The Sunday Paper: Big Dreamers Issue

Editing, Production, Commissioning, Writing, Interviewing, Printing and Delivery.

The Sunday Paper is a quarterly broadsheet published by Desmond & Dempsey celebrating indulgence, slowness, adventure and freedom. For our fifth issue we turn to founders, creators and forward thinkers who live for adventure, strive for innovation, and care deeply for the environment as they look to the future of their industries.

Read on for my Editor’s Letter and a selection of my favourite snaps from the issue.

California. The home of Yosemite, Joshua Tree, and Big Sur. The home of start-ups in San Francisco’s Silicon Valley. The home of wellness and the green movement. And, of course, the home of Hollywood. When we first sat down to think about what issue five of The Sunday Paper would focus on, it was a marriage of these elements that flooded to our minds, all so different in nature, but equally associated with California. 

On their journey through the Golden State seeking inspiration for The Pendletones collection the Desmond & Dempsey founders, Joel and Molly, discovered that California is a land of adventure, of innovation and entrepreneurship, of connection to nature, to your body and your mind. 

So, inspired by the legend of the California Dream, issue five turned to founders, creators and forward thinkers who live for adventure, strive for innovation, and care deeply for the environment as they look to the future of their industries. It’s an issue about thinking big, dreaming bigger, and making it happen. 

Our first stop was Santa Monica, where we met with Clement Kwan, co-founder of marijuana lifestyle brand Beboe. We delved into the details of his journey so far, creating a brand around a controversial product, and his life-long love of boxing. 

We then made a hop over to New York where we met Peter Buchanan Smith. After selling his business, Best Made Company, Peter has decided to take some much needed time to himself to pursue his passions and discover what the future holds for him. Chatting to him was a breath of fresh air as we realised how rare it was to find someone brave enough to take a year off work to reconnect with themselves and remember what’s really important.

Also in New York, we chatted to Poppy Jamie, the founder of Happy Not Perfect who, with a team of experts in the realms of mindfulness and neuroscience, created an app that puts your happiness first and encourages you to work on it daily. 

Back across the pond we met with Finisterre founder, Tom Kay in St Agnes, Cornwall for a surf and a chat about the work he and his team do to create long-lasting, high-quality adventure clothing, whilst protecting the environment and doing their bit for the health of our oceans. 

Ending our journey back in London, we met with Jemma Finch of Stories Behind things, the online platform building a community and spreading awareness of conscious consumption. 

No matter where they came from or what they did, we wanted each of our tastemakers to embody those Californian values. I hope that through the stories in Our Big Dreamers issue, you find the inspiration to make your own big dreams happen. That it sets a fire in your belly to start doing, creating, innovating, and that it reminds you that everyone has their own journey, and that journey is the best bit about all of it.