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Michael Marriott’s east London studio is a wonderful mess. It’s rammed with tools, boxes, stools, signs, books and designs, prototypes of his own furniture and products and those of friends, piled all around with fascinating things. This is not one of those self-consciously showroom studios, more for effect than process, but rather a place of real ideas and work.

The designer, a dependable and much-loved fixture of London’s scene for the past three decades, makes me a strong coffee. I notice, halfway through our conversation, that the mug says The Tool Appreciation Society. “I love tools,” Marriott says. “They’re perfect objects, partly because they haven’t been tampered with by designers. They’ve evolved through use and they relate very closely to the human body, the way in which they fit in the hand.” We spend a happy few minutes talking about hammers.

His comment on the (lack of) design of tools is revealing. “I don’t really like the word ‘designer’,” he says. “Design means lots of things. Designer fashion or jeans, sometimes it’s just a colour scheme. I’m slightly ashamed to be a designer. We’re caught up in the world’s problems: overproduction, over-marketing. On the one hand I feel I should just stop. So I try to do things in a way that causes as little harm as possible. Design should be about solving problems but it becomes part of the problem, which is overconsumption.”

Marriott’s designs are often modest. They employ found objects or involve a small adaptation of an existing product, items which are useful and economical but also intelligent, sometimes wryly commenting on the broader world of design through small gestures. There are candlesticks and doorknockers made in the image of hex wrenches, for instance, a clock face made from old cardboard boxes, a lampshade made from a plastic bucket or a bottle-opener made from broken bicycle rims.

Of course, there are more conventional designs too, for furniture or shelving, the latter including his popular Croquet range, with brackets inspired by croquet hoops, but also his Olá café chair, a version of the bentwood Thonet classic. These he used in the designs for Bloomsbury’s Café Deco, a lovely space which manages to blend the proletarian-utilitarian style of a London caff with the bourgeois sophistication of a continental café.

He has a nice sideline in shop fittings (as at Leila’s in Shoreditch). “When I started out, I thought I was a furniture designer, and I think I am, by philosophy, but I like to do what I can using as little material as possible, making things that are reduced.” He has also become known for installation and exhibition design, where “you’re working with a curator and a graphic designer, so you’re not just making shapes but working with a cultural context too. And there’s also a fee . . . ”

What there often isn’t is a place to sell some of the more eclectic or eccentric designs: the smaller, quirkier things. Marriott addressed that with his online shop WoodMetalPlastic.

“That’s what these things I do are made of. At first we were just selling pieces like the Ernö hook [a tough, injection-moulded double wall hook] but then we started with other pieces like this camping tin-opener from Spain which was old stock; the manufacturer closed down in the 1960s, so these were probably the last of these things in the world.” There are also plenty of other wonderful, everyday, simple things: plastic bowls, brushes, lemon squeezers, brightly coloured but unselfconscious. And also inexpensive. This is not the world of Milanese high design but of good things made accessible. (I like the Kex cabinet handles adapted from brass radiator keys, £5.95 each, designed by Kitty Hiscox.)

For a long time Marriott taught at London’s Royal College of Art, where he studied, and his impact has been felt widely. He has always provided the antidote to the starry designers of self-conscious icons, the jet-setting names who think their work blurs boundaries between design and art and see their statement sofas sell for big money at auctions. But when I ask him about his effect on the London design scene, he modestly demurs. “I don’t see it myself,” he says, “but I have been told by others.”

In fact, he is very much a London designer. “I was born here,” he says, “and though I grew up in the suburbs [Dartford, Kent], I came back as soon as I could and have been here ever since.” There is something about his wit, the slightly sly take on the culture of consumption which he so successfully subverts with his designs, that has a hint of London’s ad hoc, almost punkish spirit. His shop had a presence during Milan’s Salone del Mobile this year, a lively storefront which was one of the sprawling event’s highlights (partly by being everything the design industry at large is not).

