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a5eca77d371c17c36f80a2a7834478f0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2019/02/03/the-skills-most-in-demand-for-independent-management-consultants/?mc_cid=b937b2dca5&mc_eid=%5BUNIQID%5D | The Skills Most In Demand For Independent Management Consultants | The Skills Most In Demand For Independent Management Consultants
Some years ago, Jody Greenstone Miller saw the opportunity to offer management consulting in a non-traditional way. Her firm, the Business Talent Group (BTG) was among the first to recognize that freelancers – independent experts – offered an attractive alternative to big management consulting firms like McKinsey, Accenture, Deloitte and others. In fact, Miller was able to attract top consultants because freelancing offered them a more flexible consulting practice, greater choice and autonomy in selecting clients and projects, and more freedom to balance work with other important interests.
Organization leaders find BTG and other online talent marketplaces useful because they can more easily manage project intensity and cost while engaging senior freelancers who have the specific experience and skills they want.
Naturally, over time skill requirements for independent consultants change as project themes change. And for that reason, as they’ve done in past, BTG surveyed organization leaders about the emerging project and skills demands for independent consultants. Here they are:
Most in demand projects for independent consultants:
61% Strategy, which includes:
Marketing and sales strategy Growth strategy Opportunity assessment Product strategy
22% Operations, which includes:
Businesses processes Product launch planning Supply chain
9% Transformation, which includes:
Business intelligence and analytics IT and tech transformation
4% Organization
4% Interim executive
Most in demand skills for independent consultants:
Project management Market landscape Growth strategy Strategic planning Supply chain Program management office (PMO) Corporate and business unit strategy Product development and launch Market access and value Innovation strategy
Leading industries using independent consultants:
Life sciences Financial services Insurance Consumer goods Industrial goods and services Technology
Company size leaders in using independent consultants:
83% large enterprises
17% mid-market and small and medium sized business organizations
Leading functions utilizing independent consultants:
Strategy and internal consulting groups Marketing Operations Business and corporate development / M&A Leadership (GM and P&L managers)
These are the principal findings of the BTG survey. It’s exciting to hear that large enterprises increasingly tap the online talent marketplaces for independent consultants, and that driving strategic growth and operational transformation are two important project themes driving skill requirements. Of course, the BTG survey is one among several and, to some extent, survey findings always vary. For example, one of the top 10 skills identified by the latest Upwork survey wasn’t mentioned by BTG: HR consulting. LinkedIn, in a recent survey cited by Forbes.com contributor Lars Schmidt, also identified talent management as a top category, as did a recent Inc survey.
A PwC survey mentioned by InfoDesk also added a useful perspective. PwC explained that they are increasingly seeking individuals that have strong business or industry expertise and are also technically savvy.
The fact is, we don’t know if online talent marketplaces featuring independent consultants are a different business with different skill requirements than traditional management consulting, or just another market channel. In my view, they are different. Clay Christensen of Harvard Business School agrees, and believes consulting is dividing into two distinct paths:
Low-cost consulting focused on problems and solutions that clients understand but where extra hands or specific expertise and experience are needed for a defined period. Online talent marketplaces excel at this category Higher value consulting where clients are less confident about how to solve the problem, and are looking for a new and different approach or perspective, or the lessons of other industries. This is what traditional big and boutique management consultancies provide
We’ve certainly seen the signs of a new industry emerging. For example, Expert360, an online talent marketplace for independent consultants based in Sydney, plays an increasingly important role across S.E. Asia, has attracted top consulting talent to their platform, and was recently named a top innovator by the Australian Financial Review. Similarly, a Nigerian startup, TBCA, provides independent consultants to mid-sized firms across Africa. And, of course, Catalant, which I’ve previously profiled, is one of the largest and best known player in this space.
I believe the skills required for success in these two categories are similar but perhaps there are some interesting differences. For example, you would expect successful freelancers to be more entrepreneurial; after all, they are “solopreneurs” responsible for building their brand. You might also predict that broad generalist skills is a bigger deal for freelancers who may be asked to take on a wide range of project work.
On the other hand, traditional consulting might place a higher value on deep functional or industry expertise. If Christensen is correct, and traditional management consultants are called on to work the most challenging problems, the ability to offer that level of expertise would be essential.
But, these are just my musings. Hopefully, we’ll have an answer from the Business Talent Group in 2020.
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255ffc43cf283b8e203d304bc2affe88 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2019/12/16/the-best-digital-talent-marketplaces-are-accelerators-is-yours/?fbclid=IwAR3w0T2TEBDj0-gQ4PYeJmTWi5w0MUGA7jLkDDGC3CwUFCczC6XeQgULGVo&sh=70bacde2364c | The Best Digital Talent Marketplaces Are Accelerators: Is Yours? | The Best Digital Talent Marketplaces Are Accelerators: Is Yours?
In a recent review of Patreon, a leading digital talent marketplace for creatives, the good news was very good. It noted, “Thousands of artists, vloggers, musicians, podcasters, and other creators make their living. The six-year-old startup currently supports more than 100,000 creators, who receive recurring donations from over 3 million supporters, and it has become the center of a growing ecosystem for supporting creators online.”
The success stories on the Patreon site are encouraging; for example, Chapo Trap House, a podcast with 19,837 patrons at the time of writing, was paying over $80,000 a month. But, The Outline conclusion was less salutary: despite the success stories, few Patreon members produce enough income to break through the minimum wage barrier. As the article concludes, “Only 1,393 — 2% — make the equivalent of federal minimum wage ...”
To be clear, many freelancers are using platforms as side hustles for supplementary income. Many freelancers are affiliated with multiple platforms. And, top freelancers can do very well. One recent article reported, “On average Toptal developers seem to earn between $800 to $3000 per week based on the number of hours worked.” Bloomberg opined recently on the very top end of freelancing: “Amid an accelerating war for tech talent, big companies and startups alike are paying top dollar—as much as $1,000 an hour, according to a person who gets coders gigs—for freelancers with the right combination of skills. While companies still recruit many of the best minds, they're turning to independent software developers to get a stalled project moving or to gain a competitive edge.”
But Patreon’s challenge – creating abundance for its freelance community – is a challenge faced by many digital talent marketplaces. Despite compelling examples of success, the actual percentage of freelancers who make an attractive living on the typical digital talent marketplace is quite variable and typically low.
I’ve recently completed an informal poll of well-known and successful digital talent marketplaces. Here’s what I found:
The number one goal of freelancers is to build their business, and their number one expectation of the platform is that it will help them to do so The percentage of freelancers who receive work from their platform varies quite a bit across marketplaces For example, two of the largest global digital talent marketplaces only provided work for a very small percentage, less than 5%, of the freelancers on those platforms A few marketplaces successfully provided work for 30% or more of their freelance members, but most offered gigs to fewer than 10%
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How should we make sense of these data? Stephane Kasriel, CEO of Upwork, described the freelancer’s challenge in a recent article of mine: “Like any business to be successful, specific competencies are required, and our most successful freelancers are painstakingly aware of what they need to do to remain successful. That means having and investing in the right technical skills. But, it also means having the right entrepreneurial skills, the ability to sell, deliver, evolve your skills and keep improving over time.”
How can digital talent marketplaces help more freelancers build more successful businesses and increase their income? A potentially important starting point is helping freelancers develop the business and relationship skills they’ll need to take advantage of the opportunities made available through marketplaces. In a recent article I described the critical elements of the successful “solopreneur”:
Successful freelancers manage a portfolio of clients and assignments. Time is the critical freelancer resource: the choice of where, with whom, and on what a freelancer spends his or her time: the time serving clients, building your brand, cultivating new client relationships, managing your business, expanding your services and expertise Successful freelancers anticipate changing skill requirements and continuously invest in staying up to date. As Upwork found in Freelancing in America, strong freelancers invest in skill-proofing their practice. Adecco and BCG found freelancers recognized the need to be more prepared for evolving technical skill requirements, and more likely to invest in skill-proofing their careers than full-time employees. Successful freelancers work cooperatively and effectively with others. Collaboration is one of the most frequently identified competencies expected of organizational colleagues, whether full time or freelance project mates. Effective freelancers manage a set of critical relationships and stay connected to past, current and prospective clients, freelance colleagues, and digital talent marketplace staff. Successful freelancers build trust through execution, consistently meeting performance commitments. For successful freelancers, this is the result of strong project execution disciplines. Dan Schwabel, a contributor to Forbes.com describes four execution disciplines: (a) focus – identification of what matters most, (b) leverage –utilizing the time and resources available to you, (c) engagement – building mutually satisfying relationships with co-workers, and (d) accountability – taking responsibility and ownership for results.
These skills can be taught time and cost efficiently through technology. Imagine platforms offering practical and relevant educational tools to their freelancers on a free or paid service basis – tool that help them build their businesses and, in so doing, build the value of the marketplace. There is a virtuous cycle of investment and reward here. As I’ve talked to a wide range of freelancers, marketplace staff, and corporate clients, there is great interest in what I’m calling startup school.
I’m not the originator of the name. Organizations like Y Combinator (YC) help interesting startup teams to convert innovative ideas into full stack companies. Since their founding in 2005, and despite relatively low levels of initial funding, YC has funded and trained over 2,000 startups, built a community of 4,000 entrepreneurs, and have grown companies with a combined valuation of $100 billion U.S.
YC is a great success story, and it’s easy to imagine adapting the tools and methods of YC and other accelerators to help solopreneur freelancers plan and build their business.
In fact, YC is now offering free online courses on “how to startup a startup” as well as free podcasts of their tools and lessons. Here is a subset of the titles offered in YC podcasts, taught by YC partners. Much of the material is helpful as is, or could be easily adapted to needs of individual freelancers:
How to lead Modern startup financing Evaluating startup ideas and pitches How to prioritize your time Startup pricing 101 How to improve conversion rates All about pivoting Building culture How to work together Startup finance pitfalls and how to avoid them Growth for startups How to launch (Again and Again) How investors measure startups
YC is by no means the only organization providing this assistance. Seth Godin’s well-known “Start Up School” provides a similar, alternative, educational offering, and addresses what Godin considers the 15 big issues in successfully starting a startup, including:
Appealing to customers Raising money Advertising and competitors Compromising Cash flow Tactics Making ideas travel
Would startup school help both new and current freelancers? My informal survey of freelancers offers a resounding yes. In fact, the hope of these individuals is a future where platforms see themselves as incubators of freelance talent; as talent accelerators, and not just market makers.
There are a variety of ways that startup school might be offered. It could be as simple as providing easy access to generally available educational materials. Or, investing in customizing teaching materials to be more specifically helpful to the solopreneur freelancer. Or, better still, organizing classes (”academies”) as Toptal has done through its global community team. Or, through an arrangement with a co-learning partner; for example, Jolt’s “business school for the self-made”. It might also take shape as a collaboration with co-work spaces as Flexing It has done with Go Floaters in India; Go Floaters is providing cooperative startup education to the tech community. Or, perhaps, they provide education as a fee based service to platform members as Fiverr has done with the extensive curriculum it offers through its Learn platform. Some platforms like Hoxby have taken the additional step of bringing on board a skill-proofing / L&D expert to facilitate business opportunity finding and freelancer skill building.
Many of these approaches are being tested now, and helping to accomplish three goals: first, to help individual freelancers increase their success, of course, but second, to reinforce freelancing as a viable, alternative, career path. And, third, platforms are beginning to recognize and act on their obligation to be more than a marketplace, and to offer the services that platform members need to achieve their goals. Bottom line: the sooner more platforms become acceleration hubs, the better.
Viva la revolution!
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422bcb6505f346d94fb08be8b2e86d1a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2020/02/12/the-global-expert-network-business-is-growing-fast-meet-inex-one/?sh=1e677da02f25 | Expert Networks: A Billion Dollar Opportunity For Freelancers | Expert Networks: A Billion Dollar Opportunity For Freelancers
One of the interesting talent innovations that the freelance revolution has produced is the monetization of expert networks by creating commercial advisory marketplaces. The pioneer and largest of these expert networks is GLG, the Gerson Lehrman Group. Its success has spawned quite a number of similar firms. I had the privilege of advising one short lived expert platform, StealthForce, focused on the expertise required by real estate development investors. It was a good idea, implemented well, but was ultimately sold early in its life. I’ve also written about several of these platforms, most recently CleverX, a Mideast based expert marketplace.
Inex One is a relatively new entrant to the expert advisory space, and has taken an innovative approach. Rather than compete as a global or regional expert provider, it offers a SaaS platform aggregating the various platforms in order to simplify the client experience. As Swedish CEO and cofounder Max Friberg, a former McKinsey consultant, put it, “We are passionate about the expert network industry and the wider knowledge economy.”
One of the recent contributions of Inex One was an excellent overview of the industry; in fact, it’s the best study I’ve seen describing the size, composition, and future of the expert advisory market. It was completed just a month or so ago. And, with the generous permission of the Inex One team, we’ve been invited to share the key findings and conclusions of their study. The study estimated the 2019 expert network industry market in collaboration with Integrity Research. The analysis was based on public financial reports, expert interviews and benchmarks of available data and Inex One’s 2016 expert network market sizing.
How big?
The expert network market size tops $1.3B, after years of double-digit growth.
The shape and players in the space
The bottom-up assessment identified more than 100 expert networks, operating in four broad categories:
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Global leaders. The expert network industry is led by four large expert networks. GLG remains the largest player and has continued growing in a crowded market. However, competitors are chipping away at its previously dominant market share. AlphaSights and Third Bridge are at its heels, both averaging 30% annual growth over the last five years. Guidepoint has revamped its business in recent years and is back to growth. Regional champions. The “regional champions” each have a strong foothold in their respective regions, while also offering global services. For example, Capvision has long been the dominant player in China, trailed by BCC. Correspondingly, Coleman, Ridgetop and Leerink (MediaCorp) are all strong in the U.S. buy-side industry. Regional challengers. Among the 100+ smaller expert networks, most have chosen one of three tracks: (1) serving a specific region, (2) industry segment, or (3) applying a different business model. A handful are particularly interesting or fast-growing. These are the “regional challengers” separated from the larger “regional stable” category. For instance, Dialectica and Silverlight Research are both growing fast with a standard expert network model. Conversely, Techspert.io, NewtonX and Prosapient have all successfully automated parts of their expert recruitment delivery. Deepbench offers both an expert network and a platform for expert networks (as does regional champion Coleman). Regional stables. Many expert networks focus on a particular region, where they have a stronger footprint than others. Notable regional or national firms include Accurate Insight in Brazil and VisasQ and Mimir in Japan. Lynk, Arches and Liahnson each cover different parts of Southeast Asia. Infomineo has a unique position in North Africa and the Mideast.
Customers are evolving and expanding
Initially hedge funds, but expert network services expanded quickly to serve the wider financial industry, reaching private equity firms, asset managers, banks and management consultants. Consultancies, in particular, offer significant growth and correspondingly, firms focusing on consultants are among the fastest-growing in the industry. Recent years have also seen a notable growth in corporate work, driven by former consultants now leading corporates and expert networks, actively focusing sales efforts on corporates.
What’s next for expert networks?
The expert network industry is continuously evolving. A continuing debate is whether the industry will consolidate or fragment, and in the past two years the fragmentation case has had the upper hand. Fears that the industry reaches maturity might be overblown, but external pressures are mounting:
· Firstly, tightening privacy laws (e.g. the EU GDPR, California CPA and APEC CBPR) affect how networks can handle and share experts’ data.
· Secondly, the ease of finding experts attracts new startups to the market. This risks creating a fatigue both among experts (receiving too many identical requests) and among clients (receiving too many similar sales pitches).
The bigger picture
In my interview last year with MBO Partners, CEO Miles Everson talked about the relentless fractionalization of resources. What we’re learning in expert networks is “how low can you go”, to steal a phrase from the Limbo Song, in time or expense. Whether the industry begins to consolidate isn’t so clear to me. I’m not sure there’s enough value to buy most players, and it’s too easy and inexpensive to create a new platform. The overlap among experts between networks is as large as the number of Uber drivers also driving for Lyft or Juno.
But, there’s no doubt that expert networks are a compelling cost alternative for corporations and NGO’s, an attractive “side hustle” for professionals in a growing variety of fields, and a necessity for financial and legal firms that depend on expertise they do not own, and may only sporadically need. Thanks to Inex One for providing this important overview of a large and growing industry.
Viva la revolution!
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efb6e560f2999866244f8eb7ef13d7d5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2020/03/23/freelancers-if-you-are-struggling-these-10-actions-may-help/?sh=6ed9f7473fb8 | Freelancers, If You Are Struggling These 10 Actions May Help | Freelancers, If You Are Struggling These 10 Actions May Help
For many freelancers, these are exceptionally worrisome times. Particularly for the independent workers in hospitality, the reality is dark: most restaurants are serving only take out, hotels are empty and financially struggling, and theatres are dark. According to Axios, “Hourly-wage workers in retail, food service, janitorial jobs, and even preschool teachers often live paycheck-to-paycheck — and their incredibly slim margins are about to be obliterated.”
As a result, it’s no surprise that many are eager to give up on freelancing temporarily or even permanently. But, the timing is problematic: the full-time job market, so buoyant just a month or two ago, is shrinking.
Several articles have recently offered individuals advice on how to increase the odds of securing enough work – full-time jobs or more freelance opportunity — to wait out the pandemic. I found useful suggestions in a helpful article on the Hunt Scanlon website, and another in Chron.com. Reddit.com is a third source. Based on their advice, and the lessons of past periods like the Great Recession of 2008-2009, here are some actions you can take to attract hiring managers, build your gig book of business, or to tap your inner solopreneur to create freelance opportunity. Looking for work when so much of the economy is in difficult straits requires extra effort and creativity.
Finding work is your job. The author John Updike made it a point to sit at his desk and write at the same time each morning. Imagine that’s you; it’s the consistency of the discipline and the breadth of research that drives success. Check the available job postings. Visit typical online job sites. Follow up with friends and acquaintances that might know the hiring recruiter or the logistics or supply chain analyst looking for freelance help. Follow the news; for example, Amazon is hiring in large numbers in the U.S., as is Walmart. Domino’s just announced that they were hiring 10,000 new employees to keep up with demand. Get smart in those industries that logically benefit from the coronavirus pandemic, and understand the possibilities that are relevant to you. The sooner you apply or make contact, the more likely your resume or proposal will get a look. Whatever your background and areas of expertise, go to the forums that focus on that work; there are specific sites for most fields. Be creative and open-minded. Open up the aperture on how you define yourself and your skill-set. If you are a substitute teacher or adjunct professor, have you considered remote work, through video, as a tutor to students in the U.S. or overseas? If you are a server or wait staffer, is there an opportunity to shop and deliver food for seniors or the disabled who may be shut in by the coronavirus? Have you looked into work for the U.S. Census? It may not be easy to identify viable creative alternatives, it may be frustrating and most ideas may not pan out, but working the creative angle may unlock an unlikely or ignored but attractive possibility. Use your network and expand it. These are times to reach out both to help others and to ask for help. You make have just a few acquaintances, or a deep bench of friends and colleagues, and this is the time to ask for help. Be honest, explicit, and ask if they know someone who knows someone. Recruiters estimate that 80% percent of jobs are sourced through personal efforts and not search professionals, so be proactive in talking with those who can, or might, help. But, if your immediate network is tapped out, expand, expand, expand. For example, I’ve received a number of emails from former MBA and executive education students with whom I hadn’t spoken in years, and was glad to followup as they described their situation and brainstorm possibilities. I can’t say these conversations all resulted in success, but might have led to a better outcome. Lose the ego. How many of us have family stories: the grandfather or grandmother who was trained as a doctor in their home country, but took a job as a hospital janitor as a new immigrant to put food on the table. You may have to take a pay cut, or accept a position that would be a demotion from what you were doing before. Open your mind to all possibilities, and keep in mind that you could easily be promoted back to your previous status over time as the crisis ebbs and you demonstrate contribution. Push back respectfully if you are deemed “over-qualified” and explain to the client or employer that you've no issue working the job as listed, and you're fully qualified for their needs. You may also be surprised by the experience. Just before the pandemic hit, I taught career development to a small group of young professionals at a WeWork. Most of my teaching over the past two decades has been to senior executives. For this gig, I was paid less, worked harder, and had a great experience. But, don’t lose heart; success will take longer. All the articles I’ve referenced or read reminds individuals that it will take longer to find opportunities, longer to receive a response to your calls and emails, and you may receive a frustrating or even insulting response. Don’t take rejection personally, it’s not helpful. These are times when nothing feels like it’s working quite right. You’ve dealt with challenging times before, you’ve survived. The pandemic unfortunately won’t be the last struggle we face. Acceptance is the stage before a rebounding economy, and the last stage in coming to grips with tragedy. It will help you to know it’s not you, it’s us, we’re all in a difficult spot and we will get through it. The Icelandic expression is: þetta reddast, which roughly translates to “everything will work out all right in the end.” It’s a useful mantra. Make sure your online presence is up to date and attractive. Many of us add regularly to our Facebook or Linkedin profile, but don’t edit often enough. Is your online profile helping or hurting your effort to find work and income? Hunt Scanlon put it this way, “Be sure you have a photo of yourself that shows a confident, pleasant appearance. No cute pictures to be clever ... Our world is in a state of confusion, so look like you are ready to handle the task. Focus your message and profile to attract a person that can hire you.” Find a coach. Coaches can be a big help by providing both advice on the work search and what Professor Paul Thompson of Harvard and BYU used to call a “mirror of reality.” By that, he meant the importance of understanding how we are seen, not how we wish to be seen, and what opportunities are realistically available to us instead of the set of opportunities that we wish we had. But, coaches can be expensive. Have you considered “coaching circles” where we help each other? My friend Tal Shmueli created a methodology that he called the personal hackathon, another way for people to get feedback on their strengths, weaknesses and future plans from trusted colleagues and friends. Sharpen your story. Do you have a great elevator story about yourself: what makes you special and attractive as a work colleague? In no more than 30 seconds, you ought to be able to describe what makes you the right person for the opportunity, and show that you understand the task, have directly relevant expertise and experience, and a compelling work style. Another 30 seconds should be enough to provide just the right anecdote to color your self-description and make you stand out in the mind of a potential client, employer or interviewer. A great personal story take time, work and feedback to get right. Put in the time and effort. Make time to future-proof your career. I’ve written several times about the importance of future-proofing your skill-set and career. It’s worth repeating. Though the present situation is daunting, and may be frightening, don’t ignore the future. What are you reading? What online training have you signed up to attend? What Linkedin groups have you joined? In what industry associations are you actively involved? As one author put it, “If you can’t show you are urgently, consistently working to improve your sales, marketing, banking, managerial, supply chain, or operations skills, how can you expect a great offer or convince an employer you are the best in show?” Be a friend. Last but by no means least, this is a time when most of us need help in some way but, even more, they need honest but also optimistic reassurance. Be that friend. Others’ needs may be financial, occupational, social or emotional – whatever it is, give what you can. Paul McCartney’s words at the end of Abbey Road ring truer now then way back in 1969: “The love you take is equal to the love you make.” This is a time for all of us to “pay it forward.”
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c5223e3cfedcb343c7047836361b015f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2020/04/08/how-freelance-platforms-are-supporting-freelancers-during-the-pandemic/?sh=e3ff71f19503 | How Freelance Platforms Are Supporting Freelancers During The Pandemic | How Freelance Platforms Are Supporting Freelancers During The Pandemic
Welcome to the fourth report in my Forbes series: the freelance revolution during the pandemic. The big news: we’ve begun to see light at the end of the COVID 19 tunnel. China reported no new cases, a first! Cases in New York City, where I live, are slowly receding. Nations around the world are providing critical financial support to companies, employees and freelancers; this morning there were reports that the US Congress is supporting additional financial stimulus. The news optimistically reported progress in other countries as well: Austria and the Czech Republic will begin to allow some stores to reopen, and Denmark may soon reopen schools.
The question posed to thought leaders and freelance marketplace CEOs this round: What is your platform doing or planning to do (financially, operationally, developmentally, or other support) to help the freelancers on your platform or in your community make it through this difficult period?
Here's how freelance platform leaders around the world described their efforts to support freelancers in these perilous times:
Bryan Chan, CEO of TheNightMrkt (Singapore), “Our team is ramping up efforts to secure more projects for our freelancers. And, we’re helping our freelancers to improve their portfolios and resumes. This will help us to attract work and prepare our freelancers for the demand to come post-COVID.”
Anthony Beilin, CEO of Collective Benefits (UK), “We’ve accelerated our direct to consumer beta programme to give freelancers access to our benefits and protections like sick pay. We’ve also teamed up with the UK fintech and freelancer community to lobby for clearer and faster freelance income support.”
Gene Zaino, Executive Chairman of MBO Partners (US), “Once the CARES Act became law, we launched caresforindependents.com with detailed information, tools, and calculators on benefit programs. We’ve hosted a webinar for several thousand freelancers on CARES and are working with industry and government on the CARES rollout.”
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Terry Madavo, CEO of Sapientis HR (South Africa), “Traditional methods of selling consulting work are on indefinite pause and we are going the extra mile to connect freelancers and clients. We share information on opportunities and in-demand skills, and aggressively market our freelancers. We will collaborate with other platforms to ensure as many freelancers as possible have work. Finally, we are on a drive to educate clients on the benefits of freelancing and remote work as the new normal in Africa.”
Ben Huffman, CEO of Contra (US), “Contra launched a paid Ambassador Program for freelance community members who’ve lost work to COVID 19. We’ve engaged 10 Ambassadors to help our platform build out - writing content, giving UX feedback and testing features - and will expand the program shortly. Contra also only hires from within our own community in solidarity with our members.”
Marc Ibrahim, CEO of Ashghali (Lebanon), “Helping our professionals make it through this difficult period is our top priority. The platform is free of charge during this pandemic. We’re also encouraging our professionals to provide services remotely by building the right tools to help them do so.”
Will Fournier, CEO of AceUp (US), "At AceUp, we are supporting our coaching community by training them to increase client engagement and retention, and connecting with them regularly to offer support and reduce the isolation or anxiety many feel. We are providing 250 hours of free coaching to COVID 19 related health professionals and potential clients for which our coaches are fully compensated; this expresses our values and provide some financial assistance. We are also continuously looking for additional ways to help our coaches."
Stephanie Nadi Olson, CEO of We Are Rosie (US), “Marketing and advertising are going through a seismic shift. Whether laid off or feeling isolated, we’ve now opened our community to anyone in marketing and advertising seeking connection and community. We've also formalized CMO offerings like managing remote marketing teams and designing distributed marketing teams for long term success. Our new consulting services helps our talent put their expertise to work.”
Rishon Blumberg, Co-founder of 10xManagement and 10xAscend (US), “We’re firing on all cylinders, doing everything we can, to help customers see the benefits of working with our amazing remote talent. We are also trying to give our freelancers a voice in our articles. We are in this together and working tirelessly to help our talent and customers.”
Alexandre Maximen, Co-founder of Apy (Canada), “Getapy is participating in multiple ways (Canada and US) to fight COVID 19. We are modifying the platform to help people work from home. And, we have added a free tier (fully featured) to help companies face the extra challenge of remote workers.”
Emma El Karout of One Circle HR (Mideast and Africa), “We went live just as the global impact of coronavirus became apparent. We planned to follow client complimentary access with paid memberships, but decided to hard code that approach for all freelancers, as part of our changed business model. To encourage more client projects, we will channel 50% of earnings to the WHO solidarity response Fund. We’ve had virtual roundtable discussions with our freelancers to virtually connect with clients. And, we are working to vastly reduce insurance premiums for our freelancers.”
Leslie Garçon, Co-founder of Weem (France), “To support our freelancers through this difficult period, we currently provide free individual coaching thanks to the coaches in our community. We offer weekly webinars by expert members on various topics (ex. digital strategy, lean supply chain, crisis communication). We support freelancers financially through partnerships providing short-term credit. We are actively marketing and still creating project opportunities.”
Jeffrey Moss, CEO of Parker-Dewey (US), “Since the freelancers on our platform are exclusively college students and recent grads, we are working closely with companies to help them take summer internship programs on-line. While an in-person summer internship is best, a remote, project-based experience is preferable to cancellation.”
Alex Hirst, Co-CEO of Hoxby (UK), “We found some members of our community have less capacity now (caring remotely for children or the elderly), others have more. This helped us to implement a crisis buddy initiative whereby each member of the community benefits from the support of another. We've also helped those just now working remotely via our #remoteagainstcoronavirus information sharing campaign, and hosted a free wellbeing initiatives week covering everything from time management, workstyle, cooking, painting, mindfulness, yoga, and career coaching.”
Niclas Thelander, CEO of Outsized (Sweden), “First, we are working with clients to actively generate demand, doing all we can to get clients to hire our freelancers. Secondly, we are putting together practical resources to help full-time freelancers win more projects and be paid a fair price. We are amending this with COVID 19 insights developed with corporate partners. This will help our community understand how to adapt and approach clients in this new environment.”
Jeff Tennery, CEO of Moonlighting (US), “We just broke news of a partnership where we are helping thousands of teachers displaced by COVID 19 to launch their own online tutoring business. Moonlighting, in partnership with Kelly, is working to help thousands of displaced teachers, launch their own on-line tutoring business, using our free business tools and access to our marketplace."
Mac Mabidilala, CEO of Pengo Insight (South Africa), “We are a knowledge marketplace company focused on Sub Saharan Africa. Because of COVID 19, we are accelerating the introduction of new digital features and platforms to create more remote opportunities for our freelance experts: through tailored paid surveys as well as a remote work project platform where clients can recruit for specific projects.”
Mansur Ziganshin, CEO of Pochmak (US). “Pochmak connects investors, consultants and corporates to industry experts for short term projects. Our priority is providing projects that keep our experts busy with work. We are also donating 25% of profit to COVID 19 charities. At the same time, all experts are fully paid their rate for all projects.”
Mathias Linnemann, Co-founder of Worksome (UK and Denmark), “This is a challenging time for freelancers and we’ve brought in more remote projects to support work from home. We’ve waived our payment fee and process freelancers’ payments immediately because every penny counts now. We’re providing coaching support and advice on how to deal with the uncertainties. We are also reminding people that demand for freelancers will soon increase. We already see it happening.”
Gali Arnon, CMO of Fiverr (Israel), “We were the first company to pledge our support for the Freelance Relief fund, to raise financial assistance to freelancers. We set up a resource center where our community can find news and tools, training, and a 24/7 help desk. We have opened new categories on the platform for freelance work. We are collaborating with Ro, a telehealth company, to make our community aware of their free virtual COVID-19 evaluation services. We have more initiatives going live such as a breakdown of the stimulus bill.”
Alok Alström, CEO of AppJobs (Sweden), “We’ve focused on maximizing remote economic opportunities for our freelancers. This effort has been ongoing for four weeks now and we are seeing results, which is important because over half the people joining AppJobs have lost their source of income. We created the AppJobs Covid-19 Resource Center to point our members to areas of economic opportunity. And, we are building an AppJobs Top-up Program that financially rewards members who help other members through our platform.”
Chandrika Pasricha, CEO of Flexing It (India), “We’ve already put in place knowledge sharing to help freelancers use this time to upskill, strengthen networks, and identify new areas of opportunity; supporting our small business clients and freelancers through pro-bono and paid consulting assignments; and, we are developing a detailed playbook to help clients utilize freelance talent better, provide support through timely payments, performance bonuses etc.”
Viva la Revolution!
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c17ea49679cb01d0e18d18dd648a1f67 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2020/05/14/best-practice-how-top-freelance-platforms--engage-with-clients-during-covid-19/?sh=55fe3589dec0 | Best Practice: How Top Freelance Platforms Engage With Clients During COVID 19 | Best Practice: How Top Freelance Platforms Engage With Clients During COVID 19
Welcome to the next article in my series: The freelance revolution during COVID 19.” In past articles we surveyed freelance platform CEOs and thought leaders on several topics: in demand freelance skills following COVID 19, how platforms are supporting their most important asset - their talent, and the impact of COVID 19 on pricing and project flow.
The question this round:
What have you found most effective in engaging current customers, and past and potential future customers, during the pandemic? What’s been most helpful in generating new business or reinforcing client loyalty? What’s one new investment you’ll keep post COVID?
The big message, loud and clear: there is no playbook to follow. As you sample the comments from 30 CEOs and thought leaders from NYC to Sydney, it’s evident that anything and everything is on the table. Most say they are staying in closer touch with customers, offering exemplary service and support, and providing best practice guidance on remote work and the shift to a more flexible, blended workforce. Almost all say that human connection is the right tone for this time. Webinars and other educational offerings are clearly valued, and seems likely to continue post COVID.
Here’s what CEOs had to say:
James Sandoval, CEO of MeasureMatch (UK): “We’re light on customer comms, but highly personal when we get in touch. This appears much appreciated. In generating new business and reinforcing loyalty, we’re focused on an especially empathetic, human commitment to customer care. There is no “post COVID” world in our view. We’re focused on helping companies be more successful, which spurs more crisis-alleviating hiring and creates demand for professional services platforms to further accelerate.”
Mathias Linnemann, CEO of Worksome (Denmark): ”Our most successful initiative is communicating how businesses can build resilience by creating an agile workforce. One new activity we’ll continue is webinars on how to work with freelancers, providing tools needed for success. We've increased our service level to help clients and freelancers and put more effort into advising business leaders on changes needed now to reinforce their competitive edge in future.”
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Darpan Munjal, CEO of Squadhelp (US): “We have implemented big changes to our messaging: messaging that is bright, helps instill confidence, and brings a smile: We want a positive brand in these uncertain time and have seen positive marketing results.”
Florent Ogoutchoro,CEO of TheTechGuys (Benin) : “Being able to offer flexible payment plans and a more tailored experience with guarantees really helps us to connect more with existing customers and attract new ones. It is something we will keep doing after the pandemic.”
Marc Daniel, CEO of Nextwork (Canada): “Building our community, connecting with freelancers and clients on a personal level, is who we are. We’re taking time to speak to each client, hear their stories, tell them ours, and better understand their needs. This approach has created stronger ties and driven growth. Important before the pandemic but now ‘mission critical’.
Miles Everson, CEO of MBO Partners (US): “We began thought leadership in early March, following with content and tools related to the CARES Act . We are now speaking with clients about the need for a modern business model that puts independent talent at the forefront of an effective workforce strategy.”
Bryan Chan, CEO of TheNightMrkt (Singapore). “We are conducting surveys, and holding conversations with stakeholders. We want their thoughts on how to best help clients emerge from this crisis stronger. We want stakeholders to know we are with them. We may not always provide the perfect solution, but we're trying.”
Anas Nader, NHS Doctors and CEO of Patchwork Health (UK): “We’re a healthtech company working with NHS Trusts and hospitals. Since the outbreak of the pandemic we’ve set up regional COVID-19 “staffing banks” for NHS hospitals to pool resources and easily redeploy clinicians where they are needed most, and created new services like faster credential passporting. We are listening to our customers, and being flexible, responsive, and focused, demonstrating their priorities are ours.”
Chandrika Pasricha, CEO of Flexing It (India): “We’ve developed detailed case studies by industry to help clients use freelancers better. We’re developing a diagnostic tool to assess client readiness to work with freelancers. Our account management teams are working proactively with business heads. We’ve organised industry panels with experts on key topics. We are also working with HR heads to structure creative solutions.”
Nitin Kunimmal, CEO of Avvnue (US): “Our marketing focus was generating articles and blog posts but the pandemic has led us to webinars and a 2X jump in participation and engagement. LinkedIn Live is another underutilized platform. These are new areas we’ll use to grow.”
Rishon Blumberg, Co-CEO of 10xmanagement (US): “We’re in regular contact with customers and clients (talent). We’ve found great service engenders loyalty and produces opportunity. We’re doubling down on quality, and communicating best practices during and after projects are completed. Customer satisfaction, our goal at all times, is even more important now.”
Hugo Finkelstein, CEO of Rise (US): “We’re taking extra steps with customers, curating their search. We’ll continue to provide that experience post pandemic. Our community is more engaged and loyal knowing the white glove service they get.”
Alex Hirst, Co-CEO of Hoxby (UK): “Our #remoteagainstcoronavirus campaign consolidated our best advice and guidance for remote working. We’ve also started a support community, RemoteWorkmates.com to bring newly and seasoned remote workers together as “crisis buddies” and will continue this beyond COVID-19. Everything we’ve learned is available to clients through our Futureproofing consultancy to help them navigate life and work after COVID-19.”
Marc Ibrahim, CEO of Ashghali (Lebanon): “We learned our customers respond to feedback requests, and received many suggestions to optimize customers’ experience. We emphasize safety measures in our newsletter. This helped us reinforce community, which is essential to our brand.”
Leslie Garçon, Co-founder of Weem (France): “We’ve strengthened the link with customers through calls, newsletters and webinars focusing on rising topics (e.g. digital transformation, cost reduction). We’ve increased our visibility on social networks through targeted articles. The feedback from customers and consultants on our webinars encourages us to keep organizing digital events that spotlight our competencies.”
Mansur Ziganshin, CEO of Pochmak (US): “Pochmak is a research platform for investors like PE firms. We must understand the challenges they are facing by partnering with them and assisting their research. To be successful you need to be obsessed by delivering top expertise.”
Srivatsan Padmanabhan, Co-founder of Go Floaters (India): “We’ve published a comprehensive guide on remote work, and 21 days of tips on entrepreneurship. We’ve run a successful webinar series offering expert, actionable, knowledge. We stay in contact with customers and have helped them save cost by leveraging our community partnerships. We earned a lot of goodwill and will continue this post-COVID.”
Thienthun Neesanant, CEO of SkillSolved (Thailand): “We’ve organized webinars on employer branding with clients (over 130+ leaders attended) and sent helpful articles to clients to show we are in this together during difficult times.”
Rob Biederman, Co-CEO of Catalant (US): “We've shifted heavily toward webinars. We’ve secured compelling speakers — like the Transformation Office of Koch Industries—and some webinars have reached nearly a thousand registrants. We've ramped up website investments, content marketing, and email activity to share relevant, engaging content and digital experiences. Visitors spend now more time on our website per session, viewing 45% more pages.”
Sheila Mahoney-Jewels, Co-founder of Lifescihub (US): “Our freelancers are life sciences experts supporting pharma clinical trials. We are focused on educating HR and procurement on the value of freelancers in our space. Still deciding whether to shift budget towards advertising and promotion to spark demand.”
Jeffrey Moss, CEO of Parker Dewey (US): “As companies consider fall campus recruiting, they increasingly include “freelancing as a pathway” among their strategies. When companies get comfortable with remote work, they recognize discrete projects can identify, assess, and nurture prospective candidates for full-time roles if traditional on-campus recruiting isn’t possible.”
Scott Cole, CMO of AceUp (US): "We've put enormous emphasis on current coaching customers during the pandemic, going above and beyond in service to them and offering complimentary additional benefits in any way we are able. By expressing loyalty and commitment to them in a time of crisis, we know it will strengthen our relationships long into the future."
Charly Gaillard, CEO of Sneakers & Jackets / Smart Consulting (France): “We’re more focused on supporting existing customers than recruiting new business. Some clients have stopped projects to reduce expense; others are keeping projects alive. For clients in highly impacted industries (transportation, tourism) we’ve had to find different ways to work efficiently and have been creative in solution finding.”
Emma El Karout, CEO One Circle HR (Dubai and South Africa): “Our customers are looking for hands-on experts to help them navigate this period. We’ve developed targeted content with our community of HR experts and engaged clients, and strengthened collaborations with existing professional bodies to boost their capabilities and our relationships.”
Anthony Beilin, CEO of Collective Benefits (UK): “We’ve found it best to engage our customers by highlighting use of our products, which are critical to clients' workforces in this pandemic. It’s led to an automated engagement system which is reinforcing loyalty and attracting new clients. We’ve also focused effort on rebuilding our platform. The results have been very impactful and we will continue this focus in the future.”
Bridget Loudon, CEO of Expert360 (Australia): “We’ve increased our outreach to customers, and frequently check in both personally and professionally. Sharing market intelligence with customers, how companies are coping and preparing for change, has been well received. In response to client needs, we have set up private cloud environments, enabling clients to keep in contact with key freelancers, provide updates, and re-engage as need arises. We’ve responded quickly, creating bespoke platforms for clients who want to keep their on-demand workforces engaged and ready for the rebound.”
Lisa Hufford, CEO of Simplicity Consulting (US): “We are regularly reaching out to clients, connecting on a human level, sharing content that helps leaders weather the storm. Our actionable SPEED™ strategy enables leaders to build on-demand teams and keep business moving—a big draw now. In future, we will focus on agility in video storytelling and marketing, trading scripted content for less-polished footage that’s high value, topical, and authentic.”
Liza Rodewald, CEO of Instant Teams (US): “COVID led to an empathy-first approach. We are reaching out to customers, showing we care. It has increased customer loyalty. We also began “rolling back the curtain” and sharing our best practices for building remote culture and policies. It’s been a positive change for Instant Teams. We will continue to share our innovations openly.”
Alok Alström, CEO of AppJobs (Sweden): “Conversations with clients are warmer and more connected, focused on helping as businesses and people. Before Covid 19, there was little remote work. Now, most clients are equipped for full-digital communication that helps us with geographically distant clients. Finally, our knowledge sharing - articles, blogposts, webinars, and online meetups - has provided relevant leads and strengthened customer relationships.”
Viva la revolution!
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39873611ca91a81bd645660fd72f2784 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2020/05/24/meet-the-freelance-club-a-pioneer-helping-freelancers-grow-successful-careers/?sh=af54e2e43113 | Meet The Freelancer Club: A Pioneer Helping Freelancers Grow Successful Careers | Meet The Freelancer Club: A Pioneer Helping Freelancers Grow Successful Careers
The freelance revolution has an identity problem, resulting from spectacular growth. Over the past decade or so, starting with pioneers like Elance and oDesk (merged to create Upwork), we’ve seen – and I’ve described in my book Agile Talent – the emergence of freelancing as an accepted alternative career path, supported by the proliferation of digital talent marketplaces or, freelance platforms. And they are growing, innovating, differentiating, and diversifying at a fast clip. Smart observers like John Healy of Kelly OGC and John Winsor of Open Assembly have estimated the number above several hundred.
Over time, the ecosystem of freelancing has birthed several personalities of platform. Size and professional focus are probably the most influential factors. As for size, large global platforms like Upwork, Freelancer.com and Fiverr provide a functional cornucopia of independent professionals and gigsters; large regional platforms such as Flexing It in India, and Expert360 in Australia also offer large (> 25K) talent platforms but are regionally focused; finally, there are country specific platforms like Ashghali in Lebanon, Gebeya in Kenya, and Expertera in Turkey.
Professional focus is a second factor: Toptal and 10Xmanagement primarily focus on top design, development and application professionals; Experfy is strongest in AI and Machine Learning; AceUp is a platform of coaches; Kolabtree and LifeSciHub offer scientific and medical talent for research and clinical trials, respectively; Inex One represents expert networks; and Hoxby in the UK, and Rise and We Are Rosie in the US, focus on creatives, providing an alternative to traditional advertising agencies and marketing / PR consultancies.
These businesses have in common a two sided relationship: with companies seeking freelance expertise, and the independent professionals themselves. The platform makes a marriage by helping the customer (company) match its need with professionals who have the right skills and experience (client). For this service, the platform takes a fee, usually from both sides, typically a percentage of the value of the engagement.
The UK firm, the Freelancer Club, has forged a different relationship with the freelance community.
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You may not be familiar with Freelancer Club. You might not know it’s a pathfinder in the freelance space, created by CEO Matt Dowling way back in 2011. Or that it has 40,000 members. Or that its vision varies from the direction most platforms have taken. Although the site connects with and reaches out to potential client companies (a mix of corporates and startups) as a service to its freelancers, its vision and primary contribution to freelancers is to teach and support individuals to build successful freelance careers through the site. For Dowling’s members, there is more than one measure of success.
Dowling put it this way: “I’m in the business of helping independents with artistic output – people with a portfolio – in photography, web design, art and writing to be successful in achieving their goals. It might be money, or the ability to work from home, or just really interesting work. Not all of our members are looking for the same outcome.”
And, in a meaningful departure from the focus on most platforms in the freelance revolution, Freelancer Club sees its role as helping its members develop their business. As Dowling puts, “We’re in the business of generating reputation and competence, focused on helping our member create viable businesses, not finding them immediate opportunity. Our goal is to help our members present themselves successfully. We don’t take a percentage of what they generate, and we ask for a membership fee straight away. We’re really no different than joining a gym.”
I like the clarity of Dowling’s vision. As he says, “So many platforms fudge what they are really able to do,” a fair point. While some platforms generate consistent work for their independent professionals, many more create opportunities for less than 10%. The Freelancer Club’s alternative approach is to think of the platform as a set of business services provided to UK solopreneurs who, in order to succeed, must begin to think and act as business owners.
Here are the services a member receives:
· Help creating a profile
· Free use of a photographic studio
· Access to meeting rooms across the UK
· Access to collaborative opportunities and pitches
· Showcasing work
· Online masterclasses, workshops and courses
· Collaboration opportunities with other Club members
· Mentor services
· Access to VIP events
· Download guides and templates
· Discounts
· Meditation, health and Yoga classes
· Connect to potential clients for project opportunity
To be clear, like every platform, Freelancer Club receives its share of work requests through the site, and has established a service to match project opportunities coming into the site with members who have the requisite skills and experience. But, again, it takes a different path. Dowling explains: “The freelancer, not the site, ‘owns’ the client relationship. We’re not a marketplace in the traditional sense - we don't hold money on the site, or take commission, and our involvement ends when we introduce the company to the freelancer.”
I asked Dowling if there’s data showing the impact of club membership on member’s success, and he directed me to a particular data set I found interesting: a suggestion box survey the platform runs for its member which asked: what membership features do you find most beneficial?
I’m always impressed with suggestion systems where people trust their organization well enough to actually offer suggestions. As Gallup points out, trust in our leaders is generally down. But, apparently not at Freelancer Club. Here’s what members found most helpful: 73% - “finding work”, 67% - “promoting my work,” 53% - “pitch opportunities”, 52% - “connecting with other members”, 44% - discounted and free event tickets”, 31% - discounts on brands”, 29% - “blog articles and videos”, 27% - “downloaded templates”, and 26% - “legal and business advice.” Not bad.
According to IPSE, the association of independent professionals and the self-employed, there are close to five million freelancers and solopreneurs in the UK, about 6% of the UK workforce, and producing over one hundred and twenty billion pounds. Millenials and Gen Zs represent half; the other half are Baby Boomers and Xs. They include all professions, but the big growth is in creative areas, tech, and healthcare.
The Freelancer Club was an early innovation when it came on the London scene. Since then, the industry has grown significantly. The UK, and London in particular, has seen great talent marketplaces rise up. It’s also benefited from the growth of a support ecosystem: Companies like Talon FMS providing freelance management system services to corporates, MeasureMatch offering data and analytic support, Payoneer and Skrill enabling payments, Collective Benefits creating the first benefits platform for freelancers, and Jolt offering future-proofing education for independents separately and through platform partnerships. And in that ecosystem, Freelancer Club plays a unique and evidently successful role.
Viva la revolution!
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77ef5bb2872872776257f7fdfe0de006 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2020/07/06/the-future-freelance-marketplace-building-the-virtual-town-square/?sh=3c47dd3172c8 | The Future Freelance Marketplace: Building The Virtual Town Square | The Future Freelance Marketplace: Building The Virtual Town Square
We are nearing the dog days of summer here in NYC and it’s a good – no, necessary - season for dreaming about the future. Dreaming is, I think, the right word in these pandemic times. In fact, I own a painting by Thomas Pender, a little known but wonderful Australian aboriginal artist, that represents Dreamtime, if I’ve used the term correctly. Like any good piece of art, it invites reflection.
In my case, I’ve benefited from a delightful opportunity to reflect on the future of digital talent marketplaces with Erik Stettler, the chief economist of Toptal and venture capitalist. He and I share the view that, as organizations accelerate their adoption of the flexible, blended workforce, the best platforms will operate in ways that bring professionals together, and support both shared commercial opportunity and collective innovation. Erik has been a great thought partner. While we may disagree on some of the details, we share a view that in future – and this is Erik’s helpful metaphor - the best freelance platforms are virtual town squares.
Let’s start with the image. A town square is full of life, activity, and commerce. Stores selling products and services, customers looking and buying, cafés full of old and new patrons, busy parents with kids, busy kids with kids, and conversation everywhere.
In a world where more and more work is conducted on a remote and distributed basis, and certainly where activity is globally distributed, the digital talent marketplace should be a place where part- and full-time freelancers, and clients and colleagues, commune.
What might that look like in practical terms? We already have many indications on how the future may develop from current digital talent marketplaces. These seem to come together as 7 themes for the best of future platforms:
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Letting go of hub and spokes. A number of new marketplaces are rethinking the basic architecture of marketplaces: from connecting buyers to sellers through a hub and spokes organizational design to a community of communities. Said differently, open up the funnel. Up and coming platforms like Contra, Braintrust and Venture L are set up to support interaction and shared opportunity among teams and communities and, therefore, trying to gain a larger slice of the 95% of freelance work that comes through relationships and reputations, rather than digital pipes. More and more talent marketplaces will recognize that energizing the F2F (freelancer to freelancer) market and lubricating a greater network effect is potentially far more lucrative than relying on P2F (platform to freelancer) alone. Treating talent as an asset, not as inventory. Whether a multi-million member mega-platform like Upwork, Fiverr or Freelancer.com, or more specialized like an AceUp in executive coaching, or Rise in design and writing, the short history of digital talent marketplaces is the myth that more is more: more talent on the platform and more areas of expertise. Post-Covid 19 excellence requires a different reality: a profound belief that the talent on the platform is the asset, not the talent supply chain; the tech potential is spectacular, but only insofar as it delivers the talent – individual or team – that clients need. Firms like Toptal and Hoxby demonstrate the importance of selecting talent carefully, supporting talent extensively, contributing to their development, and delivering enough interesting work to ensure their freelancers’ loyalty. When talent is treated as the organization’s most important asset, individual freelancers are more likely to engage with and trust other “top talent”, and generate more of the network effect. Welcoming more kinds of freelancer relationships. As freelancing is established as a legitimate career, a greater range and variety of freelance careers will flourish. Some will be career portfolios that conjoin freelance and professional or executive roles; for example, I was part-time SVP and chief learning officer of a major US bank. Others will find it common to move in and out of freelancing and corporate or public sector roles, as government officials move in and out of think tanks. Still others will cap off a career with a move into freelancing: Independent Diplomat provides a path for former State Department and Foreign Office experts to advise and educate after retirement, and the ADP research institute wrote recently about senior freelancers noting that, in the US, the percentage of freelancers who are the 55+ is nearing 30%. Interim executive gigs will be more common as the need for experienced executives outstrips supply. And many, many professionals will benefit from the opportunity to do side-gigs in addition to their full-time jobs. For example, expert networks ranging from Good Judgement to the aggregator site Inex.One, provide subscription or pay-as-you-go advice and insight of specialists in a wide range of industries and technologies. Most engagements are under two hours. By contrast, marketplaces like Experfy in AI, Expert360 and Flexing It are building long term relationships for their clients through tie-ups with consultancies or VMS channels, and building career bridges between these partnering organizations e.g., Experfy and Deloitte. Providing more freelancer help and guidance in managing their business. A new and very specialized marketplace was recently created by HBS students: band together as a buying community to get the best rates on student loans. The Leveredge model suggests a powerful way platforms can support their members: creating buying group leverage for products and services that freelancers need. With most platforms having large numbers of freelance members on their platform, it’s an obvious win/win: both the platform and members can share the cost savings. Contra, in fact, sees it as a key part of their offer to teams and communities. One easily imagines a time when platform members have access to an ecosystem of benefits, and a greater ability to plan meaningfully for the future. Collective Benefits and FreelancerClub.net are good examples of how a broader suite of services and benefits is likely to evolve. Defining and sharing best practice across the platform. Where Erik reimagined the marketplace as a town square, I riffed off that thought and was taken to Aristotle’s Lyceum. John Winsor, founder of Open Assembly and a fellow Forbes contributor, has organized a unique virtual salon that brings ‘future of work’ executives, scholars and thought leaders together for sharing and co-creation. Staffing.com, the creation of Taso Du Val, CEO of Toptal, and Paul Estes, former senior director at Microsoft, have created a meaningful center of education and engagement around the topic of remote work. Go Floaters has done likewise in its co-work spaces, offering peer-to-peer exchange and education. Remote-how has annually led the drive to remote work with its impressive, multi-day, virtual conferences on everything remote. YunoJuno.com, Worksome.com, and FreelancerClub.com, are examples of platforms that are partnering with co-learning sites like Jolt.io or Coursera to deliver regular technical and professional learning and development opportunities. Independent management consulting platforms Weem in France, and Comatch in Germany, have taken it a step further, connecting more junior independent consultants on their site with more senior consultants to provide informal mentoring. Hoxby in the UK has created the role of director of future proofing to ensure the skillset of the Hoxby community remains strong and on trend. Gebeya in Ethiopia offers ongoing technical training and business development guidance to their freelance community. Future proofing, I think, is a key requirement for the post-Covid 19 freelance platform. Becoming an innovation center. Mike Morris and the team at Topcoder shows the potential for platforms of talent to be platforms of innovation in their annual innovation summits, and more recently in their sponsorship of the Topcoder’s “challenge for good anti-cononavirus hackathon.” a Comet, in France, working with the flash teams methodology from Stanford Engineering School, shows how teams of “skilled professionals who have probably never met before and may work on different continents, but who can turn a napkin sketch into a product within days or weeks.” And Good Judgement, mentioned earlier, is showing how freelance teams of highly accurate superforecasters are able to accelerate the solution to challenging industry and technology problems. These examples, and others, point to a new way that freelancing platforms will contribute in future: not “supplementing” internal staff; instead, providing a powerful but different methodology for rapid innovation. Investing in client education. Covid 19 was the ultimate persuasion that remote work could be as or more productive, engaged and well managed as the traditional office or campus. But, technology has mooted time and geography, and the perceived and real difference between a remote employee and a remote freelancer continues to shrink. Add to this the cost of full-time versus on demand employment, and it’s no surprise that more and more companies are choosing to adopt a flexible, blended, workforce model. But, implementation of the new model of work is a cultural as well as operational transformation, and needs to be thoughtfully managed. The best future digital talent platform will operate both as marketer and teacher, working closely with companies and third party partners to architect the change and help organizations establish the conditions for success. Educational initiatives like Toptal’s “Suddenly Remote Playbook” or Remote-how’s Remote Academy play a potentially key role in helping both corporates and non-profit organizations learn to successfully shift to a remote and distributed team environment.
Viva la revolution!
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d73627aaf571417eb7f59ffdc27b7a9b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2020/08/03/the-remora-strategy-heres-how-torchlite-and-other-freelance-platforms-are-finding-growth-and-profit/?sh=13efdf352f3b | The Remora Strategy: Here’s How Torchlite And Other Freelance Platforms Are Finding Growth And Profit | The Remora Strategy: Here’s How Torchlite And Other Freelance Platforms Are Finding Growth And Profit
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Most of us engaged in the freelance revolution, and certainly the entrepreneurs building the next generation of talent marketplaces, are problem solvers first and foremost. We all enjoy celebrity examples of the “must solve” orientation of business creators: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak driven to build the computer for the “rest of us.” Elon Musk preserving the environment for future generations and building better ways to transport people above and below ground. Freddie Laker, the creator of Laker Airlines, the first budget airline, saw the need for budget travel around the same time Herb Kelleher felt a similar urge at Southwest: make air travel more affordable for more people.
These are the big ticket problems, for which there are few individuals capable of creating a solution. But, the world is full of smaller more tractable problems and we are grateful for the creative and hard-working individuals for whom that problem is a “can’t stop” opportunity.
There turns out to be an excellent model in nature for a particular category of problem solving that ought to be calling out to freelancers. I’m inclined to call it the Remora Strategy, and not alone in doing so; thanks to Don Dodge for describing an early version several years ago, and Srinavasan R for his recent expansion of these ideas in an excellent blog post.
For those of you who aren’t expert on fish beyond Sushi preferences, the Remora is a small fish whose front dorsal fins have evolved to enable them to adhere by suction. Thus, a Remora spends its life clinging physically to a larger host like a whale. It is a mutualistic arrangement; in business we would say synergistic. The Remora aids the host by removing ectoparasites while benefiting from the Whale’s protection and eating the crumbs of its meals.
Meet Remora strategist and freelance entrepreneur Susan Marshall and her freelance platform, Torchlite. Her insight was that Salesforce.com – the Whale - was unable to provide its smallest customers with the same assistance and service that its larger enterprise customers received. Susan proposed a new unit of Salesforce to do exactly that: focus on the specific and unique needs of SMB (small and medium sized businesses) customers of Salesforce. Her boss,
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Scott McCorkle, CEO of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, loved the idea, but saw the business potential insufficient to be of priority internally. Marshall recounted the exchange. “He said, ‘We probably won’t do it, but somebody should service these customers. You build it and I’ll be your first investor.’ He was true to his word and now our executive chairman.”
Whales don’t necessarily seek out and recruit Remoras, but, in some cases, the extension of a company’s service through a freelance support and service ecosystem is an explicit aspect of strategy. Take, for example, what Workday says about Workday Services Partners on its website: “(They) are essential to Workday’s growth and success. They are a key part of our go-to-market strategy and play a critical role in helping companies gain value from their Workday investments. In fact, a majority of our customers deploy Workday using our services partners. These partners are trained extensively on Workday products as well as on the tools and methods that enable fast, efficient deployment and ongoing adoption of new capabilities.” Workday’s largest implementation partners are the Big 4 consultancies – definitely not Remoras - but also include many smaller organizations that depend on individual freelancers for specialized expertise or to fill out the project team.
Salesforce, has a strong service partner network as well; in fact, there is even a Salesforce Partner Community that connects service partners to one another. But, Salesforce had not built out much of a support and implementation ecosystem when Susan Marshall had her epiphany in 2015. What she envisioned was a talent marketplace where SMB Salesforce customers could find fully certified salesforce freelance experts without the increased cost of working with consultancies and agencies. It was an excellent example of my version of key principles of the Remora strategy, what I call the four “Be’s”:
Be too small to look too tasty to the Whale But, be important enough and good enough to be of value to the Whale Be successful, but not successful enough to attract the Whale as a competitor instead of a benefactor or partner (think Amazon here) Be alert to other Whales
Torchlite has prospered. And Marshall attributes its success to its implementation of four principles:
Love the Whale. Marshall had the advantage of coming from the Salesforce organization, and Torchlite’s success has benefited from her relationships with Salesforce’s sales representatives, the customer success team, and with the Salesforce Essentials team that was focused on small business products and services. As she put it in our interview, “We’ve made sure to be closely connected and responsive to the sales and customer success team. It’s been a critical source of clients.” Solve the customer’s problem. Marshall found out early that the greatest opportunity was helping small business owners and office managers work through the complexity of Salesforce products. She explained, “As a Salesforce tech leader, I kept hearing small business customer employees say, ‘I’m going to get fired because I bought the system and it’s so hard to use. Agency partners are too expensive for a company our size. Can you recommend a certified freelancer?” Turn gigs into relationships. Marshall explained, “Small businesses never have just one problem, but you need to build trust. We normally start out providing a freelancer to solve a specific ‘pain’ point (help me move my data) but it typically ends up leading to a relationship that can turn into a small team of freelancers that continue intermittently for years.” Stay in your lane. On occasion, Torchlite has worked with larger companies, establishing so-called enterprise relationships. But, overall, Torchlite sees its strategy as continuing to focus on the needs of startups, small and emerging medium (SMB) businesses. The challenge: As Marshall puts it, “Retention is tougher when dealing with SMB businesses, particularly these days.”
Remora strategies like Torchlite offer unique opportunity in the freelance revolution, and not only in the tech sphere. Brokerage firms regularly utilize third party investment analysts to curate unique funds for their clients. The movie industry is built on a network of independent producers hiring freelancers in a wide range of areas, from food service to CGI. Events freelancers are tightly connected to sponsoring organizations like the UN. There is hardly an industry where you will not find a Remora strategy in application.
But not all freelance Remora relationships succeed. Even discounting the probability of another pandemic in our lifetime (which we ought not do), It’s a tough sled to create a thriving partnership that continues over time. Srinivasan mentions a number of watch outs for Remoras. Building on his analysis, the challenges fall into four buckets:
Loss of identity: It’s the fundamental dilemma for the Remora. It depends on its relationship to the Whale for its brand, but faces the prospect of getting too close in its reputation and operations. The result: the startup loses its distinct identity and becomes “another” sub-brand in the shadow of the Whale. Loss of control: Whales think about their needs, not the Remoras. And, Whale decisions may force changes to the products and services of the startup, or create new competition, or increase costs, or force it to make new and significant investments to keep up. Loss of control is also a factor in exit decisions, where the Whale has a strong or dominant role in accepting a change of relationship. Loss of revenue: Whales are likely to make decisions that impact startup revenue sources or profitability; for example, the Whale may decide to charge for a formerly free service on which the startup depends as a service to its customers, or offer a service for free that the Remora depended on for its profitability. Loss of insight: Loss of insight occurs when the Whale owns or controls the startup’s user data. Srinivasan gives the example of restaurant chains in India: “In India, these delivery platforms do not even pass on basic user profiles like demographics or addresses to the restaurants. The restaurants are left with their limited understanding ... for whom they can generate no meaningful insights or even consumption patterns.”
Torchlite is a strong example of a freelance marketplace that has successfully implemented a Remora strategy in support of its Whale, Salesforce.com. It has operationalized a clear and customer centric approach to supporting SMB customers of Salesforce who need support – writers, designers, and cloud experts - but on an on-demand basis and an affordable price point. And, in these days of Covid 19, it’s good to know that a company is providing economic as well as career opportunity for its 250 freelancers.
Are you creating a freelance revolution startup implementing a Remora strategy? If so, let me know by writing to me at Linkedin. I’m eager to hear more ways that freelancers are making use of this strategy, and what’s working and not. And who knows, it could be a #freelancerevolution article in Forbes.
Viva la revolution!
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fb9d383ceab5d726b1f8d0088e25688b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2020/09/09/is-it-time-for-freelance-startups-to-collaborate--a-modest-proposal/?sh=4bfb3ef41d0e | Is It Time For Freelance Startups To Collaborate? A Modest Proposal | Is It Time For Freelance Startups To Collaborate? A Modest Proposal
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By any reasonable measure, the freelance revolution has taking root and is flying high. Numbers tell part of the story. Upwork, for example, reckons that 60,000,000 Americans are taking part as gigsters, full-time freelancers or side-giggers. McKinsey four years back estimated the global population of gigsters and freelancers above 160,000,000, but that was before Covid 19 gut punched the global economy, eliminated tens of millions of full-time jobs, and encouraged many more millions to try their hand at freelancing.
And, the millions of freelancers trying their hand on a full-time or part-time basis has yielded an explosion of startups expanding or supporting the freelance revolution. I write about freelancers and the digital talent marketplaces that support them, and I am struck by the frequency with which I hear from new CEOs and entrepreneurial teams. Here’s an example from this morning from a new CEO, describing dgitags.io, an innovative new platform and an example of the marvelous creativity we’re seeing in the talent space and in HR Tech generally:
“I've appreciated your analysis about freelance revolution and impacts on companies organization & employees. dgitags.io is based in Paris and Dublin, it is a new type of digital agency/consulting firm, combining a growth marketing agency and a highly selective product freelancing community. With my associate, from our previous professional experiences in big companies and as freelancers, we wanted to mix the agility of freelancing and the specific high expertise of a digital agency, and MAKE them work together to always deliver more value to our clients by offering them the best of these two "worlds" and to adapt better to theirs organizations."
I’m looking forward to learning more about dgitags.io, but not only. By my estimate, and there’s some extrapolation involved, there are at least a couple hundred freelance platforms forming around the world, or moving from infancy to adolescence. I’m a writer and teacher, not an organizer, but I wonder whether it’s time for startup leaders to more actively and intentionally collaborate, as well as compete. In each interview, I find that freelance pioneers are eager to hear what one another is doing, learning and planning, and it comes from a place of shared enthusiasm for the space and its possibilities, not just their competitive instincts. Interviews inevitably turn into discussions and brainstorms, and always end with a request to be introduced to other entrepreneurs.
Is there value in organizing a founder’s club for this new generation of digital talent marketplace CEOs and the ecosystem partners that support them? Here’s why the time might be right, and what the new generation of marketplace CEOs might do about it:
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Collaborating for a rising tide. Most of the startup CEOs I speak with are working hard to grow their business, but recognize that freelancing is still a relatively immature industry with cultural barriers to growth. The logic of “on demand” is clear, but most corporates haven’t recognized the value of a flexible, blended workforce. Many cultures still regard freelancers as second class professionals. And, most HR departments still consider their ‘clients’ to be full-time employees, not the full range of their workforce. Pulling together on a global scale, working together to inform and correct misperceptions, and build the reputation and credibility of the industry is will help the rising tide to rise faster than a lack of common purpose and effort. Meeting freelancer’s big 5 needs. Freelancers need and expect help from their platform: (i) work (making a living), (ii) Frequent and ongoing opportunities to pitch for attractive, interesting, project work, (iii) Administrative and marketing support to manage and grow their business, (iv) Information and education on trends and help future-proofing their skills, and (v) Feeling and treated as part of a high performance community. But, the response has been fairly uneven, in part because many platform entrepreneurs are tech superstars, but have little prior management and startup experience. But, it’s also the case that some platforms have grown their freelance talent so large that only a small percentage experience real success. As a result, I’ve been asked on several occasions to mentor new CEOs, join their advisory boards, or set up mentoring relationships with more experienced CEOs. A founder’s club would help. Helping client companies build successful freelance strategies. Just as freelancers have a “big 5” set of requirements for their marketplace, companies using freelancers regularly and building effective flexible blended workforces takes five factors: (i) a clear and well communicated strategy for how and when to use freelancers, (ii) a rigorous performance management system that sets S.M.A.R.T. goals, clear milestones, and regular two-way feedback, (iii) managers are trained to skillfully manage freelancers, which is not the same as full-time employees, (iv) freelancers are treated as part of the team, not second class citizens, (v) freelancers are administratively treated fairly and with respect (pay, communication, access to information they need to do the work expected of them). But, while some platforms like Toptal are teaching companies to work effectively with them, most are not. This is an obvious area where freelance platforms should work together for the common good. Working toward standards of best practice. The early platforms came together as job boards in the US, UK, India, and Denmark around 2007. Since then there have been several waves of marketplace startup activity. With each wave, the industry has learned something. For those of us watching the industry grow, there are evident green shoots of best practice. For example, YunoJuno in the UK offers a strong example of how to disrupt the traditional advertising agency. Catalant in the US, Flexing It in India, Expert 360 in Australia, and Worksome in Denmark have built strong marketplaces in the independent management consulting space. Toptal is a model of enterprise teaming, along with Hoxby in the UK, Toptal is also a master class in remote work, freelance talent management and community. Inex.one in Sweden has helped grow the next generation of expert network business. New platforms like Contra and Venture L are pushing the marketplace industry into new territory by reimagining the platform as a network of relationships that support one another instead of the traditional hub and spokes. Omdena in India is extending freelancing into AI enabled FAST teaming in the non-profit world, and Spacely here in the US is bringing freelance talent to the last frontier. New tech has made stronger matching possible, reducing the time to find and hire the right freelancer for the job. And new areas of freelancing, like executive coaching at AceUp, are coming up fast. Best practice sharing doesn’t violate the competitive spirit of this industry; coopetition it makes us all smarter. Supporting one another in continuous improvement. Most talent marketplaces are small operations, many still working hard to raise money, build their talent base, and generate revenue. Individually they put on blogs and work with writers like myself to teach the world - both potential freelancers and potential customers - about the freelance revolution and how to make it work for them. Working together, this industry has the potential to support research and education that “lifts all boats”. For example, I’m working with several platforms together with Professor Gerald Cupchik of the University of Toronto, a leading social psychological researcher, on a global study to better identify the qualities of top performing freelancers. Sound research is a crucial tool for the growth of this industry. Too often, quick and dirty studies, not well planned or executed, provide a sound bite or press release, but not real knowledge. Benefiting from global creativity. One of the most exciting aspects of the freelance revolution is its global nature. I’ve had the pleasure of introducing innovative African platforms like One Circle HR and Gebeya, Latin American startups like Consultok, and Asian marketplaces like TheNightMrkt in Singapore. One of the great opportunities available to startup leaders is to learn from one another’s experience in different parts of the world. Planning for a post Covid 19 world? We’re all in the midst of an extraordinary uncertainty: what will work look like as Covid exits, when it exits. It would be good for the entrepreneurs creating the digital talent marketplace industry to have a consistently high quality of insight. Remember, the world still faces the most destructive period of employment in our lifetime.
As I said at the beginning, I’m a writer and teacher, and an occasional angel investor. Not an organizer. And, I’m excited to see other, larger, collaborations led by John Winsor of Open-Assembly to focus on the big picture of new work and open talent. This is a more modest proposal, and perhaps will “tuck in” or form part of a larger and more ambitious whole. But, I believe that, among the hundred plus entrepreneurs with whom I speak, interview, and write about, there seems a strong appetite for more collaboration - and perhaps an organized founder’s network – to help one another build the global market for freelancing.
I was pleased to recently learn that entrepreneur is derived from entrepôt, a port or place that connects people of common interest in commerce. It may be just what the entrepreneurs of this nascent industry are looking for to help one another jump to the next level.
Viva la revolution.
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a91fadbd7eac9578cd45ea7c63686621 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2020/12/07/expert-networks-in-2021-platform-ceos-and-thought-leaders-share-their-forecasts/?sh=3f5cfb907670 | Expert Networks In 2021: Platform CEOs And Thought Leaders Share Their Forecasts | Expert Networks In 2021: Platform CEOs And Thought Leaders Share Their Forecasts
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Earlier this year I wrote about one of the more interesting talent innovations enabled by the freelance revolution: expert networks. A wide range of platforms offer typically brief access to experts in a wide variety of areas, in almost every continent. Most of these interactions are indeed brief: An analysis by Inex One suggests that 75% of expert network gigs are completed in less than one hour, and 85% in less than two hours. The pioneer and largest of these expert networks is GLG, the Gerson Lehrman Group, and its success has helped mobilize an industry that has taken off as a result of communications technology and the globalization of opportunity. As a result of expert networks, potential clients are now able to quickly identify and access the experts and knowledge they need. Previously, it might have taken weeks to identify the appropriate expert with the knowledge required. Nor was there a framework for commercializing brief interactions. Investors, management consultants, and legal and financial firms tend to be among the larger users of expert networks. For example, one expert network I advised provided global real estate development expertise to western investors. I’ve also written about a couple of expert networks that were interesting representatives of the industry: Inex One, mentioned above, is an aggregator of expert networks, providing access to smaller and less well-known platforms. And, CleverX, operating from India and expanding to the US, has also been profiled and is a helpful member of the category.
How is the market for expert networks shaping up in 2021? I recently asked a number of expert networks and thought leaders in the space for their forecasts of 2021, and received perspectives from platform leaders in the US, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Here’s what they see ahead:
Bryan Pena (MBO Partners, US). “Along with other forms of independent talent, I see rapid growth in the expert network business going forward. The changing nature of work is allowing individuals more and more opportunities to monetize their skills and expertise and expert networks allow high impact individuals the opportunity to do just that with minimal effort. At the same time participating in expert networks allows individuals opportunity to stay market relevant as well as current on the latest questions/concerns confronting their industries. Right now many of the expert networks are comprised of generalist providers but going forward there will be more EN’s specific to particular domains. These domains can be industry focused like healthcare or energy, or expertise focused like HR, AI, legal or procurement in nature.”
David Küpper, (Expert Powerhouse, Germany). “The general need for expert input will continue to increase with increased complexity in all areas. The Private Equity and consulting sectors will remain the largest users of expert discussions but I do expect corporates to become more important in the coming years. Corporates will more and more realize that specific input from subject matter experts can be highly valuable and can lead to a significant competitive advantage.”
Max Friberg (Inex One, Sweden). “Overall, the expert network industry has been robust, even growing through the 2020 pandemic. Going into 2021, there are two big trends in the industry: New technology and new services. On technology, Inex One makes it possible for clients to work with smaller, highly specialized expert networks, while firms like Techspert.io and Atheneum invest in internal tech that helps them identify experts more efficiently. On the services side, expert networks branch into new areas. Many firms emulate Third Bridge's successful Forum product, whereas GLG and others have started to offer consulting services. I believe the industry will see continued robust growth in 2021.”
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Martin Tronquit (Infomineo, Dubai UAE). “My perspective is the following. I expect the Expert Network business to accelerate its growth in 2021 for three main reasons 1/Things have changed dramatically since last year, organisations need up to date insights 2/Expert interviews are a cheaper option than full-fledged research to access insights 3/With lower asset prices M&A activity is accelerating and it uses lots of expert interviews.”
Nitin Kunimmal (Avvnue, US). “COVID has accelerated shift to freelancing and more professionals are pursuing this path out of necessity. Hiring freelancers has become the norm instead of an afterthought. I see companies embracing this revolution by introducing roles like head of remote work and building infrastructure to support remote workers and freelancers. There is a massive demand from digital native companies and start-ups to quickly onboard freelancers for technical and marketing roles.”
Sharekh Shaik (CleverX, India) “Both companies and professionals have become comfortable with the idea of working 100% remotely, and trusting each other although located in different time zones. Since everyone is getting used to working on zoom and other remote work tools, self-service gig-based platforms will see enormous growth and traction in 2021. The majority of interactions on CleverX's platform are around digital transformation, human resources, market research and go-to-market work, and if you notice these initiatives closely, they are all reflective of how Covid-19 has impacted businesses to change course. We are seeing many 1-on-1 video calls, surveys and remote projects being carried out in F&B, Technology, HR and Healthcare industries.”
Mac Mabidilala (Pengo Insight, South Africa) “Thanks for the opportunity. 2020 was a challenging year for the freelance expert network business in Africa, seeing a dramatic decline in client outreach for expert services. In 2021, we anticipate a resurgence of client interest particularly in commercial due diligence and market entry projects within the strategy consulting and private equity client segments.”
Luis Mata (Consultok, Chile) "2021 will be a year of opportunities, many experts retiring and looking for new locations to live in uncrowded places will create a tendency to work online more than ever for high-end professionals, businesses needing theses experts will rely on expert networks to link them all together. Platforms with the technology to offer on-demand - instantly - experts will open a new market of interesting opportunities, the sectors that will grow the most are technology, clean energy, insurance and health in general".
What’s the overall consensus of executives and thought leaders on expert networks in the coming year? The clear message from these leaders – on several continents – is nicely captured by Luis Mata of Consultok in Chile put it, “2021 will be a year of opportunities.” He makes the helpful point that the Covid 19 pandemic has impacted established networks by encouraging the movement of people and companies out of key urban centers of commerce, and increased the difficulty of personal contact between experts. In addition, the opportunities for global economic development and investment are growing just as the ease of communication through new tech, expert networks makes it possible to identify and access expertise more readily, and pay for only the time and information that they need.
Viva la revolution!
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77418bbcdb9abe72538fd91f9cc2584f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2021/02/19/payoneer-building-the-ecosystem-for-the-freelance-revolution/?sh=65a54a34339f | Payoneer: Building The Ecosystem For The Freelance Revolution | Payoneer: Building The Ecosystem For The Freelance Revolution
An article in the Guardian this week reminded many of us of the important contributions made by futurists Alvin and Heidi Toffler. I had the pleasure of meeting Alvin as a fellow conference panelist almost two decades ago, and recall his strong belief that technology would increasingly enable work to “move out of factories and offices in the ‘third’ or information age, as technology freed us to work from 'tele-cottages'”. The Tofflers were right of course about the inevitability of the trend, though not the timing. It took another 20 years and a pandemic to seal the legitimacy of remote work performed at our kitchen table rather than employers’ offices, and demonstrate that it offered a productive alternative.
Toffler’s insight also anticipated another related trend; people disconnecting from their employers all together and becoming part of the growth of solopreneurship we now call the freelancing revolution. Estimates range widely on the number of full and part-time freelancers operating on the planet, but the number is certainly well above the 60 million Upwork estimates here in the US. And, while pundits continue to speculate on the number of freelance platforms now operating, there is no doubt that it is dramatically expanding. I would be surprised if there are fewer than 1000 platforms operating now or in beta. As someone who writes regularly in Forbes about freelance startups, and is sometimes described as the freelance whisperer, I’m introduced by email or LinkedIn to three or four new platforms almost every week.
We learned from the history of the US gold rush of 1848 is that the real opportunity wasn’t finding yellow metal gold. Only a very few of the 300,000 would-be miners who came to California to make their fortune found much of anything, and only in the early days. But, large fortunes were made by the gold rush ecosystem entrepreneurs as you might call them, leading enterprises like Levi Strauss, Armour Meat Packing, and the Studebaker company (yes, that Studebaker that became an auto company) that sold the miners food, clothing, tools, camping goods, covered wagons, and other necessities.
One could describe the freelance revolution as another gold rush, but like its name-sake, the real innovation isn’t just the work of freelancers or the platforms that enable them. The real innovation includes the ecosystem that supports the freelancers and the companies – small and large - that depend on them. And, one of the important dynamics in that ecosystem is how the money flows, the financial services that support and expand the freelance revolution. One of the pioneers of freelance financial services, Payoneer, has just announced its plan to merge with a SPAC on its way to becoming a public company. I thought it would be interesting for my freelance and other readers to hear how CEO Scott Galit see the future of freelancing and the role played by Payoneer as the space growths in size, value and importance.
Payoneer was founded in 2005. Galit took the CEO spot 10 years ago, after a career in payment services with executive roles at EVP at Meta Payment Systems , MasterCard International and First Data Corporation .
