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I'm Patrick and I'm the founder of Reef Knots. It's a company built around some pretty simple principles. We try to make clothes of the highest quality, with great details, that leave a small footprint on the planet and the ocean. And we try to have a bit of fun doing it. But to truly understand our business, we'll need to go back to where it all started and my very bad day...

Tied up in Reef Knots

In November 2012, I was made redundant from my corporate job of 13 years. It also happened to be two days before my wife gave birth. To twins. I found myself with a wife, three young children, a new mortgage and a bit of a problem.

The traditional solution to problems like this is to get another job. But, unfortunately, I had got it into my head that what people needed were more of the world's most unpopular clothing item. The tie. 

Needless to say, I didn’t receive a Husband of the Year mug in 2012. Instead, I was told I was crazy on a bi-hourly basis by almost everyone I met. But I refused to listen to the "nobody-wears-a-tie-anymore" brigade. I was a man on a mission: to take this neck-adorning symbol of office slavery and turn it into something people actually wanted to wear; something that would remind them of life far away from the corporate grind. The bonus was that I might escape it myself. 

We summed it up in a simple phrase: Summertime - all the time.

Our Sunny Disposition

 While Reef Knots started with ties, pretty soon our customers started asking for our prints to appear on swim shorts too. The expansion began and now we sell a full range of menswear, all of them sharing the same aim: perfect staples with a Reef Knots twist. We are also trying to incorporate recycled plastics, organic cottons and other materials into our products to make sure they leave as small a mark on the planet as possible. I started our partnership with the Blue Marine Foundation charity when I was still operating out of my spare room and we continue to support their work to this day along with the National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow. 

I never thought this journey would be a huge success, but we've grown by the incredible support of our customers. I would love nothing more than for you to clamber aboard and join us on our adventure.