The Highs and Lows of Building Lockwood — This Week in Full

Building a British brand from scratch is rarely a straight line. This week has been a perfect example of that genuine frustration on one side, and something that felt like real momentum on the other. Both are worth talking about.

The Move to Birmingham — Still Waiting
For those who have been following along, you’ll know we’ve been working to centralise Lockwood’s operations by relocating to Birmingham. It makes sense for the business, more space, better infrastructure, a proper base from which to grow. What shouldn’t be complicated has become exactly that. This week, again, we found ourselves almost having to fight our own solicitors to get things moving. Chasing, pushing, repeating ourselves. It’s the kind of friction that doesn’t show up in any business plan but consumes an enormous amount of energy when you’re already running lean and building everything yourself. Frustrating doesn’t quite cover it.
But you absorb it. You make the calls, send the emails, and keep going. Because the alternative is standing still, and that’s not an option.

The East Anglian Game Fair — A Roaring Success
On the other side of the week entirely — the East Anglian Game Fair. We found out about it at the last minute, through a tip from a fellow trader who suggested we give it a go. We said yes, we turned up, and it was an absolute roaring success.
These shows are where Lockwood comes alive. Someone picks up a smock, feels the weight of the Halley Stevensons wax, runs their hand across the Harris Tweed lining, and they get it immediately. No amount of photography replicates that moment. And this weekend, every single person who bought from us was already following the brand. They knew who we were before they reached the stand. They came to find us.

That tells you something important. The social media work, the honest posts, the behind the scenes content, the Monday letter, it’s building something real. People aren’t stumbling across Lockwood by accident anymore. They’re arriving with intent. That shift matters more than any single sale.

It was also brilliant to see Ollie Massey-Birch from FORTIS at the show. FORTIS were one of the first to offer genuine support to Lockwood as a British-made brand when we were just getting started, and that kind of early backing means a great deal. Seeing familiar faces in this industry, people who get what you’re trying to do and have been in your corner from early on  is one of the quieter joys of doing the show circuit.

Me and ruth both sat down with Suzanne Sherratt designs on Saturday night for a few glasses of her french wine, I first met Suzanne at Hickstead last summer were we became each others stand body guards when we the other needed to go to the toilet or buy food etc. 

Writing to the King.

As has become custom upon James Martins suggestion then Matt Hollands input, just this morning I sat down and wrote our Monday letter to His Majesty the King, keeping him informed of everything Lockwood has been getting up to. It remains one of the more unusual things we do, and one of the most meaningful. We are building a proudly British brand. Letting the King know feels right.

And Then, This Morning
As we write this, we are on the morning of completion on our property. After weeks of delays, of solicitor frustration, of feeling like the move would never quite happen, today it does.

 One of the bigger stresses of recent weeks lifts today, and with it, the path to Birmingham becomes a little clearer.
The highs and lows of this week, sitting side by side. That’s business. That’s building something from scratch. You take the wins when they come, you push through the friction when it doesn’t let up, and you keep your eyes on what you’re actually trying to build.
For us, that’s always the same thing. A made in Britain brand worth keeping.

God bless,

God save the king

Jacob & Ruthie