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What attracted Galit to Payoneer? As he explained, “The idea behind Payoneer was exciting, that tech was changing how the world does business. Talent access and opportunity has been increasingly democratized, and digital made possible the ability of talented professionals in many fields to work from anywhere. Payoneer was created to offer these freelancers and their platforms access to sophisticated financial services that met their business needs. Think of Payoneer as half bank, half tech company. I found that very attractive.”
I know Payoneer in a couple of different ways. As an individual freelancer, teaching at Jolt, I have a regular monthly experience of the company in payment processing. I also know Payoneer from a series of freelance micro-educational videos I made earlier this year for their Freelancer Lounge. I learned through these experience – and Galit’s commentary – that payment processing is only a small part of Payoneer’s vision. As Galit put it, “We want our customers to access to the full range of tools and support they need.”
Expect from Payoneer that, over time, we’ll see an expansion of second wave services such as broader financial services, funding and working capital access for startups and SME expansion, and tools for financial and operational management. Expect also a growing offering in merchant services, support for risk management, and commercial card products.
Galit doesn’t see the freelance revolution ebbing in a decade, as did the Gold Rush. In his view, we’re in early innings. And, his view is certainly consistent with other business and tech leaders, and the enthusiasm felt by his global team from top to bottom. He pointed in our conversation to a “globathon,” a set of team building events that brought much of the Payoneer team together for education, updates, and celebration. As he mentioned, “It was great to see the level of energy and excitement across our organization.”
As Galit ticks off the ways that he sees work changing – where, when, and how work is done – it’s evident that the need and growth potential of the freelance revolution ecosystem is, as McKinsey & Co might say, “large and growing.” And, expanding in many directions. Payoneer has top competitors to be sure, both established companies like Pay Pal and startups like Skrill and Stripe. Others are joining the fray, even Apple with its Apple Pay product. Recent startups like Jolt, Hard Skills, and Degreed offer freelance platform members access to continuing education in soft skills. Startups like Collective Benefits and Coverwallet are focused on the “protection gap of the self-employed”. Collective describes itself as providing “access to a full range of affordable, portable protections and benefits which they can carry around with them between the platforms they work on.” FreelancerClub in the UK, Freelancer.eu, Nomawo in the US, and Goodtalks.dk in Denmark, are excellent examples of social networks providing a range of networking, advisory, and educational services to freelancers. And, of course, we are seeing significant growth in support for freelance nomads through platforms like Sweden’s Svenska Nomader and others.
As Galit described the Payoneer pivot from private to public company through a SPAC, he described the experience of considering but subsequently rejecting an offer to acquire the company in 2012. As he put it, “We really thought hard about the offer in the context of the legacy we wanted to leave, and decided that we were committed to create something enduring and values based. There is no company quite like us. The decision to go public made it possible to make that a reality.”
I’m eager to see how the freelance revolution’s ecosystem develops and the important and growing role that Payoneer plays in it. I think it’s very likely to be significant.
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9fec695874b30b3d8f4dd438ffea37ae | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2021/02/26/freelancers-you-get-the-pr-you-deserve-these-experts-tell-you-how-to-up-your-pr-game/ | Freelancers, You Get The PR You Deserve: These Experts Tell You How To Up Your PR Game | Freelancers, You Get The PR You Deserve: These Experts Tell You How To Up Your PR Game
I look forward to speaking with new platform startups in the freelance space and generally speak to at least a half dozen each week for my Forbes stories. I’m one of only a few writers laser focused on the freelance revolution. As a result, I get my fair share of entrepreneurs hoping for the kind of publicity that will help them win new clients, interest potential investors, and lead top freelancers to join their platform. They want me to write about them and I often do. When I decline to write about them, more often than not, it’s generally because they haven’t convinced me that their company story is one that my readers will find interesting or helpful.
That leads to the question, why do some startups successfully attract great PR, while others, equally or more deserving, miss their chance? As I mulled my decisions – hoping they are logical and fact based, but honest enough to know I sometimes err in judgement - I thought readers might be interested in hearing the advice of some of the best PR and marketing professionals, and successful entrepreneurs, in the industry and all over the world. Here was the question I posed these experts:
Please share your advice on how to what it takes to put great PR behind a new startup or a fast growing freelance platform. What have you learned, and what’s your best suggestions for a PR strategy?
Here’s what they said. Definitely worth a read.
Matt Dowling, Founder, Freelancerclub.net (UK) “Whether you work for an agency or choose to do it yourself, we've always found great PR comes from a place of authenticity. Writers, journalists, and readers can spot a manufactured story a mile off. If you're passionate about your subject and you've got a story to tell, it will resonate.”
Ricky Willianto, Co-founder, theravenry.com (Singapore)“My suggestion is to create thought leadership content leveraging insights you generate through your freelancing platform. Since our network of talents consists of analysts and writers, we ensure that the content we produce is well-researched and relevant to our audience. We have had multiple media picked up on our reports and quoting our research in their articles or PR releases. Sometimes we did not even have to put out additional effort to create new content.”
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Irina Marciano, Head of PR and Communication, Payoneer.com (US) “When it comes to a successful PR strategy, the most important thing is keeping your ego in check. Too many companies focus on telling the world why they’re the best, especially in the increasingly crowded world of platforms. Spoiler alert – nobody cares! They want to hear something valuable – whether that’s fresh new data, a compelling, emotional story, or a unique perspective. When embarking on a PR campaign, don’t ask yourself, “What do I want to say?” Instead, ask, “What is my target audience interested in hearing?”
Brian Bedard, CEO, Freelanceforlaw.com (US) “From the very first day that you launch, one of your main goals should be becoming a thought leader in your industry. Ideally, you started your company because you are solving a problem that the market currently lacks. Share your solution. Start a blog, stay active on social media, appear on podcasts, and introduce yourself to other thought leaders in your industry. Collaboration is a powerful tool.”
Nigel Sarbutts, CEO, Prcavalry.com (UK) “Here are my eight rules:
Focus on what problem your tech solves for the user, not the tech itself Evidence your claims with original data Be available and honest with the media and don't use techbro jargon Build relationships with journalists, don't be transactional Take risks, you’re young There is no off the record Above all, stand for something, but assertive not arrogant Hire a freelancers expert in your market through a platform (like mine!)”
Helen Dibble, Founder, Incredibble.co.uk (UK) “Traditional PR teaches you to schmooze journalists. Schmooze the ‘like’ button instead. Build relationships with business leaders who have similar audiences to you - in real life or on social media - and leverage their reach to showcase your brand. Watch their channel, take note of what they want to be known for and what their audience loves. Ask them to go live with you. Offer to go live or be interviewed by them. Then, deliver content that helps both the host and their followers learn and grow.”
Louise Doorn, Founder, Hellomaas.com (Netherlands) “We get this question a lot! So much that we offer a turn-key and fixed price PR package. How to generate great PR for start-ups freelance platforms In seven steps (and 61 words):
Build a great product and service people love to use Get your clients and freelancers to share about it in their networks Create a personal story on the founder's passion and purpose Hire a PR specialist that knows your business and is well-regarded in the media you wish to be featured in Get your PR specialist to pitch to the right journalists Get published Rinse and repeat”
Natalie Hall Younger, Founder, YoungerPR.com (US) “A strong PR strategy is crucial. It can improve relationships with investors, increase the backlinks to your website, generate buzz, and help you position yourself in the marketplace. Startups regularly put PR on the back burner, and it generally falls to the bottom of the priority list. It should be nearer the top. The sooner a PR/ communications professional is engaged, the sooner you will cultivate awareness amongst your target audience, investor community, and the media. As you develop your PR strategy, remember that laying a foundation with the press takes time and consistency. Startups need to nurture their relationships with the media, no matter how much funding they have or what VC firms have invested. The goal is to get your brand in front of your target audience as often as possible. This establishes familiarity and trust.”
Claus Leinøe, CEO, Jelber.dk (Denmark) "Don’t talk about yourself or your new company. Your PR strategy should be built on a bigger agenda that is new and has wide interest e.g. on demand workforce, remote working, talent transformation or the like. Find your spot and position yourself as a thought leader via social media and build relationships with relevant media/journalists that covers the area. Feed these journalists with info, data and add value through your knowledge and expertise, and make it easy for journalists to want to write about what you are doing.”
Shah Ramezani, Founder, Codemonk.ai (UK) "Do something that impacts people positively, is out of the ordinary and inspires others! That’s when people like to speak about it, and that's how you'll get coverage as it creates engagement for media companies when they publish. For example, last year during the pandemic we went out and announced that we will help elderly people with their day-to-day grocery shopping for free - created quite a buzz among people and coverage. Wasn't for profit, but impacted people positively, was out of the ordinary and inspired everyone! A win-win for everyone."
Hannah Foley, Director of Community, thevendry.co (US) “As a platform that helps corporate event planners source vendors and venues, our members are our biggest asset - from executives at top brands to small business owners. So we center our strategy on them, whether that's teaming up to launch industry-wide initiatives to support event pros or making intros between journalists and our members. Good PR is about telling a story, and people will (almost) always be more exciting than your new feature or product.”
Katrin Press, Founder, getklapp.com (Estonia) “Communications happens between people, not companies and publications. Sending out general press releases is definitely not the most effective way to talk to people. Be curious and willing to learn and you’ll find out naturally who are your allies in the media industry. Develop empathy and listening skills, because it's rare. Have an opinion, but don't force it if not asked. Be authentic and use the language that is clear and easy to understand, with no ambiguity or jargon. Try to understand how the journalists work, be useful, make their lives easier. Be a caring community member, support other players in your field.”
So, what’s the upshot of these excellent suggestions? The entrepreneurs and top PR professionals who’ve lent their comments and suggestions may disagree on the details of a PR initiative, but there sure seems to be strong agreement on a few big ticket fundamentals. First, PR starts with a clear strategic view of the brand you are building, what makes it unique and relevant, how it aligns with client needs and focuses the conversation. Second, great PR is all about a helpful narrative: a story that clients can relate to, and is meaningful to them. And third, get professional help. If you can’t afford the cost of a professional PR professional or agency, get creative; for example, invite a PR professional you trust to your advisory board (What, you don’t have an advisory board?) and pay them in equity or options. Or barter with them for the services you need. PR is part art, to be sure, but also part science. Your goal is to build strong relationships with journalists and other pundits who can amplify your voice, and carry your thoughtful and well-crafted message to the customers of your marketplace.
Viva la revolution!
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7d69654c53dd75d2ef3fea9f2aaced04 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2021/02/28/one-more-time-what-do-freelancers-really-expect-of-their-platform/ | One More Time: What Do Freelancers Really Expect Of Their Platform? | One More Time: What Do Freelancers Really Expect Of Their Platform?
One of the questions I regularly get asked by freelance entrepreneurs is how to make their platform more sticky. Or more specifically, how can they make their platform more attractive to top performing freelancers. When top performers congregate in particular platforms, such as Toptal in tech, or YunoJuno in agency, Inex.One as an aggregator of expert networks, Talmix in management consulting, or Patreon among creatives, it naturally attracts other, similar, freelancers.
These platforms – and there are others I will mention below - do a better job than most platforms in managing talent and revenue leakage. Talent leakage is when a platform member leaves the platform as they gain some success. Revenue leakage is the loss of that individual’s revenue generation, but it’s also when platform members contract with clients outside the platform, denying the platform a return on its investment. Informal data suggests that most freelancers are members of 3-5 different platforms. That’s a problem on both sides of the two-sided marketplace. For freelancers it means that they tend not to commit to a platform, and invest little time and effort in helping to make the platform successful. Freelancers who don’t commit to their platform are reluctant to share opportunity or work with other platform members to “hunt in packs.” That reduces their effectiveness in sourcing work, and at scale, it significantly harms overall platform performance. It’s a vicious cycle.
My co-author Norm Smallwood and I first answered the question – what do top freelancers expect from their platform - in our book, Agile Talent. Since its publication in 2016, there has been a rapid expansion of regional and niche platforms in many areas, from diplomacy to pharma clinical trials management to satellite telemetry and AI. And, we’ve seen the growth of mega-platforms such as Freelancer.com which now boasts 50,000,000 members. Slightly larger in population than Spain!
Through my Forbes #freelancerevolution writing, I have a regular opportunity to speak with groups of freelancers on a pro bono basis. Most recently my conversations included an “ask Jon Younger anything about the freelance revolution” with freelance audiences in Copenhagen, Brussels, Moscow, and Boston. Inevitably the topic is raised: What leads top performers to commit to a platform or treat one platform as primary?
So, how can platforms establish a level of trust that builds commitment and engagement? My data continues to show that freelancers want five services from their platform, performed at a consistent level of quality: call them the big five commitment drivers. When platforms regularly and competently provide these services, and invest in their freelancer’s careers rather than inventorize them, freelancers stick and engage. We know that because platforms like Hoxby in the UK, Toptal and Contra in the US, Sneakers & Jackets in France, Appjobs in Sweden, Comatch in Germany, and Mash in Australia are among a number of excellent examples of high commitment platforms.
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Here they are again, with additional examples:
Regular work. The number one priority of most freelancers is steady, interesting, work at an attractive rate of pay. Here’s the problem: platforms vary considerably in the percent of freelancers that obtain regular work. For example, the huge global platforms generate work for less than 5% of their platform members; a more typical percentage of regular work among platforms is between 10-30%, depending on the platform and area of expertise. By contrast, more focused and medium sized platforms are able to provide work for 10-30%, and some platforms like Hoxby, Toptal and Itarmi do better still. Smart platforms are always on the lookout for new ways to generate opportunity for freelancers. For example, Expert Powerhouse and Catalant offer consulting expertise but also access to an expert network which expands the opportunities available to their consultants. Experfy established a joint venture with Deloitte. theravenry has added writing to its analytic offering in Asia. Other independent consulting platforms offer interim management. Smart marketing platforms are offering brand audits to increase freelancer revenues.
A strong opportunity flow. A strong business measures more than revenues; trends are equally important. So do freelancers. They want work, but also want to know that their platform is robust and increasingly effective in its ability to offer an attractive and ongoing flow of interesting work for which freelancers are qualified. This lends to a virtuous cycle of growth, the inverse of the vicious cycle mentioned earlier. When a platform earns the commitment of its freelancers, they generate an increased willingness of freelancers to actively seek opportunity, and work with colleagues to generate more complex and lucrative projects, and share their relationships. The starting point here is trust, based on platform performance over time and incentives for sharing and “hunting in packs”. Platforms like Vicoland in Germany and Freelancingteams.com in the US organize freelancers into teams (VICO stands for “virtual organization”) and more effectively seek work through collaborative effort. Platforms like Contra and Hoxby go further, hiring their own freelancers to do the work of the platform, rather than hiring full time staff. Worksome offers a different example: by expanding internationally, they are providing more opportunity to their freelancers. Outsized has undertaken a similar approach by focusing on financial services in Asia, a source of new opportunity. NC Partners in France has expanded into Morocco and Northern Africa. And NS.work connects South African freelancers to European clients, creating meaningful growth for their African freelancers.
Help with business-of-one fundamentals. Almost a quarter of freelancers, according to research by Emergent Research, are budding entrepreneurs. They want to build a business that is larger than themselves, and interested in learning how to manage the levers of business. But, a larger percentage of freelancers are what we call solopreneurs, and are eager to delegate as much of the work of managing the administration of their business to the platform: invoicing, getting paid, compliance with government regulations, planning for taxes. And, they are looking for help in becoming a better solopreneur with help in establishing a brand, marketing their capabilities, and dealing with issues like insurances and saving for a rainy day. The platforms that provide this help with excellence– and go one step further, for example, helping with a profile – reinforce the commitment of their freelancers. This is not to say that freelance platforms need to reinvest these services: companies like Payoneer, Collective a new startup in the US, CollectiveBenefit in the UK, and Cool Company in Sweden offer these services to platforms. Think of it as their administrative “Intel inside.”
Future-proofing skills. I’ve written about this important topic a couple of times. High performing freelancers understand the importance of future-proofing both their technical and professional skills; their income and prospects depend on keeping up. They also know that work is won on the basis of hard technical skills, but often lost as a result of weak professional skills in areas like communication, time management, and teamwork. Top freelance platforms understand the importance of investing in the competence of their freelancers. Hoxby, for example, has appointed a director of future-proofing to help freelancers continue to grow. Toptal goes further, providing regular education, offering scholarships for freelancers to learn new tech, and provides freelancers with both opportunity and editorial help writing on the platform’s Engineering and Finance blogs. Gebeya in Africa provides training to their freelancers. OnceCircle HR, also in Africa, focused on HR professionals, brings their freelancers together for market updates and information on areas of increasing client interest and demand. Matt Mottola, founder of Venture L, regularly meets with freelancers in small groups to provide updates and support. Mash in Australia enables younger freelancers to work closely with their more senior CMO caliber freelancers, and benefit from the mentorship that follow. Weem in France provides a similar connection between their more senior and junior independent consultants, improving the ability of juniors to learn from more experienced colleagues, and generate greater opportunity. Comatch provides a similar service to their platform members.
Feeling part of a community that matters. It’s no surprise that the fifth and final factor that drives platform loyalty is how seriously platforms build a sense of community. Freelancing is a lonely art, and most platforms are organized in a hub and spokes architecture. In practical terms, that means platforms are tilted to operate more as talent inventories (think job boards) than providing the mutual support and defines productive relationships. Strong platforms work hard to make freelancers feel part of a shared virtual neighborhood. For example, platforms like Kolabtree, Lifeschhub and G2i regularly survey their platform members to better understand how to support them. The importance of affiliation – feeling part - extends to enterprises who build private or “white label” platforms, for example, PwC’s Talent Exchange, or Deloitte’s Pixel network. Just as with commercial platforms, smart enterprise platforms actively invest in building relationships with their top freelancers, by providing regular work, but also by treating them as members of the extended enterprise, offering access to training and keeping them well-informed about the enterprise and its issues and needs. In short, they invest in the loyalty of their freelancers, rather than take that loyalty for granted. Other platforms take still different routes to create community. Omdena, for example, actively engages platform members in projects that solve difficult social and environmental issues. Platforms like Contra and Braintrust base membership on the recommendation of current members and, like Clubhouse, are only open by invitation, building in community from the selection process onward. The Vendry supports its community by providing an events news channel, hosts meetups and virtual conferences, and maintains the most comprehensive schedule of events on behalf of the events industry. Some platforms like Rise are using Crypto currency as a form of payment to attract top freelancers.
In short, these Big Five Drivers of freelancer commitment continue to be the foundation of a successful platform over the long term, and a successful relationship between freelancers and platforms. But, we are on the cusp of learning a great deal more about what works and what doesn’t in detail. Together with Professor Gerald Cupchik of the University of Toronto, we have invited 75 small and medium sized platforms – representing all major markets, geographies, and areas of independent professionalism - to participate in the first significant global study of freelancing (note. For more information on the Global Survey on Freelancing, contact me on Linkedin). Through this global study, we look forward to sharing more specific insights with Forbes readers on the factors that bind freelancers to the platforms they depend on, what makes for freelance friendly client environments, and how top freelancers achieve economic success and career satisfaction. More soon on this important topic.
Viva la revolution!
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30acb1c2bec0a6b69e2f9c5dfd8fdcf8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2021/03/09/uk-freelance-life-during-covid-19-a-helpful-survey-from-worksomecom/?sh=45145b4fca15 | U.K. Freelance Life During Covid-19: A Helpful Survey From Worksome.com | U.K. Freelance Life During Covid-19: A Helpful Survey From Worksome.com
Spring is the time when surveys about the prior year proliferate. Most are rather dull, so it’s always a pleasure to read an industry survey research report that offers an interesting and thoughtful narrative. In my experience most industry survey projects would benefit from more of an “outside in” perspective: deliver what your target reader wants to know, not what you have to show. I regularly skim through a great many survey reports emailed to me over the course of a week that are, in the main, data intensive but insight lite.
But, from time to time a survey report pops into my email that offers a helpful guide to the experiences of freelancers through this challenging pandemic. In this case, the survey is by Worksome.com, a fast growing Danish platform with deep roots in freelancing, operating now out of London and Copenhagen. It has recently entered the US market as well. Thanks to Worksome co-founder and CCO Mathias Linnemann and new US head Morton Bruun.
Before I introduce the findings of their survey, keep two qualifications in mind. First, the survey population is small: 1200 freelancers covering several professional areas, Tech, Advertising and Creative, HR and Administrative Services, and Design, which made it difficult to assess impact across professional areas e.g., how do tech and agency freelancers differ in the availability of interesting work? The second limitation is more meaningful to some readers than others: the survey is specific to the UK, and doesn’t offer a perspective beyond.
Worksome kicked off its findings with a helpful perspective:
There's no doubt that the pandemic had an effect on freelance workers. But just what kind of effect did it have? Did freelancers benefit from their familiarity with remote working? With businesses needing to re-prioritize, how were freelancers affected in the process? Now that more people have been exposed to the freelance lifestyle, has there been an increase in employees turning to freelancing as a permanent solution?
Here’s what they found:
1. Covid-19 drove many furloughed or laid off employees into freelancing. 21% of surveyed freelancers became freelancers as a means of providing a wider range of opportunity in preferred locations or because they had been fired or furloughed and needed to replace essential family income.
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2. Freelancer’s work experience (not the same as life experience) during Covid-19 was generally more positive than negative. Some freelancer categories had a significantly more positive experience than other cohorts of freelancers. We took the data from the Worksome.com survey and created a net experience index. When we subtract the % negative from % positive, we get a net experience score. A positive score means more freelancers reported a positive experience. Here are the specifics:
Net Positive (with net score)
Sales and marketing: +30
HR, administration: +30
IT, software and data: +26
Journalism and comm’n: +19
Design, photo and video: +6
3. While freelancers were generally positive about their work experience during Covid-19, the availability of interesting project work varied quite a bit. Almost a third of freelancers (31%) saw an increase in project opportunity as a result of Covid-19; an essentially equal number (30%) reported a reduction in project work. Here is what they found:
Increase: 31%
Decrease: 30%
No change or not sure: 39%
4. Despite less project work available to many, the opportunity to work remotely was a boon to most freelancers. Just about three quarters (74%) of freelancers in this survey found it easy to work remotely, found tool like Zoom, Teams, and Slack helpful, and found clients generally to be more understanding and comfortable with remote work. But, freelancers – like others - missed the social aspects of working in a common location. Most freelancers reported a degree of comfort with remote work but looked forward to regular collegial contact in future.
5. Although productivity increases from remote work are widely reported, only a third of these freelancers (36%) reported a productivity boost from working remotely. Those who did see a benefit reported less time commuting or going to required meetings. 45% of freelancers saw no significant productivity benefit.
6. Freelancers are a hard working community of professionals. While freelancing provides additional flexibility to independent professionals, freelancers in the main reported working demanding hours. Most (85%) freelancers described working, on average, more than 6 hours per day on paid project work, preparation, marketing, speaking with clients and colleagues, and other responsibilities. A plurality of this group reported working 9 hours or more as a regular day. Unsurprisingly, those who experienced a reduction in freelance work had to put in additional time and effort to grow their reputation, bid for projects, and work with other freelancers to “hunt in packs” in order to generate longer term project opportunity.
7. Most freelancers prefer the freelance life to permanent full-time employment. Almost three quarters of freelancers (74%) described themselves as feeling happier as a freelancer than as an employee. Three of five (59%) described themselves as having more economic freedom as a freelancer than as a permanent employee. In addition, a high percentage (72%) said they had more time with family as a freelancer – despite the long hours.
8. While freelancers prefer the freelance life, there has been a meaningful economic cost during Covid-19. Almost two thirds (64%) of survey respondents reported that they earned less than usual during COVID-19. A similar percentage (71%) reported that they’ve had projects delayed or canceled as a result of the pandemic.
9. Government can and should do more to help freelancers. Two thirds (67%) of freelancers believed the UK government did too little to support freelancers during the pandemic. And, almost half (45%) of freelancers worried that there would be fewer jobs available after Brexit as a result of increased pressure on already strained businesses dealing with the pandemic (39% couldn't predict how Brexit would affect the freelance industry). As a result of financial uncertainties during the pandemic, three quarters (73%) of freelancers reported increasing their savings to prepare for possible months of unemployment. But, finances are still tight for most freelancers: 39% reported having 1-2 months of typical pay in the bank, while 29% were able to save 3-4 months’ salary.
10.More than two thirds of freelancers (71%) reported that life was better as a freelancer than as a permanent employee. Optimism about freelancing remains strong overall. Eight of ten (79%) freelancers asserted that freelancing is here to stay post COVID-19, and 82% plan to continue working as a freelancer either full-time or part-time as a “side gigger” after COVID ends.
The Worksome.com survey continues an important trend in the freelance community: asking freelancers how they are doing, and how they feel about the future. It’s a good start, but our research efforts in support of the freelancing revolution needs to do more than take the temperature of the freelance community. We need to think bigger, and recognize the full potential of freelancing to change the nature of careers, and re-architect the workforces of organizations large and small. We need to dig into the critical factors that determine the quality of a freelancer’s experience: what can platforms do, and what must individual freelancers do for and by themselves, to improve their performance and satisfaction, and stay competitive as the half-life of their profession continues to shrink. There ought to be an industrial and occupational psychology for freelancing just as there has been for employees of large companies. A global, collaborative effort is needed. The freelance experience is likely to be highly varied across professional areas as well as geographic and industrial markets.
One of the great benefits of the freelance revolution is its potential as a leveler and democratizer of opportunity. But, to achieve that end we must understand how to help individual freelancers, freelance cooperatives, and two-sided marketplaces to know how to do so.
Viva la revolution!
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8428fccf7faccc0e7a63b4dc0c3272eb | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2021/03/13/freelance-platforms-win-by-building-strategic-capability-heres-how/?sh=50b0ee0f281d | Freelance Platforms Win By Building Strategic Capability: Here’s How | Freelance Platforms Win By Building Strategic Capability: Here’s How
Several years ago, colleagues from my old consulting firm, the RBL Group, wrote about a clever way to convert business goals into a plan of action and investment. Plenty of consultancies talk about the difficulty and importance of effective implementation plans. But, these colleagues, Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood, in an HBR article called “capitalizing on capabilities” took a different approach.
Ulrich and Smallwood focused on organizational capability as a critical missing link between vision and outcome. Think of capability as the extension of “competency-based management” at the organizational level. Here’s how Ulrich and Smallwood described the role of capability in business performance and value:
“Capabilities—the collective skills, abilities, and expertise of an organization—form the identity and personality of the organization by defining what it is good at doing and, in the end, what it is. They are stable over time and more difficult for competitors to copy ... They aren’t easy to measure ... but these capabilities give investors’ confidence in future earnings.”
They pointed out research by Baruch Lev who studies capabilities from an intangible assets perspective, and who found that company valuation is forward looking based on investor’s confidence in future earnings e.g., their ability to continue to grow and thrive. That ability is what organizational capability is all about.
Lev put it this way:
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“Intangible assets—a skilled workforce, patents and know-how, software, strong customer relationships, brands, unique organizational designs and processes, and the like—generate most of corporate growth and shareholder value. They account for well over half the market capitalization of public companies. They absorb a trillion dollars of corporate investment funds every year. In fact, these “soft” assets are what give today’s companies their hard competitive edge.”
I find it helpful to think of organizational capability as a bundle of skills, investments, process choices, IP, analytics, performance measures, and other resources. Aligning these activities and assets to create capability is the goal; they must work together. Different strategies, in turn, rely on different bundles of capability:
Amazon, for example, is all about deepening its relationship with customers and grows by providing new ways to serve its retail and business customers. By contrast, e-commerce marketplaces like Overstock or Wayfair rely on their ability to source and distribute the right remaindered home goods that can be sold at a profit. Exxon Mobil, my old employer depends on excellence in risk management as they invest billions in the search for new old and gas reserves.
In short, different companies with different strategies means different capability bundles.
The link between strategy and capability bundles is equally important for talent marketplaces. Different platforms – marketplaces and social networks – have different strategies and, therefore, may require different capability bundles:
The “big three” platforms, Freelancer.com, Fiverr.com or Upwork.com offer the broadest possible set of freelance services and price range. Kolabtree is laser focused on a particular service category; in their case R&D scientists. LifeSciHub in pharma clinical project management and Spacely.work in Satellite telemetry offer unique expertise and experience in high demand growth areas. Toptal carefully cultivates its community of eponymous top (top 3%) talent as a key capability. Itarmi.com in the UK and Sneakers-Jackets in France emphasize deepening customer relationships at the enterprise level Jelber.dk, a Danish independent marketing platform focuses on a unique segment of freelancers: those with deep marketing expertise and know-how in building and managing client relationships. Outsized.com focusing on finance enterprises in Asia, or freelance social networks like Freelance.EU and the Freelance Business Community in Belgium, are geographically oriented James Sandoval, CEO of Measurematch, describes their strategy in capability terms: “To empower every organization & every professional to execute with unbelievable agility, supporting every business and every professional to do what they do best, as friction-free and as successfully as possible.”
Naturally, if the strategy changes, capability may also need to be reprioritized. For example, Riverflex.com, a freelance platform for independent consultants, is rapidly expanding its digital transformation, digital marketing and data platform services across EU and some Asian markets. As it expands geographically, Riverflex tests the continuing importance of a hard won historic capability –expertise and deep experience in the consumer and retail space. A bigger market opportunity may lead the platform to expand more deeply in other industries. Capabilities are rarely “forever”.
Large corporations understand the role of building strategic capability. A recent McKinsey survey of executives put it this way: “The strategic importance of capabilities is apparent around the globe: half of all executive respondents this year say capability building is at least a top-three priority at their companies.”
How might a freelance platform team review their S.W.O.T. (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) and determine the capability bundle they needs to be successful? Here are three key steps to get you started.
Step one: deciding what capabilities drive the customer experience
“What do we want to be consistently experienced by our best, most demanding, customers? What are the critical few areas where we need to be best in world to thrive.”
It’s not an easy question to answer, but it’s an essential first step.
If your platform is well regarded and regularly employed by your best, toughest, most demanding target customers, and you have more than your fair share of top talent on your platform, it means you have been very effective in building the capability bundle needed to thrive – so long as there isn’t a massive shift or black swan event (like a Pandemic!).
Here are some obvious capability bundles. What’s yours?
Is it, for example, a focus on speed, the ability to connect the right talent to the right customer quickly, get the work going in the shortest possible time, and make changes quickly and well? Or is it deep expertise, for example, the ability of Virtasant to deliver their unique expertise in Cloud services? Maybe it’s a compelling cause which helps Omdena - collaboratively solving social problems in developing countries using AI – attract volunteer AI, tech and crowd sourcing experts – and students – to work together in common cause? Or the know-how and cultural affinity to create a true collaboration with customers as Mash in Australia or Vrootok in Macedonia does in the way it structures marketing teams in working together with customers to solve their challenges? Or, unique tech, for example, the innovative tools that Revelio Labs brings to big data analysis?
Each of these capability bundles – speed, deep expertise, teaming, collaboration, unique IP – relies on your effectiveness as a platform team to identify, organize and align the “bits” of capability: talent with the right set of technical and “soft” skills, the organization and roles you’ve designed, the way the matching algorithm works, the unique IP, the process choices and investments you’ve made, and reputation building assets. As someone once said about capability management, “the magic is in the mix.”
Step two: make your best customers your best advisors
No one knows the strengths, weaknesses and competitive vulnerabilities of your platform better than your best, most demanding, customers.
Put your capability to the test. Ask your best and toughest customers for feedback. Their honest perspective on what your platform does well and less well is crucial information. But remember, asking feedback implies a contract: “If you will tell me straight, what you think, I will take action where needed.”
Here’s one way to seek customer feedback:
“We believe that agility is one of the most important strengths for our platform, the ability to “move quickly and effectively to provide the right resource, solve problems, and make changes that benefit our customers and talent.” Please help us by answering four questions:
How would you grade our performance in “agility” overall? What’s one thing the we should start doing, or do more often, to demonstrate greater “agility”? What’s one thing we should stop doing, or do less often? What’s one thing we should do differently to support greater agility?
Step three: Remember, it’s a two-sided marketplace
As a two-sided marketplace, you must also satisfy a second critical stakeholder, your supply side clients: the talented freelancers that join your platform. Their success is the chief priority of the platform.
In this case, we know the supply side drivers: the Big Five Drivers that attract and retain top freelance talent:
Offer me interesting, well-paid project work Show me a continuing opportunity flow of attractive work to build my confidence in this platform Manage basic business tasks for me, so I can focus on my work Support me in future proofing my skill set and expertise Provide me with a helpful, supportive, professional network
The key to converting talent platform members into advisors is to ask and act! But don’t waste their time. Use pulse surveys and sample platform talent: That way each person is asked just a few times, but you are getting rich, ongoing, feedback.
Here’s a simple set of questions:
How well do we serve you? We’d like your assessment and, if possible specific examples and suggestions for improvement. How satisfied are you with:
The work I get from the platform The amount and quality of project work that the platform attracts overall The business services I receive from the platform The help I get from the platform in future proofing my technical and professional skills The relationships I’ve made and the help I get from other members of this platform Finally, if the platform made one improvement, this would be my vote: _______
Treating platform members as partners in capability building, pays significant dividends. Contra found freelancer feedback invaluable in building a high commitment platform. Venture L, founder Matt Mottola reserves a big chunk of his time to check in with freelancers and hear first-hand how the platform can be more responsive. OMS, a major French consulting platform, is responding to freelance feedback by developing an academy to help consultants stay up to date in “digital transformation”. Freelance feedback led Hoxby, in the UK, to engage a director of “future proofing”.
Capability is ultimately about fully investing in your vision
Think of capability as the engine powering strategy. Although capability may sound too “MBA-speak,” it’s an exceedingly practical concept. If, for example, agility is the essential capability for success, we cannot “conjure” it; instead, we must architect the capability bundle bit by bit, ensuring that skills, work processes, tech investments, performance measures, and communication activities combine and align.
When platform leadership teams reach agreement on the question - “what do we want to be known for by our target customers and talent” Ulrich and Smallwood would say they share a “unity of identity” which is, of course, the essence of organizational culture. After all, they write, “culture is what we want to be known for by our best customers made real by our daily actions.”
Viva la revolution!
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b8518839b03b5cc02911d4aad158929e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2021/03/26/the-difference-between-freelancers-and-traditional-employees-is-shrinking-fast--heres-why/?sh=b8c6b7038cb6 | The Difference Between Freelancers And Traditional Employees Is Shrinking Fast. Here’s Why | The Difference Between Freelancers And Traditional Employees Is Shrinking Fast. Here’s Why
As well as writing my posts for Forbes, I spend a fair amount of my time these days giving webinars and zoom talks about the freelance economy, or what I call the #freelancerevolution. One of the typical questions corporate clients ask is this: “How should I decide between hiring a freelancer or a permanent employee? How big of a performance difference is there?”
In just two decades, freelancing pioneers like Upwork, Toptal and others have conjured a new industry, a new career path for many categories of independent professionals, and a path to financial freedom for many in developing economies. 90% of big corporates say freelancers are a meaningful part of their work ecosystem. And, many of these companies are taking it further and evolving a more flexible, blended workforce, like Gazprom Neft, the energy and chemicals giant.
To the question posed above, my answer, as a former HR executive, is that the regular employee premium we pay in time, cost, and mindshare provides less and less worth it. The value gap between a top employee and a top freelancer or freelance team is shrinking. Freelance solutions are popping up in every industry, and most and more professions, because they offer a realistic and attractive alternative to traditional staffing.
Here’s why:
1. Can you attract and fully utilize equivalent full-time talent?
If you are able to attract, afford, and fully utilize a top talent, a full-time hire may be the right solution. But, top talents, particularly in high demand areas like AI, ML, and robotics are widely sought after. If your brand is weak, your industry is struggling or uninteresting, your future is uncertain, or your projects aren’t cutting edge, you may not be able to attract a top full-time employee or keep them for long. And, it will take several months longer than the one to two weeks needed to contract with a top freelancer with the right background and experience. In many situations, a part-time freelancer or term interim is a better decision: more expertise part-time at lower overall cost may be the better move. One helpful data point: Upwork found that two thirds of independent professionals were busy through 2020, making as much or more than in 2019.
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2. Are freelancers just people in between jobs?
It’s difficult to find consistent statistics on freelancers world-wide, or the distribution of full vs. part-time (“side giggers). In January 2020 I would have estimated 15-20 million full-time freelancers in the US, and a larger population doing side-gigs. But Covid-19 turned the world upside down, and it will be some time before we can write the history of freelancing during and following the pandemic. There are certainly many freelancers who are looking for full-time work. But, according to research by Emergent Research, in the US at least, they are fewer than 20% of freelancers . Upwork surveys pointed out that 12% of the US workforce began freelancing in 2020 for the first time, that 48% have experienced it as both a full time and long-term career opportunity.
3. Is there a large productivity differential between full-time employees and freelancers?
A recent Inc article mentioned: “Research suggests that in an eight-hour day, the average regular employee is only productive for two hours and 53 minutes. That's right—only three hours a day of productive work for 8.8 paid hours. By contrast, remote working employees (and freelancers) were consistently found to be more productive, the result of fewer distractions, remote work arrangements that save significant commuting time (and cost), and the benefit of flexible hours. An Upwork survey found a similar result.
4. Is there a large expertise differential?
Let’s take both aspects of this question. First, are freelancers less expert than equivalently credentialed full-time employees? And, how well do freelancers vs. non-freelancers keep their expertise strong and sharp? On the first question, here’s a stat that may surprise: top consulting firms are among the largest customers of independent management consultants, maintain active alumni communities that augment their own consulting resources, and work closely with top independent consulting platforms. Top tech firms depend on freelancers to meet their specialized needs. Top marketing agencies rely on boutique freelance shops and independents. M&A work increasingly relies on freelance finance specialist platforms and expert networks. And, as mentioned earlier, over 90% of enterprises are actively using and increasing their use of freelancers across specialties. On the second question, how well freelancers vs. employees burnish their skills, freelancers are well ahead. As Upwork reported, 59% of freelancers have participated in skills training in the last 6 months vs. 36% of non-freelancers; these data are consistent with trends. In general, freelancers are more attentive to future-proofing their skills because they have to in order to attract quality work!
5. Is there a large engagement gap between freelancers and employees?
Gallup began tracking employee engagement in 2000. They wrote this year: “The percentage of engaged employees in 2020 — those who are highly involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace — dropped back to just slightly above the pre-coronavirus rate of 35% to 36% for the year.” Take the number in: two thirds of employees are not engaged in their work or company. What about freelancers? They can’t afford to be disengaged. Their ability to attract interesting, well paid, work depends on a reputation of active engagement in the project, and a determination to deliver a strong outcome so that they’ll win future work and build their reputation. Not surprisingly, a recent IBM study found that “freelancers are generally more engaged than most employees - and have greater pride and satisfaction than high potential employees.” Moreover, IBM found that “Independent workers are very similar to "high-potential" employees – more so than to other employees.”
6. Is there a large cost differential?
Without question some freelancers are pricey, making thousands of dollars per day. But, overall, are freelancers more expensive than full-time employees? They can be, but here is the difference. With freelancers, it’s up to the client organization to decide what, how long, where, when and how much: freelancing converts staffing from fixed to variable cost. One benefit: freelancers offer clients a more agility and experimental potential; the chance, to experiment and get it right before making significant staffing decisions.
7. Is there a large commitment or loyalty differential?
According to the IBM study mentioned earlier, “The only engagement item where independent workers did not score higher than regular employees was on commitment. Independent workers are more likely to think about finding another client, even when the arrangement with their current primary client is expected to be long-term.” Good common sense for small business owners, which is what freelancers as solopreneurs really are. But to be fair, freelancers weren’t lower, just on par. And, let’s consider all the facts. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the median tenure of workers ages 25 to 34 is merely 2 plus years. SHRM notes that high potential employees begin looking for better jobs and pay after just a year in position. Not surprising that high potential employees are thinking like freelancers.
8. Is there a satisfaction differential?
The answer is a strong no. We turn again to the IBM study: “When it came to job satisfaction, independent workers were just as satisfied with their jobs as high-potential employees and significantly more satisfied with their jobs than other employees.” Other data turns in similar. Upwork found that 76% of full-time freelancers say they're satisfied with freelancing and more than two thirds of full-time freelancers were satisfied with their pay. Fifty seven percent say they do interesting work. By contrast, a recent Microsoft study found that 46% of surveyed employees were planning to move locations, 41% were actively considering leaving the company, and 54% described themselves as overworked. As Microsoft VP Jared Spatoro points out, “Sixty one percent of leaders say they are thriving-that’s 23% higher than the average worker, so there’s a disconnect there.”
9. Is there a team or collaboration differential?
In the early years, freelancing was largely individual contracts although aggregators often pulled a team together to manage a large project. While freelancing often remains individualistic, we see more and more demand, particularly working with large corporates, for intact freelancing teams or experts able to work as part of a blended, flexible team or hybrid. Freelancing platforms have met the team demand in a number of ways: by assessing and selecting freelance members based on “soft” skills like teamwork, by using their matching algorithms to build teams based on a mix of hard and soft skills, by making teamwork a selection feature, by organizing teams at the front end as Vicoland in Germany, or FreelancingTeams in the US does, by supplying intact teams for enterprise assignments as Toptal, Contra and others have done, by providing tools like Slack and Zoom to aid collaboration, and finally by offering training that helps freelancers build team and other related skills. As Chandrika Pasricha, CEO of Flexing It, recently put it: “Enterprise clients have always been a focus and account for the majority of our revenues. Our Enterprise products give high-use clients greater functionality to access consultants at scale and match them to projects, supported by analytics and financial compliance. Demand is growing rapidly for this and for curated freelance teams taking on larger assignments. Our freelancers are extremely open to working in teams.”
10. Finally, is there a cultural gulf between freelancers and employees that requires effort to overcome?
The choice of starting freelancing career – part-time or full-time, permanent or temporary – reflects the values of our time: values like autonomy, choice and flexibility, work life balance, and feeling a part of a productive professional community that values and strengthens what I do. Moreover, the arc of a career these days is quite different. Whether the right number of people participating in the US freelance economy, full or part-time is 40 or 60 million, it’s a lot. It’s not difficult to imagine the full emergence of the hybrid career, where one transits between full-time freelancing and full-time regular employment based on time of life, family, and professional interests, and actively participates in side gigs in between. As I wrote in a Forbes post some time ago, employees are quickly becoming “freelancer lite” in their expectations of the workplace. A generation of employees wants what freelancers want: “greater autonomy, choice and flexibility, work life balance and feeling part of a productive professional community.”
Viva la revolution!
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f77e14f12a024a4065d0e131d52f7fd3 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2021/04/06/four-pioneers-of-the-freelance-revolution-going-strong/ | Four Pioneers Of The Freelance Revolution Going Strong | Four Pioneers Of The Freelance Revolution Going Strong
For those readers with an interest in #freelancerevolution history, count the 2005-2010 era of early internet job boards as freelance revolution 1.0. The next five years – from 2010 to 2015 - proved an even more propitious period for the #freelance revolution and certainly 2.0. During that time we saw the first significant combination of platforms, elance and o-desk, leading to the formation of Upwork. We also saw the formation of Toptal in the US, Worksome in Denmark, and YunoJuno and FreelancerClub in the UK.
One particularly interesting outcome of the period was its production of four pioneers of independent management consulting: Expertera in Turkey, OMS in France, Talmix in the UK, and Comatch in Germany. Although not always the first mover in their markets, these four platforms have had an outsized impact on freelance consulting in their nation and surrounding region. They continue to grow in performance and reputation, and significantly contribute to the growth of next generation entrepreneurial talent in the freelance space. You need to know about them.
Here’s an introduction to each of these pioneers:
Expertera
Expertera took Turkey into the freelance revolution in 2012. Like so many innovations, it was the creative response to a problem. Platform founder Alp Sezginsoy was a research analyst working in Chile at a global bank, and found it difficult to find experts to advise on investments. On his return to Turkey, he created Expertera to provide experts and independent consultants to its earliest clients: Turkish and regional banks, private equity firms, and large consultancies needing access to experts to meet specific project and client needs. Now the largest independent consulting platform in Turkey, a majority of the platform’s work is for large corporates and the regional operations of many Fortune 500 companies. The 15,000 freelancer platform members serve a wide range of industries including industrials, tech and telco, health care, retail and consumer, as well as financials and consultancies. Big growth areas: tech and business support for operational and business transformations, remote working freelancers (versus on-site), and curated freelance teams. Expertera is also finding additional demand for ongoing or part-time consulting roles and for interim executives giving expert support to significant corporate IT and operational transformation efforts. But, as Alp explains, after almost a decade it’s still early days in the Turkish and regional freelance consulting space as well as greater demand for global talent. He sees additional opportunity as more and more Turkish corporates play a significant role in the global economy, and adapt a hybrid resourcing approach: “We’re leading the future of work here in Turkey. After almost 10 years, clients are still getting comfortable with independent experts and tend to start small. But we are also increasingly used to test out business concepts on behalf of European and North American businesses. We have a strong agility effort here in Turkey.”
Comatch
Christoph Hardt, the CEO of Comatch explains, “We came at the right time, and were able to surf a wave of interest in independent management consulting, and attract both excellent clients and top freelancers. We heard many people say, ‘finally somebody does it and grows it.’” The McKinsey connection of the founders was an important asset and provided early credibility. And, it worked. Now it’s a platform of 13,000 pre-qualified independent consultants, including a rich mix of alumni from top consultancies and deeply experienced industry experts. The platform initially served Germany but has expanded to the whole of Europe with a larger presence in Paris and London. Comatch focuses primarily on large and mid-sized corporates as well as on consultancies, and provides service in consulting and interim management. The covered topics range from (IT) project management (PMO), digital transformations to purchasing optimizations. Early in its history, Comatch focused on assignments in Automotive and Banking. Big growth areas: More recently the platform has expanded into Pharma, the Machinery sector, and Consumer Retail. Asking how Comatch earned its position as a leader of independent consulting in the region, Hardt explained: “We’re a trust and relationship based business. In many cases, we’ve had discussions with clients for 3 or 4 years before they hired us. We understand that we need to earn the right to serve, and we do that by continuing to show up, demonstrating our abilities, describing how we’ve helped others with similar needs, and showcasing the great talent we can offer them.”
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Talmix
Talmix is the oldest of the pioneers, formed in 2010 and known early in its life as MBA & Co. The FT featured Talmix in its recent article, “When McKinsey met Uber.” Now slightly more than a decade old, Talmix’s platform membership is nearly 60,000 including experts from 150 countries. Similar to the mix at Comatch, platform members include both the alumni of top consultancies and operating experts from a wide range of industries and geographies. Each of these four pioneer platforms have a different mix of clients that reflect the history and vision of the platform. In Talmix’s case, CEO Sandeep Dhillon describes a portfolio that evenly includes consulting to large corporates, providing interim management expertise to both corporates and PE portfolio companies, and providing specialist consultants to top tier global consultancies. The work is currently balanced among North America, Asia Pacific, the UK and rest of world. The interim management practice is one of the most diversified I’ve seen, and is growing as client companies recognize talent gaps in operational and business transformation expertise, project management (PMO), new product development, and interim C-suite roles. What does Dhillon see on the horizon for Talmix: “We see growth in several areas: more and larger PE funds means more demand for consulting and interim management. We’ve only scratched the surface of large corporate opportunity, and top tier consultants are increasingly depending on platforms like Talmix to provide deep industry or functional experts at scale.”
OMS
OMS is the fourth pioneer, formed at the same time as Expertera in 2013. It was founded by former Bain & Co consultant Arnaud Sourisseau. Sourisseau explained the origin story to me this way. “I saw the possibility of providing top quality consulting at an affordable rate to smaller and medium sized enterprises who were priced out of the best consultancies.” OMS works in four primary areas: consulting on organization and strategy is the best known. But, client service is growing in three additional focal areas: digital and data strategy, interim management, and financial or M&A due diligence support. The OMS platform emphases the focus put on the quality of the work and the experience. The pool of freelances is certainly broad, but Sourisseau has made the decision to keep the platform smaller in order to master a higher overall quality of freelancers and to create more of a community of mutually supportive colleagues. Sourisseau sees this competence as a differentiator. As he puts it: “Our size gives us greater flexibility and reactivity. And we have built a very strong quality community so quality is part of our unique brand, and the network is another. We have a very good relationship with consultants, they are helping each other, and this is particularly valuable for young consultants who need and want some mentoring.” Big growth areas: For OMS, a key growth edge is consulting teams rather than the traditional solo advisor. Sourisseau also describes project management (PMO) as a key growth opportunity with larger clients, and increasing demand for their work assisting SME clients on strategy, organization and operational transformation. I particularly enjoyed Sourisseau’s closing comments from our interview: “My objective has always been to protect my ability to pursue the work and projects that had meaning for me. I built OMS to help others obtain the same freedom. So far, so good.”
The Take Away
This piece is the first of a series that introduces readers to freelance platforms they might be interesting in learning about. Rather than long form singular profiles, as I often write, this format allows readers to meet several platforms that form an interesting group, and in a way that hopefully leads to follow-up interest about them. In this case, each of the four pioneers has had an outsized impact on independent management consulting in their market, continues to grow and innovate, and provides an important window on the future of their space. We can take away some common demand drivers: interim management is a new growth edge for a number of the platforms. All report a growth of demand in expertise to provide strategic guidance and reduce time and risk in transformational project initiatives, especially operational and digital transformation. And, all see investment firms and consultancies as important clients in their portfolio. The biggest challenge facing all four is also the challenge facing freelance platforms as a whole across most sectors: converting the democratization of opportunity into real shared economic prosperity by providing greater work opportunity at a fair rate to more of their freelancers.
Watch for more pieces in this series. It’s tough to keep up with new members of the #freelancerevolution. I receive at least 3-4 Linkedin introductions each week from platforms in beta or development, and a comparable number from ecosystem partners in beta or development, wanting to connect and make sure I know about them. Many are worth reader’s attention. I look forward to sharing these platforms, agencies, professional communities, and service partners with you.
Viva la revolution!
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fe822f8e7c239c85a0eadd2dd6cc2ab0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joonyun/2012/10/18/health-and-wealth/ | Why Rising Health Care Spending Can Be A Good Thing | Why Rising Health Care Spending Can Be A Good Thing
Human endeavor creates value. Healthier people endeavor more. Thus, health is a creator of value, of prosperity. The converse is also true. Wealthier societies demand more health care. When life is grand, people want to live longer and they want to maintain healthy bodies. Therefore, health and wealth form a virtuous, feed-forward cycle.
Growth in Total Health Expenditure Per Capita, U.S. and Selected Countries, 1970-2008 (source:... [+] Kaiser Family Foundation)
Empirically, the data supports this view. Let’s roughly assume GDP is a proxy for a society’s wealth. Longitudinally, as the GDP rises in any country over time, the percentage of GDP attributed to healthcare also goes up.
Cross-sectionally, when looking across different countries, increasing per capita health care consumption correlates with increasing GDP per capita.
It is no accident that the rise of China is being accompanied by a dramatic increase in health care consumption in the country. It is also no accident that the United States, the leader of the free world, spends a higher percentage of GDP on health care than any other country.
Skeptics will report that many countries spend a fraction of what Americans do on healthcare yet report health quality measures that are on par with the U.S.. Overlooked is the fact that most innovative drugs and medical devices used by foreigners were invented by American companies.
Total Health Expenditure per Capita and GDP per Capita, US and Selected Countries, 2008 (source:... [+] Kaiser Family Foundation)
Americans as a society choose to reward the shareholders of medical innovator corporations, and those companies sell the same innovations at a fraction of the price to foreign countries.
In the same way that China and Mexico have been exporting labor deflation to the U.S., Americans have been exporting health care deflation to the rest of the world. It’s the kind of mutually beneficial arrangement that makes the world go around.
That’s not to say that the $2 trillion we spend on healthcare is wholly effective, or that it is fairly allocated. There are many areas in need of improvement. Many of these issues will be discussed in coming blog posts.
But to demonize, as we do, an industry that has transformed life on this planet in a handful of generations—the average human life expectancy has climbed steadily from 44 to 83 years since 1840—is not only looking a gift horse in the mouth but also criticizing its dentition.
It’s time to stop referring to the health care problem. It’s disease that’s the problem. Health care is the solution. Health is wealth.
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24641cf9feb40150ac7f5936566430c9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joonyun/2012/12/25/healthcare-sector-is-a-natural-hedge-for-pension-funds/ | Healthcare Sector is a Natural Hedge for Pension Funds | Healthcare Sector is a Natural Hedge for Pension Funds
A crisis looms over corporate, state, and federal pensions in the U.S. and Europe due to the growing difference between the growth of payout obligations to retirees and growth of assets held in those funds. The obligation to retirees is skyrocketing due to lengthening lifespan, and the number of workers contributing into such funds is declining due to below-replacement fertility rates.
The estimated present value of unfunded obligations is $1 trillion for U.S. state pensions and at least $5.3 trillion for Social Security. Many corporate pension funds rely on annual return assumptions in the 7-8% range to meet future obligations, but such returns are hard to find in the real world today.
It may be prudent for pension funds to increase their exposure to the healthcare sector. After all, healthcare innovation is the single most important factor increasing human lifespan – an important variable affecting pension liabilities. For all developed countries, high life expectancy is also associated with below-replacement fertility, which reduces the ratio of workers to retirees.
Furthermore, healthcare consumption is not only a cause, but is also an effect of lengthening lifespan. The majority of healthcare consumption occurs after the age of 40, and the percentage of the population above the age of 40 is expected to grow exponentially as lifespan increases and fertility falls in the developed world.
Healthcare is poised to be the most significant growth industry of the century – one of the few asset classes, if not the only one, that can generate consistently higher returns than the 7-8% modeled by pension funds. Declining, aging population is a demographic headwind for most investment assets classes but for healthcare it's a demographic tailwind.
Investing in the lifespan-promoting healthcare sector allows public and corporate pension funds to isolate the variable that most imbalances their revenues and obligations. Indeed, by enabling a match between returns and liabilities, investing in the healthcare sector may be natural hedge for pension funds.
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f3ae52efdea4a4565e7b398d3b5aaf24 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joonyun/2013/05/03/the-other-healthcare-divide-healthcare-fluency/ | The Other Healthcare Divide: Healthcare Fluency | The Other Healthcare Divide: Healthcare Fluency
The health industry will be the largest creator of wealth in the 21st century . Yet the explosive growth in the health industry could create a new wealth divide. People often talk about the healthcare divide in terms of access to care. It's now time to discuss the healthcare divide among workers, businesses and investors in terms of wealth generation.
For workers, healthcare education and expertise will be the major factors in achieving success in the healthcare economy. This expertise is currently rationed out to workers through professional schools, training programs and credentialing mechanisms. While such rationing may help to maintain appropriate standards of practice, it limits access to the knowledge to succeed in the healthcare economy. Colleges have limited course offerings in healthcare, and virtually no healthcare instruction exists in K-12 education.
Similar to the better-publicized issue of technology illiteracy fomenting a digital divide, healthcare illiteracy will create a healthcare-knowledge divide. The state of healthcare education promises divergent job prospects, favoring those who have healthcare expertise over those who don't. Job growth in the U.S. healthcare sector has consistently outpaced job growth in the rest of the economy, adding an average of 23,000 new jobs each month over the past year.
For businesses, the capacity to participate in markets for healthcare will be a major determinant of future growth. Consumer and technology companies have established or are establishing healthcare arms of their businesses. Examples include Johnson & Johnson , Qualcomm , 3D Systems , and Clorox , to name just a few. Other consumer companies have begun to add health as a value proposition to their products. Examples include omega-3 in food, VOC-free interior paints, minimalist shoes, healthful apps in consumer electronics, health-promoting mattresses and UV-protecting sunglasses. Look for wellness and health offerings from many other industries including automotive, real estate, travel and leisure. Companies ignoring the healthcare economy do so at their own peril.
For investors, exposure to the healthcare asset class could be a major differentiator of long-term returns. Despite the strong case for growth in healthcare, many portfolios remain underexposed to healthcare investments. This is due to lack of domain expertise, fears of regulation and a bias against growth investing as opposed to value investing. To date, fears of regulation killing the healthcare market have proven wrong. Every major regulatory change over the last half-century has had no long-term impact on the logarithmic trend lines of increased healthcare consumptions. While the sector is volatile, the NASDAQ Biotech Index has outperformed the S&P500 Index over the past 1, 3, 5, and 10 years. Given the increasing average age of populations in the developed world, healthcare innovation and spreading prosperity, signs point to continued exponential growth of global healthcare consumption.
While those who are underexposed to healthcare investment risk getting left behind, there is an even worse (some would say a "nightmare") scenario. Many workers potentially face an unexpected double-whammy or even a triple-whammy. First imagine lacking the training to compete for jobs in the healthcare economy, or working for a company that lacks a competitive position in the healthcare market. Next , imagine that the worker's company pension fund underperforms the market due to insufficient investment exposure to healthcare. For them the healthcare wealth divide may turn into a healthcare Grand Canyon. What are the potential remedies?
For institutions, prudent exposure to healthcare investments could enable them to at least keep pace with the breakneck growth of the healthcare economy. Indeed, for private and public pension funds including Social Security, investing in healthcare companies could be the ideal natural hedge to their growing liabilities. The healthcare industry is, after all, directly raising pension fund liabilities by increasing human lifespan. For individuals, the healthcare knowledge gap needs to be closed through systematic, expanded access to healthcare education for K-12 children and adults alike, perhaps through online and other channels. The cost of improving the public's healthcare fluency could be high, but the cost of healthcare illiteracy is bound to be much higher.
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f890a1c3dc75e3c77f0394e948cf93e8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jopiazza/2016/07/25/meet-the-woman-breaking-the-safari-industrys-glass-ceiling/ | Meet the Woman Breaking the Safari Industry's Glass Ceiling | Meet the Woman Breaking the Safari Industry's Glass Ceiling
Evaline guiding for the Naboisho Camp in the Maasai Mara. (Photo by Jo Piazza)
We were tracking a leopard.
So was everyone else within a five-kilometer radius.
You're rarely alone on safari in the Maasai Mara, especially not when a big cat is near.
When a leopard is spotted, a battle cry goes out to every safari guide within a five-mile radius and a cluster of jeeps forms around the confused cat, not unlike a scrum of paparazzi around a Kardashian.
Leopard tracking on the Naboisho conservancy in the Maasai Mara. (Photo by Jo Piazza)
But our guide was better that most. Got us closer to the cat, found her alone more often, stuck by the leopard's side as she hunted through a herd of impala. Our guide was more dogged than the others, not aggressive, but determined, scanning the horizon like a catcher scrutinizing a pitch. And when the leopard had enough, when she needed her space, our guide backed off.
Our guide was a woman—the only one out on the savannah that day.
Evaline Sintoya Mayetu wears a perfectly tailored Maasai dress. Beaded bracelets climb her forearms and her long braids hang heavy on her shoulders. She's striking, with broad shoulders and a confident gait.
"Being a guide here is men's work," she tells me, almost spitting with frustration as the words came out of her mouth. "You won't see any girl guides driving any of these cars but me." She jerked the wheel to the left, doing an 180 around an acacia tree, allowing us to catch one final glimpse of our leopard friend before we headed back to camp for the night. "She's tired," Sintoya Mayetu said of the leopard. "We need to let her have her rest."
(Photo by Jo Piazza)
There are very few female guides in Kenya and in Africa as a whole. And it's so rare to see a woman driving one of the many safari vehicles in Kenya that seeing Sintoya Mayetu behind the wheel was almost jarring.
"The main challenge for female guides is that it’s still taboo in Maasai culture for women to be educated. Elders continue to struggle with this change. Across Africa, there are only a very tiny number of female guides," John Spence, the President of Scott Dunn USA, a safari organizer who often takes on the responsibility of pairing guests with camps and guides, told me. "The boundaries don’t seem to be coming from potential employers—the tourist industry is pretty open minded—it’s still a cultural sticking point."
Sintoya Mayetu was seven years old when she first ran away from home. She and her sister had been charged with taking care of the family's goats on the outskirts of the village. From their perch on the hill, they watched as the Kikuyu kids from neighboring villages trudged across the Savannah to go to school.
"One day I asked them where they went. We didn't speak the same language. I spoke Maasai and they spoke Swahili, but we figured it out. I said to my sister 'tomorrow I will see where these guys go.'"
Her sister looked at her in horror. "What will happen to the goats?" she asked.
"We'll leave the goats. They'll be fine," said Sintoya Mayetu.
The next morning they went to the school and spied through the windows. When they returned one of the goats was missing. "My mom beat us like crazy. My sister cried, but I went again, and again." Sintoya Mayetu began talking to the teachers, who invited her to join their classes.
"Finally, my dad asked me why I was going. He thought school was only for bad girls. He didn't know," she said.
Sintoya Mayetu brought the teacher home and begged her to explain to her father that school wasn't for bad girls. Her dad said if she went to school she had to leave home. He didn't want his other girls thinking they should be going to school too.
So this seven-year-old child walked out of her family's home and tried to find someone else to take her in. She tried to go to her grandmother's house.
"She chased me out," Sintoya Mayetu says.
She finally found refuge with her father's childless sister in another village. With her aunt's help, she bought a uniform and books and properly enrolled in the school.
"I was the best in the class and then I jumped a class," Sintoya Mayetu recalls of her first year.
She made friends and accepted hand me down uniforms from them each term. She attended all of primary school without shoes. For five years she hardly spoke to her parents, but by the time she was in secondary school her dad wanted her back.
(Photo by Jo Piazza)
"There was a man who wanted to marry me and my father wanted me to return to the village like a good girl and get married." Sintoya Mayetu laughed at the memory. "He chased me out but he wanted me back because there was a man who had cows and goats." She returned only to tell her father that she had no intention of marrying anyone. As a Maasai girl, you do not choose a husband. As a girl, you do not dare refuse it even if you don’t like him. You do not have a choice. I made my own choices. I will choose my husband when I am ready. If I am ever ready,"Sintoya Mayetu said. Her sister was married off at 13. The man was 35 and she was the second wife.
Sintoya Mayetu fled again and worked odd jobs to put herself through secondary school.
"I had no mattress to sleep on. I had no money for soap. I made toothbrushes with sticks from the bush."
She finished high school in 2004.
"I could have been a lawyer and thrown my tradition away, but I decided I didn’t want that," Sintoya Mayetu told me. Instead, she decided to marry her love for her culture with her ambition and study to become a safari guide, a lucrative job in Kenya's booming tourist industry.
"I wanted to do something like a man. I wanted the girls in my village to see a woman can do something better than a man. I had never even seen a girl safari guide, but I wanted all the men to see me drive the same roads as them."
Evaline at work for Naboisho Camp. (Photo by Jo Piazza)
Sintoya Mayetu began working on small conservancies to gain experience while she commuted to Nairobi to take college classes on wildlife management. She took on other jobs to pay her own way.
She's still finishing her degree remotely while guiding for Asilia's Naboisho Camp on the Mara Naboisho conservancy. Her long-term goal is to get more girls from the rural villages in the driver's seats. So far Evelyn has rescued two girls from her village and put them in school.
"I know if my heart that I'll open a guiding school for the Maasai girls," she says proudly. "My people will be more open to it. They've seen my success. Now everyone in my village says, 'I wish Evaline was my kid.'"
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4853b8121a7610d40ea749660313f2a5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jopiazza/2018/04/04/women-are-finally-crushing-the-glass-ceiling-of-the-ski-industry/ | Women Are Finally Crushing The Glass Ceiling Of The Ski Industry | Women Are Finally Crushing The Glass Ceiling Of The Ski Industry
More women than ever before are taking on big roles in winter sports. It's about time. Solitude Mountain
When Connie Marshall first started working at Utah's Alta Ski Area in the seventies the roles were very gender specific.
"Women worked in the ticket offices and in the office support roles," said Marshall, now the Director of Marketing and PR for the resort. "The ski school had a low percentage of women instructors, the lift crew and ski patrol was almost entirely male. Luckily, we've made some great inroads since then."
As one of the few women in a management role, Marshall felt like it was her job to start breaking down some of the barriers. In her four-plus decade career, she worked hard to negotiate flexible schedules for parents of both genders and to raise awareness of various gender gaps. She made sure that women's voices were heard. Today she calls that a good start. "The ski industry is changing and the old guard is appreciative of bright, young people who can influence change and bring their talents to the workplace," Marshall said.
In some circles, the winter sports industry is still referred to as an old boys' club. The good news is that it's getting better. More and more women are excelling in management positions and overseeing some of the country’s most prominent ski resorts as they break barriers for the next generation.
2017 was a good year. Last year the National Ski Areas Association, the trade association for ski area owners and operators, appointed Kelly Pawlak its first ever woman as president and CEO. The job, traditionally held by men, has the influence to shape the future of the industry.
This past season, Meegan Moszynski was also named first female executive director of the National Ski Patrol.
“The ratio of men to women in our industry is still very lop-sided, consistent with the ratio of active snow-sports participants,” said Raelene Davis, Ski Utah’s Chief Operating Officer and VP of Marketing. “With this said, there has been movement recently with women into senior leadership roles. Within the past decade, we’ve seen women rise to become presidents, general managers and CEOs of resorts and resort associations, something unprecedented before the turn of the century. It has taken over 80 years for the industry to begin to embrace women and their wealth of knowledge, their innovation and creativity and their determined work ethic. We’ve come a long way.”
Raelene Davis of Ski Utah sees the greatest challenge for women as progressing to even greater... [+] heights. "The industry is still a man’s world and advancing to more than VP is difficult," Davis says. Ski Utah
Davis expects the next generation to be even more inclusive.
“My observation is that things are changing and as the old guard retires, new, younger blood is taking the helm,” she said. “This new guard is new school and does not hold the same traditional stereotypes regarding employment roles. Therefore, it is my hope that young women will be hired based on their talent and not denied employment based on their gender.”
I talked to some of the women crushing the winter sports glass ceiling to find out how they did it and what advice they want to give to the next generation.
Don't be afraid to throw your hat in the ring.
When Kim Mayhew, the General Manager of the Solitude Mountain Resort in Utah, first started teaching skiing in New Hampshire in 1978 there were few women instructors and none in management. "It was traditionally a very male-oriented sport and therefore, men dominated the management of ski schools. Growing up, I had no female role models leading the sport. I did have one female race coach for one season at the age of thirteen and she was very influential in growing my passion for the sport," Mayhew said. "I have fielded some interesting comments from time to time that come from my male counterparts in the industry. One quite recent sarcastic comment was 'Hey, Kim, so I was wondering what your husband thinks about you having such a big GM job now?' My quick response was, 'He thinks it’s awesome!'"
In June of 1980 Kim Mayhew quit her job as a dental hygienist to be a ski bum for a winter. She made... [+] her way to Utah and never looked back. Solitude
Mayhew's best advice for women, or anyone, breaking into the ski industry is to be patient and learn as much as you can about the workings of the resort. "Become known for your team spirit and work ethic and most importantly, follow your passion and when an opportunity presents itself for advancement in the industry, throw your hat in the ring."
Find your balance.
All three of Raelene Davis's sons were born while she was working with Ski Utah. In the 80’s, this was a challenge. "It wasn’t cool to be pregnant and working full-time, especially in Utah," Davis said. "A working mother was not looked upon favorably. And, unlike today, it wasn’t cool to talk about your children at work. I didn’t let this deter me from doing the best job I could. I persevered," Davis said. "To say it was challenging trying to balance home-life and career is an understatement. I didn’t have the luxury of having an in-home nanny, so each morning, my husband and I would get the kids ready and take them to daycare. Handing my babies off to another woman each morning was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. We made it work because my husband and I knew that what I was doing was important for me and for our family, and we also felt that what I was doing was good for children. Promoting a beautiful state and a healthy lifestyle to others would give our children the sense of service, community and instill in them the values that we held dear to us."
Be the best, regardless of gender.
Katie Ertl oversees four mountain operations (Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass) and the Ski & Snowboard Schools of Aspen Snowmass as the Senior Vice President of Mountain Operations. “I was the first female to fill the Managing Director role for the Ski & Snowboard Schools of Aspen Snowmass. At 1,300 pros, we push to remain the best school in the world. And now, in this current job, I suppose I have stepped into places that were previously occupied by males,” Ertl said. “My goal is to be the best at my job not matter whether I am male or female. I aim to be a leader and if that entails breaking the glass ceiling then great, but leaders come in all shapes and sizes and that truly is the beauty of it.”
It's not about how loud you are. It's about how confident you are in your thinking
Jody Churich, the EVP of POWDR and the Chief Operating Officer of Woodward, manages corporate business development, strategy,operations management and expansion for one of the largest ski resort operators in North America. She credits part of her success as a leader to getting down on the consumer level. When Churich worked at the Soda Springs resort she looked around and saw little kids playing with buckets in the snow. She wondered why they weren't tubing. A manager told her they were too little. Churich saw an opportunity to give those smaller kids a better snow experience and created an entire snow park for younger children. "The program became a whole new line of business for the resort and now it has more than 25,000 little kids a year," Churich said."It's things like that that spark growth."
Jody Churich's personal passion is around girls in sports. "The more girls can be engaged in sports... [+] the more great leaders will come through," Churich says. POWDR
Her advice for women coming into the industry now is to think differently. “It’s not about how loud you are. It’s truly about how confident and authentic you are in your thinking," Churich said. "I knew I was surrounded in a sea of men but I thought the diversity of thought was more important than gender. My advice is to find great mentors, male or female."
Keep raising your hand. Keep taking on more responsibility.
Nadia Guerriero was working as the Director of Events and Conference Services for Northstar California when the resort was purchased by Vail Resorts in 2010. "With that I saw a lot of opportunity to identify gaps and start filling them. I kept raising my hand and stepping in and taking on projects and roles that weren't within my job description and doing it with a desire to learn," Guerriero said.
Nadia Guerriero says that one of the keys to her success is trying to be the best version of... [+] herself. "That means constantly working on my own awareness, presence, and continuing to develop my leadership and help the people I’m working with work on developing theirs," she explains. Vail Resorts
She soon became the Director of Base Operations and Village at Northstar. Today she's the resort's Vice President and General Manager. "I think getting a role like this is challenging regardless of gender," Guerriero said. "Both of my predecessors were focused on development. From my perspective they were very supportive and encouraged me and provided a pathway for me to take on larger roles and develop myself. You need to be excellent in your current job, learn as much as you can, and be a leader even though you might not have been anointed a leadership title. I believe anyone can be a leader. Develop your self-awareness. Get in there and learn as much as you can."
Nothing will happen unless you try....
Meegan Moszynski sees her position as an obvious example of women breaking the glass ceiling, but she also thinks it is becoming more of the norm. "What’s most interesting is to see how many women are earning leadership roles throughout the ski and outdoor recreation industries, and therefore how 'common' it’s becoming," Moszynski said. "I am exciting for the time when it’s no longer newsworthy to have a woman leader. Of course, all that said, I also think we definitely need to give credit to the women who put themselves out there to accomplish the necessary steps to get these jobs, and also to the men who support the hiring, mentoring and supporting of these women. It’s a collaborative effort, and it’s awesome to see the results."
Today Meegan Moszynski sees more women on ski patrols than fifteen or even ten years ago. "There are... [+] women across the country earning leadership roles in their local, regional and divisional patrol structures. But I’d love to see more!" Moszynski says. "Our membership at NSP is currently around 25% female, and I think we can increase that percentage." Amy K. Wright
Her advice to young women is to be fearless. "Go for it! It won’t happen unless you try," Moszynski. "I would love to see more women in this industry, and I think the industry wants it too. But we need women to put themselves out there, apply for those positions and make themselves available."
Advocate for yourself....
When Kelly Pawlak was promoted to General Manager of Mount Snow in 2005 she was 40 years old and one of a handful of women running resorts. "Personally, I was less interested in breaking the glass ceiling and more interested in taking on a position that I had been interested in for years," Pawlak said. "But unbeknownst to me, I learned that I encouraged young women to pursue their dream careers." Today Pawlak is the President and CEO of the NSAA.
Kelly Pawlak encourages young women in the ski industry to be unafraid of taking a break. "Don’t be... [+] afraid to put your career on pause to help raise your family, go back to school, care for a parent,"Pawlak says. "You have plenty of time to dedicate to your career and some of the things listed above can’t wait. Choose the path that works best for you." Kelly Pawlak
"As aggressive as I was at climbing the ladder, I don’t think I advocated enough for myself. Looking back, I could have used a mentor to help me improve my negotiation skills. It may sound silly but walking into a room full of men and having to 'network' was and always will be a challenge. And I expect it is a challenge for men, too. In the end, making snow, running lifts, and working in a weather-dependent industry is often easier than walking into a roomful of men. Crazy, right?"
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dfdf765ee93ea03987e675d52d55f035 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jopiazza/2018/08/07/bringing-a-womans-perspective-to-her-grandfathers-company/ | Bringing A Female Touch To A Family Fitness Business | Bringing A Female Touch To A Family Fitness Business
Everyone asked Diana Mills how she got back into shape after having four kids. She decided to show... [+] them instead of tell them. Diana Mills
Diana Archer Mills comes from a long line of fitness gurus. She's essentially fitness royalty, if such a thing actually existed.
Her grandfather Les Mills, a four-time Olympian, founded his first gym in his garage in Auckland, New Zealand. This was 50 years ago, back before personal fitness was even really a thing. And while we think of fitness classes from Jane Fonda-esque aerobics to today's boutique offerings as something uniquely American, a lot of attributes of the modern fitness class were pioneered in New Zealand (right in that garage!), born of the Kiwis love of adventuring outdoors and staying as fit as possible to accomplish those adventures.
Diana's dad Phillip Mills, a former champion track athlete, is the founder and Managing Director of Les Mills International, the company that turned the Les Mills brand into an international group fitness phenomenon.
Diana, 32, has spent the past twenty years finding her place in the family business, starting in the clothing store of her grandfather's gym. But it's been her unique perspective as a mother of four that has helped her find her niche. Today, as the Creative Director of the brand, Diana is leveraging her firsthand experience getting back into shape after childbirth (four times) to create new offerings that appeal to new audiences in the wildly competitive fitness space.
This is how she's doing it.
Piazza: Can you tell me a little bit about the innovations you've made to the company?
Mills: Personally, I helped create Les Mills Post Pregnancy Workouts, I led the creation of Les Mills BARRE and Tone. I launched the series direct to consumer using Les Mills On Demand in response to a growing number of fans who were regularly asking on Facebook how I got in shape after having my children. I'm working closely with my team on a series of workout videos exclusively for children called Born to Move aimed at helping parents get their kids to be more physically active starting at an early age.
Piazza: That shouldn't be an innovative thing...listening to women. But it sadly still is.
Mills: I developed the first classes for the new program when I was nearly 9 months pregnant with my fourth child. It was during that time I that began to learn of the tremendous benefits of barre programming for mothers — barre offers unique focus on the hips, pelvic floor and glute strength, which is good because giving birth tears you apart, and these muscles glue you back together again afterwards.
I feel my work has had the biggest impact on Les Mills began as a campaign aimed at our Tribe of instructors and members around the world. My goal was to connect with our global community, bring it together, make it more inclusive and give our people a voice that is heard here in New Zealand at our corporate headquarters and in our all classes around the world. I wanted our use of the word “Tribe” to be as authentic as possible.
Diana Mills opened herself up to every bit of feedback about the company on her social media... [+] accounts. Listening has been the key to her success. Diana Mills
Piazza: It's hard to make the word tribe sound authentic. What have you done to try to make that happen?
Mills: I started my campaign on social media, where I opened myself up to all feedback from instructors and members, about everything related to Les Mills from the changes to the products, apparel, classes, you name it. I made sure that I answered everyone, even if they mainly were type-screaming abuse at me. The responses were overwhelming but mostly positive. We started to see real change and a real connection. Feeling so closely connected to our customers began to bleed positive changes into our corporate approach.
I am also working on a few new projects. I can’t really talk about the specifics, other than to say they will target different age groups and hopefully empower even more humans to live their lives with more power and joy.
Piazza: What inspired them?
Mills: When we come from a place of privilege, we naturally have a platform. My platform within this company allows me to continue to strive towards my goal - to empower women. The classes I create, and plan on creating more of in the future, aim to show women that they are capable of looking at their bodies as more than just aesthetically pleasing or displeasing. My goal is to build community around fitness to help bring joy and confidence to women, especially post-birth, to help forge their bodies back into fighting shape.
Piazza: Is your brand's success linked to any particular New Zealand values?
Mills: New Zealand holds this strange, slowly disappearing, judgment - ‘tall poppy syndrome’ - where it is considered unseemly to push yourself forward, proclaim your greatness, and basically celebrate your success is any big way. I believe a huge part of our success comes from this typical Kiwi humility that is within our organization. Also, NZ was the first country in the world to give women the vote, and this type of forward thinking equality in the country is absolutely visible in our business and has allowed a lot of great ideas to come forward very early on, such as creating strength workouts that aren't exclusively for men well before that was a trend.
Piazza: A lot of people think about group fitness and fitness generally as American-led and created. But Les Mills evolved on a tiny island in the Pacific. How did that happen?
Mills: My grandparents were athletes. My grandfather was a four-time Olympian and he opened his first gym here in Aukland in 1968. It was around the same time that fitness began to draw attention in the United States. His gyms attracted a lot of athletes because of both my grandfather and my father's history in competitive sports. At a time when fitness for the masses in the US involved a lot of aerobics, our family and its gyms, were focused weight training. This success inspired my mom Jackie, also a former New Zealand athlete and gymnast, and my father Phillip to create a group barbell class as a more efficient way to give more people all the benefits of strength training. It happened at a time when feminism was taking off in New Zealand. Women were chasing a new type of empowerment. Jackie and Phillip were championing “strong is the new skinny” well before its time and teaching people about all of the gains involved in group strength training and it just took off. In those early days there were lines around the block for that class. It was the birth of BodyPump, which today is offered in more than 100 countries.