I pick up a pepper grinder from the table, a thing that was hiding behind my mug. It has a head shaped like a nut. “I know, the world doesn’t really need another pepper grinder,” he says, “but I’m more interested in how these things sit in a landscape of objects. How does it speak to the other objects on the table?” I look at the things around it: another mug, an Opinel knife, a handwoven basket, a book, a bent-metal oil and vinegar set-holder. Some are his designs, others he sells in his shop, others still are the workmanlike, useful objects he loves and lives with. It seems to me like they’re all having a pretty convivial conversation, at least as much as objects can.

michaelmarriott.com

IF you earned more than £1,000 in the last tax year from your side hustles, you need to register for self-assessment.

If you miss the October 5 deadline for registration and then fail to send in a tax return on time, you’ll likely face a fine.

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A side-hustle is something you do to earn extra income, such as selling things online, doing freelance work alongside your normal job, or making money from tasks like pet-sitting, dog walking, or babysitting.

How much you earn is important. If you make less than £1000 in a tax year from your hustle, it doesn’t count as taxable income, and you don’t have to declare it.

But, once you start making more than this, you need to register as self-employed and start paying tax on the money earned over this amount.

The threshold is based on your profit after deductible expenses. For instance, if you were making and selling jewellery, you can deduct the money you spent buying materials from how much you earned in total.

You only need to file and pay tax if your remaining profits are more than £1,000 for the year.

You also need to register if any of the following applied in the past year:

• you were a sole trader
• you were a partner in a business partnership
• you had a total taxable income of more than £150,000
• you had to pay Capital Gains Tax when you sold or ‘disposed of’ something that increased in value
• you had to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge

You might also need to register and send in a tax return if you have untaxed income, such as:

• money from renting out a property
• tips and commission
• income from savings, investments and dividends
• foreign income

And there are some scenarios where you don’t need to send in a return, but might choose to anyway. For instance, if you want to:

• claim some Income Tax reliefs
• prove you’re self-employed, for example to claim Tax-Free Childcare or Maternity Allowance
• pay voluntary National Insurance contributions

You can check if you need to do self-assessment with the Government’s online tool.

The deadline for registering is October 5. There’s no penalty for registering after this, but if you haven’t signed up, filed your tax return, and paid your bill by January 31 you will be fined.

If you do miss the October 5 deadline, you should sign up as soon as possible. This means you’ll be set up and able to file your return in time.

There are two key deadlines for actually submitting the return. If you want to file a paper return, it needs to be in by October 31. If you’re submitting online, you have until January 31.

If you miss the deadline for filing, you face an immediate £100 fine. If your return is more than three months late, you’ll then have to pay an additional £10 a day for a maximum of 90 days.

If you’re more than six months late, you pay a fine worth 5% of your total tax bill – or £300, whichever is higher – and then if you’re 12 months late you’ll have another fine worth the higher of 5% or £300.

You also need to pay everything you owe by January 31, or you’ll also face a late payment fine.

If you’re more than 30 days late, you need to pay 5% of the tax due as a fine.

If you’re six months late you pay another fine worth 5% of the tax outstanding and then the same again at 12 months.

HMRC charge interest on late tax payments. The interest is charged from the date the payment became due until the date of payment and is added automatically.

There is a helpful calculator on the gov.uk website that you can use to calculate what your late payment fees will be, if you miss the deadline.

You can challenge any penalties if you have a reasonable excuse. You usually have 30 days from the date your penalty was issued to contact HMRC or make an appeal. If you miss the deadline, you’ll need to give a reason.

The taxman says examples of reasonable excuses include:

• your partner or another close relative died shortly before the tax return or payment deadline
• you had an unexpected stay in hospital that prevented you from dealing with your tax affairs
• you had a serious or life-threatening illness
• your computer or software failed while you were preparing your online return
• issues with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) online services
• a fire, flood or theft prevented you from completing your tax return
• postal delays that you could not have predicted
• delays related to a disability or mental illness you have
• you were unaware of or misunderstood your legal obligation
• you relied on someone else to send your return, and they did not

Whatever the reason, you must send your return or payment as soon as you can.

