As Baz Lurhman once wrote, “Advice is a form of nostalgia: dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts, and recycling it”. This sentiment cant be more true and appropriate than when it comes to business. Especially if you’re new to business, or need help, or don’t seem to be growing/generating sales etccccc.

Taking advice from the wrong person can have devastating consequences, not only your business but on your overall well-being, too.

If you’re tethered to your baby, I mean business, then you want the best for it, right?

So heed my words, here are the most basic and simple pieces of advice that I can give to YOU, whoever you are, and whatever your business is….

Advice I’d Never Take: “keep your prices low to compete!”

Instead: I would build a brand people are willing to pay for. A product or a service or system or place that people would pay for. Don’t add to the low-priced trash we see everywhere. This sounds easy but it’s not. You need to BE THE CHANGE and develop something that will not only stand the test of time but that people will WANT to pay for. Create, develop, go to market with a product that kicks your competitors asses. I’ve always done this - no matter the amount of corners offered to me, I’ve never cut them. I go to market with something that cant be replicated - QUALITY. And quality will supersede quantity, every single time.

Advice I’d Never Take: “dont share your ideas”

Instead: Share your process, your thoughts, all of it - as market research with your audience, who already love you. Share it openly to gather genuine feedback.
Gather this feedback, but don’t let it sway you. Treat it as market research only and move forward with whatever new insight you garner.

Advice I’d Never Take: “Don’t go to market until your product is PERFECT ✨”

Instead: This is bullshit. Launch, JUST DO IT, and improve publicly. This may be your greatest challenge and also your greatest blessing.

Advice I’d Never Take: “Say yes to every opportunity”

Instead: Carefully analyse and dissect any opportunity that comes your way. Does it align with who you are? Your brand? Does it fit?
If it doesn’t, exercise your right to say NO.
The faster you can leardn to say NO, the better.

I’ll cover more in-depth do’s and don’t for my paid subs, but for now - for the love of Manolo, please just don’t do anything that doesn’t FEEL RIGHT!!

If your gut says no - don’t do it, no matter how juicy the incentive looks!

Trust me!

K LOVEYOU BYEEEE xoxoxo

So it’s time to market your business, and you’re wanting to use an influencer…. Lets get really real about the budget.

I’m sure you’ve got a maximum number in your head that you’re willing and able to spend, but my friend - I’m sorry, when you’re requesting quotations, most of the numbers you’ll get back are likely going to be twice or triple what you had intended to spend. And you’ll think to yourself WHAT THE FUCK? and then you’ll think to yourself, how do I know if it’s worth it?

So… let me teach you how to see the forrest for the trees…. (the big picture)
Heres the secret to reading analytics….

Here are the things to ask for and how to know if the person of interest will actually change the trajectory of your business.

Read more

So… you want to start a business.

You’ve got the great idea, you’ve got a burning passion in your belly. You can see it now, quitting you job and taking the leap, and having it all work out. The dream.

BUT - what if it doesnt work? Do I even know how to start a business?
The self doubt creeps in like those annoying ads on HBO max if you don’t upgrade.

I have been self employed for for alllll of my adult life. (WTF.) I quit my job whilst in uni, (in my early twenties) and I have never looked back.

No trust fund, no rich husband, no investors, no lines of credit or an overdrawn mortgage. None of it.

Take it from me, I know how to start, run and turn a business into something that will change your life.

I’ve had Kim K, Kylie & Kris Jenner, Rhianna, Hailey Bieber and most recently Lindsay Lohan as fans, supporters and actual clients.

This is insight you wont get at university. Your neighbours, friends and co-workers cant give you this information, because it takes someone who has done it - to teach it.

How? Heres STEP ONE on how to really do it.

Read more

As I sit here typing this, character by character, directly into substack, without the use of AI note taking tools or Chatgpt - I am overcome with a sense of satisfaction.

A genuine sense of satisfaction in the task of writing itself.

As children (growing up in the 90’s) we were taught the importance of penmanship, cursive font and we were asked to strive for correct grammar, script and punctuation in the hopes of receiving our PEN LICENCE!! (what a proud day this was!!)

Fast forward twenty years, will our children ever learn how to load lead into a Bic Pacemaker?

Will our children learn the importance of clean cooking, of knowing how to drive a vehicle with manual transmission, of appreciating history and art and classical music?
How will they discern between fast fashion slop and the importance of fibres that breathe well on your skin, free from PFAS and BPA?

How will they appreciate that good things take time and immediacy is not a natural way of living, if their parents have lost sight of these fundamental human understandings?

My job, as a parent, is to teach my children these differences.

The craft that Prestwick Place deliver each and every single day is a feat very little are aiming for or achieving in todays modern world. It’s all AI generated images, wholesale lists and whastapp suppliers with zero skill, consideration, creativity or soul.

What Prestwick Place are, are goldsmiths and jewellery designers and artisans alike, possessing skills that have developed over many years - only to get better as time progresses. The outcome we deliver is artwork.

Wearable art. A finished product I am proud to put my name to.

An impact in this world that I am proud to share with my children, to teach them that good things take time. To show them that in this digital world, human touch, human output, trust - it all makes for a greater end result regardless of it being a school presentation, a musical or an eternity band.

The most impactful things and experiences are a direct result of true passion and consideration, not AI generated images, music or supplier lists.

With every business venture I put my name to, that I birth into this universe, I ALWAYS make sure that it is not only something I am truly passionate about but that it is done the RIGHT way. No cut corners, never a moneygrab. Never a quick buck.

