entrepreneur

Ledbury, the Better-Tailored Men's Shirt

A couple of Oxford MBAs recently founded Ledbury, a new men's shirt brand dedicated to better tailoring at the intersection of Savile Row and Ivy Style. Paul Trible and Paul Watson (above) graduated with Oxford MBAs at the height of the economic crisis, literally the day before the Lehman Bros. collapse, and decided to turn their careers from finance to fine fabric. Taking advantage of their proximity to Jermyn Street, London's traditional home of fine haberdashery, the pair learned the art of English shirt-making from one of the street's top craftsman and then fused in their hometown Southern U.S. style to create a brand based in Virginia focusing on fit, quality and style.

"When I was living in London, I would come back to the States and have difficulty finding high quality shirts that provided a tailored look," the Virginia-born Trible explains. "The big name menswear retailers made formless, boxy clothes, while luxury brands charged exorbitant prices. It seemed like there was a real need for an American shirtmaker that offered European quality, English fit and American style, all at an attainable price. We want Ledbury shirts to fit better, feel better and last longer than anything else in your closet." The Classicist recently featured a natty Ledbury chambray creation in a column on seasonal style starring the Mercedes-Benz G-Class.

Tags: dress shirts, entrepreneur, Ledbury, London, mens clothing, mens style, menswear, Oxford, Savile Row, shirts, tailoring, Virginia

The Classicist: The Stylish World of Spirits & Luxury Hotel Guru Martin Miller

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spirits, The Classicist

As befits a Brit who has his very own brand of gin, Martin Miller is more than just an entrepreneur; he's a bon viveur and connoisseur of everything from antiques and historic houses to leggy women, fine spirits and elaborately coiffed canines. The self-described "gypsy who never settled" began building an empire as a schoolboy in England which led to an estimated $40 million fortune and the birth of Martin Miller's Gin. Having sold his antiques guide business for a tidy sum, in 1999 Miller hit on the idea of creating a super premium gin better than anything else available at the time; developing the perfect gin regardless of "practical, fiscal or even geographic limitations" became something of a fixation, hence the spirit's slogan: "born of love, obsession and some degree of madness."

Miller's is a top drawer London dry gin made from ten carefully balanced botanicals that's transported 1,500 miles to Iceland following traditional copper pot still distillation to be mixed with the purest spring water on the globe. The result is a potent spirit with a strong citrus nose and taste, notes of juniper and a clean, soft finish. A Westbourne Strength variation ups the ABV from 40% to 45.2%, bringing the juniper to the forefront along with spicier notes and the same soft finish. Both bottles are stunning. That degree of good taste and craftsmanship extends to Miller's small empire of boutique luxury hotels in renovated historic structures, the first of which he opened to house his burgeoning collection of antiques.

Miller's four UK properties echo the eccentricity and artistic sensibility of their creator; showcasing his "maximalistic" approach to decor, they're positively overflowing with antiques and finds from his lifelong adventures. Here's a rundown [cont'd]:

Gallery: The World of Martin Miller

Tags: antiques, England, entrepreneur, gin, hotel, Iceland, London, luxury hotels, Martin Miller, Martin Millers Gin, spirits, UK

Continue reading “The Classicist: The Stylish World of Spirits & Luxury Hotel Guru Martin Miller”

Diamond Book For Russia's Big Spenders

by Sandy Maple (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Preferred

A regular edition of Roger Shashoua's book Dancing with the Bear: A Serial Entrepreneur Goes East can be had for around $30. But somehow it seems fitting that a book about getting seriously rich should also come in a seriously rich edition. How does £3m strike you? That is what British entrepreneur Shashoua is hoping to fetch for the made-to-order "oligarch" edition of his book, which features over 600 flawless diamonds on the cover.

The book, said to be the most expensive in the world, is touted as a how-to guide for entrepreneurs looking to follow in Shashoua's footsteps and make big money in post-Soviet Russia. Shashoua knows of what he speaks - he is the co-founder of ITE, which trades on the London Stock Exchange with a market value of more than £500m.

It seems to me that those who could actually afford this special edition book probably don't need the advice. But Shashoua hopes the wealthy Russian ex-pats who might buy it won't just stash it in the safe. "I can only hope that oligarchs will read the book, rather than just keeping it locked away," he says.

[via bornrich]

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Tags: book, dancing with the bear, DancingWithTheBear, diamond, diamond book, DiamondBook, entrepreneur, oligarch, Roger Shashoua, RogerShashoua, russia, shashoua, soviet russia, SovietRussia