A roll-down pack for climbers, cyclists and hikers

There's something about a roll-down pack that Ernest finds irresistible. Maybe it's the way you can change the litre capacity, just by expanding or rolling down the top like a coffee bag? Maybe it's the way they they fit snugly around your shoulders and back, ensuring a comfortable climb, cycle or hike? Or maybe it's because they look so ruddy awesome?

Organic Climbing roll-down pack from Kinoko, £90

Kinoko have a keen eye for products that are comfortable and functional, yet have a uniquely beautiful aesthetic. This can definitely be said of their new roll-down pack from Organic Climbing, handmade in the USA. It was designed to meet the demands of climbers, cyclists and hikers who wanted a bag they could take out in all seasons and adjust the size to their needs. The bag features:

- Durable ballistic nylon shell, hand-stitched with the same heavy-duty stitching used for making bouldering mats
- External daisy chains for clipping on extra gear, or bike lights if you're cycling
- Ergonomic shoulder straps, ideal for cyclists and climbers
- Adjustable sternum belt and hip belt for stability while adventuring
- Large internal stash pocket for your phone and other precious bits
- Bright yellow lining for better visibility when rummaging around inside the bag

This is a sponsored blog post, created in collaboration with Kinoko. For more information on partnerships and joining our directory, please email advertise@ernestjournal.co.uk.

Classic hats: the Trilby

Allon Zloof, founder of London hat maker Tom Smarte, is your guide to choosing a timeless classic to suit your face shape and complement any ensemble – starting with the trilby

Fur felt Trilby, £295 Photo: Hanson Leatherby

The word 'trilby' was coined from a theatre adaptation of George du Maurier’s 1894 novel Trilby, when a hat was worn at the first London production and referred to as the ‘Trilby hat’. It has a slightly narrower brim than a fedora, around 4cm, and is often made with a pinched or teardrop crown.The brim tends to be upturned at the back and sometimes snapped down at the front. A trilby comes in a variety of fabrics including felt, wool, cotton and straw.

Who it suits

If you’re lucky enough to have an oval face, any style of hat would suit you, especially a trilby. The medium brim would add balance to a short face.

How to wear it

A trilby can be either smart or casual – the look you’re after will determine how you wear it.The classic smart way would be the same as the fedora – placed from the front of the head to the back. For a casual look, wear it on the back of your head; placing it from back to front, showing the underside of the brim.The trilby is the perfect accessory for a jeans and t-shirt outfit, layered with a field jacket.

This is a sponsored blog post, created in collaboration with Tom Smarte. For more information on partnerships and joining our directory, please email advertise@ernestjournal.co.uk.

Introducing The Bearded Colonel

Magazines, books, socks and now razor blades – the world of subscribing knows no bounds. Tyvand McKee, co-founder of The Bearded Colonel tells us about German-made razor blades that can be delivered straight to your letterbox as often as you need them

You can subscribe to a delivery of razor blades monthly or every two or three months

Tell us a bit about Bearded Colonel – what's it all about?

The Bearded Colonel is a subscription service that delivers fresh razors through your letterbox once a month or once every two or three months, depending on how often you shave a week. We endeavour to provide a better way to shave. That means a better relationship with the people providing the razors, a better experience when buying the razors, and of course a better experience while actually shaving. The first two were simple fixes. You can’t have a good relationship with a brand if they’re extorting you by holding your face ransom. So it's easy – we offer a fair price. In our experience, men generally hate shopping errands and queues. We deliver razors regularly so you don’t even have to think about it. 

What’s so special about your razors?

A fair price means nothing if the product is cheap and made in China. So, we teamed up with a century-old German manufacturer, who I think make the best razor blades in the world. They made their start in the grooming business producing straight razors for Europe’s top barbers. Today, they’ve developed something really impressive –  they've cut our blades into the same shape as a straight razor, only much smaller. This makes the blades incredibly sharp and surprisingly durable. Sharpness, while often overlooked, is one of the most important factors for a razor.

What’s the art of a good shave?

Forget the gimmicks – the vibrating handles and roller balls – you need a good razor, and a good razor is a sharp razor. A lot of ads today talk about closeness. It’s silly really; they’re talking about getting half a micron closer. You literally need a microscope to see that difference. However, the sharper a razor, the smoother the shave; the smoother the shave the less irritated your skin will get, and that means less shaving rash. But a really special shave requires something extra – a shaving brush and a real shaving soap.

What’s important to you?

We want men to love shaving. You may have gone to a barber for a shave before, and I bet you loved it. You loved the feeling of luxury, the smell, and the way your face felt afterwards: smooth, supple, and strong. That experience can be replicated at home. Most men think they need a straight razor, but they don’t. What they need is a shaving brush, and a real shaving soap – not a gel or foam. The soap and brush are so often overlooked, but we found the best, and it makes all the difference. Our brush is made from pure badger hair and the cream is by Taylor of Old Bond Street.

Ernest readers receive 50% off their membership to The Bearded Colonel for the first month - just quote 'ERNEST' at the checkout.

This is a sponsored blog post, created in collaboration with The Bearded Colonel. For more information on partnerships and joining our directory please email advertise@ernestjournal.co.uk.