Piazza: What's the hardest part of your job?
Mills: I love being a working mother, particularly in a global business where I can affect so much change and it’s extraordinary to see so much of the world at the same time, but being on the road away from my children never gets easier.
As a fitness company, people often associate what do we with how it affects their physical appearance. The hardest part of creating fitness programs that truly changes people’s lives is teaching them to see all of the more meaningful ways beyond physical appearance that fitness can change your life.
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b49681576078f3f941b21220fc9c8294 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanhorrobin/2021/02/17/report-toronto-blue-jays-using-td-ballpark-in-dunedin-to-open-2021-season/ | Toronto Blue Jays Using TD Ballpark In Dunedin To Open 2021 Season | Toronto Blue Jays Using TD Ballpark In Dunedin To Open 2021 Season
DUNEDIN, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 27: Bo Bichette #11 of the Toronto Blue Jays waits to take the field ... [+] during the spring training game against the Minnesota Twins at TD Ballpark on February 27, 2020 in Dunedin, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) Getty Images
The Toronto Blue Jays will play at least the first 12 home games of their 2021 season at their spring training facility in Dunedin, Florda, the team announced on Thursday.
The news was first reported by Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith on Wednesday night.
Dunedin’s TD Ballpark will serve as the venue for at least the games on April 8-14 (against the Angels and Yankees), as well as April 27-May 2 (against the Nationals and Braves). Beyond that, the status of Toronto’s “home” field remains to be seen.
TD Ballpark has an 8,500-seat capacity and has been the Blue Jays’ spring training home since 1990. It’s located 24 miles north (or a 33-minute drive) of Tropicana Field, home of the division rival Tampa Bay Rays.
DUNEDIN, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 27: Hyun-Jin Ryu #99 of the Toronto Blue Jays heads to the locker room ... [+] after pitching in the spring training game against the Minnesota Twins at TD Ballpark on February 27, 2020 in Dunedin, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) Getty Images
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Last season, Toronto played some of its home games at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York (where the Triple-A Bisons reside), while other games were played in the ballpark of the “visiting” team. The Toronto Raptors began the 2020-21 NBA season with Tampa Bay serving as their home base, and last week the league announced that that’s where the Raptors will call home the rest of the way.
While the Canada-U.S. border remains closed to non-essential travel — as it has since March 21, 2020 — playing in a U.S.-based park is necessary for the Blue Jays. For now, the border is closed through at least Sunday.
When the Blue Jays opted to use Sahlen Field as their home for the 2020 season, the decision was made just hours before opening day. This time, with spring training just about to begin, a more proactive approach has prevailed.
Given that the club would have been stationed in Dunedin for the next month-plus anyway, using TD Ballpark as its home field to begin the regular season presumably eases the burden of ensuring all equipment, technology, etc. is with the team.
And unlike Sahlen Field, which required major upgrades to the dugouts, locker rooms and player tunnels, TD Ballpark is already in big league shape.
Coincidentally, the Blue Jays poured $102 million into construction costs on their spring training complex just last winter.
According to Davidi and Nicholson-Smith, the Blue Jays had initially planned to use TD Ballpark as their home in 2020 — but they looked elsewhere as COVID-19 cases surged in the state of Florida.
The Blue Jays announced last week that they’ll sell spring training tickets for up to 15 percent of TD Ballpark’s capacity (roughly 1,300 tickets per game), though ticket availability for regular season games is unknown at this time.
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8605d62a053d2667214ec2e02fbe7e5b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanhorrobin/2021/02/26/5-under-the-radar-toronto-blue-jays-to-follow-in-spring-training/ | 5 Under-The-Radar Toronto Blue Jays To Follow In Spring Training | 5 Under-The-Radar Toronto Blue Jays To Follow In Spring Training
SCOTTSDALE, AZ - OCTOBER 16: Logan Warmoth #1 oof the Scottsdale Scorpions looks on against the Mesa ... [+] Solar Sox at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on Wednesday, October 16, 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/MLB Photos via Getty Images) MLB Photos via Getty Images
For the first time in five months, the Toronto Blue Jays have a baseball game on their schedule this weekend. Sure, it’s an exhibition game — against the Yankees, as spring training gets underway — but the real thing isn’t far off.
In Toronto (well, Dunedin), there are plenty of spring training storylines to latch onto: how George Springer, Marcus Semien and Kirby Yates gel in their new surroundings; Vladimir Guerrero’s comfort level at third base; whether Alejandro Kirk can rise in the catcher rankings, etc.
But there are also several players in major league camp that fans probably don’t know about. That’s why we’re going to highlight five under-the-radar Blue Jays to keep an eye on this spring.
P Tim Mayza, 29
The last time Mayza was on an MLB mound — in September of 2019 — he was kneeling in pain after tearing the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his throwing elbow.
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 13: Tim Mayza #58 of the Toronto Blue Jays drops to his knees with an injury ... [+] during tenth inning of their MLB game against the New York Yankees at Rogers Centre on September 13, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images) Getty Images
His injury rehab was unique amid the pandemic, requiring him to hurriedly buy at-home workout gear ahead of the masses and use a high school mound to throw. Now Mayza says he feels “great,” and that his two-seam fastball has more sink.
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Mayza was a mediocre reliever with Toronto in 2019, producing a 4.91 ERA and 4.73 FIP in 51 1/3 innings. There is currently a free spot on the team’s 40-man roster, which Mayza will compete for. He also has two minor league options left on his contract, which provides flexibility in case the team does bring him up.
P Adam Kloffenstein, 20
Toronto’s lesser known graduate of Magnolia (Tx.) High School is Kloffenstein (next to shortstop prospect Jordan Groshans), who made use of his unusual 2020 summer by playing Indy ball.
MLB-affiliated minor leagues were shut down due to the pandemic, so Kloffenstein played in the independent Constellation Energy League in his home state of Texas. He was the league’s youngest player by four years, and he spent part of the time being coached by Roger Clemens.
“My first couple outings, they went OK — but it was a little rocky,” Kloffenstein told Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling. “I was nervous. I was trying to be way too fine. I was trying to throw every pitch on the corner because I thought these guys were all the next coming of Christ.”
MINNEAPOLIS, MN- AUGUST 24: Adam Kloffenstein #23 of the USA Baseball 18U National Team during the ... [+] national team trials on August 24, 2017 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images) Getty Images
The raw numbers weren’t stellar, but they weren’t bad: 4.64 ERA in 21 1/3 innings, with 12 walks allowed and 20 strikeouts.
Kloffenstein is still a ways away from a big league roster, but it’ll be interesting to see how last summer’s experience translates in camp.
C Riley Adams, 24
Adams is a victim of the catching logjam in the Blue Jays’ system right now, but sooner or later the team will have to know what it has in the 2017 third-rounder.
In three minor league seasons, Adams has produced a solid .265/.363/.410 slash line. In 2019, he spent most of his time in Double-A, where he had 11 home runs and 15 doubles in 81 games. Pretty good.
At 24, Adams is certainly old enough to knock on the MLB door — it’ll just be difficult to surpass big league incumbents Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire, as well as rising star Alejandro Kirk.
An impressive camp from Adams this spring would put the Blue Jays in an interesting position, where perhaps a trade would be best for all parties. Adams is on the 40-man roster, as is 20-year-old Gabriel Moreno, presumably because Toronto didn’t want either catcher to be claimed in last December’s Rule 5 Draft.
A start in Triple-A seems most likely for Adams. But you can’t hold onto these guys forever.
P Elvis Luciano, 21
Remember this guy? The Blue Jays plucked an 18-year-old Luciano in the 2018 Rule 5 Draft from the Royals, then hung onto him through an injury-riddled rookie campaign. Now, without the risk of being returned to his previous organization, he’s just another young arm that can develop in the minor leagues.
Luciano mostly struggled in his premature debut season (5.35 ERA, 5.56 FIP in 33 2/3 innings). He spent the following winter in the Dominican Winter League, where again he mostly faced players much older than him and racked up a 5.75 ERA in 20 1/3 innings.
Then, after not having any organized ball to play last summer, he returned to the DWL in the winter for a very short stint. Short, but sweet: 1.69 ERA and seven strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
The Blue Jays project Luciano as a starter, and pitching coach Pete Walker recently said “his upside is tremendous.” Now that Luciano doesn’t have to be rushed to the majors, the Blue Jays can take some time to develop him on their own schedule.
INF Logan Warmoth, 25
The Blue Jays made two selections in the first round of the 2017 draft. One was pitcher Nate Pearson, who is their top prospect and will work from the middle of the rotation in 2021. The other is Warmoth, who hasn’t impressed much in three minor league seasons.
Warmoth’s minor league career looks like this: 225 games, .255/.332/.346 slash line, 223 strikeouts versus 81 walks. He spent the bulk of 2019 in Double-A, his highest level to date, but he posted a .567 OPS there in 65 games. That’s not nearly good enough.
The Blue Jays sunk a $2.8202 million signing bonus into Warmoth. Obviously they’d prefer some return on that investment. But they also exposed him for the Rule 5 Draft this past winter and he went unclaimed, which shows he still has plenty to prove if he wants to climb the organizational ladder.
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c6e1bf06e6d3b1d0cfe5fa203d5b5441 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanlebeau/2017/06/02/the-house-combat-jack-built-the-loud-speakers-network-looks-to-build-on-recent-success/ | The House Combat Jack Built: The Loud Speakers Network Looks To Build On Recent Success | The House Combat Jack Built: The Loud Speakers Network Looks To Build On Recent Success
Podcasts are here to stay.
According to a study by Edison Research in 2016, 98 million Americans reported having ever listened to a podcast, while 57 million stated they'd listened to one within the past month. As listeners have flocked to the medium, ad dollars and live bookings have followed, with top pod personalities earning upwards of $5 million annually.
In keeping with the radio and television models, podcast networks have been created to handle the needs of listeners, personalities, and advertisers alike. While celebrities have invested their own money and established organizations have enlisted their most notable talent for podcasts and podcast networks, upstarts have managed to carve out considerable space for shows of their own, with a select few regularly appearing alongside well-heeled competitors.
Adam Carolla poured $175,000 into a home studio. All one network needed to start was $500. Now, with the landscape dotted with heavyweight outlets and personalities, one independent network with a minuscule marketing budget has ridden its penchant for grooming and promoting new talent to its biggest accomplishment to date. Ad money is healthy, major brands are paying attention, and the team's spirits are high.
Reggie "Combat Jack" Osse. Courtesy of Loud Speakers Network
On a sunny day in Brooklyn, the Loud Speakers Network team, whose collection of shows boasts 1.2 million listens per month and regular appearances on Apple's Top Podcast Charts, waits patiently for the voice of their flagship show. The network, which boasts runaway hits like The Read with Crissle West and Gregory "Kid Fury" Smith, and Tax Season, the rap-centric interview show whose host, Daryl "Taxstone" Campbell is currently awaiting trial behind bars, are laughing at a few moments from the previous night's wrap party while they wait for Jack to record new ad spots and interview with Hip Hop polymath Dante Ross.
The ad spots are short, but there's a minor scramble to make sure they're in order ahead of Osse's arrival, and with good reason: Fresh off a partnership with Spotify and Gimlet Media for Mogul, a podcast centered on the rise and sudden end of the career of Chris Lighty, his show, along with the other main attractions, ask for between $6,000 and $12,000 for each slot (most run at least two an episode), and the price may go up.
He shows up moments after Ross, sporting a black bubble vest and a hangover of his own. He's got an interview and ad spots to record before he tends to the day's real business, picking his daughter up from school.
In 2004, Reggie Osse, a Georgetown-educated lawyer who'd spent years hammering out contracts for rap acts, was washed out. He hadn't been taking the best care of himself, the pressures and breakneck schedules of music's inner workings had taken their physical and mental toll.
His time in the music industry may have left him worse for wear, but it hadn't left him without a heap of stories and connections. A publishing house took notice, and shortly after Osse's self-described "burnout," he signed a book deal, and Bling was originally published in late 2006. Accomplishment and respite behind him, the book process had turned Osse onto the world of blogging. Still an active attorney, he needed a nom de plume to separate his Internet musings from his professional persona. Combat Jack was born.
"I was going through this midlife crisis," Osse says of his blogging, "and I'd found my second childhood as Combat Jack." He told stories and cited facts that only an insider would know, and attention followed. Near the peak of his blogging days, he was offered an Internet-radio show by PNC Radio in 2009. Osse "pondered it, but didn't really see any value in it" for a year or so until he took the station heads up on their offer. He was immediately hooked. The Combat Jack Show was off and running, and the ability to interview guests and take calls from close friends and fans listening, along with the increased attention had sold him on the medium's power. Osse hadn't been embarking on any of these efforts with dollars in mind. He wanted to scratch an itch for writing about the industry he still loved while engaging with the users who cared enough to read and tune in.
Osse was connected to eventual partner Chris Morrow in 2013 after a tweet asking for production help led them to one another through one of his cousins. Morrow had some radio experience as a freelance producer for popular syndicated Hip Hop drive-time shows, but he made his bones ghostwriting New York Times bestsellers with celebrities like Russell Simmons (He worked on a book with Ivanka Trump, but got the boot for a "lack of respect.") Still, he knew enough and was fan enough to get involved.
Chris Morrow Courtesy of Loud Speakers Network
Morrow credits the show as one of the first to set the tone for what black and urban podcasts could be for their audiences. The loose banter between guests and co-hosts felt less like Terri Gross, more like a more closely considered version of what you'd hear at a barbershop. Tax Season, Bodega Boys (which earned its hosts a nighttime slot on VICELAND), The Read and countless others have taken cues from Jack.
"I'd been listening and been a fan of the show since 2010," Morrow said. He was initially drawn to an episode that featured rappers Sean Price and Rah Digga. "They were just talking about raising kids, dealing with kids who smoke weed when you smoke weed, just the type of content that someone who grew up with Hip Hop and now was middle-aged with kids spoke to me more than some of the other stuff." Morrow and Osse got hold of a studio Morrow had spent time working in, and their partnership began.
Osse had already enlisted the services of Aaron "A-King" Howard and Jonathan Mena, who currently serve as executive producers for about half of the network's shows between them. Mena had been making podcasts since the aughts with a German college professor, while King had been involved in the music industry for years before crossing paths with Osse. The loose rapport between the four has made for a recent run of success that has the group rethinking its strategy.
"The good thing about us," said Howard, was that "we don't have to talk to a board." The group uses their connections, chance meetings, and tastes to source guests, ideas, and hosts.
"We don't have to wait for meetings and all that," Mena said. "If we want to, we just go and do it."
From left to right, Jonathan Mena and Aaron "A-King" Howard. Courtesy of Loud Speakers Network
Shortly after their partnership began, Morrow and Osse decided to make the pairing official with the Loud Speakers Network. That $500 initial investment opened a business account and bought portable recording equipment. "We haven't received any investment since then," Morrow said, "we've run the network off of the money we've generated." $500 in 2013 money has blossomed into a network that stays at or above the $25 cost per impression mark. Advertisers are drawn to the authenticity of the hosts and guests, and listeners are apt to try a product or service featured in an ad slot knowing their beloved personalities are wont to play up products for big checks. Morrow seems almost bored by the accomplishment when he discusses it. The day after a wrap party for a Spotify co-branded show, it makes sense.
"The first time we saw this was something that could really make money," Morrow says in a room connected to the main studio by a pair of square windows, "we got an offer from a beer company for ads on The Read." Morrow and Osse, after filling their original shows with close friends, got wind of Fury when he popped up on television producer JasFly's Reality Check podcast. Fury, who had cultivated a strong fanbase on YouTube, was interested, but green to the world of podcasting. Fury agreed, if he could try with his close friend West.
Morrow knew from the moment the demo started they had something special.
A beer company saw the same potential in Crissle and Fury, and offered $50,000 to the paid to plug their beverages. There was only one problem: Fury and Crissle don't drink beer, "and their fans who follow the show know they're not beer-drinkers." The problem was the best worst sign that their shift in thinking was paying off. Morrow, who had terrestrial radio experience producing shows like Power 105's Breakfast Club, was aware of the assumption that Internet radio was made for lesser talent from the beginning. The shift from making--and thinking like--a podcast instead of an Internet radio show, took time and more than a few changes. Authenticity and a commitment to a roster of unique, engaging voices were the foundation of the transition that had money coming in.
Authenticity, the force which drew the network's first big check, was the barrier to cashing it. The Read hosts talked with Morrow and Osse before deciding to pass.
Morrow won't give a specific figure, but LSN has seen bigger checks since.
After the interviews, Osse interviewed his guest and ran through four new ad spots in roughly an hour, no small feat with a hangover. His listeners are likely to find out straight from the host's mouth, as he often shares his experiences juggling parenthood, marriage, and a network juggling its own shows along with co-branded content.
LSN, whose Brilliant Idiots show is hosted by New York's Power 105.1 FM personality and best-selling author Charlemagne the God, has been "more Stretch and Bobbito" than NPR, according to Morrow. Now, New York rap radio trailblazers Stretch and Bobbito have found a home at NPR. Mena, Howard, and Morrow agree that Jack and LSN deserve some credit for pulling mainstream ears to unique voices and formats. Still, the team's time with Mogul impressed upon them the need to dive deeper. They'll have to expand their team, but they won't sacrifice the nature of their relationships to tell a few stories.
"What makes us," Mena said, "is that we're not talking to this position or that position. We're just dealing with each other."
"People come to us all the time with ideas for podcasts where people sit and argue things like they would in the barbershop, and those days are mostly over," said Morrow. "The future of podcasting is already here, and it's well-produced, well-researched original pieces." Morrow chuckled before realizing what was coming next. A few years ago, he was spending $500 on a passion project, a project that's grown into a profitable venture. "Our future, to have it be successful, means we've got to be more like NPR."
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823553b6fe82f031f03f755b05f90da0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanmckee/2020/07/07/the-installment-payments-market-is-primed-for-growth-and-ma/ | The Installment Payments Market Is Primed For Growth And M&A | The Installment Payments Market Is Primed For Growth And M&A
Installment payment providers have gained meaningful traction in the US market over the past 12-18 months. COVID-19 has created uniquely favorable tailwinds for these players that should accelerate progress further. As a result of the economic consequences of the pandemic, more shoppers are likely to seek budget-friendly payment options, and more merchants are likely to pursue different avenues to increase sales. Further, with the volume of consumers and merchants engaged in e-commerce increasing during the lockdown, significant expansion of the addressable market for installment payments has occurred. These forces all bode well for further growth, as well as M&A activity.
COVID-19 may accelerate adoption of installment payments Getty
What are installment payments?
Installment payment options (including point-of-sale financing and 'buy now, pay later' options) give consumers the flexibility to pay for a purchase in multiple installments over time – in some cases, without accruing interest – instead of paying in full at checkout. For merchants (who get paid upfront by the installment provider) this offers the prospect of increased conversions and the potential for higher average order values (AOVs). Installment payments are particularly well-suited for merchants in high-AOV categories like electronics, travel and furniture, but have also shown results in more traditional categories such as fashion and apparel.
A wide variety of players occupy the installment payments market segment. Examples of providers include Klarna, Afterpay, Affirm, PayPal PYPL Credit, Splitit, Dividio, Sezzle, QuadPay and Zip.
What is the state of adoption?
Installment payment options have been highly popular in markets like the Nordics and Australia for some time. 451 Research’s surveys suggests that momentum is now beginning to build in the US – a massive e-commerce market, with $623bn in overall 2019 spending. Adoption has been particularly strong among Gen Z and Millennial consumers. More than one in three consumers aged 18-37 say the availability of an installment payment option has influenced their decision to complete a purchase, according to 451 Research’s Q2 2020 Voice of the Connected User Landscape survey.
451 Research's Q2 2020 Voice of the Enterprise (VotE): Customer Experience & Commerce, Merchant Study indicates that merchants are taking note of increasing demand. Over 40% of online-centric merchants (more than half of sales occurring online) are now offering this payment option at checkout, and another 43% are either in discovery, planning or considering adoption – meaning more market share is still up for grabs. The study also revealed that adding 'flexible payment options' ranked as the top initiative among all merchant respondents for deepening customer loyalty. Notable examples of merchants offering installment payment options in the US today include Walmart WMT , Sunglass Hut, Anthropologie, Abercrombie, Urban Outfitters URBN , Peloton, Casper and Warby Parker.
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Where could M&A develop?
With the market opportunity for installment payments broadening, increased dealmaking is likely to develop. A potential group of buyers are credit card issuers that view installment payment offerings as a threat to their core business. A large financial institution could benefit from buying an installment payments provider to move up the sales funnel and court non-cardholders. Similarly, a private-label credit card issuer could benefit from adding installment payment capabilities to serve up a white-label offering to its retail customers, or diversify its business. Other potential suitors include payment processors that may be looking to build out or deepen a consumer proposition and Australia-based installment payment providers that are looking to expand into the US market (e.g., Zip Co’s acquisition of QuadPay in June 2020).
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35ffd9f57d1e74a36a4544de01e62810 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanmckee/2020/12/16/embedded-finance-a-beginners-guide-to-the-growing-intersection-of-tech-and-financial-services/ | Embedded Finance: A Beginner’s Guide To The Growing Intersection Of Tech And Financial Services | Embedded Finance: A Beginner’s Guide To The Growing Intersection Of Tech And Financial Services
getty
The past several years have seen financial services embedded into a wide variety of software and applications peddled by non-bank providers. This trend is widely referred to as embedded finance and it is fast becoming one of the most disruptive trends in payments, banking and technology today. Embedded finance is reshaping the distribution model for financial services while creating a new role for technology companies in the financial lives of consumers and enterprises.
It doesn’t take long to spot embedded finance in the wild. Financial services are becoming part of the stack for technology companies of all shapes and sizes, and the examples here are many:
Point-of-sale, e-commerce and vertical software vendors – offering integrated payment processing and lending services to their sub-merchants (e.g., Lightspeed, Shopify, Toast, Mindbody). Ridesharing companies – offering various financial products (e.g., debit cards, instant payouts, digital wallets) to both customers and drivers (e.g., Uber UBER , Grab). Consumer-focused fintechs – expanding their functionality, for example through installment loans, debit cards and instant lending disbursement (e.g., Square SQ , Klarna, Revolut). Large consumer technology companies – offering digital wallets, P2P payment services, lending and credit and debit cards to their end users (e.g., Apple AAPL , Google GOOG , Facebook, Amazon AMZN ). Telcos – offering digital banking products, digital wallets and payment cards (e.g., Orange Money, T-Mobile MONEY).
The aim for these companies with financial services is to form a richer and stickier user value proposition . There’s also, of course, the revenue opportunity. Consider:
Square converted the Cash App into a business that produced $325m in Q2 2020 gross profit (excluding Bitcoin) in roughly three years. This was largely accomplished by issuing debit cards linked to its Cash App P2P payment service, which it began offering to users in 2017 in partnership with Marqeta. Shopify processed $14bn gross payments volume through its Shopify Payments service in Q3 2020. This service is offered in partnership with Stripe. Shopify charges between 2.9% and 2.4%, plus $0.30, for each online transaction. Uber now handles more than 70% of driver payouts using Instant Pay. Uber leverages the debit rails of Visa V (Visa Direct) and Mastercard (Mastercard Send MA ) to enable the service, charging drivers a fee of $0.50 per payout. Instant Pay is free if the driver deposits funds to the Uber Visa Debit Card (issued by GoBank).
When it comes to execution, many tech companies have realized that their talents are best spent on their core business. They are instead outsourcing to third-party specialists to provide, as a service, the complex infrastructure needed to run financial services at scale. A crop of vendors has emerged to address this burgeoning opportunity, which 451 Research refers to as financial fabric.
Financial fabric is an API-rich layer of financial infrastructure that can be embedded into a wide variety of applications, ranging from marketplaces to platforms to fintech apps. It is tightly woven into a broader business proposition, with the intent of augmenting it. Financial fabric can be deployed for various internal or customer-facing use cases, such as payment processing, payouts, lending and card issuing.
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Providers of financial fabric allow technology companies to more efficiently turn on and scale financial services capabilities using fewer internal resources. These providers are revolutionizing the unit economics for launching banking and payment services. The dozens of startups currently occupying this sector often pitch themselves as 'payments as a service' or 'banking as a service' providers.
Ten examples of startups and established providers tackling various financial fabric use cases (in no particular order) include:
Stripe Moov Financial SolarisBank Modulr Marqeta Finix Railsbank Bankable Q2 (Q2 BaaS) BBVA (Open Platform)
The initial traction of embedded finance—and financial fabric providers— should be on the radar of incumbent financial institutions, payment processors and core banking providers. With advantages in design/UX and distribution, technology companies are aiming to disintermediate the financial relationships that incumbents have with their customers. The threat that tech companies pose to revenues should also not be dismissed. Eroision of deposits along with interest, debit interchange, processing and service fee revenue are potential challenges that payment and banking incumbents are up against as the trend toward embedded finance accelerates.
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eb00315cd015de89cf7decb697c5a3f9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanmckee/2021/03/22/the-future-of-payments-three-forces-challenging-the-status-quo/?utm_source=rasaio&utm_medium=top-articles&link=title&sh=ec472506ce90 | The Future Of Payments: Three Forces Challenging The Status Quo | The Future Of Payments: Three Forces Challenging The Status Quo
The way merchants adopt and leverage payment-acceptance technologies is evolving. Increasingly, payments are viewed as something that should be 'baked in' instead of 'bolted on.' This is having a profound impact on the distribution model for payment processing, as well as the skill sets needed to succeed. It's also resulting in long-term implications to revenue and profit dynamics within the industry.
Mobile payment using a mobile point of sale device. getty
Evolution of the distribution model
For many years, financial institutions served as the primary on-ramp for merchants into the payments industry. The reason is simple. As new businesses signed up for financial products (e.g., loan, bank account), adding payment processing and a merchant account was a natural next step. For those merchants that didn't sign up for payments at the branch, feet-on-the-street sales forces – ISOs and agents – served to extend the reach of the bank.
While these dynamics are still at play, the payments industry on-ramps are both multiplying and shifting. Large vertical SaaS providers such as Toast (restaurants), Mindbody (health and wellness) and Jobber (services) are capturing significant mindshare in their respective verticals and have effectively become operating systems for the businesses they serve. Scores of smaller ISVs tout similar propositions. This is leading many new merchants to begin exploring verticalized software packages early on in their evolution. Naturally, these software providers have extended into payment processing to provide SMBs with a comprehensive and tightly integrated package to run their businesses.
There are now dozens of SMB-focused software vendors that have either become payment facilitators (payfacs) or leverage hybrid payfac models. Hundreds more have integrated payments into their software and operate on referral or revenue-share models. Offering a payment processing service embedded into a broader software proposition has allowed these companies to enhance the user experience, further entrench themselves in their customers' operations and capture a lucrative new revenue stream.
As more SMBs turn to software to run their businesses, selling payment processing directly will no longer be the layup it once was for financial institutions and their processing partners. Software is the payment distribution model of the future.
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Shift to technology-centricity
Payments has traditionally been a finance and risk management business. While these are most certainly important core competencies today, the role and influence of technology is increasing exponentially for payment processors. Engineering, developer and design expertise are the new skill sets that are increasingly needed to fortify their businesses for the future.
The growing role of technology in the payments industry is in part being fueled by a mindset shift occurring with enterprises. More than ever, enterprises are looking to tightly weave payments into their digital experiences and are prioritizing payments as a growth catalyst for their business. As a result, a number of the core problems to be solved in payments are highly technical in nature. They include tasks such as integrating new payment methods, harnessing machine learning to improve authorization rates, and leveraging contemporary APIs and UX designs to create a modernized checkout flow. It's a key reason why recent entrants to the payment processing sector position themselves as technology companies that happen to operate in the payments industry.
The shift to technology-centricity in the payment processing sector is particularly important when considering the evolution of the distribution model for payments. With SaaS platforms and marketplaces fast becoming mission-critical entities to align with to reach SMBs, payment processors must have strong technical chops to position themselves as attractive partners. Many high-growth software companies simply lack the patience to work with a payments partner that fails to keep up with their agility and pace of innovation.
Challenges to traditional economics
Payment processors have been contesting with margin compression in the enterprise segment for years. The dirty secret of the industry is that SMBs historically have softened the impact of pricing pressure coming from large enterprises. Consider that net yields for a merchant processing $1m in volume can be 20 or more times higher than for a merchant processing north of $1bn. Credit Suisse CS , for instance, estimates that, while SMBs account for just 17% of US payment volume, they drive 55% of processing revenue for the industry.
The revenue dynamics and profit pool surrounding SMB payments is undergoing transformation. Transaction volume from individual merchants on main street is increasingly becoming aggregated within large marketplaces (e.g., Shopify, eBay, Amazon AMZN ), delivery services (e.g., Uber Eats, Postmates, DoorDash) and SaaS platforms (e.g., Toast, Mindbody). In some instances, volume is also flowing away from main street merchants and to enterprise retailers (e.g., Walmart WMT , Home Depot HD , Target TGT ). These factors are likely to create volume erosion for certain processors as SMBs eschew stand-alone payment relationships (e.g., they move their processing volume to Shopify) or lose sales to mega-merchants. Another outcome is that more payment volume becomes concentrated across fewer merchants (and vertical SaaS payfacs), increasing their bargaining power and ability to command razor-slim transaction pricing.
For payment processors, there are several implications of this trend. The first is that the enterprise segment (including serving marketplaces and SaaS platforms) and ISV segment are increasing in importance as a means of securing future payment volume. The second is that value-added services (e.g., fraud prevention, loyalty products) and adjacent offerings (e.g., card issuance, POS software) are becoming critical tools to diversify revenue streams in the face of margin or volume compression. It should also be anticipated that new revenue models will emerge in response to this trend as processors look to differentiate themselves and rely on their technical expertise to drive margin growth.
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e0a12203756bd1fded7cd188d3c2346f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanpassman/2017/04/27/the-man-behind-hollywoods-top-musicians/ | The Man Behind Hollywood's Top Musicians | The Man Behind Hollywood's Top Musicians
Lyon National Orchestra performs the Star Wars soundtrack (JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images)
The world’s most famous film music composers are as well respected as any other mainstream artists today, and a number of them are even household names. But the vehicle by which we come to know and love these composers’ work is via a community of world-class musicians who bring life to the musical notes these composers have crafted on paper (or more likely on a computer). These cellists, trombonists, percussionists, vocalists, pianists and many more have recorded the most famous and memorable scores in history. But how do Hollywood’s top composers secure the best musicians for their projects?
Enter Peter Rotter and his company Encompass Music Partners. Rotter is a music contractor and coordinator, which is essentially a middleman, who’s been connecting the harmonious dots since 1987. Having served as a music consultant to Hollywood film score giants (John Williams, Hans Zimmer, James Horner, James Newton Howard, Alan Silvestri, Alexandre Desplat, Henry Jackman and Brian Tyler, to name a few), it’s safe to say that he works on more films than anyone else in the entire music industry. Rotter says, “The fun part of my job is being a musical casting agent. I basically become part of the music, and provide the paint colors to the composer's canvas." For example, for Hans Zimmer’s score for Man of Steel, Rotter contracted ten of the most renowned drummers on the earth, including Pharrell Williams and Sheila E (known for performing with Prince). Rotter also works with Grammy-nominated Randy Kerber, who is one of the most respected pianists in Hollywood history. In addition to performing on the La La Land soundtrack, which Rotter worked on, Kerber can be heard performing on John Williams’ iconic Harry Potter theme, as well as songs for Michael Jackson.
Perhaps most unique and exciting to the film music industry of late is Hans Zimmer’s live show, which was trending on YouTube after his debut performance at Coachella. Rotter is responsible for contracting Zimmer’s string players and choral singers for every West Coast performance, and the group is now on tour across the globe.
Peter Rotter in a recording session Dan Goldwasser - ScoringSessions.com
Today Rotter works with over 60 composers who specialize in scores across all mediums, including film, television, video games, commercials, trailers, records and various forms of new media. He says that he has worked on over 1,000 film scores and hundreds of episodes for television. The musicians that he works with have spent as much or more time studying as lawyers and doctors. They work tirelessly to learn and maintain the craft of playing their instruments. This dedication and hard work translate into legendary performances that continue to leave marks on the history of music.
Composer Jacob Yoffee recording a live orchestra contracted by Rotter for a film Jacob Yoffee
The future of Rotter’s business is at the mercy of the musician/performer unions and how they adapt to the new age of content distribution. As more content is created on new media, the landscape of performance residuals and player union fees is still being determined. This leaves challenges for multiple sectors within the music industry: performing artists, licensing, performing rights organizations, film composers and music contractors. Rotter’s philosophy is that “we need to modernize without cannibalizing,” referring to the unions’ necessity to adjust to new business models. He explains that to do this we have to embrace all job opportunities, not just the highest-paying ones. Meeting a project’s creative needs should be the top priority, and introducing a range of budget tiers will make the industry explode again. Rotter concludes, “I want to create a legacy that builds a bridge for the future of the music business.”
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fb3187f38a93070e75f89c549304d5f7 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2012/11/15/why-playing-video-games-makes-you-a-better-dad/ | Why Playing Video Games Makes You a Better Dad | Why Playing Video Games Makes You a Better Dad
When my wife and I separated, I moved into my parents’ house. Now I spend a lot of the days and nights that I have custody of our two small boys (ages 5 & 7) sitting next to them on my mother’s sofa playing New Super Mario Brothers on the Wii.
I know how it sounds: pathetic.
I’m a thirty-five year old man, living with my parents, manipulating my thumbs to try and save Princess Peach from Koopa’s castle. They write Saturday Night Live sketches to make fun of people like me.
Conveniently, it is fashionable to blame the economy for the poor salary I earn as adjunct faculty at the university. I’d need to earn at least twice as much to be able to repair my credit and move into my own place.
What about the video games? Does playing with my kids count as quality engaged ‘family-time’?
I think so.
For one thing, my kids love it. When I pick them up from their mother’s house, they immediately start screaming from the back seat of the car, “Can we play Mario when we get to your house?” We fight over who get’s the best power-ups. We exchange high fives whenever we level-up from one world to the next.
But just because my kids like it doesn’t mean it is good for them. They would also be happy if I gave them candy for breakfast and let them stay up all night watching horror movies.
Video games are different. This is the world of my kids’ imagination. When I take it seriously (and participate along side of them), I’m not only validating their inner world by giving positive reinforcement to the things that matter most to them, I’m also providing fun and supportive space in which a sophisticated emotional intelligence can emerge.
Of course, I don’t just sit there silently, fingering the D-pad. I don’t embody the role of the almost-middle-aged slacker. Instead, I embody the role of the ‘father.’
I don’t allow the game console to be merely a babysitting computer that distracts my kids while I flirt with my girlfriend on Facetime. Instead, it is something that father and sons do together.
Most importantly, I talk with my boys about what it’s like to play the game.
What emotions go with jumping high enough onto the flagpole that you get a free life? How do you feel when you lose because your little brother made Yellow Toad accidentally hop on your polka-dotted cranium? Don’t you think it’s kind of crazy that you get better at winning by losing over and over again?
Child psychologists have always recognized how important play is to a child’s cognitive and emotional development.
One of the early proponents of play therapy was preeminent psychoanalyst Melanie Klein. Deriving her own theories about kids from the discoveries that Sigmund Freud made while working with adults, Klein argued that in play, children act out the unconscious narrative dramas that shape their everyday lives.
Likewise, C.G. Jung developed the practice of “Active Imagination,” in which individuals, children and adults alike, are encouraged to engage with the images, characters, and stories that inhabit the unconscious part of the psyche. Jung believed that it is only by taking seriously what is ordinarily dismissed as mere fantasy that one can become, what he called, “individuated.”
Both of these theories were instrumental in the development of the kinds of play therapy, such as “Sandplay,” that are now ubiquitous in the consultation room.
But can I really compare non-directive psychodynamic therapy to sitting on my mother’s couch collecting magic-mushrooms and fire-power-flowers with my two sons? Yes.
Although the common view is that video games are an escape from the real world, I think video games can function as interactive mythology. They can be understood as non-linear stories that help individuals derive meaning from the complicated paradoxes of everyday life.
I wrote my book FREEPLAY: A Video Game Guide to Maximum Euphoric Bliss for adults. It is an attempt to unpack some of the psychological, spiritual, and philosophical messages that are veiled right beneath the surface of the video games we played as kids (and some of us still play as adults).
But the ideas in FREEPLAY can also shape childrearing practices.
Here are three things you can do right now to turn video games from a distraction into opportunity for quality, engaged parenting.
Play with your kids. This is not specific to video games. Whenever you take an interest in what matters to your kids, you are sending the message that you approve of the ways that your child makes sense of the world. You are being supportive of your child’s story. You are telling the child you like them as they are and don’t expect them to become something they are not. The caveat here, however, is that you can’t fake it. Your kid is smarter than you think. S/he understands the difference between the moments when you feign interest and when you are authentically engaged. Talk about the game. It is not enough to just play. Discuss the particulars. No, you don’t have to talk like a therapist. It is great to ask questions about how your kids feel when they play. But it is also good to just talk about how difficult a particular adversary is, how crazy the games graphics are, or to guess together what the next level might look like. When you ask your kids to explain their game-playing strategies, you’re simultaneously teaching them that adults value the ability plan, experiment, theorize, and execute. Let the game continue after the console is powered down. Taking an interest in your kids’ video games is not something that concludes when you put down the controller. The game world can also provide a framework within which you can situate many conversations. I regularly ask my kids to imagine what a video game of a particular situation might look like. For example, I might ask my son to draw pictures of a video game in which the goal is solve a playground dispute. This serves two functions. Firstly, this kind of imaginative exercise provides my son with some objective distance from his life-world problems. Secondly, it allows my son to re-imagine his everyday situations in a way that is empowering; in a video game, his actions impact the game’s outcome.
What do you think? Does thumbing the controller of the Wii with your kids count as family time? Or is this just a rationalization for a dude to be his boys’ best friend instead of their dad?
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0396d3e138f74e8cba28298c3aacc7fd | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2013/03/09/this-series-on-sexism-in-video-games-might-change-how-you-think-about-joysticks/ | This Series on Sexism in Video Games Might Change How You Think About Joysticks | This Series on Sexism in Video Games Might Change How You Think About Joysticks
I’m loving the first video in Anita Sarkeesian’s new series on damsel in distress tropes in video games.
Anita Sarkeesian (Photo credit: anitasarkeesian)
It should be required viewing for all gamers. Before you object, remember that deconstruction does not necessarily aim at spoiling the fun. As Sarkeesian reminds viewers, “It is both possible and even necessary to simultaneously enjoy media while also being critical of its more problematic or pernicious aspects.”
I’m sure many gamers will hate the video. And I expect the comments on this post will be plentiful. As usual, folks will tell us that the game industry has a right to make whatever games they want. Trolls will say that nobody makes you play. But we know better. As Sarkeesian says:
The pattern of presenting women as fundamentally weak, ineffective, or ultimately incapable has larger ramifications beyond the characters themselves and the specific games they inhabit. We have to remember that these games don’t exist in a vacuum. They’re an increasingly important and influential part of larger social and cultural ecosystem.
I’ve written it before...and I’ll write it again: Video games are more than just entertainment. Video games teach us ways to think about the world. They are the modern equivalent of fairy tales. Games represent the formative stages of a digital future’s interactive mythology. In other words (if you’ll allow me to be momentarily hyperbolic), I think the game industry is writing scripture for forthcoming generations.
Anita Sarkeesian is the feminist media critic who inspired a storm of internet hate when she raised money on kickstarter to fund this series. You may remember that this was the campaign in 2012 that inspired creation of a video game called Beat Up Anita Sarkeesian.
Of course, it is sad that coverage of this documentary has to include the story of criticism, harassment, and abuse that Sarkeesian has had to endure. In a way, it sets up another victim story. Fortunately, this particular story is not a damsel in distress trope. Instead, it is an underdog narrative. Sarkeesian has created this heroic and exceptional video essay in the face of adversity.
Jordan Shapiro is author of FREEPLAY: A Video Game Guide to Maximum Euphoric Bliss and co-editor of Occupy Psyche: Jungian and Archetypal Perspectives on a Movement. For information on his upcoming books and events click here.
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daad4e4d850dc2846b0cd52a3a843f14 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2013/05/02/zynga-to-launch-learning-games-accelerator/ | Zynga To Launch Learning Games Accelerator | Zynga To Launch Learning Games Accelerator
Zynga.org will spend $1 Million and partner with NewSchools Venture Fund to create an accelerator that focuses on edtech and learning games.
Zynga.org is Zynga Inc.’s nonprofit organization that is “dedicated to inspiring people to live, play and learn through social games.” They aim to get gamers involved in social issues through “content and campaigns” within casual games.
The NewSchools Venture Fund is a “philanthropy firm working to transform public education for low-income children” by supporting entrepreneurial organization dedicated to innovating edtech.
Together, Zynga.org and NewSchools Venture Fund have launched an “edtech” accelerator “focused on enhancing the quality and reach of learning games and apps designed to improve education outcomes.”
The accelerator will be hosted at Zynga’s San Francisco headquarters, sharing office space and collaborating with Zynga employees.
The accelerator's first cohort will include, Kidpative, LocoMotiveLabs, and Motion Math--three established developers in the learning game space.
Also included is Edmodo, a social networking platform for education that I plan to test in my classes at Temple University this fall.
I'm excited to see more energy and money moving into game based learning. If you follow me on Forbes, you know that I'm a big fan of learning games.
I see games, in all their forms, as the the mythology and fairy tales of a digital future. Take away the rituals of the school day and it is clear that storytelling has always been the method through which societies create civilized adult contributors. We do this by transferring our collective social beliefs and customs through narrative based learning. As storytelling becomes saturated with new interactive media, our educational initiatives must follow suit. Innovative thinking in edtech is not about creating robotic teachers, but rather about creating scale-able interactive pedagogy and curricula, to put the power of great teaching in front of more students.
I'm curious to see what comes out of this venture, yet another indication of the importance of edtech and game based learning.
Jordan Shapiro is author of FREEPLAY: A Video Game Guide to Maximum Euphoric Bliss and co-editor of Occupy Psyche: Jungian and Archetypal Perspectives on a Movement. For information on his upcoming books and events click here.
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b7b3f642e50fc73091c4e405117a8643 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2013/07/09/are-kids-who-make-their-own-video-games-better-prepared-for-the-digital-future/?ss=forbeswoman | Are Kids Who Make Their Own Video Games Better Prepared For The Digital Future? | Are Kids Who Make Their Own Video Games Better Prepared For The Digital Future?
"Stemville" a game created by STEM challenge winner, Nicolas Badila (Middle School).
It is easier than you might think for kids to make their own video games. Gamestar Mechanic is a great web based place for younger children to start. Kodu, Gamemaker, and Scratch all offer simple interfaces for more experienced kids.
When kids design their own video games, they are engaged in “learning-by-making.” Project based learning is a constructive experience. It is active rather than passive. It involves creation rather than consumption.
Coding, video game making, and interactive expression will be central to education’s future--not only because these activities encourage the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) skills involved in digital content creation, but also because game creation nurtures the kind of humanistic personal skills that we expect from successful contributors to society.
One 2011 study showed significantly increased deep learning and intrinsic motivation when kids made their own games. Another 2009 study showed that when kids created their own game based quiz questions, they demonstrated increased content retention and better performance on standardized tests. A 2010 study “found evidence to indicate that the game-authoring activity stimulated higher order thinking skills.“
Some kids are already making their own games. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center and E-Line Media just announced the 2013 winners of the National STEM Video Game Challenge. Sixteen middle and high school students (out of 4000 entries) took the top honors. “The competition aims to motivate interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) among students in grades 5-12 by tapping into their enthusiasm for playing and making video games.” The winners (listed at the end of this article) receive fully loaded AMD-powered laptop computers.
Inspired by President Obama’s “Educate to Innovate Campaign,” the National STEM Video Game Challenge selected twenty-eight youth as winners in 2012 and three of those winners participated in the 2013 White House Science Fair in April. “Youth are natural inventors. They are increasingly shaping their own education by making things,” said Michael H. Levine, Executive Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center. In this case, they’re making video games.
Coincidentally, my 8 year old son just finished a week of video game creation summer camp. About a mile from my home, in a rented elementary school classroom at one of suburban Philadelphia’s prep schools, folks from Active Learning Services ran a week long USAChess, video game creation, and 3D animation camp. My eight year old son spent the week making his own games. Charlie Edelman, a.k.a. “coach" Charlie, taught him game design vocabulary and provided an early introduction to key ideas in computer programming.
Spending his afternoons in front of a laptop loaded with the gamemaker software, my son learned refined brainstorming. He practiced the kind of focused resilience it takes to realize a vision within a fixed system. He brought a design from his imagination to the screen using contextualized problem solving, critical thinking, and systems based storytelling skills. He learned the concept of “iteration,” where failure is replaced with ongoing re-creation. And best of all, when he finished, other people--campers, counselors, and me--participated in his interactive experience.
A video game is basically an expression, like a painting, a sculpture, or a story. And one of the key goals of education has always been to empower individuals to articulately express themselves. Hence, academia’s over abundant reliance on the typical 5 paragraph expository essay. Schools want to educate citizens that can make persuasive arguments, that are adept at the skill philosophers traditionally called “rhetoric.”
But the interactive nature of video games makes it a decidedly different kind of expression than expository writing. Because other people will eventually control their creation, kids learn important lessons about subjectivity. They learn to imagine what it would be like for other people to see things from their perspectives. Controlling my avatar is like stepping into my shoes, exploring the world through my eyes, valuing the way I make sense of what's going on around me.
The folks who created Gamestar Mechanic explain that “through designing play, in a context they find compelling and safe, students learn to think analytically and holistically, to experiment and test out theories, and to consider other people as part of the systems they create and inhabit.” They offer a list of multi-disciplinary skills that students develop through a game-authoring curriculum:
Systems-Thinking: Students design and analyze dynamic systems, a characteristic activity in both the media and in science today Interdisciplinary Thinking: Students solve problems that require them to seek out and synthesize knowledge from different domains. They become intelligent and resourceful as they learn how to find and use information in meaningful ways User-Centered Design: Students act as sociotechnical engineers, thinking about how people interact with systems and how systems shape both competitive and collaborative social interaction. Specialist Language: Students learn to use complex technical linguistic and symbolic elements from a variety of domains, at a variety of different levels, for a variety of different purposes. Meta-Level Reflection: Students learn to explicate and defend their ideas, describe issues and interactions at a meta-level, create and test hypotheses, and reflect on the impact of their solutions on others.
It is an impressive list of attributes that kids can develop while doing something they love.
"FOG" was created by STEM challenge winners Noah Ratcliff and Pamela Pizarro-Ruiz (High School)
"Crystal Physics" was developed by STEM Challenge winner Aaron Gaudette (High School)
The 2013 STEM Challenge winners are:
Middle School (grades 5-8): Seong-Hyun Ryoo, Angel Martinez-Acevedo, Nicholas Cameron, Nicolas Badila, Bradley Schmitz, Henry Edwards and Kevin Kopczynski, Lexi Schneider.
High School (grades 9-12): Sooraj Suresh, Kieran Luscombe, Cody Haugland, Aaron Gaudette, Brianna Igbinosun, Noah Ratcliff and Pamela Pizarro-Ruiz, Janice Tran.
You can see descriptions and screenshots from all the winning games here.
Jordan Shapiro is author of FREEPLAY: A Video Game Guide to Maximum Euphoric Bliss and co-editor of Occupy Psyche: Jungian and Archetypal Perspectives on a Movement. For information on his upcoming books and events click here.
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cae6bf7e7c568a493c0c2e120f322f3e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2013/08/01/an-app-that-is-good-at-teaching-kids-how-to-read/ | Can An iPad App Help Solve The Literacy Problem? | Can An iPad App Help Solve The Literacy Problem?
Learn With Homer is a new app that provides a comprehensive contextualized literacy curriculum that kids can use at home on the iPad.
The app is created by Stephanie Dua, a well-known education reformer who led the effort to improve understanding of the intent and implementation of the Common Core publishing criteria for top decision makers across the country.
“I know there’s a lot of great research on how to teach children to read,” said Dua. “But when my own daughter wanted to learn, I couldn’t find any suitable materials for parents. That’s when Learn with Homer was born. It brings the best early learning techniques together in one app.”
I get where Dua is coming from. People are always asking me which apps they should download for their kids. Little munchkins love smartphones and tablets. Anything with a touchscreen is fun. Meanwhile, parents are anxious to find something with educational value. Earlier this week I got a facebook message from a friend I hadn’t talked to in over 15 years. After a few niceties--”I hope life is treating you well”--he cut to the chase; he was looking for an app that would help his young kids start reading.
Considering I write in a very particular niche, it surprising how often people ask me about learning apps. I doubt if I wrote about digital cameras, for example, that friends would be asking me about megapixels all the time, nor seeking me out on facebook. But apps for kids--learning apps in particular--are different and not as tiny a niche as it seems. In 2009, 47% of the top selling apps in the iTunes store were aimed at young kids. According to a Joan Ganz Cooney Center report, in 2012 almost three quarters (72%) of top selling apps targeted preschoolers and elementary age children.
Still, there’s little to recommend when people ask me about early childhood literacy apps. The IOS Appstore and Google Play Store are both loaded with apps that want to teach math skills or coding skills. But there are relatively few apps that focus on reading skills. So I was pleased when the folks from Learn With Homer reached out. Truth be told, I didn’t even care if the app was any good. I was just excited that there was finally a serious ELA app that I could asses.
Before Learn With Homer, I pointed most people in the direction of Montessori Crosswords, which combines phonics in with sounds, pictures, and an easy drag and drop interface. It’s good, but limited. Montessori Crosswords functions like an interactive practice drill. It is a good practice drill, but still it functions better for review than for actual teaching. Learn With Homer, on the other hand, features a comprehensive literacy curriculum that locates reading skills in the world.
This is what makes Learn with Homer unique: context. It does some of the same things a good kindergarten or pre-school teacher would. It is interdisciplinary in that it “combines learning to read with learning to understand the world.” What does that mean? Kids are not only learning what the letter “A” sounds like and that “alligator” starts with “A,” but also taking virtual “field trips” to the zoo, where they learn about alligators. They also draw pictures, record their own voice discussing the subject matter, and listen to stories that emphasize the letters, sounds, and ideas. Then, with an especially cool social feature, parents can track progress, look at a pinterest like board of drawings, and brag about their kids’ genius on facebook.
Anyone who has ever sat in on an exceptional kindergarten class has seen this kind of multidisciplinary teaching in action. It combines serious literacy curriculum with a plethora of different activities that reinforce the lessons with real world context.
My five year old has been the guinea pig, testing Learn With Homer for the past few days. When I asked him what he thought, he said, “I like all of it. It’s good. The best is the storytime part. Oh, and the thinking hats.” The app features a fantastic collection of folktales and poems--really good stories. The thinking hat feature allows kids to take pictures of themselves and then try on silly hats virtually. The ‘thinking caps’ are the achievement badges, my son earns a new one after completing each level.
The app held my son’s attention for about 30-40 minutes per sitting. He explored different worlds, was interested in the lessons, and found the phonics instruction really engaging. He also smiled at the little moments of praise when the app exclaims, “Wiggly ears, cheers!” He’s started using the expression.
I was thoroughly impressed with the pedagogy; it is top notch, comprehensive and remarkably complex. Phonics, deep vocabulary, and context all meet technology wisely. My only gripe is that a few of the user interface aspects could use some tweaking. For example, there were a few moments when my son wasn’t always sure how to navigate further. It wasn’t always intuitive at a five year old level. I had to show him what to tap. Honestly, this is to be expected from such an early iteration. These are precisely the kinds of things that can be easily fixed with simple animations after developers begin to get feedback.
When I spoke with Stephanie Dua, she told me that the goal was not only to create “the first comprehensive literacy app,” but also “to deliver for parents what we know to be best practices for early education” in a way that was “beautiful but not over gamified.” I think Learn With Homer succeeds. Now, when people ask me for a reading app for young kids, this will be my recommendation. It's not magic; it won't make it so your kid can skip kindergarten--after all, school is about a lot more than just language arts skills. But Learn With Homer is a great way to start working on reading with your kid, or to reinforce what he or she is already learning in school. And as always, the results will be much better if an adult plays with a child.
Learn With Homer is backed by a seed series round of 2.2 million from a prestigious list of angel investors, including: Great Oaks Venture Capital; Paul Francis, Entrepreneur and early CFO of Priceline; Tom Glocer, former CEO of Thomson Reuters , Founding Partner of Angelic Ventures; Rob Soni, Entrepreneur, Investor , former Managing Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners and General Partner at Matrix Ventures; and Matt Turck, Managing Director, FirstMark Capital (invested personally).
The app is free to download. It relies on in-app purchases for revenue; the first few lessons are part of the initial download, additional lessons need to be purchased.
Jordan Shapiro is author of FREEPLAY: A Video Game Guide to Maximum Euphoric Bliss and co-editor of Occupy Psyche: Jungian and Archetypal Perspectives on a Movement. For information on his upcoming books and events click here.
Gallery: 7 Great Educational Apps And Games 7 images View gallery
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cbcdf5e7045cfb213056ee744eab692d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2013/08/26/we-need-more-edtech-but-less-technology-in-the-classroom/ | We Need More EdTech, But Less Technology In The Classroom | We Need More EdTech, But Less Technology In The Classroom
Technology plays a primary role in my teaching, but I rarely turn on the computer that makes the classroom “smart.”
Occasionally, I project the class tweet stream. I am an advocate of Twitter for higher ed. But generally, during class time, I try to avoid mediating my connection with students through technology. Face-to-face time is reserved for facilitating old fashioned conversation and discussion. Outside of class, however, my students are bombarded with digital learning resources.
In Temple University’s Intellectual Heritage Department, I teach Mosaic 1 & 2: a two semester sequence that’s required core curriculum for every Temple University student. These are courses that focus on interpretive reading, critical thinking, and persuasive writing--a course designed to “introduce students to foundational texts from cultural and intellectual traditions worldwide.” It is standard liberal arts fare, what David Brooks referred to in his recent New York Times Op-Ed: “The Humanist Vocation.”
I’ve taught in this department for about two years and now I take on the role of “Digital Learning Coordinator.” On a resume it looks great: I’m a young instructor responsible not only for the online sections of a large university’s core curriculum, but also for overseeing a digital strategy for the brick and mortar sections. However, it turns out this job is not as simple as just picking software and giving talks on how to use Blackboard. It also requires a lot of thinking about tough questions; how do I make sure that digital learning resources remain tools--like a whiteboard or a pencil--things that simply aid in a time-tested process of teaching critical thinking? It is not easy. I’m still figuring it out.
My trajectory into the edtech aspect of this job started about a year ago, when I was still a severely underpaid adjunct instructor. The head of our department announced an initiative to develop an online version of the Intellectual Heritage sequence. I applied. Honestly, I did it because there was a stipend involved--for the money. I wasn’t a big fan of the idea of online classes. The idea of teaching liberal arts online scared me.
It wasn’t the typical fears of online socialization that gave me anxiety. I’m not concerned that relating online cannot replace real in-person connection. That’s obvious and not so scary. Likewise, in-person connection cannot replace the clarity and efficiency of writing online. (There’s a reason I’ve replaced the majority of conversations I used to have on the phone with a quick text message or an email: it works better). Instead, what terrifies me is that online learning might privilege particular kinds of knowledge. It might overlook some of the very reasons we teach humanities in the first place: to encourage a multiplicity of perspectives, the foundation of social and imaginative empathy.
At the risk of over generalizing, I’ll name two kinds of knowledge that seem more easily and efficiently disseminated using online tools. I’ll term them “edutainment” and “data-fiables.”
Usually, the term “edutainment” refers to content that’s meant to both educate and entertain. But I use the term differently (if you think every professor isn’t trying to both educate and entertain, you’re kidding yourself. Nobody wants to deliver a boring lecture). I use “edutainment” to refer to the kind of knowledge that is both deliverable and consumable. Powerpoint presentations, Ted talks, and even the old fashioned university lecture would all be included in this category. This is the kind of knowledge that is objectified. This is what we get when we imagine the instructor as an expert, a vessel who fills up his students with facts and statistics, as if their brains were empty chalices (to borrow an analogy from Heidegger). In this kind of thinking, ideas are objects; knowledge is objective. Within this construction, my job is to transfer my knowledge to my students. My brain tantamount to a hard drive, the classroom is like file sharing: bittorrent in the flesh.
With the term “data-fiable,” I refer to something I only barely understand. This is the kind of knowledge that algorithmic geeks excel with, the stuff that’s easily understood as data. Not only the facts that can be Googled, but also the things that Google ’s back end evaluates using analytics and metrics. This is the kind of knowledge that lends itself to algorithms. This includes ways of knowing that can be automated and quantified. This is what we measure with standardized tests. This is the kind of knowledge that technocrats would have us believe to be unbiasedly objective. And it may be objective. But remember from the prior example that a world of objective knowledge is also a world of “edutainment.”
Instead, the humanities classroom is the place where I facilitate Socratic dialogue, imagination, emotional connection, and metaphor’s ability to bring forth meaning through poesis. These things are not edutainment nor datafiable. Counterintuitively, however, these things ARE related to technology. The philosopher Martin Heidegger explained that the word technology
stems from the Greek. Technikon means that which belongs to techné. We must observe two things with respect to the meaning of this word. One is that techné is the name not only for the activities and skills of the craftsman, but also for the arts of the mind and the fine arts. Techné belongs to bringing-forth, to poiésis; it is something poietic.
In other words, humanist critics of edtech should remember that technology is itself poetic. Heidegger continues, “From the earliest times until Plato, techné is linked with word episteme. Both words are names for knowing in the widest sense.” However, it requires the humanities to interpret the metaphors of technology, to be able to see that technological ways of knowing, technological ways of bringing forth, are deliverable, consumable, and quantifiable. Heidegger called this way of knowing "enframing."
From my perspective as a teacher, edtech's "enframed" limitations are not necessarily a bad thing. We need to resist the urge to be oppositional. Instead, we need to learn to embrace edtech for what it strengthens and rise up with empathetic excellence where it falls short. Just as Google’s predictive dialogue box has forced me to reconsider the essence of human intuition (after all, according to ordinary definitions, Google has better intuition than any human), so technological ways of knowing have forced me to reconsider the essence of teaching.
As a result, I’ve flipped, or blended, my university classroom. I’ve moved everything that can be more efficiently disseminated through smart phones, tablets, and personal computers to the digital realm. Rather than lecture, I make videos and podcasts. Rather than wasting face-to-face time with slideshows full of bullet points of facts, I email the Powerpoints. If it is “content”--that is, if it can be poured from chalice to vessel, if it can be contained--it has no place in the classroom.
Jordan Shapiro in the classroom at Temple University.
The classroom is not where my students listen (or consume what I deliver). Rather, in the classroom I become a sherpa. I guide them on the journey of their choosing. My job is to know where the treasures are, that all paths lead to jewels of critical thinking. This happens through nuanced conversation, through discussion, through debate and interaction.
Of course, the hardest part is convincing my students. Years of education has taught them to expect a hierarchical relationship between vessel and chalice.
The fact is that education has already been automated. Tests, quizzes, textbooks, and Powerpoints are all products of a technological way of knowing the world. They are all ways of objectifying knowledge. My enthusiasm for edtech stems from a hope that it will teach us to handle technological ways of knowing more efficiently and interactively, using gadgets and devices. However, this is only an advantage if it means that teachers can get back to what they do best: educating instead of disseminating and assessing.
Can teachers do this online? I hope so. There are plenty of social tools that enable real communication through the web, albeit asynchronous. I’m working hard to figure out how to use these tools for interaction. Online, I certainly can’t teach students to verbally articulate complex arguments. Nor can I teach them through conversational debate. But I can teach them to think critically about online texts and to express themselves articulately in writing. Preferably, they’ll learn to do it using the conventional online mediums. After all, the blog and the email are sure to be more useful in their professional lives than the five paragraph expository essay. The rhetorical skills are ancient, they need to be taught. Formats go in and out of fashion.
Jordan Shapiro is author of FREEPLAY: A Video Game Guide to Maximum Euphoric Bliss and co-editor of Occupy Psyche: Jungian and Archetypal Perspectives on a Movement. For information on his upcoming books and events click here.
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641a74f19dd3b505e7edad2e6f0889de | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2013/09/30/what-we-can-learn-from-rupert-murdoch-news-corp-and-amplify/ | What We Can Learn From Rupert Murdoch, News Corp, And Amplify | What We Can Learn From Rupert Murdoch, News Corp, And Amplify
I’ve been trying to figure out how to write about Amplify Learning for months. It’s complicated.
Mashable's story describes Amplify as the cash hungry villain: News Corp’s bid to profit off children. The New York Times’ coverage read like an informercial; retelling that same old congratulatory story of free market innovation. NPR covered Amplify when they first announced the tablets, quoting CEO Joel Klein, "We don't have a political mission — none whatsoever. What we're doing is developing materials in math and science and the English language arts — designed by leading experts.”
How should I write about Amplify? Should I take a political stance? Or, should I evaluate the orange tablets simply as a digital learning technology, out of context? Do I bracket out the fact that this particular edtech company is owned by News Corp? Or, should I give weight to the politics represented and symbolized by the logo of Amplify’s parent corporation? They claim not to be political, but by now most of us have read enough Howard Zinn to know that education is never apolitical.
One could argue that News Corp’s CEO, Rupert Murdoch, has built his fortune by exploiting the power of polarized political views; therefore, it is just simple and honest retribution to turn a narrow, closed-minded lens in his direction at any chance we get--especially when he dips his hands into the education of our children. But really, is News Corp any different than any other media company? Not really. Certainly, there’s no such thing as objectivity, not even in education. Like knowledge in general, all media has biases. I just like some biases better than others.
It is unfortunate, but in our current world, a conglomerate may be the only one with sufficient economic muscle and distribution know-how to make a difference. Therefore, unless a disagreeable political or moral stance is explicitly present in the product, perhaps such things should not influence my evaluation of the tablet and its content.
At first, I tried to take a neutral stance when I drove my eight year old to Brooklyn so we could test the games that Amplify is currently developing. My agenda was twofold. I wanted to gather information for this article. But I also wanted my son, who dreams of being a video game designer, to see a real game studio at work. As we walked around Amplify’s offices, I pointed out the walls full of UI flow charts, the character design sketches, the hundreds of employees fiddling with tablets. Then, as we moved down the back stairway from one floor to another, our tour guide told me (and I’m paraphrasing) that a lot of people are nervous about News Corp, but most of the folks who work at Amplify are left-leaning liberals who wouldn’t do the work if it was about brainwashing kids into Murdoch clones.
Perhaps she wanted me to see her point embodied when she introduced me to Matthue Roth, one of Amplify’s head writers and game developers. I already knew a bit about Roth. His children’s book, My First Kafka, is one of my boys’ favorites. I’ve also read Roth’s novel, Never Mind The Goldbergs--a story about a teenaged girl who finds her foundation for countercultural rebellion in observant Judaism. The novel is a thought-provoking exploration of the relationship between orthodoxy, individuality, and conformity. Roth’s Amazon author page describes him as “a Hasidic author” and “slam poet,” hardly in resonance with the stereotypical view we may have of the News Corp lemming. (Come to think of it, Roth is hardly in resonance with the stereotypical view we have of anything).
I sat across the desk from Roth as he showed my son games on an Asus tablet. We were in the glass walled corner office belonging to Justin Leities, Vice President of Games at Amplify. Roth was enthusiastic. He laughed and he seemed genuinely engaged with my son’s reactions as we swiped our way through the games. One math game was like Fruit Ninja geometry. Players slice shapes, learning about axes in three dimensions. Another game was a strategic resource management puzzler based on the biology of the human circulatory system. My son’s favorite was Lexica, a game that takes place in a magical library.
Lexica is a literacy game that Greg Toppo covered beautifully in USA Today. Toppo describes Lexica as “a massive role-playing game for young teens that invites them to interact with characters from great novels and read the books outside of class if they want to get ahead in the game.” Everything about Lexica impresses me. Also, it is so comprehensive that the sheer scale of complexity overwhelms me. There are even mini games that, like everything in Lexica, require familiarity with the characters and plots of classic books.
Mostly, I’m impressed with Amplify’s games. Although, I do have some reservations about the aesthetics. Why do the humanities games look old-fashioned, antique, and fantastical? While the science and math games look modern, polished, and innovative? What is the implicit messaging? Probably something similar to what kids learn when they observe a system in which adults scream for more STEM education while drastically eliminating funding for the arts. Is this really how we want our children to make sense of the world? That ELA is fantasy while STEM is “real life.” I’d argue that we desperately need to teach kids to value the humanities and the arts as more than just literacy, history, and imagination--that it is not just about learning to read. We also want kids to know that living a meaningful life requires that particular kind of precision and elegance found only in metaphor and poesis; this is the scaffolding for empathy and compassion.
I think Lexica’s magic library is a great first step. It values content, comprehension, and familiarity with great books. Although most people seem to have forgotten it, a good foundation in classic works of literature is essential. Not that it is the only reason, but you’d be amazed how much it impresses people when you can reference classic literary examples that they think they're supposed to have read. Nowadays, so many high school instructors are moving to modern young adult fiction because it is easier to get the kids engaged. It is good to see that Amplify is working from the other direction, trying to figure out ways to change media and entertainment in order to get kids more engaged in the old stuff.
Overall, the idea behind Amplify’s games division stems from the fact that kids lose so much potential learning time when they’re not in school--in particular, underprivileged kids. Klein and Leities want to convert out of school entertainment time into educational time by creating first rate games that are related to a student’s everyday curricula. Joel Klein put it this way in an email to me:
We know that fewer and fewer students look at homework as valuable. Many of them think of it as a compliance exercise. I think the goal of our games is to both help recapture lost learning time—both after school and during holidays—and engage kids in ELA, math and science in ways that weren't possible until now. What we’ve found is that games have the most meaningful impact on learning when they are not played in class, or assigned as homework. Rather, we’ve seen the most positive outcomes when students choose to play our educational games in their own time and on their own terms.
In my opinion, the thinking behind Amplify’s game making initiative is right. I’ve been an outspoken critic of the absurd lack of mindful, intentional messaging involved in commercial console games and other types of everyday media and entertainment. Our fantasy that any good will come from leaving cultural messaging to happenstance, or to the invisible hand of the free market, is less an indication of freedom than it is of stupidity. Thus, there’s something admirable in Amplify’s desire to dissolve the separation between school and what many students, and perhaps their teachers, consider to be “real life.” The Amplify Tablet comes with the implication that blended learning should extend into a student’s relationship with not only media and entertainment, but also the wider world of an information economy.
Of course, the information economy is where Murdoch’s media conglomerate dominates. And this is where most folks’ uneasiness with Amplify begins. This is what causes tension. It is not simply a hatred for Rupert Murdoch, NewsCorp, and Fox. Nor is it only a fear of thought control. It is not big-brother visions of a monopoly on knowledge. Nor is it just the meek-shall-inherit-the-earth ethicists scolding profiteers for using underprivileged children as pawns in their next ponzi scheme.
Instead, I think it is deeper than all of that. I think Amplify makes us tense because the orange tablet sits right at the nexus of confusion, simultaneously symbolizing both the biggest promises of edtech and the biggest problems. Amplify forces us to look at ourselves, perhaps showing us things we don’t want to see. It holds up a mirror, reflecting blemishes in our thinking about education, society, and democracy. It reminds us that in some ways, there’s really little difference between the control wielded by a mass media conglomerate and the control wielded by a common curriculum. Both deliver cultural messaging. One for profit. The other for...politics? Ethics? Morality? Civilization? Community? I’m not entirely sure. It’s complicated.
The Amplify tablet is just a tool, like a blackboard, or a pencil, or an overhead projector, or a book. Just like the iPad or Lenovo’s fantastic Thinkpad Chromebook for education (which I’m typing on right now), they are machines that exist simply to help teachers do what they do. And these tools work well. I guess the big issue is content.
Should we be worried about News Corp controlling information? Of course we should. Just like we should’ve been worried about the companies that were writing our textbooks, the religious institutions that systematically controlled knowledge for millennia, and the monarchs who created their own translations of the bible. We should also be worried about the television studios that have colonized our living rooms, the internet oligarchy that hides its domination in the mythology of the independent viral meme, and the industrial food complex that has systematically created a hegemony of food options.
The fact is, humanity has been brainwashed for a long time. People, nations, and corporations with wealth and power have always had an hierarchical ability to control knowledge. It seems possible that the landscape, although still skewed, is more balanced than ever. But the only way to take it a step further is by educating more critical-thinking adults.
Schools have always been under the control of powerful people. Schools have always been tasked with transmitting a belief system particular, and specific, to the culture in which they operate. But I’m not sure we’re comfortable admitting that we don’t aim to teach freedom of thought, nor creativity, but rather the mainstream messaging required to conform with and participate in the prevalent social order.
Ironically, because we’re a nation spawned from revolution, the messaging of that social order is, at its core, counter-cultural. Well, at least the message of the literature we value is, in some ways, almost unanimously resonant with the mythology of Independence Day and the American dream. It asks how the innovative marginalized underdog maintains autonomy in the face of a dictatorial old world. It asks how a person, an idea, or a community move from margin to center, from peasant to conglomerate.
If Amplify, Murdoch, and News Corp can teach that--and teach it well, so that it not only sticks, but inspires--we have nothing to worry about. Except whether or not that’s a message we’re still interested in teaching.
Jordan Shapiro is author of FREEPLAY: A Video Game Guide to Maximum Euphoric Bliss and co-editor of Occupy Psyche: Jungian and Archetypal Perspectives on a Movement. For information on his upcoming books and events click here.
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42f49bce20df55c7aedf5581f1c96051 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/02/05/how-video-games-nurtured-a-generation-of-entrepreneurs/ | How Video Games Nurtured A Generation Of Entrepreneurs | How Video Games Nurtured A Generation Of Entrepreneurs
Nintendo’s Kid Icarus series is a cult classic video game. A quick google search turns up tons of fan sites dedicated to the game. Many critics have placed it on their list of all time top games. If you talk to folks who persevered through level after level of Kid Icarus’ Grecian-themed game play in their youth, you’ll notice they get a dreamy, nostalgic look in their eyes.
Kid Icarus is a great game. The music is unique. The artwork is impressively humorous (even considering the limited graphic capability of the times). The gameplay is challenging. But there’s more to it. There’s a message lingering right beneath the surface. It is more than just a game. Kid Icarus is interactive mythology.
In fact, all video games are like scripture for a new generation: part entertainment, part interactive experience, part persuasive storytelling. They are complex simulations that employ what author Ian Bogost calls “procedural rhetoric” in his book Persuasive Games. In the act of solving a game’s challenges, the player engages and internalizes particular ways of experiencing the world.
Kid Icarus is not unique in having an implicit message, but its particular message serves as a great example to illustrate the relationship between gamers, geekdom, and the innovative internet entrepreneurship that’s so fashionable in the early 21st Century. It is not just the unique up-scrolling action of Kid Icarus that reflects the start-up mentality--always moving upward: growing, scaling, seeking higher valuations. It goes deeper than that.
“I remember loving the journey,” says Amanda Steinberg, founder of DailyWorth.com, “collecting hearts, shooting arrows at those cyclops ghost things.”
Amanda Steinberg considered herself a gamer when she was a prepubescent geek. She and I were schoolmates then. I remember her when she had pasty skin and knobby knees. Kid Icarus was her favorite game. Now, all grown-up, she’s founder of a high profile internet start-up. The other day, after listening to me give a talk on game based learning to the faculty of Miami Dade College, she told me that she credits all those hours playing video games for some of her success.
Many 21st Century business ninjas received some of their earliest training from video games. They fit the gamer stereotypes in their youth. Maybe they were alienated, pimple-faced geeks. Perhaps they were losers, slackers, nerds.
But everyone is awkward and alienated in puberty and adolescence. What is it about video games that contributed to making the geeks of the 20th Century into the innovative entrepreneurs of the 21st Century?
Consider Amanda Steinberg. Her business, DailyWorth.com, is a media company that delivers educational personal finance advice to millions of women everyday. Part feminism and part financial literacy, the team at DailyWorth.com works tirelessly to reframe women’s personal narratives around money.
On the surface, DailyWorth.com is about teaching basic skills for saving, investing, and thinking about finance. But read between the lines, and you discover a mythic journey to rescue a symbolic woman that’s held captive in a tower of stone--a tower constructed on a foundation of gender inequality.
By raising millions of dollars in venture capital and slowly using that money to navigate deeper into the finance media business, Steinberg is infiltrating the lair of an age old Wall Street boys club. She is metaphorically tearing down the tower, one stone at a time. She’s freeing the damsel in distress by changing the story. She’s replacing the helpless princess with a powerful woman--confident and productive, but also sexy and feminine. The image of a “DailyWorth Woman” is tantamount to a game protagonist with a sense of self-worth that correlates to work, services, and resources that sell at high market value.
DailyWorth.com, however, is more than just a business. It is also Amanda Steinberg’s avatar. She wields the controller. Email, social media, and investor decks are like thumbs on the gamepad. She moves the company through obstacles. She shoots arrows at proverbial foot soldiers and collects the rewards. The internet start-up world becomes like a real-life role-playing platformer. Steinberg perseveres, leveling up just a little bit more every day.
Amanda is not only an up and coming media mogul, it only takes one glance to see that she’s also the new tastemaker for stylish women. Picture a thin brunette whose piercing, dangerous eyes seem to contradict her happy-go-lucky spirit. Steinberg is simultaneously approachable and larger-than-life, flawlessly blending feminine sexuality with business success. In her very being, without saying a word, she challenges gender stereotypes. With her demeanor alone, she unearths the absurdity that underlies stereotypes like the bitchy-boss, the unattractive feminist, and the mean girl.
It makes sense looking at her today. She’s the subject of Cosmo spreads, Wall Street Journal articles, etc. But Steinberg wasn’t always one of the popular girls. Long before she became the down to earth founder of an internet start-up, she was an awkward tomboy. Within minutes of arriving home from school, you would have found an eleven year old ‘Mandy’ seated cross-legged on the floor a meter or two from the television. She was clutching a gamepad, controlling Kid Icarus’ protagonist, Pit, as he rescued Palutena, goddess of light, from Medusa, goddess of darkness.
Mandy’s childhood perfectly reflects the 1980s image of the divorced, split-parent household. Both parents were too busy or distracted to engage with her in the way that she craved. Kid Icarus became the kind of game-based babysitter that parenting gurus are always complaining about: a symbol of neglect.
From Steinberg’s perspective, however, Kid Icarus was a gift.
“It was finally something that could hold my attention for 8 hours at a time,” she told me, “I didn’t have to fight desperate levels of boredom.”
Steinberg is one among many successful 21st Century internet entrepreneurs who grew up playing video games. The ethos of the game equipped her with skills that she calls on everyday in her high profile entrepreneurial career. It taught her to be irrationally unfazed by things that would drive any rational person crazy.
“I learned resilience. Kid Icarus was super hard. But day after day of trying again and again taught me that if I stick to something, eventually I could figure it out. I think Kid Icarus gave me a sense of accomplishment and a healthy relationship to perseverance.”
As it turns out, there’s now a wealth of theory and research around motivation, systems thinking, and critical problem solving that concurs with Amanda’s assumptions. Video games do, indeed, reinforce these skills. But nobody knew it then.
Talking to Steinberg made me want to play Kid Icarus. I had heard of the game, but I had never played it. I didn’t have an NES when I was young. I also didn’t have a Gameboy, so I never even had the opportunity to play the sequel, Kid Icarus: Of Myths And Monsters. I played my first rounds of Kid Icarus thanks to Steinberg’s recommendation. I downloaded the original from Nintendo’s eShop to the Wii U.
There’s something really impressive about a game from 1987 that can still entertain me in 2014. You would think that 8-bit graphics wouldn’t be enthralling on a machine that’s capable of 1080p High Definition. Not so. I immediately played Kid Icarus for about an hour. My six and eight year old sons fought me for the controller. We were all mesmerized.
As I moved the protagonist, Pit, through a setting inspired by ancient Greek mythology, I felt like I was gazing into the past. Not ancient Greece, but rather, the 1980s--the formative age of video games. I could see how little the conventions of gameplay have changed. Playing Kid Icarus was like looking at digital cave drawings. It showed the primitive iterations of archetypal game mechanics that would eventually become the standard HD RPGs of the present.
I couldn’t help but think about mythology and interpret the symbolism.
Pit is Kid Icarus. Although many sources call him an angel and guardian, the game’s English title, Kid Icarus, is presumably meant to call attention to Pit’s angel-like wings and his toga-like costume (the Japanese title translates as “Light Myth: Palthena’s Mirror”). The English title contextualizes the game’s storyline within familiar Greek mythology by alluding to the wax and feather wings with which Daedalus’ son Icarus attempts to escape from King Minos’ prison tower.
But the choice is bizarre. After all, the mythological Icarus is hardly heroic. Instead, the ancient Greek character is a symbol of unrestrained ambition, of flying too high, of ungrounded carelessness. What’s more, Icarus is just a supporting character. He dies almost as soon as the story takes off. Icarus’ only claim to fame is his lineage. He’s son of the master craftsman, Daedalus.
Perhaps you remember the story from grade school. It may be the first iteration of the prison escape genre.
Daedalus wants to escape with his son from Minos’ tower. Daedalus fastens the wax and feather wings to his son’s back. “Don’t fly too close to the sun,” Daedalus warns. “Don’t swoop too low toward the sea.” The sun’s heat will melt the wax; the ocean’s water will weigh down the feathers.
But flying is too much fun; Icarus can’t resist. He soars high. He glides low. He feels the repercussions of his inability to follow directions, of his unwillingness to obey. Icarus dies and Daedalus finishes the flight alone and broken hearted.
