A few weeks ago my friend Adrian messaged me. Adrian used to buy for Harvey Nichols, and he’s always championed British Boxers. We’re so grateful to him for his unwavering support and encouragement.

Anyway, he messaged me. “Debs! I’m watching a film called The Electrical Life of Louis Wain and your 3 x great grandfather Jem Mace is mentioned within the first 10 minutes.” Now, I have another friend Chris who’d mentioned it a couple of years back, but I’d forgotten about it until now. So somehow I'd missed watching the film.

So, last night I sat with my other half and we watched the film. There’s a scene of Jem boxing with Louis in the first 10 minutes. Louis, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, gets a bloody nose, and later Jem is fighting some bloke twice his size. “It’s his electricity,” says Louis.

It was lovely, beautifully shot and a little sad too.

The Jem Mace thing made me feel warm and fuzzy. A little nod to our family history. But then my husband looked at me and said, “I’ve just been Googling it all now and found out that in real life Louis Wain’s father was a silk merchant from Leek!”

Leek is where we live now and where we’ve set up British Boxers – our own textiles business.

Just a lovely moment of full circle joy.

There’s a lovely 20% OFF code live at the moment on the website, including our cotton pyjamas. Just use the code AW23 when you go to checkout and the reduction will pull through. Also, there’s free UK delivery on all orders over £100 at the moment.

Have a great week all!

Deb @ BB

September 19, 2023 — Deborah Price