It’s not just working from home. With sales of vinyl records reaching a 30-year high in 2021, our homes have had to adapt to that, too. As the joke goes, “the two things that really drew me to vinyl were the expense and the inconvenience” – you really need a dedicated area to make the most of your, ahem, investment. Now, furniture company Neville Johnson is offering some top tips on how to design a “vinyl room” that will act as an “emotional escape” from the stresses of everyday life. For those of you with more space than Diary and not forced to cram new purchases into corners of the living room, Neville Johnson can offer bespoke storage with open shelving for those rare first pressings you want to show off, closed shelving to keep ugly wires out of sight, ladders to make reaching the higher shelves easier, and – wait for it – a bar to allow listeners “to enjoy a tipple if they wish as they unwind during the evening”. Booze sold separately. As are the records, of course. Better get on eBay.
On a Related note
Who said a corporate rebranding has to be complex? Not every new name or logo has to do something as weird as Abrdn’s rbrnd (rmvng th vwls). Sometimes you may find that your company’s moniker already says exactly what you want it to say – but, as Eric Morecambe might put it, not necessarily in the right order. Back in 2015, when the UK’s Argent teamed up with Related Companies of the US, their new venture was christened Argent Related. But now it’s time for a refresh, and so, seven years on, we get – drumroll, please – Related Argent. Was there some McCartney and Lennon-esque drama over the order of the names? The companies say not – apparently the teams always knew the branding would change as the company grew. The new-ish name reflects the next era of growth for the company and its management – but won’t change the ownership structure, governance, management or HQ. That will come when they launch Rltd Rgnt.
Greening up with the Joneses
We reckon Moda might have just cracked exactly what is needed to get Britain on track towards net zero – tapping in to that proud national tradition of trying to one-up the people next door. The build-to-rent operator has launched a new technology platform to let its residents track their energy consumption and sustainable behaviour – and, most importantly, measure them against those of their neighbours. Using smart sensors developed by tech partner Utopi, monitoring air quality, temperature and energy usage, Moda residents will be able to monitor their carbon emissions and, crucially, be told how they compare with those around them – albeit, for the moment, anonymously. But, if this tech is really going to take off, they’re going to need to provide those identities, so we can tell the Tom-and-Barbaras from the Margo-and-Jerrys. How else will we Brits know who to tut at as we twitch our curtains? The climate crisis is serious. We need local league tables, prizes for the winners, eviction for the losers. It’s time to name and shame!
WFH (working from Haiti)
Justin Halewood has never shied from helping clients spot the next trend in working practices – the former Standard Chartered real estate boss has more recently worked at flex workspace company Hana, and is now an acquisitions director at co-working operator Plus X. But Halewood is making quite the leap in his own way of working – he plans to spend the next few years living on his boat with his wife and young child, aiming to sail to the Caribbean. Plus X has allowed Halewood to work remotely, he said in a social media post. He updated followers this week with a check-in from Salcombe, where he said the boat’s Wi-Fi was working better than the broadband in his house, and where he said the navigation station had doubled up as a perfect desk. Diary likes to think Halewood will be putting in his daily shift, before downing tools and releasing his inner Captain Jack Sparrow with a hale and hearty: “Now, bring me that horizon!”
The spud life
Diary is used to receiving press releases about glamorous locations, but never have we wanted to visit anywhere in the world more than the resort that, according to the latest missive in our inbox, has just appointed Manish Puri as general manager. It is called… Desa Potato Head. If that name alone isn’t enough to get you booking flights (though surely it is), Desa Potato Head (we can’t stop saying it) is a “creative village by the ocean where music, art, design, food and wellness play together”, located “on the sand and surf of Petitenget Beach, Seminyak, Bali”. It comprises Potato Head Beach Club and a hotel, where it runs educational workshops and “helps give new life to waste in our Sweet Potato Lab”. Sounds (s)mashing. A resort that is clearly all that, and a bag of chips. Its simple ethos – “Good times, do good” – is one we can surely all get behind. So, congratulations, Manish, you are officially the envy of Diary.
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