Interview with Ned of Not Another Bill

I wanted to share this fab interview about my brother Ned, the genius behind Not Another Bill.

Take a tour of the Not Another Bill studio

Not Another Bill was set up by Ned Corbett-Winder, who, in 2011, made it his mission to surprise and delight people by sending them gifts by post every month and introducing them to great artists, designers and brands in the process (yes, it’s possibly the happiest brand philosophy we’ve ever heard too). Ned invited us in for a snoop around the N.A.B. studio, where we discovered a healthy collection of one-off design pieces and stacks of beautifully packaged surprises.

How would you describe your studio style?

Eclectic magpie’s nest meets scandinavian concept store with a sprinkle of cardboard box factory.

Who or what is your inspiration?

Inspiration is a hard question to pin down it’s root or exact sources. Our ethos is about providing joy through the mail, and introducing our subscribers to great artist, designers and brands.

 

Who would be your dream collaborator? 

We’ve been lucky enough to have worked with some of our favorite brands so far but we’d have to say Paul Smith or even Liberty’s would be up there with our dream collaborations.

What do you wish you’d created, designed or invented?

Funnily enough I used to believe I was going to be an inventor when I grew up; I used to come up with ingenious ideas for things around the house. I thought I struck gold when I came up with the idea of a silent dog toy. The toy still made the squeaky noise dogs love but the valve was customized so that it sounded at a higher frequency that humans couldn’t hear. Annoyingly, an American company beat me to the patent and they are now sipping cocktails on a beach somewhere.

We hear you’re a Sunbury Antiques Market regular. Do you have any tips for how to find a beautiful bargain?

Sunbury is a great market and I’d count myself as a regular. But I can’t help but feel that a real bargain is becoming increasingly harder to find, as prices have slowly been on the rise along with it’s popularity. The saying about the early bird catching the Sunbury market bargain worm would still be the best piece of advice.

What is your most treasured personal item? 

I have magpie-like hoarding tendencies and seem to collect a lot of these such items. My most treasured though would have to either be my Uniform Wares watch from my wife, or a giant slingshot made for me by artist Chris Jarratt.

 

Do you have any secret skills or party tricks? 

I can tell the weight and postage price of any item by simply looking at it.

 

What’s your idea/definition of ‘comfy’?

A sleeper train on a Friday evening down to Cornwall when there is howling a gale outside your cabin. Or my new pair of Nike Stefan Janoski air max trainers.

To see the interview in it's full glory go to  www.sofa.com

www.notanotherbill.com

Not Another Pigeon

My amazing brother Ned, of Not Another Bill making headlines today...

Businessman hires pigeons to deliver goods after huge Royal Mail price jumps

A FRUSTRATED businessman who runs a mail order service has decided to boycott Royal Mail services and set up a team of carrier pigeons to deliver his goods.

By Tom Rawle/Published 2nd April 2014

LETS FLY: Ned has sent some pigeons to Oxford already [NATIONAL NEWS AND PICTURES]

Ned Corbett-Winder, 29, said his small business now cannot afford to use the regular parcel service and is now testing the new animal-based technique to save money.

The owner of NotAnotherBill.com said he is standing up for the little guys and is not willing to pay the hiked prices.

He said: "Businesses like mine rely on Royal Mail and we're at the mercy of these price hikes.

"The latest price increase will cost my business around £2,500 over the course of a year which for a small business is a huge amount of money.

"Government is supposed to be supporting small businesses but this move flies in the face of that support and I fear that with the privatisation of the Royal Mail price increases like this are going to become a regular occurrence."

SMART: Ned is hoping to save thousands by using the pigeons [NATIONAL NEWS AND PICTURES]

“”

New Royal Mail prices came in to effect on Monday.

First class stamps increased by 2p to 62p and second class now start at 53p rather than 50p.

In 2012, a first class stamp cost 46p, a third less than what it is now.

Ned has taken on his new pigeon delivery service by setting up a flying route from his home in Acton, west London to a destination 59 miles away in Oxford.

The homing birds, which were used largely throughout the first and second world war, have been used throughout history to transport messages.

PIGEONS: The birds are all set up to test new routes [NATIONAL NEWS AND PICTURES]

He is now testing if the pigeons would really be reliable enough to deliver letters on a regular basis.