A considered, heart thumping, need to deliver, to make a change in someway - somehow.

The important stuff (like trust) takes time, and costs more for a reason.
Lets not forget that.

Love you BYE! XO

I think one of the biggest signs of intelligence is being willing to change your mind.

Not because you’re easily influenced. Because you’ve gathered more information.

And over the years, there are a few things I’ve done a complete 180 on.

The Chanel 22

I LOVED this bag. The slouchiness. The practicality. The fact it didn’t take itself too seriously. I thought it was quirky and cool.

Then every influencer got one. Then every teenager, their mum, their aunt and their dog got one.

Suddenly it felt less like a personal style choice and more like a uniform. An algorithmic decision. It lost it’s je ne sais quoi, and started screaming desperate.

It’s still a great bag. I just don’t want one anymore.

Electric Cars

When electric cars first came onto the scene, I was all in.

The future! The environment! The innovation! I actually paid a deposit on the very first PHEV Range Rover, until I questioned it….

But as more information has become available, I’ve become far less convinced. The environmental conversation is far more complicated than I initially thought, and the long-term impact of batteries, mining and disposal isn’t nearly as black and white as it was marketed to be. The increasing amount of cheap electric cars has me moonwalking away from ANYTHING to do with them.

The older I get, the more suspicious I become of anything that’s sold as a perfect solution.

Flying First Class

There was a time when First Class felt like the ultimate goal. And don’t get me wrong, it’s lovely. It’s something I hope everyone gets to experience, even just once in their lifetime.

But the social media flex and the actual value are two very different conversations.

Business Class gets you 90% of the experience for a fraction of the price. Especially if you’re travelling with 7975858 children.

I’ve reached the point where I’d rather spend the difference on an extra holiday, a great hotel or frankly, almost anything else, than overspend on First Class*.

(**unless it’s a special occasion with Lachie, no kids. lol)

Natural Fibres

I used to think people who spoke passionately about natural fibres needed a hobby, i thought it was hippy dippy bullsh*t. BUT!…. Then I learned that your skin is your largest organ. Did you know that?

Once I started paying attention to how I actually felt wearing linen, cotton, wool and cashmere versus synthetics, I couldn’t unsee it, or UNFEEL it. Performance synthetics are NOT it.

Natural fibres breathe. They wear better. They age better.
They feel better.

Yes, they’re more expensive.

But if you’re buying fewer, better things, the math eventually works itself out.

At least that’s what I tell myself every time I buy another cashmere knit.

Anyway. I’m sure there are more.

And I’m equally sure there are things I believe today that I’ll completely disagree with in ten years.

Which is probably a good thing.

K Love you, byeee!!

I genuinely thought we’d be past this conversation by now.

And yet, almost every week, I still see someone online (probably just for the views tbh) yapping on and on about lab diamonds not being “real” diamonds. (?)

Which is fascinating because they are.

A lab diamond is a diamond. Same chemical composition. Same physical properties. Same sparkle. Same hardness. Same everything.

The only real difference is where it was grown.

This isn’t an opinion. It’s science.

What I find most interesting are the people who refuse to understand them. It’s very narrow minded and archaic.

The same people who happily drive modern cars, wear prescription glasses, undergo IVF, drink filtered water and carry around a supercomputer in their pocket suddenly draw the line at a diamond being grown with technology?

An interesting place to make a stand.

The reality is that lab diamonds have done something the traditional industry never wanted. They’ve given people access.
Access to larger stones. Better quality. More design freedom. (!!)

And the ability to spend their money on things that actually matter to them instead of pouring every spare dollar into a rock.

Your wealth is no longer shown on your ring finger - and that’s uncomfortable for some people.

The truth is, the average person doesn’t care where a diamond came from. They care how it looks. How it feels. What it represents.

Lab diamonds aren’t going anywhere. In fact, they’re becoming the default choice for a generation that values logic almost as much as luxury.

And honestly? I have a little sympathy for people still arguing they’re not real.

It must be exhausting trying to debate chemistry.

Anyway. Buy what you love. But maybe understand it first.

Love you, byeeee!!

We’re supposedly living in the golden age of luxury. More brands, more access, more choice, more “exclusive” products than ever before.

And yet, luxury feels worse.

Not because people have less money. Not because tastes have changed. Luxury feels worse because somewhere along the way, it stopped being aspirational and started becoming algorithmic.

Every week we’re told what to want next. Another bag, (the chanel 22 this week smh). Another shoe. Another collection. Another founder or influencer launching a brand in an industry they’ve barely spent time understanding. We’ve confused visibility with desirability.

Luxury used to be about discovery. Finding something beautiful, rare and intentional. Now the same products are served to millions of people at the same time by an algorithm deciding what should matter.

The irony is that the more luxury tries to be accessible, the less luxurious it becomes. I’ve seen almost everyone on instagram chasing down a 22 and I’ve never been more turned off a style in my life!

True luxury was never about consumption. It was about discernment. The confidence to wait. The ability to say NO. Buying one, single, exceptional thing instead of ten acceptable ones.

Today everything feels urgent. Limited editions. Endless collaborations. New drops every week. Luxury brands are operating at a pace that increasingly resembles fast fashion.

The result? We own more than ever, yet value less.

The next era of luxury won’t belong to the people who buy the most. It will belong to the people who edit the best.

Because luxury isn’t abundance, it’s restraint - its consideration and its about understanding the origin on something - not being told what to buy.

Less stuff. Better stuff. You know the drill.

Love you, bye!!!