BTB Profile 02: Ticklers London

Well, the BowTieBanditz Profiler has come home to help you get to know the awesome fellas behind some of the UK's finest, freshest bow tie brands, and it starts right here with Ticklers London! These guys are fun and kind of fascinating, which we found out when we spoke to co-founder Dom James. With his business partner and friend, Arvi Luoma, they have managed to combine science, music and passion... in a bow tie. How? Through a jazz band, that's how! That's how it all started, which is just a brilliant Origin Story!

 

In fact, Dom has a day job! He's a composer and clarinettist who began playing from the age of seven and who has now toured with a New Orleans-inspired jazz sextet, the Dixie Ticklers, through Europe and beyond since 2007. They have a discography which stretches back to 2006 and an authentic sound consisting of clarinet, trumpet, trombone, saxophone, double bass, guitar, tambourine, banjo, drums and washboard. 

Dom James (L) Arvi Luoma (R)

Arvi doesn't play an instrument. But, since their childhood, he has been closely associated with the musical evolution of the Ticklers.

This was, in fact, the beginning of a close friendship, even as they both developed a parallel love of the sciences. It inspired Dom to study physics at Imperial in London, whilst Arvi studied materials, economics and management at Oxford. Arvi then returned to London for a job, allowing them to partner up a few years later, just as the band was coming together.

Dom had advanced to playing orchestrally. But, his granddad was a big fan of swing, which introduced him to Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw in his impressionable years. Not only did that lead him into his next phase of music, but the love affair with bow ties began.

 

The bow-tied Dixie Ticklers at The Workhouse,

Kennington, May 2014

DJ: We liked that image, you know. We loved the New Orleansy/jazz image and it's something that we've always associated with the band - ever since the first gig, we were like, "Shall we slip some bow ties on?" and that was before the vintage thing came around again - because then it was suddenly cool to wear bow ties... And it still is cool! It'll probably go out again at some point, but we'll still be wearing them!

 

BTB: But, how did you make that leap from wanting a bow tie to becoming the purveyor of beautiful bespoke bow ties?

 

DJ: It was very hard to find really good options. My sister bought me a bow tie, once she knew I liked wearing them, and she'd gone to fancy shops and, still, what she came back with wasn't particularly great! Oh, there are more options now, five years later - some of the big designers are now producing them.

 

BTB: So, did you know much about them as a fashion accessory or did you have to do research?

 

DJ: Well, I was quite friendly with some fashion people and they were able to help me to make up my first ties when I was just doing them on a £50 sewing machine from John Lewis... Then we had a couple of friends who, bit by bit, offered their services to, "...  make them slightly better." They were very useful because... they were able to help me come up with patterns. And now we're at a stage where we both know quite a lot about fabrics.

 

BTB: And are you sure that you both being scientists didn’t have a little bit to do with your affinity towards the bow tie?

 

DJ: Well, materials science is something Arvi 's very keen on. He’s always asking how exactly these fabrics are made. I think they didn’t have a silk module in his course at Oxford, so he’s actually just filling in the blanks of what should have been in his undergraduate course. So, he’s all about materials.

 

BTB: Well, I’m  sure that people still think of physics professors and boffins as pre-eminent bow tie wearers.

 

DJ: (laughs) Oh yeah , that’s true! We definitely weren’t out of place wondering around the physics department with a bow tie on. You got marked up, actually, for wearing a bow tie -  you got a couple of extra bonus points for wearing a self-tied. It was 2 less for a pre-tied – penalty of 2% (laughs).

When we started, we were making bow ties basically out of anything - we had some wools, some really thick sort of sacking material - just trying to work out what's really good. And it turns out there's a reason that a lot of bow ties are made out of silk and are slightly shiny. They deflect  dirt! Shiny silk is really good at that, so it keeps clean slightly better. And it's easy to tie - you know, more sort of robust! We tried some cotton bow ties - we still have a few cotton ones in our range (the Parasol) - and they're very, you know - shove it in the washing machine. So, we messed around with fabrics a little bit and now I think we know as soon as we see a fabric whether its gonna make a good one or not.

BTB: When you first started making BTs, was that to feed the band?

DJ: Yes, pretty much. The first thing we had to do was teach the band how to tie them! There's one who still can't! So, he's risking getting fired, seriously... (laughs)

 

BTB: Were you going for a uniform look and all have exactly the same ties or...?

 

DJ: No, no, no, it's all about self-expression, isn't it? See, Will (trumpet) likes the little small ones, and Tommy (bass) likes the big ones, Nick (guitar) likes the woollen ones with the cricket bat ends... We did a gig last year for some minor Dutch royalty, and we were able to all wear orange ones (... that's their national colour). So, there are a few times that we've performed in identical ones...

 

BTB: So, the July 9th launch of the website last year, was that the official launch of Ticklers London, or were you a sort of word-of-mouth bespoke service leading up to that?

 

DJ: We kind of were a word-of-mouth thing before then. We had bespoke clients, but it was the first time we'd seriously produced a range and offered a 'Collection'... We'd got our starting stockists asking, "Can you show us your '2014-15 Collection'?" And... this was a new thing, because we were like, "Well, we make a tie every now and then...!"

So, it all got a bit formal... It was good, because then we were able to actually build up some stock, so that now if anyone wants a bow tie, it can be ready in three days, whereas before that, everything was very much bespoke. Bespoke is still a big part of the business – for people who just want something really different that they can’t find anywhere else.

BTB: That’s fantastic, so, Is it yourself that consults with the client …?

