The Rochambeau Club is a fictional tennis club – but a wine brand. The founders let us in on how their elaborate world-building is turning into real-life success. Plus, lots of tomato content – from a pizzeria in Patagonia to an Italian-American social club in LA.
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01. Devon Turnbull is one of the world's most in-demand custom-built speaker builders – his sound systems have been placed in Supreme stores, acclaimed art galleries and in the home of Tyler, the Creator. Good luck trying to buy them yourself, though, because they sell out fast. With a background in fashion, how did Devon gain success in the world of high-end audio? ‘You have to have obsessive attention to detail,’ he told us. ‘You need to be in this sweet spot of caring but not driving yourself crazy.’
02. Gramparents started as an Instagram account documenting smartly dressed old people, but it's since become a fashion label (and, most recently, an art exhibit) in its own right.
03. While Stoke will eventually be a wood-fired yakitori restaurant in Kreuzberg, Berlin, delays on the permanent project meant that the founders had to rethink the opening. So, in the meantime, they've launched a three-month pop-up yakitori cabin on a Berlin rooftop 🔥.
04. Elsewhere in Berlin, D59B is taking the wine-bar/listening-room concept to the next level, with a radio station spinning live from the bar.
05. Forget pickleball. Little Tokyo Table Tennis – a weekly community table-tennis meetup in downtown LA – was started by Jiro Maestu, the founder of clothing brand Poche. Now it's become a big part of his brand, selling quirky sportswear, like a jersey that says ‘demolish anxiety’ and active bags with a zip-up paddle pocket.
06. OK, you might need to concentrate for this one… The Rochambeau Club is a fictional tennis club. It was dreamed up by Chris Seddon and Joe Bullmore as an elaborate backstory to sell their Racquet Rosé (they even respond to emails under the pseudonyms Tony Creamer-Price and Jacques-Jacques Martinez) 🎾. But people have loved the fantasy so much, it's coming to life – you can visit The Rochambeau Club's first clubhouse pop-up in London this week. Here's how Chris and Joe are embodying ‘fake it til you make it’.
Why did you start a fictional tennis club that sells rosé?
Joe: ‘Chris and I met at a magazine called Gentleman's Journal. We always spoke about wanting to do a rosé because, for us, rosé is such a good-time drink. You buy it not based on the liquid, really, but based on the feeling and the brand. But it's mad that something called Whispering Angel is the number-one brand in the world by quite some margin. During lockdown, we came up with a concept of doing the house wine of a fictional tennis club in the south of France, which instantly felt like it had legs.’
How did it start?
Joe: ‘It started with an Instagram account with funny captions and little details and world-building. In the background, we were doing the meat-and-potatoes bit – the tricky bit – finding a good winemaker who could make the wine that could stand up to that story.’
What's next?
Chris: ‘The opportunity might come about for a [permanent] physical space. We've already been approached by people who want to help us make that a reality. These are people who've been involved with multiple hospitality locations. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.’
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TRY IT.
The Rochambeau Club has a membership queue of more than 2,500 – useful no matter what it does next. Here's how to build a waitlist yourself.
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07. Boston-based running brand Tracksmith has opened high-end ‘trackhouses’ in London and New York City – they serve as both shops and meet-up points for events and community runs.
08. The founders of Origin Studio House started putting on pop-ups and events to support the black creative community in Austin, Texas, after finding out that a lack of belonging was a major reason why the city's black population was declining. Now the brand is opening permanently in a house on Austin's East Side, with a cafe and bar serving black-owned food-and-drink brands.
09. Floral art has become big business for florists looking beyond the inconsistency of selling bouquets. These flower sculptures made with wires from Brooklyn-based floral artist Chloe Berlin are a new take on the trend.
10. Israeli designer Ayal Pomerantz makes vibey melty planters by heating and molding old PVC pipes – a material that otherwise goes to waste.
11. Assieds-toii's poppy mushroom stools provide a fresh take on seating.
12. And for an even fresher take on pizza boxes, look no further 🍕. German designers Marlene Bruch and Luise Hornbach made a reusable pizza box for a university design project, shared it on social media and quickly started getting requests. After two years of R&D, they've launched it for real.
13. Speaking of pizza, Eugenia Ripari, founder of kombucha brand Slug Club, just told us about this. ‘Lupino is located in a small building off the only road that leads to a picturesque peninsula here in Bariloche, Patagonia. Although the business is growing, the attraction of this shop is the focus on limited offerings – pizza de masa madre [sourdough pizzas] and vinos naturales [natural wines]. It has garden dining in the summer and a cozy six-table indoor restaurant in the winter. The limited menu allows [the chef] to use quality ingredients and service without much overhead, bringing fine dining to the area, [which] can be sustained in times of inflation and insecurity.’ 🇦🇷
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TIP.
You have to get creative to build and sustain a business in tough times. We asked business pros for tips on how to stay resilient during uncontrollable circumstances.
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14. Eugenia also has her eye on Mexico-based Umani Fermentos, which sells cans of kombucha alongside more unique bottled sidra libre (‘like a wine but made of apples’). ‘I think they do a wonderful job of combining the necessity of producing and selling quantity – their beautiful cans – while adding the touch of artisanal craft production through the individuality of the bottles.’ This DIY sticker label on a recent release is also really fun.
15. Elsewhere in the world of fermentation: in Barcelona, ONIMA is making kombucha-based hot sauce with trippy labels.
16. Good-for-you sodas have been an ever-expanding sector for a while, but this success is paving the way for – instead of deterring – even more niche newcomers. See: pre/probiotic New Zealand-based Good Sh*t Soda (lol).
17. Similarly, it seems there's plenty of room and energy for beyond-the-basics snacks – take Tochi, a brand of popcorn with Asian-inspired flavors like milk tea and salted egg 🍿.
18. We've also got our eye on Sunny – a tahini sauce based in Los Angeles, with flavors like Calabrian chili.
19. Makgeolli – a cloudy Korean rice wine – has slowly but surely been gaining popularity against better-known Korean alcohols like soju. Hana Makgeolli is one of only two breweries that makes it in the US (and serves it at a stunning tasting room in Brooklyn). It also has a subscription service.
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DIG DEEPER.
Subscription fatigue is real – but that doesn't mean you can't make it work for your business. Read more here.
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20. Inspired by a pile of extra Victorian linen and the desire to do something creative outside of her day job, Billie-Jo Cronin now runs her own scrunchie brand called Good Squish. While it initially spread via word-of-mouth – all the way up to the likes of actor Chloë Sevigny – her monthly deadstock drops keep people coming back for one-of-a-kind designs.
21. Gabriella Picone – who grew up between Sicily and New York – started her brand Idda Studio with a line of hand-painted scarves inspired by the Italian island. Her designs caught on and now she's collaborating with other brands of the moment, like Lisa Says Gah 🇮🇹.
22. Related: everyone's talking about having a ‘tomato girl summer’ and designer Adrianne Paerels has long been ready for this moment. She makes trousers printed with tinned tomatoes and packaged pasta, alongside other Italian-American-inspired accessories (like these handmade Perelló olive and Acqua Panna earrings).
23. And, in Los Angeles, we're hearing that this 146-year-old Italian-American social club is the latest unmissable hangout. Think games of bocce ball, meatballs and queer line-dancing.
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Elsewhere in Courier:
🙋 In person: We're speaking at magCulture on 9 July in NYC. Join us!
🤳 On TikTok: Inside a shrimping factory turned dreamy hotel above the Arctic Circle.
📰 In print: Reason one million to buy our 50th issue: it's got sticker sheets.
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