Horrockses X Joanie Clothing

The highly anticipated collaboration between Horrockses Fashions x Joanie Clothing has finally arrived, and last night we had the pleasure of hosting the official launch event at one of Manchester’s finest venues, the International Anthony Burgess Foundation.

In celebration of the collaboration between the history-defining North West fashion house and rising star of the sustainable-yet-affordable clothing market, Joanie Clothing, we invited a variety of guests, from local creatives to select press, fashion tastemakers and digital creators, who were given the exclusive first-look of the brand-new collection.

We were absolutely thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive reaction from attendees who were highly complementary of the range, deservingly so!

All 10 show-stopping dresses – which feature some of the most kitsch and interesting Horrockses prints, painstakingly reproduced by Joanie’s female-led design team to replicate the look and feel of original vintage Horrockses dresses – were presented within our exclusive Horrockses Fashions exhibit, which took centre stage at the launch.

Guests were given the opportunity to soak up the inspiration behind each piece, as the exhibition illustrated how each dress was developed, detailing the history behind the unique, stylish Horrockses prints. First launched in the 1940s, Horrockses original collections, known for their high-quality fabrics and vibrant, playful prints, were worn by various members of the royal family and notable film stars. The exhibition featured historical images of timeless figures wearing the prestigious dresses, including Joan Collins, Princess Margaret, and HRH Queen Elizabeth II, who selected several dresses for her Royal Tour of the Commonwealth.

We were delighted to welcome original Horrockses designer Wendy Simpson and author of Horrockses Fashions:Off-the-Peg Style in the ’40s and ’50s, design historian Dr. Christine Boydell to the event. Wendy was able to give attendees a real insight into working with the esteemed label, expressing how excited she was to see her designs featured all over the world.

Guests who attended the launch modelling one of the exclusive dresses from the new collection were given the opportunity to have their portrait drawn by ultra-talented illustrator Jess Williams. Attendees were also entertained throughout the event as the brilliant pianist Liam Morson provided live musical entertainment.

Daytime guests were also treated to afternoon tea, courtesy of Prestwich’s finest Italian cafe Lupo, and the feel-good atmosphere from the afternoon continued through into the evening, as attendees enjoyed our spring-themed gin bar and delectable canapés.

The event has generated brilliant support from press, with features so far from the likes of Manchester’s Finest, Fashion Monitor and About Manchester and a Facebook live with the Manchester Evening News’ Dianne Bourne, with much more to come.

We also welcomed North West Tonight down to preview the event, who filmed an exclusive segment, in which Joanie Clothing brand director Lucy Gledhill and original Horrockses designer Wendy Simpson spoke with BBC reporter Kelly Foran, and appeared on the Evening News and across all of their digital platforms.

The influencers in attendance shared some lovely content across their social channels during and after the event, including these fab IG reels from Bethany Cookson and Bethany Jane Davies this IG post from Yana Prendergast.

The Horrockses Fashions x Joanie collection is now live! Check out the range here

On Stage at Home with Clangers and Nordoff Robbins

This week we launched ‘On Stage at Home’ with the Clangers and music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins.

Created at homes across Manchester over the last few weeks, the initiative is an interactive musical video series, featuring specially created songs and music for young families to perform whilst at home together during lockdown and beyond, using instruments they find or make.

Our aim was to demonstrate the positive impact that music can have on everyone’s health and wellbeing, and show you don’t need instruments to make music, whilst supporting an important charity and spreading a little Clangers joy.

This was a true labour of love, which started with the germ of an idea in the early days of lockdown, followed by some very quick thinking from some extremely talented people, the contactless delivery of a green screen we miraculously found in the attic, and an emergency run to the office to fetch our editor’s iMac.

We’d genuinely never met or even spoken to Nordoff Robbins before embarking on this project, and so we were astounded by their generosity of spirit and the faith they put in us to deliver something wonderful.

It transpired there was an amazing synergy between Clangers and Nordoff Robbins brand values.  The Clangers were a perfect fit for the concept as their Little Blue Planet is filled with music and dancing, music trees and singing flowers grow there, and they often row out on their music boat to go fishing or visit the Iron Chicken.