Pictures of the floating world

Traditional scenes of Japanese life and culture, captured in silk. Yes, we rather like these new pocket squares from Cravat Club, hand-crafted in Britain

Higure, £60: Mount Fuji Ukiyo-e print

Uyiko-e means 'pictures of the floating world' in Japanese. The traditional art form consists of woodblock prints and paintings usually depicting beautiful women, landscapes and scenes from history and folklore.

Cravat Club founder Jenny Meguro has strong connections to Japan: "I lived in the country for five years, and I have a Japanese husband. I love the traditional art of Ukiyo-e and I thought it would work really well printed on silk pocket squares.

"Instead of being a repeat pattern on a pocket square, they're more aesthetically pleasing as a whole picture, and you can show different parts of the design and colours of the square each time you fold it and put it in your blazer or waistcoat pocket."

There are three Ukiyo-e designs to choose from: Maiko, Koi Carp and Mount Fuji, each of which come in a choice of colours. They were designed by London-based Japanese artist Yusuke Aoki. Find out more about the collection here.

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This is a sponsored blog post, created in collaboration with Cravat Club. For more information on partnerships and joining our directory please email advertise@ernestjournal.co.uk.

For the love of Fair Isle

You cannot hear the words ‘Fair Isle’ without picturing the knitwear that takes its name from the Shetland island of its origin. In the third print edition of Ernest Journal, we explore the history of this timeless garment, featuring a faithful yet unique creation by Mati Ventrillon, who has lived and crafted on Fair Isle for eight years. Kirsty Lee pulled her up for a chin-wag about island life, wooly horses and weaving landscapes

What brought you to Fair Isle?

Fate was definitely involved in my move to Fair Isle. When I lived in London someone in my ex-partner's office was applying to be a tenant of the Auld Haa Guest House, which was advertised by the National Trust back in 2005. The story was picked up by the media and word spread as far as Canada and USA. I've always lived by my instincts and and this was an opportunity of a lifetime so I thought, 'Why not?'.

Although we weren't successful in getting the tenancy at Auld Haa, we moved to Fair Isle in 2007 when a flat in the South Lighthouse became available. A month after I arrived on the island, I started knitting with the now dissolved Fair Isle Craft Co-Operative (I trained as an architect so creativity is at the centre of everything I do; falling in love with knitting was destined to happen). I felt a light ignite inside me and I couldn't stop myself wanting to know more. I researched the history and looked at every available piece of Fair Isle Knitwear in the museum and a local social historian's collection. I wanted to learn more about shaping the garments so I trained with a Shetland Artist in machine and shaping techniques. It’s an ongoing search for perfection.  

I understand that in 2011, after the co-operative closed, knitting in Fair Isle was in jeopardy. How did the community respond to your efforts of preserving the history of the knitwear through the launch of your Mati Ventrillon brand?

After the dissolution of Fair Isle Crafts I decided to carry on. I couldn't do any thing else as I was totally hooked - I knew it would be a life-long relationship. I launched Fair Isle Knitwear in September 2011 with only six patterns, and my fellow islanders were supportive. Many people here knit and most don’t do it commercially. The few of us left after the co-operative dissolved had different ideas so it was natural to go our separate ways.

Fair Isle knitting belongs to the island, and the people who live here are instruments for its continuation. For more than 200 years, women have learned the technique and passed it down from mother to daughter, and also to anyone with an interest. The Mati Ventrillon brand took shape in 2012, inspired by tradition and crafted for life.

How did you develop your styles and designs? Was it difficult to capture such a long line of history in your patterns?

When I started knitting I was like a sponge; I absorbed every bit of information about the patterns, the colours and the garments. I didn't think too much because I knew that by just doing it, I was learning. Over four years I found out all I could about Fair Isle knitting. I imagined the life of women 200 years ago and their relationship with the landscape. I wanted to feel how it would have been back then and take inspiration from that. I've been using the same patterns used since Fair Isle knitting started, as they carry the history. My designs are inspired by pieces knitted in the 19th century.

How do you weave Fair Isle's landscape into your designs?

It’s an interesting question because this ties in neatly with my next project! The landscape is a constant presence and the weather rules our lives – both have an impact on everything we do. I do not consciously design patterns by thinking about the landscape but I am sure my choices of colours are influenced by it. 

Through the photographs on your website I feel the wooly horse is a celebration of solitude and embraces the landscape that surrounds you – how did it become such an important figure to you? 

The best way to dry a jumper is on a wooly horse or a jumper board because it helps the fibre to keep the shape. Every knitter in Fair Isle has one. My wooly horse has an interesting story. It belonged to my ex-partner David – it was his father's, who received it as a gift from Tulloch of Shetland. David had it with him for over 30 years and took it with him as he moved around the world. He had it with him when we met in Venezuela in 2002. The wooly horse moved with us to London and then made its way back home to Shetland in 2007. Tulloch of Shetland stopped manufacturing them in the early 1960s and no one has produced anything of such quality since, so now I collect and treasure them. They are a work of art.

Kirsty Lee is native to a stony seaside town on the Kent coast. She has a penchant for exploring, documenting and collecting keepsakes from her travels.

You can read a pocket history of Fair Isle knitwear in the third print edition of Ernest Journal.

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