ELEPHANT FOUND: CHELSEA BEACH

LoveBrand & Co., the prestigious beachwear company founded by Oliver Tomalin, has finally opened its first boutique on Chelsea’s “beach” just by Fulham Road at 5 Park Walk, in London.

The 1,000 sq ft Flagship Boutique intends to encapsulate both the relaxed sense of being on the beach and the exacting nature of a luxury flagship. The store showcases the brand’s responsible ethos and 'modern classic' style through a blend of unusual upcycled furniture and traditional brass fittings. 

The display units are made from old scaffold boards with a brass rail holding the colorful products on elegant engraved hangers. Products are also stored inside the impressive scaffold units in old apple crate 'drawers'.

For the check out counter, an old post office with provenance dating back over 150 years, has been upcycled to its former glory, preserving the original brass grates that now surround touch screens instead of stamps. Behind which a round glass table with a base beautifully crafted from upcycled driftwood carries a rainbow of swim shorts in a circle. 

On entry is the press wall with lines of clipboards holding recent press features. Below is a table upcycled from floorboards and old ironmongery on which refreshing iced teas and 'health waters' are available for thirsty shoppers. 

Behind the traditional large sash windows are the two windows displays using upcycled driftwood poles from which old boat rope is bound holding Love Brand & Co. products with pegs. “This flagship store represents the Love Brand & Co.’s values. I wanted to create a space that would offer a unique shopping experience, with an exquisite customer service and high quality products”, explains Tomalin.

Love Brand & Co. donates 5 % of its sales to elephant charities Elephant Family, The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and Tusk Trust, raising key awareness and funds for vital elephant conservation projects.

DIPPING IT WITH THE CORNWALLS

What better way to spend the weekend across the pond than a Sunday morning swim in the Serpentine at Sunny Hyde.

No one stopped everyone from taking a dip and yes,  all 32 men battled out a freestyle swimming relay, racing  to  raise  vital awareness for endangered Asian elephants in the wild.

Supporters took advantage of the rare London glare and came to watch from vintage deck-chairs at the Lido and the grassy banks of the Serpentine.

Selected from the current collection of classic Love Brand & Co. trunks, the green trunks popped like sunshine as everyone reached the finish line.

Blame it on Mark Shand, brother of the Duchess of Cornwall and founder of Elephant Family and London designer Oliver Tomalin.

The fashion/charity project “Trunks for Trunks” is a playful collaboration between the British state-of-the-art swimwear and Britain's leading Asian elephant charity, Elephant Family, Swimming trunks in support of endangered Asian elephants.

Quintessentially English,  the morning was made complete by everyone warming up with a cup of tea  after the race.  Lovely!