Good morning from Gotham, where New Yorkers are definitely sleeping in after the craziest week of the year, between the gridlocking mayhem of the UN General Assembly and the indictment of our mayor. It was into this chaos that Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian launched the inaugural Athlos women’s-only athletics meeting, the first of a deluge of new track meets attracting big money in a shake-up for the sport, whose plans we wrote about last month.

But after talking the talk, could Athlos . . . run the race? Thursday’s meet was absolutely unlike any other track meet, at least in the US. With a red carpet for athlete walk-ins and celebrity attendees like Flavor Flav, VIP lounges directly on the track, and DJ D-Nice spinning tracks between events, the capacity crowd at Icahn Stadium was certainly treated to an event.

Competitors raved about the experience and 100-metre winner Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith, 35, told Scoreboard that she contemplated retirement before Athlos popped up with a $60,000 check for first place. The meet was not without its wobbles — new Olympic champion Masai Russell filed a protest in the 100 metre hurdles after she said officials didn’t register a false start — but Ohanian ultimately delivered on a promise to build something different. The question now is whether audiences and sponsors keep it growing. 

For now, we have dispatches on private equity’s newest sports target and a look at the dour financial picture for English rugby. Do read on — Sara Germano, US sports business correspondent

Private equity battles over European basketball

Private equity is circling sports, that much we know. But why is Europe’s pre-eminent basketball competition attracting so much interest from investors? 

As revealed by the FT this week, London-based BC Partners has entered exclusive talks to buy a minority stake in EuroLeague’s commercial business at a €1bn valuation. To get to that stage, BC saw off competition from rival firm General Atlantic and SURJ Sports Investment, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

While basketball has a huge global following, the popularity of EuroLeague pales in comparison to North America’s National Basketball Association. So what’s the appeal?

Europe has certainly emerged as a hotbed for basketball talent. Just look at French centre Victor Wembanyama, now starring for the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA. And he’s not a one-off. Nikola Jokic, the Serbian three-time NBA most valuable player, and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo both began their professional careers playing for European teams.

EuroLeague itself has been gaining traction too. The competition’s television audience increased 27 per cent year on year in the 2023-24 season, bolstered by interest in Turkey, Serbia, Greece, Spain, Lithuania and Italy. User numbers for its online streaming platform rose 46 per cent to 85,000. BC Partners would bring deep experience of media rights, via its ownership of broadcaster United Group.

There is scope to grow in other ways too. Attracting more clubs from northern Europe, such as the UK, and expanding in the Middle East could help to increase commercial revenues and reduce reliance on southern Europe.

The league is already home to some well-known sporting names. Real Madrid (yes, that one) has been the dominant team, but faces competition from other big clubs, including Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Olympiacos. Such heavyweights provide the foundation for a wider fan base.

But does a deal make sense for the sport? After all, the firm’s bid comes at a time when private equity’s involvement in sport is under increased scrutiny. 

If a deal does go ahead, EuroLeague would do well to take heed of how the Spanish football league approached its investment from CVC Capital Partners. In short, La Liga’s deal was structured to encourage clubs to put money into stadium infrastructure instead of blowing it all on players.

Private investment and European basketball don’t always mix well. British Basketball League, which operated the professional game in the UK, had its licence terminated earlier this year due to financial difficulties stemming from an investment by Miami-based 777 Partners in 2021. Last night saw the debut of Super League Basketball, its replacement.

Professional basketball outside the US is still small enough that taking the wrong path once can lead to existential questions. Investors clearly see something in European basketball. For the sport itself, there’s a lot on the line.

English rugby union’s financial woes laid bare

In a telling sign of how bad things have got in rugby union, the first annual assessment of its finances was unveiled this week by a firm of insolvency experts.

