You’ve probably heard us nattering the words Wilkinson Sword on our Facebook and Twitter pages recently, and that’s ’cause not only are they our mates, but they’re yours too.

The Wilkinson Sword team have been road-tripping around the country, and visiting Burton stores north to south, east to west, to spruce you lot up. Sure, you’re probably already a bunch of dapper dudes, but a free wet shave from the professionals? Now that’s a nice treat right there.

We headed down to our West One store on London’s Oxford Street and papped a few people, getting their free wet shave…

 

 

If London’s not your neck of the woods, you can join us at the following stores this week;

WEDNESDAY 16TH MAY | Metro Centre, Newcastle

THURSDAY 17TH MAY | Trafford Centre, Manchester

FRIDAY 18TH MAY | Manchester Arndale

SATURDAY 19TH MAY | Hanley

 

 

Can’t make it this week? Listen up, and take a few tips from our Wilkinson Sword shaving expert Lee Jewess. He’s the bloke in the pics, making men up and down the country look the biz. The Knowledge grabbed him on the go, and got his top shaving tips.

So, here’s how to get the perfect wet shave, the professional way…

 

 

TO PREP: Leave your stubble to grow an extra few days than normal. This is key to a good, clean shave!

STEP 1: Get your face as hot as you can to open up the pores. I’d suggest soaking a flannel in a sink of warm water and pressing against your face.

STEP 2: Grab a fresh blade (obviously, a brand spanking new Wilkinsin Sword Hydro 5 razor!)

STEP 3: Apply shaving oil to your face to help the blade slide, and shaving cream too,  for a more comfortable shave.

STEP 4: Start by shaving downwards i.e. with the grain of your hair.

STEP 5: Re-apply your shaving oil and cream

STEP 6: Then shave upwards, i.e. against the grain of your hair.

STEP 7: Hey presto! Finish, by applying an alcohol based moisturiser to seal your pores.

 

 

For more grooming tips, and how to really look the part with the help of Burton and Wilkinson Sword, consult our Guide to Great British Style.

 

‘A Day in the Life of…’ is our brand new feature, that you’ll only find right here on The Knowledge blog.

We take you behind the scenes, and into the seats of some of the people who work in all sorts of departments at Burton HQ – buying and merchandising, design, marketing, ecommerce, retail operations and everything in between.

First up is Jonny – he’s our Buyers Admin Assistant for the Casual Trousers department, so is a key player in influencing the jeans and chinos you choose to wear each season .

 

 

 

 

 

First thing in the morning, I’m at my desk with a Latte, checking my emails and replying to any urgent ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 After checking my emails (and finishing my Latte), I read through the ‘line print’ to analyse our best sellers of the week. I also look at which products aren’t selling as well as we’d predicted, and inform the management team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just received parcels from one of our shorts suppliers, so I head to the light box room to see if the lab dips are the correct shade. Under this light, any shade differences will show up really easily, and we can feed that back to our suppliers to make sure we get the colour of the product spot-on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I start working on a mood board for the Spring Summer 2013 trends. To create it, I look at what other designers and retailers are doing, as well as flicking through lots of magazines for inspiration. Bright colour is always a big part of Spring/Summer styling, so it’ll continue to feature heavily in next year’s collection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is when the ‘What’s Occurring’ Meeting takes place. It’s a quick update from the management team on what’s going on in the business. Everyone from all departments across the brands attends, so one week we might hear from the Head of Design, and the next we’ll have an update from the Head of Ecommerce. It’s a good chance to catch-up with people you don’t usually work with, and always interesting to hear about what they’re working on.

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch! It’s time for a quick sandwich while I’m reading emails. Sometimes on Fridays I’ll go out with the team for a pub lunch  

 

 

 

 

Mid-afternoon and I’m ‘racking-up’ products for a meeting showcasing our Autumn Winter 2012 range for the management to see. It looks kind of crazy, but it’s easier to display all the product together like this, rather than ask people to visualise it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tidying all our samples up in the ‘sample cupboard’. We have rails and rails of samples and they often need to be used for various meetings throughout the week, so keeping them in order and knowing where each one is is really important.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home time! This evening I’m seeing friends for a quick drink after work then out for dinner to a nice independent Tapas restaurant in Soho.