Archetypal psychologists, who translate the mythological stories of the past into meaningful lessons for the present, might correlate Icarus’ plight with the modern definition of mania. Euphoric upswings give way to desparate dips downward. The manic individual mimics Icarus. He or she won’t “stay in the middle,” won’t “fly in between.” Instead, the manic individual soars for the sun. The wax, which represents the emotional and intellectual glue that enables a person to hold it together, melts. And it doesn’t matter how quickly one “beats his naked arms.” Without feathers, there’s no flight. A fall into an ocean-like flood of negative emotions follows.
It sounds like doom. But it is also what drives the ‘work hard, play hard’ ethos of 21st Century entrepreneurship. There’s a flip side to everything. Often our strengths and our fatal flaws are one and the same. Both Icarus’ and the entrepreneur are like the up-scrolling game avatar Pit. They keep flying higher and higher, closer and closer to the sun. Just one impetuous mistake, however, will lead to a fatal fall.
This interpretation of the myth describes something about Icarus. But Icarus is not really the protagonist of the ancient myth. Icarus is just Daedalus’ offspring, an extension of himself. Icarus might be understood as Daedalus’ avatar. Daedalus provides Icarus with the tools he needs--”like a bird that leads its tender young into the air”--and he suggests the proper navigation for the journey.
Sure, the journey is a failure for both Daedalus and Icarus. But had the escape from Minos’ tower been a video game, Icarus’ descent would have been accompanied by a downward melody in the soundtrack. It would have concluded with the phrase “I’m Finished!” or “Game Over.” And Daedalus would have restarted, trying again and again, persevering until he leveled up.
In Daedalus, then, we see a archaic representation of primordial character traits that will eventually be associated with 21st Century gamers and entrepreneurs. Daedalus is inventive and disruptive. He can solve any problem. With his ingenuity, he can navigate his way out of any situation.
He’s said to have invented carpentry. He designed the famous labyrinth that imprisoned the minotaur. He is the originator of robotics and animatronics, creating sculptures were made with “eyes as if open and limbs as if in motion, so his statues had to be chained to prevent them from running away.” For the ancient Greeks, Daedalus was the mythological ancestor that created the possibility for all technological feats of human ingenuity.
What’s more, it is not only the Greeks that celebrated Daedalus, in the early days of the industrial age, the Romantic poets also latched on to his image. He was symbolically associated with the artistic craftsman: passionate, disruptive, and rebellious. He changes the world around him through the creation of new systems, new inventions, and imaginative solutions to old problems.
In short, he’s an innovative tool maker. He matches the modern image of an entrepreneur.
And maybe, just maybe, Daedalus was also the first gamer.
Jordan Shapiro is author of FREEPLAY: A Video Game Guide to Maximum Euphoric Bliss. For information on his upcoming books and events click here.
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0403a39fd27bc5d84a5f594c8a993751 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/02/25/whats-so-bad-about-big-data-in-little-classrooms/ | What's So Bad About Big Data In Little Classrooms? | What's So Bad About Big Data In Little Classrooms?
When I was a kid we used to have ‘book fairs’ at school. Once or twice a year a room in the school would be transformed into a bookstore. Folding tables were covered in paperbacks. I remember glossy biographies of celebrities, movie novelizations, and TV show themed graphic novels.
Kids loved shopping. Regular books, recommended by our teachers, perfectly suited to our reading levels, were so much shinier and more exciting than the well-worn books in the library. Other than the awkward socio-economic realities it forced us to face--some kids had basically a blank check from their parents on book fair days--it was awesome.
I assume that in exchange for hosting the publishers, the school got a kick back. Some percentage of each sale likely went to the operating budget and kids were exposed to more ‘literacy.’ It sounds like a great deal. Everybody wins. But those were different times: back before the internet, long before we lost trust in corporate ethics, and words like “data-mining” were not even in our vernacular.
These old-school book sales weren’t the only thing that occupied my mind as I sat next to Joel Klein and Jim Steyer at The Student Privacy Zone Summit in Washington, DC. I also thought about other third party vendors with revenue models that historically gave them front line access to parents and students because of creative contracts that they had negotiated with schools. Consider those photos my mother bought for all my relatives on picture day. Consider the plethora of companies that manufacture yearbooks, class rings, and letter jackets.
Of course, we live in a different world now. At The Student Privacy Zone Summit, hosted by Common Sense Media and The Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan explained that “personal data in education should be used only for educational purposes, not to sell snacks or video games.”Senator Edward J. Markey said it is our job to “ensure we animate tech with the human values we've inherited.”
I couldn’t help but think about the slippery slope we’re sledding on when we start making value judgments about products that are allowed into our school districts because they’re “educational” and the ones that are not. The line between for-profit snack chips and for-profit publishing seems rather arbitrary to me.
That particular arbitrary line is one of the tight ropes that edtech walks. It is a tension between two big fears we have about implementing innovative edtech in all of our nation’s schools. One fear resides in some misguided fantasy about the purity of our current system--the idea that we don’t currently have and certainly don’t want--companies selling to our kids while they’re at school. The other is a fear of big data and the Orwellian police state.
What’s especially interesting about edtech is that it conflates these two fears into a jumbled narrative. Put simply, we worry that the data mined by the corporate oligarchy might be used as targeted advertising that’s delivered in such a way that it becomes indistinguishable from class instruction. Think of the school scene in Pixar’s optimistic dystopian movie Wall-E, where box retailers control everything and school children learn that “B is for Buy ’n’ Large, your very best friend.”
To see that this particular fear is not irrational, you need to understand just how much data is being collected.
Ordinarily, the term “student data” brings transcripts, grades, and attendance records to mind. But increasingly, Common Sense Media explains, “through online platforms, mobile applications, and cloud computing, schools and edtech providers collect massive amounts of sensitive information about students.”
Bus scheduling data provides addresses, athletics data provides shoe size, after school activity data provides a list of hobbies. When you cross reference data about all the students in a particular school you can interpolate who a particular student’s friends are likely to be. Add the books they bought at the book fair and their digital class pictures and you’ve got a ton of information that Common Sense Media believes “needs to be kept out of the hands of non-educational, commercial interests and other third parties.”
But is that really what scares us? After all, do those third parties really need that data? They already get metadata from our children’s Netflix queues. They can see purchase histories on Amazon. They can mine the spreadsheets, presentations, and essays students create through cloud based office apps. And social profiling can be taken to a whole new level thanks to public accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, WhatsApp, and Google . Do school records really provide so much more? I doubt it. So what scares us?
Some people are afraid that the goal is to create the school-day equivalent of check-out line candy bars merchandised at kids’ eye level. It may sound paranoid. But it’s a logical deduction to be made in an age when companies that primarily sell advertising (Google, NewsCorp) are implementing one-to-one student-to-device ratios in the name of ‘digital literacy’ and better content delivery.
No wonder a bunch of politicians, industry folks, and lobbyists got together at the The Student Privacy Zone Summit to talk about how we need to do something to make sure kids’ data is restricted to educational use only.
The thing is, we all agree with the idea of protecting kids, but the definition of educational use can be fuzzy. After all, reliance on data is increasingly making it possible to bring mind-blowing adaptive learning technologies to more diverse populations. Personalized learning is dependent upon collecting and assessing data in order to contextualize learning in a way that makes it more efficient and more precise.
Imagine how much more engaged a student would be if the word problems in their math workbooks were based on statistics from the ball game they streamed on the tablet last night? Imagine if school work included considering how a 20% off coupon would impact the final cost of an item put in an online shopping cart last night but never actually purchased. Imagine if essay prompts could be personalized to such a degree that they take into consideration the books and movies that individuals have been watching. Imagine if your history textbook could automatically adjust in such a way that it takes into account your nationality and teaches specifically how your ancestors played a part in world history.
I know that sounds scary to some people. But consider what it would do for knowledge retention. This is precisely the kind of thing that good teachers have always done in their classrooms. They collect data.
In my classroom at Temple University, I start each semester by finding out who the individual students in my classroom are: what are their majors, where are they from, what do they care about? Those goofy ice breakers are not just about creating a learning community, they also allow me to tailor my instruction to the people in the room. I adapt and personalize throughout the semester using the things I learn in personal essays, the jokes students tell in class, every tidbit of personal information they provide.
What frightens me most about big data legislation is that from the standpoint of advocacy we over regulate. I worry that, in the name of protecting people, we will recreate the same two classes of education that already exist: the elite who buy private education, the others who get public education for free.
Those who can afford to circumvent privacy legislation so that their children can reap the benefits of data driven education get shockingly precise adaptive technologies. Those who can’t afford it...well they get what they’ve always had: lowest common denominator content and testing that’s not personalized and doesn’t take cultural and socioeconomic differences into account. Either way, the corporations will continue to target advertising wherever they’re allowed.
At the The Student Privacy Zone Summit, Arne Duncan said, “Privacy rules may well be the seat belts of this generation.” And that may be true. We’re at very interesting time in history. The Orwellian police state has already arrived and it is not all bad. We now see the benefits and the atrocities.
Big data is kind of like an overbearing mother. In some ways it can embrace and nurture us. In other ways it can restrain and constrict us. Being watched can be both comforting and imprisoning.
Of course, this has always been the question for educators, the tension of our craft. Is it our job to mold people into good citizens that abide by collective social conventions? Or to free individuals so they can think for themselves?
Jordan Shapiro will be speaking about game-based learning, adaptive learning, and big data at this year's Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai.
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0c46a8900252bd29817794eab76be354 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/03/10/edtech-student-privacy-too-much-testing-qa-with-the-department-of-education/ | EdTech, Student Privacy, Too Much Testing? Q&A With The Department Of Education | EdTech, Student Privacy, Too Much Testing? Q&A With The Department Of Education
A few weeks ago, I wrote this article as a follow up to Common Sense Media’s Student Privacy Zone Summit. Immediately following the summit, the U.S. Department of Education laid out some guidance and best practices through their Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). There are a ton of questions we need to ask about edtech, privacy, and student data. A lot of those questions are in my inbox--from the thousands of readers who have sent me feedback and comments to the article I mentioned above. It was clear that the conversation needed much more attention. So I reached out to Jim Shelton, acting deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, who was panelist at the Student Privacy Zone Summit. The following is an unedited Q&A exchange between myself and Shelton. We cover a lot of ground: edtech in general, standardized testing, privacy, and more. Jordan: I’m very excited about new learning technologies. Every time a developer shows me a new game-based learning or adaptive learning technology, it blows my mind. However, it is NOT increased student engagement, or more efficient content delivery systems making better content accessible to more students that excites me. Those are sales pitches. Instead, education technologies excite me because I can envision how they are going to enable us to address some of the negative learning and motivational consequences of high stakes testing. New edtech has the potential to replace standardized assessments with much more accurate and precise computer based assessments that take context into account. Of course, this is preferable. Not all individuals are the same and it is a fantasy to believe we can accurately assess them all using identical rubrics. What excites you most about educational technologies? How do you imagine these technologies are going to impact the general and long term landscape of education in the U.S.? How can the Department of Education play a part in harnessing edtech to mediate some of the tensions around high-stakes standardized assessment? Shelton: There are almost a dozen things that excite me about the potentially transformative impact of educational technologies, but I’ll try to focus. Education technology does present an opportunity to reduce the time and attention placed on testing regimens, including the many tests it turns out take up much more time than those once-per-year exams. The Department has tried to help on this issue by using our grant funds to encourage development of the next generation of assessments – most recently a $350 million investment through a forward-looking grant competition. That said, forgive me for being a broken record, we need to invest much more in research and development if we want to make dramatic progress in the area of assessment. Because of limited investment in R&D, the field was not ready to respond to some of the more innovative elements of our assessment competition (e.g. cumulative assessments rather than one-time summative assessments). In addition to reducing testing burden, there are many other exciting things that education technology has to offer. Top of the list is access. As we solve the connectivity issues and the cost of devices continues to fall, we can provide every student in every school access to almost any course. Every high school student will have access to every Advanced Placement course and foreign language no matter how rural or poor - or just small - their school is. And the quality trade-off of live versus online or blended courses is getting smaller every day - where it still exists.
Second is personalization. Being able to better meet students where they are with what they need is going to be by far the most transformative thing ed tech will do for learning - and frankly teaching - whether by allowing students to demonstrate mastery of knowledge or skills in a range of contexts (i.e. better more flexible assessment) or providing teachers with clearer, more timely and actionable data to enable more targeted support to individual students. It also can allow the use of complex adaptive algorithms to customize each student’s learning experience to his or her performance, learning needs and preferences. Imagine a world in which every student has access to their own personal tutor 24 hours a day. That’s where things are headed. However, even the best personalization and ed tech we see today will seem like eight tracks in the years to come if we take full advantage of the opportunity that the broad use of education technology provides to dramatically accelerate our learning about learning. The ability to test and rapidly iterate instructional tools and resources to understand which produce the best results with whom will dramatically improve learning and teaching if we harness it. Khan Academy is important not only because it provides millions of students with new learning opportunities, but also because their use provides the opportunity to see what works hundreds of thousands of times a day. Combined with advances in learning science and instructional design, we should see an explosion in research and new significantly more effective tools and resources. Last but not least is making teachers’ and school leaders’ lives easier. Applications to regularly send texts to each student’s parents about their child’s progress and upcoming assignments - immediate scoring of simple quizzes to give a sense of where the class and individual students are, collaboration tools to find great lessons or get advice - all of these have the potential to make educators’ lives better and easier and to allow them to be more effective. That’s why the President’s budget request this year includes $200 million through ConnectEDucators to help teachers build their skills and become better users of the ed tech tools available to them. Jordan: Adaptive and personalized learning technologies open up a lot of really complicated questions. In order to provide individualized, contextualized, and adaptive learning opportunities immense amounts of students’ personal data is collected. This will become even more commonplace as learning software begins to employ the same sorts of predictive algorithms that Facebook, Amazon, and Google use to show us particular kinds of content before we ask. On the one hand, adaptive and predictive technologies have the potential to completely change the landscape of education in the U.S. On the other hand, folks are really skeptical and frightened of the privacy risks. Your office’s Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) laid out some best practices and guidance around student privacy. This seems like a logical first step. What questions have to come next? How can we create policy that protects students without creating obstacles for innovation? How can we regulate uses of data that we haven’t even begun to imagine? Shelton: The first step is to have a set of principles about the basic rights and protections we think every child ought to have. Once we have those, then we need an evolving and layered (federal, state and local) regulatory framework that continues to change as the field evolves. Our new guidance is an attempt to build on the foundation that FERPA and COPPPA provide and have provided for years. We are evolving as the landscape changes and our hope is that states, districts and schools are paying attention to us and taking appropriate steps themselves. But there is a huge variance in how districts are protecting themselves and their students, which is in some ways completely understandable given the differences in their size and capacity, so that means we need federal and state regulatory frameworks that help close those gaps while also maintaining a healthy environment for new more effective solutions. This challenge is not unique, but it is pressing because our children’s safety is at stake. That said, we also don’t want unwarranted panic to result in bad legislation or regulation that robs us of the opportunity for the potentially fantastic advancements ed tech holds. That would be like someone passing laws that keep us from buying nice things because burglars might break in and steal them.
Let me add that in addition to our responsibility to create a robust regulatory framework to protect students, two other things are critical: (1) the ed tech industry needs to adopt some ethical standards with regard to the uses of student data and student privacy; and (2) we need to educate students and families to understand their rights and how to protect them. These two groups will always be on the front line of whatever is new in the data space and their choices will always be most determinative of how safe our children actually are online - even in school. Jordan: I worry that, with the best of intentions, we could end up over-regulating around student privacy in a way that recreates the same two classes of education that already exist: the elite who buy private education, the others who get public education for free. Those who can afford to circumvent privacy legislation will be able to buy their children the advantages of data driven education get shockingly precise adaptive technologies. Those who can’t afford it…well they get what they’ve always had: lowest common denominator content and testing that’s not personalized and doesn’t take cultural and socioeconomic differences into account. Of course, this isn’t the only place technology introduces concerns around equality, accessibility, and socioeconomic class. And my concerns about access to adaptive technologies is hardly relevant when we consider the wide technology gap between schools of different resources. Can you say a little about how the Department Of Education thinks about the resource inequality when it comes to challenges in education technology adoption? Could the digital literacy gap get so large that it becomes irreversible? Can you paint a picture of what access to computers and broadband really looks like on a national level? Can you say a little about how socioeconomic factors impact privacy concerns? Shelton: I want to echo your concern that we need to address the digital divide as quickly as possible, but I also want push back a bit on a premise you keep asserting. If we don’t act, there is a risk that affluent districts and households get all of the advantages to ed tech that we’ve been discussing and that lower income families and schools are left behind. This risk is not just a matter of resources but is also impacted by the constraints districts feel they have to place on the devices, applications and infrastructure they provide. President Obama launched the ConnectED initiative to accelerate the transition to rich, interactive digitally enabled learning environments that support the best teaching and learning experiences in the world for all students. But we know that’s not enough. As Secretary Duncan said in his recent speech at the Common Sense Media Privacy Zone summit, privacy and good technology aren't at odds – students have to have both. And frankly I don't see affluent families wanting to buy their way out of key protections. However, my anecdotal observation is that after those key protections, there does seem to be an inverse relationship between the restrictiveness of school district technology policies and the average income of the district’s families. In some places, BYOD (bring your own deice) has made this issue painfully obvious, and it doesn’t need to be that way. We can create regulatory and policy environments that still allow all students - especially those most in need of great tools and resources - to access the best that ed tech has to offer safely. Industry can pay an outsize role in making sure that happens.
As an aside, I would like to push you to expand your vision of what personalization means. Although it appears determinative of education and life outcomes in so many ways, socioeconomic status tells us very little about a student’s actual prior learning, current performance, particular learning needs and preferences, and interests. We can infer a little about what exposure and resources a student has based on his family’s income but not as much as can be inferred from his vocabulary, understanding of context, practice and reported support. I don’t have a naïve belief that ed tech will render poverty irrelevant, but I do believe that personalization will mean getting well beyond our current race and income labels. Jordan: Privacy is certainly one big concern when it comes to educational technologies. But I’ve also heard lots of concern about increased centralization of knowledge. This is the “corporate oligarchy” fear. Some people worry that there’s something inherently undemocratic about private for-profit entities controlling educational content. Of course, these same concerns arise in debates about the common core curriculum. But an additional layer of concern exists when media companies like Google or News Corp are manufacturing hardware and/or content for the classroom. Blending educational content and media content inspires an understandable fear of corporate big-brother piping propaganda into our classrooms. How do you respond to these kinds of concerns? What responsibility does the Department of Education play in making sure schools create free thinking citizens rather than subservient laborers? How do we protect small communities so that they remain independently empowered while simultaneously receiving the benefits that come from being a part of a gigantic and powerful network? Shelton: All indications are that exactly the opposite is going to happen. Open architectures and open content are some of the fastest growing trends in education technology. From what I’ve seen, Apple, Google, Microsoft, News Corp and most new providers are creating platforms and tools that empower users to access a broad range of content and to control their experience. And to be totally honest, my personal hypothesis is that those companies that overly restrict flexibility and openness will not thrive in the marketplace. Teachers and students empowered with technology have more freedom than ever to find the resources that best meet their needs, including alternative perspectives. Our investments in teacher training are critical to encouraging that freedom as is the Department’s investments in a free utility called the Learning Registry, which allows any application to find any registered learning resource wherever it sits. Many of the learning resources created with our grant dollars are also available for broad use - Open Education Resources (OER). At the post-secondary level, the federal government has given community colleges hundreds of millions of dollars to create high quality open content and courses. Additionally, we can’t forget the powerful application of technology as a tool for people with differing views to challenge each other and collaborate. I’ve seen students debating the definition of citizenship with students from the other side of the world - and perhaps more importantly the other side of town. The evolution of the media market gives you one analogue for what technology can do to a content market. If that’s the case, then we don’t need to worry about freedom and diversity of perspectives. We need to pay attention to the mechanisms to ensure accuracy and quality.
Jordan: I have to ask a question about video games. I’m a big fan of game-based learning. I’ve seen, just watching my own kids, how powerful video games can be as an instructional method. Clearly, video games are not the magic solution to everything, but they are one powerful tool that teachers can begin to add to their toolboxes. But there are a lot of barriers to classroom implementation. The biggest barrier has to do with resources and access to technology. But even in schools where resources aren’t in the way of adopting game-based learning solutions, there’s often inadequate professional development for teachers. Or, in schools that do have adequate technological resources, teachers find that students don’t have sufficient access to technology at home to make introducing game based learning successful. What other obstacles to implementing game based learning or educational technologies do you see? And how does the Department of Education play a part in eliminating those obstacles? Shelton: I too am a big fan of well-designed learning games as one of many tools for learning and teaching. I think there are three other big barriers to broad adoption in classrooms. The first is the hardest - the cultural stigma that people have to get over that playing a game is wasting time. The second is that in addition to training for teachers on how to integrate game based learning we need more and better tools that make game integration easier and more seamless and make the data more accessible. We have to make it easier and more useful for teachers to embed games in their instructional toolkit and daily routines. Finally, with a few notable exceptions, educational games as a category need to be better designed and clearer about what they are good for and what they are not designed to do. While educational games utility is unclear, teachers are making a rational choice to invest their time in other strategies. But once a case can be made that the games will make a difference, I think things will open up pretty quickly. An innovator named Zoran Popovic worked with a well-designed learning game to integrate adapative algorithms to improve its performance. They then partnered with schools and districts to launch Algebra Challenges that resulted in students from many backgrounds solving literally millions of algebra problems and mastering key concepts. The more examples we have like that the more quickly we’ll see broad adoption of learning games in classrooms. Jordan: The current buzzwords in education are plentiful: teacher accountability, formative and substantive assessment, the common core, data-driven instruction, one-to-one technology adoption, character education. I’ve been an outspoken critic of these buzzwords, arguing that they obfuscate the issues more than they open a space for real conversation. In particular, I’ve written extensively about the problems with buzzwords like “grit, perseverance, and optimism.” Lucky for us, the conversation around education is always evolving. The words we hear today will be replaced with new words. I’m curious how you think the conversation will change in the years to come? Which buzzwords will drift away and which will become more predominant? And in the political sphere, what educational issues will have a primary place in the 2016 presidential election season? Shelton: I have no idea what the next round of buzzwords will be, and while some of the terms like grit, persistence and resilience have become faddish, there is important science and a fair amount of common sense behind them.
I think that one of the most important concepts ahead of us in education is empowerment. We're beginning to see the ways in which technology can help students take control of their learning – moving at their own pace, going deep where they desire and exploring new areas of interest. Teachers are finally getting the tools they need to do what we’ve been asked to do for years - differentiate. With the tools available teachers cannot only create new and more flexible group approaches but truly tailor strategies and access resources for individual students. School leaders have an unprecedented level of transparency into individual classrooms and tools to engage teachers, students and parents. Parents have many new kinds of information and choices. All of these things will unleash latent demand for more and better solutions, and I am more confident than ever the world will respond. And as to your question about the 2016 election – I would love to see education become a genuine election issue. Not based on some hot button, litmus test issue, but based on which candidate believes our kids deserve the opportunity to realize their full potential and is willing to do what it takes for each child gets that chance. Voters should ask candidates in the next election what they believe and what they are willing to do. Jordan Shapiro will be speaking at the Global Education And Skills Forum in Dubai (March 15-17) about game-based learning, educational technology, and the future of learning.
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8b9cdd9e2679aca2310ef17f498103b3 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/04/26/lets-get-serious-about-video-games/ | Let's Get Serious About Video Games | Let's Get Serious About Video Games
The 11th Annual Games For Change festival took place in New York City as part of the Tribeca Film Festival.
Games For Change is a different kind of video game festival, one where video games that aim to implement social change take center stage. So-called “serious games” and “social impact games” are the focus of the festival.
Of course, I’ve often thought that the language we use to categorize games is problematic. After all, we should be serious in our consideration of all video games. They all have social impact. We don’t consider non-fiction books to be serious while lumping fiction into a category called “commercial.” We recognize that most film and television media has social impact regardless of its intention. Why are we so confused about video games? I don’t have the answer. Let me know if you do.
Each year, I go to Games For Change because it is the place where game developers that are truly pushing the boundaries of video games showcase their work. At the festival, we see games that reimagine the act of gaming--what can it do? What can it mean? We see games that think critically about learning, teaching, playing, and storytelling.
This year’s big award winner was Lucas Pope’s “Papers Please,” a game that also ranked first in Forbes’ Top 5 Indie Games of 2013.
I won’t write much about it, as it has already been covered (click the links if you want details).
Basically, it is a game that forces players to think about the realities of border control, the dangers of power, and the way our individual guesses can have huge impact on other people’s lives. You play as an immigration inspector tasked with controlling the flow of immigrants. There are smugglers, spies, terrorists, and tourists. Can you distinguish? Who gets in? Who’s turned away?
Immigration is a hot issue. Another game featured at the festival was “The Migrant Trail.” The game’s developers describe it this way:
“THE MIGRANT TRAIL presents a first-person journey through Arizona’s desert borderlands. Play as an undocumented immigrant attempting to cross the Arizona desert and/or a border patrol agent attempting to secure the border. "
Unlike “Papers Please,” which centers around bureaucracy and security, “The Migrant Trail” is about survival. It makes us aware of just how high the stakes are along the U.S. border.
“Every year an unknown number of migrants cross through the harsh Sonoran desert from Mexico into Arizona. They pay $1500-$2500 to join a crossing party, that is led by for hire guides referred to as Coyotes. If one cannot keep up, twists ankle or runs out of water, he or she is left behind and many die. On average, the remains of 200 dead migrants are found each year. It’s not known how many are never found.”
“The Migrant Trail” is free to play here. You can take the role of either migrant or border patrol.
One of my favorite award winners was “Mission US: Cheyenne Odyssey,” developed by THIRTEEN, American Social History Project, and Electric Funstuff. It won the award for the “Most Significant Impact” award.
The game, which you can play for free here, is described as an interactive way to learn history. Designed for students grades 5-8, the game immerses students in a historic context.
If you follow me on Forbes, you know that I write a lot about educational games. I cover the way games can be used in a classroom setting. Most of those games are plagued by a kind of mechanical understanding of learning. That is, they imagine the game as a tool that will somehow insert knowledge into learners, or as something which makes retention more efficient. Knowledge, wisdom, and educational are mistakenly understood as the process of distributing facts and content.
“Mission US: Cheyenne Odyssey” is different. It brings history to life. No, it is not particularly realistic. It plays like a smart, modern version of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” novels that I loved as a kid. I say it brings history to life because it focuses on the real, everyday decisions that one Cheyenne boy, Little Fox, has to make.
It is exciting to me to imagine students learning history in such a way that they see how immediate decisions have impact not only on individual survival, but also on the trajectory of a collective future.
As always, Games For Change was full of thoughtful programming and great gameplay. "We are thrilled to see such expressive and high-quality games from both commercial and independent developers," said Games for Change, President Asi Burak. "By combining their passions and undeniable talent, these developers have succeeded not just financially, but also in presenting thought-provoking gameplay with real-world impact."
Parents, if you have kids that are old enough to get the themes in these games, playing together is a great way to start a conversation.
For a list of all the games featured at Games For Change, visit http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/
Jordan Shapiro is author of FREEPLAY: A Video Game Guide to Maximum Euphoric Bliss, a book about how playing video games can transform psychological attitudes. For information on Jordan's upcoming books and events click here.
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9b810d97c8e146cf9d902feb301306dc | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/05/15/mario-kart-8-proves-nintendo-is-the-game-maker-for-grown-ups/ | Mario Kart 8 Proves Nintendo Is The Game Maker For Grown-Ups | Mario Kart 8 Proves Nintendo Is The Game Maker For Grown-Ups
I think Mario Kart 8 is just about the most mature game I’ve played this year. I know readers won’t like this article. They’ll disagree. For some reason it seems to have become cool to hate Nintendo. I’m alone in my adoration and it is mostly because I write from a father’s perspective. I’m sure my premise will seem absurd to most readers. How could I call the game maker that makes ‘kiddie’ games mature? I’ll explain.
A blister has almost formed on my thumb from pressing down the accelerator button. My kids and I have been giggling and playing together nonstop. Mario Kart 8 is intergenerational bliss. Parents and kids should all play this game together.
Ordinarily, I’d cite some research. I’ve written many posts (like this one) explaining the benefits that come from parents and kids playing video games together. But I’m not writing that this time. This is not about research.
I also don’t want this to be a review of the game; reviewer is really not within my skill set. Besides, Erik Kain has already written the only review you need to read about this highly anticipated game. His review, and the others around the internet, are overwhelmingly positive. Despite the fact that the current trend in game journalism seems to be negative on Nintendo, few writers can deny that this eighth iteration of the classic go-kart racer has beautiful artwork and top-notch controls. Even the negative reviews seem to be complaining about what’s been removed since the last version. Paradoxically, they’re reviewing what’s not there. It is almost as if we all realize just how good Nintendo is at making video games. So much so that we take the achievements for granted.
The biggest achievement here is that Mario Kart 8 is just as much fun for me to play as it is for my six year old, my eight year old, and everyone else who has visited my house since we downloaded our review copy (including my adolescent teenaged nephew). Consider that for a moment. This game is challenging enough for me that I want to play, but still simple enough for my six year old that he remains stimulated.
We snuggle up next to each other on the couch, controllers in hand, playing together. We discuss our favorite race tracks, the best vehicle modifications, and how this version compares to Mario Kart 7. There’s something really special about the experience. I feel like a father when I play.
As a parent, I’m always trying to introduce my kids to things that I enjoyed in my youth. I play them music. I show them movies. I take them to the parks I loved. I introduce them to the comfort foods that come accompanied with fond memories. Most of the time it doesn’t work. Times change. Things age. What appeals to one generation is hardly of interest to the next. But Mario is different.
Mario is like Star Wars. From the moment I showed the first movie to my kids, they were hooked and I was flooded with memories. Few movies span generations like this. It is like LEGO. There’s a timelessness in the fun-factor of the brick. Most toys wane with age. Mario, Luigi, and the gang succeed. And with Mario Kart 8, Nintendo masterfully builds a game that blends grown up nostalgia refreshed in a way that keeps it from feeling dated.
They’ve managed to do this again and again in recent years. New Super Mario Brothers. Super Mario 3D World. Yoshi’s New Island. Kirby Triple Deluxe. Each new title, one after the next, stands out in the family category in ways nobody else seems capable of matching. This is a mark of maturity.
Sure, these aren’t the games we put the “M” rating on. But we live in a society that believes an adolescent attitude of violence, destruction, and combat is “mature.” After all, the U.S. is founded on revolution. And we remain like perpetual teenagers, celebrating rebelliousness and the most simplistic iterations of the Oedipal struggle. Our most lauded individuals are the “innovators” and “disruptors.” Cue the classic Apple Computer commercial in your head; the dreamers, the misfits, the crazy ones, etc.
That’s teenaged stuff, a narrative of perpetual obsolescence----too much plastic packaging and not enough recycling--that’s wasteful and unsustainable. The rebels of today become the fathers of tomorrow, waiting to be disrupted by the next generation. It is counterproductive. As a father, I don’t value new, shiny, provocative, and edgy in the same way I value sustainability, stability, mindfulness, and education. I’m looking for fun. I’m looking for thoughtful. I’m looking for opportunities to bond with my kids. I’m looking for something that transcends generational idiosyncrasies. Making games that can accomplish this impresses me.
This is the maturity that makes me think Nintendo is leading the pack in a game industry that’s just now crossing over into adulthood. Just as many of the game producers and executives of the past generation have grown up to start working on social impact and educational games (have you seen the trailer for Never Alone that Alan Gershenfeld, former Activision executive is involved in?), I think Nintendo continues to demonstrate unmatched maturity in their focused attention on family games--not games for kids, but games that the whole family can enjoy together.
I encourage every parent to play Mario Kart 8 with their kids. At the very least, I think you’re guaranteed a couple of nights where you’re all staring at one screen together instead of individual private screens alone.
Afterward, take a walk, nature is the most mature game maker of all.
Jordan Shapiro is author of FREEPLAY: A Video Game Guide to Maximum Euphoric Bliss, and MindShift's Guide To Games And Learning For information on Jordan's upcoming books and events click here.
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e8f5a8118e2f718d34594b57dc518e5b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/09/20/you-are-asking-the-wrong-questions-about-education-technology/ | You Are Asking The Wrong Questions About Education Technology | You Are Asking The Wrong Questions About Education Technology
Education technology is trendy. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t read an article or have a conversation in which someone makes the familiar argument that “education is the one industry that hasn’t embraced the technologies of the 21st Century.” The world has changed--so the story goes--and while business has adapted, school hasn’t.
It sounds convincing. We should certainly embrace tools and technologies that will help educators become more impactful. But we should do it because it works, not for the sake of modern humanity’s obsession with progress, newness, innovation, and disruption. These buzzwords of the industrial age, let’s remember, paved the road that led to the current landscape of education.
"B is for Buy 'n' Large. Your very best friend." From Pixar's Wall-E (2008).
The very notion of education as an industry is problematic. School is about transmitting values and principles from one generation to the next, not skillfully organizing labor toward productivity. Education is the child-rearing activity of civilization. We nurture our young into reflective citizens by teaching them the social and epistemological agreements of an increasingly global collective. Educators need to understand that reading, writing, and arithmetic are primarily just mutually agreed upon languages through which we make meaning out of human experience. These disciplines are essentially useful, but only fashionably industrial. That is to say: the languages themselves have much more longevity than the current applications.
For industry, however, applicability is always prioritized over ideology. Thus, running schools according to the wisdom of the business world is precisely the thought paradigm which led to the high stakes testing procedures that currently plague the United States. We account for learning outcomes as if they were profit margins. We measure the dividends returned on technology and infrastructure investments. We see children as industrial resources evaluated according to their ability to download ‘workplace skills.’ And for some bizarre reason--and despite all evidence to the contrary--we continue to expect that these metrics will somehow correlate with intelligent, ethical, and responsible adult individuals. We’ve chosen the wrong perspective.
Implicitly arguing that the problem is poor implementation of industrialization, education pundits around the world often blame inefficient government infrastructures for preventing schools from embracing the appropriate technologies. But when I look at the multi-national corporate world, I’m thankful that bureaucracy provides a necessary filter--it keeps us from moving too fast. After all, the global economy is itself evidence that the hastiness of the digital revolution has been as tumultuous as it has been beneficial. Popular technologies have, in many cases, increased corporate productivity and profitability at the expense of the humans who operate them.
What works for industry will not work for education because, as one recent New York Times article aptly noted, “teaching is not a business.” By now, we should know better than to transplant the intellectual structures of one human activity onto another. The trouble, however, is that we mistakenly believe we can separate the medium from the message.
The Making Caring Common Project at Harvard University’s Graduate School Of Education, has already explained that students see how adults’ actions can betray the intended rhetoric. Studies show that while adults say they value empathy, compassion, and critical thinking, children learn to value achievement measured by grade points. This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Students read systems’ implicit messaging while ignoring the explicit talking points. When schools are run according to the conventions of for-profit organizations, we move with impressive efficiency toward a world full of graduates who mistakenly believe enterprising entrepreneurship is a defining value system rather than an important skill set.
Alternatively, we might understand that school is ultimately a ‘technology of the self’ (to borrow a phrase from Michel Foucault). Then, we would first focus on the systematic process through which we nurture individuals’ sense of agency, decorum, and responsibility. School itself becomes the tool which refines individuals into reflective citizens and prioritizes opportunities for emerging human dignity. Education becomes the structure within which narratives of personal and collective identity are contextualized using the intellectual structures and academic skills that we’ve inherited from preceding generations.
Digital tools have the ability to enhance these educational technologies of the self. But we need to make sure that these tools are also aligned with learning outcomes which prioritize human dignity rather than haste, consumption, and algorithmic metrics. Game-based learning is especially useful because the presence of avatars encourages players to step outside of their familiar perspectives and embody alternate ones. Therefore, they nurture the kind of intellectual self-reflection that education psychologists call “metacognitive skills.” Learning games make the question of identity development explicit and therefore truly empower students with the agency to construct their own personal narratives.
Thus far, however, we’ve unfortunately been brainwashed into thinking that educational technologies are neutral. We imagine that tablets and computers are merely tools that transmit unbiased academic content to students. On the contrary, they do much more than that. Embedded in every technological solution is a moral/ethical stance, an image of the good life, and a narrative of the idealized self. The worldwide success of Apple’s marketing is evidence enough that digital gadgets are not only tools with which we manipulate our environment, but also props in a performed identity narrative.
Technologies teach our children how to make sense of the world, how to think about knowledge and information, and how to relate to themselves and to one another. Making sure we agree, in principle, with the tool’s implicit messaging is the most important question we can ask. Yet, it is the one question we most often skip.
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bbf3543388ee0952813ed3d9357127ab | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2015/02/27/to-fix-u-s-schools-consider-camfeds-work-in-sub-saharan-africa/ | To Fix U.S. Schools, Consider Camfed's Work In Sub-Saharan Africa | To Fix U.S. Schools, Consider Camfed's Work In Sub-Saharan Africa
Camfed is an international non-profit that addresses global poverty and inequality by investing in girls’ education. More than 3 million children from some of the poorest rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa—Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana, Tanzania, and Malawi—have benefited from Camfed’s work.
When I heard that Ann Cotton, the founder and president of Camfed, would be a featured speaker at this year’s SXSWEdu, my curiosity was piqued. I don’t usually associate the kind of international development for which Camfed is famous with the hipster religion of internet-era-innovation and its annual pilgrimage to Austin, TX.
In the world of education technology, we talk a lot about empowering students in developed parts of the Western world with 21st Century Skills like creativity and entrepreneurship. We talk regularly about the wealth gap, the digital divide, and more equitable school choice among students in the United States. But our mainstream conversation tends to inadvertently perpetuate and reinforce tired old narratives about laziness and sloth with words like “grit” and “perseverance” which chastise the poor for their supposed lack of “character.”
Still, some parts of the education innovation conversation in the United States are better than others. For example, among those working on large data-driven adaptive solutions, I hear a lot of talk about scaling personalized or differentiated teaching methods beyond elite schools to struggling or disenfranchised populations.
However, in the United States, we rarely talk about global education, and we never discuss the global poverty in conversations about school reform.
Therefore, I wanted to know more about Ann Cotton’s planned SXSWEdu talk, “The Power Of Data For Poverty Eradication.” Last November, I was in Qatar when she won the WISE Prize for Education award and I wondered what was so special about Camfed’s approach that it attracts so much attention. So, I called her in the UK and we spoke for about an hour. During our conversation, I learned not only about poverty, pragmatic applications for well managed data, and the education challenges among some of poorest girls in the world—but also, in explaining Camfed’s approach, she offered wisdom that changes the way I think about issues around poverty and education in the United States.
Ann Cotton’s story is fascinating. She first visited Zimbabwe in 1991, where she discovered something that was inconsistent with the familiar narrative about gender in developing areas of the world. Girls were excluded from education, not because of traditional or cultural values—these weren’t misogynistic primitives that hadn’t been enlightened as to the realities of modern gender equality. Rather, they were communities and family networks making sophisticated cost/benefit analyses about how to divide resources. Paid work is easier for boys to obtain than it is for girls, so it seems more efficient to let the girls do agricultural work and fetch water while boys invest time and energy into their education. It was rational decision making. Despite the image we have of the irresponsible poor, the truth is that when every decision you make is a survival decision, when you have “no economic latitude,” Cotton told me, “your sense of responsibility is much more acute.”
When Cotton talked to the girls themselves, she found that they had social aspirations to serve others. They wanted to be doctors so they could help heal community members. They wanted to be engineers so they could bring innovative solutions to local problems. Cotton figured that if there was a way to support both their education and their long term aspirations, they would themselves become sustainable resources that help to lift impoverished communities. It seemed simple.
When Cotton tried to share her discovery with the international development community, however, there was widespread resistance. They were wedded to the story of cultural sexism.
It is hardly surprising. After all, it is easier to maintain an oversimplified story in which the emotional complexities of human experience are reduced to what Cotton calls, “industrial cogs in a machine.” In the common story of cultural misogyny, the obstacle to addressing a seemingly uncomplicated need becomes an ethical or moral structure, an abstract demon. Addressing poverty and lack of education becomes like crossing a fairy tale bridge that is guarded by an evil dragon. You can attack one dragon with hordes of financial capital, you can overthrow it, but another one inevitably stakes out the same territory.
I personally suspect this common story of indigenous sexism persists because it helps to maintain the developed world’s status quo of gender inequality. After all, as long as we seem more sophisticated than the impoverished world, our imperfections are more easily forgiven. But that’s a topic for another post.
This post is really about the way in which Camfed succeeds by leveraging data not simply to eradicate poverty, but also to increase multiple forms of capital in struggling communities by educating young girls. And that, Cotton explained to me, has a lot to do with how data is received, analyzed, gathered, and interpreted.
When the goal is to address poverty, each interaction with struggling communities needs to be “fundamentally dignifying.” You can see this attitude reflected in the way Cotton thinks about data.
I could hear Cotton’s frustrations when she described what is wrong with the common approach to using data: “The international development community just decides that you need to be counted.” And being counted and measured as just a figure in a statistic “continues to undermine people’s confidence. But confidence is instrumental to those climbing out of poverty.” When data only moves in one direction—out of the community—it subverts the original goal.
Camfed, therefore, takes a unique approach. They collect data on all of the girls. They use tablets to send information to a master database. Cotton calls the girls “clients.” You can hear the respect in her voice when she says it. Camfed’s clients are tracked using Salesforce, the world’s leading cloud based CRM database. Salesforce helps Camfed manage accountability to individual clients, “so they don’t just disappear off our radar if they leave one of our schools.”
“When you work with data in a way that creates partnerships for change,” the effort becomes not only about financial capital, but also about persuasive currency. Camfed, therefore, does more than just toss financial capital at struggling schools. They don’t just buy paper and pencils and shoes for poor kids. They also look to leverage other forms of capital. They leverage Knowledge Capital, “which resides in the community itself.” They will always know more about what they need than any outsider. They leverage Social Capital: there are often existing community support systems that need to be mobilized and strengthened rather than replaced. The leverage Institutional Capital: pre-existing institutions, like chiefs, schools, churches, and mosques already have a strong foothold within the community. By focusing on these multiple forms of capital, it is not all about disruption, innovation, and radical change. Instead, “you honor and dignify what already exists.”
The trouble, Cotton explains, is that the “mainstream has adopted practices that were designed for other sectors.” Camfed, on the other hand, “thinks about understanding the social process.”
Perhaps we can learn from Cotton’s thinking. I'm glad she's speaking at SXSWEdu, even if it is mostly a tech conference. Here, in the United States, we’ve been asking all the wrong questions about education technology. Education is not a business and cannot be patched using the duct tape designed for industry. We don’t need to disrupt and innovate everything. But we should adopt the powerful data tools of the digital age and leverage them in ways that strengthen, honor, and dignify the impoverished systems that already exist.
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d1b0dfeca8f72094a51345f25d91ba58 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2015/08/09/7-rules-for-raising-self-reliant-children/ | 7 Rules For Raising Self-Reliant Children | 7 Rules For Raising Self-Reliant Children
Jessica Lahey’s highly-anticipated new book, The Gift Of Failure: How The Best Parents Learn To Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed, looks at the unique challenges of child-rearing in current times. Lahey, who is best known for her writing at The Atlantic and The New York Times, is both a parent and a teacher. And the book combines the wisdom of personal experience with the authority of careful research. I have long been a fan of Lahey’s writing, and her sensible perspective and subtle sense of humor comes through just as clearly in long form. Certainly there were occasional parts of the book where the philosopher in me cringed at her reliance on popular epistemological constructions, but overall, I’m impressed by this book.
I reached out to Jessica last week to ask her about some specific details. I discovered 7 key pieces of great advice for anyone who works with children.
1. Reframe “Chores” As “Household Contributions.”
Jordan Shapiro: First, Jessica, let me say thank you. Immediately after reading the chapter on household duties, I made my boys (8 and 10 years old) empty the dishwasher. I simply said, “I need you guys to help me with something.” And they were really happy to figure it all out for themselves; they got the step stool out and didn’t break any plates or glasses. They also made their own dinner that night.
Jessica Lahey: Well done, boys!
Jordan: I think the difference in framing you suggest, calling them “household contributions” rather than “chores,” had a big impact on me. I immediately decided that I wanted to see my kids offering more of their own unique way-of-being to our family’s operations. I think it actually gives them more opportunity to express themselves. Kids and adults both deserve to be creative contributors in their own homes and communities. That’s just basic human dignity.
In reading that chapter, I realized that I’ve never been very good at letting my kids cook because I can do it better and faster (I used to be a professional chef). Plus, I’m really afraid that they’ll chop off a fingertip or burn their arms.
Jessica: You should check out what K.J. Dell’Antonia is doing over at Motherlode with the “Kids Cook” series. Really great stuff.
Jordan: I will. I’m really into this idea of getting my kids cooking dinner now that I’ve read your book. You point out that “every time we rescue, hover, or otherwise save our children from a challenge, we send a very clear message: that we believe they are incompetent, incapable, and unworthy of our trust.” And that really troubles me. When I think of all the times that I’ve sent the completely wrong message to my kids, it is heartbreaking.
2. Let Your Kids Know That You’re A Failure
Jordan: I imagine when people read your book they will have a similar reaction to mine: feelings of regret at acknowledging their own parenting mistakes. But I suppose failure is as much a gift for parents as it is for children. Can you say a bit about how a parent’s relationship to failure impacts the children? I suspect it can be complicated. Our children want to feel the sense of security that comes with imagining their parents are certain and stable, but at the same time we don’t want to model an image of maturity that’s over-confident and full of hubris. How do we project self-assuredness while also demonstrating that we have the humility to show our children how we learn from our own failures?
Jessica: We all have a complicated reaction to failures, from denial, to anger, to regret…but how we deal with those failures is so important. Given that, it’s vital that we let our reaction to setbacks, mistakes, failures be a part of conversation with our kids. They have to see how we do it in order to know how to do it themselves.
Parents are incredibly reluctant to let kids in on the secret: that we have frustrating interactions that we mess up in ways that cost us and other people, and that learning how to do anything is a process.
I know I don’t want to saddle my kids with my concerns about making mortgage payments in that month where I wrote fewer articles or talk to them about the mean commenter who said I’m a terrible person. We want to keep our kids happy, carefree, and innocent of the hard stuff. However, if I show my kid that the commenter hurt my feelings, or that I even questioned myself for a moment, then went through the process of realizing that the commenter’s mean sentiments were more about the commenter than me, that’s one of the most valuable lessons around. That lesson is directly applicable to his life, to those mean kids on the playground or that teacher who criticized him for something he felt was unfair – we need to model our own setbacks for our kids so they can use every bit of our experience to their advantage.
3. Practice Autonomy-Supportive Parenting
Jordan: In the book, you use the term “Autonomy-supportive parenting.” I wonder if you could clarify what you mean by that?
Jessica: Autonomy-supportive parenting is just what it sounds like. In every small moment with our children, are we creating dependency in our kids, or handing them the power to make their own decisions. I’m not talking about handing them the reins to everything, I’m talking about the small hows, whens, whys and wherefores that we tend to dictate for them. The research shows that the kids of autonomy-supportive parents were far more likely to be able to persist through setbacks and frustrations and finish tasks when parents were not around, while the kids of controlling or dependent parents were far more likely to get frustrated and give up without a parent around to direct them.
4. Remember That Teachers And Parents Are Allies
Jordan: You write this book from your dual perspective as both a parent and a teacher. And I think you do a phenomenal job describing the tension. You explain, for example, that “parents who put a priority on saving kids from frustration and teachers who put a priority on challenging their students often butt heads, and consequently, the parent-teacher partnership has reached a breaking point.”
Jessica: Thank you! When I’m in my teacher head, it can be really easy to blame parents, and when I’m my parent head, I can slip into “blame the teacher” mode. But I can’t do either, as I’m both. I teach high school students, and have two boys, one in middle school and one in high school. The tension between teachers and parents has, in my opinion, increased over the past seventeen years I’ve been teaching, and there have been moments where I realized I was actively not communicating with parents because I wanted to protect children from their wrath, or protect myself from the unpleasant interactions that can flow from small setbacks. Parents are much more likely to blame teachers for low grades or missed assignments than they were when I started teaching, and now that I’ve interviewed hundreds of teachers, it seems I’m not the only one seeing this shift. It can be hard to remember that we have one goal in common, the education and well-being of the child, and it’s time we get back on the same team.
Jordan: I like how you describe it: “Teaching has become a push-and-pull between opposing forces in which parents want teachers to educate their children with increasing rigor, but reject those rigorous lessons as ‘too hard’ or ‘too frustrating’ for their children to endure. Parents rightly feel protective of their children’s self-esteem, but teachers to often bear the brunt of parental ire.”
5. Recognize That It's Not Just You, There Are Big Cultural Issues
Jordan: One of things I appreciate about your book is that it masquerades as a parenting guide, but I think it is really identifying and addressing a larger cultural issue. Did you ever read Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America? Among the arguments in that book is this idea that positive psychology, new-agey visioning seminars, and a lot of our popular wellness rhetoric can give people the impression that external factors have less impact on their life circumstances than their attitude does. People start to blame themselves for things that are really out of their control—“if I’d only been more positive maybe I could have manifested a different outcome.” It is counter intuitive, but always trying to feel good about yourself can actually have a negative influence on one’s sense of agency and self-worth.
Jessica: It’s hard to be a parent. We get so little feedback on how we are doing, that we look to our kids for validation. Are they happy? Did we remind them that we love them by taking their forgotten lunch to school for them? Do they love us for it? We yearn to be able to check these boxes off at the end of the day. However, the daily checklist can mess with the lifetime checklist. My kids know I love them, but they also know my goal goes beyond making them happy. They know I want them to be competent. They know I want them to develop their own voice, their ability to search out and get what they need from adults, to know when to ask for help with something and to know when to regroup and give a frustrating task one more try. They know I can love them even as I decide not to step in and save them from themselves.
6. Know That It Is All About The Long-Term, Big Picture
Jordan: Is it fair to say that one of the big takeaways from your book is that parents need to realize that their job is not to protect their children from suffering, nor to eliminate their pain, but rather to teach them how to cope with life’s inevitable negative moments? In fact, what we need to teach our children is not even about success and failure, nor positive and negative; it’s about teaching them how to live a fulfilled life in the face of ongoing ups and downs. But if you look at almost any self-help bestseller, listen to any motivational speaker, or take a yoga class, you can tell that many adults are still trying to figure this out for themselves. How can we teach it to our children if we still haven’t learned it for ourselves?
Jessica: I think the biggest takeaway, the one simple way to merge all of the research and advice into one idea is this: If we focus on what will make our kids happy and healthy in the long run rather than what will make them happy from moment to moment, we will be better parents.
Jordan: When I write or speak about learning through digital play, I usually talk about failure and iteration. One of the reasons kids love video games is because it is an environment with a much higher tolerance-threshold for failure than the average classroom or household. Kids learn the complex rules of the video game world by trying, failing and then iterating their approach. It is a great process that needs to be replicated everywhere kids are learning about the world.
But at the same time, I’m always a little hesitant about promoting this particular way of framing the learning process. Let me explain why. Yours is really the first mainstream book on kids and failure, but a lot of the business world has also already adopted this kind of thinking. It is a key part of the innovation and entrepreneurship narrative. Fail hard, then get up and try again. It’s sort of a cultural movement these days.
I suspect that this framing goes hand and hand with digital technologies. It is representative of our fundamentalist faith in algorithms. It approaches living life as if it were a process of debugging a line of code. Ask any programmer and they’ll tell you how much satisfaction they feel from discovering and overcoming tiny mistakes. Theirs is a world of instant gratification. You feed the machine your creation and you get immediate feedback about whether or not it succeeds or fails.
It’s a beautiful thing; and you and I both know how important constant informative feedback is for learning. But I also know that the coder’s perseverance is very different from the poet’s. The poet doesn’t get external feedback until the work is ready for sharing. Therefore, writers need to cultivate self-editing skills—they try to anticipate and avoid failures before sharing their work. The writer’s process is not better or worse than the programmer’s; it is just different. There’s a need and a place for both ways-of-being.
7. Provide Regular Feedback And Expect Mistakes
Jordan: Do you ever worry that the pro-failure framing puts a little too much emphasis on making quick decisions? If we spend all of our time praising our children’s rapid-fire perseverance, couldn’t they also get the message that haste trumps prudence? How can we promote an attitude of expeditious action and iteration while simultaneously valuing the kind of slow planning that tries to anticipate and avoid failure?
Jessica: I hope not; I think the emphasis on tolerance for failure puts an emphasis on formative feedback over summative feedback. This is teaching jargon for how we use the information we get from assessing kids. I can either teach my students something, then test them at the end and hand them a grade that praises or punishes and move on without looking back, or I can assess students more frequently, use the information their assessments give me on what they have learned, what they have misunderstood, and what I have failed to teach well, and use that information to teach. Use that information about their mistakes and failures – and importantly, on my mistakes and failures as a teacher – to determine how I help my students learn skills.
That’s what games do, really. Kids learn from each level of a game, or each “life” their avatar is granted to succeed in the next iteration. It’s a safe place to fail BIG, and for that reason, I’m a fan of games that encourage that kind of learning.
Jessica Lahey's new book is The Gift Of Failure: How The Best Parents Learn To Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed.
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0775855d2c9375aa82da04b7d940f7cc | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2015/10/03/education-is-the-key-to-all-global-development-goals-qa-with-julia-gillard/ | Education Is The Key To All Global Development Goals (Q&A With Julia Gillard) | Education Is The Key To All Global Development Goals (Q&A With Julia Gillard)
UNESCO estimates 124 Million children are currently not in school. That’s a positive improvement—the number was 200 Million just 15 years ago. Still, as Julia Gillard, former Prime Minister of Australia, explained, “aid to education in developing countries dropped by almost 8 percent between 2010 and 2013 while overall development aid rose by 8.5 percent.”
I honestly find it shocking that education is not THE international development priority. Especially, when you consider just how much impact education aid can have for humanity as a whole. In a recent Facebook post, Ms. Gillard explained that, “If all students in low-income countries developed basic reading skills in school, 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty – the equivalent of a 12% cut in global poverty.”
I wanted to understand why we give so much attention to some humanitarian crises, while neglecting global education. Is it just that it doesn’t make for as good of a media spectacle as an earthquake or a tsunami?
I asked Julia Gillard. She’s an expert. Since leaving her post as 27th Prime Minister of Australia (from 2010-2013), she became the Board Chair for the Global Partnership for Education, an organization which brings together “60 developing countries, more than 20 donor governments, and international organizations, the private sector and foundations, teachers, and civil society/NGOs” to “develop effective and sustainable education systems, mobilize technical and financial resources, and ensure that those resources are coordinated and used efficiently.”
Jordan Shapiro (Photograph: Amanda Steinberg) and Julia Gillard (Photograph: Lisa Maree... [+] Williams/Getty Images)
Jordan Shapiro: Can you explain to me why we give so much attention to some things and more or less ignore education? Is this just because education is not sexy enough or are there bigger geopolitical obstacles that I just don't really understand?
Julia Gillard: Well, I think education is the thing, so I'm not going to agree with the proposition that it's not sexy enough. But I think there's a couple of things that have tended to work against education. One, when we live in a world with so many major immediate humanitarian crises, a lot of the world's attention goes on to those big, big, urgent problems. I can understand that. It absolutely has to happen. It seems to me it's the difference between making sure that you are treating a gashing wound as opposed to also looking at something that could be compared to a longer-term, slow-growing, cancer. Certainly, people recognize that if we don't get education right, then we can't achieve the sort of great, peaceful, prosperous world that we all want and want to share. But education does take time and it does take patience; it takes many years to educate a child. So, in the rush and the urgency of where global attention goes most, education is often missed out.
Then, I think second, education has suffered from an absence of good information. We've had the access data about how many kids are in school, but people have worried about the quality. I think donors' eyes have been drawn to things that they can more easily quantify. So the vaccination programs, that are so important, and so easily countable. They've looked at education. They've found that it’s more complex, particularly if you want to deal with the quality dimension.
But even with all of that, we've made progress. And I really feel, with the sustainable development goals, that this is now education's time. People are more understanding now about how pivotal education is to the rest of the development agenda, that we can't succeed in anything else fully unless we also succeed in education.
Now everybody knows, for example, about the incredibly powerful data that shows that the more years of education that you a girl gets, the less likely it is that she's going to get AIDS, the less likely it is that she's going to end up in a forced or early marriage. She'll choose to have her children later. She'll have fewer of them, that will be healthier. People whose main preoccupation is health are now also talking about education because the need for us to all succeed together is no so obvious.
Jordan Shapiro: You mention the 17 Global Goals for sustainable development that 193 world leaders committed to at the UN General Assembly. The goals aim to end extreme poverty, to fight inequality and injustice, and to fix climate change. One of those goals—number four—is “Quality Education.” But it is clear that all 17 of the goals are actually dependent upon education (see infographic below).
You and I both agree that education is the fundamental factor here. I worry, however, that many well-meaning global education programs fall short. They seem to focus entirely on resources—delivering better pencils, paper, books, and technologies—the sorts of products that can be easily purchased and distributed. Tools, however, don’t always correlate to positive educational outcomes. I’m thinking specifically about the OECD’s recent report which showed that even in wealthy nations with ubiquitous tech, literacy and numeracy scores can be sub-par.
Alternatively, when you look at an organization like Camfed—which provides schooling for adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa—they seemed to have a great system for matching financial capital with regional and indigenous cultural capital. There’s a real commitment there to inclusivity, even when the solutions are technological. Just consider Camfed’s recent partnership with World Reader. They not only distribute eReaders to schools in Africa, they also make sure that the content of those eBooks is meaningful within local contexts (i.e. you shouldn’t teach girls in Ghana to read using books about baseball players from Ohio).
What do you think we need to do in order to make sure we maintain a respectful appreciation for local identities while simultaneously providing the kind of forward-looking education that truly prepares children in fragile parts of the world to participate in a global economy? Global citizenship, after all, is hardly inclusive if it standardizes everything into a kind of US/Euro-centric hegemony.
Julia Gillard: Absolutely. You are on to such an important issue. I'm a very big fan of Camfed. I think their model does build on local community capital and the alumni model means the girls that have benefited go on to invest in the education of other girls. It's just a wonderful model from the point of view of growth and sustainability.
At the Global Partnership for Education, I kind of view us as an essential ingredient so that the investment of the full range of actors in education—donors bringing bilateral aid, non-government organizations, well-minded private philanthropy, and the private sector—can all be stitched together so that the sum is so much more than just the parts. By that I mean the particular role of the Global Partnership for Education is working with developing country partners in a country led model to properly plan an education system. Then, for the lowest income countries, we help fund a section of the plan.
We are not steam rolling out of Washington or even out of Australia saying, “have we got the education model for you!” We don't work like that. We work in inclusive ways in a country led model with local actors, and local civil society to make sure that there's an education sector plan that truly meets the need of the communities that it's seeking to serve. That involves issues not only around curriculum and content and cultural sensitivity, but also issues about the logistics and the best ways of making sure that children end up with what they need to learn. I know from my own country we solve those challenges quite differently in Outback Australia than we solve them in the center of a big city like Sydney. You can't just run out of a capitol like Washington and say, "Here is the model." It's got to be purposely designed for a place.
That is what we do: that very locally engaged planning piece. And once we've done that, other donors and other actors—NGOs, private philanthropy, the private sector—can know that there's a robust education plan. Then, they can time and shape what they're going to do against that plan so that it fits. They don’t need to run the risk of helping to build a school that isn't staffed, or dropping in technology that no one knows how to use. Or any of those other things that can so easily go wrong even when people have good intentions.
Jordan Shapiro: A big part of that, at least as I understand it, involves a real long term commitment to ongoing teacher development.
Julia Gillard: Yes, it does. I mean, we are all very persuaded by the research that shows the single most important thing for the quality of education is the teacher and the teacher's interaction with the child.
We're also very conscious that in many of the countries that we work, the teachers who are in front of the classrooms have not had a teacher education program in the way that you or I would understand it. In our own nations, people go off and learn to teach and the process of learning to teach is over a number of years.
Here too, there needs to be locally tailored solutions about improving the quality of teaching. That can be anything from teacher education models in teachers' colleges, to the quality of the materials that are given to teachers with lesser training to enable them to have the key supports they need in the classroom. So even though they've had less time to study the practice of teaching, they're still able to effectively communicate the curriculum and work with the students.
Jordan Shapiro: When I think about teacher education—and of course the place I know the best is going to be the United States—when I think about how we've done education in the United States, we’ve had so many years of what we call sage-on-the-stage, teacher-in-the-front-of-the-room, rigid, rote kind of teaching, too many standardized assessments, and that kind of thing. Now it is starting to become popular to create more experiential and more playful kinds of pedagogies.
When the Global Partnership for Education is working with developing countries, can you skip the step where you have to do all the standardized, rote, lecture at the front of the room stuff and go just right to letting kids learn through play? Is that possible?
Julia Gillard: I think it is possible. One of the levers we seek to have in the hands of our full partnership is this technical knowledge, technical exchange lever. Yes, we want to leverage money, we want to leverage advocacy. But we also want to leverage technical know-how. If there are things that have been learned in developed country contexts, that enable developing countries to leapfrog—rather than go through every stage that our schools have gone through over the last few hundred years—to a better solution that works in the local context, then yes, we want to be there with the technical knowledge that makes that happen.
Jordan Shapiro: I think I just have one more question. Well, it might turn into two. We'll start with one, which is about technology, which is about computers and tablets and eReaders and all these new digital information technologies which are so powerful. I do a lot of work with these and there seems to be two different ways that these can go.
They can either go in a way where the machines tend to be controlling the material, or in a way where what we really create are creative platforms on which kids and adults can be playful and experiment with it. I call the second one “learning through digital play.” New digital information technologies can either be powerful platforms through which we express ourselves or they can be platforms which keep us controlled in some ways.
It really terrifies me because often when I see things that are happening in the international development world, it is often just about dropping technology into a place. And the technology is not being used as a creative, imaginative tool. It's being used as something that's really mandating the possible ways people can relate to the world they live in. Do you understand what I'm saying there? Am I being clear?
Julia Gillard: Yes, I do. I should just jump on that technical exchange point, just to say that one of the things that we've really seen come to the fore in the last couple of years in the Global Partnership for Education is that sharing of knowledge doesn't just happen from the developed world to the developing world. Actually, some of the most powerful exchanges of knowledge happen when our developing county partners get together. Then they're all ears and have a whole lot of enthusiasm. What are you doing? How are you doing it? How can we learn from that? That kind of attitude is changing, and its pivotal, and incredibly important.
On the technology, I absolutely agree with you. I know what you mean and I do think it comes back to this planning and context idea. In your house, in schools, in your neighborhood, and for me in Australia, none of us just hand a mobile phone or an iPad to a two, three, four, five-year-old and say, "Teach yourself to read." We don't do that. You can use both devices to engage with the child and to make learning and letter recognition and shape recognition and colors and all the rest of it fun. Through the fun you're transmitting knowledge. You’re seeding the foundation side of literacy and that gets built on. On and on it goes.
Technology can be incredibly empowering. But it needs to be delivered in a whole ecosystem, a whole context that enables it to make a difference. I think some of the time we like to get seduced by the concept that technology is a shiny, big silver bullet. I don't think it's that. But I think it is an accelerator and enabler when used sensitively in an education context, when you've already got all the rest of what the technology needs to be wrap into right.
Jordan Shapiro:I do a lot of work writing, speaking, and consulting about using video games for learning. And one of the things I see is that when folks go into low income communities and suggest, “hey, let these kids use these games, expose them to these creative, fun ways of learning,” there's a lot of resistance. They want a kind of stereotypical rigor. They feel that they're being handed something dumbed down.
Julia Gillard: We should never dumb anything down. In Australia we've had those debates too, about some of our underprivileged communities including our indigenous children. My approach here has always been: for every child we should be aiming for excellence. You never, to quote your former president Bush, you never give into that sort of bigotry that comes with low expectations. It is about aiming for excellence. But there's many paths to get there and the technology and what looks like playful technology can be one of those paths. It's a question of explaining to people how it fits in.
Jordan Shapiro: Well, I think you've answered all of my questions. Is there something else you think I should ask you about that I haven't asked?
Julia Gillard: The only thing I'd emphasize, and I think you're well and truly onto this, is the how pivotal education is to the seventeen global goals. If you go through them one by one, and I know we've given you the diagram to show you how dependent this agenda (see below), for all of us, is on education.
Jordan Shapiro: Right, but that’s only true when education is at its best. Which means we need to be really thoughtful, not only about how we allocate and distribute aid and resources, but also to the pedagogical vision that’s ultimately put in place. Education can be about obedience or empowerment. In the United States, for example, our poorest citizens get an education for obedience—they learn that mathematics and numbers are rigid, fixed procedures that one needs to execute properly. Our wealthiest schools, however, teach kids that mathematics and numbers are part of a fluid language system that people can use to articulate and express innovative visions for the future.
Often the difference between these two visions comes down to the way in which academic content is taught. When learning is experiential, involving creativity and imagination, students learn to play with ideas. When it is rigid and rote, they learn obedience to fixed ways of knowing.
In order for education to cultivate the kind of engaged citizens who can contribute to a society’s sustained growth—to address the 17 goals—education needs to be playful.
Julia Gillard:That's true. It is about quality and about children actually learning.
Jordan Shapiro: Right, and learning to be empowered rather than obedient.
Julia Gillard:Yes, or a helpful mix of both.
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5a70ba986e822f21c3678e186a252442 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2015/11/28/this-could-be-the-perfect-math-app-for-young-learners/ | This Could Be The Perfect Math App For Young Learners | This Could Be The Perfect Math App For Young Learners
If you walk into almost any elementary/primary school mathematics classroom, you should find kids using “Manipulatives.” These are physical objects—like Base 10 Blocks, Cuisenaire Rods, or Tangrams—that allow kids to explore math concepts in physical, three dimensional ways. Now, DragonBox Numbers, a new digital app from We Want To Know raises the standard not only for mathematics manipulatives, but also for learning games.
For years now, all the research has shown that students learn math best with manipulatives. The National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics says that “in order to develop every student’s mathematical proficiency, leaders and teachers must systematically integrate the use of concrete and virtual manipulatives into classroom instruction at all grade levels.”
Although most of us think of math as “numbers.” Our numbers—the Hindu-Arabic numeral system—is really just a kind of code. The numbers themselves are just symbols that represent an abstract philosophical conception of the human experience in the world. That’s all mathematics is: a complex and extremely useful language through which we organize and categorize our experience. The hard part of math is not using the code, but rather learning to think about your world in mathematical terms, learning to understand what the numbers actually mean, learning to speak “math” fluently. Mathematicians and educators refer to this kind of understanding as “number sense.”
Starting math education only with Hindu-Arabic numerals just teaches kids to follow directions—they are taught to memorize a symbolic code and use it according to a set of rules that must seem completely arbitrary to them, seeing how as there’s no way for them to know that those rules are grounded in physical reality. Which is why any kid who isn’t driven by obedience alone will eventually ask, “why do I need to know this?” Starting with manipulatives, on the other hand, can teach children “number sense.”
All good (and many bad) elementary/primary school teachers understand just how essential manipulatives are to learning math and number sense. They also understand that at some point, parents (most of whom have very highly developed number sense themselves, but still understand very little about it) will inevitably walk into conferences demanding that their children stop playing so much and start receiving a “rigorous” mathematics education.
The word “rigor” literally has to do with hostility, severity, or harsh inflexibility. Check out the Oxford English Dictionary and you’ll discover that the word has more to do with obedience—in both its negative and its positive connotations—than it has to do with the sort of accuracy and thoroughness with which we associate it in the context of education. I suspect most parents would prefer accuracy and meticulous precision over the “stiffness” or “cold shivers” that are implied by a fastidious definition of the word “rigor.” And to anyone who argues that our current usage is adequate because we all understand what the word means, I’d say: you’re hardly being rigorous with your use of language.
Let’s forget rigor; the word is an obstacle to developing pedagogy and improving education for the next generation. Anyway, what we really want is graduates who have sophisticated number sense and thorough mathematical thinking/comprehension. In fact, that’s precisely what matters now that computers do most mathematical procedures. The necessary skill these days is not solving equations, but rather, understanding math well enough to know how to translate real world experiences into complex calculations that can be assigned to the machines. This kind of learning requires manipulatives, which turn real-world mathematical concepts into flexible playful experiences.
The world’s wealthiest students already have brightly colored math manipulatives; they’ve been using them for decades. Some even use LEGO bricks, which also work well. LEGO Education actually sells some fantastic “MoreToMath” products that come with all the bricks you need, plus a comprehensive curriculum. But these things are rarely within the financial means of underprivileged schools. Luckily there are now free digital versions of almost all the world’s great math manipulatives. This site from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers offers tons of digital manipulatives. But these are just basic virtual versions of the classics. They are visually boring. And knowing what to do with them still requires a great teacher.
DragonBox Numbers could change all that. It shows us how perfect a digital manipulative really can be—not only in the classroom with teachers, but also for kids at home alone. Numbers involves a world full of animated sprites, called “Nooms,” that behave according to the rules of simple arithmetic. The app is from We Want To Know, a Norwegian developer that makes some of the best educational apps. I regularly recommend their original app DragonBox Algebra, both to parents of kids struggling through 8th grade algebra, and to anyone who wants to understand the power of learning through digital play. DragonBox Elements, the company’s take on teaching Euclidean geometric proofs, was addictive for both adults and older kids. Now with Numbers, they prove that they can also create games for the early childhood education space.
DragonBox Numbers is the first thing you should download on a tablet if you have kids 4-8 years old. Think of it as a math sandbox, or a digital arithmetic playground. It takes the notion of a virtual manipulative to whole new interactive level, doing things blocks never could. Numbers combines the benefits of classic manipulatives with the quality art design and sophisticated production values of commercial game design. There are whimsical characters, great sound effects, and first-rate animations.
If you were in Norway, where Jean-Baptiste Huynh (creator of all the DragonBox games) is based, your children would probably already be playing. Fifteen percent of Norwegian first graders are already using DragonBox Numbers at home. It also spent a month as Norway’s top grossing app in all categories (even beating out Minecraft).
Last month, to understand Numbers first-hand, I visited Jean-Baptiste Huynh in Oslo. He took me on a trip to his children’s school. There, we spent time in a first grade classroom where he projected DragonBox Numbers onto the large projector screen. He playfully asked the kids to guess what would happen as he reached tens, hundreds, thousands. The kids were learning the logic of number placement—an ordinary lesson in base 10 that involved interactive digital animations that could be manipulated in real time. They were doing it through engagement with silly characters. They guessed. They played. They laughed. They worked together. It felt like I was in the classroom of the future.
When the lesson was over, they each picked up their own tablets and played with Numbers independently. Well, it was hardly independent. Within seconds they were self-organized into small groups, sharing tips and tricks and discoveries. Discoveries not only about the game, but also about numbers and arithmetic.
Afterwards, Jean-Baptiste and I took the ferry together across the Fjord to central Oslo. He told me he was concerned about inefficiency. He knew that most of the kids comprehended the lesson, but there were certainly some who missed it. He suspected they might learn number sense faster if they were each playing by themselves. Certainly a digital adaptive game engine could be much more personalized to each individual student’s level of comprehension than a single teacher at the front of the room ever could be. But part of a teacher’s challenge always involves balancing the real need for content retention with the real need for classroom socialization. We discussed, argued and debated for the rest of the day, trying to imagine what school could and should look like in a world where children can learn so easily learn through digital play.
The thing about Hindu-Arabic numerals is that they are just the symbols we use to express mathematical concepts. Just like we can easily switch from Roman Numerals to Arabic numerals, we can also do math with animated “Nooms.” We need only to make sure they behave according to the laws of numeracy. Math is not just about obedience to the rules of the numbers, but ultimately about how we best share our mathematical experience with others. First we need to have the kinds of meaningful and playful experiences that are worth sharing. DragonBox Numbers provides precisely that kind of rigorous learning through digital play.
Check out DragonBox Numbers here.
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7d63e7c9087cbe5fb07dad359c33f024 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanstrickler/2020/08/11/lack-of-plant-breeding-programs-could-further-impact-food-security/?sh=54d936f43c76 | Lack Of Plant Breeding Programs Could Further Impact Food Security | Lack Of Plant Breeding Programs Could Further Impact Food Security
A Washington State University study, led by Kate Evans, found that declining crop-breeding programs ... [+] due to the coronavirus could threaten food security. Washington State University
The coronavirus has already brought gaps to food security to the forefront during the pandemic. While most of the news has focused on logjams in the supply chains due to consolidated distributors, other factors are beginning to introduce themselves as threats as well. A new study published in Crop Science by Washington State University (WSU) has discovered that declines in crop breeding programs due to COVID-19 have put a damper on funding and personnel.
Plant breeding takes on many forms, from breeding disease tolerance, increasing production, introducing new delicious varieties or improving drought tolerance.
In their report, Evans and her colleagues conducted a survey of 278 plant breeding programs around the United States. Public programs are chiefly federal programs, like those run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or based at public research universities.
The surveys revealed an estimated a 21.4% decline in full time employee (FTE) time for program leaders over the past five years and an estimated 17.7% decline in FTE time for technical support personnel. The researchers also found that retirement looms for a significant number of plant breeding program leaders. Over a third of the responding programs reported having leaders over the age of 60 and 62% are led by people over 50.
This decline has Kate Evans, a WSU horticulture professor who leads WSU's pome fruit (apples and pears) breeding program, worried.
"Plant breeding plays a fundamental part of the long-term food security of this country," says Evans, who is based out of the Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee, WA. "The tremendous increases in food production over the past century are largely due to plant breeding, and the world's population is only increasing. Plant breeding is a long-term, sustainable way to address concerns over having enough food and keeping our food sources secure."
Plant pathogens, like bacteria and pests are always adapting, the study elaborates, so varieties of crops that were bred to naturally fight off a disease start to lose their defenses. Plant breeding programs help growers stay ahead of those potentially harmful adaptations.
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"It could be a disease, a pest, climate change, any number of things," Evans said. "We do not live in a stable environment, and there are many different ways to deal with that."
The report also stresses the declines in programs which focus on local produce.
One example is the citrus industry. Citrus greening disease has been devastating to growers, particularly in Florida, where trees produce bitter, green and misshapen fruit. Plant breeding programs are among the parties working to develop varieties that naturally repel the pest that causes the problems.
One reason that plant breeding programs are declining is expense. It takes many years to develop a new variety of a crop, Evans said. And funding a program for that long requires significant investment.
"We can't rely on grants because those are often only for a few years," she said. "You can't do anything in plant breeding in three years, it requires long-term sustained funding to get a program going."
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09db419b1e5289bc35aea1945596626f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanstrickler/2021/02/25/pilgrims-pride-first-to-plead-guilty-in-price-fixing-scheme/ | Pilgrim’s Pride First To Plead Guilty In Chicken Price-Fixing Scheme | Pilgrim’s Pride First To Plead Guilty In Chicken Price-Fixing Scheme
Pilgrim's Pride is the first company to pay criminal fine in a poultry price fixing scheme. (AP ... [+] Photo/LM Otero, File) ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pilgrim’s Pride, the second-largest chicken processing plant in the nation, has become the first company to plead guilty to charges of price fixing chicken. For its role, the company will pay a $108 million criminal fine as part of a Department of Justice antitrust investigation into the industry.
According to the plea agreement, entered in the U.S. District Court in Denver, the JBS SA-owned company took part in a price-fixing and bid-rigging conspiracy between 2012 and 2017. At least $361 million in Pilgrim’s sales were affected. The company’s largest customers include the wholesaler Costco and the fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Last June, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Jayson Penn, then president and CEO of the company, along with former Pilgrim’s Pride Vice President Roger Austin, for their role in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for broiler chickens across the nation.
“Today’s guilty plea demonstrates our unwavering commitment to prosecuting companies that violate the nation’s antitrust laws, especially when it involves something as central to everyday life as the food we eat,” said acting assistant attorney general Richard Powers of the Antitrust Division.
In January, the company said it would pay $75 million to settle a class-action lawsuit by some of its customers. The same month, Tyson Foods said that it would shell out $221.5 million to settle similar claims. If that settlement goes forward, it would be the largest anticompetitive settlement thus far in the series of price-fixing claims. In that agreement, Tyson is allowed to exit the price-fixing lawsuits filed against it.
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“Today’s plea is another example of the FBI’s ongoing work to eliminate bid rigging and price fixing and hold those conducting these activities accountable for their actions,” said Steven M. D’Antuono, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office. “These criminal acts cheat American workers and consumers while harming competitive markets.”
In accordance with the Sherman Act, a company can be charged a maximum fine of $100 million, but the amount can be increased to up to twice the company’s cane from the conspiracy or twice the victim’s loss if either is greater.
Ten executives and employees at major broiler chicken producers have also previously been charged, all of which have pled not guilty. The investigation remains ongoing.
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0ed81138a7f451f285ff8a13febd127d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanstrickler/2021/03/08/alternative-meats-bringing-uncertain-future-for-cattle-farmers/ | Alternative Meats Bringing Uncertain Future For Cattle Farmers | Alternative Meats Bringing Uncertain Future For Cattle Farmers
Alternative meats are becoming more of a mainstream product in American diets. getty
The world of plant-based meats has been taking off the past few years and this has many in the farming industry worried. The trend of moving away from the traditional burger intensified earlier this month, when it was announced that McDonalds and Yum! Brands had signed a three-year partnership with the alternative meat company, Beyond Meat. Yum!’s chain of restaurants includes the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains.
