‘Went to Hickory’s on the first night after the lockdown and the first thing I can say is WOW. The things that they have put into place are amazing. Well done Hickory’s. You have got this so right, and all done safely. Thank you for giving us a feel of normality after the lockdown.’‘We went

In 2008, Leonard Lauder, Chairman of Estée Lauder, claimed that lipstick was just what women needed as a small pick-me-up luxury during a recession. That year, lipstick sales were up 11%. Yet, as we approach the end of lockdown and the most rapid downturn in history, lipstick sales have plummeted. In a recent survey by Boots

You would be forgiven for thinking that the recent scene of people crowded ever so snugly in Botany Bay (a Kent beach) was a visceral reaction after two months of isolation and confinement. Yet this image of British holidaymaking is as hackneyed as vest marks on peeling lobster skin. It is also a comforting image

Additions to the vernacular are big indicators of local mindsets – and coronavirus has inspired a deluge. ‘Coronaspeck’ is the somewhat waggish German word for the fat deposited by weeks of stay-at-home grazing. Across the border, ‘rester en forme, restez chez vous’ (stay in shape, stay at home) has been popular fodder for the vainer

We are fortunate to be able to spend time supporting smaller challenger brands on their journeys. We often feel we learn as much from them as they do from us – they’re a vanguard for fresh ideas and unerring positivity even in these precarious times. Last week, we were kindly asked by The Seed Fund (sadly postponed

There are plenty of unfamiliar sightings and perplexing behaviours around these days. Beyond creative face masks, dexterous opening of park gates with feet and people humming ‘Happy Birthday’ while washing their hands, for Londoners nothing is more of an oddity than the uplift in neighbourly relations. It’s remarkable to think that the past weeks have been

Nicola Elliott has told how a ‘magic’ tincture created for aching footballers inspired her to launch wellbeing brand Neom Organics. ‘My husband is a sports teacher and I used to blend oils for him when he came back from playing football,’ says Elliott in the third of Piper’s ‘7, 17, 70’ podcast interviews with leading

His brand pioneered the concept of ‘letterbox flowers’ and has gone on to sell more than 50 million flowers across the UK, France and Germany. But Aron Gelbard, co-founder and CEO of Bloom & Wild, has revealed how his revolutionary idea nearly fell at the very first hurdle. ‘When we started, we assumed there was