 

DJ: Yes. If both Arvi and I can make it, that’s better. We’ll either go to them or we’ll meet in our club in town or something and we’ll just talk about what they want. People enjoy that... it's really nice. It’s the one time where you can be a little bit vain and no-one will say there’s a problem with that, you know.

 

BTB: And you now offer the Monogram edition in the Formal line - embroidery stitching to really individualise the ties with  names, dates, phone numbers…

 

DJ: Yes, and it looks absolutely fabulous! You know, engagements, anniversaries, that sort of stuff, they’re the common ones. We do get asked to do quite a lot of ties for weddings and it’s fairly standard that we’ll pop the anniversary date in there.

This appealed to our BTB sense of originality and fun. Instead of wracking your brain for  groomsman/usher's gifts, you can just head down to Ticklers London and order up a bespoke embroidered piece. The beauty of the modern BT renaissance means that you can do the same for bridesmaids and hens too! In fact, the potential goes as far as the phone number-embroidered BT being used as a pick up...

 

DJ: Yes! Let’s hope that's happening! Whether you’re a fashion wearer a or you wear it day-to-day, everyone goes to black tie events over the course of the year and that’s why we wanted to do this. Because it's something that everyone, at some point, has a relationship with, as a dude. At some point, you want a bow tie. And, of course, we just do the self-tied bowtie (laughs) Apparently the Queen can spot a pre-tied from the other side of the room and she won’t talk to you. So, you know, that’s why we’re here!

 

BTB: Have any of your bow ties ever been in the presence of the Queen, do you know?

 

DJ: I wonder actually. Maybe not yet. But we’ve got a few links to some possibilities. We got Boris Johnson’s neck size the other day, so he might be getting one very soon. Well, he’s gonna be the next Prime Minister isn’t he, (laughs), so he’ll go off to see the Queen!

 

BTB: So, you  were talking about the fabrics, and you do love your Duchess satin, don't you? We really like your silk grenadines. They’re unusual and quite beautiful.

 

DJ: Yes, you know that comes from one of only two mills in Italy that can weave it. We chose Seteria Bianchi, who  make the slightly finer weave. It’s really nice, because they made jackets for James Bond (and other characters) in Casino Royale. They also make Papal garments and all the cloth for churches an cathedrals.

 

BTB: But perhaps more importantly, they made jackets for Bond, who is of course, the ultimate bow tie wearer, isn’t he? That’s the connection you want to talk up!

 



DJ: Yes,  that’s the aim! When new can get a bow tie on Bond, then that’ll be it! It’s a really nice fabric, though. It's got a slight sheen to it. And because of the way its woven and there’s no lining so it’s kind of see-through and very delicate-looking as the light shines through. It’s really cool. It's very textured and has a bit of thickness to it. I mean the whole bowtie is probably about 4mm.

 

For The Love Of Grenadine



BTB: You’ve got one in the Collection (For The Love of Grenadine’ dark blue) and then you’ve got one in the Formal (‘Round Midnight’ black).

'Round Midnight

DJ: It’s essentially the same tie, just with the colour difference. We’ve got a burgundy one on the way, actually.

 

Not only is that sure to be absolutely gorgeous, it's also fashion forward. We noticed in our February Awards Watch, that burgundy/maroon is bang on trend from the awards season. That's almost certain to guarantee great sales for that line. Although, the Grammy’s highlight for us was the rapper Rick Ross, who not only wore a clip on, but who failed to notice when it malfunctioned.

 

DJ: Oh dear. Well, we had Eddie Redmayne’s agent, Dallas Smith, wearing one of ours. He’s into his bow ties. In fact, he comes from Sudbury where the silk is woven. So, he got in touch with us and wore the one with the Civil As An Orange in tribute to Eddie Redmayne.

 

BTB: So, I have to ask you about the logo – the butterfly logo. I mean, obviously that's a nod to the butterfly wing style... who came up with that particular idea?

 

DJ: Well, I was just kind of messing around... I wanted to use that London font that you get on cheap souvenirs – the way that it wraps around and gets slightly bigger towards the bottom... And I think instead of having a bow tie on there, it just made sense to have a papillon (French translation of butterfly). It’s a fun logo. And we’ve got a simpler version that can reduce to a very small size, which makes it onto the label on the bow tie.

 

Dom and Arvi have brought Ticklers London a long way in a short time. They are constantly on the lookout for people who actually wear bow ties day-to-day. Last year, they agreed a sponsorship deal for the England snooker team for the season and at the World Championships via the English Association of Snooker & Billiards (EASB).

 

DJ: The snooker chaps all wear them, all the time. So, it was a really nice thing because we were able to go along to the world snooker championship in Bangalore.

 

BTB: So, what are your plans for 2015?

 

DJ: Well, more and more. We’ve got some exciting bespoke projects on the way. We just finished one – our first ‘bone’ tie for a dog, which is good. And then, hopefully, it looks like we’re going to be providing some bow ties for the England Rugby Team. We might work on a bespoke pattern for those guys to try to reflect the oval shape of the rugby ball. That’ll be quite fun. And, there’s some talk of some camouflage bow ties for the Imperial War Museum... So, exciting times! And then we’ve got our new Collection that’s sort of waiting in the wings and that’ll go up probably in time for the summer, I think. Probably April-May, that kind of time. That’s when we’ll unleash them and let them fly.

The entire BT community will be looking forward to that, since these bow ties radiate class. We particularly wanted to speak to TicklersLondon, because they're based in London and we love London! We want to get out there and bring the UK BT community together, so we'll be reaching out more and more. The Americans have a massive BT sub-culture who know exactly who they are, so we just want to promote that same spirit in the UK and Dom, Arvi and the Dixie Ticklers are all for that!

Follow @TicklersLondon