Leonard Curtis, which specialises in corporate restructuring, released its inaugural Rugby Finance Report, a publication modelled loosely on Deloitte’s Football Money League. It made for sober reading.

Among the key findings was that seven of the 10 clubs in the Premiership — the top tier of English rugby union — are now “balance sheet insolvent”, meaning they are reliant on rich owners putting in money to keep them going. None of the teams made a profit in 2022/23, while combined debts reached £311.5mn. Losses across the 10 clubs hit £30.5mn, and TV revenue fell. The report did not point to any positive catalysts for improvement on the horizon.

The gloomy picture shows that the £200mn investment by CVC Capital Partners in 2019 has so far failed to alter the trajectory of English rugby union’s top clubs. That money effectively became a bailout due to the financial hit of the pandemic. And even so, three top tier clubs have since collapsed.

The authors of the report offered one simple short-term fix to keep the game afloat: slash wage bills. If clubs can stop haemorrhaging cash, they argued, it would provide a bit of breathing space to carry out more drastic reforms. Fears that dropping pay would cause an exodus of talent to other countries were overblown, they argued.

Potential longer-term solutions for rugby require increasing revenue. The game needs a larger, younger audience both to fill seats and to drive the value of broadcast rights. To do that rugby may need to consider some major surgery both on and off the pitch to make it quicker, easier to understand and more entertaining.

James Haskell, the former England international who wrote the foreword to the report, warned that the time for taking action was running out. Efforts to fix the game’s problems so far were like “rearranging the deckchairs” on a sinking ship.

“The next 18 months are going to be the most important for rugby”, he said. “We’ve got to change or we’re going to be stuffed.”

Highlights

• US billionaire Dan Friedkin has agreed a deal to buy Premier League club Everton, two months after an earlier attempt to buy the team collapsed.

• Italian football club AC Milan is in talks with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo over a multimillion euro sponsorship deal to promote the war-torn country as a tourist destination.

• The German football league will re-auction a package of live games for its next rights cycle due to start in the 2025/26 season after a court partially upheld a lawsuit from broadcaster DAZN, who challenged the result of the previous auction.

• Flutter, which owns bookmakers Fan Duel and Paddy Power, predicts its profit will double by 2027 due to the booming US sports betting market.

Business of football: the big data arms race

A technological revolution is under way in football, as team owners turn to the latest data analytics and AI to gain a competitive edge in the battle for talent. As more professional investors buy into the sport and rules on spending get tighter, future champions will increasingly be created away from the pitch by teams of software engineers. Watch the latest instalment of our Scoreboard video series.

Final Whistle

Less than two years after suffering a devastating cardiac arrest on the field, Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills notched a career-first interception in Monday night’s victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. While Hamlin, 26, returned to the gridiron for the 2023 season in a reserve position, he regained his starter status this month and punctuated his full recovery by picking off a pass from Jaguars’ quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Bills Mafia could not be more thrilled.

THOUSANDS of households have been warned to act now to receive £200 of free cash to help with energy and shopping bills.

A cost-of-living support scheme has now been extended for the sixth time, but Brits must get their applications in quickly to benefit.

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The Household Support Fund (HSF) was set up by the Government back in 2021 to help those struggling with rapidly rising inflation.

At the peak of the crisis, the average household’s annual energy bill under the Ofgem price cap rose to over £4,000.

The fund was originally set to run out after about six months, but it has been refreshed in every Budget since then.

The latest round of cash will see the end of the scheme pushed back from next week to Spring 2025.

An extra £421 million is being added to the pot between October 2024 and April 2025.

Funding comes from the Department for Work and Pensions, but the HSF is administered and distributed by local councils.

This means that each area has its own deadlines and criteria to access the money.

Thousands of households under the umbrella of Birmingham City Council have just days left to get their claims submitted.

Those eligible can receive up to £200, which can be put towards food or energy bills, as well as costs for “essential goods” like water.

Applications can be submitted by filling out the Hardship Grant Community Fund expression of interest form on the council’s website or by calling 0121 634 7100.

