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The Four Toned Seersucker Bow Tie

So this bow tie has been very popular since I first listed it on my website.  But I wanted to show it off even more.  There are lots of ways to tie it, but the most fun way to wear it is the diamond point style tied so that all four colors are visible at once.

Tying it this way can be a little bit tricky.  You have to twist the tie around underneath the knot in the front.  But if you're smart enough to tie a bow tie, you're smart enough to manipulate this baby the way you want it to go.  Yours for only $26.

Did You Know Ellie Has a CD?

Yep.

And it's a really good record, too.  I wrote half the tunes to This Place, but she and Andrew Osenga made the record together in Nashville in the summer of 2007.  We've got maybe 300 of them left, and they sound a lot better in your CD Changer (haha, remember those?) iTunes library than they do in our attic.

And get this: it's yours for $5.  That's 50% off retail.

You can listen to her CD, This Place, here.

You can buy it from her bow tie store here.

Oh, and I mentioned Andrew Osenga, her producer.  Yeah, he's amazing.  And he's heading to space.  Yep.  You've never heard of so beautifully bizarre a recording project as this.  And you need to head over to his Kickstarter page, watch his video, and BACK HIS PROJECT now before time runs out (in like 68 hours from the time I write this!).

-Andy

The Cordial Churchman Story: A Teaser

The Cordian Churchman Story | Coming Soon from Jay Grant on Vimeo.

Very special Thanks to Jay Grant with Istoria for his work on this video and a very special TCC video coming soon.

You can support TCC by posting this video for all your online friends to view.

Like Father, Like Son

Apparently everyone and their brother wants a bow tie this spring. It's been a crazy April so far and we're a mere 8 days in.

Actually, this week it seems like everyone and their SON wants a bow tie. We shipped out at least 5 or 6 father-and-son combos today. It's been a while since one of my boys and I rocked the same bow tie to church or a wedding. After packing up all these apple-not-far-from-tree deals today, I'm thinking it's time. All four of us guys in the same bow tie? Priceless. As they say somewhere, "you can hang THAT on the wall."

Some of our hardcore dads insist on tie-it-yourself ("freestyle") bow ties for their toddlers. Kudos. If that's your thing, more power to you. If you're lacking in dexterity or are perennially late like us, you'll want to go with the majority report and get an already-tied, velcro-attaching one for the little guy. It's got a nice elastic band, too, which allows it some 'give'.

If you're thinking of having us do your wedding bow ties, we always throw in a kiddie bow tie for the ring bearer gratis.

See all those bow ties there? We can make pretty much any of them in a kiddie bow tie, too. Why not have us make one for your kid with your next order?

Might I make one more selling point before I quit? If you're a single dad, and don't desire to be any longer, I challenge you to come up with a better way to woo a woman than going out to dinner with your little dude in a bow tie that matches yours. Next thing you know, we'll be making wedding bow ties for your groomsmen. Mark my words.

Introducing two Wycliffes!

Before we begin:

Wycliffe is pronounced "WICK-liff".  As in the churchman.  The churchman (John, c. 1328-1384) so cordial that he went to the great trouble of translating the Bible into English so that people could actually read it.

Wycliffe Number One:

This, of course, is the most important of the two.  Our third child--another boy!--was born on Monday evening at 5:35pm, weighing 8 pounds and 12 ounces, and measuring 19.5 inches.  All told, we had an incredible experience welcoming him into the world.  And at the center of that incredible experience was this incredible human being:

I was a very proud dad from the moment I met him (even though he was so slimy at that moment).  There was something different about this than our first two boys.  I think it's the fact that, since we' d done all this before, the focus was much less on us and our new stage and roles in life.  We weren't worried about "parenting" or "adjustments" or anything so sociological as all that.  Instead, it was all about this little dude.

[caption id="attachment_1087" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Note: big picture of Wycliffe, small picture of Papa. Verbal and pictorial thematic unity sustained. Pat on back."][/caption]

(Full disclosure: when we got home, we did have a "holy crap, what have we done?" moment when we realized that the chaos in our home was going to reach new levels of "aaaahhhhhh!!!!".  But then we sucked it up and started loving on our boys again, and especially enjoying the new one.)

We are happy people.

Wycliffe Number Two:

Some people put balloons on their mailboxes.  Psssshhhhh. Check this.

The Wycliffe LaVeer (that's his middle name there) Baby Blue Seersucker Limited Edition Special Celebratory Full-of-Awesomeness Bow Tie (that's a long title, like books had back in the Middle Ages).

$20.  That's $6 less than normal.

While supplies last.  Classic Butterfly shape only.  Get 'em while we've got em.  If you don't, you'll have to wait an entire reproductive cycle for another shot at it.

For a small upcharge, we'll rub it all over his new-baby-smell noggin for your olfactory satisfaction.  (That isn't a breach of child labor laws, is it?)

Head on over to the store and celebrate with us.

Let the Spring Weddings Begin!

We have big news. But that will have to wait. Momentarily.

For now, how about we welcome in the month of April with a celebration of the happy marriage of Spring and Romance? A fling with some Springy wedding bow ties that go good with sunny til-death-do-us-parts?

These are shipping out this afternoon for a smitten groom and his men. If you ask me, that candy-stripe green seersucker is just the ticket.

Springy Sweater Vests & Bow Ties

Sometimes the inspiration hits and I go all out dressing the boys for church. Gorgeous spring days like today usually help.

Andy was particularly joyous to see his eldest son rocking the sockless penny loafers.  All the more so because he never begged to change into his running shoes.  Loafers at the community garden?  Why not?

I think this sweater vest with the kites is so cool.  He was definitely the only one at the church basketball game with kites & bow tie.

