Bow Ties Sydney, Australia - Le Noeud Papillon - Specialists In Self Tying Bow Ties


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Sunday, December 31, 2017

Notes From The South Coast And Country New South Wales


My early morning dip on Bondi was reasonably quick as I was trying to get to the Studio to shut up shop and pick up a few last things before I headed off for the South Coast.

I had decided that I would try my luck driving through Braidwood and onwards to Tilba via Batemans Bay rather than to attempt the coastal road.

The country was greener than I had expected. Often at this time of year the earth is already scorched but instead I found it lush from the inland to the coast. In fact, I don't think I saw a dry bit of land in my entire tour. 

As is usual for me I was longing to be on my own with my music. I have recently been collecting new songs and some of them seemed ripe for a road trip. Amongst them was Steely Dan's "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" , The Little River Band's "Reminiscing" , Jay Ungar's "Ashokan Farewell" which forms the opening credits to Ken Burns' documentary on the American Civil War. Then there was Marianne Faithfull's cover of "As Tears Go By", The Pretenders "Hymn To Her" , Nancy Sinatra's "You Only Live Twice", Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man", Joe Jackson's "Steppin' Out" .

My first stop was to visit some friends that had renovated a house near Tilba. They were beneath a mountain that was part of lands that were on native title I was told. The mountain was sacred to the local indigenous tribes. It was a charming dramatic backdrop and as the sun faded into twilight it was backed by a beautiful violet light that saw a faint crescent moon rising. 

At night we ate very well and sat up drinking scotch on the patio with a cool wind blowing and plenty of ice in the deep freeze but no air conditioning in the rooms. Thankfully the weather was hot only on the first evening with rain setting in the following day. 

When I departed on Christmas morning I left at 4am - to ensure that I did not bump into too many police cars which seemed to be in droves on my way down to the South Coast. I arrived in Canberra, had Christmas lunch with my family, played soccer both physically and virtually on a Sony Playstation. After a lot of meat I fell into a food coma and woke again at 4am the following morning and went back to the coast to visit some other friends who had recently finished their new dwelling which was ultra modern with it's modernity offset by a very interesting garden that gave the architecture more humanity. The drive was extraordinary, cruising down the Monaro highway at great speed before winding down Brown Mountain and coming down into the valley until I reached Cobargo. Then on to Tilba, this time following the rolling green hills down to the sea. 

In the morning I got up early and swam one of the those uninhabited South Coast beaches where you have to have a certain trepidation when treading between heath and beach for there are always black and brown snakes around, and then as you enter the water you have to assume that if you get caught by the rip there will be nobody for you to call out to. It can often take the edge off your enjoyment as the waves do not seem to be as rhythmic as those that you get on Bondi Beach. 

I swam a little, rinsed my nostrils and went back to the house. I departed a little after ten and was glad to be on the road as my hosts were the clean living organic types and after a while if I hear too much of it my shadow starts to crave a double quarter pounder from McDonalds and in fact, since I was on a road trip, I sided with my shadow. I drove back to Cooma, pacing myself again up Brown Mountain and marvelling at just how beautiful the country was. It was some of the best country in New South Wales - clean- unspoilt, rolling and cascading and never short of drama as it moved from the sea to estuaries, lakes and then mountains and highlands. 

At Cooma, satiated by a double quarter pounder and a chocolate thick shake I moved on towards Canberra, collected some cables I left behind and then headed off for Kangaloon where I intended to meet up with more friends. And when I arrived a garden party was in full swing - it was perfect timing.

The following day I made an error of judgement. One which I won't go into. Suffice to say it involved two coffees and a female friend. You don't sweep an older woman off her feet it seems, instead she sweeps you under the carpet.

But this was my 2017 - a pastiche of different experiences, exciting and rich but also painful and with continued suffering. First world suffering. A bad ankle, a bruised heart, a sore back - but mostly it was all pretty well sorted. Looking back I could not have imagined so many things to have occurred in one year and none of them would I take back. But with the good you must take the bad, the hard-nosed, the cruel and the unfair. The psychotherapist I see occasionally said to me two things of great import this year, one of which was a response to the question I posed to her: 

"What the hell am I to make of all this ?"

To which she responded - "that life is beautiful, but painful".

I am inclined to agree. 

And to the next great pearl of wisdom, which I intend to exercise in 2018 - "What I Practice I Become"

My road trip was a great way to cap off a year of extraordinary highs and lows, of change, of self-awareness and overcoming a whole bunch of mental obstacles along the way. 

I am grateful that our customers have supported this business throughout the year and my hope is that all these experiences will somehow filter into making better products and having a better perspective on what makes for a bow tie or tie that you fall in love with, something which hits you on a personal level. That's my hope anyway. That in 2018 we create some great silks and that I go back to work with a relish and zest inspired by the year that just passed. 

What a year. I hope yours was equally as interesting and I look forward to serving you in the new year. I depart for Como, Italy on the 7th January to source new fabrics, meet new contacts and it will be my first time seeing Como in winter. 

Again, thank you, see you in 2018. 
















Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Writer's Block And The Continual Search For Meaning

Lately I have been having a terrible time keeping up the blog. Instagram is such an addictive and easy way to tell stories on the go and to create good blog content takes time and careful consideration, plus you are required to write longer passages which require more depth of knowledge. As I get older this seems to be dogging me, as well as my enthusiasm to create new menswear content. Whereas once I had few customers and more time on my hands, these days I seem to be in between one wedding party order, cutting silks on the bench, photographing new stock or packing and sending stock. It's not a complaint, but I seldom get those long stretches of 'nothing to do' which I used to fill with researching and writing blog content.

And hasn't Instagram taken off. I rarely use Facebook these days, I seldom even look at my twitter account. I seem to spend my life drawn to two apps, Whatsapp and Instagram. So, admittedly, the blog has suffered, my writing has suffered and, judging by the stats, my audience has suffered too.

The other issue has been the genuine reflexivity offered by Instagram over the blog. We get to stay in touch with our customers, repost their photos of them wearing bow ties, hear their stories and genuinely get a sense of community amongst lovers of bow ties, which the blog doesn't offer because you only get to see what I write. There is a great joy I get when I wake up in the morning and see who has tagged us over night. Most of the photos come from a select few but it's so nice to see your bow ties in Miami, New York, London, Paris, Milan, San Franciso and so on.

So, to those of you who still read our blog, be patient, I have writer's block for the moment and don't know what else to write about for the time being. I encourage you to duck across to our Instagram but I totally get it if you don't want to be a part of it - you can get sucked up into the vortex and never seem to get your head out of it.

Anyway, I thought I would add just a few shots of things that have been relevant to us over the past few weeks and stop past the website as we just uploaded some new silks.




Magnus Omme stopped past and helped me make this movie on how to tie your LNP bow tie

This is our bonsai limited edition silk design. The portrait is by Magnus Omme

This is a wonderful Franck Mueller watch on a customer who took the first of our evil eye limited edition silk.

The new limited edition evil eye silk was produced on an exceptional loom we have not had the opportunity to work on before. The silk is considerably more expensive to produce. 

This is our customer Thomas Carle who sent in this photo when he went to pick up his new car. He has been a big supporter of Le Noeud Papillon

A set of wedding ties I was asked to tie on the wedding party this Sunday just passed. The double four in hand knot looked exceptional on this navy ottoman silk.

New Japanese yuzen silk bow ties that have just been released on the website. 

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Christmas Sale #2 Now Live Until Midnight

Now is the time to log onto the website and snap yourself up a bargain as we are selling down freshly made bow ties until midnight with the codes being activated by the hour. Come see. www.lenoeudpapillon.com