The Mongrel Logic Shop is fully born

Founder (that’s me) wearing the signature tee

I lead the end-to-end creative direction, product development, brand strategy, and digital ecosystem build.  I feel like Dorothy caught in a whirling Tornado, but there is no Kansas, just Instagram and Algorithms.

And our baby teeth fell out.

The teething stage is now. I’ve just finished our tenth design and am hugely proud to be working with our King’s Award winning third-party production and fulfilment service. Our labels come with a QR code that can be scanned for a discount and returnable for recycling. A circular fashion system. I am doing my part to eliminate fashion waste.

Vintage art on nice, thick, soft…fabric.

It’s an incredibly exciting time; our early designs feature literal vintage artwork reimagined, and the shop is starting to look like a real shop. There is so much more to come, I have a few feature artists lined up and more information to follow soon.

The next phase is even bigger

Obviously, I need to make some noise. Our tiny audience: are the ones who knew from the start. The ones who saw me come up with all of this on the old blog and website and hung around for a month while we moved. Legends.

From circular fashion to designer range

I’m working closely with experts in the field to develop patterns and fabrics; all while designing the core range. I do wish I could show you more, and I will very soon but for now it’s all under wraps.

Thanks to the OG subscribers

Just wanted to finish by saying a huge thanks to the people who have been in this little world with me from the start.

Wearable logic. Circular by design.

First life: catching golden-hour wind on a skater’s back. Next life? Whoever needs it next. Clothes should travel; not landfill.

If we were all to have a penny for the world’s problems right now, we’d have a lot of pennies. I’m not here to lecture you. We know. By now we all know. We’ve all been told to quit, and we’re all out back smoking thirty at once.

But we can do better than 90 million tons of textile waste.

The good news? The solutions already exist. One of them is our King’s Award winning Third-party production and fulfilment service. Everything we make is organic cotton, dyed with a process clean enough to produce drinkable water; and every piece is fully recyclable when it reaches the end of your story with it.

Circular Fashion is the future.

Not in a trending way. In a logical way. A single garment can serve multiple lives:

·       a first owner

·       a second owner

·       a second-hand market

·       and finally, Remill; where it’s respun into something new

Remember hand-me-downs? Cousins’ shirts? Clothes used to travel. Fast fashion and poor quality are what broke that system.

Recycling textiles is just the beginning.

For me, the ethos behind the build has been the backbone of everything, from designing the world’s most amazing cap (coming in 2026) to choosing our fulfilment service. Organic. Circular. Sustainable. Renewable energy.
Not buzzwords; decisions.

Organic, Circular, Sustainable, Renewable Energy

It’s as much about what I want to see as what fashion should be. Something that can be passed down from generation to generation, or something that can serve a second life on a market elsewhere. Not end up in landfill.

Built with purpose

And with Mongrel Logic.

Logic Descends: The Origin Story of the Second Design.

It was 2002. I was 23. Aw. Or Aaah. Not sure which.

A night of Skull Monkeys & Resident Evil

I was housesitting and spent an evening drawing, playing Skull Monkeys, and watching the first Resident Evil. That’s when I drew Logic Descends. She didn’t have a name then. I drew two versions that night. I kept both

Enter: Attempted Burglary at 3AM

Much later, I was woken up by the sound of a crowbar hitting a metal gate. I switched the lights on. They ran. Cops came. Life went on.
Make of that what you will.

Logic Descends… or Angel?

You decide. When I revived her for Mongrel Logic, I kept her mostly as she was, her face is new, the animalistic stance, the sharp energy, the slightly feral wings, they’re the same.

She’s a piece of my early creative DNA.

2002 Time Capsule

This is me from the same year (and my brother); oversized jumper, corduroy’s (I know) too big. Basically… still me.

Some things change. Some things don’t. And sometimes, the things you made decades ago find their way back home.
More designs (and more stories from the vault) coming soon.

Look ma, I made a hoodie!

The build begins. One eye, one line, one rule broken.

