I Bet You’re Just Like Me.

I bet you’re the same as me.

I am not good at celebrating my achievements, for reasons that I really don’t understand.

For reasons that I think I do understand, I never think that anything I do is any good.

And for reasons that I definitely understand, I am awful at showing off about my achievements. Clearly, this is a British thing. Here I am just like my dad, who was as British as they come and, with it, as modest as can be.

But.

As we enter year 2 of G / H, I am reflecting on the extraordinary press support that we’ve achieved so far.

This has been immensely valuable for us. I understand that publications need things to write about, but the fact that they choose us is an act of incredible generosity. I try to make sure that the people who create these brilliant features understand this.

We launched G / H in the same week that the FT’s How To Spend It were kind enough to feature us over 5 (or was it 6?) pages. Truly, this is the Holy Grail of lifestyle press, and the coverage was a huge leap of faith on their behalf.

“The Gladstone family have turned their crumbling estate into a branding powerhouse.” How To Spend It.

Read the FT piece here.

Contrary to some expectations, a good piece of coverage like this doesn’t always lead to thousands of immediate orders, but instead it offers new customers truly robust and sincere vindication, as well as authoritative reassurance. For months after publication, friends and acquaintances would tell me that they had seen the piece, and loved it.

Then came Vogue with a proper feature. Fantastic!

“Meet the Gladstones, the couple championing British Craft at their family home of Hawarden Castle.” Vogue.

And then we had The World of Interiors, a magazine that Caroline collected before we even met. I think we have every single copy published in 44 years. Here is a fraction of that collection in our downstairs loo at Glen Dye.

“An archive packed with unseen materials sheds new light on the importance of Cecil Beaton’s family to the dynamic polymath he’d become. Now Hawarden Estate harnesses that energy”. The World of Interiors.

This is a lovely piece here.

And there was a wonderful piece in Condé Nast Traveller.

“Browse the Gladstone / Hellen shop for the best traditional presents -Fairisle jumpers, willow basket bags, six bottles of Hawarden Estate apple juice- all supporting local artisans or showcasing the bounty from this family’s two regenerated estates”. Condé Nast Traveller.

Oh, and here’s one more from the excellent Blumenhaus.

“On display everywhere are elements of outstandingly finished items of clothing and homewares; lush cushions, cashmere football scarves, denim jackets. Particularly eye-catching are the elegant belts of British pasture leather”. Blumenhaus.

So, there you have some trumpet blowing.

Thank you to all of the journalists, editors and photographers who worked on these beautiful, intelligent and elegant pieces. Genuinely, we love you.

All best,

Charlie