Founders Letter

Hi. I’m James, and the proud founder of Hollow Head Threads.

My interest in fashion goes way back beyond the years of hard work it has taken to launch the brand, and develop all our own designs.

I can vividly remember the feelings I had when my older sister returned from Guide camp and saw my new Jeans. They had a large colourful Barney Rubble printed on one leg and Fred Flintstone on the other. I read her face. She read mine. In the space of a long weekend I’d transformed, gained a new identity, matured even, and, in my mind at least, become one cool kid.

That is the power of fashion.

The next time fashion truly empowered me, and my friends, was in the early 90’s. A new twist on London Rude Boy culture was happening around us, and we wanted in. But those coveted French and Italian labels didn’t come cheap and, since my dads’ wallet struggled to open for a pair of Dunlop green flash in those days, I quickly found a Job at a local Market. That meant dark, North London mornings lifting roll after roll of fabric, before coming back after school to squeeze every last metre back into the truck where it began.

Only now can I see the irony of carrying tonnes of fabric on my shoulders, week after week, just to afford less than two metres of my own. But what I got in return was way more than just nicely stitched fabric with a Chipie or Moschino label. I was handed a serving of confidence and identity, two things every kid, every human in fact, could always do with more of.

Life went on like that for a while at least and then, well Life got in the way.

Two relationships, three kids and a handful of stressful jobs later and it suddenly hit me. I’d lost my identity somewhere along the way. Beyond being a father, I’d lost my purpose, my motivation for growth and more importantly I recognized that I needed to change to be happy.

Enter a long period of procrastination, filled with self-help books, therapy, hypnosis, podcasts and probably too much time alone. But it served me well, as I realised, amongst other things, that in order to change, I had to truly visualise who I wanted to become. More than that, I'd have to visualise the lifestyle which would satisfy that future me, and fill the voids that so many years of learnt behaviours had conjured up.

I began to look after myself again, slowly changing my routine, what I consumed and even my shopping habits. I left the mundane British high street behind me and turned to a new breed of independent clothing labels. I found some great ones, British ones too, but there wasn’t one that really spoke to me and really connected with my style or values.

So, I picked up a pencil and started to draw again, and within a few months I’d signed a Fashion mentor and begun learning and networking with a newfound passion. A year later and I took a timely redundancy and decided to go all in on my creative dreams.

My days now start with a smile, knowing I have the utterly rewarding task of designing and developing high quality British clothes, with a fantastic team, for a growing community of adventure seekers who want to continue to become the person they admire.

I will admit to still being in the infancy of my own journey, but it is my hope to inspire those who are yet to take those initial steps, and to learn from all those who are ahead of me on their journey of change.

Here’s to filling the Void, together.

James