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Scentsational Cottage
Scentsational Cottage is an Indi retailer and brand that focuses on bringing you vegan and cruelty free bath and beauty products and only use sustainable ingredients. They have a strong brand ethos and are very passionate about doing their bit for the planet. They sell stunning artisan soaps, soap bouquets, bath, body products and designer candles. All of the which are hand crafted. They have a boutique on Broad Street in Barry. Pop in and say hi!
www.scentsationalcottage.com
Amanda Jones
Amanda Jones Jewellery is located in the beautiful town of Cowbridge. Amanda is passionate about creating a magical and personal shopping experience for her customers. She has used her 20 years experience to build a relationship with many leading stockists here in the UK and Europe, such as Uno de 50, Anna Beck, Chlobo, SVP rings and many more.
www.amandajonesjewellery.co.uk
THE SHOP LOCAL INITIATIVE
Wing Stack
The perfect ‘wing’ destination in Cardiff. Wing Stack offers mouth-watering, tasty meat and vegan options, such as their signature wings. You’ll find an array of wings, burgers and ‘tings’ which are full of flavour. Every single dish has its own signature style, from popular classics to indulgent favourites, there’s something for everyone’s taste.
@wingstackuk
Little People Party Supplies
Located at the top end of Holton Road (opposite the Tadros Hotel), Little People Party Supplies opened its doors 5 years ago and has swiftly become the go to place for your partyware and balloons. Whether it's a party for a child or a more adult theme they have you covered! This is the Santa's grotto of shops, jam packed with a selection of partyware that is not available anywhere else in the UK; only in Barry! Their locally famous 'Balloon Hug' displays are beautiful, classy and are so versatile, it's no wonder they are a top seller.
www.partyvillage.co.uk
TO GET YOUR BUSINESS NOTICED IN OUR NEXT SHOP LOCAL INITIATIVE, Contact us on 02920 647640.
Richard Blackwood speaks exclusively to Style of the city Magazine on his incredible journey, brand new clothing line and so much more.
Photographer Tony Atile
INTERVIEW
One on one with
Richard Blackwood is an actor, comedian, presenter and rapper from South London. In 1999, Blackwood was the second black person in the UK to have his own television show, which has since helped pave the way for future black artists within the entertainment industry. After his success on ‘The Richard Blackwood Show’, he began his acting career in UK soap operas. He is known for playing the role of Vincent Hubbard on EastEnders and has recently begun a new role on Hollyoaks, as Felix Westwood. Our founder, Rosie Harris, spoke with Blackwood as he shares his career from comedy to acting, his new clothing line and his journey back to success from bankruptcy.
Photographer:Tony Atile.
RICHARD BLACKWOOD
Photographer:Tony Atile.
INTERVIEW
When did you realise that you had a real passion for the entertainment industry and comedy in particular? I was eight years old when I first had the notion that I could do comedy. I saw Richard Pryor live on TV; I snuck downstairs to watch it and I just remember being blown away at how funny he was and how much I understood the stuff he was saying, even at that tender age. He had a great way of storytelling, it was self-explanatory, and it didn’t matter what the subject matter was, everyone still understood.
At the start of your career, how did you find navigating through a fickle industry whilst still being true to yourself? Everything that I learnt was just me going through it and staying true to who and what I believed, so it definitely came down to the way that I was raised and my ethics. I was very fortunate of everything I was taught stood the test of time in the world I decided to be in. Because my Uncle Junior [Giscombe] was in this field, I had a front-row seat to what it was all about; I saw the ups and downs of the industry. I think that helped me understand that in this industry when you’re hot, you’re hot but when you’re not, you’re not. It also taught me that because the industry is fickle you have to know when to reinvent yourself and to let go of yesterday. I definitely schooled myself on what opportunities to take on; you have to learn to listen to your inner voice.
Having been the only second black person ever to have their own television show, what impact did that have on you? I must say that Ian Wright (the footballer) also had his own show around the same time. For me, I felt proud as I had come up through the comedy circuit and the only other person to do that was Lenny Henry. So, for me, that’s why it held such relevance because coming up in the ‘90’s you had the black circuit, which was called ‘the alternatives’, and you had the ‘mainstream circuit’, which was the white circuit. If you had the option, you would go see the ‘mainstream’ because the ‘alternatives’ just didn’t sound as good. It was a one-time sting for a black person to be famous, so for you to be next was even harder. Lenny Henry made his mark, and we were all scrambling over who was going to be next. At the time, there was no likelihood that it would be you, as there wasn’t one designated spot for you to be discovered.