Speaking of the deal, Bruce Friedrich, executive director of the Good Food Institute, a non-profit which promotes the alternative meat industry, said in a statement that “McDonald’s and Yum Brands have doubled down on plant-based meat and have demonstrated the long-term potential they see in the category. This is the clearest sign yet that the future of meat will be plant-based. With more restaurants and revenue than any other food chains on the planet, McDonald’s and Yum Brands will bring plant-based meat onto the mainstream menus of millions of people. When these restaurant chains move, the entire food industry takes notice. These agreements will reverberate throughout the global supply chain and send a strong signal for the future of plant-based meat in restaurants.”
In 2019, alternative meat company Impossible Foods signed a deal putting their products on the menus of Burger King and Qdoba. The same year, Dunkin’ Donuts’ Beyond Sausage Sandwich hit the market.
A recent study on the economic impact of the alternative meat industry found that the plant-based food market is expected to reach $74.2 billion by 2027. The financial services company Barclays estimates the market for alternative meat could grow by 1,000% over the next 10 years, reaching $140 billion.
This popularity has been fueled by environmental and climate change reasons as well as animal welfare concerns and a general interest in health and wellness.
The transitions are also strengthening their way into the political arena. Last month, Colorado governor Jared Polis promoted the March 20 MeatOut Day to the state’s residents and asked them to forego meat for one day. The proclamation was intended to educate consumers about the “benefits of a healthful, plant-based diet,” according to the Governor’s office.
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Cattle industry responds
The United States is the world's largest producer of beef. getty
“Polis poked the eyes of cowboys last month when he declared March 20 (the first day of spring) as MeatOut Day, asking the state’s residents to forego meat for one day,” says Greg Henderson in an opinion piece for Drovers. “The proclamation was intended to educate consumers about the ‘benefits of a healthful, plant-based diet’....On its own, Colorado’s MeatOut Day is likely to have miniscule impact on actual consumption of meat, and cowboys are right to call it for what it is – a slap in the face to ranchers everywhere. More importantly, reducing meat consumption is unlikely to provide the desired impact on the environment or the climate.”
In his piece, Henderson points to a 2019 study by the University of California - Davis which says eliminating meat would only reduce the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2.6%.
According to the most recent Ag Economy Barometer, released by Purdue University and the CME Group, over half (55%) of producers who took the monthly survey said they expect alternative protein sources to capture up to 10% of the combined market for animal and plant-based protein. A majority of farmers said they think the impact on farm income arising from alternative protein capturing a 25% share of the total protein market would be negative, with approximately four out of 10 producers saying that they would expect to see farm income decline by 10% or more.
“Obviously, they’re very concerned about how this is going to play out,” Purdue economist Michael Langemeier said on the popular “Adams on Agriculture” radio show. He stated that a market share of 5 - 10% would be “a game-changer…something that would have ripples throughout production agriculture.”
According to the EPA, the largest sources of U.S. GHG emissions in 2016 were electricity production (28% of total emissions), transportation (28% ) and industry (22%). All of agriculture accounted for a total of 9%.
Currently the traditional meat sector still vastly outpaces the alternative meat sector. In an interview with the Food & Environment Reporting Network, analyst Ann-Marie Roerink of 210 Analytics, says that grocery store sales of refrigerated meats totaled $82.5 billion compared to plant-based meat sales of $475 million in 2020.
Traditional meat companies are not standing passively by though. The past couple of years, Tyson, Smithfield, Perdue, Hormel and Nestlé have all rolled out their own meat alternatives, putting their own plant-based burgers, meatballs and chicken nuggets on the market.
“While most Americans still choose meat as their primary source of protein, interest in plant and blended proteins is growing significantly,” said Noelle O’Mara, Tyson Foods’ chief marketing officer, in a 2019 rollout of their alternative meat. “These products appeal to a broad cross section of consumers who enjoy food from a variety of protein sources and we expect interest to continue to grow across protein types.”
There are three routes alternative meat makers are currently taking. The most notable plant-based products are the ones championed by Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. The second is the cultivated meat sector (aka lab-grown meat), which is meat which are derived from the stem cells of animals. And the third, less known, are fermentation-derived proteins which are made from microorganisms.
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ccfc0d5f04b4cf75541a0582ac97f503 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanstrickler/2021/04/07/cfap-2-applications-now-open-for-enrollment/?sh=8f41a465d4af | USDA Opens Third Round Of Covid Food Assistance Program To Aid Agricultural Producers | USDA Opens Third Round Of Covid Food Assistance Program To Aid Agricultural Producers
USDA head Tom Vilsack recently announced the reopening of CFAP 2 applications. (Photo Credit : ... [+] Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg) © 2019 Bloomberg Finance LP
The USDA has just begun its third round of assistance in an effort to help producers weather the pandemic. Applications for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) were briefly halted after the Biden administration put a freeze on all pending and proposed legislations upon entering office for further review.
Coined CFAP 2, the application process will be open for “at least 60 days” from its opening on April 5.
The same time as the announcement of the CFAP 2 application re-openings, the USDA also announced the availability of $2 million which will be allocated to grassroots and socially disadvantaged farmers.
“Today’s announcement supports USDA’s efforts to bring financial assistance to farmers, ranchers and producers who felt the impact of Covid-19 market disruptions,” the USDA said in a Monday release. “The new initiative — USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers — will reach a broader set of producers than in previous COVID-19 aid programs.”
Both are a part of the USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers which will be releasing at least $6 billion toward new programs. On March 24, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack touted the plan as one which will help reach a larger sector of agriculture than previous payments.
“The pandemic affected all of agriculture, but many farmers did not benefit from previous rounds of pandemic-related assistance,” said Vilsack in a statement at the time. “Our new USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative will help get financial assistance to a broader set of producers, including to socially disadvantaged communities, small and medium sized producers, and farmers and producers of less traditional crops.”
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According to an analysis by the publication Agri-Pulse, previous payments through January 8 of this year, were skewed heavily toward large operations, with just 5% of individuals and entities accounting for more than half the payments.
The agriculture agency says it will be dedicating the funds toward operations such as fruit and vegetable growers, beginning farmers and organic farms; donation of dairy products to charity; purchases of personal protective equipment for food and farm workers; and support for biofuel producers.
The payments were initially launched by the Trump administration in April of last year and would allocate $19 billion in direct funding to producers and another $3 billion in commodity purchases for allocation through food banks and faith-based organizations. In September, the program was expanded to include more commodities.
As of April 5, almost $24 billion was disbursed to farmers and ranchers since payments began in last May. The largest of these payments went to cattle producers ($7.2 billion) and corn farmers ($5.1 billion). Leading states for funds were Iowa ($2.1 billion), California ($1.9 billion) and Nebraska ($1.6 billion).
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49b1044bdf673f208f7a63ccca2349eb | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordilippemcgraw/2019/05/26/these-3-things-are-secretly-affecting-your-healthy-while-traveling/ | These 3 Things Are Secretly Affecting Your Health While Traveling | These 3 Things Are Secretly Affecting Your Health While Traveling
You can avoid getting sick by following a few simple tips. Photo: Getty Getty
We all know the common health dangers of travel. You can catch a cold or virus more easily due to cramped quarters on an airplane; water purification varies by country and could lead to a stomach bug, and insects in different locales can lead to some not-so-fun illness. But, other sneakier things can also negatively affect your health.
I tapped Charles Brenner, Ph.D., an expert on an essential molecule called NAD, which impacts your overall mitochondrial and cell health. Basically, that molecule fuels our cells’ ability to produce energy and increase resilience from metabolic stressors, aka many of the circumstances in which we are placed when traveling.
“There are so many factors that impact your health during travel," said Brenner. "Some effects are obvious, while others negatively impact the body on a cellular level and contribute to the overall fatigued feeling you experience during extended periods of travel.”
So, what are those secret travel-induced stressors our bodies go through? Here are three of the main ones, according to Brenner, and how to combat them.
Time Zone Disruption
“Your body has a circadian rhythm that is tied to sunrise, sundown and your home environment,” said Brenner. “When you travel, your body’s clock gets disrupted—this is particularly true when traveling east-west across multiple time zones.” This time change can lead you to feel lethargic and cause ailments like gastrointestinal issues. It can be even worse if you change time zones frequently.
What’s the remedy? “If you are changing time zones, consider setting your watch to the time zone of your destination as soon as you board and behave appropriately,” said Brenner, who is the Chief Scientific Advisor of ChromaDex, the innovators behind a form of vitamin B3 called Tru Niagen. “Depending on whether you are flying west or east, it may be time to try to wind down and sleep or stay up later to ease your adjustment and avoid jet lag.”
Dehydration
One particularly pesky problem when flying is unsuspecting dehydration, which can impede the proper function of our cells and organs. “There’s low humidity in airplane cabins, which tends to dry us out,” said Brenner. Air humidity onboard is about 15%, compared to the 30% to 60% humidity we typically experience on land. Plus, if you’re drinking caffeine and alcohol, it reduces our retention of water.
To ensure you’re staying hydrated, keep a few things in mind. “Drink plenty of water and try to minimize diuretic beverages,” said Brenner. “This can be challenging because you will be offered plenty of caffeine and alcohol. Be mindful of foods that strip moisture from your body, such as dried fruit, salted nuts or crackers/chips and processed foods with high sodium content.”
Poor Blood Flow
Inactivity and lower air pressure in the cabin can make it harder for blood to flow from your feet back to your heart. This can not only cause people’s feet and ankles to swell, but it can lead to more severe conditions like a type of blood clot called deep vein thrombosis (DVT). If that clot then travels to the lungs, it can lead to death.
“It’s important to stay as active as you can and elevate your feet if that is possible,” advised Brenner. “Making the decision ahead of time to wear loose-fitting clothing versus tight clothes might help you to maintain good blood circulation as well.” Also, tied to point No. 2, drinking lots of fluids and avoiding diuretics can also promote good blood flow and prevent dangerous clots.
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d4a2aeb6867530cb12c98c228cb21dd7 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordilippemcgraw/2020/07/18/dax-shepard-reveals-his-top-rving-tips/?sh=61db4aa239e0 | Dax Shepard Reveals His Top RVing Tips | Dax Shepard Reveals His Top RVing Tips
Dax Shepard has been a long time fan of RVs. Getty Images for Discovery, Inc.
Sadly, original summer vacation plans, like touring Europe, were canceled for travelers. But that's led to a new warm-weather trend season: RVing. Peer-to-peer RV rental marketplace RVshare recently revealed they hit record numbers, with a 650% rise in RV rental bookings since early April 2020. But, there's one star who's been hitting the open road in a motorhome long before it was a trend.
Dax Shepard, along with his wife Kristen Bell and their two daughters, has been an RV fan for years, often spending holidays at the Glamis Sand Dunes. And with summer vacation finally here (and no in-person school scheduled for the kids), the Shepard-Bell clan plans to venture around the country this summer.
I was able to catch up with the actor and podcast host ahead of his road trip as part of his partnership with Planet Oatmilk, where he helped the brand release the Planet Oat Summer Kit. Here he shares his top RVing tips and how Kristin can whip up a feast on-the-go.
Q: First off, how have you been surviving quarantine?
A: In general, it's been really nice and sweet. It certainly got a lot better once we no longer had to do the Zoom teaching. But we've been in Arizona for the past 12 days where I've been filming, and it's been great to have my kids come on the road with me when I shoot. We just rent a house wherever we go, and we set up camp.
Q: Speaking of setting up camp, I know your family is big into RVing.
A: For the last eight years, we've rented a motor home several times a year. We love to go off-roading, and we'd go to the Sand Dunes. This quarantine had me finally ready to pull the trigger and buy something. So, I just reserved one yesterday in Texas, and I think we'll be spending probably the rest of the summer in it.
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Q: What's your road trip plan?
A: I have to work until August 24th on "Top Gear," and it's all out of town. So, I think we'll just scoot around. I'll shoot during the day, and they'll hang out in pretty places. When that wraps, we'll try to go to Michigan because I hate missing getting a lake swim in before the summer is over.
Q: Fun! As a pro, what are your top RVing tips?
A: Monitor your freshwater supply and your gray and black water tanks. You do not want to be dealing with filling up in the middle of nowhere. I obsessively check those probably 35 times a day. You only need to get burned once in that department, and you really learn to keep an eye on it.
Q: Did you get burned once?
A: Oh yeah! We were in the Sand Dunes on a five-day trip, and day three, we had some major issues. I had to find a company that would come in from 40 miles away, pump it, and then adds water. It was a big circus.
Q: Why do you love RVing?
A: Let me say that RVing is the perfect solution for Kristin because she's a homebody. She likes to be at home, and I have the worst wanderlust. So it's perfect. I can be moving around the country, and she can be in the same environment everywhere we go. It's kind of a perfect compromise for us.
Q: I've actually interviewed her before, and she told me all about how she loves nesting in the RV.
A: Yes! We generally spend Thanksgiving in the Sand Dunes in California. I will be out off-roading with the kids, and I'll come back, and there's a whole decoration theme going on. There's like autumnal streamers hanging from the awning and a Thanksgiving tablescape on the plastic tables. It's a Thanksgiving wonderland when she's done.
Q: So, what's the key to surviving RVing with kids?
A: I'd love to tell you that we are like the world's most exemplary parents, but the key is to turn the TV on. But if you're driving that far with a five-year-old in the seven-year-old, just God bless the iPad and the TV.
Q: Lastly, since we're chatting about summer plans, can you tell me a little bit about this summer partnership with Planet Oat?
A: It came about because Kristin and I don't drink milk, and I discovered Planet Oat on set. I talked about it on my podcast, and they sent me all the ice cream, and it was outrageous. The chocolate peanut butter is so good. So, together, we designed this summer party kit. It comes with a big blanket, bowls, spoons, and toppings for sundaes.
Q: What's your favorite sundae?
A: We make banana splits. It's the cheat way to get my kids to eat fruit!
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be129af342aba5152be8292c328c84c9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordilippemcgraw/2021/02/26/pregnant-ashley-tisdale-reveals-the-romantic-place-she-wants-to-travel-with-husband-christopher-french/ | Pregnant Ashley Tisdale Reveals The Romantic Place She Wants To Travel With Husband Christopher French | Pregnant Ashley Tisdale Reveals The Romantic Place She Wants To Travel With Husband Christopher French
Ashley Tisdale has never been to France with husband Christopher French. (Photo by Phillip ... [+] Faraone/Getty Images) Getty Images
Unfortunately, travel is still on hold for many. But it's the perfect time to reminisce about trips of the past and start to plan ones for the future. That's what Ashley Tisdale has been doing while waiting for her daughter to arrive. The actress and soon-to-be mom has been sharing throwback photos (along with naked pregnant pics) with her 13 million Instagram followers and teamed up with CheapTickets to announce their contest where a winner in their 20s will be awarded $5,000 a year to travel until they turn 30 (total prizing could be up to $50,000 depending on winner's age). I got to chat with the 35-year-old as part of the partnership where she revealed a life-changing trip she took in her 20s and the one place she wants to go with her husband, Christopher French.
You were fortunate to be able to travel so much in your 20s. What were some of the highlights?
I've gone to Europe, Italy and went on my honeymoon to Bora Bora, which was amazing. But I have to say one of my favorite trips ever was Cabo. I love this one specific hotel there. I took my girlfriend, Vanessa, and Shelly for a girl's trip. It was one of those moments in time where I had just broken up with my boyfriend and was having a really rough time. It was just so needed just to be able to go away with your girlfriends. We did everything you probably would do with a guy, but like just did with the girls. We went swimming with dolphins, had dinner night on the beach, and did a movie night.
Do you think traveling in your 20s is important?
It was a freeing time in my life. I think traveling always makes you grow. You do find yourself and learn a lot about yourself and the people you travel with.
Is there a travel memory where you felt out of your comfort zone?
When I was in New Zealand doing a movie, I felt very far away from home, and I missed my family. I just felt a little alone. It was one of those experiences where you find out even more about yourself. You don't know who you are until you're out of your comfort zone. It's so easy to be comfortable, but it's harder when you have to figure out your way. I worried about how I would get back to the hotel, and I figured it out and was fine. They also eat a lot more meat out there than I do. So food-wise, it was hard to find things that I really loved. But it was an amazing experience at the end of the day.
Is there a place that's still on your bucket list?
I've never gone to Europe with my husband. I really would love to do that with him. I want to go back to Paris because I never went to the Eiffel tower. When I was there, I didn't go to the Eiffel tower because I wanted to go with someone I'm in love with.
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You're expecting a baby girl soon. Is traveling with your family once your daughter is here important to you?
Of course! It's funny because I brought my dog Maui with me everywhere. Maybe three weeks after getting her, I took her to Rome. I want to have that same experience when we have our baby. I mean, who knows, maybe she'll be at the Eiffel tower with us. I'll have two loves of my life!
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371c103922391a5e96bca336c4be20e6 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joresablount/2018/11/30/brides-can-recover-money-spent-with-snag-my-wedding/ | Brides Can Recover Money Spent With Snag My Wedding | Brides Can Recover Money Spent With Snag My Wedding
In 2017, the average money spent on wedding costs was over $33k, according to The Knot. From wedding invitations to the catering, planning this special day can drain your bank account. Luckily, there’s a way to get some of your money back. Tammy Bowser is the founder of Snag My Wedding, an online marketplace for brides to sell items post-wedding and for brides-to-be to snag all they need at a fraction the costs, including a wedding dress.
Tammy Bowser, founder of Snag My Wedding, is on a mission to help brides recoup some of their... [+] wedding day expenses. TB site
It was when Bowser was asked to be a bridesmaid in a cousin’s wedding that she realized just how expensive things could get. She took her corporate accounting and fashion background and put it to use toward finding a way for brides to recoup some of the money they spent on items they would never use again as well as help brides-to-be save. Bowser created a vision board for her idea and participated in Founder Gym, an online training center for underrepresented founders, to get it ready for launch. After finding the right developer, she was up and running in six months. “The thought went in my head on whether I should make this an app or a website. I went with the website, because it's way less expensive,” she said. With so many other platforms such as Facebook’s marketplace and OfferUp, Bowser wanted to add a new element to the buying experience. “I found a lot of sites where people would post a candle holder. I wanted to see exactly how they used it in their wedding,” Bowser explained. With that in mind, Bowser encourages brides to have their photographer on wedding day grab photos of all the items they plan to sell while they are in use. Once they have their professional photos, they can set up their own “store” for free and choose to meet buyers in-person or ship out items.
Brides can upload photos of one item or their whole wedding to sell to brides-to-be. TB site
To get the word out, Bowser headed to one of the biggest events of the year for brides-The Dallas Bridal Show. Thousands of women attend this event looking for vendors to work with. “At first, they looked at me strangely. Then as soon as I say “resell your wedding” and “get your money back” the parents, who are usually paying for it, come running over,” Bowser said. Brides keep 90% of their sell through the platform. Dallas is still one of her major cities with a presence on the site along with New York City and Chicago. Recently, she’s had users sign-up from Africa to sell items from their luxury wedding.
Bowser is constantly working to add to the experience of using Snag My Wedding. Her next phase may include a service where she offers to set up the online store for the bride. As a wife, she understands how those first few weeks of being newly wedded can be. “It’s not a lot of work, but you do have to sit and think about how much do you want for this, what picture do you want to use for that, and how to write a good description,” she said.
The platform is consistently growing. As a solo founder who is bootstrapping, the work never stops, and Bowser loves it. She finds this journey of entrepreneurship empowering and necessary. Bowser said, “I'm 100% for it. It doesn't mean that you have to leave your corporate job. It means you have to have something that is yours, that you can fall back on or hand down to your kids one day.”
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2dc260bd7a00c2960d24855f327fd8f3 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joselambiet/2010/09/19/russian-billionaires-divorce-spills-into-palm-beach/ | Russian billionaire's divorce spills into Palm Beach | Russian billionaire's divorce spills into Palm Beach
Rybolovlev
The wife of Russian billionaire Dmitri Rybolovlev (No. 79 on the latest Forbes list of the world's richest, with $8.6 billion) has taken the international fight for her share of the family's fortune to a Florida venue where high-stakes divorces are a dime a dozen.
Elena Rybolovlev has asked a family court in Palm Beach County to prevent her oligarch husband, Russia's fertilizer czar, from selling their giant beach-side home, according to court records.
The couple bought the crib for $95 million cash from developer/reality TV star Donald Trump, a fellow billionaire (No. 158 on the latest Forbes 400).
Rybolovlev's Palm Beach house (The Palm Beach Post)
The soon-to-be-ex-wife, who filed for divorce in Geneva, Switzerland, six months after the house was purchased in 2008, claims the home's ownership structure -- a corporation, County Road Property LLC, where her husband's name cannot be found -- is designed to take the property out-of-play when it'll be time for the torn lovebirds to split assets.
"The defendant (Dmitri) used properties acquired during the marriage . . . so that they would not be available to satisfy any monetary award issued . . ." Elena's filing reads.
-- Click here for a bird's eye view of the home
In March, a Geneva judge ordered the 33,000-square-foot house, along with hundreds of assets such as paintings by Amedeo Modigliani, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gaugin, Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet, frozen until the two-year divorce procedure nears a resolution.
Now, Elena wants the Swiss order enforced in Palm Beach.
Click here for more
Elena
The saga adds to an already colorful history of one of the choicest properties in America.
The original owner of the 18-bedroom mansion, which includes nearly 500 feet of Atlantic Ocean beach, was nursing home magnate Abe Gossman, a Forbes 400 dweller before he went bankrupt.
In 2004, Trump plunked down $41.35 million for the house then claimed to put another $25 million into renovations although, after a personal visit with Trump in 2006, I'd say it was more in the $5 million-range.
Still, Trump had Kendra Todd, winner of the third season of Trump's NBC fare The Apprentice, market the place. Asking price was $125 million until Rybolovlev appeared on the scene.
Rybolovlev, chairman of Uralkali, never moved in and is believed that have visited briefly earlier this year. Real estate sources said he bought it for investment purposes.
The mansion was appraised at $48 million last month by the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser.
-- Jose Lambiet is a columnist at The Palm Beach Post and runs Page2Live.com
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df50b9356f4d6b7ba6b6a57d382d5944 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephbrazel/2020/12/21/how-do-auditors-respond-to-whistleblowing-allegations-towards-their-clients/ | How Do Auditors Respond To Whistleblowing Allegations Towards Their Clients? | How Do Auditors Respond To Whistleblowing Allegations Towards Their Clients?
A forthcoming research study examines how financial statement auditors respond to allegations of ... [+] financial misconduct towards the companies they audit. Getty
A research study forthcoming in Contemporary Accounting Research examines how financial statement auditors respond to allegations of financial misconduct towards the companies they audit.
Given that whistleblowing can expose financial misdeeds, auditors may consider such reports as a signal of heightened risk for companies whose financial statements they audit. In a study titled “Whistleblowing Allegations, Audit Fees, and Internal Control Deficiencies” Yu Flora Kuang, Gladys Lee, and Bo Qin from the University of Melbourne performed interviews of audit practitioners and examined 770 external whistleblowing allegations of financial misconduct to determine if and how auditors respond. The researchers further split their whistleblowing reports by whether they were ultimately determined by regulators to be substantiated or frivolous.
“There has been an increasing focus on whistleblowing as a mechanism to detect fraudulent misconduct. Auditing standards require auditors to compile information from all relevant sources, including whistleblowing tips, in their risk assessments. However, there have been anecdotes and commentaries in the media suggesting that auditors have chosen not to act upon whistleblowing tips. As such, we were interested in understanding how auditors respond to whistleblowing allegations during their audits,” says Lee.
The interviews with audit professionals suggested that auditors are likely aware of whistleblowing allegations that have been reported inside the company. However, the practitioners noted that an extensive investigation often does not occur with internal reports because they perceive that the company is handling the issue, or they are limited in the information they are permitted to review during on ongoing investigation. The professionals indicated that they are much more vigilant when their client is subject to an external whistleblowing allegation.
The study then turns to 770 external whistleblowing reports filed between 2004 and 2014 to further investigate auditor responses. The external reports related to allegations of financial misconduct were filed with either the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) or the U.S. Department of Justice.
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“We find that companies subject to whistleblowing allegations have significantly higher audit fees in the year the external report is filed, regardless of the substance of the allegations. We also show that a year prior to the external whistleblowing allegation, audit fees are higher, suggesting that auditors are likely aware of the issue when it was at an internal whistleblowing stage and react by increasing their effort,” says Lee. The study notes that these additional audit fees appear to be used effectively, as companies with an allegation that pay greater fees are less likely to experience a future restatement of their financial statements.
The study wraps up with examining the link between external whistleblowing allegations and auditor reports on company internal controls. “We show that auditors are more likely to issue an adverse opinion on internal controls for allegations that are subsequently found to be substantiated, but not for allegations that are determined to be frivolous. These findings support the view that auditors are able to separate out the noise in whistleblowing allegations,” reports Lee.
Lee further notes, “When a company is subject to an external whistleblowing allegation, even a frivolous allegation, there are costs to the company. While existing research has shown that monetary rewards increase the likelihood of whistleblowing, more research is needed on how to incentivize individuals to report genuine information while minimizing the level of frivolous reporting.”
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df7ed10c5c70149764bb05c9734ccca8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephbrazel/2021/03/01/can-an-event-during-the-year-end-closing-process-impair-a-companys-financial-reporting-quality/ | Can An Event During The Year-End Closing Process Impair A Company’s Financial Reporting Quality? | Can An Event During The Year-End Closing Process Impair A Company’s Financial Reporting Quality?
A recent study finds that corporate events occurring immediately after year-end, such as mergers and ... [+] acquisitions or debt and equity issuances, constrain management and auditor resources and result in lower financial reporting quality. getty
Over the last month, many companies have filed their year-end audited financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A study recently published in The Accounting Review finds that corporate events occurring immediately after year-end, such as mergers and acquisitions or debt and equity issuances, constrain management and auditor resources and result in lower financial reporting quality.
In a study titled “Do Type II Subsequent Events Impair Financial Reporting Quality?” researchers analyzed 39,119 year-end financial statement filings with the SEC from 2000 to 2013. The study is authored by Keith Czerney from the University of Missouri-Columbia, Jaime Schmidt of the University of Texas at Austin, and Anne Thompson and Wei Zhu from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The study reports that 36% of their sample included a “subsequent event” or a material corporate event that occurred after the date of the year-end financial statements, but before the financial statements were filed with the SEC. Further, the researchers find that the frequency of subsequent events has risen from 30% in the early 2000s, to 40% in 2013. “The upward trend in subsequent events was somewhat surprising because the SEC shortened 10-K filing deadlines during this time period. Normally, one would expect that shorter deadlines leave less time for subsequent events to occur,” notes Thompson.
The study focuses on Type II subsequent events that are independent of the year-end financial statements, such as a post-year-end debt or stock offerings, mergers and acquisitions, as well as new contracts. “We were surprised by how few of these subsequent events were truly a ‘surprise’ to management,” says Czerney. “Managers likely have some control over the timing of many of these events.”
The researchers first demonstrate that the presence of a subsequent event is associated with lower year-end financial reporting quality. Specifically, the study finds that companies with subsequent events experience a significantly higher rate of restatements for financial reports that are being prepared and audited at the same time as the subsequent event. The likelihood of a restatement is higher when the subsequent event requires more effort to address, occurs earlier in the year-end closing process, and if the company experiences more than one subsequent event. The study importantly describes how the events occurring should not have any bearing on the quality of the year-end accounts.
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Next, the study attempts to explain why financial reporting quality declines with subsequent events. With respect to constraints on corporate management, the study finds stronger results for companies that have an abundance of job postings for accounting positions and rate lower on a measure of managerial ability. Schmidt notes that, “Auditors have limited ability to foresee material events that could occur in the future. However, during the risk assessment phase of the audit, the auditor should consider whether management has the resources to produce high quality financial statements and attend to a material event at the same time.”
From an audit perspective, the study finds the subsequent event and restatement relationship to be stronger when the auditor of the financial statements is constrained as well. For example, the results are more pronounced for audits of financial statements with December year-ends that are performed during the auditor’s “busy season.” “It’s important to note that our results suggest that auditors can alleviate this risk, as long as the auditor is not also resource constrained,” says Zhu.
Schmidt concludes that, “Given we live in a world where globalization keeps increasing, with that comes more mergers, acquisitions, and debt and equity issuances. Those events are time-consuming and can be costly to the quality of a company’s financial reports. If such events can be moved to the second quarter, after the financial closing process is complete, it can save you from having to deal with the cost of a subsequent restatement.”
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f13617c50d3026acd65d078b902faf98 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephcoughlin/2017/09/02/back-to-school-season-the-key-to-hacking-both-work-retirement-security/ | Back To School Season & The Key To Hacking Both Work & Retirement Security | Back To School Season & The Key To Hacking Both Work & Retirement Security
Education over a lifetime is critical to remaining competitive in the workplace & secure in... [+] retirement. (Image by Shutterstock)
On September 1st of every year, the city of Boston abruptly transforms. Seemingly every apartment lease in the entire city ends on August 31st, leading to an enormous shuffle of moving vans, of furniture being hauled through doorways and onto street corners. The summer heat finally abates, bringing on hoodie weather, and it seems that just about everywhere you look, there are college logos on the breasts of young, excitable, first year college students, the faces of back-to-school season.
Many of us associate this time of year with change and new beginnings--and we tend mostly to associate that sort of energy with youth. But these days, the back to school ritual is no longer just for young people, and the college experience is no longer just hoodies, dorm rooms, and sprawling campus lawns.
In the high velocity living of the 21st century education is not just a way of training to enter a profession, but a means of remaining relevant and competitive across 50-plus years of multiple jobs and careers. For many people working beyond the traditional 60-something retirement age is a way to ensure that their lifespan does not outpace their wealth span. Already for younger Baby Boomers and certainly Gen X, Millennials and recently graduated Gen Z, lifelong education is a vital part of their capacity to work longer and should be considered part of an overall retirement planning strategy. People with the willingness and agility to learn new skills--and relearn old ones--are the most resilient players in an economy defined by sudden technological shifts and the rapid accumulation of new knowledge.
Today we find ourselves driven by an exponential knowledge doubling curve. Before the 20th century, the sum total of human knowledge doubled once every century. By the end of the Second World War, driven by massive advancements in telecommunications, knowledge was doubling every 25 years. Today, that doubling happens in aggregate about once every year.
Before the 20th century, the turnover of the knowledge base of a profession took longer than a human lifetime to complete. For example, in the medical profession today, to name but one example, it takes about 18 months.
The nature of work and knowledge is creating extreme hyperspecialization in some professions and creating entirely new careers. A productive farmer today must learn how to use robotics to manage their crops let alone be able to operate a tractor. Only a few years ago you would have gotten a quizzical look from anyone if you said you aspired to being a social media analyst, data scientist, genetics counselor, mobile map maker, radiation therapist, wind turbine technician…or even Zumba instructor. How can we keep up?
Luckily, the delivery of education is changing with the same rapidity. One of the most remarkable examples is edX. edX is an education platform founded by MIT and Harvard in 2012 that provides people the ability to refresh their knowledge base from literally thousands of courses from over 90 universities and institutions from around the globe for free! These Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, allow an incredibly large number of people access to in-demand academics and experts as well as a global network of like-minded peer-learners without having to travel or for that matter leave their day job. For learners who desire to master a discipline, MIT has recently introduced the concept of the MicroMasters credential. The MicroMasters credential is achieved after a student successfully completes a sequence of 5 courses and passes a comprehensive exam - all online. Additionally, learners who have earned the MicroMasters credential may apply it for a full semester of credit towards a Masters Degree.
Shutterstock
My colleagues here at the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics recently established the very first MicroMasters program in supply chain management. Over 200,000 learners have taken at least one of the five courses over the last three years. More than 1,100 have completed all five courses, of which 622 took and passed the comprehensive final examination earning the first MicroMasters Credentials ever awarded. Forty of these MicroMasters have been accepted into MIT’s full time supply chain management program to earn a full MIT Master’s degree in half the time! The current and growing portfolio of online and in-person education offerings, as demonstrated at MIT, make lifelong learning and knowledge improvement a reality. It is also a huge boost for those looking both to take the next step in their careers and to stay current within their professions.
Avenues of learning that were once confined mainly to the privileged few are now open to nearly everyone. You no longer have to set foot in Harvard Yard, or the state of Massachusetts, for that matter, to go to Harvard.
As we live longer and remain healthier into older age, we will spend more time in the workforce than the generations before us did. That means two things: first, a longer timeline for our working lives to be disrupted – for change to be necessary. Second, a higher likelihood that we will get sick of what we do, and feel the itch to make a career transition or even a wild career leap. People say that 50 is the new 30, but for many of us, 50 might be 18 all over again. Or maybe we should begin thinking that 50 is simply 50 – a natural and unique time for personal and professional change to take place in a longevity economy where 50-plus years of work is the new normal.
As in many other areas of life, women, particularly older women, appear to be the more ready participants in this new dynamic of work and learning. According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women 55 years old and older participating in the workforce has increased by more than 10 percent from 24 percent in 1994 to nearly 35 percent in 2014. Here is one story among many, found in the comments section of a Consumer Reports article on 50+ learning:
Most of my life I spent working here and there--I took a few community college courses in healthcare and worked as a CNA doing home healthcare jobs (flexible when you’re raising kids). My husband was the breadwinner and he saved a little for his retirement. Long story short, our marriage is heading to divorce. Guess what? I have no retirement, and even if I got half of his, that will not be enough to survive because I have no Social Security. With that being said, I have made a plan to go back to school to take an LPN to RN course at the community college here. I am just now completing my prereqs … so I will be 56 by the time I attain my RN. I am really excited to be going back to school and I am searching for grants to help me through this!! I will keep going until I have no neurotransmitters left!
I am excited for her and for others like her. Learning a whole set of new skills – starting over again – is one of the most challenging things a person can do. But there may be few things as rewarding.
Living in today’s longevity economy characterized by a far longer life and high velocity technological change demands that we create new expectations, rituals and models of learning. We must accelerate new ways to teach and train people across the lifespan, celebrate going back to school as both an expectation and achievement, develop new education services that guide lifelong students from career to career and envision new financial products and employer policies to enable a society where school is never out. The wide-eyed first year students converging on Boston this month shouldn’t get to have all the fun and the future to themselves.
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5906d837522a1a6c96aac673e49b68f6 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephcoughlin/2017/09/16/small-business-owners-are-retiring-why-millennials-may-not-fill-the-gap-on-americas-main-street/ | Small Business Owners Are Retiring, And Millennials May Not Fill The Gap On America's Main Street | Small Business Owners Are Retiring, And Millennials May Not Fill The Gap On America's Main Street
After 235 Years one of the nation's oldest hardware stores closes. Is America's Main Street in... [+] retirement or transition? Norm Eggert Photography
A local hardware store in Worcester, Massachusetts recently announced that it was going out of business. This wouldn’t be big news, except Elwood Adams Hardware has been around since the Articles of Confederation. Dating back to 1782, it is (or was) one of the oldest hardware stores in the United States—continually open for 235 years under various owners.
The store’s employees, most of whom have worked there for decades, gave multiple reasons for the business’s closing. First, the pressure of Internet competition; second, and related to the first, a lack of loyalty from younger customers; and finally, the owner was ready to retire, and couldn’t find anyone to whom he could sell the business.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses account for 48% of national employment in the United States. In number, they represent 99.7% of all businesses in the country. Small business owners, some with staffs of 500 employees, others toiling alone in a home office, and plenty more in-between, are the stewards of an enormous segment of the American economy.
In the demise of Elwood Adams Hardware, we can see two forces at work that may figure to change the landscape of American small businesses and entrepreneurship. There is the continuing disruptive dominance of the Internet in the commercial sphere. And, perhaps less well-observed, there are the swelling ranks of retired-or-retiring Baby Boomers, and the emergence of the Millennials to replace them as the brunt of the workforce in the United States.
Our ancient hardware store’s owner is not the only person looking to sell a business on the way to retirement, only to be unable to secure a buyer. Much as downsizers who clear out their attics and basements figure out that nobody wants their old stuff, some aging entrepreneurs discover that nobody wants their old businesses. This is a very big deal for these business owners, who may have the majority of their lifetime capital (as well as sweat equity) put into their company and hope that selling it will finance their retirement. And it may also be a big deal for the economic engine and job generator of Main Street—the average age of a small business owner is over 50. Either their businesses will be taken over by others, or they will disappear.
The problem is there might not be anyone to take them over. Gen X, typically considered to be those Americans born between 1964 and 1979, are nearly half the number of people that are considered to be Baby Boomers and less than half the number of the mega-sized Millennial generation. So what about the Millennials? In places like Boston and San Francisco it would appear that they are the nation's engine of entrepreneurship. Will they take over Main Street?
Shattering the mythology of the backpack toting digitally-empowered Millennial entrepreneur are the stats. It appears that today’s newer entrants to the economy are far less entrepreneurial than preceding generations. One reason might be because they are saddled with an unprecedented amount of student loan debt. Even when those loans are not crippling, they seem to lessen one’s inclination to take on the risk of starting a business. As a result, the ranks of young business owners are not growing in the way we might expect, especially when 60% of Millennials claim to be entrepreneurs, at least in spirit. Ironically, the one age group where entrepreneurship is rising is 55 and older—those forging ahead in the new longevity economy.
Could other factors be discouraging younger people from starting businesses? Millennials may be more keenly aware, on both the rational and instinctive level, of the economic pressures that are reshaping how business is and will be done in the future. Robotics and online offerings are replacing small business operators in local grocers, insurance agencies, clothing stores, financial advisors, and even law firms. Family doctors are being driven to hospitals or large practices and being replaced by doc-in-a-box urgent care franchises. And yes, hardware stores are being boxed in by big box stores. It may feel fool-hearted to jump into an industry when you’re not sure that industry will exist in a decade or two.
It may be the case that the idea of entrepreneurship has expanded beyond owning a business. Millennials may be less enamored by the idea of their own office or storefront and team of loyal employees. Small business, in part, is powered by the desire of the entrepreneur to be free of big business bureaucracy and for personal independence. Rather than developing new businesses that employ many, a new generation of would-be small business owners may satisfy their entrepreneurial impulses by becoming businesses-of-one via the gig economy. Maybe they’re hustling for Uber, renting out their larger-than-average Manhattan closet on Airbnb, or taking a single seat in any number of coworking environments such as WeWork, NGIN or Workbar rather than taking the (risky and expensive) leap of faith to business ownership.
Coworking spaces such as Workbar may be the new Main Street storefront. ALLAGY
Ultimately, Millennials simply may not be old enough yet to become the dominant group of entrepreneurs in the United States. One’s 40s have been identified as the prime period for starting a business. And for the members of the upcoming generation, it could be older, as the process of paying off student loan debt delays their attainment of full financial confidence and work experience provides them with insight into what the future small business landscape is likely to be. It appears that even as the Boomers reach retirement age, they will remain the lords of American small business longer than anticipated, obliged to work longer to finance their older age and to remain the stewards of Main Street.
Instead of small business being an organization that hires a few to 500 employees, small business... [+] may soon mean a gig-of-one in coworking spaces such NGIN. ALLAGY
An essential generational transition in U.S. business ownership has yet to occur--which means the real 21st century economic transformation of the United States is only just beginning. When the current crop of older business owners retire, and the majority of small business owners are digital natives, then we will see what a new era looks like. The 200-year-old hardware stores of the world might not make it, sadly. But they may well be replaced by a diverse new array of business models unleashed by the next generation, opened up by the sharing economy and the Internet, some of which will look like nothing we have ever seen before.
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ddc37ac5679c74e386830e9d970eb523 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephcoughlin/2018/10/02/heres-what-will-smiths-bungee-jumping-50th-birthday-means-to-you/ | Here's What Will Smith's Bungee Jumping 50th Birthday Means To You | Here's What Will Smith's Bungee Jumping 50th Birthday Means To You
Will Smith celebrated turning 50 years old by bungee jumping from a helicopter into the Grand Canyon... [+] for charity. Listen up Gen X'ers and Millennials - Will Smith's big jump is yet another indication that 50 is not the new 30, but an entirely new 50. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Will Smith has entertained us for years. From rapper to Hollywood, from Fresh Prince to Man in Black to Ali, from superhero to supervillain, and much more, Smith has shown that there can be many acts in a lifetime.
Smith turned 50 years old this week. He celebrated by taking a bungee jump from a helicopter into the abyss of the Grand Canyon. Smith is certainly not the first to jump from an insane height to celebrate a milestone birthday (George H. W. Bush went skydiving for his 90th). But Smith’s high-profile jump is another indication that turning 50 years old is different for the next generation of 50-somethings than it was for their parents and grandparents.
Yes, there remains an abundance of 50th birthday cards and party favors that gleefully announce to the birthday boy or girl that they are “over the hill.” A quick look at some of them gives us a familiar ring for what turning 50 used to mean:
“Happy 50th Birthday! Congratulations! You’ve reached a milestone in life … you’re now too old for a midlife crisis.”
Then there are the animal themes.
“Wow, you’re 50! Don’t worry … that’s only 8 in cat years.”
“50? In dog years you’d be dead by now!”
Other cards have a somewhat more optimistic tone. One card reads, “You may not be over the hill yet, although you must have a pretty good view from where you are.” Or: “You’re not old, you’re retro!”
But 50 years old is different from what the birthday cards tell us. The big difference is time – lots and lots of time.
The fastest-growing cohort of people today are those over the age of 85. For the first time in history, most of us have a very good chance of living to 85 years old and beyond. Longer life changes everything.
At 50 years old you may live another 30, 35, or 40-plus years. You are very likely to enjoy another three decades of adult life—more adult years than what you experienced between your teenage days and age 50. That is a lot of time for bungee jumping.
I am not sure how many of us will see Will Smith’s celebratory bungee jump as an example to be imitated, but many of us will be taking other types of jumps that our parents would have considered as insane as jumping out of a helicopter with only an oversized rubber band holding us.
Here are just three bungee jumps many 50-plusers are making the new normal.
Downsizing – Would the last generation of 50-year-olds consider moving from the family home? Burning the mortgage after the last payment, yes, but not dumping years of stuff accumulated over a lifetime to seek a new phase of adulthood and establish a new household—that would be seen as crazy. But it’s people over age 50, not younger people, who have been credited with being the leading drivers of starting new households.
Entrepreneurship – Innovation is not just for kids. What was once considered midlife and even later life is becoming an entirely new and fine time to start a business. In the United States, United Kingdom and beyond, the 50-plus are the new entrepreneurial class. For example, according to the Kauffman Foundation, high-tech companies are twice as likely to be started by someone age 50 and older than the popular image of a sneaker-clad 20-something.
Romance Take II – People 50 years and older have the highest divorce rate of any group. But take heart: these divorcees aren’t sitting life out; they are jumping into the dating pool. Pew Research reports that the percentage of people 50 and older using online dating sites doubled between 2013 and 2015. And for those who divorce after age 50, statistics indicate that 67% will remarry.
It would be easy (and trite) to conclude that 50 years old is the new 30, but that would be missing the point. I prefer to believe that 50 is, well, the new 50.
As I note in my book The Longevity Economy, the new generation gap is about expectations - to live longer and to live better than previous generations. Most of us will not charter a helicopter and jump out over the Grand Canyon, but many of us will take greater, longer-term risks involved in inventing a new story of older adulthood that has yet to be written.
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319252ef42cef07ad6d69633a31e8c25 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2012/10/22/kitons-giovanna-paone-unveils-luxury-womens-collection/ | The Capitalist Touch: Kiton's Giovanna Paone Unveils Luxury Women's Collection | The Capitalist Touch: Kiton's Giovanna Paone Unveils Luxury Women's Collection
For over forty years Kiton has been a timeless inspiration within the men’s luxury tailored clothing business with its fine tailored suits, shirts and ties. Now, for the first time in its illustrious history, Kiton is delivering an exclusive collection geared towards the full and eventful lives of women who demand the height of luxury and sophisticated appeal. The women’s collection of timeless couture pieces builds upon Kiton's Neapolitan foundation and established presence in the US, Asia, Europe and Russian marketplaces -- setting itself apart as a true global ambassador of the finest luxury style.
The feminine version of an already impeccably well-tailored menswear jacket is truly a wonderful addition to any luxury woman’s wardrobe. An essential accessory is the Kiton woman’s jacket, which fits into successful lifestyle. In a highly competitive women’s global fashion market place, Kiton has found it’s new niche by addressing high powered executive women who balance a life of work and family.
Since the evolution of fashion historically both men and women have borrowed elements from each other’s style: Both Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent had capitalized on this fashion gender exchange. Subsequently, creating a hybrid style, which combines the unsurpassed elements of sartorial elegance. Kiton is renowned for its expert tailoring and hand-made attention to details such as stitching, buttonholes and finishing touches all to create a distinctive piece.
The new jacket silhouette for women has re-interpreted the art of flawless menswear tailoring and incorporated the look for woman with elegant ease. Its contemporary vision is not only attentive to emerging fashion trends but also brings to its women’s form a sense of savoir-faire. This fine craftsmanship embodies skillful cuts and extra details such as single stitches made by hand. The made to measure services enable every woman to enjoy a wardrobe specifically tailored to her specifications.
The Kiton factory itself is a testament to the brand's dedication of highly specialized craftsmanship; it's filled with skilled artisans pattern maker’s and tailors- hand sewing with a palpable sense of pride in the quality of their work. They even have a Kiton Tailoring school on premises where a small group are selected each year to become future master tailors.
The Fall 2012 palette embraces many of the rich colors of autumn, such as, warm and cold natural beige, chestnut, brick red, copper, orange, musk green, blue and grey. The colors are vibrant with a Neapolitan panache that makes them seem to come alive and resonate with the pulse of a modern day lifestyle. In an highly competitive women’s global market place, Kiton has found it’s niche by addressing a high powered executive woman who balances a life of work and family.
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A Look Back At Giovanna Paone:
Giovanna Paone, born in Naples, Italy, is the creative director of the women’s division at Kiton, founded in 1968 by her father, Ciro Paone.
Giovanna’s love for fashion was developed early on when she would often accompany her mother on trips to prestigious Neapolitan ateliers to select the highest quality fabrics and designs which were always made by hand by highly skilled artisans.
In 1995, Giovanna Paone introduced the first women’s collection at Kiton -- inspired by her own personal style. Giovanna adds: “Each day as a woman, I must fill important roles as a mother, a manager and a wife. As a result, I feel it necessary that I dress myself in a manner appropriate for all occasions, without sacrificing my elegance or femininity.”
Kiton has emerged as an innovative voice for professional women across the globe that likes to look appropriate in every situation. In a word, women like to feel exclusive in their approach to style without sacrificing functionality and grace.
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5af0191f7fdef9d5e831a41b7ba74ff8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2013/03/20/the-capitalist-touch-rita-vinieris-first-evening-wear-collection/ | The Capitalist Touch: Rita Vinieris- First Evening Wear Collection | The Capitalist Touch: Rita Vinieris- First Evening Wear Collection
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From Day to Night:
The special day has finally arrived for Toronto native, Rita Vinieris. After seventeen years designing bridal collections, Vinieris shifts her focus to an evening-wear collection. Vinieris began her career designing for brides that focused specifically on their shape. Her inspiration comes from a desire to maintain consistency in luxury fabrics, architectural draping, and meticulous fit. “I love being able to help women find that perfect dress that expresses their personal style.” Rita Vinieris now takes her collection from from day into night in great detail and refined luxury that is relevant for today.
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37ee8e52b04540685a6963397807c534 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2017/12/22/how-norwegian-wool-has-disrupted-the-luxury-mens-outerwear-market/?sh=583689207827 | How Norwegian Wool Has Disrupted The Luxury Mens Outerwear Market | How Norwegian Wool Has Disrupted The Luxury Mens Outerwear Market
Grey Herringbone Joseph DeAcetis
To some degree, mens outerwear and its brethren are in an exciting technological and transitional phase. Yet, even as technology is improving with advanced and "smart" fabrications, it has been unclear whether it is possible to develop accurate style and design while maintaining strong performance and comforting warmth. And so the industry's future seems to depend on creating new core textile advancements while exploring how to harness consumer desire for lightweight serviceable fabrications and modern sleek design. Such obstacles have prevented mens outerwear companies from pouring hundreds of millions into the hunt of the next generation of wearables.
Norwegian Wool's camel coat. Norwegian Wool
And so the industry's future seems to depend on developing a solution in amping up its core technology while keeping a handsome design. It takes innovation and entrepreneurial spirit and a whole lot of sweat equity to take on market challenges and variables. Alas, Norwegian Wool.
Norwegian Wool's Navy cashmere coat. Norwegian Wool
Norwegian Wool was founded in 2014 by Michael Berkowitz. Mr. Berkowitz prides himself in having developed the first generation of hybrid coats. Berkowitz states that "Norwegian Wool lends business men the opportunity to look sharp and professional without compromising on warmth and performance when the weather drops'. All Norwegian Wool coats are waterproof and windproof. Given the fact that I like most men have compromised appropriate style for warmth, I am looking forward to seeing Norwegian Wool achieve it's goals. If Berkowitz can surmount the daunting barriers and challenges facing both the consumer and the industry; then he will most certainly be the one to make the breakthroughs during this period of menswear rehabilitation!
We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Berkowitz Founder and CEO of Norwegian Wool, about the transitioning and robust mens outwear market, New developments in pairing down feathers with luxury wool and the importance of not compromising style for warmth!
Joseph DeAcetis: How did you go from working in finance to developing a forward thinking outerwear company?
Michael Berkowitz: When you are working in finance you always want to dress nicely. You are making presentations, and you’re in an environment where it is very cut-throat and what you say and what you do is judged, but also how you dress and how you present yourself [is judged as well], so I always want to look professional. My problem was that during the winter is that my nice coats were not warm, and my warm coats were not nice. I could not wear a big-puffy-bulky puffer that was not the right look. It was often too tacky with outward branding. It was not professional to wear that. It just did not look macho enough. My nice cashmere coats from Italy looked great when it was 45°(F) or above but the second it got below that or got rainy, or sleet(y) or snow(y), it could not hold up. I am like “This is crazy, we have to combine the two worlds into one; to merge the worlds of fashion and function.” I started making down-wool coats as a hobby and the next thing you know they sold out [and] it turned into a full-time business.
JD: In the over-saturated market of outwear, what is Norwegian Wool's comparative advantage?
MB: I think it is a combination of performance and luxury. I think that people expect every product they get, whether it is a low-level consumer good, a technology piece, or their fashion. People want it to have innovation and performance. Ultimately, if you are wearing a coat, you’re not just wearing it for a runway in Milan. You’re wearing it for real-life in New York, Chicago, Toronto; you’re wearing it to have a real life in the streets of those places, so I believe that people want to be able to have the warmth, the pockets, the necks, the zippers plus buttons, the ability to feel comfortable. The ability to drive a car, the ability to [move freely]; every guy that tries on a coat they want to move around and feel comfortable almost like they are not wearing it but to also be able to step outside and be able to combat New York City winters. So we are really one of the only players, if not the only player, to really do what we do.
JD: What performance innovations or steps did Norwegian Wool take to already existing outwear?
MB: What we have been able to do is put a down-lining into a super thin wool-cashmere shell so they have that puffer feel inside of a more sophisticated wool-cashmere piece. We also waterproof all the fabric at the same time. All of that warmth and function is inside of something that looks very tailored. To someone else looking at you, you cannot tell that you have a piece that’s test to -10°(F). To me wool and cashmere was not warm enough. Wool comes from Australia; Australia is a warm place. Down comes from Northern Europe and Canada, those are cold places. The geese are able to withstand the cold much better than the wool in Australia. I love down: it is light on the body and it heat regulates so that if you go inside a car or a train you are not sweating your butt off, but then you step outside and it kicks in. The warmth kicks in. I love down but I love the look of something more sophisticated. Something soft. The wool-cashmere. So I merged the two worlds.
JD: Is it important, these days, to dress for success?
MB: The most important character trait, personality trait, that people need in terms of corporate accession is confidence. You want to be able to walk into a room with broad shoulders. If you are not confident in what you are wearing and you believe that your coat that you are wearing makes you look like you are back in seventh grade it is hard to go and close the deal. It is hard to go and impress your boss. You need to go in looking [confident], and having a coat like that gives you broader shoulders. Sharp, razor sharp look; performance and luxurious. Technology woven into the fabrication has [allowed us to] utilize technology that blows feathers into very very small pockets. If this were to look big and puffy, the whole thing goes away.
JD: Can you discuss the benefits and setbacks of technology in the realm of current fashion?
MB: So using technology that is able to have tons of feathers in very very small pouches is very, very important to us and is something that could not have been done twenty years ago. Inner membranes that allow for the fabric to contour to your body and not affect the look and sophistication but still allow for the waterproof fabric [is a] major major technological improvement for us. In terms of general technology in the world for us, it is no question that e-commerce is a major, major player for us right now and that’s both a positive and a negative. The positive is that you can sell to places where you do not even have stores. At the same time, there is a saturation of product. It is hard to break through that noise, but thankfully, we have.
JD: Can you tell us about your standout piece(s) for this season?
MB: If you live in a climate that goes from hot summers to really cold winters, you need a couple of outerwear pieces that walk you through the various seasons. You need something that takes you through the winter months; you need something that takes you through the fall months. Our car coat is an absolute key piece. It is long enough to cover any suit jacket. We use it with interesting fabrications. We use very unique colors. Not your boring navies, but something like a French or British blue. Those car coats can really walk with you anywhere. You can wear it dressed up with a suit or tie or with a nice pair of jeans. Our hooded city-active parka is incredibly unique. It actually has a heavy down lined hood that can fold up into the coat itself. It can be half on one side, half on the other side, and this way you can have a formal coat when you go to the work meeting, and then you leave and it starts snowing and you can take out the hood. Lastly, we are now transitioning into lighter pieces. For the guys who love this concept for the winter but want something for the mid-cold days. Where it is a little chilly, windy, rainy, you need something that is high level performance with good pockets and good features. Same features of the performance and the sophisticated look. In order to solve a problem, you have to understand the problem.
JD: Where does the name "Norwegian Wool" come from?
MB: When I started making [prototypes] in Italy, they did not how to combat cold weather because honestly, Italy is not that cold of a country. I remember when my finance days when we had investments in Norway and that is a cold country. So I took the prototypes that Italy made, which were about eighty-percent of the way there, and flew out to Oslo, Norway, and partnered with a fashion institute there and asked them to take the prototype, and take it to 100%. I want it with a better collar, pockets where your hand and beyond is fully enveloped, and zippers plus buttons where you can zip it all the way up without choking you. They understood it because they understand what -10°(F) feels like and we took that technology and innovation from the Norwegians and put it into the Italian design. I always felt that Scandinavia-Norway was my inspiration for a clean sophisticated elegant look and they helped design it so [I named it] Norwegian Wool.
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327fc490e108190985cc9702ab4164d8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2018/05/17/how-rowing-blazers-have-made-the-blazer-cool-again-by-understanding-its-history/ | How Rowing Blazers is Making the Classics Cool | How Rowing Blazers is Making the Classics Cool
Rowing Blazers SS2018 Rowing Blazers SS2018 Alive to the needs of modern man, a number of blazer brands have been specially designed to help him. Perhaps the most unique service, however, is the opportunity to have a blazer, no matter where you live, at a price which is remarkably reasonable, in any style you wish including your own design. The sartorial term blazer originated with the red "blazers" of the Lady Margaret Boat Club (1825), the rowing club of St. John's College, Cambridge. The Lady Margaret club jackets were termed blazers because of the bright red cloth, and the term survived the original red coat. Hence the term "Blazing red". Back then (pre-advanced technology), blazers were both loose fitting and made to keep rowers warm during chilly training sessions and races many of which had been held in the early mornings. In addition, the blazers had been made in bright colors serving another practical purpose by allowing spectators situated on shore to identify which crew was which. Realizing that economics, history, style and individualism equally play an important part in most people's lives, Rowing Blazers has attempted to solve the problem of the man who wants a versatile wardrobe on a reasonable budget. They believe that by understanding the past that it is now the right time make the blazer cool again. The company is extremely enthusiastic about how they want to "own" the blazer and become the byword for the garment. Quite frankly, they seem to be accomplishing just that. I must confess that I was astounded upon listening about the brands educated beginnings to its current accomplishments. Every little detail has been faithfully carried out. Considering that at no other time had I come in contact with the company- everything I learned first hand about the brand had captivated my curiosity from the very start. Founded in 2017, Rowing Blazers is the creation of archaeologist, rower, and author Jack Carlson. The collection is inspired by the traditions, myths, and rituals Jack discovered while writing the book, Rowing Blazers and Jack's collection of vintage blazers; research in archaeology, heraldry, and classics, and his time at Oxford. From blazers to tie, to dress shirts to badges, each item from the collection has been meticulously researched with emphasis on details, all with a point of reference from Jack’s studies. Each item from Rowing Blazers is proudly made in the USA. Once again, I would like to point out to consumers and entrepreneurs alike, that the USA is more and more capable of producing quality apparel. It would be wrong to simply describe the brand as a new speciality blazer brand. This is such a misused term that it has become the general description for any specialty new comer on the block. On the contrary, Rowing Blazers has a unique identity of its own. It has become a trend setter, even. Founder Jack Carlson has such an uncannily good eye for exciting styles that they seemingly just sell themselves. Perhaps more interesting than the fashions he creates is the man himself. Jack Carlson is an archaeologist, rower, and author. For many consumers, the identity with the brand developer is as important as the clothes they wear. In many instances the two are synonymous. If the right looking blazer doesn't come from the right looking leader than psychologically it will be a miss. The smart young chaps, socialites and men-about-town quickly found theirs in Jack Carlson. Jack was a coxswain ( the one who is responsible for steering the boat while coordinating the power and rhythm of the rowers) for the US National Rowing Team as well as a number of other prestigious rowing teams including the US National Team in 2011, 2014 and 2015, ( wherethe team placed third) World Championships. More importantly, he is an articulate professional designer of integrity. In America everything is marketed to one group of people slightly below the luxury market but a cut above the High Street trade. Briefly, good tailoring and design can do a lot to flatter a man. There is way too much unprofessional designing. By wearing a blazer a man is seeking a type of perpetual visiting card. It is a method of presenting himself. He prefers to look dashing and fully aware of current fashion trends. “Menswear is supposed to be meaningful — every detail considered, nothing random. That’s how I have approached this collection: meaningful, thoughtful, irreverent, cryptic,” - said Jack Carlson. Rowing Blazers Rowing Blazers The entirely made-in-New York collection is anchored by a selection of blazers with a three-roll-two silhouette, three patch pockets, removable cloisonné buttonhole fob and vintage lapel pin. The buttonhole badge is made in England by the artisans who create the Henley Royal Regatta badges. . Of particular note is that Latin proverbs are embroidered under the lapels - a cryptic reference to a tradition at Dutch rowing clubs to hand stitch one’s initials under the label of one’s blazer. The shirts are handmade from Japanese cotton oxford cloth and are hand-distressed. Included with every shirt is a sandpaper card for further distressing and a quote from Edward Said about his Princeton classmates purposefully beating up their new shirts in hopes that it “might get them into a better club.” The neckwear is inspired by the clippings of club ties covering the walls and ceilings at the Bear Inn in Oxford. Rowing Blazers Rowing Blazers I recently had the privilege of speaking with Founder and President of Blazers, Jack Carlson, about how blazers originated, what a man needs to know when purchasing a blazer and what is Rowing Blazers comparative advantage in today's marketplace. Joseph DeAcetis: In your research and words, Kindly describe for us your hypothesis and the humble origins of the birth of the blazer. Jack Carlson: The blazer was born in the sport of rowing. It began as a practical piece of clothing worn by rowers at Oxford and Cambridge in the early 19th century. It was an unlined, unvented simple wool flannel jacket with three or four metal buttons and patch pockets. It was usually made in college or club colors and sometimes adorned with a badge derived from the college's heraldry. Guys would throw these jackets on the same way we wear hoodies or windbreakers today. They would throw them on to jog down to training, and they'd wear them in the boat while they were warming up. On chilly days, they'd wear them during racing. But they also started wearing them on terra firma. They became a kind of status symbol at Oxford and Cambridge - a signifier of the sportsmen in college. All the more so because these early blazers were usually brightly colored. The bright colors were also originally a practical consideration: they were designed to make it easier for spectators to tell which crew was which. In this way, they were also among the earliest sporting uniforms. It was one of these early brightly-colored jackets that gave us the name "blazer:" the blazing red jacket of Lady Margaret Boat Club (the rowing club of St. John's College Cambridge). It was thrilling to find the earliest known written use of the word blazer during my research. It appears in an 1852 record book that describes the uniform of each rowing club at Cambridge. I found it in the Wren Library at Trinity College, Cambridge. I used my Oxford doctoral candidate ID card to get in. They didn't know I wasn't working on my PhD and that I was actually there looking for the origin of the blazer! Joseph DeAcetis: How many blazers does a gent need to have and why? JC: I think everyone, gent or not, needs at least one blazer. Depending on your style and taste, that “one” can be nicer and more beautifully crafted (or not!). But I think that as dress codes disappear (and they have almost disappeared entirely), the blazer, in particular, is something that men wear for fun. Not because they are required to, but for fun. For a night out. For a date. For a weekend in the country. For brunch. Just because you feel like it. To attend an event - whether it's Wimbledon, polo, the NBA finals, or a concert. So in this new environment, I think men can have 3, 5, 10 blazers. It doesn’t just have to be worn with a button-down and tie anymore. And the blazer has nothing to do with business (it never did!). So a guy can have any number of blazers nowadays, and they don’t all have to be navy blue. JD: What is your comparative advantage in what many say is an overcrowded marketplace of blazers JC: We’re a young company, but we do everything with a commitment to authenticity that I don’t see anywhere else. “Authenticity” is such an overused word in this industry, but it’s actually so rare. The blazer started as a casual piece of clothing. Literally sportswear. When guys started wearing them around their colleges at Oxford and Cambridge, it was rebellious. And the original blazers were colorful and made with certain details: they were unlined in the back and had no shoulder padding; they didn't have a vent in the back. They featured the original 3-roll-2 button stance. Even within the world of boat club blazers (most rowing clubs around the world still have a blazer tradition), we are the only company making blazers according to these specifications. That's what has allowed us to become the official blazer supplier to the U.S. national team, some of the best collegiate rowing programs in the country, Leander Club (the most prestigious rowing club in the world), and - yes - Lady Margaret Boat Club: the home of the original blazer! Being the blazer supplier to these organizations is part of our that authenticity too. JD: In your words, what do you suggest a man should be aware of when purchasing a blazer. JC:This isn't an inherent feature of the blazer, but the first thing I always look at is where the blazer is made. All of our blazers are hand-tailored in New York. In Manhattan to be precise. This is important -- because the quality is impeccable and the attention to detail is incredible (I work one-on-one with the people sewing the blazers every week) -- but also because I think it's important to know that the people making the blazers work in a great place and make a fair wage. Brands like Everlane, Patagonia, and Noah have all worked to make the consumer more aware of where and how their clothing is made. Hopefully, the consumer is paying attention. Well, it's just as important for us. Rowing Blazers Rowing Blazers Fabric is extremely important (we use all British, Italian, and American wool and cotton), and so is fit, of course. There are a million aspects of fit and construction one could discuss, but let me focus on one: the lapel. To me, the roll of the lapel is extremely important and too often overlooked. There's virtually nothing worse than a flat lay-down lapel and a crease where the lapel turns open. The gradual roll of the lapel that a three-roll-two silhouette creates, on the other hand, is extremely flattering. Equally - the notch of the lapel should sit high, but not comically so, on the chest, and should open upward and outward. All of these features not only make for more flattering appearance; they also happen to be features of the earliest blazers -- which oarsmen at Oxford and Cambridge wore as the windbreakers or sweatshirts of their time: buttoning them all the way up for chilly training sessions, and letting them roll open when wearing them at the college bar. JD: Adjectives on why consumers would be interested in purchasing your blazer JC: Authentic, Irreverent and Timeless JD: Where would you like to see your brand in the next 5 years JC:: I'd like to "own" the blazer. Or at least begin to. I think it's a category that we can own. If I told you I wanted to "own" sneakers, I think that would be a much crazier proposition: even at a certain price point and within a certain sliver of society. But with the blazer, I think we have the story, the authenticity, and the product to make it possible. It will take a long time, and we are just at the beginning (we're celebrating one year in business this week!). The rugby shirt, polo shirt, and Oxford shirt are also extremely important categories for us -- and we take the same approach to them that we do with blazers. The amazing thing is that by being obsessively true to the origins -- of the blazer, rugby shirt, etc. -- and by studying the history behind these staples, you actually end up with something that seems refreshingly modern, different, and interesting.
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ffb779aa7524b0b282c0e30244c41aee | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2018/08/17/esquivel-footwear-casual-sophistication-made-in-california/ | Esquivel Footwear: Casual Sophistication Made in California | Esquivel Footwear: Casual Sophistication Made in California
Esquivel Esquivel It is said that if you would like to know if a gentlemen is well dressed, then look down at his shoes. There is also a theory that any man who respects quality footwear is more than likely to achieve success because essentially, he understands the value of working his way up from the bottom. In a word, footwear articulates a man's style not to mention his social position. Esquivel Esquivel The history of footwear is a long one. The first shoes were basically soles constructed from wood or leather. It pains me to think how uncomfortable not to mention unsanitary these first shoes must have been. At first they were secured by leather straps or the like that kept them from falling off. Luckily, we have surely come a long way since then. The reason leather had become popular is because it breathes. Henceforth, when footwear started to enclose around the foot, leather permitted the air to circulate. The need from the start had been durability and believe it or not, that is still a key feature for today's consumer. In a man's life time, it is estimated that we walk 120,000 miles give or take a mile. It is no wonder that Leonardo da Vinci called the foot a masterpiece of engineering as well as a work of art. In modern times, I have witnessed footwear being delivered in all shapes and sizes. But one thing is for sure; the rule still applies that footwear should have a direct relationship to the cut of the trousers. While black dress shoes have always been considered obligatory for suiting’s, these days interesting color waves and laces offer equal refinement if not superior style. Welcome George Esquival. This is a brand that combines a modern aesthetic with a timeless sensibility, all with a Southern California, casual sophistication. Producing a limited quantity of hand-made shoes for select retailers and personal clients throughout the world, Esquivel is able to tell a story with each pair through signature hand finishes and a refined finesse developed over two decades of practice. Leathers are sourced from the finest tanneries in the world, and every line cut and stitch sewn by hand to create an unmistakable footprint. He has made shoes for everyone from Lebron James to Brad Pitt among many others. Esquivel Esquivel Southern California sophistication comprises the essence of the Esquivel brand. You see, these shoes are luxury made for everyday wear. Creating each shoe individually allows for unique, one-of-a-kind styles to exude elegance and quiet sensibility. The art of handcrafting with leathers sourced from the best tanneries in the world is not something that is taken lightly. Every piece tells the story of a commitment to artistry that allows Esquivel to always transcend fashion traditions and reinvent the aesthetic for the current wardrobe. Gorgeous lines and polished textures are the hallmark of these shoes. George Esquivel, California-based designer and craftsman for 17-years, has operated his namesake brand from an atelier in Orange County, California for the latter decade. His specialized atelier produces a maximum capacity of 3,000 pairs of entirely hand-made shoes, men’s and women’s designated for select retailers and personal clients throughout the world. Trained in shoemaking, George designs with a hands-on approach, working closely with his team of craftsmen that he has personally mentored. Esquivel has recently signed with literary agent, Dupree Miller, and is working on his first book that chronicles growing up homeless to becoming a shoemaker to some of the most recognizable people in the world. I recently had the privilege of speaking with George Esquivel Founder and Creative Director about brand heritage, growth strategy and what a positive outlook and Made-in-California is all about!
Joseph DeAcetis: In your words, talk to us about the history and comparative advantage of Esquivel Shoes?
George Esquivel: My history is we have been grinding it out building the brand brick by brick as the saying goes. I feel that by properly establishing our brand, by putting in the time and effort rather than rushing the process, we have a great understanding of who we are and what our strengths and weaknesses are. We also have a really good grasp of who our customers are and how to grow that base. JD: What does Made in USA mean to you and your brand? GE: For me Made is USA, is a very general term as the country is so large. I like to focus on Made in USA but specifically Made in California. This is where I grew up, and this is where I call home. I think us Southern Californians are a different breed. I think having Hollywood, the beautiful landscapes of the beaches, the snow, the mountains all in such close proximity, combined with many months of Sunny weather. Many of us have the attitude of anything is possible. So we just make things, happen. Not saying that doesn’t happen in other parts of the country, but here we have a different disposition, more of a positive disposition due to the lack of harsh elements we have to battle. JD: What makes Esquivel unique GE: I think what makes us unique is we are an experiential brand. Meaning the entire process from making the shoes to the customer receiving and opening the box when it arrives, is all about a beautiful story and experience of handcrafted? When we spoke we discussed the beautiful nature of exclusivity and paying attention to all the details of small/limited production, really focusing on the beauty of the craft, rather than how quickly we can grow. Other brands either have no interest in this process ( it’s truly a labor of love) or it won’t work for them as they may be too large to properly focus on making products the way we do it. The second part of what makes us unique is our aesthetic, we are a Southern California brand, and that is designed into all of our products for both men and women. A bit casual, a bit sophisticated, mixing of old world techniques with modern pallets I think the end result is the perfect amount of rebelliousness. JD: Any tips on how, where and when to wear shoes - GE: I think they should be worn with anything and often. It’s all about the attitude. One of my clients Jerri McKenna , her and her husband have a very well known and successful family business (McKenna car dealerships of Audi, Porsche, BMW...) . She wears my boots with a lot of outfits but my favorite is when she wore our tough looking black ankle boots with a beautiful feminine pink skirt and white blouse. JD: How has technology played a role ( if any) in producing and e-commerce for your brand. GE: commerce has played a major role for us. It has allowed us to be freer as to how we will start to represent our brand. I have more freedom to develop the collection and my brand not just for our retail partners but also for our individual clients. I now can really focus and bring to market other categories and items that I have either designed for other brands or our personal clients are asking for. We are currently in phase 2 of 10 for our website/commerce platform. JD: If you could have one celebrity wear your shoes, who would it be? And why? GE: I would like to see Angelina Jolie wearing Esquivel shoes because her style embodies our brand. Her style doesn’t scream look at me, but she always looks great and put together. I also admire how much she gives back/ her philanthropic endeavors. JD: What is your growth strategy for the next five years and how do you intend to achieve those goals. Esquivel Esquivel GE: Staying true to who we are and customer service is our growth strategy and it’s how we intend to achieve our future goals. There are 2 types of people purchasing products in our category, those that want true craft and those that want hype. We want the customer that wants true craft. That customer is worldly and very knowledgeable. They really don’t care what other people are wearing they just like beautiful well made products. That customer also demands the full package, an experience, customer service, unique well made products... I think what will help us stay focused on our goals is to always see our clients not as clients but as investors into our brand. Because of them investing into our brand we have grown and will continue to grow.
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edd00a5114b99903d869a4bb94e919e7 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2018/11/28/loro-piana-celebrates-baby-cashmeres-10th-year-anniversary/?sh=708fe4f4d00d | Loro Piana Celebrates Baby Cashmere's 10th Year Anniversary | Loro Piana Celebrates Baby Cashmere's 10th Year Anniversary
Baby Cashmere Jubilee Loro Piana
The conversation about the qualities of the performance of cashmere comes with a strong note of conviction from goat herders to industry experts alike. You see, cashmere has been manufactured in Mongolia, Nepal and Kashmir for thousands of years. More importantly, it is still manufactured to the highest standards in these places. But for now, let's focus on the history, performance and quality of cashmere. The fiber is also known as pashm (Persian for wool) or pashmina (Persian/Urdu word derived from Pashm) because of its use in the handmade shawls of Kashmir. But what is baby cashmere? As the name suggests, baby cashmere is cashmere obtained from baby goats. I know; it sounds so cute and it is seemingly simple enough to understand. In other words, this is fabric that comes from the first combing of a cashmere goat. As it turns out; baby cashmere has one end of the fiber tapered which makes the yarn finer and the wool softer.
Baby Cashmere Goats Loro Piana It is also of note that Shamina or Shah mina, Persian for "emperor's wool" (and we can certainly take an educated guess as to why an emperor would wear it), refers to a type of shawl made from baby cashmere wool. The wool is obtained from select inner Mongolian goat herds and other cashmere goats and has an average fiber diameter of 13–13.8 micrometers. Shahmina shawls are hand spun, woven on hand-looms and embroidered by hand in Kashmir and certain locations in northern India; and made from fine cashmere fiber. It is textured and processed exactly as Shahtoosh. Timing is crucial due to the age of the goat therefore this unique fabric is manufactured completely by hand process, starting from gathering of cashmere to spinning and then processing it on handlooms. The fabric is known for their softness and warmth. It is of great importance to inform you that the last decade has resulted in very high-demand for baby cashmere worldwide. This is in fact, the ultimate luxury fabric! Baby Cashmere Menswear by Loro Piana Loro Piana I should inform you that still many factories (in other parts of the world) manufacture cashmere on a computerized power loom and slider power looms. This type of process is a mass market commercial aspect of the product which has been made soft due to number of chemicals used in its development process-which is never too appealing to me. Power looms provide approximately 10 samples per day whilst a handloom can only make one sample in 12 days. Henceforth, you can see the vast dichotomy and difference in handcrafted excellence while holding a fiber of extraordinary fineness versus the chemically processed commercial aspect. *In the era of consumer individuality I must point out that the purest shamina, which is made on handlooms, does not have a consistent weave and very often has flaws which are quite often characteristic of the fabric.
Baby Cashmere Loro Piana
Now then, let's journey through Inner Mongolia, across the stony deserts of the North and over the towering mobile sand dunes of the South, until we reach the Alashan area. There, in the west end of Inner Mongolia, grows a precious purity: Baby Cashmere – ultra-fine and incomparably soft. Nature is the greatest inventor – and the harsh habitat of the Capra hircushas goat played a significant part in shaping their extraordinary fleece. Long, dry winters stretch on for months; reaching extreme levels of cold, and bringing frequent blizzards. A brief mildness is brought by spring – and with it, vast, dangerous sandstorms. Summers are scorching: rain is rare, and water and food are scarce. Instead of struggling in this harsh climate, the Capra hircushas adapted to thrive in these extreme conditions. To survive, the cashmere goats have developed a special fleece made up of two layers: the outermost layer – formed of protective, coarse hair – and hiding underneath, an exceptionally soft underfleece. These fibers play an integral role in their survival: incredibly fine and dense, they create a highly efficient insulating barrier for the goat’s skin. Adapting to the temperature, this unique under fleece keeps the goats warm enough to withstand the intense winter cold. In June, the weather becomes milder. Baby Cashmere Goats -Loro Piana Giulio Di Sturco No longer needed to protect against the cold, the goats shed their insulating underfleece naturally. The herders gather the fibers from the goats in harmony with the natural cycle of life – and in complete respect of these beautiful, resilient animals who manage to survive in one of the harshest climates on earth.The process starts in the unforgiving deserts of Inner Mongolia, in the south of the Alashan region, in the far north of China, where herders care for beautiful white Capra hircus kids. Each day in the summer and autumn, accompanied by the flock, these young goats leave the shelter of their pens and head out together into the dunes – which can reach 300 meters in height – to graze on the few plants and grasses that can survive in these inhospitable conditions. The herd returns together at the end of the day to drink and sleep. Following the natural cycle of the seasons, in June, when the cruel winter is over, the young goats, now aged about six months, the precious bres that make up their molting under fleece are gently and respectfully harvested. It is their once-in-a-lifetime gift of Baby Cashmere: 30 grams of airy, featherweight, pure white softness that the prestigious Italian Luxury brand Loro Piana will transform into unique yarns, fabric, apparel and accessories. I am intrigued to learn that 2,000 kilos are needed for the Jubilee Capsule Collection which are transformed by Loro Piana into rare and precious fabric because of its softness, but also its unique texture, resistance, and durability. Menswear Baby Cashmere by Loro Piana Loro Piana The idea came about in the mid 1990s, and by the mid 2000s Baby Cashmere made its debut of the most discerning connoisseurs. Ten years on, Loro Piana is celebrating its success with Baby Cashmere Jubilee, channelling the pristine quality of this downy soft, ultra-fine fibre in its natural, pure white shade. The gossamer-like fleece of the Capra hircus kids grows in a hostile environment, among the red dunes of the Chinese desert and is then entrusted to the gentle hands of the goatherds, who patiently gather the tiny quantities of this exquisite fibre for us. "We feel a great responsibility, conscious that we are dealing with an authentic, extremely rare treasure. It is therefore processed with the utmost care, slowly and lovingly crafted into yarns, fabrics and garments capable of preserving its unique properties, and offering a delicate caress to all those who wear it. The caress of Baby Cashmere accompanies the wearer's movements and is a pure indulgence against the skin, an experience of softness and warmth for the ultimate me time in the tranquillity of a home surrounded by nature. And when it ventures outside returns to the natural world, closing the circle, as it were, giving us the joy of wearing something designed to envelop and protect us, just like the pristine fleeces that envelop and protect the goats in their desert habitat." Loro Piana Baby Cashmere Giulio Di Sturco I recently had the privilege to ask Fabio d’Angelantonio, Global CEO at Loro Piana about baby cashmeres origins and special qualities.
Joseph DeAcetis: In a detailed explanation, kindly explain baby cashmere. It's origins and its specialty.
Fabio d’Angelantonio, Global CEO Loro Piana: “The Story of Loro Piana Baby Cashmere started in the Alashan mountains, in Inner Mongolia: here, the Capra Hircus goat develops a very fine undercoat which is then transformed into an exclusive fiber. It is a story that speaks of excellence in the extreme, of the contrast between harshness and the delicate softness that can be obtained.
Baby Cashmere Goats Loro Piana
This inhospitable place has a valuable role in the development of the fibers. Frigid winters lead into sand storms in the spring, and intense heat in the summer. The arid desert environment allows the goats to develop a double layer fleece: a coarse outer coat and a soft under fleece made from very fine fibers which act as an efficient insulating barrier, however the under fleece of the goats inhabiting Inner Mongolia are the most exceptional and precious due to these impossible weather conditions.
