A tiny pause in what has been a hectic year has made way for This & That #22. New music and mixes from Dosem, Vintage & Morelli, Cinnamon Chasers, Hausman & MBX and a cheeky 10 year old bootleg from yours truly.

Hope you enjoy.

A few years back I heard one of my music hero’s Jono Grant from Above & Beyond talk about their process in the studio.

He made a comment that stuck with me.

It went along the lines of “when we kick off a new project, we recite / talk through some of the hard-earned lessons and insights that we’ve made on previous projects.”

When the lights are on you and you’re under pressure, Jono said it’s all too easy to forget the things that you’ve learned from your previous experience.

You’re running the risk of making the same mistakes again and you’re missing opportunities to use previous insights, processes and tools that could improve the quality of your future work.

I’ve noticed this personally when I’m under a lot of pressure or when a project is coming off-track. I’ve missed entire chunks of my process and wonder why I’m struggling to make progress.

Jono mentioned reciting your key insights before a project kickoff is one way of bringing what you’ve learned to the front of your mind.

Medics use Checklist Manifesto.

I’m sure there are other ways too.

I’ve always thought there are a number of things that you have achieved at the end of a project. There’s the object, the actual product itself, and then there’s all that you learned. What you learned is as tangible as the product itself, but much more valuable because that’s your future.

—Jony Ive, 2018

How do you remember to use what you’ve learned?

Let me know on Twitter or send me an email.

• At the start of the year I had to pull together a little software engineering team to kickstart building out the technology responsible for handing off design, controlling quality and running manufacturing operations at Ideal Modular Homes. I was lucky enough to convince the brilliant mind of Duncan Nisbet, the unstoppable Andy Tango and Chris Moorst of Kitsune fame to come onboard.
• We learned a lot about modular construction and sustainable materials in construction.

25,000+ Protective Visors for Healthcare Workers

• As covid19 began to bite in Northern Europe, lockdown happened. Central Manchester was baron link
• In March we were facing a big shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). I kicked off a thread on Twitter (link) that sparked a lot of conversation about how the indie-maker community in the North West could assist healthcare by making PPE.
• 2 months / 40 + volunteers / 1 handcrafted ordering and dispatch system / £20,000 in donations later, we had produced, sanitised, packed and distributed well over 25,000 protective visors to healthcare workers right across the UK.
• People processed orders, printed instructions, volunteered to produce, worked their asses off and donated generously from far and wide to help us bring this to life.

• Yours truly doing my best to hide my west country accent live on Heart Radio link
• Liverpool Echo interview link
• The website visors.doesliverpool.com

This & That #21

In the summer I produced a new mix.

• Cycling beats lockdown cabin fever link
• Haven’t been to Cornwall in years. It was lovely to head back there this summer.
• We figured out if you put Cornish in front of anything, it sounds scrumptious. Cornish Fuels.
• Found some nice old tins for design inspiration.

• In August we brought home a tiny Weimaraner puppy. She’s called Chaka and she is bananas. Namesake link
• We were lucky enough to escape to Istanbul and Kas for a few weeks. Istanbul is a clash of east and west.

In November we moved Fetch into production; assisting the design, manufacturing, quality control and installation of Ideal’s latest £268million eco-friendly affordable homes project for the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London.

• Press coverage: Link
• Project background Link

🏆 In December we found out we’d bagged an Award for Digital Construction Excellence from Construction News and British Construction Awards named us  Digital Initiative of the Year.

I wrote a short intro piece for our Software Engineering blog at Ideal Modular Homes.

We’re building real-time, high-dependency software that assists with the design, manufacture and installation of our sustainable modular homes.

We’ll be sharing more about of technology choices, lessons learned and our process in upcoming posts.

The technology is called Fetch.

Have a minute? We’d like to tell you more.

We spent today wondering around Penzance in Cornwall, England.

There was a shop called CASH FOR YOUR JUNK. It looked a lot like my old grandfather’s garage.

A jumble sale of odd things. Plates, lamps, tins, statues, an old petrol forecourt spinning Jet logo etc etc. Hoarder’s heaven.

Loved these old tins dating as far back as 1940.

As we all pull together to cut down on plastic use, what’s the bet that we see the return of the refillable tin?

If these old packaging designs are your sort of thing, you must check out Purveyors of Packaging.

They are a good Instagram follow too.

After a few months of flicking through music, I made a new mix which marks episode #21 of this little show. Soulful music and French house cuts.

Shout out to my Mum and Ryan for putting “Struggle” by Tinush on my radar. A bit of fighting spirit we could all use right now.

Opened over 220 years ago in 1800.

Carries the canal 100ft over the River Goyt.

Nice spot to pour a cheeky flask of tea.

Ashton > marple > Stockport | bike Tour | Komoot

afroleft planned an outdoor adventure with komoot! Distance: 39.2 km | Duration: 02:30 h

komoot