It’s been quite a year. Needless to say when 2020 kicked off we weren’t expecting to end it with only our virtual doors open, and it’s been a strange, uncertain and often tough time to be an independent business. However, we’ve had enough doom and gloom to last us a long while – there’s plenty we’ve been up to in 2020 that’s worth celebrating, and we’d love to share it with you. Without further ado, here’s the highlights from in a year in the life of Meet Bernard.
BRANCHING OUT
This November marked a year of our tenure in East Dulwich, where we’ve moved from pop-up shop to permanent fixture on the lovely North Cross Road. Although we haven’t been able to do as much as we’d planned with it way back in our February blog post, our ED outpost has provided a perfect new port of call for customers and friends near and far, and we love it just the same. We’re looking forward to working on it even more in 2021 and making a real home for ourselves there.
A NEW LOOK
One of our biggest changes this year has been our photography, and we’re still in love with our shiny new look. In October we reintroduced ourselves properly, showing off the work we’d been doing with our long-time friend/brand-new photographer Clara – and a freshly-assembled team of beautiful faces – to make MB’s wares look better than ever. We also shot our first-ever Christmas Gift Guide campaign with the help of some equally talented pals (thanks Chloe and Katie!) and it was a big-deal learning experience that we’re super happy with the results from. The proof’s on the page: we certainly think we look better than ever.
NEW FRIENDS
Connection’s been more important than ever this year, and we’ve all had to figure out new ways to do it. Thankfully, it’s been a great reminder of why we do what we do: because we love independent fashion, and we love people who love independent fashion! We’ve sat down for a chat with the good folk behind MB favourites like Uskees and La Paz, shone a light on some of our neighbours in Greenwich that are well worth shopping at, and knocked on more doors with arms full of drop-off deliveries than ever before. We’ve also loved sharing truly covetable stuff from our South East London neighbours in the shop – from By Als bags, to Lines Ceramics, to wearing our love on our sleeve thanks to South East 15, there’s never been a better time to support the SE.
COMMUNITY SPIRIT
This has also been a year where it’s been important to think hard about the stuff that really matters. Powerful protest movements and shifts in authority have highlighted the work we all need to do to continue fighting inequality where we can. We decided to do our bit this Black Friday by supporting a local charity instead of encouraging thoughtless spending, and with the help of our amazing customers managed to raise £400 for Clothes For Causes – we’re so happy that people chose to support the campaign. It’s been truly heartening seeing the people of Dulwich and Greenwich band together to support those in the community during COVID-19, and it’s part of what makes us so proud to have our roots here.
SWEET SOUNDS
And finally, where would we be without music? A shiny new Boat Floaters playlist from Ollie every month has kept us sane, jammed full of tracks designed to grace your end of year ‘most played’ list. When times are tough, sometimes the best thing to do is tune out and enjoy. (Our Boat Floaters 'Best of 2020' just came out, if you're in need of catching up!)
Our little roundup’s helped us realise every cloud has a silver lining – and although this year’s been a pretty big cloud, there’s a new year on its way and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for us. A big, big thank you to everyone who’s been part of our journey this year. Why not treat yourself on this last day? Enjoy the best 2020 had to offer fashion-wise and take a peep at our sale – there’s no better way to enter 2021 than stylishly (and at a discount). We promise.
Stay safe, and Happy New Year.
Love,
Team MB