They also find, and discover new uses for, unusual objects on their planet, so throughout the series, they help with tips and encourage families to create musical instruments and sounds from objects found in their homes, from sieves, to spices, wooden spoons, pots and pans and everything else in between.

On Stage at Home is produced by our long standing client and good friends, Coolabi Group, who own Clangers, and the creative team includes Didsbury based music therapist Louise Gregg, Clangers co-director Chris Tichborne (using footage originally animated by the wonderful team at Altrincham’s Factory, who we’ve worked with since Sundae launched), and edited, with additional animation, by husband’s design studio Instruct (whose HQ is currently based in our attic).

An extra special shout out goes to Josh at Instruct, whose dreams are now forever soundtracked by Let’s Go Finding Sounds, after hours and days spent editing this first film which formed the look and feel of the series.

It took a grand total of three weeks, to devise, create and launch the first two videos, working at breakneck speed, and setting seemingly impossible challenges for ourselves, including getting the Clangers and Eggbots to breakdance, and transporting Louise onto the surface of the Clangers Little Blue Planet, something we’d never done in the six years we’ve been working with our favourite pink space mice.

Sundae is supporting the creative process, and delivering outreach and publicity in partnership with the Nordoff Robbins team, including a nationwide press campaign, and support from celebrities and influencers across the country.

We couldn’t be more delighted with the reactions so far; the comments from parents have been incredibly positive, and we’ve had a huge swell of support from the press, including a segment on BBC Radio 5 Live with Nordoff Robbins CEO Sandra Schembri which you can listen to here at 16:46.

And we’re only just getting started, we’ll be releasing a new song each week, and we’re excited to see performances on stage at home from families across the UK, with a few famous faces getting on board to support.

So, as Louise would say, Let’s Go Finding Sounds!

Clangers © 2020 Coolabi Productions Limited, Smallfilms Limited and Peter Firmin

What are we watching in This Country, then?

Back in early 2017, a good friend of mine who grew up in a small village in the countryside recommended that I watch a new comedy on BBC Three because it was “bang on the money” as a representation of his “hilarious” formative years. That comedy was This Country.

I followed his instructions, as he is a very funny man himself, and it quickly became my favourite show; over the course of the last three years I have waited with baited breath for each new season to be announced and every new episode to be released weekly on iPlayer… generally watching the latest one multiple times whilst waiting for the next – it is that good.

Without giving too much away to those who haven’t seen it, This Country is a mockumentary that follows the lives of young people in modern rural Britain, namely the central characters, cousins Kerry and Kurtan and their lives in a village in the Cotswolds.

Across its three seasons, the show focuses on themes of social awkwardness, the trivialities of human behaviour and the endearing eccentricities of living in rural England as well as the boredom, total lack of professional opportunities and the social isolation of young people in small, remote communities.

Aside from being a truly genius comedy, it is extremely topical in the issues that it addresses and is a real conversation starter around the hot subject of opportunities for young people from different backgrounds in the UK… which is another reason why it is a Sundae top pick; we hold regionality, diversity and opportunity for young people at the heart of absolutely everything we do.

The show’s creators, brother and sister duo Charlie and Daisy May Cooper play the hilarious central characters while filling some of the other core roles with real life family and friends, giving them an opportunity to fulfil their massive potential that they may not have otherwise received. For us at Sundae, this secured our hearts as a forever home for the show as it proves that anything is possible, no matter where you are from or how old you are.

If you find yourself in a position with some spare time on your hands while in self isolation and need some full blown LOLs (alongside a few tears) to get you through, then this little beauty is a binger’s dreamboat.

I for one will be taking full advantage of the fact that the last ever episode was released yesterday evening, giving me carte blanche to hit every season nightly on a b2b basis… on a b2b basis.

Not only is This Country casually hilarious, heartbreaking and socially relevant in equal measures, it joins a stellar stable of shows that have broken out from the BBC Three production line, completing a Sundae endorsed top trio alongside the incredible People Just Do Nothing and Man Like Mobeen (both of which are also more than worth an isolation binge if you haven’t seen them).

At a time when this country needs us to stay inside, we definitely need This Country to help us do it.

Much love and stay safe.

T x

Images and video courtesy of BBC Three