LOFT55 RETURNS TO THE ROAD AGAIN AFTER A COUPLE OF YEARS

Bringing in the music alongside the future retail experience

Hello out there if you’ve found this written piece in one of the many far-flung corners of the worldwide web today. I’d like to say a massive thank you for devoting some of what I expect to be your precious time to having a read and I hope things come across OK.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve written a blog post about what goes on either behind or alongside LOFT55. To be blunt, over the past two and a half years I’ve needed to graft my arse off doing regular paid work as a commercial cleaner. Hence my efforts being somewhere else ensuring the priority of household bills come first and foremost, saving up for a long overdue foreign holiday with Nic my wife and getting emergency funds back in place to cover those unplanned occasions that crop up in life.

Turning the clock back to February 2024 I decided that hanging on for a turn of fortune with LOFT55 as a retail concept just wasn’t fair either for Nic or myself. Therefore, I decided upon one final production run via pre-orders and started looking for regular paid work. For all intense purposes LOFT55 was done and I was at peace with that after such an incredibly rewarding time.

Achieving financial stability being the most crucial part of this pivot from clothing to cleaning didn’t quite go to plan for about 9 or so months. Having an imported Volvo XC60 that decides to stop working on not one, but two occasions certainly put a dent in one’s wallet. And would most definitely in ones spirit if not careful to adjust ones thinking under such conditions.

To add further challenges into the mix, I was still building up my client base in the cleaning world. With these two major car issues and funds slowly building yet not at a quick enough pace or at times going in complete reverse meant I had no opportunity other than to work, work and work some more. Sometimes 14 days on the bounce without any rest. You certainly get to understand your own capacity for resilience when your back is up against the wall.

Now this all may come across as a bit ‘poor me’ or ‘a pure exercise in flag waving’ but hand on heart I can say that the whole experience was incredibly rewarding as an exercise in personal growth. And finding out who wanted to stay in touch post LOFT55 Chapter 1 closing down certainly has been gratefully received considering I’m now on the road in a totally different capacity not doing the in-person retail thing anymore.

After initially quitting production of LOFT55 either through holding physical stock or running pre-orders for which both options came with significant financial risk, I cautiously started to do on demand through a workshop I met through eBay of all places. This felt good as I could in a way keep my hand in creatively alongside still connecting with people online in most instances outside of my immediate friendship group.

Sadly, the workshop ghosted me after about 6 months so with that turn of events the opportunity to rethink a longer-term approach for LOFT55 presented itself now that financial stability had improved slightly after a challenging initial 6-9 months.

Another very important milestone that was reached after 12 months was that I found I was able to get back into going out dancing again which has always been something I’ve enjoyed since a teenager whilst also eventually leading onto throwing my own events and djing. Both of which being there for many years pre LOFT55 and why LOFT55 was set up as an alternative way of creating a platform for community cohesion I suppose.

Recently, around 6 months ago it dawned on me that I was now able to entertain the idea of steering LOFT55 on into the future yet in a different way than before. No requirement to ‘make bank’ each month and certainly no requirement to do so many pop ups (I do miss them and everyone involved) has given me much needed thinking time about the future and I really do mean a long-lasting future albeit it at a slower pace.

So, with all this now in place or at least the idea of it happening, LOFT55 Chapter 2 has now started. So let me explain.

Going way back to my teenage years when music and clothing styles went hand in hand, I recall the time of Soul 2 Soul and how the joined-up nature of style and music came across as one thing, not two separates. Naturally, being exposed to this left its mark and has had some influence on my thinking of how the delivery side of LOFT55 could and should take a new direction.

My love of community spirit through the medium of throwing a party and djing for others under this set up isn’t a new thing either. Pre LOFT55 there was Go Bang which was what I initially set up as a month-long festival every month of May from 2008-2010. In essence the bringing together of people through a common denominator (groove-based dance music past and present) was how it worked. Totally off radar stuff, mainly pub takeovers for which we really did take over numerous times within the festivals short yet enjoyable run.

So, there I am sitting on these experiences thinking about what’s next for LOFT55 and suddenly, just like it’s always been, an idea takes shape. Why not dust off the sound system from The Go Bang days and start listening to music again with the view to putting a loose idea of a party back on the cards. Only one problem, energy levels what with being on my feet all week. Yet, if the idea is a good one then sometimes one must crack on and get stuck in and see what happens rather than talk oneself out of doing something even before trying it out. This being a mindset that got the clothing idea off the ground 8 years ago.

Another interesting challenge having removed myself from regular djing to set up LOFT55, there’s now a very different landscape out there. New names, new approaches and new potential audiences make a musical return somewhat of an unknown quantity. Will I fit in? F**k it !!! doesn’t matter if I don’t. Never really have any way so why bother worrying.

With a healthy mixture of my returned enthusiasm, what I assume as having a knack of throwing a good old nice up with music and people and a small yet ‘still active’ clothing label just about keeping itself from vanishing off the face of the earth, it’s the start of new beginnings yet with old values and methods joining forces.

With my first party after years off now just weeks away it’s going to signal the ‘on the road’ part of LOFT55 coming back once again. Yes, the clothing pop ups have gone but the idea of bringing them back eventually under The LOFT55 Sound System for actual physical retail feels like a proper good idea. As I like to call it ‘Rave n Retail’

First though, the party and the music. Just to get a feel for this aspect before even considering bringing in the retail element. On paper it’s a cracking idea yet in reality would it work? Or do I have the energy to give the very occasional combined thing a go after a week of grafting? Only one way to find out ;)

The first LOFT55 Sound System Party is happening on Saturday 11^th July at The Kemp in Kemptown. It’s from 4pm onwards and I’m dressing the outdoor space with some good old fashioned camo netting. No tickets needed, just turn up, make merry and enjoy what could quite possibly be the start of a different approach to both having a dance and enjoying some future retail therapy back-to-back once this first outing is done.

Thank you very much for reading this blog post today if either a longstanding LOFT55 Owner through both periods (Chapters 1 or 2) or simply as a curious observer.

As we say ‘onwards’ when grafting out on the road and or getting behind a creative idea that perhaps has a bit of a bigger purpose in the community.

Cheers.

Ali