Baby Cashmere Giulio Di Sturco
Through constant collaboration with the local herders to improve the quality of the cashmere, in the 1990s Pier Luigi Loro Piana had an intuitive feeling: to separate these delicate fibers to create an incomparable cashmere. The intuition was to separate the adult goats under fleece from the baby goats under fleece which had always been used together. From this innovation, Loro Piana started to produce a fiber obtained only with the baby goats under fleece. It was the start of an adventure that has continued for 20 years: 10 years of work to arrive, a decade ago, at the highest level of excellence of cashmere. The rarity is the essence of the product, whose fibers are harvested, gently combed only once in the life of a baby goat, before it turns one year in age and only during the month of June when the outer layer is naturally shed. During this limited time comes an equally limited amount of fiber: 30 grams for each animal, with a diameter of 13.5 micron for each fiber (compared to 15 micron for the adults).
Baby Cashmere Jubilee Giulio Di Sturco
Tactility is part of our heritage --- it's the characteristic that best represents Loro Piana: everything starts from touch, from a sensorial experience that is often more profound and longer lasting than the visual one. Only this sensorial approach allows us to transmit what it means for our excellence, passion, research and know-how of 6 generations with history and experience in the world of natural fibers.”
Menswear Baby Cashmere - Loro Piana Giulio Di Sturco
It was sometime in the mid-1990s, that Pier Luigi Loro Piana, Deputy Chairman at Loro Piana met with cashmere-goat herders that he had a thought: "As a human baby’s hair is definitely softer and finer than an adult’s, I began to wonder whether the fiber from a kid goat would be finer than that of adult goats. So I asked a herder to put aside some from the first time a baby goat was combed. One touch and you could immediately feel the superior fineness and softness. Under the microscope, it was clear: a baby-goat cashmere measured about 13.5 microns in diameter, 15% thinner than an adult’s.” It was a thought that began a now 20-year human and textile adventure for the House of Loro Piana."
Baby Cashmere grazing - Loro Piana Giulio Di Sturco
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07faba3f627d7951c53a009a9f6fa9b1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2019/03/05/how-reebok-and-brooklyn-based-adsum-collaborated-on-the-iconic-reebok-pyro-sneaker/ | How Reebok And Brooklyn-Based Adsum Collaborated On The Iconic Reebok Pyro Sneaker | How Reebok And Brooklyn-Based Adsum Collaborated On The Iconic Reebok Pyro Sneaker
adsum-pyro-product- Adsum
In present times, it may seem the height of absurdity to speak of consensus in menswear style communication, when a simple glance at the current communication reviews generally reveal nothing more than the progression and modernization of consumers ideals. But a great deal of profound critical insight, even wisdom, can be found in the much devoted work of a single menswear brand, which remains somewhat isolated and unconnected from the mass communication stream. Both intentionally and fortuitously, the emergence of this Brooklyn brand coincides seamlessly with the modernization of the menswear marketplace on a global scale with its finger on the pulse.
Making no reference to its high-minded ambition, Adsum is a brand that represents the excellence of fashion made in NYC. Sneakers in menswear is undergoing a fundamental transition during this progressive era. I can accurately describe it as an emergence of “a broadly and continuously” societal change in the search for order. Both the consumers of today and the product offerings reflect this change. Where in the past, fashion brands had been the dominant branch of predictable style at every level, consumers now exercise an enlarged power by the creation of a developing new branch of communication; the world wide web.
adsum-pyro-social- Adsum
Both individually and collectively, this progressive push forward has inherently given birth to concentration of consumer authority. Despite the ironies and disappointments that most of us feel when change occurs, these progressive style reforms are producing a significant transformation of brands to produce what are primarily the artisanal steps, while simultaneously reforming luxury fashion and style to meet consumer’s specialized needs and requirements. These new methods are rational, but more importantly are compatible with progressive times.
Brooklyn-based Adsum and the globally iconic shoe brand Reebok have collaborated on an early 90s performance running model, the Reebok Pyro.Taking Christian Tresser visionary shoe design and adding elements of high quality craftsmanship, Adsum has reinterpreted the SS19 Pyro through the lens of their seasonal direction of high performance sailing.
Reebok Adsum
The advertising campaign imagery captures cold water testing of the shoe on Long Island’s Rockaway Beach. Adsum stayed true to 90s running footwear while reworking design elements to reflect the brand’s restrained aesthetic. There are apparent small details such as time period specific sandwich mesh qualities, white soft touch reflective underlays, and accent pop colors in high quality pig suede. Founded in Brooklyn, NY in 2015, Adsum is an American clothing company focused on high-quality manufacturing and design. What I find interesting is that they make products inspired by the cities and countryside of the American Northeast. You see, the American Northeast has had a distinctive fashion sense and style. The result is a unique interpretation of traditional men’s staples with a mix of technical outerwear and sportswear. The shoe will be available globally with limited quantities through current Adsum stockists and on adsumnyc.com for $115.00 today.
adsum-pyro-social-4 Adsum
I recently had the privilege of speaking with Adsum founder Pete Macnee and art director Christian Rice about the recent collaboration with Reebok, what makes Adsum unique and why they decided to develop the brand in Brooklyn, NY.
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to us about the DNA of Adsum? The DNA of Adsum is really the DNA of the people who work here. We all come from similar backgrounds growing up in and around the northeast of north america. We grew up playing sports and being outdoors but we’re always the kids that were interested in clothes and design and devoured magazines, and later the internet, for any info we could get our hands on. We kind of always stuck out in our respective friend groups but we’re able to find one another and come together under a shared home at Adsum. JD: What makes you unique? We’re not trying to play the fashion trend game. We’re aware of what’s going on but we want to make clothes you can keep coming back to. We like to think we’re friends of trends, but not in bed with them. When it comes down to it, were regular guys with a real passion for design and quality. JD: What is your comparative advantage in the market place? We source the best factories and the best fabrics to create the highest quality garment for a fair price. We’re not stuck with an all Made in America or Made in Italy label because we know that some of the best technical factories aren’t always in America or Italy and we work hard to find where they are and start relationships with them. Besides that I think we have a world class team. We all have the same attitude of wanting to win, learn, and grow. JD: Why have you decided to develop your brand in Brooklyn? Brooklyn is where we all live. Even though we all grew up other places it was a beacon that drew all of us to it in our 20s. It’s got the best of the city but it’s a little more laid back and there are still parts of it that have a neighborhood feel. JD: What is today’s man seeking in apparel and footwear? Our type of guy is someone who wants something that is unique and considered but is easy to wear. Something that isn’t overly hyped but those who know, know. Quality is paramount. JD: What are your day to day responsibilities? We’re a small team so it’s a bit of everything and it changes everyday. There really is no average day. One day it will be dreaming up the inspiration behind the next collection. The next could be flying to the west coast to meet up with current and potential retailers, then after that on site at a lookbook photoshoot, and then the next picking fabric swatches for a new pair of shorts. Sometimes a bit of each of those all in one day. The only consistent would be communication between all the team members, making sure everyone is on the same page and moving towards the same goal. JD: Is all the product Made in the USA? No, we aim to use the best factories from around the world. JD: Talk about the collaboration with Reebok and Pyro? It came about really naturally and it’s a perfect fit for us. The brand is from the UK which is where we have a great and devoted following. They come from a sport and sneaker background which is all very close to our hearts. A pair of Reeboks were in each of our closets growing up. It fit our seasonal collection inspired by high performance yacht racing and was easy to design into with our seasonal colors. The whole team at Reebok was really supportive of us too. Something we appreciated as a smaller brand. There are some people over there who really understand the importance of smaller brands like us and what we can bring to the table. We still feel lucky for the opportunity they gave us. JD: Who is the one celebrity you would like to see wearing this sneaker and why? Neil Young because we know he would only be wearing them if he really really wanted to. JD: How has technology aided the brand with respect to product and e-commerce? Being smart about what technologies we use is essential for us as a small team. Instagram and newsletters allows us to communicate with our customers, we’re able to communicate with manufacturers all over the world through email, we store and can share all our work in the cloud, we take advantage of PLM software, design software, we use a robust ecommerce backend, the list goes on and on. It's all to allow a team of 3 full time members manage a growing small business. JD: What is your growth strategy in the next 5 years? Lean and honest. We don’t want to get too big too fast. Steady real growth is the aim. More in person events, collaborations, pop ups, with the ultimate goal of opening a retail space.
adsum-pyro-social Adsum
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bbde0554fa466e5a745c0f27c6831b3f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2019/05/14/hello-kitty-and-my-melody-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-furla-designer-bags/ | Furla's Alberto Camerlengo On The Brands Success, Italian Spirit And The Millennial Target Audience | Furla's Alberto Camerlengo On The Brands Success, Italian Spirit And The Millennial Target Audience
Furla Hello Kitty bag Furla
In extending the domain of a brand's intellectual characteristics to consumer fluency and flexibility, the two components of creative divergent thinking that is being incorporated into today's business structure of global intellectual property, there are reasons to assume that these intellectual characteristics are related to consumer temperament purchasing traits. By flexibility, I mean the ability to generate highly varied and qualitative different ideas. By fluency, I mean the facility to generate a great number of related ideas. On close inspection, I find that both characteristics share some features with respect to consumer interaction with a brand. Accordingly, transitional mobility is perceived as the ability to switch as quickly as possible from one reaction to another one adequately in response to changes in consumer tastes and buying patterns. One may assume that a product scoring high on the ability scale will perform better in markets aimed at measuring fluency and flexibility. The reason is that both forms of divergent thinking, although in a different way, are expressed in the individual's ability to switch as soon as possible from one concept or idea to another. Just as virtually anything may become an obstacle to creativity, virtually every creative activity may have consequences unforeseen by an established brand. Clearly, the more that is known and the greater the horizon of consideration, the better a brand can predict the consumer response. The preservation of the familiar and the creation of the new thus appear to be powerful, mutually exclusive values. As we soon approach the third decade this twenty-first century, this enthusiasm for creativity has become part of our familiar social context and social construct. As the global culture grows, the fashion business is finding that it is more clever to charter unfamiliar territory with a little help of our friends. FURLA SS2019 FURLA Following the success of Furla and Hello Kitty’s first meeting, the two have collaborated for a second time. The current collection has been created with Hello Kitty’s best friend, My Melody. The collection uses three exclusive patterns with and outer-space theme. The “Stars” pattern shows My Melody sitting on Saturn, the “Planets” print features Hello Kitty hiding behind Saturn and the third pattern sees Hello Kitty aboard a large, colorful rocket, flying through space. The collection includes mini cross bodies, credit card holders, wristlets, coin-purses and more with a starting price point of $88 and ranging up to $398. Established in 1927, by Aldo Furlanetto in Bologna, Furla looks towards its 90th anniversary with a foot grounded in its solid past of time-honored craftsmanship and innovative designs. Furla takes pride in developing a contemporary Italian lifestyle - producing bags, shoes, and accessories for both men and women.
Furla Furla The brands CEO Alberto Camerlengo boasts a solid career in the luxury goods sector, thanks to his strong operational oversight and a strategic retail vision. During his eight-year tenure at Furla, he has contributed to the brand’s ever-growing success and awareness. I recently had the privilege of speaking with Alberto Camerlengo CEO at Furla, about the brands deep history and quintessential Italian spirit of Furla, how he aims at reaching the millennial target audience and how technology has prepared Furla for the modern-day market!
FURLA CEO Alberto Camerlengo Furla
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about the history and essence of Furla for our readers?
Alberto Camerlengo: Furla is a brand with over 90 years of history and a constantly evolving story. It was founded in 1927 and has maintained its Italian DNA but always with a very international outlook. Whilst the company can rightly take pride in its history and tradition, it never ceases to look to the future. Furla stands for high quality, innovative design and a quintessentially Italian spirit. Today we have a far-reaching presence in 98 countries worldwide with 490 mono-brands in the most prestigious international shopping locations. Over 1,200 select multi-brands and department store corners complete the Furla’s distribution network.
JD: What makes Furla unique
AC: The brand has been guided by the idea that everybody should be able to have access to high-quality products at a fair price. Furla invented the inclusive luxury concept. We aim to enhance our customers’ everyday life with our products. We are very close to our clients and reach them through the creativity of our designs, high quality and a fair price point. Furla is the only Italian company in this segment.
JD: Who is the Furla Demographic?
AC: The Furla demographic is really transversal. Our customers are quite diversified in terms of age, because Furla conveys timelessness and is appreciated by different generations alike.
JD: How are you reaching Millennial's and Generation Z?
AC: It is important to reach a younger clientele as well and to respond to market trends. Social media is an important channel to reach younger generations. Nowadays, customers have direct access to the brands through their social platforms. This is a great way to engage with them and make them feel even more part of the brand community. Generally, we try to have a fresh approach to our consumers through the way we communicate with them. The pop-up store we launched in February in Milan for #Furlasneakers for instance, featured cool designs and bright colors, which is very appealing to younger clients as well.
FURLA SS 2019 FURLA
JD: What is Furla's adverting/marketing strategy?
AC: Marketing and communication are powerful tools to create brand awareness and reach our audience. We continue to strengthen investment in our marketing operations, with particular attention to digital communication and social channels, which have shown an important increase of followers (+64% versus 2017 on Instagram and WeChat), while maintaining one of the highest engagement rates (1,59%) within the fashion luxury category – a great result.
JD: How has technology prepared Furla for the modern-day market?
AC: We live in a fast-moving world. For a company, it is essential to be up-to-date in terms of technology. We continue to invest, for example, in our direct e-commerce platform, where, there was a substantial turnover increase in 2018: 45.7% over the previous year, at constant exchange. It is important to provide the best service and comfort to our customers. We just launched the click&collect initiative in February of this year in Russia (it will be followed by other markets). Our customers buy the products online with a click and can then come to the store to collect them. In addition, in May 2019 we introduced a one-hour delivery service in the city of Moscow – I believe that this will be highly appreciated in a city as busy as Moscow.
JD: Talk to Forbes about your job duties as CEO of the brand?
AC: I am honored to work for Furla, which is a true Italian success story. My duties as CEO are many and I enjoy all aspects of my role. I firmly believe that one of the key strengths of Furla is its people and I am very satisfied with our constant investment in human resources, which have allowed not only to add jobs, but also to provide a better quality work life at the company and incentivize employees through its corporate welfare system “Furla for You.” This initiative has been recognized two years in a row for its excellence, with Furla listed among Italy’s Top Employers.
JD: What is some advice you can give young executives seeking to become a CEO one day?
AC: My general advice to all professionals nowadays would be to work with creativity, to have passion and energy, to be flexible and able to take decisions quickly in order to adapt to any unforeseen circumstances - in today’s uncertain times this is essential. It is also very important to understand the customers in each particular market and satisfy their needs.
JD:What are 3 adjectives to describe Furla
AC: Authentic, inclusive, harmonious.
JD: What is your growth strategy?
AC: We want to grow in a healthy manner. In 2018 we have invested important financial resources to best manage the wild growth of the of the past years, from acquiring total control of the retail distribution network in China, HK, Macao and Singapore, to strengthening the supply chain and investing in the development of the latest technology. Our single, fundamental goal has always been to guarantee continuity and excellence in all of Furla’s creations and I believe that the reason for our continuous growth is a winning mix of Furla’s key strengths: our people, our wide and well-developed distribution network, constant research and great design.
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caba995c46c7f3838a312582903a7c77 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2019/10/20/meet-norwegian-wool-merging-scandinavian-performance-and-italian-craftsmanship-to-create-the-ultimate-luxury-outerwear/?sh=481fcc614f8e | Meet Norwegian Wool: Merging Scandinavian Performance And Italian Craftsmanship To Create The Ultimate Luxury Outerwear | Meet Norwegian Wool: Merging Scandinavian Performance And Italian Craftsmanship To Create The Ultimate Luxury Outerwear
Norwegian Wool Norwegian Wool
The business professional’s dream coat made a reality:
Dressing is a serious matter. Much has changed since the turn forward into the 21st century. Due to a variety of choices, the syntax of the male wardrobe has grown increasingly complex, especially in modern times when the concept of dress is no longer bound exclusively to such tightly structured rules of the past. In short, menswear is experiencing a veritable revolution in apparel. Today’s consumer is longing for change. We have evolved and rightly so. Modern times call for modified changes; it’s that simple. Consumer’s today aim to purchase apparel that has a double relationship, created by the irreconcilable opposition -between modern lifestyle and the act of dressing.
You see, on one hand, a strict and detailed code of dress for the office can and will express elegance, care, style and commitment; on the other, an almost one-dimensional approach bound to the basic needs coupled with the rejection of superfluous elements that make the item stand out too much. On the timeline of life, every moment in time is an expression of self-identity and a key cultural narrative.
Psychographics is the study of personality and focuses on the interests, attitudes and opinions, also known as the IAO variable. Apparel firms can study other behavior variables such as one’s aim to succeed, sexual preferences and overall morals, in order to get more accurate data on the respective target audience. Psychographics are helpful for vendors to gain a keen understanding of their target audience. Today, this research is so very valuable as it relates to the culture of fashion in the modified world. One recent big cultural change in men taking more interest in coats that serve multiple purposes. Multiple purposes are hard to define today since it can mean so many things to different people. However, a forward-thinking luxury coat brand will conduct careful consumer behavior research in order to make certain that their products are commercially desirable for today’s businessman.
Norwegian Wool Norwegian Wool
In Italy there is a clear history of menswear craftsmanship seamlessly integrated into the nation’s style and culture, and this has become one of the lasting legacies throughout history. In addition, the new tailoring techniques are being used to produce a sculptured coat, a comfort envelope for the male upper body, subtly cut of fine material and sewn with highly and many times visible seams. The essential texture and construction, not the surface richness, creates its aesthetic richness. This is a very modern idea.
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Scandinavian apparel manufactures have long been superior to all others in cut and fit of performance fabrics. Consequently, for the creation of a today’s business man who exemplifies both the modern and performance. Global influences are supporting a fashion-based item accompanied by advanced technical fibers, which are both lightweight and resilient for today’s active standards. As we turn into the second decade of the 21st century, men’s outwear has shifted entirely away from wrought surfaces to fundamental form and the brilliance of technical fabrications to adhere to the ever-evolving lifestyle of the businessman.
Just the other day I reviewed the luxury outerwear brand Norwegian Wool that has elevated the underperforming overcoat into a triumph of menswear. With the ingenuity of nearly imperceptible construction and design, the overcoat of the past has been gradually refined into an exquisitely balanced garment that is fitted smoothly without wrinkles and buttoned without strain, to a silhouette that will make your upper half appear to be the torso of a professional athlete. In my expert opinion, this perfectly tailored coat form the most distinctive embodiment of the modern coat hence why is has become the formal sign of modernity in luxury outerwear.
Norwegian Wool synergizes traditional Italian garment craftsmanship with modern Scandinavian design technology. These two normally separate worlds come together to create the ultimate line of luxury outerwear that is sophisticated and tailored, while also capable of withstanding the harshest winter weather conditions. Founded by a former Wall Street financial wiz who is creating luxurious men’s performance outerwear - unseating competitors with sales that have doubled year-over-year for the last 3 seasons. Having weathered the wind gusts of New York's cannons of power and endured his bosses disparaging regard of his puff coat, this 30-year old built Norwegian Wool - men’s outerwear capable of withstanding the harshest winter weather conditions, yet remain sophisticated and tailored. The brand is carried by Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales and Saks.
Norwegian Wool enjoys:Extremely strong sell-through at Saks: 82% at full price: Due to incredibly well-designed and thought-out sizing patterns. Less than 10% return rate on purchases online: This can be credited to strong customer support online and via the brand's chat service. All growth until now has been 100% organic For last 3 seasons sales have doubled year over year: Overall Norwegian Wool has sold through their inventory at 95% every year. E-commerce has never offered discounts on any item Norwegian Wool is sold in over 75+ doorsCUSTOMER RETENTION/BRAND LOYALTY: 30% of Norwegian Wool customers return to purchase a second coat in a new style
Norwegian Wool Norwegian Wool
I recently had the privilege to speak with Founder Michael Berkowitz about What made him decide to go from a NY Commodities Trader to the worlds of Italian Craftsmanship with Scandinavian technology, why Norwegian Wool is known as the commuter-friendly coat and why he believes it is important for consumers to be aware of this brand!
Norwegian Wool CEO & Founder Michael Berkowitz Norwegian Wool
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about the history, and development of your brand?
Michael Berkowitz: Born and raised in NY, I started to work at a large commodities firm after business school. Was one of their only young hires; most guys there were more experienced and poached from other companies from first. This added to the usual 'wall street pressure' and made me extra conscious about looking professional, sophisticated...the real deal. Always wanted to dress nicely and make strong first impressions at meetings, work lunches, after work drinks. Winter was a problem because MY NICE COATS WERE NOT WARM AND MY WARM COATS WERE NOT NICE
Joseph DeAcetis: What made you decide going from a NY Commodities Trader bring together the worlds of Italian Craftsmanship with Scandinavian technology to the market?
Michael Berkowitz:I first looked up and down in all dept. stores, online retailers, specialty shops for a coat that was better that what I already had in my closet. There were lots of puffers that looked bulky and unprofessional. Lots of beautiful cashmere coats that looked great but were worthless in the cold or wind, smelled like wet sheep when they got wet and had no performance or basic practical needs like good hand pockets or inner pockets. I also found some really nice suede / shearling coats that were interesting but they were so delicate in rain or snow that I would have to check the weather reports every day to make sure no precipitation on the forecast before wearing and if I got caught in a storm I’d have to hide the coat under my blazer - I wouldn't be wearing the coat, the coat would be wearing me....
So only after not finding a coat that could actually look good for work or nicer social events that was also designed for Northeast winters I started to create my own... down on the inside, wool / cashmere on the outside and lined with a waterproof membrane so I could wear in rain or shine.
The Italians were great for the design and craftsmanship but they didn't fully understand our cold weather performance needs. And that's how I ended up in Norway - a place I had visited multiple times for hydroelectric based investment opportunities. In Norway, it gets freezing, so they understood the warmth and performance needs that belong in a winter piece. So we use the Italians for fabrics, silhouette design, luxury elements but the Norwegians helped with initial performance design - how to make deeper hand pockets, how to get the collar to close higher around the neck while looking good.
Norwegian Wool Norwegian Wool
Joseph DeAcetis:In you words, how has Norwegian Wool been able to improve their line of winter coats to be extremely commuter friendly?
Michael Berkowitz:
1) The length of the coat must be comfortable for sitting down (and all of our carcoats and parkas are perfect for this while still being long enough to fully cover a suit jacket)
2) It must be stretchy and move with your movements
3) It MUST BREATHE so you don't overheat while wearing on train or in car
Joseph DeAcetis:Why do you believe that your coats can do it allwith respect to today’s modern standards?
Michael Berkowitz: The modern customer wants something that is light and not heavy or bulky. He also wants versatility; he might be wearing a suit and tie one day, soft blazer the next, and just jeans and a sweater the next. So he needs one coat that can look good with all those looks. He also travels a lot - could be daily commuting or longer over night business trips. A coat that rolls up and is wrinkle free is very important.
Joseph DeAcetis:Why is it important to wear a fine coat to the office?
Michael Berkowitz: Any serious business person understands that they way you present yourself will affect your performance and how other people perceive you...if you want to be taken seriously and want to rise up, it is important to look the right look. It is such a waste to invest in luxury tailored clothing and then ruin the look by wearing a 7th graders coat that makes you look like you are about to go an Arctic mission.
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes in detail about the current collection and why it is important for consumers to be aware of this brand?
Michael Berkowitz: We know what we do well and we stick only to that. There are no basic 'commodity items' in our line. All of our coats have the same under the hood features: authentic down lining, waterproof & windproof membrane and a luxury outer shell. But then beyond that, each style within our line is designed to specifically tailor to the needs of different customers. Our topcoat caters to city walkers from NY, to Chicago to Toronto...anyone who walks a lot and wants maximum length protection. Our carcoats are for the daily train / car commuter. Our parkas are for people who want that ultra puffer feel but with a more sophisticated look and so on...but if you like to look good and you also like to stay warm and dry, you will find something within our collection that is perfect for you!
Norwegian Wool Norwegian Wool
Joseph DeAcetis: If you could choose one celebrity to wear your brand, who would it be and why?
Michael Berkowitz: George Clooney. I feel that George Clooney conveys a clean and classic look with an edgy fashion feel.
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about your Embracing Hoods and how Norwegian Wool has designed more than half their luxury line of classic outerwear to feature winterized hoods that can be hidden or tucked away in the most innovative ways?
Michael Berkowitz: So many days in fall/winter there is something falling from the sky at some point during the day. Could be rain, freezing rain, sleet or snow. But whatever it is, it gets your head cold and wet. So many of our customers rate having a hood as a top priority on a winter coat. However, we also recognize that hoods tend to look a bit 'unfashionable' at times or at best too casual and unprofessional for certain settings. So we want to serve this hood-seeking customer but also allow for our elegance to shine through so we make all of our hooded coats designed in a way that the hood can be tucked away in some shape or form.
Our parkas are designed with a proprietary method of allowing the ultra-warm down hood to be dissected and removed and then instead of losing it in some closet at home, it can be compacted and stored inside the coat itself. A true top seller! Our hooded carcoats and topcoats take the traditional 'tuckaway hood' to a new level because we line the nylon hoods with a cotton cashmere knit so that the hood is truly comfortable, warm, structured and doesn't blow off your head constantly, while still being able to neatly fold up into the collar with a waterproof suede trim to cover up the zipper.
Joseph DeAcetis:What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
Michael Berkowitz:I oversee all of the high-level brand strategy - getting reports from our largest stores and seeing what sells best & reviewing all the customer feedback so that we can always find new ways to improve our current line and create new products along the same concept that truly fills voids in the market.
Joseph DeAcetis:Where is the product made and why?
Michael Berkowitz: Everything is made in Europe. Our luxury pieces are all made in our Italian factory outside of Florence. All of our fabrics, zippers and trim are Italian too. We want top craftsmanship and understand that the small details matter the most. We also want customers to be able to wear these coats in real life and not have to guard the coats because they are too delicate - so this requires us to specially source luxury materials that are also durable and long lasting.
Norwegian Wool Norwegian Wool
Joseph DeAcetis:You have the floor: Talk to my Forbes viewers about why they should try this brand now?
Michael Berkowitz: If you ever struggled with my initial challenge that caused me to start the brand - that my nice coats weren't warm and my warm coats weren't nice then you get it and you'll appreciate what we have created!
Joseph DeAcetis:What are you future projections and growth strategy for the next few years?
Michael Berkowitz: We are already selling in stores from coast to coast in the US and in stores across Canada. Now we are going back to our roots and working on more European distribution. We also have a women's line due to launch next Fall. Our indoor/outdoor blazer has been quite successful and we have a new collection of those set to come out next year as well.
Norwegian Wool Norwegian Wool
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54e89b71645ddefdebc019b342868560 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/02/06/20-best-cbd-oils-to-try-this-year/?sh=26a53f9b7078 | 20 Best CBD Oils To Try This Year | 20 Best CBD Oils To Try This Year
CBD Oil Bottles CBD Oil Bottles
With the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill, CBD sales spread like wildfire in 2019. However, because of the huge numbers of brands entering the market, many consumers became overwhelmed by the abundance of choices.
To help you out, I’ve looked at hundreds of CBD brands, taking a variety of factors into account, and have selected the cream of the crop. Here are the 20 best CBD oils on the market today. All are brands you should investing in.
1.Verma Farms:
Verma Farms CBD Bottle Courtesy of Verma Farms
Verma Farms Verma Farms takes first place on the list". This brand offers world-class design, and the oil is one of the most well rounded and best tasting on the market.
Verma is a Maui-based CBD company that ties Hawaiian inspiration into all of its products. The brand comes across as fun and lighthearted, but at the same time it lets consumers know exactly what they are getting in each product. The company offers a variety of options, with their most popular product being the all-day solution oil pack.
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Verma Farms has crafted oils for a variety of needs. Their Focus oil is geared toward those who desire an alert but relaxed mindset, their Boost oil is formulated to provide energy and their Chill oil is aimed at those who need a good night’s rest.
The company not only bases its designs on Hawaiian themes; it incorporates the Hawaiian ethic of purity and healthy living into its products as well. All its offerings are THC free and pesticide free, and come from American-grown hemp.
2.Kanibi
Kanibi Courtesy of Kanibi
Kanibi takes second place on our list. This brand offers products that taste amazing and that are double lab-tested for strict quality control. All lab data is clearly displayed on their website in a format even beginners can understand and digest.
Kanibi is a Utah-based CBD company committed to raising the bar on CBD quality and product innovation. The brand design is cutting edge, their customer service is quick and helpful, and they offer a wide array of products. Kanibi offers softgels, gummies, a surprisingly effective sports cream, with their most popular product being the 1500mg full-spectrum tincture.
3. NuLeaf Naturals
Nuleaf Naturals CBD Bottle Image Credit: Nuleaf Naturals
NuLeaf Naturals is a Colorado-based brand that specializes in whole-plant extracts. Rather than using synthetic CBD or CBD isolate, NuLeaf Naturals utilizes whole plants that are grown using organic and sustainable farming practices. As a result, their full-spectrum oils are of the highest quality.
Though they only offer one flavor, their bottles vary in size from 240 mg to 4,850 mg (with bulk pricing available). Additionally, they have a full-spectrum oil available for pets. Overall, this is one of the most straightforward brands out there. If you’re looking for a powerful addition to your coffee, food or post-workout shake, NuLeaf Naturals is an excellent choice.
4. PureKana
PureKana CBD Bottle Image Credit: PureKana
PureKana is as close as it gets to a household name in this industry. What’s made PureKana so successful is the variety of their offerings, which appeal to clients of all ages. By keeping all production in the U.S. and ensuring all their hemp comes from organic sources, they’ve been able to grow into a CBD powerhouse.
PureKana offers five flavors of oil, Vanilla, Mint, Natural, Citrus, and Fruity Pebbz, which range from 300 mg to 5,000 mg, depending on the flavor. Our favorite is the Fruity Pebbz, though their Citrus flavor is a close second. With a lineup that’s tried and true, PureKana is a top-tier brand, and one that should be on your shortlist.
5. Koi
Koi CBD Bottle Image Credit: Koi
One of the biggest names in CBD, Koi is a company that is near the top of almost every list. Based in California and a member of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, Koi has invested in the industry since well before the Farm Bill. With a practice that’s market-tested, their products provide some of the highest-quality CBD out there, and this is especially true for their oils.
Koi oils come in six flavors: Lemon-Lime, Orange, Natural, Strawberry, Spearmint and Peppermint. These are available in 250 mg, 500 mg and 1,000 mg bottles. If all of the above sounds good to you, you’re in luck: Koi also offers a variety pack of CBD that can serve as a great introduction to CBD.
6. CBDfx
CBDfx CBD Bottle Image Credit: CBDfx
CBDfx is a brand that combines equal amounts of fun and seriousness. Offering a wide range of high-quality products that include broad-spectrum, full-spectrum and CBD isolate, CBDfx has all the bases covered. CBDfx is made from U.S.-grown hemp, and prides itself on its MCT base, which it claims is the most digestive oil out there. As a 100 percent vegan and organic oil, CBDfx stands out from the crowd.
CBDfx offers plain CBD oil as well as a variety of flavors. Their plain MCT oil packs a punch, and is available in 500 mg, 1,000 mg and 1,500 mg sizes. For flavored versions, CBDfx offers Blueberry Pineapple Lemon, Lychee Lemon Kiwi and Lemon Lime Mint, which all deliver a nice splash of flavor. Additionally, CBDfx offers bundle packages that include their three plain oils in different dosages, as well
7. Charlotte’s Web
Charlotte's Web CBD Bottle Image Credit: Charlotte’s Web
Charlotte’s Web got its name from Charlotte Figi, the six-year-old girl whose epileptic seizures were cured by CBD. With a mission to better the planet, Charlotte’s Web has a firsthand understanding of CBD’s benefits.
Charlotte’s Web curates their oils based more on intent than flavor. For example, their AM/PM bundle enables you to use separate dosages at different times of the day, such as going light in the morning but heavy at night. They provide a helpful guide that tells you the difference between, say, a 7 mg dose and a
8. Premium Jane
Premium Jane CBD Bottle Image Credit: Premium Jane
With a name like Premium Jane, the product has to be on point...and so far, the company’s products have been able to keep up with their name. Currently, the brand offers a wide selection of premium oils that come in four flavors: Mint Chocolate, Natural, Mint and Citrus, in dosages between 300 mg and 1,000 mg. With pricing that starts at $48 per bottle, they remain competitive for a premium product. My favorite flavor is the Mint, which is a refreshing addition to any meal or drink.
9. Hemplucid
Hemplucid CBD Bottle Image Credit: Hemplucid
Hemplucid is aimed at the serious user of CBD. They offer water-soluble, MCT and hemp-seed oil in whole-plant tinctures, as well as zero-THC products in their Kalki line, which is available in MCT oil and water-soluble versions. As one of the premier brands in the business, Hemplucid comes complete with an array of quality products for you to try out.
10. cbdMD
cbdMD CBD Bottle Image Credit: cbdMD
For a brand that prides itself on its creativity, cbdMD definitely has the formula down pat. They offer oils in 300-7,500 mg dosages. Natural, Berry, Orange and Mint flavors are available for all dosages except the 5,000 mg, which comes in only Natural and Berry. Utilizing a base of MCT oil, this tincture is created from simple ingredients, but packs a serious punch. Although their pricing can get expensive, at up to $339.99 per bottle, cbdMD also offers some of the most powerful dosages on the market. Give them a shot if you’re looking for something extra potent and are doing a deep dive into the effects of CBD.
11. Lazarus Naturals
Lazarus Naturals CBD Bottle Image Credit: Lazarus Naturals
With a mission to grow “consciously crafted CBD,” Lazarus Naturals aims to deliver products that are both affordable and of high quality. Their full-spectrum, high-potency oils come in Chocolate Mint, French Vanilla Mocha and Flavorless varieties. Their THC-free oils come in Blood Orange, Tropical Breeze, Wintermint and Flavorless varieties. Blood Orange stood out to me, providing a subtle bitterness that complemented the natural taste of the CBD. Check out Lazarus Naturals if you’re looking for high-quality oils and an array of delicately crafted flavors.
12. Joy Organics
Joy Organics CBD Bottle Image Credit: Joy Organics
As a brand that prides itself on being family-friendly, Joy Organics offers full transparency about their ingredients and processes. Their CBD is made from hemp oil and is extracted with organic extra-virgin olive oil, providing a base that makes for a smooth intake. In terms of flavor, they’re pretty straightforward, with Tranquil Mint, Natural, Summer Lemon and Orange Bliss in dosages of 7.5 to 15 mg per serving. With their reasonable pricing, Joy Organics could be the brand that finally brings you the joy you’re seeking from CBD.
13. MedTerra
MedTerra CBD Bottle Image Credit: MedTerra
One of the best brands when it comes to broad-spectrum CBD oils, MedTerra offers their products in 1,000 mg and 2,000 mg bottles, as well as an MCT version at 500 mg, 1,000 mg and 3,000 mg. With organically grown CBD from Kentucky, the brand offers a level of potency that most others can’t match. MedTerra is highly competitive in this list, and is endorsed by some of the world’s best athletes.
14. Fab CBD
Fab CBD Bottle Image Credit: Fab CBD
Fab CBD definitely lives up to the hype. With oil flavors that include Citrus, Mint, Berry, Vanilla and Natural, their dosages range from 300 mg to 1,200 mg. The prices of their oils top out at $129, so they’re one of the more affordable companies on the market. With their commitment to providing a top-tier, full-spectrum brand, Fab should be near the top of your list.
15. Kat’s Naturals
. Kat's Naturals CBD Bottle Image Credit: Kat Naturals
With an array of offerings that says a lot about their views on CBD, Kat’s Naturals has definitely invested the time and energy into creating a special lineup. Their full-spectrum offerings include Balance, which aims to restore harmony, and Restore, which is a peppermint variety. Their THC-free versions include Heal (peppermint), Naked (flavor-free), Relax (infused with hops and wild oranges) and Metabolize (an energizing boost). If you’re looking for hemp-seed oil that retains its CBD properties, Kat’s Naturals should be a great fit.
16. Hemp Bombs
Hemp Bomb's CBD Bottle Image Credit: Hemp Bombs
An explosive brand on Amazon, Hemp Bombs pulls no punches when it comes to CBD. Offering an array of flavors that include Acai Berry, Orange Creamsicle, Peppermint and Watermelon, their variety is definitely aimed at those with a sweet tooth. They offer 125 mg to 4,000 mg dosages, ranging in price from $24.99 to $299.99. I recommend this brand if you don’t care for the taste of natural CBD and are attracted to Hemp Bombs’ upbeat flavors.
17. Green Roads
Green Road's CBD Bottle Image Credit: Green Roads
A brand that’s practically synonymous with CBD, Green Roads offers several top-tier solutions. Their dosages range from 300 mg to 1,500 mg for the flavored oils (Mint Breeze and Apple Kiwi), and up to 3,500 mg for the plain oil. Offering a variety that packs a heavy punch, Green Roads is one of the most reliable brands on the market.
18. Royal CBD
Royal CBD Bottle Image Credit: Royal CBD
If you’re going to call yourself Royal CBD, you’d better come through with a top-tier product. Though Royal currently has only one line of CBD oils, they’ve swiftly become a favorite. They offer full-spectrum CBD extract suspended in premium MCT oil, in 250 mg, 500 mg, 1,000 mg and 2,500 mg dosages. A solid choice if you’re looking for an oil that focuses on craft over taste, Royal CBD will soon have you feeling like a million bucks.
19. Spruce CBD
Spruce CBD Bottle Image Credit: Royal CBD
If you’re looking for the perfect little boost to your day, then Spruce is the company to buy into. They offer a product that’s 100 percent natural, made in the USA, and comes from a full-spectrum source. Their first offering is an oil that’s 2,400 mg max potency, which provides one of the most powerful experiences on the market. Their second offering is a 750 mg oil, which is still potent compared to others on this list. Check them out if you’re looking for a CBD brand that takes a straightforward approach to their production of CBD.
20. CBD Pure
CBD Pure CBD Bottle Image Credit: CBD Pure
Coming from quality-tested organic sources, CBD Pure’s oil is available in 300 mg, 600 mg and 1,000 mg dosages. While it’s a simple lineup, they have put a lot of investment into delivering a top-tier product, and provide plenty of information on their offerings. I tip my hat to them for being both straightforward and educational.
21. Sensei CBD
Sensei CBD Bottle Image Credit: Sensei CBD
Rounding out my list is Sensei CBD, which offers a Peppermint full-spectrum oil in 5,000 mg, 1,500 mg, 1,000 mg and 500 mg dosages, as well as a Peppermint isolate in 1,000 mg and 500 mg dosages. Sourced from US farms, their organic hemp products pack a great deal of potency (even for an isolate). As a brand that’s still rising, Sensei CBD should definitely be on your list of companies to try, especially if you’re just getting into CBD but don’t want to overcomplicate flavors.
What are some CBD brands that you’d love to try? Comment with your insights below!
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6570082b0fd589457bd9309d4ec742ce | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/03/20/meet-tomboyx-find-out-how-an-underwear-hero-product-built-a--brand-by-making-you-feel-good-in-your-own-skin/?ss=forbeslife | Meet TomboyX: Find Out How This Brand Built Success With An Underwear Hero | Meet TomboyX: Find Out How This Brand Built Success With An Underwear Hero
TomboyX is a gender neutral clothing company made for all bodies, regardless of size or gender Courtesy of TomboyX
In the third decade of the twenty-first century, dressing to impress is sometimes less important that dressing for efficiency and flexibility. The first impressions in the Information Age of 2020 consumers are seeking high-tech, soft touch- with benefits. Non-visual (in public) undergarments seem to be weighing in more than ever these days. Many consumers tell me that they are concerned about toxic chemicals and poor construction with respect to the many underwear brands on the market today. In the past, underwear purchases were predictable and manageable. But recently, a fresh new American brand is defining underwear with a different interpretation for a target audience who has been waiting for underwear with development and uniformity for everyone to enjoy.
Launched in 2013, TomboyX was founded by Fran Dunaway and her wife Naomi Gonzalez. The duo came up with the idea for the company after Dunaway had been struggling to find a button-down shirt to her liking, and discovered there wasn’t much out there for women looking for masculine-style clothing.
TomboyX was born. It wasn’t until someone called Gonzalez, asking if they had boxer briefs for women, that TomboyX had realized that there was a void in the marketplace. Subsequently, Gonzalez conducted an online search for such briefs, only to find Spanx. Seeing a gap in the market, the couple soon discovered they were onto something great. As soon as they started selling underwear, Tomboy X’s revenue tripled in six months, and has been growing ever since.
In July of 2016, the brand relaunched with a new look and feel; a focus solely on underwear and bras.
Their underwear styles have grown significantly, and now product offerings include everything from a thong to 9” boxer briefs. They continue to carry all styles in XS to 4X- all offered at the same price. In addition, the brand has also expanded into natural adjacencies such as swimwear, sleepwear and loungewear.
The brand proudly boasts First Line Leakproof Underwear that keeps you dry and comfortable while you're on the move. With built in leak protection for light days and incontinence these trunks feature a floating gusset which can accommodate a pad with wings. The underwear is both odor resistant and anti-bacterial. The underwear is made with OEKO-TEX® 100 certified fabrics which are free from chemicals that are toxic to humans including PFOS and PFOA chemicals that have been shown to cause infertility or cancer. I am always impressed when I see brands taking consumers everyday concerns and developing the solution.
In addition, the brand developed adaptive bras that accommodate inserts for post-mastectomy and transitioning. They are stretchy with crossover detailing for a touch of flair. Inspired by the brands customer service lead Michal, this v-neck, crossover style bra offers coverage and support. Chest band on back is the signature stay-put TomboyX band tunneled with cotton spandex for support. The front band is super soft cotton spandex meant for additional movement and comfort. Sizes 2X-4X also have a mesh lining in between the shell and self lining for added support.
RUCHED BRALETTE WITH REMOVABLE INSERTS TomboyX
I recently had the privilege of speaking with Fran Dunaway, CEO and Co-Founder of TomboyX about she needed to find a hero product around which to build the brand, why she believes that consumers are seeking to align themselves with brands that speak to their values and that are improving the world in some important meaningful way and how at TomboyX they believe not only that confidence comes from within but rather there is nothing more powerful than feeling comfortable in your own skin!
Fran Dunaway, CEO and co-founder of TomboyX - Headshot Lindsey Byrnes
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about the history, and development of your brand; along with your personal background?
Fran Dunaway: The company was started because I wanted a cool button up shirt, like a Ben Sherman or a Robert Graham – quality fabric, fun details and a good fit. My wife, Naomi Gonzalez, who co-founded the company with me, and I boot-strapped the first designs and picked the name TomboyX because we thought it was cute, and we both identify as tomboys. In 2014, we launched a Kickstarter campaign to pay for the production of the shirts but an interesting phenomenon happened. We started hearing from women and girls around the world who were excited to have a brand for them. We had inadvertently stepped into a white space that the fashion industry has traditionally ignored. Because of the name, we had instant brand recognition and we knew that was a powerful thing, but we weren’t quite sure what to do with it. Our little side project out of our one car garage now felt like a rather daunting responsibility to a community that was eager to be seen and heard.
My background was in video production and my wife was a sports massage therapist. We didn’t know a knit from a woven or a P&L from a Balance sheet, so we had a lot of learning to do. We also knew that if we were going to follow this opportunity, we needed to do so responsibly and in alignment with our personal values. I had an early conversation with Bobby Emfield of Tommy Bahama and he said to me two things that I’ll never forget. “When we first started Tommy Bahama, it was a quarter zip sweatshirt that sustained us while we built the brand.” He also said, “You’re going to be like we were, you think you’re tapping into a vein and you’ve actually hit an artery.” Turns out he was right on both counts.
We needed to find a hero product around which to build the brand. Our shirts were amazing, but we felt like we needed something that got to the core of the brand, something that was more representative of the essence of a tomboy. Naomi was doing customer service at the time and she mentioned that we had been getting a lot of requests for boxer briefs made for women. I had no idea no one was doing that, so I went to Nordstrom.com and typed in women’s boxer briefs – up came a pair of Spanx - and that was it. We were pretty sure that that wasn’t what our customer was looking for, so we set out to make the most comfortable boxer briefs imaginable, and we wanted to make sure we did so across the size spectrum of XS to 4X. In September of 2014, we introduced two lengths of boxer briefs, a 4.5” and a 6”. We didn’t have the money to pay for them, so we pre-sold them, hoping to make enough to cover the expense. We sold out in two weeks. Six months later we had tripled our revenue. We had found our hero product, but were we now an underwear company? Yes, indeed, if we truly wanted to disrupt the apparel industry we would start at the foundation. In July of 2016, we relaunched the brand with a new look and feel, with a focus solely on underwear and bras.
Our underwear styles have grown significantly, and we now carry everything from a thong to 9” boxer briefs. We continue to carry all styles in XS to 4X, all offered at the same price. We have also expanded into natural adjacencies- swimwear, sleepwear and loungewear.
Micromodal Bralette' TomboyX
Joseph DeAcetis: In your words, what is TomboyX’s competitive advantage over other similar brands?
First and foremost is our obsessive focus on fit and quality. Despite the fact that we have a Love at First Wear Guarantee, our first-time customers ask for refunds just 2% of the time. That’s unheard of in the apparel industry. And yet, our head of product, Julie Nomi, still finds that unacceptable. She’s our true hero, not only because of her attention to detail but also because she cares so passionately about our customer. When we decided to further expand our sizing into 5 and 6X, she didn’t just use an algorithm to grade the patterns, she actually brought in a focus group of customers, who met with the entire product team to discuss their issues and concerns with fit. It was a very powerful and impactful meeting for everyone involved. The product team then worked on fit patterns that specifically addressed those needs. The results are unparalleled fit and quality, and just goes to show that the human experience is so much more powerful and telling than any algorithm we plug into a computer. We don’t do that to make a buck. We do it because we genuinely care.
We’ve also flipped the notion of brand on its head. We aren’t here to tell you how to be cool, we are here to celebrate how frigging cool you already are. Enough with the shaming and single lens beauty standards. We aren’t here to be judged or evaluated based on an external, mostly male, gaze. At TomboyX we believe that confidence comes from within. There is nothing more powerful than feeling comfortable in your own skin.
We are continually innovating and producing product that our customers request. For trans pride next month we are introducing new style additions to our adaptive line. In addition to our packing underwear, we will offer tucking underwear, binders, and trans pride prints.
We are also the first truly gender expansive company that has product that fits every body type. Cis women, cis men, trans folks, non-binary, plus size. Our fit and quality is just right. We often get asked if we are a niche brand, or pegged a lesbian underwear company. I just give them a bewildered look and ask, ‘who doesn’t want comfortable underwear?’ We need to shake up our binary way of thinkin g. Labels and boxes limit our ability for expansive thought.
Joseph DeAcetis: Explain to us your newly technically advanced First Line underwear, made specifically for leakage?
First Line was designed to provide built-in protection for light menstrual days and incontinence. Our proprietary design holds up to 8 teaspoons of liquid and currently comes in a bikini style and a 4.5” boxer, a first-in-class development. We designed the trunk with a floating gusset that can accommodate a pad with wings, and we have new styles currently in production. Our First Line underwear is made with OEKO-TEX® 100 Certified fabrics which are free from chemicals that are toxic to humans, including PFOS and PFOA chemicals that have been shown to cause infertility or cancer.
TomboyX Courtesy of TomboyX
Joseph DeAcetis: TomboyX is very bold in its branding across multiple audiences. How do you market to Millennials versus Gen Z? Are there any stark differences, or similarities, you’ve noticed when marketing to the two?
We are finding an audience in a broad demographic spectrum, primarily because our values are in our DNA, it’s who we are as people and as a company. That seems to be resonating with people who care about sustainability and the impact of fast fashion on not only the environment but on factory workers. We are careful to vet our factories and make sure that the workers aren’t squeezed by the desire to get our prices down. We know that ultimately the workers are who pay the price. We also have causes we care deeply about and we make regular donations to LGBTQ organizations, homeless shelters and organizations that combat domestic violence.
Joseph DeAcetis: In your words, what are consumers seeking today when it comes to underwear, and how does TomboyX provide that?
Consumers are seeking to align themselves with brands that speak to their values and that are improving the world in some important meaningful way. We make underwear that is about making you feel good in your own skin, using OEKO-TEX 100 Certified fabrics that are designed to last. We also feature and design for people the industry has long ignored – those in the LGBTQ community, plus size and people that work in the trades.
4.5 inch First Line Trucks TomboyX
Joseph DeAcetis: In your words, talk to Forbes about the mastectomy line. What inspired it? Is it just for those with breast cancer, or can it be used for others?
I’m a two-time breast cancer survivor and last year had a bi-lateral mastectomy. I chose not to have reconstructive surgery as I wanted to avoid possible complications that might lead to even more surgeries in the future. While I was healing, I recognized that the options for people who did or didn’t choose to wear a prosthetic were very limited. When I was fitted for a bra that would accommodate a prosthetic, my options were frilly and lacey. For the prosthetic, they simply sewed some cotton fabric into the cup and attached some cheap snaps that came apart within two weeks. I found it appalling. Immediately post-surgery I couldn’t go anywhere public because I couldn’t wear a bra due to the stitches and drain. So, I got together with our head of product and lamented my frustrations.
That’s one of the great things about owning an underwear company – all my problems can be solved. And if I’m having a problem with something, chances are millions of others are as well. Taking this approach has been very fruitful. For example, the team rallied and developed a one-sided, reversible bra that we call the “Holdster” because it looks like a holster. The strap comes below the scar line and allows freedom and comfort post-surgery and beyond. We also started adding a pocket to all TomboyX bras and going forward, every bra, including swimwear, will have the ability to add a prosthetic. This is to be inclusive of not only breast cancer survivors, but trans women as well.
TomboyX Courtesy of TomboyX
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about how technology helped in the development of your brand, both in terms of product and e-commerce? Details please.
The most powerful and important piece of technology is the Shopify platform. We saved so much money just by having the ability to plug and play as we developed the website. For the first two and a half years it was just me and Naomi, so the time and money saved with that platform was game changing. Want to add the ability to review products? There’s an app for that. As we have grown, the capabilities of Shopify have as well. They are tremendous partners and a key part of our success.
In terms of product, the technology that has most impacted us is in the area of sustainability and fabrics. Our micro-modal fabrics are beechwood tree based, so as sustainable as bamboo product. It’s soft as silk and has the flexibility for a great fit and feel. Our swimwear is certified to SPF 50 and this is due to an organic process that is applied to the fabric. Additionally, we use technology to engage in real-time with our factories and vendors.
SOFT SPORTS BRA WITH REMOVABLE INSERTS TomboyX
Joseph DeAcetis: What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
In the beginning, I used to say I had two jobs – ‘not to run out of money and not to screw it up’. Naomi did everything else. Luckily, we have grown into a viable business with 36 employees, so my role is changing as I move from co-founder to actual CEO. I need to keep my eye on the bigger picture and think long term about the business and how we grow.
As a company, we are obsessed with our customer needs and I am always trying to find ways to listen to them and to communicate better about who we are and why we are here. Because at the end of the day, our customers are the heartbeat of TomboyX. We would not be here without them, and I personally, am forever grateful for each and every one of them, from the amazing redditors who recommend our products, to those living in rural communities who tell us they are finally able to feel unapologetically like themselves when they wear TomboyX.
I love too that our customers really hold us accountable. I, for one, am so grateful for the opportunity to learn from our trans and non-binary friends and family, specifically. They are challenging me to rethink not only my definitions around gender, but also the why’s of that definition. We’ve been taught to categorize and label, as a way to make sense of the world. In the end, it has led us to a profound practice of judging and othering.
But there is something beautiful that can happen when you make a conscious choice to expand your mind and old ways of thinking. Sure, it can be uncomfortable to say, have a discussion on preferred pronouns if you’re not familiar with them, or talk about how our views of gender are often too narrow for our own good. It’s not easy. It’s complicated and messy, the unpacking of all that you think ‘is’.
But I challenge folks to keep your eyes and heart open, keep learning, keep listening. When you can do that, as our customers have shown, it’s revolutionary and evolutionary.
In addition to our customers, Naomi is on the operations side of things, working with our CS team and production on creating better efficiencies and streamlining processes.
TomboyX founders Naomi Gonzalez (L) and Fran Dunaway (R) Lindsey Byrnes
Joseph DeAcetis: Where is the product made and why?
Initially, we worked with a woman owned factory in Vancouver, Canada which is just 3 hours from our HQ in Seattle. The factory owner continues to be a strong partner to us. As we scaled, we outgrew her capacity and so moved our production to an affiliate factory in China. We now work with 4 factories in China, all of which are either women owned or run. We ensure our workers get paid fair wages, are treated fairly and have decent working conditions. We recently moved our swim production to Columbia.
Joseph DeAcetis: You have the floor: For those who may be unaware or have yet to try your brand, why should they try TomboyX now? (details)
I think it’s important to spend money wisely and to get behind companies that share your values. There are a lot of companies that are now offering extended sizing and updated beauty standards. Their reasoning is often economic, not values-based. TomboyX is an inclusive brand because we know what it’s like to be excluded and our values are in our DNA, it’s who we are. We want to make the world a better place by standing up for causes and practices that we believe in. We celebrate humanity in all its forms, and we encourage you to think outside the binary. Life isn’t black or white, gender isn’t male or female, pink or blue. It’s time to eschew the binary and focus on the #humanagenda.
I think the recent news about Victory Secret is a case in point. The billions of dollars that company has made by exploiting women and perpetuating toxic masculinity is appalling. If consumers are more thoughtful about where they spend their money, we can make an impact for real change.
First Line Bikini Bikini BL FIrstLine Black 1 TomboyX.
Joseph DeAcetis: What are your future projections and growth strategy for the next few years and how do you intend to reach those goals?
We think that 2020 is the break-out year for TomboyX. We closed our Series B round of funding last year and are fully resourced for the first time in our history. We have leveled up the team and are focused on core competencies to help us scale quickly. We are aligning our teams to collaborate on a few critical goals, and we are laser-focused on achieving success. It all comes down to having the right team that can execute a strategic plan with precision.
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92c3560d54c9b5d586973e9d93d6d8c1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/04/03/remembering-sergio-rossi-1935-2020/ | Remembering Sergio Rossi (1935-2020) | Remembering Sergio Rossi (1935-2020)
The famed shoe designer died at 84 in Cesena, Italy. Sergio Rossi Instagram
Luxury Italian footwear designer Sergio Rossi has died today at the age of 84 in Cesena, Italy, one of the regions in Italy that has been greatly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Riccardo Sciutto, the brand’s CEO, announced his passing. And it is has been speculated that Rossi succumbed to the virus.
Born in 1935, Rossi learned fine craftsmanship from his father, a shoemaker. In 1951, he took that artisanal expertise and built his own factory in San Mauro Pascoli. Rossi launched is eponymous label and his business by making the Opanca sandal for the summer tourists who hit the beaches of Rimini during the Italian summer scene. This particular sandal had become quite famous during that time for its sleek design.
I recall meeting Rossi for the first time around 30 years ago during presentations at fashion week in Italy. I was not only intrigued to meet the master of fine footwear but also rather nervous that I would not comprehend his vast knowledge of fine Italian design. At that time, I was well aware that his footwear was known for its vibrant colors and geometric designss, but I was especially impressed to learn that Rossi’s shoes require a minimum of 120 independent steps and roughly two days to make.
I learned a wealth of information from him and remain eternally grateful for that knowledge and his kindness. He was passionate about footwear and it was always fun and thrilling to discuss it with him.
A recent Sergio Rossi campaign. Sergio Rossi
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Rossi’s women’s shoes are a unique example of Italian craftsmanship and ultra femininity. Femininity is a key here. His shoes were sexy but refined. He captured that se -appeal in an independent way much different from the competition. It was as if he celebrated women's legs—with the shoe being the natural extension of it. The result was divine.
Throughout my career I have styled fashion shoots with countless female models and celebrities, and whenever I would pull out Sergio Rossi shoes on a set, the talent would always swoon. I can’t tell you how many times celebrities would ask me where to purchase them or make a playful (but actually serious) attempt to claw them out of my hands in the wardrobe room.
Rossi’s footwear was used by such great designers and visionaries as Dolce & Gabbana and one of my all time favorites, Azzedine Alaïa. Sadly, he will be missed yet greatly remembered for his brilliant craftsmanship, distinctive taste and sophisticated sex appeal. Sergio Rossi always always had his customers putting their best feet forward.
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a547b860c1c540ebc45f18b76e0f0e48 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/04/22/ralph-lauren-expands-its-earth-polo-offering-reinforces-commitment-to-protecting-the-environment/ | Ralph Lauren Expands Its Earth Polo Offering, Reinforces Commitment To Protecting The Environment | Ralph Lauren Expands Its Earth Polo Offering, Reinforces Commitment To Protecting The Environment
Earth Polo Photo Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
New Earth Polo shirts made from recycled plastic bottles and dyed with a waterless process; underscores pledge to remove 170 million plastic bottles from landfills and oceans by 2025
Recently, sustainability in apparel has dominated the conversation. Using recycled plastics is probably the best known example. But the wrong change, or variant in fabric dyes, water usage, product origin and transport could raise the risk of being fully vetted. In fact, variants in any one of these specific areas can raise questions on if a product is fully sustainable.
Earth Polo Photo Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
For more than 50 years, Ralph Lauren’s reputation and distinctive image have been consistently developed across an expanding number of products, brands and international markets.
Amid the extremely difficult circumstances the globe is experiencing with COVID-19, it is becoming apparent in real time how dramatic human impact has been on the Earth and how quickly a change needs to be made for the better. This reinforces Polo Ralph Lauren’s commitment to protecting the environment by using 170 million plastic bottles in its product and packaging by 2025. This Spring, the brand is expanding its Earth Polo shirt offering with a larger capsule consisting of new colors and designs. The Earth Polo, designed with Mother Nature in mind, is crafted from thread derived entirely from recycled plastic bottles and dyed in an innovative process that uses zero water. Each Earth Polo is made from an average of 12 plastic bottles.
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Earth Polo Photo Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
“Changing the way we innovate, design and produce our products is the first of many steps we are taking as a Company to be more sustainable. For us, it all started with the Earth Polo,” said David Lauren, Chief Innovation Officer. “Ralph Lauren will commit to removing at least 170 million bottles from landfills and oceans, and will convert the use of all virgin poly-fiber to recycled poly-fiber by 2025. Plastic waste is a major issue threatening the environment—we want to be part of the solution and utilize an innovative approach to create something valuable.”
The Earth Polo will now be offered in 19 colorways for men including long sleeve silhouettes, 7 colors for women, and 9 colors for kids, along with printed design options. The shirt is produced in partnership with First Mile, an organization with a global mission focused on sustainability and positive social impact. First Mile works with entrepreneurs in low- income communities to collect recyclable plastic bottles, which are then processed through a unique and eco-friendly manufacturing program and turned into high-quality yarn and ultimately fabric:
I recently had the privilege to talk with David Lauren Chief Innovation Officer at Ralph Lauren about a fully vetted sustainable business for the new era in fashion apparel!
David Lauren: Chief Innovation Officer at Ralph Lauren Photo Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
Joseph DeAcetis: What are some of the lessons/things you've learned about designing a fully-vetted sustainable business?
David Lauren: “Since the start of our journey to Design the Change, we knew sustainability could not be an add-on or implemented in isolation. It had to be integrated into every aspect of our business to have meaningful impact. We learned early-on that this required new ways of working. For example, we created cross-functional teams that include people from every corner of our organization to help drive the work toward our sustainability goals. In many ways, it is simpler and faster to run this work out of a central function, but for us, it is very important to have everyone in our Company see sustainability as part of their day-jobs.”
Joseph DeAcetis: As a leader in the global fashion industry, what is your general advice to consumers about how to try and follow a sustainable apparel lifestyle - especially, when it comes to price?
David Lauren: “The best thing we can do for the environment is to purchase things that last – that endure the test of time. At Ralph Lauren, we have always sought to create products that are high quality and timeless. They are meant to be loved, worn and passed on to the next generation. So the advice is really to be choiceful and don’t think of apparel as disposal, but something you will hold onto, forever.”
Kids Earth Polo Photo Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
“When Ralph founded our company more than 50 years ago, he did so with the idea that whatever we create is meant to be worn, loved, and passed on for generations. It’s with this spirit of timelessness that we approach sustainability,” added Halide Alagoz, executive vice president, Chief Supply Chain and Sustainability Officer.
In June 2019, the company published its full Global Citizenship and Sustainability Report, including its comprehensive strategy and goals. It pledged that by 2023, the brand will achieve zero waste to landfill across its distribution centers. It also stated that by 2025, it will achieve at least a 20% reduction in total water use across its operations and value chain, and 100% of its key production and packaging materials will be sustainably sourced.
Earth Polo Photo Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
For decades, the iconic Polo shirt has been used as a global symbol to help raise millions of dollars for philanthropic and social impact, including funding breast cancer research and care through the Pink Pony Fund, raising funds for global disaster relief, and supporting the LGBTQIA+ community.
The Earth Polo will be available for men, women and kids in select retail stores globally and on RalphLauren.com
Earth Polo Photo Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
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3b651bd86c55426c67be0e506a269f34 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/05/05/the-american-cowboy-boot-makes-a-great-comeback/ | The American Cowboy Boot Makes A Great Comeback | The American Cowboy Boot Makes A Great Comeback
Dixon Studded Lifestyle Courtesy of Ariat
Ariat ATS® technology provides exceptional comfort for that light-on-your-feet feeling.
Make no bones about it; the cowboy boot has been an integral part of our great American heritage. The footwear item has essentially been the foundation of the guts and glory that helped build America. In the USA, many cowboy boot companies have been proudly in operation since the 19th century. Now, there is a resurgence in consumer interest in American style and Made-in-the-USA.
When purchasing cowboy boots, it is most important to know that each brand will fit a little differently from their competition. In fact, I personally recommend that you seek assistance from a knowledgeable merchant who specializes in cowboy boots. Some wearers will praise one manufacturer's fit, while others will not perceive any difference between brands. At the end of the day, it all depends upon your personal style and your guaranteed comfort. In a properly fitting boot, regardless of the shape of the toes, the wearer should be able to wiggle their toes, feeling no pressure from the sides, top, or front of the boot. It is essential in purchasing a new pair.
Occasionally, some individuals also are unaccustomed to the slight slippage of the heel in a new, non-laced cowboy boot, particularly with a heel. Mistakingly, the consumer will then buy a too-small boot in an attempt to stop this slippage. But a small amount of slippage is also normal at first. This slippage is caused by the stiffness of a new boot's sole. As the sole becomes more flexible, the slippage will disappear.
Dixon Studded Courtesy of Ariat
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After months of COVID19 uncertainty, there seems to be a strong feeling of national pride on the horizon. American consumers are now leaning toward styles that symbolize courage, strength and most of all, freedom.
I recently had the time to speak with Beth Cross founder and CEO of Ariat about how their products are designed to outperform in the most demanding environments, how Ariat challenges themselves to set a new standard for performance, comfort, and durability and how she would lover to still love to see someone like Taylor Swift in the Dixon Studded!
BethCross Courtesy of Ariat
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about the history, and development of your brand; and your personal background?
Beth Cross: I grew up in Pennsylvania on a horse farm. I was one of those horse-crazy kids from the time I had my first pony and have a deep affection and connection to the sport. Having grown up riding, I was familiar with the shortcomings of traditional riding boots, which were built on a leather outsole with no stability or cushioning function.Fast forward to 1990, when I was working as a consultant at Bain for a leading athletic sneaker brand. Performance technology in footwear was evolving quickly and being developed for all sports. The concept behind Ariat was to apply this same kind of technology to riding boots and change the perception from the horse-as-the-athlete to the rider-as-the-athlete. We pitched the idea to a very senior executive in the industry, and he gave us the confidence to go forward. Ariat was founded in 1993 with the goal of reimagining the equestrian boot for the world’s top riders. Our focus on innovation, performance and quality gave us an entry point into the larger market of outdoor sports and work. Our products are designed to outperform in the most demanding environments. Ariat is now one of the top equestrian, outdoor, and work brands in the world.
Joseph DeAcetis: In your words, what is your competitive advantage in development and specialized product?
Beth Cross: Innovation is in Ariat’s DNA. We have over 150 patents for our sole technology alone. This dedication to innovation challenges the team to ask: How can we raise the bar? How can we challenge ourselves to set a new standard for performance, comfort, and durability?We are lucky to have attracted an incredibly talented and dedicated team of designers, product managers, engineers, and wear-testers who think about the product through the lens of performance technology.Our products go through a rigorous design, development and testing process that can take over 18 months for some products. Our designers and engineers work with top sports performance labs and world class athletes to test things like stability, propulsion, and torque. This testing doesn’t stop at our performance gear; Ariat’s lifestyle products (apparel and shoes) are held to the same standards.
Dixon Studded Side Courtesy of Ariat
Joseph DeAcetis: How do you intend to market to Millennials and Gen Z - as styles and tastes have changed?
Beth Cross: Every generation can appreciate high quality craftsmanship. Our products are classic and can last a lifetime, the opposite of disposable, fast fashion. Every day we hear from customers who have had their boots for 10-20 years and have passed them down to the next generation. Our goal is to create boots that last a decade, not a season, consistent with the younger generations’ commitment to true sustainability.Building on that, the next generations also value authenticity. As a brand that has led its category for the past 26 years, we understand the performance needs of athletes who ride, work and play outdoors and the importance of timeless style, design, and quality materials. Many of us are riders ourselves and all of us work hard to identify opportunities to innovate and improve products in service to those athletes.Looking ahead, I think we’ll see a significant shift in what all consumers expect of brands and their products. It is less about marketing uniquely to one generation or the next and more about reflecting the brand’s values, whether that’s sustainability or the highest quality performance gear you can buy.
Joseph DeAcetis:In your words, what are men seeking today in cowboy boots and rugged luxury footwear
Beth Cross: Depending on the type of work a guy does, or where he lives – he picks his footwear to line up with his needs. Classic, rugged boots for mostly outdoor use or more tailored styles with softer leathers for inside. However, across occasions our consumers value technically superior, innovative products. They look for quality craftsmanship and classic styles that will last a lifetime.
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes in detail about the current collection and why it is important for consumers to be aware of this brand?
Beth Cross: This Spring, Ariat is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Dixon, a handcrafted western lifestyle boot that has the feel of a one-of-a-kind artisanal boot without the hefty price tag that usually comes in over $200. Since its launch, the Dixon has been so successful that it has sold out every single month. Our designers worked incredibly hard on the design of this boot. They spent months testing different leathers and working with tanneries to create custom dyes for the collection. The leather is laser cut to create an intricate pattern, and stone-washed for an authentic, distressed look. Given the low side cut-out, we took extra care to examine the engineering of the boot so that it would still provide heel stability.The Dixon is one example of many new launches. Across our footwear and apparel, you will find consistent attention to detail whether it is in the stitch pattern on a classic western boot or in the exceptional fit of our denim. The pride we take in the design and construction of our products shows through each item we bring to the market.
Ariat Courtesy of Ariat
Joseph DeAcetis:If you could choose one celebrity to wear your brand, who would it be and why?
Beth Cross :
We love seeing celebrities in Ariat who value the culture of hard work. We’ve worked with country music stars like Blake Shelton, and have partnered with artist Ashley McBryde, who has been all-in on Ariat since she was a kid. We’d still love to see someone like Taylor Swift in the Dixon Studded, though!
Joseph DeAcetis: What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
Beth Cross: The best part of my day is when I’m working with our team or out in the field with customers, factories or retailers. We have an incredibly talented team of business leaders at Ariat, many of whom have been with the company for 10+ years and have played key roles in its growth and development. Our team works very independently, which is possible given their deep understanding of our market, their individual talent and complete alignment around our business strategy. This depth truly allows me to delegate quite a bit of the traditional ‘day-to-day’. However, what I don’t believe a leader can delegate is overall direction – the vision for the company and the compass that guides us. When we first started, this was straightforward. We had a bold idea – to bring the most innovative performance footwear and apparel to the world’s top equestrians. We’ve grown since then, but we remain laser focused on delivering innovative performance footwear and apparel for professional and everyday athletes who ride, work and play outdoors and in the elements.
Joseph DeAcetis: Where is the product made and why?
Beth Cross: Ariat manufactures boots in the United States, Mexico, Asia and Europe. We seek out the best factory partners, the best tanneries and the best material suppliers when manufacturing our footwear.
Dixon Studded Lifestyle Courtesy of Ariat
Joseph DeAcetis: You have the floor: Talk to my viewers about why they should try this brand now?
Beth Cross: We’ve been around for 26 years and are proud to have played a significant role in the evolution of the boot industry. We introduced technology into a very traditional product, and spent years working with athletes and designers to develop what I believe is the most innovative and most authentic western and work boots in the world. Shortly after launching boots, we added apparel and now offer a full line that includes denim, woven tops, tees, performance workwear, outerwear and accessories. We’re constantly innovating, expanding and evolving our product line to meet the diverse needs of our consumers. Yet even with this growth, we’ve remained committed to delivering the best quality, craftsmanship, durability and value in our market.
Dixon Studded Courtesy of Ariat
Joseph DeAcetis: What are your future projections and growth strategy for the next few years?
Beth Cross: With our success in English and Western riding, we found we were serving people working with horses and then those working on a farm or ranch, and even those inspired by a farm or ranch lifestyle. Success in one dimension broadened our understanding of other needs and the opportunity for future innovation and improvements. Our aspiration is to be the world’s most trusted and loved brand for the professional and everyday athletes who ride, work and play in the arena, on the job and outdoors. This is a significant expansion from where we started. It is the result of a model through which we protect and build from strength in our core products to reach new consumers with the best quality, craftsmanship, durability and value for their needs.
Dixon Studded Courtesy of Ariat
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cd3f8fb253b09e16d397d7f59cc76820 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/06/04/fathers-day-gift-guide-the-most-fashionable-gifts-for-dad/?sh=6ad62ca57d53 | Father’s Day Gift Guide: The Most Fashionable Gifts For Dad | Father’s Day Gift Guide: The Most Fashionable Gifts For Dad
Whether he’s a lover of at home fresh grooming products or walks outside in town and country, there’s no better time to elevate your father ‘s style with modified design and a heavy dose of maximum comfort!
Father’s Day allows us a chance to show our appreciation and gratitude. As a family unit, we are stronger together. In understanding challenging economic times— for most Americans, I have selected the best fashionable gifts for dad—including a wide price-range to accommodate all good father’s around this great nation.
Wishing all great Father’s a Happy Father’s Day!
STEFANO RICCI: SR JUNIOR Tuxedo
STEFANO RICCI Photography by Darden Studio
As Father’s Day approaches, consider a gift of absolute excellence such as a STEFANO RICCI SR JUNIOR – Peak lapel tuxedo suit, 100% exclusive SR wool with satin details. This model features a peak lapel tuxedo suit, 100% exclusive SR wool with satin details, dress shirt, 100% exclusive SR cotton, Handmade bow tie, 100% exclusive SR silk, Handmade prefolded pocket square with four peaks, 100% exclusive SR cotton and Oxford dress shoes, patent calfskin leather This unassuming yet elegant Tuxedo for Father’s and sons can be leveled up for formal occasions with a pair of precious cuff links. Full look: $10,800
TOD'S
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TOD's Timeless Gommino Driving Loafers Courtesy of TOD's
This Father's Day, get your dad a pair of Tod's iconic gommino driving loafers! Made from rich suede with Tod's T Monogram, these loafers are the perfect week into weekend shoe.The price in US dollars: $675
L.B.M. 1911:
L.B.M. 1911 Double Breasted Blazer Courtesy of L.B.M. 1911
Crafted in Italy in the historic city of Mantua, this L.B.M. 1911 navy blazer is the best Father’s Day gift for the dad who appreciates classic style with a contemporary twist. Unlined and made with a lightweight linen and cotton blend, dad will look sartorial while feeling comfortable in the warmer summer months. The double breasted feature and metal buttons make it an instant staple piece that will look good for years to come, and can be passed down, from father to son. Price: $ 895
Frescobol Carioca:
Panama Hat, Citrus Photographer – Frescobol Carioca.
A stylistic choice or a practical one, hats are a finishing touch that serve both, so get dad something that will make him the epitomy of urbanity and heritage for Father’s Day. $260
FRETTE:
Frette Deck Slippers Courtesy of Frette
With a legacy and heritage spanning over 160 years, Frette has become renowned for producing some of the world's finest luxury home and lifestyle products. Made with smooth navy leather and accented with contrasting tie details, the Deck Slippers are the best gift for Father’s Day because of their day to night versatility. A true symbol of made in Italy craftsmanship, the comfortable slippers can be worn all day at home or effortlessly mixed - Spezzatura style -with dad’s ready to wear pieces, for an occasional quick walk outside. Trust me, your neighbor will think dad’s wearing his new favorite loafers. $ 325.00
Hermès L'Ombre des Merveilles
This unisex fragrance has the intense radiance of a chiariscuro fragrance, both woody and oriental. ... [+] Courtesy of Hermès
After capturing the scent of sea spray in Eau des Merveilles Bleue, Christine Nagel set off in search of the shadow of wonders. She offers a contrast of light and shade: a swirl of intense, disturbing in its lightness, emphasizes of hesperidia of Eau des Merveilles, the night-toned tonka bean amplifies it, and a pinch of black tea outlines the wood and reveals other lights. A truly magical texture that bursts forth at the threshold of the day. A captivating scent whose shadow highlights the deep radiance of the world. Created by Serge Mansau, the rocking bottle, flat on one side and rounded on the other, is a star-spangled magnifying glass revealing the poetry of the world. The spray nozzle is engraved with the Hermès saddle nail seal. Price - $113 USD
Manly Bands: —The Gifford
The Gifford, made of black zirconium with fish hook designs for the father who loves fishing. Courtesy of Manly Bands
Record-setter, innovator, and epic angler...no one could ask for a better skipper than you. Because fishing isn't a sport—it's a lifestyle for only the smartest and most adventurous on the seas. Just like with your spouse-to-be, don't let this band be "the one that got away."Black Zirconium with fish hook detailing,7mm Wide,Flat Design with Comfort Fit in a Beaded Polish Finish, Includes ring box and classy shipping -Lifetime Limited Warranty. The Gifford - $750
The Spot Barbershop:
Alex Torrecillas The Spot Barbershop Courtesy of Spot Barbershop
The Best Father’s Day Gift to Give This Year: The Executive Package Gift Card to The Spot Barbershop
Give the gift of grooming this Father’s Day with The Executive Package gift card to The Spot Barbershop and be sure to book with barber Alex Torrecillas. Alex has been a barber with The Spot for the past 12 years and began cutting hair 18 years ago alongside The Spot co-founder Fredis Perdomo. Over the years Alex has mastered his craft through hard work and dedication and by consistently providing his loyal clientele with sharp, fresh looks for any occasion — his attention to detail is a true art. The Spot Barbershop offers full service haircuts, towel shaves and various grooming rituals that all take place in a gentleman industrial chic vibe complete with bars and libraries. Get an executive cut and shave by master barber Alex and enjoy a scotch or whiskey on the rocks. What makes The Spot the best? Once you go, you will know. The Executive Package 1 hour experience includes an executive haircut, custom hot shave, ear and nose wax and a black mask all for $115.
American Hat Company:
1011 Straw Cowboy Hat By American Hat Company. Christopher Thompson/www.clickthompson.com
The 1011 straw cowboy hat from American Hat Company is the best gift for Father’s Day because dad won’t want to wear any other hat in the summer no matter what he’s doing. Keeping the sun off your face and shoulders without sacrificing ventilation to your head during the sweltering summer months is a priority. Help dad enjoy this beautiful time of year to the fullest with the only hat company that makes all of their hats in America. Price: $146.95
Mercer Amsterdam
Caption (Mercer Amsterdam - Racer Vegan Leather) Photo Credit is Mercer Amsterdam
The Racer Vegan Leather sneaker by Mercer Amsterdam is the perfect gift for Father's Day this year. This model is the brand's first vegan-only silhouette in collaboration with Vibram®. While the outsole offers an unparalleled grip, the Phylon midsole offers extreme cushion and plushness. As such, this style isn’t only ideal for at home workouts, but is also comfortable, and stylish for everyday wear. Dad is sure to get much use from this sneaker that's perfect for the summer season, and eco-conscious too. The price in US dollars: $257.30
Marks & Spencer Slim Fit Corduroy Chino:
Marks & Spencer Slim Fit Corduroy Chinos Photo credit is courtesy of Marks & Spencer.
The Marks & Spencer Slim Fit Corduroy Chino is the best Father’s Gift this year because corduroy is officially back in style (although many might argue it never left). Cozier than jeans and more comfy than wool, corduroy is a staple that adds an unpredictably to one’s closet. These chinos in particular are finished in a sleek, straight leg silhouette in a slim fit cut to keep things stylish and understated before, during, and after a 9-to-5 or a casual day with friends. Added bonus: the pants are made from sustainably sourced cotton corduroy for tactile texture. The price in US dollars: $50.00
Briggs And Riley:
With smart organization and a pocket for everything, this bag is perfect to use for moving from room ... [+] to room at home during quarantine or for that much needed summer vacation once travel picks back up! Price $279 Photo courtesy of Briggs & Riley.
