Galih Richardson

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Galih Richardson, I work as a Brand Developer for hat makers Tom Smarte and Smarte Creative. I also have many fingers in many pies, involving hat making, and content creation.

Where are you and what are you doing right now?

I'm currently on the Chingford train heading home, looking out at East London, listening to Skinshape.

You are a man who wears many hats, and indeed one of the hats you wear is that you make hats (this sounded better in my head). How did you get into millinery ?

I worked in a hat shop for 6 years, and fell in love with hat people and hat culture. From there, i started to dabble in making them, and then started to make and sell one off pieces to friends, which started the whole snowball of getting into millinery. I’m very much a spaghetti western hat guy, so anything you’d see in a Sergio Leone film i want to recreate - then set on fire - and then wear.

I'm always impressed with people who wear proper hats, they look like they have a story to tell - who are some of your favourite hat wearers ?

Probably Townes Van Zandt and his many cowboy hats and Lee Van Cleef with that iconic moustache and glare. The original evil eye.

You have a great eye for style, for light, for authentic energy what inspired the shoot you’ve created for S&N ?

I currently live in Walthamstow, and its the most diverse local I've encountered living in London. Where else can you experience a Tudor house, a new high rise development, and Epping Forest all in one walk. During this year long lockdown, our daily walks have been our mental health's saving grace. We have read the headstones at St. Mary's Churchyard in the snow, and pushed each other on forest swings in the heat of summer. I wanted to share some of these sights with you guys at locations inspired by each flavour of Something and Nothing Seltzer.

I get the sense from your recent work you’ve been spending a lot more time in the great outdoors, how important is nature to your wellbeing ?

Nature is extremely important to me. Being able to ground myself surrounded by trees and the sound of rustling canopies brings me a lot of peace. There is a sensitivity there that we all need to be a part of living in such a heavy city like London.

You grew up in Indonesia how has its culture and attitude (if that’s the right word) influenced what you do and how you are as a human ?

Indonesia is a very kind and softly spoken country. Everything is done with the soft back of a hand. My grandmother represents the Indonesian temperament to me. Direct, self sufficient, humble, tender, traditional, and devout. It has given me sensitivity, and empathy, and I would move back there in a second. Hopefully that is on the cards sometime in the next 5 years.

What podcasts, albums, exhibitions or books are currently inspiring you ?

My reading list is a bit of a cliche. 'Ask the Dust', from the 'Bandini Quartet' by John Fante, which I recommend to everyone. And I love music with a folklore story, like F. J. Mcmahon, the Vietnam war vet who wrote one stoner folk record 'Spirit of the Golden Juice'; which garnered little to no attention until a recent three page spread in the Rolling stones 500 greatest albums of all time. - OR - Jim Sullivan who wrote two albums, one titled "UFO" and then disappeared without a trace in New Mexico. I recommend both these records.

Tell us about something

We have just finished watching every episode of Gilmore Girls, and we loved every second.

Tell us about nothing

Apparently if you took away all the empty space on the planet (the nothing) it would fit on the end of a pin.