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\u2018Heavy Web Apparel as a concept is close to my heart\u2019_<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0I know that\u2019s an obvious (and probably a ridiculous) thing to say when you\u2019ve invested your heart and soul into establishing a brand; but I suppose retail, fashion and shopping is in my blood - my family owned a well-known fresh produce business in Sheffield, and I had up to this point worked auspiciously for over 25 years in a major UK fashion retailer - meeting my wife along the way - our children growing up thinking they were born into this brand like a religion, and this huge well known company an ever present and essential part of our everyday life.<\/span><\/p> Heavy Web as a concept and as a brand in truth is more than close to my heart. Heavy Web was necessary. For me it was a new direction, a fresh start and an essential means to reconnect with myself and feel alive.<\/span><\/p> I knew that I wanted to do things my own way, take a different path, hold my breath and jump into the deep water on my own; I love retail, I love fashion, I love shopping and (as my wife will tell you) I love ordering things online and then waiting eagerly for the parcels to drop through the door. I just needed the courage to take the first step (and a few helpful nudges along the way) - and that came in April 2024.<\/span><\/p> Heavy Web in itself also needed to be more, and I needed Heavy Web to be \u2018good\u2019 (I know my second ridiculous statement and I\u2019ve only just started). But throughout its metamorphosis into the Heavy Web that exists today, I told myself every day that we had to be good - the designs had to be good, wearing the apparel had to make you feel good and buying our products had to make you feel like you were doing good.<\/span><\/p> I had to believe that we could do things differently. Heavy Web products are good quality (that had to be a given), they also had to be stylish, soft and comfortable, but I also knew that the cotton had to be organic, the apparel produced immediately on demand to stop fashion waste, the designs printed using water based inks, all the packaging plastic free, renewable energy powering the factory and the products must be able to be returned back to source when they have been worn out to be re-made into new products. And we had to offer value for money, give great service and listen to our customers. For me it was essential that Heavy Web shone a light on a different and more sustainable way of doing things.<\/span><\/p> It Started with a Jumping Spider.<\/span><\/strong><\/p> Being ethical, sustainable and doing the right things is not enough on its own to sell apparel; and loving retail, customers and fashion - no matter your experience - is no guarantee for success. Now that\u2019s frankly a scary and sobering thought.<\/span><\/p> Heavy Web had to be unique. And it started with a jumping spider.<\/span><\/p> A long career in front line retail for many years was everything I thought I needed in life, I was fully invested in the brand I worked for, I liked the people I worked with and I loved the relentlessness and the pace of the demanding environment I worked in. But no matter how hard I worked I never felt whole, and no matter how many hours I worked I never quite felt completely fulfilled.<\/span><\/p> I have always been a creative person - art was my best subject at school; all my life I have had a craving to paint, to draw and design. A dreamer at heart I am always thinking up new concepts, new ways to do things and forever redesigning the landscape of my daily life. I have always had a curiosity for technology, a passion for photography and a want for telling stories. Yet my work life was heading in a ever more regimented and structured direction, and I knew I needed to change my path.<\/span><\/p> I had a clear concept for the business model I needed but could I match it with the designs? If I couldn\u2019t I knew in my heart it would be a non-starter.<\/span><\/p> The Jumping Spider was the first thing I drew with Heavy Web in mind; a brightly coloured and simple design - drawn first on paper, redrawn in fine liner and then digitally traced and rendered into a high resolution image ready for printing. The design was completely unique.<\/span><\/p> I printed the Jumping Spider onto photo paper first, and then onto a t-shirt. And that\u2019s when I knew that Heavy Web was born, this concept that I believed in, this vision of something new, fresh and unique could be a reality. And the jumping spider has since become a blueprint of the way that we do things.<\/span><\/p> Heavy Web designs are unique, they are hand drawn as a piece of art, digitally rendered and meticulously reviewed before being made available for print. We are sustainable, renewable and plastic free and our products are organic, super soft and stylish. Heavy Web starts with our customers first, we pride ourselves in offering premium brand apparel and selling online means that we can offer the best value for money.<\/span><\/p> I hope you like the Heavy Web store - getting a new venture off the ground isn\u2019t easy and I would like to thank Cathy, my wife for being with me every step of the way, and to my amazing family and friends for supporting me throughout the entire start up process. Please like my Facebook and Instagram pages (and share them if you are feeling generous), have a good look around the store, you may even find something you like. And remember, follow your dreams, there\u2019s always time to change direction and start something new.<\/span><\/p>
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Our original Jumping Spider tee modelled by my son Fin.<\/em><\/p>","urlTitle":"it-started-with-a-jumping-spider","url":"\/blog\/it-started-with-a-jumping-spider\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/it-started-with-a-jumping-spider\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/heavyweb.co.uk\/blog\/it-started-with-a-jumping-spider\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1722356220,"updatedAt":1723108652,"publishedAt":1723108652,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":350298,"name":"Heavy Web"},"tags":[],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/m2mmu2gb2okhsqefa6psfnplpmevcf1w075t3ulepbvczip2.png","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/m2mmu2gb2okhsqefa6psfnplpmevcf1w075t3ulepbvczip2.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/m2mmu2gb2okhsqefa6psfnplpmevcf1w075t3ulepbvczip2.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"","metaDescription":"","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":41641,"title":"MEET SOME OF OUR DESIGNS.","url":"\/blog\/meet-some-of-our-designs\/","urlTitle":"meet-some-of-our-designs","division":350298,"description":"\u2018Heavy Web Apparel\u2019 has been a fleeting dream of mine for years, an itch that has always been there (somewhere in the back of my mind), coming to the fore in those quiet moments when the mind wonders.\u00a0 This year, however, I had the opportunity to go all in, take the leap and work to establish a business from scratch.\u00a0 The summer of 2024 has been a test bed of design ideas \u2013 some good (some not so) and some that after weeks of testing, tweaking and reviewing you see across the Heavy Web signature collections today.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/bqy2usujkgnst95qwr7rot2ftdtq2uz9w0wyaapafuow59co.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/bqy2usujkgnst95qwr7rot2ftdtq2uz9w0wyaapafuow59co.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":42483,"title":"GOING IT ON MY OWN_ TWO MONTHS OF HEAVY WEB.","url":"\/blog\/going-it-on-my-own-two-months-of-heavy-web\/","urlTitle":"going-it-on-my-own-two-months-of-heavy-web","division":350298,"description":"It\u2019s been two months since I launched Heavy Web, here is a short and candid read about my personal journey as a newly self-employed small business owner and the things I have had to learn quickly since leaving the corporate protection of a career in a big business.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/6bbfgfslai4lnenxlqfckhyksrogrgwy0n7o2yniljrvspul.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/6bbfgfslai4lnenxlqfckhyksrogrgwy0n7o2yniljrvspul.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0}],"labels":[]}