Under the leadership of CEO Richard Krulik, Briggs & Riley has become recognized as one of the leading manufacturers in the specialty luggage category. The innovative luggage brand has recently-debuted its newest collection of day bags, Delve, just in time for Father’s Day. This Large Fold-Over Backpack is the best Father’s Day Gift for the adventurous dad who likes a sleek style combined with professional details and personalization options.With smart organization and a pocket for everything, this bag is perfect to use for moving from room to room at home during quarantine or for that much needed summer vacation once travel picks back up! Price $279
Oliver Spencer:
Brompton Jacket Oliver Spencer
Oliver Spencer’s collaboration with bicycle brand Brompton has produced the perfect Father’s Day gift, as there comes a time in a dad’s life when wearing lycra to cycle becomes a breach of the Public Order Act and he requires something entirely more sophisticated. Price in USD: $478.00
Garmont Tikal:
Garmont Tikal, a fresh natural feel Photo Credit Courtesy of Garmont
The Garmont Tikal is the best gift for Father's Day because it offers authentic outdoor functional features combined with trusted performance technology keeping comfort top of mind for every day wear. Garmont’s Anatomically Directed Design (a.d.d.®) enables your foot’s natural ability to stabilize, absorb shock, and propel forward. Fit is enhanced by closely matching design and function to the natural asymmetric shape of your feet. The Tikal also uses moisture-wicking properties to keep feet dry and cool making them ideal for trail walks, travel or running errands. US Retail Price: $135.00
Burberry: Sold at Goat:
Burberry Runway Links Solid Swim Short 'Black COURTESY OF GOAT
The Burberry Runway Links Swim Short is perfect for keeping dad looking and feeling cool. With hot summer days ahead, gift the special man in your life, the swim trunks he'll love wearing on the next family vacation, or grilling poolside during your warm-weather get-togethers. Price: $210 USD
Rock Rose Face Serum from AYOND
A multi-functional potion of resilient desert flowers help to revive stressed and tired skin, ... [+] recharging it to a firm and balanced state. Photo Courtesy of AYOND
The Rock Rose Face Serum from AYOND is the best Father's Day gift this year that he may not know he needed. Your Dad might already have a beard oil or pomade for his hair, but this is the perfect gift to help smooth out the wrinkles he's acquired over the years of parenting. The Rock Rose Serum revitalizes fatigued skin by stimulating the skin's natural renewal cycle, reducing the appearance of fine lines, protecting beneficial skin microflora, and providing immediate and long term hydration. $140.00
x-Suit
The xSuit Corporate Photo Credit: xSuit Corporate
Founded in 2017, xSuit was created to solve all the issues of the modern suit. Designed using tech-infused performance fabrics, xSuit products include 4-way stretch and are wrinkle proof, liquid resistant and odor repellent. The xSuit Corporate 2.0 is the best gift for the stylish father on the go because it is the most comfortable, every day and everywhere suit with zero maintenance.
The classic suit offers unmatched comfort while protecting your father from all elements. Precise tailoring with elastic nylon lining give this perfect formal suit a traditional look with a modern twist and unparalleled comfort. Formfitting shoulder pads and tailored sleeves combined with straight cut, comfortable trousers make this suit the perfect addition to your dad’s smart wardrobe. Price $498.00.
RDB Shoes
The RDB Shoes Carbon High Top is a slick take on the classic silhouette Courtesy of RBD
Whether your dad puts style or comfort first, this shoe covers all the bases. The RDB Shoes Carbon High Top is a slick take on the classic silhouette. If your dad is a road warrior, he will especially appreciate the subtle ode to super cars through real carbon fiber accents. At the very least he'll stand out from the sea of generic dads in trainers. Made using premium Italian leathers & hardware as well as Ortholite inserts, the comfort & durability is unmatched. This shoe will keep dad one step ahead.The price in US dollars $375
Dermaclara Beauty:
Why Dermaclara Beauty Silicone Patches Make for the Best Father’s Day Gift This Year
dermaclara Courtesy of Dermaclara
The gift every dad secretly wants this year— the reversal of aging wrinkles and stubborn stretch marks. Dermaclara makes it easy for dads to have clear, radiant and wrinkle free skin with the Ultimate Face + Body System that includes a purifying facial cleanser, comfortable yet hardworking clarafuse Silicone Fusion patches, and a nourishing face cream. Dads will experience noticeable differences in just one use. Give the gift of youth for $75. www.dermaclara.com
Nite Ize
Light up the night with this LED insulated drink wrap by Nite Ize. Simply slap to wrap and turn the ... [+] LED on, off, or set to flash with the push of a button. Available in three colors, as well as USA (shown) and Colorado flag options. Photo Credit: Nite Ize
The SlapLit LED Drink Wrap is still the best gift for Father’s Day for several reasons: - like everyone else, dads are spending more time outside these days and want to enjoy a cold beverage while grilling or relaxing, It’s unique LED design stands out, it’s not your typical insulated drink holder-It lays flat for easy storage, and simply “slaps” around cans and bottles when put to use -The battery has a long run time, 100 hours, and a replaceable battery is included. It comes in red, blue, green, or USA and can be set to flash or glow modes at the push of a button.The price in US dollars: $11.99
TTK Hoodie:
Limited edition pullover hoodie in ultrasoft fleece with 15% of sales benefitting Mary's Place, a ... [+] safe, inclusive shelter based in Seattle, Washington supporting women, children and families on their journey out of homelessness. Drawstring adjustment at neckline. Dropped shoulders. Tonal embroidered logo across chest. Kangaroo pouch pocket at waist. Ribbed trim. 100% cotton. Made in USA. Photo Courtesy of Totokaelo
The Totokaelo Logo Hoodie is the best gift to buy this Father's Day for the Dad who puts the needs of others before his own. This Made in the USA hoodie and is comprised of 100% cotton and is designed for comfort. In partnership with Mary's Place, 15% off all proceeds for this hoodie go towards helping Covid-19 relief efforts. Not only will he look good in this hoodie, he will feel good knowing that you are helping those in need. $190
Fourlaps:
The Propel Windbreaker in Cobalt Courtesy of Fourlaps
The Propel Windbreaker by Fourlaps is the best gift for Father’s Day because it is both stylish and highly functional. The Propel Windbreaker is a water-resistant jacket made with recycled nylon as part of Fourlaps’ new sustainability initiative, RE-UP, which features progressive fabric development in new styles and updates to the core collection pieces. Currently, 88% of the entire Fourlaps line is now made with either recycled or biodegradable materials, and their goal is to use 100% recycled materials by 2024. An upgrade from the traditional rain jacket, the Propel Windbreaker is lightweight, features a reflective front zipper and bungee cord and is designed in black and royal blue colorways. The Propel Windbreaker will take Dad from the golf course, on his run, to the gym, and everywhere in between; making it the most versatile jacket in Dad’s closet this season. Price in U.S. dollars: $128.
Peak Design:
Peak Design's Everyday Sling 10L Photo Credit: Peak Design
Peak Design's Everyday Sling 10L is one of the coolest gifts that every Dad needs this summer because it's the perfect companion for minimalist, on-the-go carry of everyday or photo gear. The Sling’s padded cross-body strap features a quick-adjuster that you can loosen when accessing gear and tighten when actively moving for no bounce. Its new dynamic shape allows for a more ergonomic carry and easier stowage. A weatherproof UltraZip provides quick, expansive access and FlexFold dividers allow instantly customizable organization and protection. There are convenient internal stretchy pockets for small items and a dedicated tablet sleeve. A weatherproof 100% recycled 400D shell keeps your gear safe. The price in US dollars: $149.95
Kats Botanicals: Kratom Soap in the scent Beau Monde
Kat's Botanical Soap Courtesy of Kats Botanicals
Kats Botanicals Beau Monde soap is the best Father’s Day gift because it is exfoliating and an antifungal, which really gives this soap an extra kick in the men’s grooming department. Beau Monde is a perfectly balanced scent for men built around a foundation of green iris, violet leaves, and a bold blend of French verbena. Top it off with a base note of sandalwood and ambergris and you have a fragrance for the man’s man. Price: $6.99
Boll & Branch:
Boll & Branch Spa Bath Towel Set in Pale Pewter Credit: Boll & Branch
Nothing is cooler to dads than something that is both of great quality and improves his everyday routine. The fashionable Boll & Branch Spa Bath Towel Set gives dad functional luxury, made from 100% organic cotton and designed specifically with a soft, channeled pattern for extra absorbency. Forget fluffy towels that look great but don't get the job done - the Spa Bath Towel is the coolest gift designed with dad in mind this Father's Day. To make it even better, the luxury brand is offering a rare 10% off with code GOODNESS, where 10% of proceeds give back to Boll & Branch's mattress donations to emergency medical operations and homeless shelters in the U.S. Price: $95
Johnny Bigg
Smarten up your look with the Carter Geo Print Stretch Shirt by Johnny Bigg. Pair it with jeans or ... [+] chinos and boat shoes for a complete look. Photo courtesy: Johnny Bigg
The Johnny Bigg Carter Geo Print Stretch Shirt is the best Father's Day gift this year because it's hard to go past a well-fitted and versatile shirt. Whether he is seeing family or needs a shirt to throw on for his day of work from home, this shirt is perfect for any day to night look. It is crafted in a stretch cotton for comfort and breathability and features a modern geometric design with cuffed sleeves and a chest pocket for added detail. Available in sizes XL to 8XL, the Carter Geo Print Stretch Shirt is the best option for those big and tall men in your life. Price: $59.00
Leo
Leo Moderate Compression Tank PHOTO CREDIT: COURTESY OF LEONISA
Leo Men’s Shapewear: Shapewear for dad may seem silly but not with Leo Men’s, part of the Leonisa brand. This collection is perfect to gift dad a little extra support this Father’s Day. With Leo’s collections of innerwear, active wear, swimwear, and shapewear, you won’t have a problem choosing a great style dad will love. Not to mention, Leo’s compression tanks are perfect for dad to wear as an everyday undershirt or as a great top for those hot summer days. Its V-neck design makes it invisible under any shirt and comfortably compresses and supports your abdomen and back. With Leo Men’s, dad will be cool, confident and collect all year round. Price: $50
Foster’s Lab, Anti-Tech Serum
Foster’s Lab Anti-Tech Serum Courtesy of Foster’s Lab
Brand new skincare company, Foster’s Lab, recently launched its all-new Anti-Tech Serum, designed to combat the effects of blue light damage. The serum is a great gift for Father’s Day this year – as our screen time continues to rise, it’s important, now more than ever to shield our skin from harmful blue light. The product is formulated with high levels of active and clean ingredients that when blended together, enhance the skin’s vibrancy and youthfulness. Price - $68
PARKIT:
#EnjoyTheExploration with The Voyager, available from PARKIT (Photo: Steven E Wilcox)
The Voyager, from PARKIT, available exclusively on Kickstarter, is a must-have for this Father’s Day (and for those to follow). The Voyager is a fashionable and modern interpretation of the nostalgic outdoor recreational chair, with design-forward features that’s sure to make any time spent outdoors with the family the best time to be had. The Voyager integrates features like hands-free carry, aircraft-grade aluminum framing for a durable and comfortable sit, and even an interchangeable cup holder outfitted for his favorite beer, coffee mug (handle accounted for), and/or canteen. The best part... it’s 2 products in one! The Voyager incorporates a detachable cooler, designed to hold ice for 8 hours (placed directly under Dad’s seat for easy access), and the cooler is lined with exterior pockets to hold all his other valuables while enjoying the great outdoors; whether at the beach, on a camping trip or just relaxing in the backyard. The Voyager is available for Pre-Order on Kickstarter at the lowest price of $139 (while supplies last). Price: Beginning at $139 USD
Solo New York
Solo New York Re:move Duffle | Courtesy of Solo
Solo New York's Re:move Duffle is the best gift for the eco-friendly dad this Father's Day. This lightweight duffle is designed in a sleek cool-grey to keep your dad looking cool, while helping save the planet. It is made out of recycled plastic bottles, so he can feel good using this bag on weekend trips or as an everyday carry to and from the gym. Price: $64.99
Tutima’s Grand Flieger Automatic 6105-30, www.tutima.com
Tutima’s Grand Flieger Automatic 6105-30, www.tutima.com Image Courtesy of Tutima
This Tutima Grand Flieger Automatic is the best Father’s Day Gift this year because with input from aviation experts, Tutima creates the best performing pilot-inspired sports watches at entry level prices. The Grand Flieger Automatic is water resistant to 10 atm, features Tutima’s automatic Caliber 330 and has a stand-out 41 mm night green dial with a stainless-steel bracelet for a sporty yet elegant look. The numerals and skeletonised hands are coated with Super-LumiNova, while bright baton-shaped indices and the typical pilot’s watch symbol at “12 o’clock” guarantee optimum legibility. Tutima’s Grand Flieger Automatic is a sports watch designed to stand out. Price: $1,950.00 USD
K-Swiss
K Swiss Courtesy of K Swiss
The CR-Terrati from K-Swiss takes inspiration from the brand’s outdoor line with updated tech and styling making it the perfect gift for any man on Father’s Day! Whether he’s a lover of at home workouts or walks outside, there’s no better time to elevate his street style with minimal design and maximum comfort. Plus, who doesn’t love a classic back and white combo? price in US dollars: $75
Cuts Clothing
Stone-Grey-Crew-Curve-Hem COPYRIGHT 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED CUTS
This year, refresh your father's wardrobe with "The Only Shirt Worth Wearing" from Cuts Clothing. Made from a meticulously engineered tri-blend fabric with a customizable collar and hemline, Cuts has something that will fit every dad's style. Each Cuts tee comes in a choice of three different hemlines: classic, split, or elongated; and neckline options for every taste: crew, v-neck, or henley. The best part: all items retail between $48 and $68 so you don't have to break the bank to give dad the perfect t-shirt. Cuts's best-seller – the Classic Crew Curve Hem – has an elevated bottom cut that curves perfectly to reduce bunching around the waist. A neutral color like Stone Grey ($48) is equal parts casual and put-together, suits any occasion from the boardroom to the beach and everything in between. Price: regular $48 but it's on sale for $44
This Oral-B GENIUS 8000
Oral b genius 8000 Photo Cred: P&G
This Oral-B GENIUS 8000 is the perfect grooming gift for the tech-savvy dad this Father’s Day. The brush is equipped with a pressure sensor that automatically slows the brush speed to help you avoid brushing too hard. Additionally, it pairs with the Oral-B app and uses position detection technology to identify areas of the mouth you’ve covered while brushing to ensure you don’t miss a tooth. And it comes with a sleek travel case for on-the-go use! Oral-B GENIUS 8000 Price: $149.94
John Hardy
Caption: Classic Chain Bracelet Photo Credit: Courtesy of John Hardy
This John Hardy Classic Chain Bracelet is the best gift for Father’s Day because it is a timeless piece for any Father in your life. Handwoven in Bali since 1975, this classic chain is the symbol of craftsmanship and quality. Share this symbol with this unique simplistic sterling silver bracelet that will be the perfect gift for your stylish dad.The price in US dollars: $575.00
Falconeri
Falconeri Ultralight Cashmere Crew Neck Sweater Image Credit: Courtesy of Falconeri
This Ultralight Cashmere Crew Neck Sweater from Italian cashmere brand, Falconeri, is the best Father’s Day gift because of the classic, modern style and ultralight cashmere fabrication. For the trendsetting dad, this is the perfect sweater he can wear all year round as the fabric has heat-regulating properties. The Italian craftsmanship paired with superior cashmere in this garment make an unbeatable combination. Any dad that appreciates durability and quality paired with timeless style, will love this as a gift. Nothing says you’re the best dad like receiving a luxurious Italian cashmere sweater from Falconeri. Price: $307.00
Leaf Shave's
The Leaf razor in Black with a pack of steel blades and a disposer tin. Credit: Leaf Shave
Leaf razor combines a three-blade pivoting head with a sleek all-metal composition so you can gift your Dad the smoothest shave he's ever had this Father's Day. A Leaf razor is the best gift for Father's Day because it's a gift that'll last him years and save him money in the long run – no more running to the drugstore for low-quality disposable razors. The Leaf's pivoting head design allows for a smooth, gentle shave over every angle of his face. And the Leaf is also not only good for your skin, but good for the environment by cutting down on the tons of waste generated by plastic razors. Price: $79 for The Essentials pack (a Leaf razor and a pack of 20 steel blades/40 edges)
Movado:
Men’s Movado Sapphire Black PVD Watch Photo Credit: Zales
This Movado Sapphire Watch is the best gift for Father’s Day because it makes a bold statement while also maintaining a level of sophistication and modern masculinity. With its sleek round black dial and reliable Swiss quartz movements for accurate time keeping, this quality timepiece will make a memorable gift that he’ll cherish for years to come. Already a classic and highly sought-after style, show your appreciation and love on Father’s Day with this beautiful watch available at Zales.com. Price: $1,995 USD
Kay Jewelers
Kay Jewelers Men’s Diamond Bracelet ½ ct tw Stainless Steel/Ion-Plating, Photo credit: Kay Jewelers
The Men’s Diamond Bracelet ½ ct tw Stainless Steel/Ion-Plating is the perfect Father’s Day gift to give this year because of its sleek design which can be worn by any type of dad. The stainless steel bracelet is enhanced with yellow ion plating which makes for a piece that is durable enough for daily wear. The bracelet can be worn by its self for a simple look or paired with dad’s favorite watch as a nice accent! The price in US dollars – $599.99 orginally $799.99
The Bondaroo by MyDadWare
MyDadWare photo credit Courtesy of MyDadWare
The Bondaroo by MyDadWare is the best gift for Father’s Day because it is a kangaroo shirt designed by a new dad for new dads! The purpose of the shirt is to support skin to skin bonding between fathers and their newborn babies. After a baby is born, it is so important to have skin to skin contact with both mom and dad and this allows dad to get close to the baby without going shirtless! The Bondaroo comes in sizes S through XXL and in colors Navy and Charcoal. It is made locally in Los Angeles and it uses luxurious French Terry fabric and patented Seamless Velco® and High Tech Velco® technology. The price in US dollars $39.99
Daniel Patrick
Daniel Patrick Vertical Logo Acid Wash Hoodie $320 Courtesy of Daniel Patrick
With Father’s Day on the horizon, these days require a no-fuss wardrobe - so get your dad a cool stylish hoodie from Daniel Patrick! Not only will he want to be cozy and comfortable while he’s at the home, but he’ll want to show off his cool dad vibes and be on trend in tie-dye! This edgy cotton hoodie from Daniel Patrick fits the bill. And it also has matching track pants to complete a set! Price: $320.00
Paradised:
Paradised_Sun In Eyes embroidered cotton-blend jersey sweatshirt_$165 Courtesy of Brand
Father’s Day is on the horizon, why not get your dad a trendy and cozy sweatshirt from Paradised. Your dad will love to wear while he lounges around the house or run errands. It’s trendy and colorful – so it’ll be perfect to wear all summer long! Price: $165
TITLE OF WORK
TITLE OF WORK ALF GADBERRY SCARF Matthew Hillman Photography
This HANG GLIDING COLLAGE SCARF by TITLE OF WORK is the best gift for Father’s Day that every Dad needs this summer because it’s both fashionable and versatile as a face-mask or light-weight summer scarf. This a great piece for every Dad to safe-guard his face and keep himself as well as his family protected. Furthermore this graphic scarf is vibrant and breathable and the perfect pairing with shorts for those beautiful summer days. The scarf is Inspired by László-Nagy’s collages, and is re-embroidered on an Italian woven/silk cotton blend.The price in US dollars $400
Swiftwick:
Swiftwick Pursuit Business sock Photo Credit: Swiftwick
Swiftwick's Pursuit Business sock is one of the coolest gifts that every Dad needs this summer because it infuses Swiftwick’s signature performance features into a stylish dress sock. The year round moisture-wicking comfort of our ultralight merino wool will keep his feet cool and dry in the summer. Moderate compression provides support for long days at work and throughout any fitness activity (a customer recently wore these favorite work socks to run the Boston Marathon last year!). A no-slip cuff and seamless toe ensures these will stay in place and help your dad perform at his best, providing blister-free comfort all day long. The price in US dollars: $19.99
Freedom Moses
CAPTION: Freedom Moses Navy Slides CREDIT: Freedom Moses
Freedom Moses slides are the perfect gift for Father’s Day because they are comfortable, fashion-forward, and eco-friendly. These shoes will become your dad’s go-to’s for trips to the beach, backyard BBQs or just lounging at home. They are injected with air for added durability and have natural oils mixed in during production that make them smell lightly of milk and honey. PRICE: $45.00
Caffeinated Shave Cream
Pacific Shaving Company Caffeinated Shaving Cream - 7 oz Courtesy of Pacific Shaving Company
This outstanding shaving cream utilizes the many benefits of naturally-derived caffeine to help liven up your morning shave routine. It will give you an exceptional shave, help reduce the appearance of redness, and keep your skin looking and feeling healthy all day. It may not replace your morning coffee, but it will give a little extra kick to your morning routine. A little goes a long way. We love the brand is featuring a unique feature with printable gift wrap for dads! The price in US dollars $11.99
Leatherman
Leatherman FREE P4 Multipurpose Tool Photo Credit: Leatherman.com
This Leatherman multitool is the best gift for Father’s Day because it puts over 20 handy tools right at dad’s fingertips, all while staying compact enough to fit comfortably inside his fashionable pocket. The FREE P4 includes everything from pliers, wire cutters, scissors and screwdrivers to a package opener, ruler and file, which can all be accessed with just one hand. It’s perfect for helping dad tackle any quick repairs, his lingering “honey-do” list and a variety of other everyday tasks. Plus, Leatherman’s custom shop lets you add a personalized engraving or fun graphic design to make this gift even more special for dad. The price in US dollars: $139.95
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5dabcb13a48b1414d49c2a3fe8cc6ddb | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/07/24/womens-beauty-and-fashion-for-a-summer-vacation-2020/?sh=4068d84739a2 | Women’s Beauty And Fashion For A Summer Vacation 2020 | Women’s Beauty And Fashion For A Summer Vacation 2020
Recent developments happening in the world has lead most Americans to vacation at home during these uncertain times. As history would have it, at the turn into the 20th century city-dwellers would vacate their city homes for beach and lake houses. At that time, the USA coined the term vacation.
I am well-aware that many other nations follow the English and prefer to employ the term holiday, nevertheless, the USA prides itself in being delightfully creative - perhaps why we still use vacation to this very day.
The nature of vacation has changed in summer 2020. For example, in the past, a vacation meant that we were absent from the workplace. Whereas today, while on vacation, it is considered normal to remain on-call in lieu of being unreachable.
In a word, technology has changed the impact on human life. Rapid transmission in communications is at the forefront of almost everything we do. I for one am always telecommunicating and remaining plugged-in whilst on vacation. It is part of our lifestyles now. Case closed? Not yet.
This summer, be mindful that your wardrobe is required to appear up-to-date more than ever! Why? Instagram, that’s why. These days, many people are posting images and video of us and them.
Henceforth, I am presenting to you here a bevy of fashion and beauty products from beauty, to bags to swimsuits, to footwear... in order for you to take the leading role (prior to planning your vacation) during chic social engagements and fun in the sun.
MORE FOR YOUFossil Goes Green, Releases The Perfect Cactus Leather Commuter ToteLingerie Line Luxxie Boston Is Making Sustainability SexyFabergé Easter Eggs Set To Be Displayed At The V&A As Part Of A Major Exhibition On The Iconic Goldsmith
Enjoy your vacation America. Lord knows we all need it this summer!
Onia
Onia Scarlett One Piece in shade Della Blue from the High Summer collection Courtesy of Onia.com
Rethink the way you wear one piece bathing suits with Onia’s eye-catching Scarlett One Piece, featuring an ultra flattering strapless silhouette with minimal back coverage and a daringly high leg. Featuring Onia’s newest novelty fabric, a textured material with discreetly subtle ribbing and a fine woven appearance, the suit allows for added versatility with ties in the front and back that can be adjusted for fit and style preferences. The Scarlett One Piece retails for $195 USD and is offered in shades Della Blue and White.
Balmain.com
Balmain Pink suede B-Buzz 19 baguette bag with fringe Courtesy of Balmain
The Balmain BBuzz bag is the go to bag for Summer. The adjustable and removable suede shoulder strap makes this purse easy to take from morning errands to dinner with friends. $1,795
Brooks Brothers Red Fleece
Brooks Brothers Red Fleece Pleated Chiffon Dress Photo Credit: Courtesy of Brooks Brothers
This Brooks Brothers Red Fleece ‘Pleated Chiffon Dress’ is the best women’s product for Summer 2020 because the airy chiffon give this retro-chic dress an ultra-elegant vibe. This pretty pastel dress features a modified bateau neckline, pleats at the shoulder, a removable self belt and a fluttery pleated skirt. Price: $138
Patou
Jewelry low top sneakers Courtesy of Patou
A golden touch that’s totally Patou! As part of an ongoing collaboration with Le Coq Sportif. White low top sneakers with black Jean Patou signature on the side and embroidered Le Coq Sportif logo at the back. Rounded toecap. Lace-up style with “Bocca della Verità” embellishments in colored brass. Price in USD $550
Golden Goose
Golden Goose Courtesy of Golden Goose
This Golden Goose ‘Chieko dress in silk with ruffles” is the best women’s product for Summer 2020 because dress has hems with raw edges and a fusion between evening wear and urban wear. The sensual V-neck is softened by the feature ruffles on the sleeves along with pearl buttons on the cuffs and collar. Price: $630
Dolce & Gabbana:
Python Heel Courtesy of Dolce & Gabbana
Python heel, $1495 Available for purchase at select Dolce&Gabbana boutiquesCustomer Service Number: 1-877-70-DGUSA
Augustinus Bader
The Body Oil and The Body Lotion from The Body Collection Photo courtesy of Augustinus Bader
Since launching its first body product in 2019, The Body Cream, the fan-favorite skin care brand Augustinus Bader has expanded its body skincare category with The Body Lotion and The Body Oil. While enjoying the sun this Summer, these are the perfect products to add to your skin care routine as they’ll protect your skin from damage by serving as the ideal pre and post-sun care choice. They will also provide your skin with the necessary hydration needed as well as significantly improve your skin’s texture. Price in USD The Body Lotion 100ml - $95 The Body Oil 100ml - $95
Adina’s Jewels
Adina’s Jewels new Pavé Butterfly Initial Anklet in Gold Courtesy of AdinasJewels.com
The Pavé Butterfly Initial Anklet from Adina’s Jewels combines some of this Summer’s hottest trends all into one stylish accessory. This 90s inspired piece has made a serious comeback this season as a simple way to dress up any summer footwear, and the kitschy CZ-stone adorned butterfly charm and bejeweled initial pendant of your choice make this a statement piece worn alone or ultra fashionable added to your favorite anklet stack in true retro style. The Pavé Butterfly Initial Anklet retails for $68 USD.
CIVIDINI
Finest quality 100% light linen skirt with origami applications; high gauge fine cotton top. Photographer: Fulvio Maiani
We all dream of extraordinary journeys, journeys to discover new dimension of life and different ways of living and the goal of each trip requires a stereotype of clothing that our society has built in detail and in which we take refuge with security. The CIVIDINI’s choice for FORBES.COM in the picture above is a best-seller from our SS20 Collection: a look classic yet contemporary, very cool indeed, which will take you from a busy day in the office to a relaxing evening out, feeling yourself always comfortable, effortless appropriate, stylish and at ease. Skirt: $1,310.00 USD Top: about $378.00 USD
Hublot
Hublot Big Bang Unico Sky Blue Courtesy of Hublot
With summer travel restricted this year, Hublot has created a watch to transport its wearer to the sparkling beaches of Mykonos and Saint Tropez. The relaxed fit of the fabric strap perfectly executes Hublot’s vision of the Art of Fusion – combining materials to create an elegant and sporty timepiece. The brand has mastered its patented ceramic, a highly technical material resistant to wear. The serene sky blue created in this ceramic recalls the clear air and ocean breeze that allows the wearer to refresh. $21,500
Alexander McQueen
Shiny purple embossed croc calfskin leather Jeweled Satchel. Courtesy of Alexander McQueen
The Alexander McQueen Jewelled Satchel bag is not only iconic staple for the house but also for the everyday woman’s wardrobe Price: $2,190
Mikimoto
Mikimoto’s Prestige Akoya & White South Sea Cultured Pearl and Diamond Necklace Courtesy of Mikimoto
As change of the people’s consciousness to sustainability, so pearl is in trend again. Because pearl necklace is eternal classic item among women from different aspect, MIKIMOTO pearl necklaces is a family heirloom, from generation to generation, from mother to daughter. Yasuhiko Hashimoto CEO Mikimoto America Price: $460,000.00 USD
CoverFX.com
Luminous Tinted Moisturizer tk
Luminous Tinted Moisturizer is the first Adaptogenic and Pre + Probiotic infused moisturizer to hit the market: It combines the best in beauty and skincare and is available in four shades that cover the brand’s extensive 40 shade range. The tinted moisturizer is just what your skin needs this summer, helping to reduce inflammation, protect against stressors and nurture your skin flora. Also launching is the new patented Custom Application Brush, which is key to achieving the custom “beauty cocktail” we’re all searching for: Both products are $39
Esquivel Shoes Black Canvas Aurora
Black luxury canvas slip on mule with removable washed silk bow and smooth leather lining Courtesy of Esquivel Shoes
Handmade in Southern California, the Black Canvas Aurora Mule is sophisticated with a touch of whimsical. Perfect for showing up to a summer hangout with friends and a stellar transition piece to jump start your Fall wardrobe. Dressing up jeans or accessorizing with florals, the Black Canvas Aurora Mule's versatility is only limited by the wearer's imagination. - $595
THYM
Off to the Races by THYM is the perfect addition to your summer evening wardrobe. This floor-length ... [+] vibrant dress is cut from lace into a flattering A-line silhouette with a delicately draped, off-the-shoulder neckline and contrasting textures — an IT girl cocktail number for hot afternoons into sultry nights! Courtesy of THYM
Whimsical tones with compelling design, THYM, a luxury brand by Beirut designer Rebecca Zaatar, just launched an online shop featuring the latest Summer 2020 Collection plus statement jewelry designs, available for worldwide shipping. Characterized by its feminine cuts and vibrant color palettes, THYM designs are made for the modern, versatile woman, embodying the essence of contemporary luxury. (from $150 to $1950)
The CIGA Design J Series Mechanical Watch
The CIGA Design J Series is designed to be a zen garden worn on your wrist. Image courtesy of CIGA Design.
Life is hectic. The art of meditation requires us to be in the moment. The CIGA Design J Series is designed to inspire inner calm by replicating its own take on a zen garden worn on the wrist.The unisex watch is intricately inspired by Karesansui, also known as “Japanese rock gardens,” or “Zen gardens.” Each layer of the watch represents a realm of Zen. The watch’s core layer represents the essential core of reality, the middle layer represents a deeper understanding, and the outer layer represents the outward form of reality. Other striking design elements include Karesansui lines on its silicone strap, a floating hour hand, and an X-shape equal length hand that breaks traditional time reading to create different visual effects. The watch is made with Japanese Citizen Miyota movement and recently won a 2020 Red Dot design award for its packaging - the ninth Red Dot Award for the watchmaker. It is available for $369 USD.
Chorustyle
Design objects and other articles Chorustyle Courtesy of Guitar
Nikko and Laki, the two design cats realized by the Italian design-brand Chorustyle, aim to bring prosperity and happiness to those around them. The two felines are elegant design objects that can furnish any ambient with charm and positivity. Little size: 700,00 USD, Mid-size: 1.125,00 USD Big-size: 1.850,00 USD
GIULIA
GIULIA New York Charms Ribbon Courtesy of GIULIA
A delicate silk ribbon is a refined and lightweight touch to add to any outfit this summer, and this delicate and striking mulberry silk twill tie by artist turned designer Giulia Peyrone is the perfect piece to complete your warm weather look. - Price in USD: $160.00
N.Peal:
SUPERFINE PATCH POCKET CASHMERE CARDIGAN Courtesy of N. Peal
A great style this summer for N.Peal, this luxuriously long cardigan is made from our Superfine cashmere using a very fine 100% cashmere worsted yarn. Featuring two small patch pockets, a ribbed hem and small side splits, wear this long cardigan over trousers or throw on over shorts once the sun goes down for an elegantly casual outfit. Shown here in Royal Blue, a deep jewel of a tone, very smart and sharp. 100% Superfine Cashmere. $345.00
Dooney & Bourke
Dooney & Bourke Pebble Grain Domed Crossbody Courtesy of Dooney & Bourke
Crafted from the brand's all-new European pebble grain leather known for its iconic texture, now with a more lightweight and irresistibly buttery feel. Pare down what you need for everyday life whenever you reach for this petite Dooney & Bourke Pebble Grain Domed Crossbody bag. Also features a crisp Vachetta leather trim and jewelry-grade hardware. Retail price: $198.00
RE:ERTH
Mochi Skin in a Bottle Courtesy of RE:ERTH
RE:ERTH believes that healthy skin is beautiful skin and created their Multi-Targeted Elixir, which is Mochi skin in a bottle. This lightweight serum absorbs in 10 seconds and leaves zero residue. It also reduces dark spots, brightens and rejuvenates skin and leaves it feeling firmer and healthier. Price: $85
VAST.
Vast Mask Courtesy of Vast
An LA-based surf and lifestyle brand, spent weeks working with PPE manufacturers to create a product that will protect both the community and the environment, as well as give back to local hospitals. As a surf brand, Vast cares about protecting our oceans. Globally we are using 129 billion face masks and 65 billion plastic gloves every month since COVID19 started. The masks use the VAST Aquaterra surf tee fabric for the inner lining due to the moisture wicking, anti-bacterial, anti-rashing, and non-clinging properties. The masks currently retail for $30 and come in Khaki with four color options for trim: Black, Coral, Teal, or Navy.
Sita Abellan presents: Lilith
Let the Moon Glow Belt' from Sita Abellan's 'Lilith S/S 2020 Collection Courtesy of Sita Abellan
Drawing inspiration from the rich history of the Realismo Magico era, Sita Abellan's 'Let the Moon Glow Belt' from her latest Lilith S/S 2020 jewelry collection is one of the hottest pieces of the summer. The sun & moon imagery combined with Sita's signature snakes anchored to loose gold chains make for a perfect ornate addition to any swimwear or evening apparel. Lilith has been seen on the likes of Billie Eilish, Kim Kardashian, J. Balvin and more. $266
Marrakshi Life
Marrakshi Life Round Collar Wide Leg Jumpsuit Courtesy of Marrakshi Life
Marrakshi Life: The Round Collar Wide Leg Jumpsuit, crafted by slow-fashion Marrakech based brand Marrakshi Life, is handwoven in gorgeous Bissara and Navy Double Pinstripe. This casual yet chic jumpsuit fits high waisted with an adjustable drawstring waist, the perfect lightweight piece to make a statement this summer. This jumpsuit, like all garments produced by the brand, are handwoven and tailored, made to order, in their Marrakech atelier. Price in USD: $495.00
Bruno Magli:
Bruno Magli Luce Open-Toe Mule Sandal Courtesy of Bruno Magli
The square-toe is back and Bruno Magli takes on this vintage-inspired trend with the Luce crocodile-embossed leather open-toe mule sandal with wrapped heel. It comes in a few hues that's perfect to incorporate into your summer wardrobe. Also features cut-out detailing on the strap. Made in Italy. Retail price: $350.00
Baja East
Baja East “Labeled” Cropped Crew in White Photo Credit: Courtesy of Baja East
This ‘Baja East “Labeled” Cropped Crew in White’ belongs in every off-duty wardrobe, with luxe cotton fabrication and raw edge hems. This is the perfect summer staple to stay stylish and comfortable. Price: $150
Athena Club’s Razor Kit
Athena Club’s Razor Kit Courtesy of Athena Club’s Razor Kit
The Razor Kit will ensure smooth, beautiful legs throughout your entire vacay. The razor that feels like an extension of one’s arm as it glides over curves, with a slight weight to it for optimal control. While similarly priced razors are made from plastic, Athena Club’s handle is made from anodized aluminum (the same material used for a MacBook), the core is made of fiberglass (which is used to build airplanes and boats), and it’s covered in UV-protected silicone for a non-slip grip. The US-made, patented stainless steel blades and five-blade cartridges are equipped with skin guards to help prevent razor burn and irritation, and are surrounded by a vegan, water-activated hyuralonic acid-infused serum that conditions skin, never gets too gooey, and can even replace shaving cream. Available in 5 fun colors - coral, sky blue, midnight, rose, glacier white and onyx - you can find a razor to perfectly match your bathroom decor and personality. ($9)
Ray-Ban
The original artwork, created by the Italian designer Andrea Bax, is a colourful mix of urban ... [+] landscapes, psychedelic patterns and musical elements such as vinyls and synthesizers, invoking memories of 70s music trends and styles. Courtesy of Ray-Ban
Coming straight from Ray-Ban Music Factory, DROP 001 Limited Edition is a special release starring the New Wayfarer. A style inspired by the original Ray-Ban Wayfarer design from 1952, the New Wayfarer has evolved endlessly since its birth thanks to its modern shape and iconic status. This marks the first time that Ray-Ban has dropped a limited edition style exclusively on Instagram for $194.
Sergio Tacchini
The Fivo Bucket Hat is a contemporary take on retro headwear, crafted from breathable cotton twill ... [+] in a classic 360-degree brim silhouette for maximum sun protection. A wardrobe essential, the hat features Sergio Tacchini-branded taping around the brim seam for a throwback vibe, while embroidered eyelets offer additional ventilation. Photo courtesy of Sergio Tacchini
The bucket hat is back! You can now stay on trend with the cotton Sergio Tacchini bucket this summer. This hat reinterprets a retro accessory and is made from cotton twill for breathability and comfort. Now a wardrobe essential, the hat features Sergio Tacchini-branded taping around the brim seam for a throwback vibe, while embroidered eyelets offer additional ventilation. - USD $54.00
Gap.com
The Print Denim Jumpsuit in Hawaiian floral print boasts a fun yet sophisticated design Courtesy of Gap
Print Denim Jumpsuit, This jumpsuit features a straight silhouette with a relaxed fit hitting above the ankle and a fun floral print for a fashionable yet comfortable design. $98.00
Shop WeWoreWhat
Shop Basic Linen Overalls in shade White from the Linen Overalls Restock. Courtesy of ShopWeWoreWhat.com
Back by popular demand, Shop WeWoreWhat’s restock of their fan-favorite Basic Linen Overalls comes just in time for all of your end-of-the-season outfit needs. Perfect over a swimsuit as a coverup or super chic dressed up for a summer night out, these 100% lightweight linen overalls are cut for a relaxed boyfriend fit with front, back and bib pockets, hook-fastening shoulder straps and buttons along the sides in polished metal. The Basic Linen Overalls retail for $178 USD and are available in shades White and Natural.
Margaux
A silhouette inspired by traditional smoking slipper, but a backless, slip-on style gives it a ... [+] laidback sensibility. The classic smoking slipper toe feels feminine thanks to an oversized bow. Courtesy of Margaux
The sartorial effects of the pandemic are real and it’s become clear, that people are looking for effortless styles that are as comfortable as their slippers or sneakers, yet provide a polished look or a feeling of "getting ready for work”. The Mule has proven to be an everyday essential — the ultimate at-home shoe, with a, slip-on-and-gaux element. Luxe materials, a slight heel, and an oversized bow gives this silhouette a high ROI when it comes to feeling like you "got dressed." $195
Apostrophe
Hydroquinone Lotion Courtesy of Apostrophe
Whether this Hydroquinone lotion is 3X stronger than OTC options. The formula, made to lighten acne hyperpigmentation and melasma, is perfect for any woman looking to evening their skin tone this summer. This product is not intended nor marketed as an all-over lightening treatment for the complexion. Apostrophe’s dermatologists are available to answer any questions about the product and application process. $90 (3 months worth)
Matriark
ZeroMariaCornejo-LongNioDress Matthew Kristall
Matriark: the retail concept geared to conscious consumers featuring high end fashion and design, fashion and lifestyle products selected exclusively from women-owned companies - recently reopened its doors in Sag Harbor and proudly carries Zero + Maria Cornejo. Zero + Maria Cornejo-Long Nio Dress: A lightweight eyelash fringe-textured long dress features a v-neck, three-quarter sleeves, and a full skirt with seamed waist and geometric folded silhouette. Zero + Maria Cornejo is dedicated to responsible design with local production and a reduction in their carbon footprint where possible. This piece is made in New York City and will be shipped in compostable TIPPA packaging. Price: $1,250 USD
TOMS
TOMS Earthwise Alpargata Indio Courtesy of TOMS
The TOMS Alpargata Indio is made from jute, an eco fiber using fewer chemicals and less water than traditional fibers to grow. Rooted in earth-friendly materials and processes, the Morning Dove Alpargata Indio can easily be matched with anything in your closet and pairs well with summer dresses and denim shorts alike. $54.95 USD
Christine A. Moore Millinery
Hand blocked, silk taffeta bound, 3 layered sinamay broad brim boater accented with pointed petal ... [+] flowers and embellished with beaded centers. Courtesy of Christine A. Moore Millinery
With the Kentucky Derby now scheduled for September 5, Labor Day weekend presents the greatest opportunity to dress up and sport a fancy hat! Hats from Christine A. Moore Millinery will complement any ensemble for your holiday affairs – no matter where you are celebrating. Created by Christine Moore, celebrity hat designer and a Featured Milliner of the Kentucky Derby 146, the featured hat style “Jocelyn,” is a hand blocked, silk taffeta bound, 3 layered sinamay broad brim boater accented with pointed petal flowers and embellished with beaded centers. $825.00 USD
JENNY BIRD
A bangle for your ankle. This structured oval anklet wraps around your ankle. Anklet opens and ... [+] closes by custom fold-over hinge clasp. To open the anklet press down on the clip, ever so slightly. Dipped in 14k gold and finished in a high polish. $105 Courtesy of Jenny Bird
The JENNY BIRD Archie Anklet is the best women's product for Summer 2020 because it's truly unlike anything else on the market at this time. A bangle for your ankle, The Archie is incredibly unique in design; a comfortable, structured oval anklet wraps the ankle while opening and closing effortlessly via a custom push closure clasp. Leading Canadian designer JENNY BIRD creates modern jewels for the modern woman. The JENNY BIRD brand has seen significant growth since its launch in 2008, which is due not only to her innate ability to know what women will want to wear next season, but also due to her discerning eye for quality. JENNY BIRD is female owned and led, and boasts a plethora of loyal celebrity fans that includes Celine Dion, Bella Hadid, and Selena Gomez to name a few. $105.00
SHARKCHASER
Mini Triangle Flap in Fuoco with interior radiation-shielding fabric. Courtesy of SHARKCHASER
Constructed in Italy with the finest calfskin leathers, the SHARKCHASER Mini Triangle Flap is handcrafted with the ultimate care and expertise by one of the most prestigious Italian handbag manufacturers, responsible for Christian Louboutin’s leather goods. The bag features an unique radiation-shielding fabric to protect the body from the electrical fields and radio frequencies that our cell phones are constantly emitting. The luxury crossbody has a leather handle for carrying comfortably and an interior pocket to secure all your essentials. This timeless bag is a summer’s must have. Retail Price: $595.00
Anne Klein
Anne Klein Striped Seersucker Dress Courtesy of Anne Klein
Be chic in the heat with Anne Klein's Striped Seersucker Dress. Cinched at the waist, the flattering silhouette. MSR $129
Well by Caliva
Well Restored Moisturizing Serum Courtesy of Well
Well Restored Moisturizing Serum —Restore your skin to a well-hydrated state with Well by Caliva’s Well Restored Moisturizing Serum, which offers a simple and naturally-derived formula, including 200mg of broad-spectrum, hemp-derived CBD. Massage onto clean dry skin before moisturizing, or add a few drops to your go-to cream or lotion for a daily boost of CBD. Product Details: 1oz 29ml, 200mg CBD, $49+tax
ENVT
The Wavy Set From ENVT Courtesy of ENVT
With summer in full swing and temperatures rising, people are shedding their winter leggings in favor of the trend that everybody seems to be sporting: Biker Shorts. The Wavy Set from ENVT is no exception, as the rich navy hue with white contrasting chevron stripes is a perfect look for your outdoor activities this summer. The wavy bra top is a high intensity sports bra with a supportive rounded square neckline, racer-back design, and a crescent moon cutout for enhanced breathability. The wavy biker short is a high-waist style with a reinforced waistband for extra support, contouring compression fit, and hidden pockets for hands-free movement. Wear the set alone or pair it with your favorite accessories for a casual daytime look. The brand’s trademarked Enavance™ fabric – made from luxury Italian fibers – retains shape, wicks away sweat and odor, offers UV protection, and flexes high-performance stretch to keep you fresh all day. PRICE: $130
Presley Oldham
White freshwater seed pearls - 925 sterling silver findings some variation in pearl shape - each ... [+] piece is unique made to order - choose your length at checkout Courtesy of Oumou Traore
Conceived in the South West in the midst of the pandemic, Oldham's pieces are made entirely by hand and each piece is unique due to the organic nature of the pearls used. The collection is available for purchase at presleyoldham.com for $95-$180
andLAB
6Instantly quenches dehydrated skin. Simple ingredients x Maximum results. Courtesy of andLAB
Packed with juicy ingredients (Niacinamide, Vitamin B5, Hyaluronic Acid, and Aquaxyl™), this lab-proven formula is the skin rescuer this Summer season. Designed in consideration for all skin types, including sensitive skin and acne-prone skin, andLAB Hydrating Mask makes it safe and easy to replenish after being out in the sun and can provide skin-relief after frequent use of protective face masks. From a male content creator, he commented "$6 Mask that delivers". (quote in courtesy of @spence.spends on his Instagram story) 1pc Mask USD $6pc,Masks USD $29.9915pc and Masks (bundle-deal) USD $79.99
Dr. Martens
The Dr. Martens Sidney Monk Strap Creeper combines the much-loved trend of chunky soles with the ... [+] classic monk strap silhouette. Courtesy of Dr. Martens
The new Sidney Monk Strap Creeper is perfectly in line with current footwear trends. Chunky soles have taken over, and as anyone can see from Instagram, nearly everyone has been shot in platform creepers and other heavy-soled shoes. The trend shows no signs of slowing down, and this new creeper from Dr. Martens presents a fresh take on an already classic shoe by transforming the monk strap a punk makeover with a platform. $190.00 USD
Mode Revolution
Dress to impress with this statement purse that has been hand-made by talented Colombian artisans. Courtesy of Mode Revolution
An online boutique platform that is home to over 30 different ethical and sustainable brands that work with artisans around the globe. No Name Just People creates a one-of-a-kind purse that makes for the perfect statement summer piece because of its exquisite vibrant colors and unique design that will undoubtedly elevate your look. USD $160.
Ascot Manor
Ascot Manor Women's New Horizon Baby Blue Classic Scoop Tennis Dress, made up of breathable, ... [+] moisture-wicking athletic fabric and a flared skirt. Courtesy of Ascot Manor
The classic scoop neck tennis dress is one of the most under-rated, versatile tennis dresses to date! It performs effortlessly with its light-weight, moisture-wicking fabric. It is non-constricting with regards to having fabric going up to the neck where you sweat a lot which is often found in some of the more modern racerback styles. Ultimately the versatility in having a slightly longer-length flared skirt allows you to take this dress off-court while keeping you cool for the summer and can be layered for early Fall days and nights.- $58.00
Bodewell
Bodewell Shampoo Courtesy of Bodewell
Bodewell Shampoo is Dandruff’s worst nightmare. Dandruff is common, but can still be embarrassing. That’s why Bodewell created a special medicated Shampoo with pyrithione zinc that is pH balanced and suitable for all hair types. Bodewell’s Shampoo protects the scalp from dandruff and itch, and is infused with almond oil to wash away oil and flakes. ($18)
Roxanne Assoulin
Roxanne Assoulin/ a team, or play solo… Stuart Tyson/Courtesy of Roxanne Assoulin
Varsity U-Tube Bracelet—The Roxanne Assoulin Varsity U-Tube Bracelet is the perfect summer accessory. Available in numerous styles and colors, this product is versatile in use and can be worn as both a bracelet and an anklet with the addition of Roxanne’s extender piece. If worn as a bracelet, you can wear a single of your favorite style or stack and wear them all. The 5 different style options are bright in color and perfect for summer, but low-key enough to be worn every day. Pricing $75 - $80, dependent on style.
April Studio
Handmade macramé bag in shade Graphite. Courtesy of April Studio
We live in a day where sustainability should be at the forefront of our responsibilities and we are in need of creatives who can adapt accordingly. April Studio’s lovely macramé bags are crafted from 100% recycled cotton and handmade by the Filipino designer April Pesa herself in England. Due to the careful nature of the production, each piece is unique in its own way and quality is never compromised. The collection comes in an array of colours from rich earth tones such as Mocha, to neutrals like Magnolia and playful tones such as Blush and Mint – there is sure to be a fit for every personality and summer soirée to come. Graphite Bag, $61.00
Kappa
Kontroll Button Half Zip Anorak in Azure Lilac Courtesy of Kappa
From their newest collection, Kontroll, this Azure Lilac Anorak Half Zip jacket is one of the best women’s products for Summer 2020 because it’ll keep you cozy on those cooler summer night walks or early morning beach runs. You can wear it with anything from shorts, leggings to jeans and a skirt. No matter where you go, you’ll always look ready and stylish with this anorak! Price is $255.
Hint
Hint all-natural eucalyptus lemon deodorant Photo courtesy of Hint
An all-natural, aluminum-free deodorant that works! Hint feels amazing on your skin, glides on smoothly, dries quickly and hydrates with soothing aloe juice. The fresh, eucalyptus lemon, gender neutral scent will leave you feeling confident all day. $10.99 USD
FRAME
FRAME’s Le Carbon Sandal in Blanc from the brand’s first shoe collection. Courtesy of FRAME
FRAME's first shoe collection embodies the famously elegant aesthetic of the brand, expanding its ever-growing luxury offering. The collection features seven chic and classic styles - from sandals, mules, loafers and ballet flats - that will take customers to and from where she needs to go. Each shoe in the collection is handcrafted in Spain from the finest Napa leather and offers everyday comfort with wearable heel heights. Similar to designing FRAME’s denim, the brand prioritized comfort and quality as they believe no matter how fashion-forward the pieces are, their collections must be well-made and provide comfort to look and feel great for shoppers.Prices range from $325-395
ADAY - www.thisisaday.com
ADAY’s Cool Down Crop in Coconut.I Image credit: Carlos Naude at Working Holiday Studio
A sleeveless long crop tailored to fit in all the right places, ADAY’s Cool Down Crop is actually three tops in one. Designed to be worn open, closed, or wrapped with the snap function, you’ll still be finding new ways to wear it long after summer has ended. Made from ADAY's Cool Weave fabric (powered by brrr° technology), it will literally cool you down as your day heats up. The patented Triple Chill Effect uses cooling minerals to provide an immediate + continuous cooling effect; active wicking to move moisture away for nonstop comfort; and rapid drying to deliver a fresh + crisp experience. It’s machine washable, offers UV protection for UPF 50+, and comes in two chic colors: coconut and forest.($135)
HAN Skincare Cosmetics
Clean Serum CC with SPF 30+ Louie Aguinaldo /Courtesy of HAN Skincare Cosmetics
HAN Skincare Cosmetics is introducing this summer's must-have natural multi-tasking Clean Serum CC with SPF 30+! The unique, clean, vegan and affordable formula helps correct and enhance your skin's texture and tone. Formulated with aloe vera, coconut and shea butter, this Serum CC offers broad spectrum SPF 30+ UVA/UVB protection while delivering a smooth and even complexion. Price: $32
Peppermint Hand Sanitizer Spray
All Good Peppermint Hand Spray Courtesy of All Good
Vegan solution—Packed with botanical ingredients like aloe, chamomile and calendula. 70% Ethyl Alcohol—Wards off 99.9% of most common germs. Infused with peppermint oil for natural antiseptic. No Parabens, No Phthalates, No Artificial Fragrances, No Carbomer, No Petroleum. GMO free and Gluten Free. Compact spray bottle for no-mess application and easy travel. $4.99 USD
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843cfbcc0d942c53f446c98f15b78e2b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/11/08/new-developments-in-footwear-for-men/ | New Developments In Footwear For Men | New Developments In Footwear For Men
Nothing matches the personal experience of stepping into a fresh pair of shoes. To give an accurate description, this season’s fall/winter lineup has a gentle ping of modified attributes to get you started on the pavement, paths and even rough terrain. For example, saturated colors, detailed textures and lamination on toes and heels -for extra durability and reinforcement. In addition, footwear is now made using recycled plastics and non-wicking materials for water-resistant, breathable performance.
More to the point, today’s footwear delivers ultra-versatile, effortlessly cool offerings that have been graciously perfected in the aesthetic of unique concepts, materials, and color combinations created for those pushing boundaries and who promote individuality. In fact, the fall line-up carries on the tradition of brand heritage coupled with racy modifications. And with many American’s still likely to be working from home, this seasons hybrids have been developed perfectly for tailgating, running errands and as a go-to option for the casual guy that thinks comfort is king.
Take a look here at a few of my favorites based on comfort, style, sustainability and price.
FILA:
The Centa is one of FILA's newest premium, designed to stand out in the crowd with its premium ... [+] leather uppers and hand stitch detailing. Courtesy of FILA
FILA -The Centa is a brand new FILA silhouette featuring rich, premium leather uppers with waxed edges and perforations. The leather FILA flag extends up around the collar of the shoe, and FILA branding on the tongue boasts hand stitch detailing on a tonal embossed patch. The Centa is offered in three color-ways - white, cream and navy. $180
Florsheim:
Florsheim’s Flair Wingtip Oxford in cognac multi Courtesy of Florsheim
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Florsheim’s Flair Wingtip Oxford is a key style in the brand’s fall / winter collection. Blending elements of formal and casual styles, the Flair oxford is a beautiful representation of the brand. This combination of modern and classic makes it a versatile shoe that can be worn to work and weekend alike. Give your look a little Flair this season! Available in seven different color-ways, it also makes for the perfect holiday gift for any man in your life! $130
Forsake:
waterproof sneakerboots that are lighter weight than your heavy winter boots. Courtesy of Forsake
Forsake—Maddox Mid solves the problem when needing a little more ankle support, without the bulky boot. A suede and textile upper on the toe and heel were applied through lamination for extra durability and reinforcement. $139.95
Frye:
Frye Tyler Lace Up Boot in cognac worn by NY Giants’ Andrew Thomas Courtesy of Robert Nethery
Frye—Handcrafted from soft vintage leather, some of the Tyler Lace Up's amazing details include the rawhide leather laces, precision stitching, rubbers insets on leather sole, and a hand-burnished toe and heel. A nice little boot with a distinctly vintage attitude. $328
Gola:
Gola Classics Men’s Daytona Sneakers in off white/tobacco/black Courtesy of Gola
Gola Daytona for men is a vintage jogger with a ‘90s color palette. This reimagined running silhouette from the Gola archives features an EVA stripe midsole and cleated outsole with a tricolor upper. This heritage sneaker ups the ante in fall and winter footwear, giving a striking off-white, tobacco and black color pop to an outfit. $80
Hush Puppies:
Hush Puppies Detroit Chukka Courtesy of Hush Puppies
Meet the Hush Puppies’ Detroit Chukka boot: an ultra-versatile, effortlessly cool, footwear staple that’s sure to class up your closet. After a stroll around the block in these Chukkas, you’ll discover the cushiony comfort of Hush Puppies extra supportive Bounce™ footbed. Add in the water-resistant WorryFree™ leathers and suedes that keeps your feet feeling dry and you’ll find yourself wanting to wear them everywhere. These chukka-style, casually classic boots will quickly become your go-to shoe for everything from date night, to casual Fridays, to rockin’ out some weekend errands. $109.95
John Geiger:
John Geiger "What The" 002 Low Courtesy of John Geiger
John Geiger-Designer John Geiger's “What The” 002 Low sneaker features a design that combines past releases of the 002 Low model from the year into one shoe, in celebration of his eponymous brand’s 2 year anniversary of the 002 Low sneaker model. The “What The” 002 Low features previous color-ways and designs including White Marble, Volt, Pink and Orange Highlighter, as well as the brand’s tie-dye color=way of teal, pink and blue. John Geiger has quickly risen as a formidable creator in the sneaker world with early contributions that have made their mark in the world of footwear, and has since perfected his aesthetic of unique concepts, materials, and color combinations into an eponymous label, now in its third year. His signature sneaker and apparel drops sell out quickly, completely, and consistently, leaving legions of fans eagerly awaiting new arrivals. $320
Kengos:
The Kengos Lace-Up makes a bold statement for your look and for the planet. johansantos.com
The Kengos Lace-Up makes a bold statement for your look and for the planet. The design is as versatile in your wardrobe as a classic white sneaker, yet it’s unlike anything on the market today with its eye-catching whipstitch detail that can be spotted from across the room. This element is functional design at its finest: it not only looks good, but also holds the shoe together with an innovative construction method that’s glue-free and better for the planet. Cool, comfortable, and made from 98% plants, the Lace-Up is a must have in your fall wardrobe. Because the modern man doesn’t just look pulled together, he’s also a man of substance who cares about the environmental impact of his purchases. Price: $95
K-Swiss:
A padded collar underlay and medial piping add pops of color to the stark exterior, while the mesh ... [+] tongue, woven tongue label, and terry cloth interior anchor its ode to tennis heritage. The North Court sits atop a clean, heritage inspired rubber cupsole for all day comfort in any setting. Courtesy of K-Swiss
K-Swiss- Spanning decades of tennis heritage, the North Court is the perfect retro athletic shoe for any occasion. Borrowing inspiration and details from multiple eras of classic K-Swiss, the North Court utilizes layered material panels for a unique, asymmetric upper dripping in vintage style. Price: $60
LAVAIR:
Vitesse Black Moonrock Photographer: Simon Emmett
LAVAIR-Lavair was created with style, fit and substance. Their designer shoes have been created for those pushing boundaries and who promote individuality. Born out of a mindset that everything is possible, supported by a tribe of creators breathing life into the unknown and also taking inspiration from the runway’s innovative response to the lifestyle sneaker market, Lavair has carved out a niche as an everyday luxury lifestyle brand. $291.48
Onitsuka Tiger:
This sneaker features a lightweight nylon upper and a textured rubber outsole that mimics the spikes ... [+] of a track and field shoe. Accenting the heel and toecap are the dual-overlay suede textures and a padded tongue and collar for comfort in what used to be a performance track shoe for racing. Courtesy of Onitsuka Tiger
Onitsuka Tiger- The Onitsuka Tiger SERRANO® model is the must have comfortable sneaker for the F/W season. Inspired by the track spikes of the 1970s, it carries on the tradition of the brand’s heritage and racing customs. Price in USD. $80
O.N.S:
The Dellow is built with luxe cord uppers, durable high wall fixings and vulcanized rubber sole ... [+] units. Offered in a luxe Ecru color-way, the Dellow is an easy affordable go-to. Courtesy of O.N.S Clothing
O.N.S Clothing- Stepney Workers Club produces timeless, versatile footwear using a combination of traditional and contemporary methods. Based in East London, the label delivers a variety of styles that are built to suit every man's needs this Fall/Winter. Built to last but affordably priced, these are a can't miss option for the colder months to come. $125
REEF:
The REEF Sage SE is perfect for casual comfort and effortless style. Courtesy of REEF
REEF – REEF might be known for their standout sandals, but this fall they are expanding the same comfort technology that makes their sandals so coveted into more closed toe options for men. The new REEF Sage SE style is particularly great as a “house shoe” option for the remainder of this year, with many still likely to be working from home. The style also works perfectly for tailgating, running errands and as a go-to option for the casual guy that thinks comfort is king. This sling back shoe has an adjustable suede heel strap for perfect fit, deep heel cupping, a cork topsheet and a footbed that blends cushioning and rebound support, all wrapped up in a premium suede upper with chic microperf detailing. The product is crafted without PVC, which means it's better on and for the environment. REEF is also taking their long-standing commitment to the environment to the next level by donating part of their Southern California office space to the Surfrider Foundation’s Blue Water Task Force for a lab focused on environmental science. $75.00
RONE:
The Loafer Mule by Rone ANTOSH/Photographer : Antoni Cimoszko
RONE -The Rone Loafer Mule is a unique twist on a classic loafer mixing it with the comfort and functionality of a Mule.This is a first of it’s kind Mule, that is hand crafted from recycled waste products.The core is constructed from 100% recycled EVA foam waste. Hand wrapped with a premium rPET material made from recycled water bottles. A style you can either dress up or dress down and is the perfect “at home” shoe you can feel good about wearing. Loafer mule $99.00 USD
Seychelles Footwear:
The Seychelles x One Love Stand Out Sneaker is designed in One Love’s signature blue colors. For ... [+] every pair sold, $5 will be donated to the One Love Foundation. Photos Courtesy of Seychelles Footwear
Seychelles x One Love Stand Out Sneaker—This sneaker will add a pop of blue to any outfit, and provide all the comfort of a regular sneaker, with the fashion of a high-end sneaker. This shoe features built-in arch support and an added heel cushion with Seychelles’ custom OrthoLite® padding system for maximum comfort. The eye-catching stripe detail is symbolic of the One Love Foundation’s signature colors. $119
TAFT Clothing:
The Fifth Ave Sneaker by TAFT, Handmade in Spain with a Lavender scented-sole Courtesy of TAFT Clothing
TAFT Clothing — TAFT’s signature bold mix of leather and textiles adapted into a comfortable, unique sneaker you can’t find anywhere else. This new Fifth Ave sneaker features a split upper of traditional honey leather with a fresh, stand-out, stitched side panel. Named after the iconic Fifth Avenue in New York City, these will be an instant head-turner. The Fifth Ave Sneaker - $198
The Paris Boot by TAFT, also available in Black Floral Courtesy of TAFT Clothing
Taft Clothing This will be one of the most unique boots in your closet. We chose an embossed leather, featuring floral embossing to give a modern and unique touch on this boot. This versatile, high-quality boot is perfect for any formal or semi-formal occasion. The Paris Boot - $275
The Preston by TAFT, also available in Cognac Courtesy of TAFT Clothing
Taft Clothing The Preston in Eden is a smooth combination of TAFT’s best selling shoe and Eden fabrication. The Preston is a long-wing brogue featuring a cotton floral upper. Comfortable, durable, and bold - everything a great shoe should be. The Preston - $265
TOMS:
Super lightweight and flexible, these are an excellent closet basic. Courtesy of TOMS
TOMS—Sneaker: A neutral sneaker can go with anything, anywhere. $64.95
Navi Oxford Dress Shoes- for both work and play, these suede-look oxfords can be worn in a number of ... [+] different settings. Courtesy of TOMS
TOMS Shoes- Navi Oxford Dress Shoes-Never out of style, a classic oxford is always an excellent pick for Fall. $99.95
With a waterproof construction, these boots are an ultra-durable choice for the colder months. Courtesy of TOMS
TOMS—Boots:Every man needs a sturdy boot in his life—choose one in a unique color like this dark gray. $169.95
Tropicalfeel:
Take them wherever life takes you Courtesy of Tropicfeel
Tropicfeel Canyon is the all-terrain sneaker with 4-in-1 versatility: providing the benefits of aqua shoes, the comfort of sport shoes, the technical outsole materials of hiking shoes, and the styling of your favorite daily pieces. Super comfortable and durable with dual density. Built for maximum comfort so you and your feet don’t fatigue. For every pair of Canyon we make, we use 6 recycled plastic bottles.$109.00
Vivobarefoot:
Vivobarefoot Primus Lite II Recycled Winter Mens Photographer: Vivobarefoot
Vivobarefoot- best-selling, ultra-light vegan shoe now UPDATED and water resistant for winter. Puts your feet in control of every run, walk and workout with maximum freedom of movement and full sensory feedback. Primus Lite II Winter is made using recycled plastics and non-wicking materials for water-resistant, breathable performance — making sure you tread light on the planet. $155
Wolf & Shepherd:
The newest Wolf & Shepherd hybrid shoe, the Crossover Chukka, takes wearers from the boardroom to ... [+] the backwoods due to its unprecedented level of comfort, agility, style, and versatility. Co-Founder of Wolf & Shepherd Hope Schneider is the photographer of the image
The Wolf & Shepherd Crossover Chukka style combines the ruggedness, durability, and off-duty military look of a classic Chukka boot with the comfort and agility of a sneaker. This fresh vision of the classic desert boot can take you from the boardroom to the backwoods, making it the perfect style for transitioning between working from home and getting back into the office. The Crossover Chukka was specially created to provide maximum comfort while also using the finest quality materials and craftsmanship. It is made of full-grain, Italian suede or leather and handcrafted by artisans in Portugal. Additionally, the Crossover Chukka utilizes athletic technology, such as FlatForm memory foam throughout the leather-lined footbed, that parallels the comfort of running shoes $279
Wolverine:
Wolverine Men’s 1000 Mile Faribault Boot in brown/green Courtesy of Wolverine
Wolverine’s signature 1000 Mile Boot gets a new look this season in collaboration with Faribault Woolen Mill Company! Two iconic Midwestern brands have come together to put a new spin on Wolverine’s 1000 Mile Axel Boot with material from Faribault’s Foot Soldier blankets, which use the same sturdy construction the brand created for the US military around 1917. Rugged, timeless, and enduring, the Wolverine x Faribault boot will serve you well in the upcoming winter months. $425
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119676d12b15ca76770c6b9d9918d024 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/11/17/the-new-generation-of-beauty/?sh=6be5243233b6 | The New Generation Of Beauty | The New Generation Of Beauty
PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 06: A model walks the runway during the Chanel Womenswear Spring/Summer 2021 ... [+] show as part of Paris Fashion Week on October 06, 2020 in Paris, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images) Corbis via Getty Images
In 2020, a symbol of confidence is the perfect companion as the year (thankfully) comes to a close. Americans are turning over a new leaf after being quarantined and pushed forward growing accustomed to a home-hibernated lifestyle. Nowadays, breaking from the tradition has given rise to the public forefront —where a socially distant meeting isn’t so distant any-longer.
Nonetheless, beauty is a gesture, a symbol of self-assurance that transcends to self-care while remaining true to creating something more modern. The silver lining to 2020, is that given the endless hours spent at home, many Americans came across a new found peace and serenity. In turn, a straight path forward to curate and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
To mark the most memorable moments, home workouts did not go unnoticed. In addition, binge buying had its place to fill a chapter of satisfaction. But what about beauty regimes? Well, that continued to hold its own during this era of self-isolation and wellness. After all, strong willed optimism to return to the once dreaded daily-grind will bestow itself upon us in the near future.
Over the years, innovative treatments in skincare brought forth a fresh new set of revolutionary products and devices that have been entering the market segmentation. For example, Dr. Dennis Gross has pioneered an LED (light emitting diode) device that not only succeeds in its wrinkle reducing and acne fighting purpose, but rather transports you to a world of futuristic rejuvenation —as you place this sci-fi mask on your face.
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As businesses across the country begin to open their doors again, Dr. Barbara Sturm is providing extensive knowledge and intricate detail into the scientific formulation of serums —such as her Anti-Pollution Drops that replenishes skin from HEV blue light, ejected from digital devices; something mankind cannot escape in modern times.
In fact, celebrity makeup artist Marie-Josée Leduc attests that using pure natural oils is the best path forward. Ms Leduc recently launched Odièle, a skincare line where the products are a cocktail of active botanicals and devotedly organic. “Let go of the harsh chemicals” Leduc tells us. “Scale it back a little and go gentle”. More to the point, Gen Z advocates sustainability, a key factor to the largely lucrative industry. “There is a small group of us who look at the big picture. I can’t make money knowing that I am harming the environment”, Leduc preaches with strength to pave an organic pathway for those that follow.
Now that the world is getting closer and closer, the next chapter is confidence and hope. Americans are rediscovering comfort and security found in beauty and wellness. As tough as 2020 has been, people are feeling refreshed and replenished to take on the next chapter. To help you begin your fresh skincare and wellness regiment, I have reviewed a handful of the best products and services developed to stand the test of time.
Armani Beauty:
Armani beauty Crema Nera Supreme Reviving Cream ($400) Courtesy of Armani beauty
Armani Beauty- Crema Nera Supreme Reviving Cream The Supreme Revivng Cream is part of a complete Crema Nera skincare ritual that awakens the skin with luxurious, hydrating formulations. The range’s powerful fusion of nature and revolutionary technology imparts both instant results and lasting benefits to the skin. The powerful, exclusive Reviscentalis ingredient defines the Crema Nera collection, and is infused throughout the full range. Prized for its healing and medicinal powers, an extract from the Reviscentalis plant is able to uncover radiant skin and a more youthful appearance. $400
ARTIS:
Perfect for applying foundation, skincare, bronzer and contour with some glam. Its proprietary ... [+] animal-free CosmeFibre can be used with liquids, creams and powders across makeup and skincare formulas. Courtesy of Artis
Artis has created elegance and glamour this holiday season with their limited- edition Elite Oval 7 brushes, each encrusted with a unique design of Swarovski Crystals! The Emerald Crystal Elite Mirror Oval 7 Brush is adorned with 70 crystals richly pigmented soft-green Swarovski crystals, while the The translucent Crystal Elite Mirror Oval 7 Brush is decorated with 362 translucent-white Swarovski crystals, and the Red Crystal Elite Mirror Oval 7 Brush is filled with 362 ravishing ruby red crystals, all options bring to life a classic holiday color choice that shines on any bathroom counter. Emerald Crystal Elite Mirror Oval 7 Brush -$200,Translucent Crystal Elite Mirror Oval 7 Brush $250 and Red Crystal Elite Mirror Oval 7 Brush $250
BABOR:
Babor Courtesy of Babor
DOCTOR BABOR Power Serum Ampoules: This seven day intensive treatment deeply hydrates the skin with four types of hyaluronic acids of varying weight to plump the skin’s surface and improve skin elasticity. The Hyaluronic acid + Booster Tripeptides work together to deliver intense hydration and effectively plump the skin. Helps improve skin elasticity with long lasting effects. $49.95
BIOEFFECT:
tk Courtesy of
To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of BIOEFFECT and the brand’s award-winning, best-selling EGF Serum, BIOEFFECT launched a 50 mL Limited Edition EGF Serum produced in their new patented black barley. Containing only seven ingredients, this serum is three times the size of the original and features double the concentration of EGF – proven to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines as well as plumps skin to increase density and thickness. The unique bottle is custom-sculpted and designed by renowned Icelandic-born, Brooklyn-based artist, Shoplifter, who designed the bottle to show how the magic of nature and science can merge and influence a work of art. $495 USD
Biophile Skin:
Created by maverick creative scientist and award-winning clean beauty pioneer Alison Cutlan, along ... [+] with seasoned business executive Grace Fooden, the biophile brand synthesizes traditional ecological wisdom with modern science in an alchemical process called biofermentation Courtesy of biophile
Biophile is a new generation of biologically advanced, sustainable skincare that works to balance the microbiome, activate the skin’s regenerative abilities and strengthen skin barrier function. Biophile’s breakthrough trio of products—Root Bionic Refining Essence, Bio-Shroom Rejuvenating Serum, and Bio Barrier Nourishing Oil—feed the skin with probiotic bacteria and botanicals, fungi and superfoods to boost skin immunity and hydration, increase cellular energy, reduce wrinkles and pigmentation, and increase smoothness. Each biophile product is designed to work synergistically to bring skin to life .First, the Root Bionic Refining Essence resurfaces and regenerates to prepare skin for the award-winning Bio-Shroom Rejuvenating Serum. Next, the Bio-Shroom Serum feeds and supports the skin with three powerful mushrooms and age-defying actives and peptides, supporting the skin’s barrier and microbiome. Finally, the Bio Barrier Nourishing Oil strengthens and fortifies for a plump-and-seal effect. $125
BeautyBio:
BeautyBio Courtesy of BeautyBio:
Professional-grade stainless steel, dual-ended Cryo Roller harnesses the natural power of ice-cold temps to depuff, tighten and detoxify skin for a clearer, sculpted, more radiant appearance. USD: $85.00
Dr. Barbara Strum:
Courtesy of Dr. Barbara Sturm Dr. Barbara Sturm Anti-Pollution Drops ($145) strengthen and calm ... [+] skin while also providing protection from damaging HEV blue light. Courtesy of Dr. Barbara Sturm
Dr. Barbara Sturm HEV is a blue light that’s emitted by digital devices, and it penetrates deep into the skin making it potentially more dangerous than UV rays. Over time, it can compromise skin barrier function, triggering an inflammation cascade that causes premature aging, uneven tone, loss of firmness, dryness, impaired skin healing, sensitivity and even breakouts. HEV light exposure is a growing danger for our skin. In fact, during quarantine, US-based Internet service providers reported screen time increases of up to 50% as people turn to their phones to stay connected and informed. Dr. Barbara Sturm’s Anti-Pollution Drops contain a Skin Protect Complex that strengthens the skin’s defenses, Cocoa Seed Extract that forms a shield to protect against UV rays, and the brand’s signature ingredient, Purslane, to help calm irritation. Dr. Barbara Sturm’s propriety blend of Hyaluronic Acid also provides hydration on both deep and surface levels, which is essential to maintaining healthy barrier function. To protect your skin from blue light, apply Dr. Barbara Sturm’s Anti-Pollution Drops after cleansing and before applying face cream, and reapply as needed throughout the day. $145 USD
Courtesy of Dr. Barbara Sturm
Dr. Barbara Sturm Anti-Pollution Drops ($145) strengthen and calm skin while also providing protection from damaging HEV blue light.
Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare:
Dr. Dennis Gross LED FaceWare Device Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare
Dr. Dennis Gross skincare- This FDA-cleared SpectraLite™ FaceWare Pro mask is a LED mask offering professional light therapy at the comfort of your home. A combination of 100 light emitting diodes in red mode + 62 LED lights in blue mode work together to smooth wrinkles, diminish discoloration, and clear acne for a beautiful, youthful complexion. Red light emitting diode penetrate deep within skin’s dermis to boost collagen production. Blue light emitting diode destroy P. acnes bacteria to reduce redness, inflammation, and prevent future breakouts. Within days, see a reduction of acne. In 2 weeks, experience a clearing of mild to moderate acne and fading lines. Optimal skin results occur after a 10 week course of treatment. $435 USD
Dr. Loretta:
Dr. Loretta Courtesy of Dr. Loretta
This advanced sunscreen protects skin from the four external factors responsible for more than 85% of skin aging — pollution, light, climate and irritants. Lipochroman® provides antioxidant protection from free radical damage caused by pollution and UV radiation — the leading causes of fine lines and age spots. Indian ginseng extract protects skin from HEV light emitted from the sun and electronic devices, while peptides hydrate and firm skin. Zinc oxide protects skin from UVA/UVB and irritants. $50
Franz Skincare USA:
Franz Skincare Premium Microcurrent Facial Dual Mask Image Courtesy of Franz Skincare
The Franz Microcurrent Facial Dual Mask is an award-winning microcurrent facial treatment delivered in a dual-layered mask (set of 2 treatments). The first of its kind, this dual mask system is powered by water energy—not batteries—to create tiny waves across skin, letting the mask’s essences go 6x deeper than the leading face mask* for max results. Price: $50
Garden Apothecary:
Ground facial serum, handmade fresh from our farm Courtesy of Garden Apothecary
Garden Apothecary—Higher Ground botanical serum is formulated by our in-house botanist, offering the ultimate nourishment with everyday use. With rich phytonutrients, powerful antioxidants, and replenishing peptides, this hydrating serum is dense with healing botanicals, straight from our organic farm. We sustainably grow the saffron that goes into each and every bottle we make here in Half Moon Bay, CA. $108.
