NKD Clothing

While many of us in Edinburgh remain unashamedly inconvenienced by this morning's road closures and diversions I couldn't help being impressed by the shiny new barricades diverting the traffic and preparing to pen the papal pilgrims. But what really caught my eye and I must confess made me giggle, was the street sellers brandishing a prolific array of Pope merchandise. This got Sarah and I talking on the drive back from the New Media Breakfast, because while I would have expected plenty of unofficial merchandise to appear in line with the Papal tour - I've just found a pretty smart metal-style Pope t-shirt for instance! - I was surprised by the volume of official merchandise on sale. A phenomena that has been well noted by commentators on the Internet.

It would appear that 'Brand Pope' is proving popular and gatherers at this afternoon's mass in Bellahouston Park could be mistaken for revellers at a rock concert as they raise aloft their official papal visit electronic candle! And while the demand for keepsakes and memorabilia doesn't come as a massive surprise, especially given the historic nature of this state visit, we're not talking about rosaries and candles here - the official store is basically selling branded souvenirs. I wonder if it demonstrates a shift in attitude towards capitalism and consumerism, which would be interesting given that the Pope is best known for his conservatism or perhaps 'Brand Pope' is just good PR!

I'd love to hear about, or better still see any Pope promotional goodies you've purchased. Maybe you're planning on using your Benedicataphone for a Pope podcast or you have a pocket pontiff on your keyring... I challenge anyone to do better than a Pope thong?!!

Well there's not been much time to take a break in the last fortnight or so at NKD Clothing! Seems like ages since I've been on here so tonight I thought I would bring you up to date with all the latest goings on in the action packed world of corporate clothing!

August kicked off with a meeting at Dakota who are interested in some new designs for their reception and food areas so the design team have been heads down creating some exciting new looks which will be unveiled to our client tomorrow.

Steph and I took part in some filming with our lovely friends at Fatbuzz (watch this space for the end results!). Lisa and I had a fantastic day down in London on 5th Aug - with meeting after meeting including a holiday company who want us to design their new staff uniforms, upmarket shirt company Hawes & Curtis, retail giants Marks & Spencer (who were SO lovely), a factory who want to produce OUR designs and a great meeting to end the day with Learn Purple, a great business who think like we do!

That week finished off with a lunch date with an old client of mine who I'd not seen for about 12 years! We certainly had lots to talk about!

To add to my already action packed week the Edinburgh Fringe was now in full swing so I managed to fit in 2 shows over the weekend (one of which was giving me great inspiration for 1930's style uniforms!) Do I ever stop thinking about work? No, not really!

Last week was a repetition of the previous week in terms of the speed it whizzed by! Planning for our presentation with Malmaison & Hotel du Vin was a priority for me (we are presenting some new design ideas down in London this week) Our very lovely Claire is going to be modelling and the garments are looking fabulous even if I do say so myself!

New Media Breakfast at the Tower on Thursday - very interesting talk on social media and hosted by Belinda Roberts who was looking stunning in her new bespoke NKD Suit

Lisa headed down to see a new client in the financial services world on Thursday and spent Friday visiting some new fabric suppliers to source exciting new fabrics (we're currently getting very excited about PRINTS).

Thursday night I was very lucky to get tickets to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo which Ray and I went to (highly recommended) and 2 more shows over the weekend! I even managed to squeeze a drink in at Edinburgh Hotel du Vin (and yes I do go to check the uniforms are looking lovely but they do have a very nice courtyard and very nice wine!) I love Edinburgh but love it even more in August where the fast paced feel of the city really strikes a chord!

Phew, it's Monday night already, my 'to do' list is over 2 pages - would I swap my life for peace, tranquility and no deadlines? Like hell I would!