I’ve only just stopped dreaming in web build, waking up in the middle of the night feeling like I’ve been holding down ctrl shift or something for hours. There are two things happening simultaneously.

The Shop Is Open

I somehow managed to pull that all together in a day and a half. And I’m loving every minute of it. Ok, maybe not so much the stress part; but I have gotten better at managing everything. As it stands, I am a non-conformist. I’m the guy that pushes the red button that says do not push. OK, I’m not that dumb but when I am told no, I usually pick it up and go- ok but why?

Rebel with a cause.

My cause is not unique, it’s essential. We all know we need to improve everything from fashion to well, everything. ‘Lest we all end up like Mad Max. So, I’m not going to bang on about that, other than to say that developing products that last is incredibly important to me. It took months of research before choosing Teemill, and I am eagerly awaiting my first sample, I’ll share as soon as it arrives. I cannot wait to launch our designer range. To say I’ve been working hard is an understatement. I used to talk to people about stars, actual ones not the Hollywood kind, and now the only thing that comes out of my mouth is related to building, design or vision.

I’ve had to start watching Ghost Adventures again as a way of switching off.

There’s nothing like Aaron’s “whoa’s” to take your head out of reality. I’m not here to debate ghosts though. I am here to say I watch things like this to escape, and I’ve just finished a series, the first in almost a decade, thank you Peacemaker. I don’t have time nor the inclination to watch six episodes just for a bit of story and ten to get to the big action sequence. I haven’t watched any series aside from maybe the pilot in years. Kudos.

Although would I have watched it if John Cena wasn’t in it?

Doubt I would have clicked. Clearly, I don’t want to talk about work, I’m due to finish a design today, hopefully bring it to you asap, and I started writing this last night talking all business and it made my eyes water and my brain go all squirmy.

If this sounds like the kind of fashion you’re into

Bwaahahahahahaha. SEO is going to hate this because it makes no sense. But I’ve just thrown out my second rule book. If you weren’t around for the old blog, the last time I threw out a rulebook I built this. This time I drop kicked it out. Boom. I’d rather innovate than copy, hopefully, I’m not a complete idiot and this all works out nicely. So far, I’ve built a business in a few short months. And launched it. So…hold my beer. Wait, was that a ghost?

Built to Endure: The Test Run

Close-up black-and-white photograph of human eyes featuring vivid multicolour irises in turquoise, green, and magenta; representing the Mongrel Logic visual identity and first product drop in development

This week was a turning point. Sitting here trying to write this after redefining our socials, changing our name(domain), developing content and designing streetwear, I’m not going to lie, is painful. Having an overloaded brain is not conducive to writing. But work is not done.

It ain’t over till the diva sings

That one was due an upgrade. And it’s most certainly not over, we’re just beginning. We’re moments away from the first drop and a test run on Mongrel Logic. Suddenly, what felt like it was 3 months away is suddenly a few sleeps away.

Don’t panic, 42.

It’s been part mild panic and frantic output combined with pivots and reversals. But honestly, the thing that has always worked for me has been just focusing on the next baby step, and the one after that.

The first drop is about to…well…drop.

The first Mongrel Logic products; the hoodies, are officially in testing and heading for launch. The Signature Edition Cap is still the North-Star, but this is the trial run. The test of the system.

First hoodies, then caps, then world domination

I clearly watched too much Pinky and The Brain growing up.

Shop Launching Soon

I’ve been saying for weeks that you’re not going to want to miss the cap, and you’re not going to want to miss the first drop from Mongrel Logic either. Watch this space closely for more, follow along, subscribe, turn around, touch your nose. (Telepathically activates FOMO)

Building the best cap in the world.

Designer drawing embroidery artwork for the Mongrel Logic™ Signature Cap.”

I know; that’s a bold claim; any day now I half-expect Elf to burst through the door and congratulate me. Just kidding. Mostly.
Still, it hasn’t deterred me from trying. Defining it. Creating it. Drawing the embroidery. Designing the fabric. Agonising over the tiniest details for days on end; a seam, for instance, or the jacquard I keep changing my mind about, or a two-day internal debate about GSM.

