When you are forced to stop it is often worth taking the time to look around a little before you move on.
Lockdown was a trying time for everyone and for small businesses like us the prospect of losing everything we had built up to that point was a very real threat. It felt like we had no control over the outcomes; it was time to go back to the reasons why we wanted to do this in the first place, and for us that means community.
The Dandy Cat is all about you; your sounds, your style, your spirit. Now more than ever it feels that community is an increasingly important part of everyone's lives. When a nation is forced to remain within a few miles of their home it heightens awareness for everything that is good (and bad) about the places we choose to live. We know this and have always been careful to place community at the heart of everything we do. We wanted The Dandy Cat to be your one stop shop for the discerning gentlemen or lady wanting style and quality. We are passionate about proving that style does not mean being a peacock, or using disposable fashion items, but rather it is about timeless, sustainable choices that will provide you with years of joy.
We research the brands we stock thoroughly. We do not stock products that we have not tested ourselves or that have been pushed on us by sales people. We want all our products to be high quality, free from nasty chemicals and to be either locally produced or so uniquely brilliant that we would be crazy not to stock them. If you look at the products we stock there is not a weak one amongst them, there is also not another to be found in any local shop. This was important to us; be good for the town but don’t take away from the businesses of others.
We are very proud of our suppliers, each one has gone above and beyond to move quality products away from disposable culture. Each company we support understands what we want to achieve. They are a mixture of local small batch producers or larger companies renowned for their expertise and craftsmanship, and both supply us with products that are very special indeed. We go out of our way to source these things so that you don’t have to, and if you live locally to us then you are fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of our click and collect, socially distanced, shopping experience, that allows you to order before you travel and then collect your sustainable goodies alongside your less fun, “essentials” shop in town. We want to bring a little bit of elegance back to shopping and make you feel like everything you purchase from us is a treat which you deserve, and believe us, you do deserve it.
During lockdown we have sourced yet more delightful things to enhance your lives and we have been proud to discover how hard our suppliers have been working to assist their local communities and provide support for them in a time of need. Both the Portsmouth Distillery Co. and Corner 53, our gin suppliers, switched at least one of their stills over to manufacture hand sanitiser when the country needed it most and both did this not for profit. We have taken their lead and our own Handy Dandy sanitiser is produced by Portsmouth Distillery Co. with every last penny from each unit sold going to charity.
Our wash bags, belts and wallets are all made from recycled leather and fire hose by Elvis and Kresse who donate thousands each year to support many charities through the sales of these products. Mr. Masey’s Emporium of Beards who hand make and supply all our colognes and beard oils are a company founded on giving back and supporting local communities. Not only do they help at local food banks but they also support youth development and environmental causes both of which are very close to our core principles at The Dandy Cat. Even our humble face masks are charitable. Each one is manufactured out of off cuts from the luxury silk industry (yes these are those same masks you saw in Liberty), sold for no profit and support key charities today. Our charming supplier of the best hats in Britain, Sussex Tweed, have also moved part of their production line to producing face masks, so if you fancy a linen look, they can provide you with a mask to match your hat.
What we want to prove is that being elegant, being stylish and being smart is not only achievable at a reasonable cost, but it is also easy to do sustainably.
We began our story with an aim to bring accessible style to the local community and after pausing to look around, we realise that through our partners we are helping to do so much more. As we move into the forced re-birth of The Dandy Cat we want to thank everyone who has supported us through thick and thin (yes, this does mean you) and invite you all to continue to be part of our wonderful community of Dandy Cats, and we promise you all, it will only get better.
Want to know more about our Dandy suppliers? Click these links:
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