Happy Friday Amigos,

Welcome to the next edition of JM’s Weekly Roundup. A quick hit of what’s new at La Matera and a few things that’ve popped up on my radar lately.

The middle of August always feels like a bit of a handoff. Summer is still very much here, but calendars are tightening up and the easy pace of June feels farther away than it should. This weekend’s list leans into things that are useful, well made, and not in much of a hurry.

TL;DR:

• La Matera Highlight: Cazador Polo Belt, a rich, outdoors-minded style that carries easily from late summer into fall.

• Worth a Read: Land Rover: The Story of the Car that Conquered the World by Ben Fogle, the story of how a boxy utility vehicle became an icon.

• Weekly Inspiration: Dad Day, where Adam is putting together thoughtful stories about fatherhood, purpose, and the people building life their own way.

• Brand Worth Knowing: Tom Beckbe, waxed jackets, bags, and field gear made with bad weather and long use in mind.

• Weekend Wisdom: William Morris on keeping useful and beautiful things close.

1. La Matera Highlight: Cazador Polo Belt

The Cazador Polo Belt has the kind of color combination that makes sense as summer starts turning toward fall. It has enough character to stand out with jeans or chinos, but the deeper tones keep it from feeling loud. The inspiration comes from the plains of Argentina, and there is an outdoors-minded quality to it that suits the name.

This is the sort of belt that can do a lot without asking you to build an outfit around it. Wear it now with a worn-in Oxford or polo, then keep it moving when the mornings cool off and heavier layers come back into the rotation.

See the Cazador Polo Belt

2. Worth a Read: Land Rover

Ben Fogle’s Land Rover: The Story of the Car that Conquered the World starts with a machine designed to be useful and follows what happened when that usefulness turned into something bigger. The old Defender was boxy, plain, and built for work. Somehow that became part of its charm rather than something designers needed to fix.

That is what makes the story interesting even if you are not a full-blown car person. Objects earn loyalty when they do their job, carry a few scars, and become part of the stories people tell about where they have been. The Land Rover has plenty of those stories in it.

3. Weekly Inspiration: Dad Day

Dad Day has been on my mind this week. Adam, who runs the show over there, is a new friend as of this week, and seeing what he is building has been my weekly inspiration.

He is putting together thoughtful stories about fatherhood, purpose, and people choosing to build a life that looks like their own. This short film follows Robert Huffman, who turned a vintage El Camino into Camino Caffeino, a mobile coffee shop built around conversation and community. It gets into the tension between chasing an idea, doing the work, and still being present as a husband and dad. That balance is never perfectly solved, which is probably why the story lands.

Adam has more stories like this coming through Dad Day, and I am excited to see where he takes it. Worth following if fatherhood, meaningful work, and taking the less obvious path are things you think about too.

4. Brand Worth Knowing: Tom Beckbe

Tom Beckbe makes waxed jackets, vests, bags, and field gear with a clear point of view: the stuff should handle weather, get used, and last. The designs feel grounded in the sporting life without looking like costume, which is a harder line to walk than it sounds.

The bags are especially worth a look. Waxed canvas and leather are materials that tend to improve once they pick up a little history, and Tom Beckbe seems comfortable letting that happen. Good gear should not need to be babied.

5. Weekend Wisdom: William Morris

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” - William Morris

Morris said that in an 1880 lecture, but it still feels like a pretty good filter. Useful and beautiful is a high bar, and probably a better one than simply having more. Worth carrying into the weekend, whether you are looking at a room, a closet, or the next thing you are thinking about buying.

Appreciate y’all being here.

Cheers,
JM

Jon-Mark Craddock
CEO

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Originally published in JM's Weekly Roundup on 2026-08-14.