On Monday September the 8th, my new apprentice, Charlie Anderson, pushed the Michelsberg Tailoring buzzer, and climbed the stairs towards sartorial heaven for the first time. Whilst it’s early days, the lad’s done well, enthusiasm dripping from each of his twenty-one year old pores. He’s shown initiative, has boundless energy and has already started to…
It’s 4.30pm on a Friday afternoon in Leeds. Blue sky, twenty seven degrees, and a white-wine and Peroni soaked crowd of suits, are wallowing on the sun-drenched pavement outside the Bar & Grill. Now is the time of the year to kick back and suck the marrow out of every bone Mother Nature throws at…
On Friday the 13th of this month at 5pm, Michelsberg Tailoring popped open a bottle of Veuve Clicquot and raised a glass to its first employee, Charlie Anderson. Eight years ago, the business was born on my kitchen table, and now, after three years in the Victoria Quarter, I feel ready to take on an…
Even as a child, I loved getting new clothes. The joy of wearing my first Nike t-shirt and trainers on a geography field trip to Skipton, is still tucked away in the little grey cells. As is busting shapes on the dance-floor at ‘Mr Craig’s’ nightclub in Bradford, resplendent in blue blazer, chinos, and brown…
On Monday January 6th, the scales confirmed I’d had an exceedingly good Christmas. Half a stone above fighting weight but oh, so worth it. For two glorious weeks, the Michelsberg log fire had crackled along to the bubble of my gastric juices. Every single calorie had been savoured with relish. The sweet, aromatic taste of…
As the proverb goes, “If you build it, they will come.” That was my hope on Friday 6th December at 5.30pm, when The Tingley Brass Band raised their horns to kick off the Michelsberg Christmas Party 2013. Corks popped and the scent of mulled wine filled the air, as my customers, suppliers, family and friends,…
With a big thanks to Chris Thompson at Broken Clock Photographic, I can now introduce “Michelsberg – The Movie.” Enjoy.
At my wedding, my best man and college friend Paul said in his speech, “over the years we’ve shared many highs together, some legal…” Whilst this might be true, I doubt many were better than the one I got from hosting my customer party last Thursday evening. After a last minute flood of “sorry we…
Baron Pierre de Coubertin (the founder of the Olympics) said, “It’s not the winning but the taking part that counts.” Utter tosh. These are the words of the loser, the also-ran, the dud, the deadbeat, the defeated. In battle there is no prize for runner-up. Coming first is everything. One day, like Brian Clough, I…
“The Laziest Tailor in Leeds” has been at it again folks. Last week I hung my tape-measure over my dummy and left the showroom for a week’s holiday in Portugal. In truth, I do put the hours in, and whilst bespoke tailoring and running my own business is something I love, six day weeks, tight…