Last week, Triumph & Disaster hosted their official Australian launch in Melbourne. Held at Captains of Industry, the night was a great success.  Guests were treated to a hand wash with the ‘Shearers Soap’ from Triumph & Disaster upon arrival, followed by a glass of ‘bootleg liquor’ to set the mood. A soulful reading of Rudyard Kipling poem, ‘IF’, by Tottie Goldsmith, some bluesy tunes from Helen Corry & Bonjah, and a whole lot of delicious goodness from Moa Beer and Westwinds Gin, made the Australian launch for Triumph & Disaster a great night.  Founder, Dion Nash has many reasons to feel proud of the brand.  Sian Holder, T&D’s Australian General Manager, explained that while there are over 300 accounts worldwide, including names such as Fred Segal and Selfridges, it is still early days in Australia.  If indications of the current retailers are anything to go by, Triumph & Disaster are going to have a big presence here.  I had the opportunity to ask Dion a few questions about Triumph & Disaster and the Australian launch.

TMHS: The Triumph & Disaster brand captured my attention immediately.  I had heard great things about it from Caz at Dashing Hounds, so it was my mission to find out more and I’m so pleased I did. The product itself, the packaging, images and videos are all amazing. What inspired you to start T&D?

DN: I have used moisturisers for over 20 years. This dirty little habit started after reading an interview with Rod Stewart who reckoned it was the secret too his youth! I was an international cricketer at the time and I found that it instantly relieved my dry skin and was a great tool to help me feel fresh after a long day in the sun. When I retired from sport, I joined the 42below team (NZ Vodka co). Working there, I learnt about branding and marketing and I guess caught the bug to start my own brand. Putting the two ideas together meant that I knew the product I wanted to make and how I wanted it to perform and I also knew how I wanted it to look and appeal. I then discovered a poem by Rudyard Kipling, called IF, that my father gave me when I was about 13 and read the line – ‘if you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same’ – the deal was done.

 

TMHS: You had your Australian launch party this week. Tell me more of this.

DN: We just wanted to celebrate those retailers and friends in Australia that have jumped on board and helped us get going here. We held a little speakeasy gig in central Melbourne and pulled a few favours from some of our favourite Aussie musicians – it was a blast, lots of bootleg liquor, a few speeches and plenty of good times. Let’s just say we needed more than moisturiser to resurrect us the next day.

 

 

TMHS:  You must be excited to have launched in Australia.  I was at one of your new stockists the other day, Moelleux, here on the Gold Coast, and I wanted to take the whole range home with me.  It seems a natural progression for a NZ brand to launch in Australia.  How has the range been received in Australia so far?

DN: So far its been great. We actually went to the USA to launch first, as I was a little concerned about how Australia would view a cousin coming across the ditch to sell his wares, but my fears have turned out foundless.  It’s like anywhere else, if you are open and honest, deliver great products and service, then people respond. Along with that, we got lucky with Sian and Francesca who are our team here in Australia, both are rockstars.

 

 

TMHS: What is your favourite product in the range?

DN: I love them all but the two favourites are rock and roll suicide face scrub and game face moisturiser – life changing 🙂 – they truly are amazing, natural, gentle but super effective products. Ozzy Osbourne was recently in NZ and seen purchasing rock and roll suicide which I think is both cool and a little ironic.

TMHS: Where can Triumph & Disaster be found in Australia?

DN: We are in about 50 accounts across Australia (full list is on the T&D website) – triumphanddisaster.com/pages/australia

TMHS: And for everyone else, where can they find out more about Triumph & Disaster?

DN: Check out our blog – triumphdisaster.tumblr.com – it gives a wrap of everything we have done from day one – something for a slow day.

If you are in a hurry go to www.triumphanddisaster.com

Facebook – facebook.com/triumphanddisaster

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Looking for Triumph & Disaster on the Gold Coast?  Check out the interview with Jenna & Bryn from Moelleux in Coolangatta, proud stockists of Triumph & Disaster – https://themanhasstyle.com/2014/04/14/best-of-the-gold-coast-moelleux/

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