When an idea becomes a movement.

Turns out I’m full of bold claims. But this isn’t just about making a cap that lasts a lifetime; it’s about building a movement.
A business that’s profitable, scalable, and creates space for other talent to shine too.
I’ve spent months developing a product designed to outlast trend cycles; something that’s wearable art, not fast fashion.
If you like the idea of clothing that can be passed down, if you love luxury but walk dogs too much to Dolce that shit, and if streetwear lives in your bones, stick around.

The cap that changed everything.

I never imagined I’d end up here. The last time I tried to kick this off, the pandemic happened. Somewhere between exhaustion and obsession, this project became the thing that kept me going.
Beyond all the big-world chaos, this started from something simple: I had nothing to wear.
I don’t wear make-up daily. I walk dogs. I get covered in mud. I live in trackies, hoodies, and caps; but that doesn’t mean I want to look like I’ve raided a jumble sale. They just don’t make what I need or want. So, I’m making it.

So when it the bloody cap getting here?

Soon. I can’t say much yet, things are still moving, but if all goes to plan, before the year’s out.
It’s a luxury cap built to last a lifetime. The embroidery artwork alone took over 35 hours, the fabric design even longer. Every detail has been considered to make it look and feel like the best cap in the world; durable, timeless, and eco-friendly.

More updates are coming

One thing on my never-ending to-do list: a newsletter. I’ll have it live in the next week or so.
If this sounds like your thing, stick around. When you see the cap, you’ll want to be in the loop for future drops; because this is just the beginning.
If you want to be one of the first to own the first-ever Mongrel Logic™ cap, sign up when the newsletter lands and follow along on socials.

Chasing confidence down the rabbit hole.

AI artwork of a multicoloured rabbit inspired by Alice in Wonderland, symbolising creative confidence

Confidence is never a constant companion. It’s like a magical rabbit that appears occasionally and then vanishes, leaving behind the smell of rainbows. Confidence is hard and no one can do it for you.

Self-help or imaginary rabbits?

I was the type of person to read every self-help guru out there. In my fixation I have been down more rabbit holes than I care to admit. Positive affirmations are cute. But they will not change your monthly income. Doing something about it will though.

When I started The Pavement Special, I didn’t put my name up. I didn’t post photos. I had no confidence in what I was doing; because I had no idea where it was going.

I was extremely fed up of thinking about all these ideas that I couldn’t fund. I was sick of thinking that I can only start something when…when I have the money, when I have the right job.

I’m still waiting for those things, if I had continued to wait, there would be no Mongrel anything.

Confidence isn’t always flowing

I am not sitting here the other side of a bank balance that affords me this opportunity, dictating to you. Quite the contrary, I’m sitting here fighting for it. I work 7 days a week.

My husband always says, “You need to chill, you never chill”.

Despite having tons of ideas and projects upcoming and a to do list longer than Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall; I still sit here staring at a blank page for two hours and wonder what the hell I am doing.

If I am doing it right, if I said it right, should I have done that instead, turquoise or amethyst? Confidence isn’t always flowing, and I literally can’t afford for it not to.

That clock doesn’t slow down for anyone, not even a magic rabbit.

When you realise you put your laptop-stand upside down.

My husband might not be wrong.

Case in point; I spent the past few months using my laptop stand upside down. Don’t ask, but yup.  You know that feeling when you realise you are an idiot? 

Rainbow coloured rabbit droppings

While the magical rabbit Confidence is not a mainstay feature. It’s crucial to learn off that rabbit and be your own cheerleader. No one is going to tell you that you are magical, and if they do, well, lucky you. (Now I’m thinking of Aurora, the singer not the borealis, lol)

So, I guess I’m hunting rabbits.

Metaphorically speaking. That’s the only rabbit hole worth playing in. Confidence isn’t “I think my cap is the best in the world”; it’s working to design the best cap in the world. I might not do it, but maybe, that bloody rabbit pops up while I’m working on it.

Chase the work. The rabbit shows up when it wants.