Owen is sporting a new haircut--the shortest it's been in a long time.  I think I did a pretty good job.

Here's to the springing of spring, if not to the springing forward of our clocks.

Getting in the Groove

Thanks to Ellie's success with the bow tie biz, I have the luxury of taking drum lessons.

I've got my work cut out for me.

Andy

Levi's & The Cordial Churchman

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="Image from TWD Magazine"][/caption]

The Cordial Churchman is, of course, a small company run not by men, but by ladies---Church belles, if you like.  Ellie employs two other good friends--Kay and Christie--who happen also to be preachers' wives.  (Soon, you'll meet Brandi--the most recent addition to the TCC production team.)  They're thrilled to be along for this strange ride, and they, like Ellie, take great personal pride in their careful craftswomanship.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Our Blue Chambray diamond point bow tie being very manly in the Levi's Meatpacking District concept store. Photo from Cotton and Rubber. "][/caption]

Recently, both Kay and Ellie had separate occasions to visit New York City.  While there, they had the exhilarating  experience of seeing our bow ties on display in the Levi's stores in Times Square and the Meatpacking District.

When you're running a company from somewhere as provincial as Rock Hill, South Carolina, seeing your wares in the Big Apple kind of makes you feel like you've got something pretty cool going on.

Speaking of which, for mannequins, these really have something cool going on, style-wise.  The juxtaposition of workwear, denim and plaid with bow ties is striking.  It goes to show you that bow ties are not exclusively for stuck up, self-important jerk heads---although they do faithfully serve that niche.

[caption id="attachment_1004" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="This photo was taken from outside the Levi's store in The Meatpacking district, NYC. That's our Blue Chambray diamond point."][/caption]

Ellie, of course, knew that these stores would have TCC bow ties on display.  In fact, all of the Levi's stores in North America, including the outlets, have our ties in the displays.  But still---something changed when she actually stood in Times Square and saw them staring out into the center of commercial mayhem from a window display.  Suddenly she wasn't a woman with a sewing machine.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="448" caption="This lady found something she really likes. Her man, however, is transfixed by our Samuel wool diamond point bow tie. Photo from NATIVE(X)."][/caption]

It still blows our minds that in 21st-Century America, and in the midst of a recession, an accident like The Cordial Churchman could happen. It also blows our minds that a small name brand featuring products made in spare room sewing studios by preachers' wives in their spare time could end up in a place like the Levi's world headquarters concept store. And this sort of thing is happening to teeny companies featuring handmade products with fascinating stories all over the place. Bizarre. Awesome.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="630" caption="That there is the Samuel, a wool diamond point, casually draped around a macho mannequin in Malibu, CA.  Image from Malibu Mag. Click picture to see more."][/caption]

Levi's has begun opening concept stores in addition to their "Levi's only" stores. So far they're in New York's Meatpacking District, Malibu, CA, and attached to their headquarters in San Francisco.   These concept stores feature other handcrafted American-made brands like Pendleton, Filson, and, we're proud to say, The Cordial Churchman.  Usually when these stores open, they throw a big party.  Perhaps we'll be invited sometime?

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="When the Meatpacking store opened, they had a rock band perform. Image by Phillip Angert Photography via Popsop"][/caption]

Thanks to Levi Strauss for being an incredible, All-American clothing company, and a great partner in business.

The Civil Wars & The Cordial Churchman

Ellie's best friend saw The Civil Wars very early in their existence and insisted we get their EP Poison and Wine. We did, and of course we thought it was awesome. The next thing you know, we hear that they're going to be on Leno.   They got really popular really quick.

On Leno, John Paul White rocked a bow tie.   A little reconnaissance showed that these days the bow tie gets a rocking from him pretty much every day.

The Civil Wars were slated to play one of our favorite venues, The Evening Muse in Charlotte, February 9.  We're awful procrastinators, which means that the show was sold out by the time we were ready to slap down our cash for tickets.

Ellie made the genius but obvious move of contacting John Paul White to see if we could get into the show in exchange for some custom bow ties of his choosing.  Deal.  Guest list.  Score.

Ellie and I got to the show late (of course), just before the opener was done.  We were smushed against the back door as John Paul White and Joy Williams came on in.  Ellie approached him with the bag of bow ties.  They were about to go on.  John Paul told Ellie: "I don't want to just take these ties from you.  I want to talk about them, 'cause I'm obsessed."

Ellie decided to play the 8-months-pregnant card and pushed her way to the front where she proceeded to look very pathetic until someone offered her a seat in the middle of the front row.  Yours truly remained standing in the back, behind a pretty tall dude.

During the encore, Joy grabbed the bag of bow ties from Ellie and they thanked her and The Cordial Churchman for the gift.  Joy pulled the ties out---all six of them---one by one, and showed them off.  To our delight, John Paul proclaimed: "I'm going to wear these for the rest of the tour."  Score.

We hung around afterward to talk shop with Joy and John Paul.  Real nice folks.  And they were number 1 on iTunes the week of the show, which was also the week their record Barton Hollow dropped.  It debuted at #12 overall on the Billboard charts.  We're very happy for their success.  They've each been playing forever, and they've worked hard.  As a duo, they are spellbinding.

John Paul is sporting our best-selling bow tie, the James---a navy wool with a subtle, classic plaid pattern.  You can buy the James here.

Here's to Joy Williams, John Paul White and The Civil Wars.  Expect to see them at the Grammys next year, hopefully with John Paul wearing one of our bow ties.

I hear U2 is coming out with a record this year.  I wonder if Bono is going to be rocking the bow tie too.  Hmm....

Here's their breakthrough single, "Poison and Wine".