Ned said: "People always joke that if their parcel is late it would have been quicker sending it by carrier pigeon. Well I'm testing the theory out."

By placing food at the location, the birds have so far back and forth travelled twice a day.

They could carry parcels up to 75g with the journey taking just over an hour to get there with the birds flying over 50mph.

After Royal Mail was sold in October last year, many are saying the organisation was undervalued and taxpayers have not received enough in return.

www.notanotherbill.com

If it's good enough for Gwyneth...

I've always liked Gwyneth Paltrow.  And I've enjoyed her website Goop for as long as I can remember.   I was sent her annual Christmas present guide last week and was so excited to find my brother Ned's wonderful company Not another bill nestling in the middle of it all.  She is of course absolutely right; There are few better presents you could give - or be given - this Christmas.  Not that Im remotely biased.

And then if I needed any more persuading, she had also included my friend Vanessa Barneby's incredible bespoke wallpaper in the mix.  

www.goop.com/journal/get/258/the-annual-gift-guide

Hello Art of Handmade Living...

Thank you to Hello! Magazine for featuring my book launch this week.

Bursting with Pride...

I couldn't be more proud or excited for my brother Ned who has just won the very prestigious House and Garden award for 'best stall' at the Spirit of Christmas fair this year!

CONGRATUALTIONS NED!!!!

XX

www.notanotherbill.com

Spirit of Christmas

It feels a bit wrong that today's the second of November and not December.  The last two weeks have been so Christmasy and festive - decking the halls for the shoot last week and then at the Spirit of Christmas Fair this week - it doesnt feel right that there's still seven weeks to go.  I went  to the fair at Olympia to help my brother Ned on his Not Another Bill stall.  Not that much helping got done; I got  in an excited frenzy the second I walked in the door.  I tried to be helpful and played shop keeper for all of ten minutes.   But then with the excuse that I was taking up far too much room and didn't want to put off potential shoppers- there were three other, better and far more knowledgable notanotherbillers at hand - slipped off into the festive throng.

The Not Another Bill stall

There were so many great stalls but annoyingly I wasn't really feeling in the mood or ready to start my shopping. Usually, I've written about five lists by now and know exactly who's getting what.  This year I'm a bit tardy.

There were a few sellers though that I'm definitely going to come back to when I do get my act together.  My favourite find was a life-size reindeer made out of lavender from Pollyfields. Not quite sure about where it'd go or what it'd do but I can deal with that when the time comes.  I really feel my life would benefit from a  giant, scented reindeer. Imagine the sleeping...




I couldn't tear myself away from the tissue pompom bunting at the Petra Boase stand. I contemplated buying hundreds and stringing them up around the house but on second thoughts thought Chaz might summon the men in white coats.  Although it is the Big Cub's birthday next week... handy excuse if I ever did hear one.   

My final fave was a children's cashmere company called Olivier Baby. The softest cashmere I've ever felt in which you design your own jumper - you pick your own colour, trim and motif.  The only annoying thing is the biggest size is for a five year old and Im not sure that the whole crop top look is very me...

www.olivierbaby.com
www.notanotherbill.com
www.petraboase.com
www.pollyfields.co.uk

Crazy for Kempton

I've been trying to get to Kempton antiques market for years. There's always been something stopping me until yesterday when I finally went for the first time. I cannot believe that I've been missing out on this for so long. Hundreds of stalls - 700 to be precise- of people selling antiques, furniture, jewels, taxidermy, old glass. Anything and everything. I could have filled the whole house from top to bottom. If i'd been wearing my clever hat I'd have taken a massive van with me and stocked up on bargain furniture. Instead I went in my tiny car already full with baby car seats, suitcases, creme eggs... No room in the inn.

Anyway Ned and I did very well nonetheless. Antique mirrors and huge glass jars filled with cotton spools being the order of the day. I'd be so happy just to go and potter even if I wasn't hunting for any specific. I love the atmosphere of huge markets like that. The early early start - we were there at 6.30am, the eccentric sellers, the sausage and bacon baps.... It feels a bit like being on holiday.

I'm making it my mission to go at least once a month from now on. At least until I'm too fat to get behind the wheel. But then I guess I'll be in a van so there'll be more than enough space for me too.

www.kemptonantiques.com