How To Bake Bread - The Bread Song

Everyone likes bread don't they? And everyone likes songs too. So what could be better than a song about bread? Not very much we reckon, and so we've produced just that. But it's not just any old song about bread - this one gives you step-by-step instructions on how you (yes, YOU) can make your own loaves and therefore become a baker. One listen could potentially change your life forever. Well, it could, couldn't it? Anyway the recording features the entire Balcony team, and it would be wrong of us not to mention our very cool 'Real Man Bake Bread' t-shirt at some point here -so we just have. Marvellous.

Iain Lee Appreciation

You know those companies that just throw free stuff about to EVERYONE in hope that they'll get some free publicity? Well, I can state without a second's hestation that that isn't us. I can count on 2 fingers the things we have sent to "celebrities" for free.

When we started doing Balcony Shirts "full time", about 6 years ago, we discovered Iain Lee (or "that bloke from the 11 O'Clock show" as we called him at the time) on LBC radio. He made us laugh and stuff, wicked eh? So we sent him a flight bag with a fake logo from the Lost TV series on it because he liked Lost. It was probably illegal. Oh well.

He was asking for free stuff over the Twitter the other day, as a joke, because someone asked him if people sent him free stuff, so we obliged and offered him one of our Ukulele Hero T-shirts. He accepted. This is boring isn't it? Yeah. Well, to cut a short story even shorter we sent him a T-shirt and he plugged us. That was nice of him and we weren't expecting it. We had the busiest night on the website we'd had since Christmas, so that was brilliant, because it's pretty tough selling T-shirts over the internet.

But it's fun. x

A Promise Is A Promise...

I was taking pictures of the shop today for our new website and these little scamps walked past. They made me promise I'd put a picture of them on the website so I have. They will check later on the main site and not see themselves, they will become angry and come back to the shop and demand an explanation, I will show them this blog post. They will apologise. It will be a beautiful moment.

Eastenders makers deny new product placement laws are "ruining the show"

The makers of hit BBC soap "Eastenders" have angrily denied accusations that new product placement laws are ruining the show. The Broadcasting giant was bombarded with complaints last night after popular characters Kat and Alfie Moon screamed "THANK WORCESTER FOR THAT" after finally being reunited with their estranged baby. It is not the first time the show has attracted attention for it's spurious product placement. Only last week, show stalwart Dot Branning was heard to utter the phrase "You can't get quicker than a Kwit-Fit fitter" when suggesting where Max should get his vintage Mercedes serviced.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ukulele‏

With ukulele sales at our Uxbridge shop reaching a level that has got us actively considering changing it's name to The Uxbridge Ukulele Centre we thought that this might be a good time to share this wonderful rendition of 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' with you, which in addition to demonstating just how good a ukulele can sound gives us a chance to mention that we also stock a wallet that relates to said film.

Ukuleles and wallets available in a t-shirt shop - whatever next? LH.

Mum! We're on the telly!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8jXN5-z1Y8

Back in September Windsor Street in Uxbridge saw scenes of apparent jubilation as a commercial to raise funds and awareness for the British Legion Poppy Day appeal was filmed there, with much of the action taking place outside the Balcony Shirts shop. As we reported here at the time various Balcony staff members were spotted performing opportunistic high-fives every time the camera panned across the shop, and while it's probably best for all concerned that none of these rather peculiar antics are featured in the finished article the shop itself is clearly visable in both the long and short versions of the film. If you'd like to see it for yourself then click here, and please remember to buy a poppy this November.

Our First Year and The Custom Bar

It seems incredible really, but after trading online for what seems like a decade (probably more like 7 years), it was almost 1 whole year ago that Balcony Shirts opened up on the High Street. Incidentally, the High Street of our hometown; Uxbridge. The custom T-shirt printing website (a work in progress).

Uxbridge gets a lot of stick, not least from me, but really, and honestly, I actually like the place. I like the way Windsor Street (where we are) with its 500 year old pubs nestles in the shadows of a monolithic JJB Sports. I like the way an Irish drunk will grab you by the arm and tell you you have lovely hair. I like, in a masochistic kinda way, the fact that Reebok wearing, gold sovereign ring toting, Staffordshire-Bull-Terrier walking Kevs own the high street but effete indie boys, tattooed emo kids and Brunel intellectuals are always (half) willing to give a bit back. Not a lot back, granted. But a bit.

Anyway, barring some sort of natural disaster, or a fire-bombing, it looks like we should survive our first year. It's been good. Hard work, but good. For those that are familiar with our shop, we have just built a "Custom Bar" in the back section, where patrons will be able to design their T-shirts and have them printed in front of their eyes. It should be good and will hopefully increase trade a little during our next 12 months.

Thanks to everyone who's popped in, had a chat, bought something. We hope to have some surprises in store for our 1st Birthday.

Balcony Shirts - keeping Uxbridge High Street a little bit weird, and defiantly independent, since 2009.
xx