The Beach Club - Blog

Knots & Socks has been open in the Putney Exchange for a few weeks now, and it's been great to catch up with lots of customers that have visited our pop-ups in the past. We've been far busier than we expected, so 'Thank You' for the warm welcome back!

You can get our full range of Reef Knots products in the shop, and we're still open for business as usual down in Leadenhall Market. 

You can find us on the Ground Floor between GAP and Waitrose.

Whisper it quietly, but the Christmas season is coming. We'll be out and about around the country selling and promoting our silk ties in the run-up to the big day. Below is a list of a few of the events we'll be attending:

October 5th - Daisy Trust Gift Fair - Hurlingham Club, London SW6

October 14-15th - Asthma Gift Fair - Hurlingham Club, London, SW6

November 2nd-8th - Spirit of Christmas - Olympia, London

November 10th-13th - Mary Howard Christmas Fair - Hullavington Airfield

November 17th-18th - Injured Jockeys Fund - Newbury Racecourse

November 27th-29th - Presents Galore - Newmarket Racecourse

December 1st - Christmas Cocktail - Chelsea Town Hall, London

December 7th - Wellbeing of Women - Drapers Hall, City of London

We'll also be bringing the pop-up version of our shop, Knots & Socks, back to the Putney Exchange. This time, though, it will be bigger and better! More details soon....

Why are men's ties often seen as a cliché when it comes to being given as Christmas gifts? The tasteless present from a relative, destined to never see the light of day following its unwrapping.

But is a silk tie really a bad gift? No. A bad tie is a bad gift. A good tie is something the recipient will keep forever (men rarely throw away silk ties) and will be returned to regularly when they need that perfect look. Most men have a couple of 'go-to' ties for big meetings or occasions such as weddings. Believe me, they cherish them.

So how do you pick the right tie for someone? There's more to silk ties than spots, stripes and plain colours. Try something with a small repeating pattern in a conservative colour, or a colour that you know they like. Avoid large prints (it makes ties look cheap) and think a little bit about shirt and hair colour. 

Still stuck? OK, here's a big hint. Our pink fish tie is our best selling mens tie, and the navy version is perfect if you're not sure he would like the colour (it goes with everything).

Our you could just buy (and print out) a gift card and let him make the choice!

We've just finished a fantastically busy week at the Spirit of Christmas fair at Olympia. It's been great to meet so many of our customers and find lots more new ones. We hate to ruin the Christmas surprise for the men of South West London, but it would appear that most of you are getting a handmade luxury silk tie (or two) under the tree. The good news is that it's not another plain or striped one this year!

It's also been great to talk about the company with so many people and get ideas about where they want to see us headed, new products and new designs. We're always really interested in getting the views of our customers and so please email, tweet or Facebook post any ideas or comments you have. We always try to reply to all of you as soon as possible.

As well as being able to buy Reef Knots silk ties at reefknots.com and Not on The High Street, we're also now beginning to move into smaller retailers. We'll also be setting up at a number of the Christmas fairs and offices of city institutions later in November and December (including UBS, Barclays, Blackrock, Morgan Stanley and HSBC). If you want us to visit your office, let us know and we'll see if we can work out a date.

We'll hopefully see some of you at those events and fingers crossed we have enough stock for our first Christmas season!