In order to qualify you must:

• Be a Birmingham resident
• Be experiencing “financial hardship” in relation to essential costs
• Not have received a £200 grant payment in the past 12 months

You may also be required to submit proof of address and benefits if you are receiving them.

However, HSF payments do not affect your eligibility for means-tested benefits and Universal Credit.

The council also confirmed that the funding would not be affected by the Section 114 notice, which declared it effectively bankrupt.

Once you have submitted the form, the council will assess your application and email you about next steps.

Applications close on Monday September 30.

You could very easily, as I did, walk up and down Brewer Street several times and keep missing the doorway to Michael Douglas’s hair studio. Graffitied from top to bottom, and nestled in London’s Soho district, it could be a threshold of the less than salubrious variety. But hit the right buzzer, cross the hallway, climb a flight of stairs and you’ll find one of the grooviest hairdressing spaces you’ve ever seen — with just a single appointment chair on the premises. 

Unlike a typical hair salon that would be filled with rows of customers in chairs, Douglas’s studio, MD London, is an intimate space that allows for only one client at a time. And to get in, you need to be in the know. There’s no shopfront, no signage, and no access unless you have an appointment.

The polar opposite to the rise of the supersalons (often 5,000 sq ft or more) that we’ve seen in recent years, the counter-trend sees a move towards hair studios with no more than five chairs, where both hairdressers and clients feel less frenetic. There’s no holding pattern at the wash basins, no tight turnaround time, no sitting in foils in front of 30-plus strangers. Studio appointments are more relaxed, personal, individual — even homely. It isn’t about a “big name” above the door (though there may very well be one inside), everyone’s just there for great hair, less ego and a more personal touch.

Fiona Harkin, director of foresight at trend agency The Future Laboratory, says it’s about “this idea of self-care experiences that are really more unique to you”. Clients are looking for more intimate connections, while simultaneously “beauty and wellness are manifesting as experiences that are more therapeutic”.

The quiet move in hair studios is also the result of Covid. Clients became accustomed to having their hair done at home, where they felt relaxed and the service was solely about them. And hairdressers realised that the appointment book didn’t have to feel like a non-stop, noisy treadmill. For some, there was no way back. 

Douglas, though, was way ahead of the curve. “I’ve had a private studio for about 12 years,” he says. The initial decision was “in a way about me rather than the customer. The thing I like most about my job is the one-to-one nature of it, and I realised that when you’re working on your own with a client, you really get the person.” (Prices start from £120, mdlondon.com).

For the clients, it’s a winner too. “I’m good at my job, but they also love paying extra for the private experience — because obviously you have to charge more,” he says. Without the traditional salon booking structure and its tight schedules, he can allocate the necessary time to each appointment. 

Douglas’s studio holds none of the standard issue “luxury” salon touchpoints such as marble countertops. Even the small wash basin is situated in a corner of his office, at the back, “as that’s where the plumbing is”. But the space feels welcoming, like a living room, and is decked out in mid-century modern furniture. It also offers him flexibility with his (and his clients’) working hours, and the studio doubles up as a creative space for him to work on his hair tools range, filming brand content and YouTube videos, and hosting events such as a recent collaboration with OGX haircare.

Over in Chelsea, sought-after colourist Sibi Bolan has left the big salon world behind (she was previously master colourist at Josh Wood Atelier) and now works in a small penthouse studio (where celebrity hairdresser Ivan Ferreira also operates), which can host a maximum of five clients but usually has fewer. Again, there’s no street visibility, so the uninitiated are oblivious to its presence. Even the Instagram account is private. Only those with an appointment are allowed past the front door. 

After the pandemic, Bolan sought to step away from “the relentlessness of the salon production line, lots of other chairs and clients, not being able to give that client the full attention and a bespoke service”. She found that her clients too wanted something different after lockdowns. “A lot of them were asking if I could still go to their house, or they could come to mine, but I didn’t want to be washing hair over the bath or for my private space to be littered with hair dyes.” Studio life was the answer. 

