sapiens magazine comes from the paradigmatic change of the living place concept: from the home-object, a container of goods and persons (Home Capiens) to the home-subject, a relational entity endowed with sensitive intelligence (Home Sapiens).

Nobrow

Nobrow was set up in the winter of 2008 to provide an independent publishing platform for illustration and the graphic arts that would showcase some of the best talent out there today, whether fresh out of college or from the ranks of well seasoned veterans.

Their aim is to place a renewed focus on quality in print, using wherever possible the best materials they can get their hands on and always trying to play with format, colour, size and design to ensure that their publications are well conceived and individual. 

Mark Long

Mark Long is an illustrator, living in London. He creates amazing imagery often with a satirical yet accurate view on society. His latest is “Who Ate All The Pies?” a 28 page, A5 book which features a selection of football chants and illustrations, below.

D.R. Harris

D.R. Harris, formerly known as the Harris Apothecary, No 11 St James Street London dates back to 1790 and is the oldest pharmacy in London. For almost two centuries, this family business served the gentry and the Court of St. James and in 1938 was granted the Royal Warrant as chemists to Her Majesty the Queen Mother. Customers have ranged from ambassadors and statesmen, field marshalls and admirals to rakes and dandies.

D.R. Harris products are used for our traditional shaves at Murdock. Their packaging is attractive, masculine & quite old school, they make excellent gifts.


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Ben Lamb

Ben Lamb is an illustrator and designer based in Manchester. After studying fine art at university, he worked as an editor in animation for 3 years before deciding to pick his pencils back up and start drawing again. Drawing and collage are central techniques in his work. Even a piece fully rendered in ink usually starts out as a collage of sorts, built up in layers on his animators drawing table,  then built up in layers in Photoshop, then back to the drawing board, then back to the mac… and back and forth until it's done. It's a time consuming process of looking, drawing, scanning and editing.

He is an avid consumer and lover of popular culture in all its expressions, but particularly TV and films. As well as being an illustrator he is a creative partner and designer at A to M which he helped establish in 2003.

Brave Soldier

Brave Soldier is a unique range that combines high quality male grooming items with specialist products for those that enjoy active lifestyles.

Focusing on naturally derived ingredients and advances in dermatological science these products are designed to accelerate healing, whilst protecting and improving the appearance of the skin.

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Gaucho Belts

Gaucho Belts, one of the top premium designers of polo belts. With over thirty belts in four different leathers they offer both the largest collection. Capybara are small animals that live on the pampas and are only found in Brazil and Argentina. The leather is exceptionally soft and silky yet strong with a distinctive tooled finish. Because the animal is semi-aquatic the leather has an exceptional resistance to stains and water, even fat can be washed away.

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Baxter Of California

Baxter Finley is the unsung father of the modern men’s skincare industry.  Moving from New York City to Los Angeles to work in the fast paced world of advertising in the mid 1960’s Finley realized the constant heat and sun was doing a rough number on his skin. After searching high and low for a moisturizer that wasn’t pink or floral, he finally gave up and created his own, which he called Super Shape. The first line of grooming products created just for men, whom he named Baxter of California, was launched from his Beverly Hills headquarters in 1965.

With the massive success, Baxter began churning out more men’s products and by the 1970’s every Hollywood hotshot was slapping their mugs with Baxter’s bounty. Today Baxter of California has a new look and feel with updated packaging, exciting new imagery, new men’s products that target very specific skincare needs, and improved formulations that combine the trusted traditions of science with fine ingredients with nature. Ideal for all skin types, the high-tech assortment works alone or in tandem, providing men with intelligent skincare solutions to anti-aging, shaving, cleansing and basic skincare.

Frost River

Frost River’s rugged backpacks and bags have enjoyed a rich history in discovery and exploration. Traditional canoe packs have been a part of the North Country wilderness for more than a century and the Frost River line of heavy duty backpacks, and canvas and leather bags have been designed and tested to perform in the rugged environment. Made of waxed cotton canvas, using a generations-old formula, their bags repel water yet 'breathe', something synthetic materials can't do. Bridle leather, solid brass hardware, and waxed cotton combine to provide a rich, warm, patina that actually improves with age and use.

Many at Frost River have worked together for more than a decade designing and making these durable and useful backpacks, bags, and luggage. All Frost River products are made in their workshop in northern Minnesota. 


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Lavenham Jackets X Norse Projects

The originators of the traditional quilted jacket Lavenham Jackets has teamed up with the Scandinavian menswear design brand Norse Projects, Probably Made from Plastic’s favourite brand going to create something truly fantastic. With both brands excel in simple functional garmenting and have stayed true to their individual styles and ethos, whilst adding an interesting twist, complimenting each other styles. With collaborations coming in thick and fast these day this has really set a new standard.

Made from Plastic's favourites include: