Jason Gale Managing Director of Handmade UK a integrated PR  company and the creator of the London Lifestyle Awards.

“I believe we live and work in the greatest city in the world, leading the field in many of our lifestyle industries. This should be celebrated and those who make this happen rewarded.  The London Lifestyle Awards hopes to become an annual event creating a unique platform for participating industries to come together in one fantastic evening” Jason Gale, founder of bespoke integrated marketing and PR consultancy, Handmade UK, and now the creator of the London Lifestyle Awards.

Born in Hull, Gale moved to London full of ambition and excitement, believing this was where the money was yet always with the intention of returning to his beloved Yorkshire. Little did he know that whilst riding on the number 53 bus through our capital city on a sunny day back in September 1998 that he would fall in love with London and it would become a huge part of him, his life and a path to his success story. Gale says ‘ I always thought I would come to London but I would only stay for a year or two, make some money and move back to be with friends and family and build a Yorkshire pub empire.’

After countless ventures in marketing, promotions, TV and modelling including working with David Beckham, Kelly Brook and a regular on This Morning.  The low point came though working for John Menzies when the company were an ‘actor’ short for a planned stunt and Gale, with a certain amount of courage, dressed up in an emu costume alongside his then girlfriend, who had him on a lead, dressed as a Zookeeper, walking around a huge shopping centre for 8 hours.  Gale says ‘As I am 6ft 5in, I looked absolutely ridiculous and was beyond humiliated but the client was delighted so it was all worth it in the end. It helped me lose any ego I had and taught me it always important to put your client first and that at times you need to get down and dirty and do what needs to be done to get the desired result.  Every time I have to either do things I do not want to do or ask my team to do things they do not want to do I think back to the emu costume.” With the emu costume behind him, Gale began to make a name for himself and crafted himself as a marketer and entrepreneur after breaking into personnel PR after a chance meeting with a representative of Heidi Fleiss. He later handled the publicity in UK and Europe for her book, Pandering. ‘This put me in touch with some of the most influential media people at the time and enabled me to establish great contacts. We booked TV shows and newspaper interviews and had a total of 47 appointments to be undertaken in 7 days only to see her pull out at the very last minute due to problems with her visa. A great but frustrating lesson was learnt’. Then in 2002, Gale was runner up in the ‘Orange Business Awards’ which gave him the belief he could do this and would succeed in the competitive world of PR and marketing consultancy.

With a dream in his sights, Gale set up Handmade UK in 2003. Handmade UK, a bespoke lifestyle integrated PR and marketing consultancy, was thought up as Gale saw a gap in the market for a lifestyle agency effectively communicating their clients  product and really caring about clients and genuinely wanting the best for them. With clients ranging from London venues Molton House, Zebrano and Platform, beauty client Vita Liberata, jewellery designers and retailers Brilliant Inc. and work over the last year with celebrities such as Sinitta and Toby Anstis, a great bespoke agency has developed looking after a varied bunch but working passionately and closely

After 5 years of success (2008) at Handmade UK, Gale became to dream a little bit more and the London Lifestyle Awards was thought up. Gale looked around our capital and believed it would be in everyone’s best interest if lifestyle companies worked together more. “In the same day, I could potentially use two coffee shops, two restaurants and a theatre, a bar or even a club in between that getting a quick haircut or popping to the gym. I, like many other consumers want to seek out the best businesses in each industry and the London Lifestyle Awards is a great way to do this.” The London Lifestyle Awards 2010 presented by View London is a celebration of London and the lifestyles within. The aim of the Awards is to honour those whose work has made an outstanding contribution to the ‘London lifestyle’, and who continue to make London what it is by redefining the standards of excellence and diversity throughout London. With 16 categories including London Restaurant of the Year, Outstanding Contribution to London lifestyle and London Cultural Attraction of the Year, and a judging committee bursting with expertise and glamour, the inaugural awards ceremony on 7th October at the Park Plaza Hotel is shaping up to be a fantastic night and the first of many.

The process is in full swing at the minute, the judging committee were announced last week with big names in the industry including Savannah Miller for her fashion proficiency and Jimmy Lahoud for the successful restaurateur he is, alongside the glamour of TV presenters Zoe Salmon, Angellica Bell and Michael Underwood. The public are currently nominating contenders for each category (so far 1500 nominations) which the judging committee will then create a shortlist from. These shortlists will then be open to the public to vote and the winners will be announced on the awards night on October 7th.

Handmade UK have been placed in charge of all press, PR and marketing, being the natural link to integrate Gale’s two companies together leading to slicker involvement and a more manageable situation. Gale believes the London Lifestyle Awards will run for years to come and works in perfect tandem with the main work of the agency even though he is sick of the guys in the office asking if he will wear his emu costume on the night!

www.londonlifestyleawards.com

www.handmade.uk.com