You have done many things in your career from music to acting, what role do you feel most comfortable in? That’s a good question, but I don’t think it’s a straight black and white question to answer. Stand up for me is probably the most rewarding in terms of the euphoria I feel because stand up is my own material that I created myself, in my four walls at home, standing with a comb, performing to myself. Most stand-ups will tell you that when you’re reciting the jokes, and because the jokes feel funny to you, you actually put in the laugh where you think it’ll go – but you don’t actually know if the audience is going to laugh there, as you’ve never done it before. So, now you have to trust where your sense of humour says it’s funny, is where the audience thinks that it’s also funny. But there’s no guarantee that the audience will laugh along; you just have to trust yourself that it’s going to work.
INTERVIEW
So, for me, that’s why I'm proud of being a comedian because I went from performing in my bedroom to performing on stage and making people laugh.
Tell us about your clothing line? Ashley Smith (Cardiff entrepreneur) and I have been friends for a while now, and originally, we were going to call it Real Boss, I came up with this idea for caps, and Ashley got it out there to the public. We used the initials RB which is my name, but we knew that no one was going to want to wear something called Richard Blackwood, so we changed it to Real Boss. It worked and got a little bit of traction for a while. Ashley then came to me and said he knew these guys from Wales, and they wanted us to come in for a meeting. I was doing a play called ‘Typical’ at the time, in the West End, and I thought I’d take a look. They came down to the show and they were very professional and had a plan in place, so we met them again and began the new brand; we eventually took it over, so it’s just Ashley and I now. The new brand is called Monde D’or.
A lot of people are under financial pressure now with job loss following the pandemic, from someone that found themselves losing everything and gaining it all again, what advice would you give for those that might have lost hope? In terms of my emotional and mental standpoint, I’m not good at giving up. I come from a family that isn’t good at giving in. The template my family live by is don’t start something that you can’t finish. So that’s why I never got into crime or anything like that because I couldn’t go to prison, I couldn’t do the time. The crime didn’t scare me, but knowing I would have to go to prison for a certain amount of time… I wasn’t built for that. I knew that my calling was for comedy, so all the pitfalls in between and the times I wanted to give up, even kill myself, because I got really serious to losing everything at once, my family and friends reminded me of who I was and what I stood for. Also, at how lucky I was that it happened to me in my younger years. I went bankrupt when I was 31-years-old, going on 32-years-old, so I had all of this success in my 20’s and early 30’s and then I had to climb the ladder again. But, as far as my career and when business is concerned, I was still a baby in the industry, especially as an actor, presenter, comedian– there’s no age limit in those careers when you’re successful, people throw stuff at you, which makes you more successful. But the real success comes from when you fall, and you know how to reinvent yourself.
Where did the sense of knowing who you are come from and how did you know you were to become this person? It was my family; I knew what I was meant to stand for. I was trying to show young black men that you don’t need to follow the street to be successful, you can still be streetwise without having to do street things – that’s what I truly stood for. I grew up in South London, but I never gave into the streets or do crazy things for money; not because I was rich, but because I stood my ground and knew what was right morally for me and staying true to myself. Now, when I’m seen out and about, I hear people say that I’m an ‘old G’, never because I was a gangster, but because I always stayed true to who I was.
What would you say to a young Richard Blackwood? I would say, don’t make any changes. Even if I told my younger self all the bad things that were going to happen, God would have made sure it came in a different way. We always say ‘God is good' when life is going well, but we don’t say it when something goes bad. God puts us through these things not only to teach us but to shape us, make us who we are and test us to see if that’s what we were meant to do. I’ve lost count of the number of auditions I got turned down for, but I’m still acting today.
What's next for you? I always say I’m big on what I’m doing now. I’m currently on Hollyoaks and I’m very happy and grateful. The storylines are getting stronger and stronger every time, so I have nothing to complain about. In the future, Hollywood is the dream, and always will be, but I’ve learnt that will come when it’s meant to. I would say to everyone, even if you have big dreams, it’s important to be thankful for what you have right now. Great things can’t come for you if you don’t recognise what you have now.
