Business... as unusual

This week I had the chance to travel over to Inverness to meet the folks behind Surfers Attic – a recently opened surf shop in Inverness.  The purpose was to discuss the possibility of a new range of surf products that could be manufactured by Rag Tag n Textile (I was also secretly motivated by the chance to browse the shop’s products and talk about swells, waves and west coast surf spots).

The Attic, tucked above a skate shop off the union canal, is a pocket of upstairs delight. Upon climbing the stairs you will be greeted by the wonderfully ambled interior built using wood from the local Community Woodland Trust, the first of many subtle indicators that this business is attempting to do things differently.

Colin at Surfers Attic spoke of the difficulty of finding home grown manufactured surf products at a scale befitting grassroots business.  Many surf brands (while generally ethical) are still a product of a globalized mass produced supply chain, involving a complex series of dealers, sellers and minimum orders.  In contrast Surfers Attic has attempted to source many of its products from Scottish businesses and some have been produced by social enterprises.  You can buy Surf Attic Soap produced by Ness Soap (a social enterprise in Inverness) or colourful woolly hats from Zaini (a company based in Aviemore). 

Why was I so enamoured with Surfers Attic? 

I think it is because there is an underlying narrative to what they do.  Yes, it is a retail outlet for surf products, but it is also a business with priorities beyond making money, seeking products from Scottish businesses and socially intentional companies.  A family run business that was started around relationship, people and a love for surfing.

Let me digress into the world of paper in an attempt to give a parallel example of my enamour.  There is a traditional rural paper factory in Nepal.  The paper is made in an outdoor area the size of a living room with a production process that is simple, labor-intensive and cheap. Pieces of cloth stretched on wooden frames are dipped into and raised up through the slurry so they are coated with a thin layer of fiber, then they are propped to dry in the sun. In contrast, modern western paper factories are gigantic operations costing upward of a billion dollars. A big paper mill uses energy at the same rate as a small city as the logs are chipped and boiled in gigantic kettles of acid. Paper mills turn entire forests  (a seventy-five acre clear cut per mill per day) into paper.

I think the western paper mill fails to appeal to the human need for narrative, and unlike all good stories contains no element of romance (you may ask what is romantic about paper, but I assure you my wallet has been previously wooed by Nepalese hand made paper).

Surfers Attic appeals to me in the way a white space retail outlet in a mall never will.  Rag Tag products appeal to me in a way crafts sourced from Alibaba never will.  Nepalese hand made paper appeals to me in a way the western paper mill never will.  They are not businesses defined by efficiency, output, profit and loss but independent, bottom up companies challenging this standard definition through creativity.  They are outside of our normal experience of business and growth capitalism, confronting the presumed incompatibility of ‘social’ business.

I would argue they have a superior narrative; a story worth buying into; a little pocket of romance in a world dominated by multinational companies.

So keep your eyes on the horizon for a possible collaboration between Rag Tag n Textile and Surfers Attic. And if you‘re in Inverness and in need of a little romance why not head over to the Surfers Attic. (Unit 1, 7 Canal Road, Inverness) 

Rag Tag n Textile is a registered charity and social enterprise.  The articles published on this blog reflect the opinions of their respective authors and not necessarily those of the organisation and its members.

Walk in my Shoes

   The makers and the models at last year's fashion show

Apologies to all those who've just clicked on our link, ready to read Reuben's regular blog.  Sadly, (for us!) our intrepid, cycling blogger has gone on holiday for a week. In his absence you're stuck with me, Cindie. I'm afraid I don't claim to be in the same league when it comes to eloquence and picturesque turn of phrase, as Reuben is, however, I will do what I can.

So, for anyone still reading, I'm going to write a little bit about our upcoming fashion showcases and why we're doing them.


Regular followers of the doings of we Rag Tag folk will know that we've had two fashion shows in the past, both of them in partnership with the excellent Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival.  As SMHAFF, say on their website. 'Now in its sixth year, the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival is has grown to become one of Scotland's most valued and diverse cultural events, covering everything from music, film and visual art to theatre, dance, and literature. The annual festival takes place in venues across Scotland throughout October, aiming to support the arts and challenge preconceived ideas about mental health.' check out their website here


The festival is a great way of showcasing the sheer amount of talent and creativity of people who have experienced mental problems and is growing in success, raising the profile of those with mental health issues, asking the difficult questions, offering support.  This year, the theme is 'Walk in My Shoes', which has got us thinking about just what that means to us and how we can portray it with fabric and stitches and, of course, shoes.

There's a song with a very similar title by Joe South, which was performed by The King himself,  Elvis Presley - in case you were in any doubt.  There are several versions on You Tube, though I've linked to one above to save you a few minutes on Google.  As we all know, Elvis had a hard time or two in his life, but so did Joe South.  Joe was born to a very poor family in Georgia, he struggled with drug problems, lost his brother to suicide and is apparently well known as a 'prickly character', who struggled with drug and alcohol issues for much of his life.

This is the chorus of his song:

Walk a mile in my shoes

just walk a mile in my shoes

 Before you abuse, criticize and accuse

Then walk a mile in my shoes

The tune is upbeat and almost cheerfiul, but it resonates, it's about racial hatred, something Joe South knew a bit about, growing up in the South, but reading his story it's not hard to see that he understands mental illness too.  We think it's a pretty good choice for the theme of the festival, a good choice for encouraging others to see things as we see them, of thinking twice before they judge.

So, we've been taking photos of shoes for the brochure, and the pics that Reuben has taken are funny and challenging and beautiful, I can't share them tonight, they're under wraps, like so many of the things that we're making.  We'll keep you posted about what we're up to and the festival will be full of wonderful, moving inspirational stories and images, just as it's been for the last few years. We'll keep you posted about that too. 

But back to shoes. We've been playing around with footware and adapting it and thinking about what shoes mean to a person, what they say about the wearer; are they practical, do we need them to portray an image, protect us, what do our shoes say about us?  We judge eachother all the time, each and every day - she's 'grumpy', he's 'smug', she's 'slow', he's 'mental': labels that mean nothing really, that are superficial, that don't reflect the person we're talking about.  Judging someone says far more about you than it ever will about the person you're judging, but that doesn't take away the hurt, and when the person that you've labelled is fragile or in pain, judging someone can be the thing that distroys them.

Being mentally ill really, really hurts.  It takes over your whole life, affects your sleep and your waking life, takes away your happy memories and distorts them though a dark glass, it takes away your hope for the future and your joy in the present.  When you're ill there seems as if there is no escape.  But there is.  There are friends to be found, there are people that understand.  Organisations like ours, like SMHAFF and HUG and SAMH and many others are there and we're doing what we can.  Many of our members have been ill too and have, with the support of eachother, become more well.  They've learned to cope with the long, dark sleepless nights and the anxiety, the insecurity and the pain.

The last thing that anyone who's been ill needs is to be judged. Try understanding us instead, she's sad, he's shy, she's depressed, he's ill?

Why not walk in my shoes.

 If you need help there are lots of places out there where you can go, please, please don't be alone, contact one of the organisations listed below.  If you know someone who's ill, why not give them these contact details, and offer your help.  Don't judge, try to understand, because one of these days that person who's ill and worried and frightened about what others think of them, that person might just be you.

Samaritans
HUG   
SMHAFF
Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH)
Mind   (England and Wales)
Scottish Recovery Network