Big salons may offer a more luxurious environment but “the clients don’t care about that. They care about the attention to detail and walking out looking great with healthy hair,” says Bolan. “We also have a lot of socialites and VIP clients that appreciate the privacy. People don’t actually need the bravado of a huge salon, they just want to be in their own space, able to work and enjoy their time in a less noisy, open environment.” Many hang out before and after appointments, working or taking calls, adds Bolan, who now runs a waitlist via her Instagram (@sibibolan_colour) and integrates new customers when she has availability (prices start from £235 for single colour).

Bolan can’t imagine going back to a traditional salon environment and neither can Georgia-Fearn Ball of Fluff Hackney. Now going solo with the venture, she set it up with a fellow hairdresser as a two-chair studio, both preferring to be self-employed. 

Going the studio route wasn’t a financial decision but about creating a different kind of hairdressing environment. “I always wanted it to feel relaxed, like a home from home, a friend’s place where you go for a catch-up, somewhere you can bring your laptop and work,” she says. Clients from her old salon followed her to the studio (located in a large warehouse), enjoying the community feel (cuts start at £68, fluffhackney.com). “It’s completely word of mouth — no one passes by, you can’t walk in, and you need to buzz or know the code for access.” 

Things are going so well she’s moving and upsizing to four chairs — but says she’ll go no higher. “Clients love being more private and able to chill. Being in a standard salon can be quite exposing and your care can get swapped around. Here I do everything, even the basin. It’s super-quality time with someone.” Success may have been “a slight accident” but now it’s definitely a case of go small or go home.

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A HOLIDAY park guru who has visited dozens of sites across the UK has revealed the seven items he always packs.

Travel expert Robbie Lane writes in-depth reviews about holiday parks across the UK and he recently told Sun Online Travel the seven items he always has on hand.

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Robbie Lane is the face behind the specialist website, Holiday Park Guru and on his specialist website, the former BBC journalist writes detailed reviews of holiday parks in both the UK and Europe.

From adults-only trips to ski holidays and popular chains like Center Parcs and Butlin’s to little-known independent sites and budget-friendly breaks, it seems Robbie has covered it all.

He told Sun Online Travel: “Swimming trunks are essential, especially if there’s a pool.

“Even those holidaymakers who think they won’t swim, will quickly find that it’s a great to fill the time.

“Personally, I also like to take a changing towel and a pair of Crocs so I can waddle back to the accommodation rather than getting changed at the pool – although you may be more concerned about your style than me!”

Robbie also makes sure to pack a bottle of wine – or two – when he heads on his holiday park vacays.

This is because “onsite shops and restaurants at holiday parks tend to be expensive”.

To help keep holidays budget-friendly, Robbie recommends bringing food and drink with you, or ordering an online shop to coincide with your arrival.

He added: “If you are staying at a large holiday park then bikes or scooters are useful.

“Although, be sure to lock them up as they may go missing, unfortunately.”

To keep energy levels high for all those family bike rides, the Holiday Park Guru also recommends packing something to black out the windows in the children’s bedroom.

There are plenty of other miscellaneous items that always find their way into Robbie’s car, with the expert adding: “My wife laughs at me, but I always pack a few practical things to make the holiday easier, including a multi-socket extension – just in case we end up in a caravan without enough plugs.

“If it’s hot, then we bring a fan or two. Some caravans can get quite hot and stuffy as they aren’t particularly well insulated.”

Robbie’s final holiday park essential may seem a little unusual but it’s actually pretty useful.

He added: “Finally – and this is very peculiar – I always bring a can of WD40.

“You are living in quite close proximity in a caravan and I can’t bear it when a door squeaks and wakes everyone up so the first thing I do is oil the doors.”

Last week, Robbie revealed England’s top three underrated holiday parks – with private beaches, indoor water parks and jet skis for kids.

And here are the other lesser-known holiday parks named among the best in the UK.

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