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Tom Daley OBE is a retired professional diver who has won five Olympic medals, including gold at Tokyo 2020. Since retiring from competitive diving, he has hosted Channel 4’s Game of Wool: Britain’s Best Knitter, while continuing to share his passion for knitting and crafts through his Made With Love brand and YouTube channel. He is married to US screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, and the pair have two children.
What’s the last treat you bought for yourself?
Small treat: vanilla and chocolate soft-serve ice-cream swirl; slightly larger treat: a little getaway we just booked for Halloween with the kids and some friends.
Where do you buy your food?
In LA, Trader Joe’s or Ralphs, but in London, it tends to be M&S.
What’s the best present you’ve given?
I always make a scrapbook of our year for my husband at Christmas, so we now have 14 scrapbooks of tickets, photos, room keys, memories and things to show the kids when they grow up.
… and the best present you’ve received?
Some ChiaoGoo interchangeable needles.
ChiaoGoo twist lace interchangeable knitting needles
What’s your favourite online store?
The Selfridges gift section has saved me many times as they always have great ideas!
What’s your favourite bricks-and-mortar shop?
I love craft stores, the colour and creativity of it all. But there is a shop called Trove 167 (previously Bermondsey 167) in London where I would always buy my gifts from.
What’s the gadget you use most often?
I am obsessed with my LK150 knitting machine at the moment. I have made a couple of jumpers using it, and it makes things so much faster, but I am not as good at machine knitting as I am at hand knitting. I also probably use my portable phone charger a lot.
Silver Reed LK150 knitting machine
What’s the purchase you regret the most?
I don’t tend to regret many things, but I will say it is always the cheap chargers that end up breaking first.
What’s the thing(s) you get delivered?
There is something about buying loo roll in person … I just think it should always be delivered, lol, from somewhere like Ralphs (the US version of Tesco) or Amazon.
Where do you buy your underwear?
I usually ask for underwear as a Christmas and birthday gift, so I have a very random collection.
What would you buy with £20 – and £200?
For £20, a reusable water bottle; for £200, a nice massage or spa day.
What’s your ‘saved search’ on eBay/Vinted?
I often use it as inspiration for things I want to make. I like to think of online shopping now as one big knitting and crochet moodboard.
What item do you buy on repeat?
Yarn! I have an unhealthy obsession with going to yarn shops and feeling it, buying it, and imagining what I could make with it.
How do you make your coffee at home?
I’m a black coffee guy. I make an americano using my concrete AnZa coffee machine.
What’s your biggest splurge?
I tend to splurge on experiences. I like doing things with friends and family, such as going to theme parks or new places.
And what everyday item do you scrimp on?
I don’t spend money on plain T-shirts, especially white ones, because the kids get them mucky so quickly.
And what’s your greatest vintage find?
When I was in Calgary, I was obsessed with some vintage shops near me, where the prices of items would go down week by week: it was always a gamble whether something would still be there the next week. I found an amazing cropped floral jacket that I wore to death, including to an after party at the Met Gala in 2021, where I ripped my trousers.
For more, read How I Shop with Fred Sirieix and Laura Jackson
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