Rik Aaron, Author at Barneys Originals

17MayMay 17, 2021

A Transaction Can Be A Beautiful Thing

Let’s be really honest with each other. We’re in a transactional relationship right now. We’ve hopefully got something that you want, and, naturally, we want something in return for it. That’s kind of how it works in the world of commerce. Maybe you just want to purchase something from us and move on, no fuss or rigmarole. Perhaps you are fed up of brands and companies hounding you with their thinly veiled sales emails and offers. I know I am. I just did a total cleanse...

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19AprApril 19, 2021

You Are The Perfect Type Of Weird

“The things that made you weird as a kid make you great today.” - James Victore Life can sometimes feel like a relentless school classroom. Some lessons can be really hard, others are fun, but mostly they’re challenging. And, it seems, when we don’t quite grasp the lesson, that the teacher shouts louder and louder - you might even find yourself in detention from time to time. It’s only when we look back on things after the event, with hindsight, that we can...

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Image description: People walk past authentic advertising posters on a busy street. The posters are bright with cartoon characters talking about how advertising makes them feel bad.

18MarMarch 18, 2021

How to be Authentic in a World Full of Noise

It can be annoying when a brand babbles on about all kinds of life affirming stuff. They say things like ‘Just Do It’ and ‘Think Different’. And while their slogans and manifestos can indeed ignite a spark within you, you can’t help but feel that the relationship they are cultivating with you is essentially just transactional. And the bigger the company the smaller and less important you, the customer, end up feeling. But, conversely, it can also be hard if you are a...

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Image displays two friends looking out onto a city skyline. One is wearing a leather jacket, the other is wearing a padded coat.

11FebFebruary 11, 2021

Now Is The Time to Reassess Who You Are

These are crazy times; that’s an understatement. It can be challenging to get through the days at times, and yet somehow the weeks turn into months, and now it’s almost been a year since life changed so dramatically. Let’s not mention the words ‘normal’ and ‘new’ - they’ve been overcooked in the relentless narrative of trying to see what the future might look like. The simplest way of putting it is - nobody knows. There is so much we can’t control about life...

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30SepSeptember 30, 2020

Everything We’ve Learnt From 100 Years In The Leather Industry

Running a family business is something of a double-edged sword. There’s great pride in the heritage that has preceded you, and yet continuing that history can also feel at times like something of a burden too. The family never meant to get into the leather industry either, it just sort of happened. At the turn of the 20th Century, my great grandparents, on my mum’s side, had a factory manufacturing knitwear. With it being rainy Manchester eventually they began to make raincoats,...

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Author - Rik Aaron

A Transaction Can Be A Beautiful Thing

You Are The Perfect Type Of Weird

How to be Authentic in a World Full of Noise

Now Is The Time to Reassess Who You Are

Everything We’ve Learnt From 100 Years In The Leather Industry