GOOPGENES BY GOOP:
GOOPGENES All-In-One Nourishing Face Cream is a luscious treat for the skin and a clinically tested ... [+] supercream that leaves skin looking and feeling soft, smooth, firm, and moisturized for up to 48 hours. Courtesy of goop.com
GOOPGENES BY GOOP—This luxuriously rich, all-in-one super-cream melts into skin, leaving it deeply nourished with a unique whipped texture that makes it feel like an invisible second skin. The clinically tested formula is made with seven highly active botanicals—including Schisandra fruit, Illipe butter, Caviar lime, and Squalene—that work synergistically to leave skin ultra-moisturized, soft, supple, smooth, firm, and even-toned. A megadose of plant-based ceramides promotes noticeable radiance while smoothing, firming, and hydrating. After just one use, 100% of women experienced significant improvement in hydration. After four weeks of use, 100% showed significant improvement in skin firmness and 94% said their skin appeared brighter. Fragrance-free. $95 USD
iS CLINICAL:
CLINICAL Youth Body Serum Courtesy of iS Clinical
NEW iS CLINICAL Youth Body Serum-This refreshing lightweight serum mist gently absorbs into the skin providing powerful hydration and antioxidant protection against environmental aggressors. The purest form of Hyaluronic Acid, potent extracts of Watermelon, Blue-Micro Algae, Licorice Root and Holy Herb, are combined with essential Vitamin B5, and our proprietary Extremozymes to create a unique and effective formula designed specifically for the body. Much more than a moisturizer, this nourishing treatment leaves skin feeling fresh, soft, and more hydrated. USD $120
KLUR:
Organic hempseed, avocado, and grapeseed oils deliver reparative nutrients to parched areas, while ... [+] providing replenishment and protection against daily moisture loss featuring a comforting aromatic bouquet scent of Neroli Orange Blossom, Bulgarian Rose, and French Lavender. © 2016 Products On White Photography/Courtesy of Klur
Klur —This uniquely fragrant multi-purpose botanical body oil is formulated to nourish, firm and replenish skin. A comforting aromatic bouquet of Neroli Orange Blossom, Bulgarian Rose, and French Lavender impart a delicate floral yet earthy, gender-fluid aroma. Organic hempseed, avocado, and grapeseed oils deliver reparative nutrients to parched areas, while providing replenishment and protection against daily moisture loss. Thus, transforming skin to its most radiant state. $70 USD
Lancer Skincare:
Lancer Legacy Youth Treatment revitalizes the very look of skin, engineered to promote a ... [+] healthy-looking complexion in five essential functions: supporting rejuvenation, recapturing skin vitality, and providing a moisture barrier, water saturation and antioxidant defense. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lancer Skincare
Lancer— Legacy Youth Treatment—This luxurious skin rejuvenation treatment saturates the epidermis with moisture and in combination with advanced factors, elicits a fresh, rejuvenated and healthy-looking complexion. A compound of precious saffron and sake help to promote a brighter, more even-looking skin tone. Next generation amino and hyaluronic acids enhance natural moisture retention for supremely supple and renewed skin. Lines appear softer and smoother, skin looks firmer, and the complexion glows with innate vitality. After polishing and cleansing, apply a generous amount to clean, dry skin using upward strokes sweeping onto the entire face, neck and décolleté and pat gently into the skin for one minute. Over 30 ingredients, sourced from around the world, engineered into 5 revolutionary complexes: Youth GF Complex, Firming Mesh Complex, MitoSmooth Compound, Aquadermal Complex, and SativusBright Compound. Price: $1,000
LightStim:
LightStim for Wrinkles is available at major prestige retailers including Sephora, Nordstrom, Neiman ... [+] Marcus, Revolve and more, as well as LightStim.com. Courtesy of Lightstim
LightStim-The restorative benefits of sunlight have been known for thousands of years, but in more recent history we have become aware of the damage that can be caused by excessive exposure to UV. Often called “red light therapy” and generally referred to as low-level light therapy or photobiomodulation among researchers and clinicians, this treatment contains no UV and utilizes only clinically proven beneficial wavelengths (or colors) of light to treat the skin. Studies performed over many decades, including those conducted by NASA, have shown that the human body has the ability to absorb light through the skin and other body tissues and convert it into energy. This is important, because as we age our skin loses the energy needed to maintain its plump, youthful appearance. As a result, fine lines and wrinkles form, and skin appears slack. The key to LightStim for Wrinkles' effectiveness is its patented MultiWave technology which allows for a more thorough and comprehensive treatment. The device simultaneously emits 4 different wavelengths of UV-free therapeutic light energy. Amber, deep red, light red and infrared wavelengths nourish the skin from within, filling in fine lines and wrinkles, and over time reducing and even eliminating them all in an easy-to-use, portable hand-held device. $249
Luzern:
Nuit Cleaning Emulsion: Hydrates as it cleans, leaving skin glowing and revitalized Nuit Cleansing Emulsion: Courtesy of Marisa Hunter
Luzern- Nuit Cleansing Emulsion—Nuit Cleansing Emulsion. The ultimate pampering and rejuvenating entre' into your evening regimen. Nutrient-rich Alpine extracts are suspended in this ultra-rich cleansing balm. Blended with 6 nourishing oils to help decongest skin without disrupting its delicate protective barrier. Melts on contact with the skin's warmth to dissolve away impurities, makeup, and pollution to prepare it for nighttime renewal. Nuit Cleansing Emulsion: MSRP $135.00
MARA:
MARA's limited edition Sea the Glow® Radiance Duo featuring a full-size luxury Universal Face Oil ... [+] and a travel size luxury Algae Retinol Face Oil developed to work in tandem to soften signs of aging, texture and dark spots while delivering fatty acids and phytonutrients for the ultimate hydration and glow. Courtesy of MARA
Mara—Our two best selling luxury face oils to hydrate and treat your way to a gorgeous glow this holiday season! This limited edition Sea the Glow® Radiance Duo has a full size Universal Face Oil and a travel size Algae Retinol Face Oil so you can treat yourself or someone you love to the gift of good skin this holiday. These two products were developed to work in tandem. Travel size Algae Retinol Face Oil is a nighttime treatment that softens signs of aging, texture and dark spots; Universal Face Oil is filled with fatty acids and phytonutrients for insane hydration and glow. $105 USD
NĀELI Naturals:
NĀELI Naturals Skincare Collection Courtesy of NĀELI Naturals
NĀELI, meaning “the truth will be revealed”, is an effective, clean skincare line with an attainable price point. Created alongside dermatologists, the cruelty-free (Leaping Bunny Certified), vegan, paraben-free, all-natural ingredient product line consists of a Gentle Facial Cleanser, AHA/BHA Superfruit Hydrating Scrub, Collagen Peptide SPF Daily Moisturizer, 4.25% Retinoid Collagen Night Moisturizer and an Apple Stem Cell Hydrating Eye Cream. The glow boosting, anti-aging collection is enriched with essential ingredients such as collagen, hyaluronic acid and berry antioxidant extracts to improve your skin barrier while maintaining a healthy and hydrated complexion. $102 USD
NON GENDER SPECIFIC:
A luxurious moisturizing face cream with 23 powerful botanicals "Courtesy of Non Gender Specific"
Non Gender Specific Everything Cream is a luxurious moisturizing face cream that works to deliver phytonutrients and hydration deep into the skin, thanks to 23 powerful botanicals. This formula works to nourish the skin with natural oils that absorb quickly and are never greasy, leaving skin feeling soft with the appearance of brighter skin, refined pores and reduced redness. USD $58
PMD Beauty:
The new Personal Microderm Elite Pro is a cordless option for effortless, on-the-go beauty featuring ... [+] an extended range of discs for all your exfoliation needs. Courtesy of PMD Beauty
PMD Beuaty—The newly launched Personal Microderm Elite is the brand’s first microderm device that is wireless and rechargeable. Get rid of dull skin with the revolutionary microdermabrasion tool - on the go. The Elite offers a customizable treatment for your unique skin type. After just one treatment it will reveal smoother, softer skin. Now you can reduce fine lines and wrinkles, increase hydration and even out skin texture at a fraction of an in-spa treatment cost. $299
Phyto-C:
evens-out the appearance of uneven skin tone Courtesy of Phyto-C
PHYTO-C—The new HYPER-C now includes AHAs (Glycolic and Lactic Acid) for even brighter, smoother skin! Formulated with H₂A₂ technology plus peptides and pure Vitamin C, Hyper-C works to rejuvenate the appearance of dull looking skin by using the highest concentration of Vitamin C (20%) clinically tested to provide the maximum amount of antioxidant benefits to the skin. The unique H₂A₂ technology, which stands for “HYPER absorbing hyaluronic acid” delivers essential ingredients where you need them most at the perfect absorption rate. $70
SAINT JANE:
Clean botanicals are paired with rich concentrations of full-spectrum hemp to enhance its benefits, ... [+] making this powerhouse duo the ultimate skin-transforming routine for calm, nourished, and glowing skin Image is courtesy of SAINT JANE
Saint Jane — THE IDEAL DUO —Layer these two award-winning skincare powerhouses for your best skin days. Start with The C-Drops for 20% active Vitamin C plus soothing hemp extract to resurface and brighten. Follow with Luxury Beauty Serum on top for deep nutrients and intense moisture. They work together to deliver exactly what your skin needs for complete nutrition throughout your day. $200.00
Sunday Riley:
Pink Drink Firming Resurfacing Essence Courtesy of Sunday Riley
Sunday Riley— A power drink for your skin, this peptide-infused essence resurfaces, balances, and firms the look of your skin (while drenching it in advanced green tea, antioxidant support). Peptides help firm the skin, while fermented honey and botanical extracts balance the skin’s natural microbiome and resurface the skin. $48.00
Tata Harper:
This limited edition duo is a natural face lift in a bottle, engineered with the most lifting and ... [+] firming technology. Includes the Boosted Contouring Serum and Boosted Contouring Eye Balm. Courtesy of Tata Harper
Tata Harper—Boosted Contouring Set—This hyper-potent duo including the Boosted Contouring Serum and Boosted Contouring Eye Balm transforms the look of mature, sagging skin to restore a youthfully firm, lifted look on both the face, décolleté, and under eye area. Best used for loss of firmness/ elasticity, fine lines & wrinkles, and dryness. $270.00
3LAB:
3LAB Super Cream Courtesy of Jonathan Chae
Super Cream is a super-powered skin booster with the most advanced technology, targeted delivery system unique to 3LAB. This luxurious, ingredient-rich cream delivers elastin producing peptides and targeted repair in a matter of days. X50 and Intelligent Targeting Device (ITD) deliver antioxidants and peptides directly to the source of the problem, combating fine lines, wrinkles and skin imperfections with quick, dramatic results. Always on the cutting edge of skin care technology, 3LAB prides itself on offering serious skin care solutions that are efficacious and made with the highest quality ingredients. With Super Cream, 3LAB is one of the first to introduce “smart” technology to skin care. Think of it like a GPS system programmed into your skin cream. Combined with 3LAB’s signature Bio-Engineered Renewal Complex and Apple Stem Cell Technology, the key ingredients are encapsulated within the cream and when applied, it targets tired, stressed-out, and aged cells—only targeting the cells that need repair. The concept was adapted from the pharmaceutical industry where “smart” delivery technology enables medications to target diseased cells. $900 USD
U Beauty:
"U Beauty and Artis Holiday Duo Limited Edition Set” Credit: "Courtesy of U Beauty"
U Beauty and Artis Holiday Duo Limited Edition Set— U Beauty, the luxury, clean, science-backed skincare line dedicated to simplifying your skincare routine, and Artis, the beauty brand best known for their innovative makeup and skincare brushes, will launch a limited-edition set for the holiday 2020 season. For Holiday 2020, U Beauty is pleased to present an exclusive, limited-edition gift set in collaboration with Artis. The brands’ joint offering will pair U Beauty’s recently launched 50ml The SUPER Smart Hydrator with Artis’ Palm Brush Mini. Price: $168
Valmont:
A rich replenishing balm created to provide intense nourishment for even the driest skin. Courtesy of Valmont
Valmont - PRIMARY POMADE This ointment immediately and intensely nourishes the skin. Thanks to the latest technology, its incredibly fine texture penetrates the skin at a rapid speed, visibly healing dry or irritated areas. It replenishes lipids, restores the skin’s protective barrier function, and softens dry skin. The skin is smoother, more supple and comfortable. Retail price: $275
VENeffect:
Veneffect harnesses the power of phytoestrogens to offset the signs of hormonal aging Photo courtesy of Veneffect
Moisturizer —Veneffect Intensive Moisturizer ($185USD) is a potent blend of plant based phytoestrogens, emollients and peptides to address the effects of hormonal aging on skin. Created by sister duo, Cecil Booth, a beauty industry veteran, and Rebecca Booth, M.D., an OB/GYN specializing in hormonal wellness, their line harnesses their experiences professionally and as women to optimize hormonal vitality throughout the month and as women uniquely age. They call this phenomenon the Venus Effect, thus their brand, Veneffect. $185 USD
VENN Skincare:
ADVANCED MULTI-PERFECTING RED OIL SERUM Courtesy of VENN Skincare
VENN Skincare- A multi-correctional face oil serum, strategically formulated using 34 root extracts, botanicals, and essential oils to deliver a category-defining, comprehensive skin benefits. 100% of the formula are efficacy-driven bioactives. Inspired by Korea's traditional herbal first aid ointment, the key ingredients include Lithospermum Erythrorhizon (Gromwell) Root Extract and Angelica Gigas (Korean Angelica) Root Extract that are fermented for 150 hours at low temperature for amplified delivery and performance on the skin. Clinically tested to hydrate skin for up to 24 hours, improve skin’s elasticity and firmness, and instantly increase skin’s radiance. $115 USD
ZIIP:
ZIPP Courtesy of ZIPP
ZIIP-First-ever nano & micro current facial device operated via an app. Offers 9 vastly different skincare treatments, including eyes, 11s, pigment, lymphatic drainage, sensitive skin, anti-aging, etc. Once app is downloaded, treatments sync instantly to the device and each has a detailed tutorial video on the app. New treatments are added/upgraded a few times a year. Once you have the app, the device is the gift that keeps on giving. $495 USD
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88f904b82a688fe3e0560ec7506d675d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2021/01/28/valentines-day-gift-guide-the-most-stylish-little-treasures-for-her/?sh=62f52be4793f | Valentine’s Day Gift Guide: The Most Stylish Little Treasures For Her | Valentine’s Day Gift Guide: The Most Stylish Little Treasures For Her
Last year, most American couples had to stand the test of time united in understanding the consequences and sacrifices that soon became an everyday part of life.
Fortunately, having withstood the enduring storm, an abundant number of couples resurfaced more resilient than ever before. Moving forward, this Valentine’s Day, exchanging gifts of love has taken on a whole new meaning that loving couples will cherish for a lifetime.
Giving the right romantic gift is all about knowing your partner more than anyone else does. Let’s face it fellas, time and dedication is key to finding the right gift to warm here heart and show how much you care.
For women who lean more conservatively, I would suggest to look for elegance and simplicity wrapped in one. On the other hand if your lady packs the punch with respect to style, perhaps something a little edgier then your average gift will mean more to her.
A Valentine's Day feature is always exciting to curate because this (heartfelt) gift-giving occasion allows a man to express his true feelings to the one he loves most!
Allow me to help you locate a handful of the stylish little treasures with the following ideas. I am sure as a day is long that each gift listed below will make someone the happiest girl on earth.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Away:
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Away’s suitcases and accessories are the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for your travel-obsessed ... [+] partner. 6. Courtesy of Away 7.
Away-Away’s Valentine’s Day gifting options are sure to win you major points. Whether you’re looking to gift the perfect carry-on, a new weekend bag or much-needed travel accessories, Away has all the perfect presents to spoil the jet-setter in your life this Valentine’s Day. $95
AZLEE:
Designer and Founder, Baylee Zwart’s, personal influences include design approaches signature of the ... [+] French Art Deco era as well as her fascination with Ancient civilizations. Courtesy of AZLEE
AZLEE Made of 18k gold, .98ct White Pave & Baguette Diamonds, ĀZLEE’s pieces are made locally in Los Angeles by master craftsman. The enamel is hand painted by a local artist and the jewelers are top craftsman in their field. Zwart’s design aesthetic is characterized by her fresh perspective and restrained approach. 95% of AZLEE's collection pieces are made using 100% recycled metals. AZLEE’s melee and large diamonds are ethically sourced and adhere to the Kimberly process. As a long time surfer and diver, Zwart wanted to create beauty in long-lasting pieces, while sustaining the beauty of the worlds' oceans. She decided to combine both passions in AZLEE. Each season, every sale helps benefit an ocean-related organization. $6,400
Bahdos:
Bahdos’ Diamond Heart Silhouette Necklace makes the perfect heartfelt gift for you or someone you ... [+] love. The piece features 20 round diamonds prong-set into a beautiful 14k white, yellow or rose gold open heart with a 16-inch chain. Courtesy of Bahdos
Bahdos -As the heart is the universal symbol of love and diamonds represent forever, Bahdos has created a timeless design that transcends trends. The Diamond Heart Silhouette Necklace personifies the style of the modern woman which has evolved into one of refined, subtle elegance. This necklace allows for everyday wear that feels luxurious and accessible. $595
Baja East:
Relaxed fit trench coat with a double stitch raw edge hem. Courtesy of Baja East
Baja East-Baja East’s signature trench in rose quartz lamé is the perfect Valentine’s Day gift, great for the ultimate day to night glam. $395
BEB Organic:
The ultimate self-care for mom and baby, the Beb Organic Soothing & Nurturing Gua Sha Set creates a ... [+] bonding and nourishing skin-care ritual. The set includes a heart-shaped rose quartz Gua Sha tool, promoting feelings of love and peace, with a calming Soothing Serum and a moisturizing Nourishing Oil. Courtesy of BEB Organic
BEB Organic-While working with premature babies, BEB founder discovered miraculous healing through the experience of touch, supported by the right skincare products, and made it her mission to share that science more broadly with the world. This new first-to-market Gua Sha protocol expands the brands education around the healing power of touch and massage - both physically and emotionally for mom and baby. $128 / Set includeds Soothing Serum (2 fl oz / 59 mL), Nurturing Oil (2 fl oz / 59 mL); Heart Shaped Rose Quartz Stone & 38 Page How-to-Guide
Bellemere New York:
Premium Pink Cashmere Beanie Set Courtesy of Bellemere New York
Bellemere New York-This eye-catching luxurious cashmere gift set will keep you super warm this winter & stylish. The fur pom pom is a chic addition to your outfit that will give you a fashionable look with its ribbed knit design and wide fold over cuffs. This makes the perfect gift this Valentine’s Day, whether it’s your mom, sister or even your bestie – who doesn’t love cashmere? $184.00
Dania Shinkar:
The DANA - Ruby/ Black, crafted from croc embossed calfskin and kidskin goat suede, is a ... [+] vintage-inspired clasp bag featuring a custom brass frame with a fixed top handle. Kiss-lock frame closure, light gold-tone hardware, 100% made in Italy. 6. Courtesy of 9inety 4our studio (photographer: Rahaf Abdulmajeed)
Dania Shinkar -The DANA - Ruby/ Black Croc Embossed is one of the bestselling pieces for the accessories brand, DANIA SHINKAR. Named after the founder's sister, the ‘DANA’ is a modern interpretation of the classic frame bag, with a twist. It perfectly reflects the brand identity of DANIA SHINKAR: contemporary yet nostalgic. The ‘DANA' clasp bag features a custom brass frame with a fixed top handle, and a filled leather frame. This double-frame design is intended to create a visual illusion of 'one bag inside another’, which is indicative of DANIA SHINKAR’s unexpected design detailing. Crafted in Italy from black crocodile-embossed calfskin leather and ruby red kidskin goat suede, the 'DANA' opens to reveal a spacious suedette-lined interior with a slip pocket for your cards. This timeless piece can easily elevate any outfit, and is designed for vintage lovers and for those who desire to express their affinities with design and art. $769
Dynamite:
Relaxed half-zip sweatshirt and soft, oversized fleece joggers Courtesy of Groupe Dynamite Inc.
Dynamite- The Bleeker Half-Zip Sweatshirt and Mercer Oversized Fleece Joggers duo in Foxglove Pink is the must-have lounge set from Dynamite’s Luxe Lounge line this Valentine's Day. The collection that catapulted Dynamite from work-wear fashion to a lifestyle brand in 2020, this luxurious, easy-to-wear, softness meets cloud-nine coziness set is perfect for any Valentine's Day occasion and recipient, whether it's for yourself or a friend! Bleeker Sweatshirt ($49.95); Mercer Joggers ($49.95)
Empreinte:
Empreinte Courtesy of Empreinte
Empreinte-Delicate and precious, Louise Sheer Bra charms with a romantic and graceful style. This bra perfectly illustrates Empreinte cut and sewn lingerie that provides unrivaled lifting effect and enhances the figure for all morphologies. Empreinte succeeds in combining seamed cups with absolute comfort. A fluid theme with naturally generous sophisticated contours. The cleavage trimmed with precious guipure lace is a showcase for traditional luxury embroidery know-how. $194
Golden Goose:
Made in a luxurious vegetable-tanned nappa leather in a dark red shade. Courtesy of Golden Goose
Golden Goose-Crafted from red leather, this biker jacket from Golden Goose is the perfect standout gift for her that will become an instant favorite. Spread love with this iconic statement jacket. $1,770
Jimmy Choo:
This sensual, floral fragrance bursts with joy and radiates confidence, with a seductive twist. As ... [+] with everything from Jimmy Choo, the bottle is a true object of desire Courtesy of Interparfums
Jimmy Choo -Jimmy Choo has created a new feminine fragrance with the arrival of ‘I Want Choo’, an ode to the playful spirit and confident glamour that epitomizes the Jimmy Choo woman. Jimmy Choo’s heritage is intrinsically linked to the glamorous style of the red carpet, with its expertise in designing luxury accessories that command attention of high fashion aesthetics and timeless elegance. Daring, fun and elegant - the perfect combination. A play-on-words of the brand name that describes the alluring nature of the scent and the personality of the Jimmy Choo woman. ‘I Want Choo’ is a powerful sparkling floral fragrance that bursts with joy, radiates confidence, and has a seductive twist. 3.3 Fl. Oz. EDP $118
Judith Leiber:
Judith Leiber More is More, the first-to-market customizable fragrance. Courtesy of Judith Leiber More is More!
Judith Leiber- If you don’t know what to get for that picky woman in your life, look no further than More is More! An innovation in fragrance from the iconic Judith Leiber brand, More is More! includes 3 scents you can wear alone or mixed to create your fragrance, your way. More Zest, More Gourmand, and More Floral encapsulate unique notes that allow you to find the perfect scent to match your mood, style and occasion. $125
Kate Spade New York:
Kate Spade New York is a feminine fragrance, full of the energy and grace the brand embodies. Courtesy of Interparfums
Kate Spade New York-Kate Spade New York launches an iconic fragrance inspired by the house’s signature codes and lifestyle. Aptly named Kate Spade New York, the new fragrance is a joyful and feminine scent that celebrates women and their sense of individuality. The modern, fruity-floral fragrance portrays the vibrant and clever essence of Kate Spade New York that women around the globe know and love. 3.3 fl. oz. EDP $95 / 2.0 fl. oz. EDP $75
Miansai:
The Nyx Cuff by Miansai made out of 14K Gold Courtesy of Miansai
Miansai -The Miansai Nyx Cuff is made out of 14K Gold and created with flex technology. The cuff is the perfect essential that’s guaranteed to impress and available for both men and women. $1,800
Moon Bath:
Clear energy and create space to tune into yourself with Moon Bath’s relaunched New Moon Bath Tea ... [+] for the ultimate bathing experience. Courtesy of Moon Bath
Moon Bath, New Moon Bath Tea (Relaunch)- Relaunching in February 2021 with artwork by notable artist @realfunwow, new moon is a time of rebirth and renewal, calling upon us to tune inward and take rest. Fragrant like a field of lavender and chamomile, this bath tea is deeply calming to the mind, soothing to the physical body, and uplifting to the spirit. Steep the botanicals and press & strain into your bath water to experience a bath like never before. Moon Bath is a wellness beauty brand, combines ancient wisdom with modern intuitive alchemy to create their bath ritualistic products. From aromatherapy to bathing salts & teas, this brand is the perfect remedy for some self-care and relaxation time. $20
MOUNSER:
Silhouettes experiment with the ideas of balance, proportion and movement with attention to both the ... [+] positive and negative space the pieces embody. Courtesy of MOUNSER
MOUNSER- 14k gold plated earrings with pave hinged hoop, pave connector and ball charm.MOUNSER Studio focuses on a sculptural approach to design with inspiration rooted in both nature and modernist and contemporary art. The collections of jewelry, art and object create abstract mementos that manifest the essence of the natural world in its simple beauty. $195
Nourish Mantra:
It’s time to give your skin a nourishing glow. Courtesy of The Communication Council
Nourish Mantra-Put on the exceptional star-studded Ananda Glow Mask to reveal a brighter and radiant skin. The soothing texture of the mask brings the desired comfort to the skin, curing dullness, uneven texture and dark spots. Containing real orange peel powder, a natural herbal powder, this mask gives you a fresh and clear skin and is ideal for exfoliating treatment. Saffron is a perfect gentle and natural ingredient that provides glowing skin. Rich in Vitamin C and Citric acid, this mask effectively fights free radicals and helps you jump start your day with an impeccable radiance. $48
THE ONITSUKA:
THE ONITSUKA™ JUMPA Courtesy of Onitsuka Tiger
THE ONITSUKA™ Inspired by ski boots, the JUMPA sneaker is crafted from luxurious Japanese leather. The design features an oversized tongue, covering the full instep and metal eyelets. We have incorporated fuzeGEL™ technology, coupled with a voluminous sole for superior cushioning. The insole is made from various high-spec materials in varying firmness for excellent cushioning, arch support and shock absorbency. The JUMPA sneaker is from THE ONITSUKA – a new luxury line from Onitsuka Tiger. $495.00
Oradina:
The Heart to Heart Ring is a dainty, stackable piece with a series of graduated gold hearts leading ... [+] up to the largest heart at the ring’s center. Courtesy of Lara Jade
Oradina-Heart to Heart Ring - “I created our Heart to Heart Ring in the second year of my marriage. The hearts get larger and larger towards the center to show that love grows. And just like true love, true gold lasts forever. This ring is a testament to that. It's a fun compliment to any finger making it a great stacking addition.” - Rachel Gindi, Founder. $195
Pax Philomena:
100% cotton hand printed Laura floral pajamas from Pax Philomena Courtesy of Pax Philomena
Pax Philomena-These 100% cotton hand printed Laura floral pajamas are perfect for sleeping in, dreaming in, or just lounging about in! They certainly make a wonderful gift as well as they are indeed the perfect red for the season. Pants have elasticized drawstring waist for maximum comfort. $140
Radley London:
DUKES PLACE Medium Multiway Bag Courtesy of Radley London
Radley London A staple style for the woman on- the-go, this medium sized multiway bag is beautifully crafted from grainy leather that will last for years to come. Complete with multi-compartments made for keeping your essentials in check, wear this design across your body for a hands-free look. $270
RELLERY:
RELLERY Promise Signet Ring Courtesy of RELLERY
RELLERY -With this promise ring, make a promise to your best friend, your partner, your siblings, or anyone you love. Seal your promise with a signet ring for a whole lot of meaning in its most elegant form. $115
Rosantica:
Rosantica's Ginger Bag Courtesy of Rosantica
Rosantica- This light pink Ginger cross-body bag illustrates creative director Michela Panero's maximalist approach, which is informed by her love of jewellery. It's made in Italy from lustrous satin with a cup-chain cross-body strap and drawstring top, while it's adorned with crystal-embellished fringes. $1,115
Rossignol:
Rossignol's 1907 Megeve Black Boots Courtesy of Rossignol
Rossignol -Inspired by life in the Alps and Rossignol's alpine legacy, the women's 1907 Megeve Boots blend chic urban style with mountain durability. These premium leather boots are waterproof and insulated for warm, dry feet when the weather is cold and wet. Rugged rubber outsoles afford confident traction on icy streets and snowy sidewalks. Faux fur adds warmth and style, while a side zip allows for easy on and off. Traditional red laces complement a tonal rooster logo and subtle tricolor details honor Rossignol's French heritage.3. $395
SENREVE:
SENREVE 100% Australian Slipper Courtesy of: SENREVE
SENREVE-Inspired by the women who do it all, SENREVE is derived from the French words for "sense" and "dream" and the brand expertly mixes everyday and fantasy, tradition and innovation, design and versatility—creating an elevated experience that defies trade-offs. While best known for their sustainable, luxury, celebrity loved, accessibly priced handbags, the brand has expanded to incorporate new, home-based items and accessories to help empower women to live their best life in every facet, especially amid the pandemic. SENREVE's 100% Australian Shearling Slippers offer tired feet a much-needed respite from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, perfect for elevating any woman's stay-at-home wardrobe. $215
SHARKCHASER:
SHARKCHASER Medium Bubble in Calf Courtesy of SHARKCHASER
SHARKCHASER- The Medium Bubble is a great everyday bucket bag that will carry all your essentials. It has a suede finish interior made from the finest Italian calfskin and the most powerful electro-magnetic frequency (EMF) shielding lining. The shade range includes your classic black and brown to bright red. $840
Spirit Jersey:
NYC Lover Embroidered Matching Sweat Set Courtesy of Spirit Jersey
Spirit Jersey-The NY Lover Embroidered Spirit Jersey® Sweat Set (Sweatshirt and Sweatpant) is constructed in 15oz cotton fleece in a soft-flame color. All over embroidered ‘heart-work’ make these matching coordinates the perfect outfit for at-home Valentine’s Day festivities and beyond. Sweatshirt, $128; Sweatpant, $128
St. John:
This is the perfect gift to give to your loved on for Valentine’s Day. The chic yet antique feel ... [+] finish, partnered with the sculpted twist design on these earrings will make sure to make the ultimate statement. Image courtesy of St. John
St. John-Inspired by abstract sculpture, make the ultimate elevated statement with these drop earrings. $195
V The Label:
A modern classic featuring an iconic padlock necklace. Image Courtesy of Adam Stanley
V The Label -The Diamond Lock Necklace is the key to your heart, symbol of romance and passion. Perfect for layering, the everyday stack is made for turning heads, whether layered together or worn solo. $100
Yi Collection:
These beauties are one of the latest in Yi’s Collection Courtesy of Yi Collection
Yi Collection-Earrings can complete any outfit with glamour and style. These sparkly earrings have us buzzing! Inspired by a fun love of color, these glimmering earrings will surely put a smile for any dreary day. The sweetest pink topaz paired with vivacious red Ruby combine in this unforgettable pair. 1 carat pink topazes and .30 carat rubies total. Hand forged in 18k yellow gold with hand-selected gemstones. $1,250
AMATERAS Japan:
AAMATERAS’s classic KIMONO robe with Kimono belt. An amazing gift for anyone this upcoming ... [+] Valentine's Day. Photographer : Joshua Helius
AMATERAS Japan This robe is a signature satin KIMONO robe with the actual kimono designed fabric as the belt. As the concept is “western x Japanese” this is the most recommended robe series. $104
BCBGeneration:
The BCBGeneration Ski Hidden Platform Pump has a hidden platform for extra height and is crafted in ... [+] embossed vegan leather. Courtesy of BCBGeneration
BCBGeneration -The BCBGeneration Skie Hidden Platform Pump is the chicest shoe to pair with your favorite dress or power suit for date night.$89
Christian Wijnants:
The Arjana Bag by Christian Wijnants features a zipper closure, adjustable strap, multiple ... [+] compartments and is 100% Bovine leather Courtesy of Christian Wijnants
Christian Wijnants The Arjana Bag by Christian Wijnants is the perfect red staple in theme for Valentine’s Day! Made in Italy, the bag is composed of 100% Bovine Leather and features an adjustable strap and zipper closure.$775
Delaroq:
From the Troisieme Collection, the top handle cites three compartments as inspired to the third ... [+] arrondissement in Paris. There are thoughtfully inscribed numbers that are heat embossed to indicate first, second, and third compartments. In the aim to reduce and simplify, the products are timeless and effortless. Making conscientious purchases that have an impact on the environment help us to be thoughtful in our daily actions and be mindful about aligning our actions with our beliefs. Courtesy of David Kim
Delaroq -The Troisieme Top Handle subtly combines a function driven interior system of keeping everything in its place with its triple compartments with a sleek vintage inspired gusset construction and a feminine look. The expandable accordion gussets are designed to accommodate and store essentials in their place. $298
Intimissimi:
Silk satin pajama pants featuring a covered stretch waistband and contrast trim Courtesy of Intimissimi
Intimissimi- Intimissimi is known for it’s luxury feel pajamas and silks that never disappoint the customer. $99.99
Larsa Marie:
The Marcie Diamond Bangle features 5.25 CT in Diamonds and is available in White, Rose and Yellow ... [+] Gold Courtesy of Larsa Marie
Larsa Marie-The Marcie Bangle is meant to be stacked and layered together with your favorite pieces. This is the essence of the Larsa Marie brand, to mix and match pieces to create a chic and effortless look. $9,960
Messika Paris:
JOY CŒUR 0.15-CARAT DIAMOND NECKLACE Courtesy of Messika Paris
Messika Paris -Looking for a piece of luxury jewelry to declare your love? This Joy 18 carat pink gold diamond solitaire necklace by the Messika diamond jewelry Maison will make that special someone’s heart beat.$775
Natura:
Natura Castanha Valentine’s Set Courtesy of Natura
Natura-Two beauty treats with nourishing Castanha to pamper and delight. The Castanha Body Lotion is a body-smoothing indulgence blended with nourishing Castanha oil for 24 hours of deliciously soft, refreshed skin. The Castanha Hand Cream is skin-loving vegan cream blended with energizing açaí oil and murumuru butter to treat and soften hands. $24
Peace Love World:
Mind Body Love Color Blocked Legging Courtesy of Peace Love World
Peace Love World-Inspired by the mindful routine that elevates her day-to-day life, the Mind Body Love line is designed with shape-forming, relaxed and athleisure styles that allow for comfort while flattering the body and helping customers stay comfortable as they energize, strengthen, and focus on the positive, all while motivating through inspirational affirmations. The style features a color block design made with poly span interlock offering 4-way squat proof stretch, anti-pilling, moisture-wicking and quick dry properties. Additional style highlights include flatlock seams for a smooth and flattering fit, knit waistbands for added comfort and support, hidden gusset for a flattering front fit, and ⅞ length which hit right above the ankle. $39
Rebecca Minkoff:
A modernized tobacco accord featuring fiercely feminine accents of jasmine and coriander to deliver ... [+] sensuality, warmth and a magnetic aura. The fragrance is vegan, gluten-free, phosphate-free and manufactured without animal testing. Courtesy of Rebecca Minkoff
Rebecca Minkoff-This fragrance embodies the Rebecca Minkoff aesthetic. Which is a woman who defines her own sense of self. She is conscious of what she puts on her skin while smelling incredible. $95.00
RECLINER:
The Second Skin Nightie, your sleep secret weapon Courtesy of Alex Kelleher
RECLINER- Silky-soft, lightweight, with stretch for days, our iconic Dreamtech® Second Skin Nightie has been described as a “total game-changer” when it comes to sleep improvement. Made with our signature cooling, long-fiber sleep jerseys, this nightie hugs your curves, lumps and bumps like a second skin. Thermo-regulating and naturally-deodorizing, this classic will keep your body temperature spot on throughout the night and stay fresh for days. Do take note: of all our nighties, this one is most likely to cause a stir. Pro tip: this style also *loves* a pregnant belly. $85
ROEN:
RÓEN products combine a fashion-forward, innovative, glamorous approach with clean, ethical, ... [+] high-performance ingredients. Courtesy of ROEN
ROEN - A trio of liquid lip balms designed to provide the high shine of a gloss and the benefits of a balm. A non-sticky alternative to the classic lip gloss, these gorgeous lip balms soothe the lips as they nourish, regenerate and repair. Formulated with mango and grapeseed oils to hydrate and protect, Kiss My Liquid Lip Balms provide the high shine of a gloss with the nourishment of a balm. Shades include Remi (glossy nude), Charlie (dusty rose) and Scout (deep berry). $65
Sebago:
A thoughtful, practical, and festive Valentine’s Day gift, the Sebago Classic Dan Waxy loafers in ... [+] Chiffon are the gift to get. Courtesy of Sebago
Sebago-These 4 seasons slip on opaque beefroll penny loafer mocs were handcrafted with hot stuff buffed leather, especially conditioned with a rich combination of oils and waxes, which provides the leather with a natural polish quality. They feature leather sock lining and natural leather soles with moulded rubber heels. The “Dan” loafers are a homage to the passion of the Sebago founders. $150
Smashbox:
Smashbox It’s A Sign Of Love Fire Kit in Leo Courtesy of Smashbox
Smashbox-This Valentine’s Day, Smashbox has partnered with astrologist, Jessica Lanyadoo, to create makeup kits and love forecasts for each zodiac sign around love, beauty and your perfect match. Each kit is filled with three of Smashbox’s hero products that are perfect for each sign. The Fire Kit for Leos includes full sizes of the Always On Matte Liquid Lipstick in Boss Up (terracotta rose), the Always Sharp Waterproof Kohl Liner in Raven (black) and the Gloss Angeles Extra Shine (clear). $46
Yun Yun Sun:
The Cassite ring was designed with the notion of eye-catching simplicity. We wanted it to be a very ... [+] straight forward design with a simple setting but still ensuring that it makes a statement. The size and type of stones used in this ring help to translate that notion. Courtesy of Yao Shi
Yun Yun Sun-We always set out to create a well-rounded collection of statement pieces that is inclusive of items that our customers look to us for. Whether that be statement necklaces, bracelets, earrings, cuffs, or rings in this case. A statement ring could really help to elevate anything you are wearing even something as simple as a basic white tee and blue jeans. $150
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65de193a24d70b36173c6b17cebba995 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2021/02/26/the-best-essentials-for-his-daily-routine/?sh=22eca97f87f1 | Fresh Essentials For His Daily Routine In 2021 | Fresh Essentials For His Daily Routine In 2021
With corporate ascension in mind, the new luxury in style and grooming has a laser-focus on adapting to changing consumer demands— as we stand at the intersection of culturally connecting in the modern world. The operative term here is consumer-demands. But for me, how these demands are being taken into consideration for the market segmentation, is the greater question that needs to be answered.
Although I am keenly aware that a new generation of consumers is changing the definition of mens style and grooming, I incite industry experts to stand their ground when it comes to intertwining culture and commodity values. In short, if you allow consumers to dictate your product development, then perhaps you should think twice about being in business in the first place. Listening to consumer wants and needs is one thing, but allowing customers to define your business should not be an option. In fact, great success is achieved when there remains a give and take relationship in progress. Maintaining an overall polished look remains consistent with expert advice. Being well-groomed is a reflection of your commitment to your well-being and to those around you. This will not change. More importantly, it should not change.
I’m excited to share with you a new crop of daily essentials for men that will hopefully shed some clarity with respect to your modus operandi grooming methods. The foundation for better grooming lies in defining your aspirational goals that are independent of your daily respective needs. One thing is for sure; being a well-groomed man permits one to present oneself in the best manner both at work time and leisure time.
Cardon:
Cardon's Dark Circle Eye Rescue Courtesy of Cardon
Cardon -Cardon's Dark Circle Eye Rescue reduces the appearance of dark circles, puffiness, and wrinkles around the eyes. It brightens with 3 active peptides to reduce the appearance of dark circles and puffiness, contains Hyaluronic Acid and Niacinamide to provide deep hydration, and firm the skin. and the stainless steel roller tips provides a cooling sensation and helps the skin absorb ingredients better. $23
Cultus Artem:
Poeticus, is a liveable fantasy of smoke and suggestion and lust without inhibition. Erotic and ... [+] animalistic, the fragrance notes of French Narcissus, Tobacco, Osmanthus, Myrrh & Labdanum. Courtesy of Cultus Artem
MORE FOR YOUFabergé Easter Eggs Set To Be Displayed At The V&A As Part Of A Major Exhibition On The Iconic GoldsmithSee The New Women’s Sleepwear Collection By Royal Warrant Holder, Turnbull & AsserFossil Goes Green, Releases The Perfect Cactus Leather Commuter Tote
Cultus Artem-Cultus Artem exists independently with the freedom to focus on artistry, the preservation of hand-craftsmanship, and carefully considered production quantities. Every individual fragrance is special, and was uniquely formulated via their in-house atelier in San Antonio. Poeticus is one of the stand out fragrances of their 9 signature scents, and leaves a sillage of an uninhibited, wild nocturnal beat. $580
Disco:
Disco Face Moisturizer Courtesy of HMVD Studio
Disco—Disco’s Hydrating Face Moisturizer is a daily essential for men who value a healthy and clean skincare routine. With ingredients like nourishing Vitamin E that hydrate and locks in moisture, antioxidant-rich Vitamin C that brightens the complexion, and anti-aging Macadamia Oil that fights off wrinkles, this soothing eucalyptus-scented moisturizer formulated specifically for men will be a staple in your skincare lineup. All Disco products, including the Hydrating Face Moisturizer, are vegan, non-gmo, cruelty free, and developed with clean ingredients only – no parabens, phthalates, talc, gluten, or artificial fragrance.$24.00 USD
EiR NYC:
Moisturizing After Shave Treatment (c) seymour templar 2020/ Courtesy of EiR NYC
EiR NYC- Named after the Norse goddess of healing, EiR products are made of therapeutic blends of premium, wild-crafted herbs and essential oils, designed to speed internal healing while providing the external benefits of softening, cleansing, and repairing the skin. This essential oil blend is a fantastic follow up for those who shave or wax. Jojoba and eucalyptus oils condition irritated skin as tea tree oil helps to tooth pores and ward off potential ingrowns. Lavender and rosemary lend a calming, fragrant finish – your skin and hair will thank you. $30 / 2 fl. oz.
Geologie:
Nourishing Eye Cream for Dark Under Eyes Courtesy of Geologie
Geologie- Geologie’s best selling Nourishing Eye Cream is a staple product recommended for every skincare regimen. The eye cream restores the delicate skin around your eyes with a rich mix of peptides, antioxidants, caffeine, niacinamide, and hyaluronic acid, and features a somewhat under the radar ingredient that is ideal for fading dark under eye bags - kojic acid. This naturally-derived ingredient that comes from mushrooms, and has the ability to really penetrate the layers of your skin and stop the production of melanin. Aesthetically this means it has the ability to even skin tone and fade dark spots, and this is why Geologie uses kojic acid as part of their gentle, yet effective, Nourishing Eye Cream. $59 (90 day supply)
GETMr.
Men’s daily fragrance-free 3-in-1 skincare solution: moisturizer, aftershave with mineral broad ... [+] spectrum SPF 30 Nathan Bolster/Courtesy of Nathan Bolster
GETMr.—Skin damage is cumulative, not just the result of hours outdoors. That’s why at GETMr. we believe that like any investment, it’s the small wins each morning that lead to long-term results. The Daily 3-in-1 mineral sunscreen, aftershave, and moisturizer is an essential step in every man’s morning. It protects against skin cancer, wrinkles, and scarring in a one-step routine. It’s the easiest, most proven way for men to maintain healthy, long-lasting skin. Subscribe every 1, 2 or 3 months for $24.49 .Single purchase option available
GUY FOX:
GUY FOX'S zesty and warm fragrance, JP. Courtesy of GUY FOX
GUY FOX-GUY FOX is not your normal fragrance company. Founded by two best friends from California who got tired of paying huge mark-ups for colognes. They've spent the last 2 years researching, testing, and developing their first 6 cologne scents. JP is a super unique fragrance that is both zesty and warm at the same time, featuring notes of Bergamot, Ginger, Sage, Cashmere Wood, Vetiver and Cedar. $59.50
Head & Shoulders:
Head & Shoulders Anti-Dandruff Styling Collection Courtesy of Head & Shoulders
Head & Shoulders Styling Collection—One in two male styling users have experienced scalp issues caused by styling products. 65% of them have even limited or stopped usage as a result, forcing men to choose between styling their hair or experiencing scalp irritation and flakes. The Head & Shoulders Styling Collection was designed to address this challenge, changing the way men approach styling by bringing to market a new, one-of-a-kind collection featuring high performance products that are both strong in hold and kind to the scalp. Men no longer need to choose whether to style their hair or keep their scalp free from irritation – the new collection ensures men can do both! SRP: $9.99 per product (pricing is at the discretion of the retailer)
HOMMEFACE:
Achieve firm and clean skin in just two simple steps, making it easy for any many to reach their ... [+] skincare goals. © 2019 HommeFace. All Rights Reserved/Courtesy of HOMMEFACE
HOMMEFACE—A sophisticated skincare brand designed for specifically for men that was created to give true skincare solutions that are easy, simple, safe, but still effective. Their results-driven products are vegan, natural, certified cruelty-free and include no parabens or SLS. Easy Skincare Duo Set is a luxurious skincare gift set for the sophisticated man that he is. This duo set includes two simple products that take care of his basic yet essential skincare needs – cleanse, moisturize and you’re set! The Daily Face Wash removes impurities, while the Facial Moisturizer locks in moisture all day. $34.00
Lumin:
Upgraded products for your bathroom that work as good as you look Image courtesy of Lumin
Lumin— The Modern Bathroom Set has all the skin, hair, and body essentials for the premium man's daily routine. The set includes Lumin's Charcoal Cleanser and Moisturizing Balm, which helps with dehydration, sun damage, oil regulation, and clogged pores. As if that weren't enough, the set also comes with Lumin's Keratin Recovery Shampoo, Keratin Strengthening Conditioner, $73.75 USD (or $59 with the subscription)
LVL Shave Co:
Align Below Hairline. Swipe Down. Courtesy of LVL Shave Co
LVL Shave Co— LVL Shave Co., was founded around solving a grooming problem for well-kept men with a new device, the LVL Neck Razor, (pronounced Level) that makes it easy to quickly clean up the back of the neck between haircuts. The ingenious in-line shaving device provides an easy back of the neck shave in less than 60 seconds with no assistance or additional mirrors needed, giving the well-groomed man that ‘fresh from the barber’ look every day. Simply align below the hairline, and swipe down.$34 -For a Starter Set.
Mission Farms CBD:
Mission Farms CBD Joint and Muscle Gel provide the one-two punch of quick comfort from the icy-hot ... [+] sensation followed by a lasting reduction in discomfort and inflammation from our full-spectrum CBD. Courtesy of Mission Farms CBD
Mission Farms CBD—Our CBD Joint and Muscle Gel is our best-selling product, earning 4.9-star Customer Reviews from verified buyers, and is definitely a game-changer. Whether you are an athlete looking for a quick recovery from your workouts, an average-joe hoping to ease normal aches, or a mature adult seeking relief from the inflammation of arthritis — our CBD Joint and Muscle Gel will turn your “Ouch!” into “Ahhhhh.” Your body will feel young and new again after a daily regimen of our CBD Gel. The cooling effect of this CBD Gel desensitizes your nerves then the warming effect relaxes your muscles. Our award-winning, full-spectrum CBD then goes to work easing discomfort and inflammation for hours to come. We can’t wait for you to feel good again. $39-$79
Old Spice:
The All-New Old Spice Clinical Sweat Defense Courtesy of Old Spice
Old Spice Clinical Sweat Defense Anti-Perspirant—Old Spice Clinical Sweat Defense delivers 5-in-1 protection with a jaw-dropping 73 hours of sweat protection, 48-hours of odor protection and long-lasting scent. But, that’s not all ... Clinical Sweat Defense is also dermatologist-tested with skin moisturizers so guys can work their way toward greatness knowing that this product is gentle on skin. $9.49
Rudy’s Barbershop:
Rudy's 123 Shampoo, Conditioner, and Shampoo in its natural element Courtesy of Rudy's Barbershop
Rudy's Barbershop- The 123 shower system: Simple instructions, sophisticated recipe, and a best in show aesthetic. Rudy’s No. 1 Shampoo is used by stylists in its shops every day for its clean, color safe ingredients. The multi-tasking No. 2 Conditioner detangles, reduces static, and softens hair with a formula rich in vitamin E. And the No. 3 Body Wash features a hydrating creamy lather with notes of citrus, cedar, and juniper. This product captures the simplicity of use, but sensorial complexity of Rudy’s Brand products. $60
Spotlight Oral Care:
Spotlight Oral Care Men’s Whitening Strips Courtesy of Spotlight Oral Care
Spotlight Oral Care - Men’s Whitening Strips - Spotlight Oral Care, a sustainable and clinically-effective oral care brand started by dentists, just launched the first-ever Men’s Teeth Whitening Strips - another example of how the brand continues to innovate by creating individualized products. They share the same best-selling, clean and clinically-effective formula as Spotlight’s original teeth whitening strips, but they’re slightly bigger in size and have been ergonomically designed to cater for the anatomical differences in the male mouth to ensure total coverage of the teeth to deliver maximum whitening results. The set includes 28 Dental Teeth Whitening Strips for long-lasting results (14 top, 14 bottom) as well as Comforting Gum Oil to ensure minimal sensitivity. $50
The Feelist:
The Feelist is a collection of luxury wellness and skincare products designed to revolutionize and ... [+] elevate your beauty and self-care routine Images Courtesy of The Feelist
THE FEELIST—DO NOT DISTURB Extra Strength Body Cream is a deeply relaxing and restorative moisturizing body cream infused with an extra strength dose of 500mg Broad Spectrum CBD. Formulated with a unique blend of essential oils and natural extracts to calm your senses and put your mind and body at ease. $76
TRIBE:
TRIBE KIT
The TRIBE Cosmetic System. The simple 3 step process will moisturize, hide blemishes, reduce redness ... [+] and shine, and create a fuller beard and well defined eyebrows. angela peterman
TRIBE COSMETICS—Tribe 3-Step program lets you showcase your most memorable feature: your face. Formulated for daily use, Tribe is both men’s cosmetic products and a cosmetic system. The 3 formulations individually address the most common problems for guys: dry skin, dark circles, blemish and skin color correction and uneven beards. Used together or separately Tribe provides easy solutions and tangible results that leave our consumers looking polished and feeling confident. Moisturizer $21 USD. Skin Fix $18 USD, Beard Fix $12 USD, Tribe 3 set kit $44 USD.
Triumph & Disaster:
Blanco Deodorant by Triumph & Disaster, infused with Bergamot, Kawakawa and Lime to calm ... [+] perspiration and neutralise our body's odor. Greg Olesen +6421969023Courtesy of Triumph & Disaster
Triumph & Disaster— Quote from Dion Nash, founder, Triumph & Disaster - “I remember watching an advert for a massive antiperspirant brand in the early 2000’s that showed arrows pointing the sweat back into the body and the spray blocking off the armpits. It always occurred to me this should be the very worst depiction not something to advertise - we are designed to sweat and excrete toxins, not recirculate them. So as a former athlete and generally someone who wants to stay healthy I think natural deodorants are really the only solution, so yes we feel passionate about explaining to people that sweat is ok.
Generally I believe that consumers have shifted seismically away from harmful ingredients, aerosol cans, pungent fragrance doses and nonsense faux science. E commerce and online forums have educated consumers to a much greater degree than ever before so there is a moment in time right now for healthy, careful, honest companies to present their case. But as you point out big brands will follow and have followed already - this is a good thing. But the danger is when the science gets twisted again. So it will always be up to the smaller brands, the thought leaders, those driven by the performance and honesty of their products to keep the category evolving in the right direction.” $19.95
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8dff2e76417ae44370d4571ee6d037c9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2021/02/28/skincare-products-formulated-to-be-an-essential-part-of-her-daily-routine/ | Skincare Products Formulated To Be An Essential Part Of Her Daily Routine | Skincare Products Formulated To Be An Essential Part Of Her Daily Routine
Make no bones about it: at this time, people are eager to get back outside and get back to work. If you enjoy spending time outside and are concerned about sun spots inflamed skin and premature aging after exposure to the sun, then it is time for a modified skin regime. The new luxury in style and beauty has a keen focus on adapting to changing consumer demands— as consumers stand at the intersection of culturally connecting, spreading their wings during the 2021 Renaissance.
Clean, all natural skincare lines are disrupting beauty norms with luxurious lines of skincare products formulated to be an essential part of anyone’s daily routine. Today’s product offerings include the very best beauty and nutritional products developed with with the finest biochemists, herbalists, physicians, and botanists focused on delivering effective results from the inside out. In short, today’s skincare line-ups are focused on healing and maintaining.
Even new hair products equipped with formulas that work effectively on the symptoms that cause greasiness and treats both the hair, scalp and strand-allowing more time between washes. The science behind the new hair products here strengthens and rebalances the scalp while controlling sebum production, targeting excess oil without stripping hair.
In addition, today’s offerings include serums that improve the vitality of the skin while enhancing the skin’s moisture content. In a sense, it communicates with the skin to deliver the right amount of hydration to the areas needed for you thus revitalizing the skin’s outer layers so they look and feel softer, smoother, and radiantly hydrated. And by keeping your skin hydrated, moisturized, and plumped will decrease the visible appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
I’m excited to share with you a new crop of daily essentials including fresh ingredients, and new textures for consumers to experience and develop modified skin care regimes. The foundation for a healthy skincare regime lies in defining your aspirational goals that are independent of your daily respective needs. Now is the time to get back to work in a way associated with a new way of perceiving the world.
Bodhi Beverly Hills:
A lightweight serum to provide an optimal glow while rejuvenating the skin. To be worn alone as your ... [+] daily routine or under makeup Courtesy of Bodhi Beverly Hills
MORE FOR YOUFabergé Easter Eggs Set To Be Displayed At The V&A As Part Of A Major Exhibition On The Iconic GoldsmithSee The New Women’s Sleepwear Collection By Royal Warrant Holder, Turnbull & AsserFossil Goes Green, Releases The Perfect Cactus Leather Commuter Tote
Bodhi Beverly Hills- A clean, all natural, Leaping Bunny approved skincare line is disrupting gendered beauty norms with their luxurious line of skincare products formulated to be an essential part of anyone’s daily routine – regardless of gender. Glow/Humble Skin Perfecting Primer is an ultra-lux serum that primes the skin with a gorgeous, luminous glow. Warm gold pigments create a brightening effect while reducing the appearance of wrinkles, lines and dullness. Bursting with hyaluronic acid, for ultimate anti-aging, this primer covers all bases. The silky soft-touch formula makes your skin feel plump and hydrated with a light matte finish (something most serums can’t provide!) $59.00
boscia:
The Papaya and Pomegranate Enzyme Exfoliating Body Cleanser is a potent, resurfacing cleanser ... [+] targets visible signs of aging and promotes smoother, clearer skin by gently removing the outer layer of dead skin cells Courtesy of boscia
boscia- Now more than ever, we are seeing skincare and wellness categories and products blend together. Consumers really want to take care of themselves. The timing for boscia’s Skin Nutrition body collection aligned perfectly in that it has always been my vision to create a skincare line that truly covers all needs. Everything from the ingredients, to the textures, to the flexible and smooth packaging was created for our consumers to experience selfcare beyond the face.$35.00
Cadence:
The capsules designed to move with your routine that are built for you, by you. Image Courtesy of Cadence
Cadence-The first-ever magnetic and refillable container designed to organize every day essentials such as moisturizers, vitamins, toothpaste and jewelry at home and when you’re on the go. Build Your 6 Bundle – The bundle you can build from scratch – because you know you best. A bundle of six individual capsules that magnetically snap together to create a build able system to fit your unique routine. Choose from a menu of text and icons or completely customize the magnetic label of each capsule. Fill each capsule with your stuff, you already have products that make you feel good and Cadence has made it possible to keep all of those products at your finger tips. Each capsule is designed with wide openings for easy scooping of every last bit with magnetic tops, sides, and labels to ensure you never drop of one any part of your capsule. All capsules feature proprietary ocean-bound plastic designed to keep all products as safe and fresh as if they were in their original packaging. They are also BPA-Free, guaranteed leak-proof, dishwasher safe and TSA-Compliant.Starting at $70 USD
Chapter Twenty:
The 2 oz bottles are perfect to take on the go - spritz on your hands or face post workout to ... [+] refresh tired skin. Courtesy of Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-A new brand at the helm of antimicrobial skincare products, Chapter Twenty is a skin cleanser that does not rely on alcohol to effectively remove bacteria and viruses from our skin. Instead, it contains Hypochlorous Acid (HOCI), a substance naturally produced by our white blood cells and part of the body's immune response. HOCI is effective at removing viruses, bacteria and known for additional properties including hydrating skin, calming skin irritation and reducing redness. Bundle of three at $45 or option to enroll in a monthly subscription for three, six or nine bottles starting from $40 / month.
Crown Affair:
The Oil hydrates, protects and reduces frizz Courtesy of Crown Affair
Crown Affair- Crown Affair’s founder, Dianna Cohen, is extremely conscious of what she puts in her hair - no cyclic silicones, no sulfates, and no parabens ever - but she couldn’t find a hair oil she loved that didn’t feature these ingredients. She worked with chemists for two years to solve the problem, and the result is The Oil. Formulated not only to deeply hydrate, soften and protect your hair from heat damage, The Oil also reduces unwanted frizz and the appearance of split ends and flyaways. The Oil can be applied to any hair texture in a variety of ways to lock in moisture all year long. It features a light scent with top notes of Italian bergamot, yuzu, and lemongrass; and base notes of amber and wood.$40
Dr. Michele Green, MD:
Hydrating magic in reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Courtesy of Photographer Mary Jane Starke
MGSKINLABs Hydra Repair: Hyaluronic Acid For All Skin Types—Hyaluronic Acid is a key skin care ingredient to keep your skin hydrated, moisturized, and plumped, decreasing the visible appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. This unique ingredient replenishes the lost stores of hyaluronic acid as we age and as a result of environmental factors such as smoking and pollution. This pure, high concentrated hyaluronic acid works to maintain the skin’s natural protective barrier restoring moisture to the skin at every level. This serum improves the vitality of the skin while enhancing the skin’s moisture content. It synergistically communicates with the skin to deliver the right amount of hydration to the areas needed, revitalizing the skin’s outer layers so they look and feel softer, smoother, and radiantly hydrated. $98.00
EiR NYC:
This blissed-out formula of essential oils will help promote rest and rejuvenation, as well as ... [+] replenish your glow. (c) seymour templar 2020/Courtesy of EiR NYC 7.
EiR NYC EiR NYC was created for active bodies and mindful spirits. Named after the Norse goddess of healing, EiR products are made of therapeutic blends of premium, wild-crafted herbs and essential oils, designed to speed internal healing while providing the external benefits of softening, cleansing, and repairing the skin. There is no greater secret to performance than a good night of sleep – so we bottled it. Research has taught us that the better we sleep, the better we function physically, mentally, and emotionally. Whether a marathon, a meeting, or simply a busy morning, ample rest is key to reaching your chosen finish line.$60.
EVE LOM:
Built on 30 years of tried and true experience, EVE LOM is the ultimate skincare authority Courtesy of EVE LOM
EVE LOM-Provide the skin with all it needs in one, luxurious, multi-tasking moisture cream. Next generation Hyaluronic Acid helps reduce lines and wrinkles, protects against the effects of pollution. Dermatologically tested, this cream also helps to increase luminosity and hydrates the skin up to 72 hours after use, while defending the skin from cell damage, leaving the face looking radiant and renewed. $115
GOGO Skincare:
Carmen Electra’s GOGO Skincare Three Step System Courtesy of GOGO Skincare/ MARIO BARBERIO 818-381-3793 MARIO@MARIOBARBERIO.COM
GOGO Skincare- Carmen Electra’s GOGO Skincare is a three-step system that consists of Glow serum, Awaken eye cream and Nourish moisturizer. The product is FDA approved, paraben-free, cruelty-free, sulfate-free, gluten-free, vegan, dermatologist tested and was formulated after Carmen’s skincare routine that she’s had for the past twenty years to maintain her healthy, glowing, surgery-free skin. $149.95 for one time purchase, $99.95 for monthly subscription
HABIT:
The N°41 Mister is a touch-less SPF mist for timeless skin Courtesy of HABIT
HABIT-HABIT creates active drug products for timeless skin. Their hero product, the Nº41 Mister, is the first touchless SPF mist, with a minimal, clean formula created for broad spectrum coverage (SPF 41) for all skin tones, quick set application, and most importantly, habitual use. As the mist is completely translucent, it can be used at any point of your skincare routine, even over makeup. With its botanical fresh scent and ease of use, HABIT ensures your SPF routine is elegant and uncomplicated. $30
Inner Beauty Cosmetics:
Inner Beauty Cosmetics Courtesy of Inner Beauty Cosmetics
Inner Beauty Cosmetics-Natural ingredients are at the heart of every Inner Beauty formula. Why? Because we believe Mother Nature knows best! Each carefully chosen plant-derived oil, botanical essence and floral water gently nourishes skin without harming sensitive bodies (or the planet). Begin your day with Skin Tint Foundation to moisturize and even skin tone; target dark circles or discoloration with ultra-bendable Skin Care Concealer. Brighten eyes with a sweep of smudge-proof Sugar Coated Mascara. Finally, show your delicate lips some love with nourishing Stay Calm Lip Balm and finish with Shine Infusion Lip Oil for healthy-looking lips that shine. Our Clean Beauty Essentials collection will have you feeling as good as you look—effortlessly! $125. Clean Beauty Essentials featuring Skin Tint Foundation, Skin Care Concealer, Sugar Coated Mascara, Stay Calm Lip Balm and Shine Infusion Lip Oil
Isla Beauty:
The Tone Balance Elixir hydrates and balances skin Courtesy of Isla Beauty
Isla Beauty- The Tone Balance Elixir is Isla’s best-selling, clinically proven hydrating elixir that has fans from every age and skin type. Sourced from Australia and made with 100% natural ingredients, this elixir is unlike most toners, which can be drying, astringent and harsh. The Tone Balance Elixir provides immediate, proven hydration while clarifying the skin, all in a gentle, great smelling formula. The elixir is packed with rich, moisturizing ingredients indigineous only to Australia which aid in replenishing the skin’s moisture barrier. Antioxidants protect and plump, while specific botanical extracts soothe and restore balance. $48
Kulia Skincare:
A powerful blend of Royal Hawaiian Sandalwood Oil, Amaranth Seed Oil, and pure essential oils that ... [+] awaken and hydrate face and neck skin. Courtesy of Kulia Skincare
Kulia Skincare Kulia Regenerative Face Serum is a powerful elixir of pure oils that nourish, hydrate, and protect face and neck skin. Royal Hawaiian Sandalwood Oil energizes and hydrates skin while Amaranth Seed Oil reduces inflammation and soothes and protects its natural barrier. Amethyst and Rose Quartz crystals are added to raise the energetic properties of the serum, promoting balance and protection while opening the heart chakra to compassion and unconditional love. $165
MONDAY BORN BEAUTY:
Monday Born Beauty SOURCE Reparative Hydrating Essence Courtesy of Monday Born Beauty
MONDAY BORN BEAUTY-Formulated with 79% of Centella Asiatica Extract, SOURCE calms and repairs skin’s barrier function while deeply hydrating and moisturizing the skin. Made with only 26 ingredients, this stress-free, back-to-basics essence will be your new staple in your skincare routine.Suitable for all skin types & Free of: Alcohol, Essential Oil, Derivative of Coconut, Dye, Fragrance, Gluten, Paraben, PEG, Phthalate, Silicone, Soy, and Sulfate. $42
MR SMITH:
Weightless and restorative, Mr. Smith’s contains argan, jojoba and hemp seed oil that moisturizes ... [+] and nourishes, while strengthening damaged and brittle hair. This antioxidant-rich, leave-in product is specifically designed to promote stronger, healthier hair, while providing added heat and UV protection. Courtesy of Mr. Smith
MR SMITH- The Mr. Smith Serum is a product which is fundamental to the brand's offering. Versatile, the Serum works for a variety of hair types and textures and is designed to strengthen hair naturally, while protecting it at the same time. Like all of Mr. Smith's products, the Serum is PETA certified vegan and free from sulfates or parabens. $50
Myth/Magick:
Glow Worthy Ultra-Rich Moisturizer Courtesy of Myth/Magick Conners Treimer (Angela Conners Treimer (Photographer) - [None]
Myth/Magick-Glow Worthy Ultra-Rich Moisturizer harnesses the power of peptides, Hyaluronic acid and skin-loving Jojoba oil along with unique botanical actives like green tea and horsetail extract to bring a golden-hour glow to all skin tones 24/7. $39
Natura:
Natura is a Brazilian multinational in the cosmetics and personal care segment. Courtesy of Natura
NATURA-This super-concentrated gel repairs hydration levels according to the needs of each region of the face. With Fevillea extract, hyaluronic acid, and prebiotics, this intelligent moisturizing technology promotes an instant hydration recharge and stimulates your skin to self-hydrate intelligently. Refreshing and light formula. Formulated to make the skin 5x more hydrated skin in 24 hours, as well as regulates the levels of water in skin depleted by dehydration and dryness, keeping skin moisturized. $46
Natura:
Natura Lumina Oil Control Complete Care Set Courtesy of Natura
Natura-Natura Lumina is powered by exclusive Pró-Teia Biotechnology technology that promotes a protein recharge that acts at a deeper level, filling the strands of hair intelligently from inside out, targeting precisely what the hair needs. This Lumina Oil Control Complete Care Set strengthens the scalp barrier, leaving it balanced, avoiding the rebound effect. The formula works effectively on the symptom and cause of greasiness and treats both the hair, scalp and strand. It can reduce oiliness up to 7 days after use, allowing more time between washes. The Lumina Oily Hair Balancing Shampoo treats greasiness and leaves the hair clean. Pró-Teia Biotechnology + Anti-Greasy Actives strengthens and rebalances the scalp while controlling sebum production, targeting excess oil without stripping hair. The Lumina Oily Hair Balancing Conditioner provides hydration and weightless moisture ensuring strands are shinier and stronger with continued use.$38
Naturally London:
Foot Care = Self Care with this all-inclusive spa pedicure kit from Naturally London. Courtesy of Naturally London
Naturally London -A botanical-based foot care & hand care brand that is a female, veteran & black-owned business that strongly believes footcare + handcare = selfcare. Their products soften, moisturize and maintain proper foot and hand health while ditching the synthetic colors, artificial fragrances, parabens, wax, mineral oils, phthalates, sulfates, petroleum and micas. Pedicure Spa Kit Continue the relaxation momentum with an at home pedicure with all of the amazing Naturally London fix-ins! This all-inclusive kit includes a foot soak, foot polish and foot butter that are the most effective trio for long lasting results.m$70.25 USD
Naturopathica:
Naturopathica’s new Marshmallow & Microalgae Sensitivity Soothing Crème, from the Sensitive Skin ... [+] Collection. Courtesy of Naturopathica
Naturopathica Part of Naturopathica’s new Sensitive Skin Collection, the Marshmallow & Microalgae Sensitivity Soothing Crème was formulated for sensitive skin. With a whipped consistency, this cream is clinically proven to reduce redness and calm irritation within 4 weeks. It harnesses the power of soothing marshmallow, microalgae, and the South American Sacha Inchi plant to instantly pacify irritation, resulting in calm, healthy-looking skin. $84
Nion Beauty:
Boasting an enlarged cleaning surface and optimized shape, the Opus Elite is designed to give you a ... [+] spa-worthy experience from the comfort of your own home. Courtesy of Nion Beauty
Nion Beauty Opus Elite is the most high-end and innovative product in Nion Facial Cleansing brush line. The brush features a 200% enlarged surface of antibacterial, FDA-grade silicone and ergonomically bristles to help users to elevate their daily face cleansing routine to adding spa-like rituals at home. The anti-aging facial brush also combines 3 types of bristles which provide variety level of cleansing for fulfilling the different types of skin-types such as oily, combination and dry. $129
Oxygenetix:
Oxygenating Foundation breathes, protects, and heals as you wear it. And by using a unique aloe vera ... [+] base, this foundation is both antibacterial and soothing. Courtesy of Oxygenetix
Oxygenetix- Originally formulated for use by plastic surgeons, dermatologists and other aesthetic professionals, Oxygenetix's Oxygenating Foundation is a breakthrough, lightweight foundations used among professional makeup artists, celebrities and consumers alike to achieve long-lasting luminosity and help comfort and disguise a variety of skin injuries, including wounds, rashes, extremely dry skin, acne scars, rosacea and post-surgery scars. Unlike traditional foundations, Oxygenetix has the added benefit of being good for your skin, making it the ideal product for those who wear makeup every day. Infused with a super-charged oxygen complex, each product helps to multiply collagen cells and connective tissue growth in aging and wounded skin, while ingredients like aloe barbadensis provide soothing, antibacterial moisture and protection. $66 USD
Rita Hazan:
SAFE FOR ALL HAIR TYPES. FORMULATED WITHOUT SULFATE, SODIUM CHLORIDE & PARABEN. Courtesy of Rita Hazan
Rita Hazan -Achieve beautifully smooth, shiny and healthy-looking hair at-home with the new Rita Hazan Shine Balm. The transformative and lightweight formula features an exclusive blend of color-protecting oils, ideal for dry, damaged hair. This reparative balm delivers enhanced shine and hydration, leaving hair soft and shiny—like you just left the salon. Shine Balm hydrates hair immediately to repairs dry, damaged hair, smoothes to fends off frizz and frayed ends and lastly shines to keep hair looking healthy. $35
SolaWave:
The SolaWave Wand in Ombre Courtesy of SolaWave
SolaWave-SolaWave is the world’s most compact, all-in-one, at home skin care device that combines Red Light LED Treatment, microcurrents, and warming massage in one powerful, beautifully designed device at an unbeatable price. Not everyone has hours or dollars to devote to self care – with SolaWave, you can get fast acting results with just 5 minutes of use per day. 93% of people reported their skin looked more vibrant and lifted after using the SolaWave for 14 days! $149 USD
Summer Fridays:
This product is vegan, cruelty-free, and gluten-free, and comes in recyclable packaging. Paul Tillinghast 2127413764/Courtesy of Summer Fridays
Summer Friday-A gentle, pH-balancing gel cleanser that is superpowered by a restorative cocktail of 11 amino acids and a splash of mineral-rich sea water, this cleanser washes away impurities while moisturizing and nourishing the skin. $38
The Feelist:
The Feelist is a collection of luxury wellness and skincare products designed to revolutionize and ... [+] elevate your beauty and self-care routine Copyright 2020. All rights reserved/6. Images Courtesy of The Feelist
THE FEELIST-NECESSITY Everyday Body Cream "Necessity has a permanent new home on my desk." 4 Reviews NECESSITY is an uplifting and revitalizing moisturizing cream infused with 250mg of Broad Spectrum CBD. Bergamot, Vetiver and Citrus oils refresh the body while Mango Seed and Shea butters nourish and deeply condition the skin, leaving you feeling recharged and balanced throughout the day. $68
The Nue Co.:
THE PILL offers a-one step solution to layering clinical acids, balanced with nutrients from the ... [+] earth, for smooth, hydrated + tighter skin Courtesy of The Nue Co.
The Nue Co.-THE PILL, our latest topical supplement, is a single daily dose of every key nutrient for the skin. From complex AHAs, to Hyaluronic Acid to the K-Beauty hero Tiger Grass, we’ve taken the complexity of layering actives and acids out of your routine to offer a one-step solution for smooth, dewy and deeply hydrated skin.. THE PILL works on puffy, inflamed, dry, dull + tired skin in three ways to deliver fast results and long term skin benefits. It instantly brightens + exfoliates, hydrates + plumps, and tightens + creates a ‘second skin’ effect. Long term, it also supports the production of collagen and procollagen, can reduce breakouts, increase skin hydration + decrease fine lines. $85
Well Told Health:
Contributes to healthy glowing skin by reducing the damaging effects of the sun and nourishing skin ... [+] cells. Courtesy of Well Told Health
Well Told Health-Why take it: If you enjoy spending time outside. If you are concerned about sun spots, freckles or other discoloration caused by the sun. If your skin becomes red and inflamed after exposure to the sun. To combat many of the toxins and free radicals that wreak havoc on your skin and cause it to prematurely age. If you enjoy spending time at the beach.$34
Zuma Nutrition:
Every product in the line is 100% vegan and includes the very best of superfoods, nutrients, ... [+] vitamins, minerals and healing tools. Courtesy of Zuma
Zuma Nutrition- A line of the very best beauty and nutritional products developed with with the finest biochemists, herbalists, physicians, and botanists focused on delivering effective results from the inside out. Every product in the line is 100% vegan and includes the very best of superfoods, nutrients, vitamins, minerals and healing tools.
Moisturize & Repair Night Cream, a rejuvenating and antioxidant-rich cream that features an emollient delivery system that drives cellular nourishing nutrients beyond the layer of skin and deep into the dermis. $59.95
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91184e98a59b70584ae7f6b5acfe6cdc | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2021/03/01/understanding-skincare-that-will-make-your-feel-good-inside-and-out/ | Understanding Skincare That Will Make You Feel Good Inside And Out | Understanding Skincare That Will Make You Feel Good Inside And Out
In today’s hype-driven era of cross-pollinating and sustainable wellbeing, skincare epitomizes the synergy between the democratic approach to mens grooming and the approach of the old guard. By cultivating consumers with authentic ties to current work and social environments, taking on self-care, as an essential daily ritual helps men succeed in obtaining a minimal aesthetic that goes a long way. You see, staying authentic is a tough, yet worthy challenge. In fact, skincare has become the de facto uniform of discerning male urbanites aiming to get back to work in 2021. Whether you embrace it or not, grooming has a solidified resident position for businessmen today.
The expanding multibillion dollar industry has reached new heights in advancements of scientifically formulated creations. The nouveau techniques further develop both natural and unnatural direction of treatment. In a paradigm, where the new guard are driven to work around the clock, many have decided to dial-it-back a bit and focus on self-care and calm-relaxation as the ultimate goals. For men, focusing on a nighttime ritual lends itself to playful re-appropriation. For example, Giorgio Armani Beauty Crema Nera Supreme Light Reviving Cream -Crema Nera is a light-textured reviving cream that targets all signs of aging and restores the skin to a youthful and radiant appearance.
Thanks to new marketing strategies coupled with advancements in skincare and packaging, this market segmentation has been able to keep up with a new selection of a growing consumers marketplace. This mix succeeded in getting younger consumers to pay more attention to the importance of skincare. And if you are seeking expert advice person to person, I suggest you pay a visit to the grooming expert associates at Saks. It seems that each time I enter the grooming section, I learn something new about maintaining healthy skin.
"Skincare is personal and in order to determine the products you should be using on a daily basis, it's important to have an in-person consultation. At Saks, our expert associates get to know each individual customer to understand their skincare needs and provide recommendations for products that will make them feel good inside and out." says Saks Fifth Avenue SVP/GMM of Beauty, Jewelry and Home Kate Oldham,
The Beauty Curator at the Saks New York flagship. COURTESY OF LUIS GUILLÉN FOR SAKS FIFTH AVENUE.
Today, the products that we buy reveal a much deeper connection with the store and brand than simply what is just aesthetically pleasing. And the rules of retail have changed significantly. There is a lot to consider in retail today that differs from the past. Since the onset of the pandemic, many go for compare business insurance cost and time-saving measures to adhere to the new cultural foundations and business intersections. A new consumer market is on the horizon and here’s how both stores and brands can speak to them in their space. Many times, consumers consider sharing a brands values to appeal to their positive emotions.
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Let’s face it, skin needs to replenish itself form the harsh daily compact of grime and soot— that it has fought off all day is none other than necessary.Serums and lotions provide a nourishing treatment of dense replenishment, and its all about finding the right concoction for yourself. Skincare entrepreneur and leader of advanced scientific melodies, Dr. Dennis Gross speaks with passion and assertiveness when discussing skincare in todays market. “Everything I do is based on scientific fact that comes from bona-fide research as opposed to marketed research. Nighttime routines are very important because the skin undergoes extinct biological events while you sleep.” Dr. Gross expresses that the skin is in need of recovery, referred to as ‘rejuvenating the moisture barrier’ and that fundamental requirements of hydrating and moisturizing are essential saying, ‘it's best to give skin what it needs at the time when it's really looking for it’.
Given the pandemics harsh-strike that mankind encountered in 2020, a frightful pause of the unknown had many businesses in a vicarial state of panic after so much progression had been taken-away and subsequently executed in such a progressive and advanced industry. Most certainly, a detriment was to be expected, but the skincare industry remained standing and continued to prosper at a time of frightful uncertainty. There is no doubt that this market segmentation will continue to give you ageless comfort of pure homeopathic skincare regimes.
There is a responsibility for those who are leading the industry to inherently take forgoing action of sustainable manufacturing, with every wall and crevice encountered with optimism of change. Dr. Dennis Gross has profoundly made an impeccable impact on dominating the narrative for the future of sustainability, with the Gen Z driven successors already devotedly on the train to to climate change. ‘It’s a tremendous social opportunity as well as social responsibility’ Dr. Gross adds. ‘We are a clean brand in the industry; clean to the skin is clean to the environment’. His company has removed many harsh chemicals in their products including sulphates and parabens that he believes are unnecessary to begin with and harmful to treasured parts of our world such as the coral reef. ‘Sustainability is something that we’re constantly looking at; ‘I don’t see clean as only being something that’s valuable to the consumer and ends there,’ he expresses.
Let’s face it, growing old is a tough reality. And aging naturally with a touch of firm maturity is very much admired, though an aim for tight and flawless skin is definitely a part of adolescence that is highly desired to carry into our later years. Sadly, that is not the case. With avoiding any form of cosmetic surgery, there is a moment to take on revolutionary products that many are grateful to have available at an accessible reach, to not only project a youthful aesthetic, but feel it with an embraced warmth. - the best gift you can give to yourself.
3LAB Super Face Serum:
Super Face Serum - Improves the definition of face contour, while boosting brilliance of the skin. Photo Courtesy of Jonathan Chae
3LAB Super Face serum is designed to correct existing texture imperfections while targeting lack of elasticity within skin. Firming enzymes sink deeper into fibroblast through delivery paths of ITD (Intelligent Targeting Device) to stimulate collagen production that enhances skin’s rejuvenated appearance and natural glow. This effective serum delivers ultimate hydration and provides total skin rejuvenation and luminosity to combat fine lines, wrinkles, and skin imperfections in just days. Always on the cutting edge of skin care technology, 3LAB prides itself on offering serious skin care solutions that are efficacious and made with the highest concentration of the highest quality ingredients available.$62
BIOEFFECT:
The BIOEFFECT Hydrating Cream is a deeply hydrating moisturizer that leaves the skin soft, smooth ... [+] and radiant. This product is perfect for those who want to use a cream in their skincare routine. This is also a great introductory product into BIOEFFECT for younger users as it focuses primarily on hydration, rather than anti-aging benefits Courtesy of BIOEFFECT
The BIOEFFECT Hydrating Cream contains several moisturizing ingredients, most notably Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin E, and Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride. Hyaluronic Acid has restorative abilities and can boost skin’s moisture content, soothe, and defend against moisture loss. It can hold up to 1,000 times its own weight in water, making it an optimal hydrator for all skin types. Vitamin E is one of the most well-known and researched antioxidants for the body and for the skin. It naturally occurs in human skin but can become depleted due to constant environmental exposure in the absence of sun protection. Lastly, Caprylic/ Capric Triglyceride is a mix of fatty acids, derived from coconut, that skin can use to replenish its surface and resist moisture loss. However, the most important skin replenishing ingredient is EGF (Epidermal Growth Factor). EGF has the ability to boost the production of collagen and elastin in the deepest layers in our skin. It also helps the skin to retain moisture, so it stays hydrated for much longer. The Hydrating Cream is a great addition to the BIOEFFECT skincare routine, as it can be used alone and on top of BIOEFFECT serums for added hydration and nourishment. 30 mL $75; 50 mL $110
Clé de Peau:
Visibly Pump, Firm, And Moisturize Your Skin With The Anti-Aging Volumizing Cream Supreme. Photo: Courtesy of Clé de Peau Beauté
The Volumizing Cream Supreme visibly plumps, firms, and moisturizes skin, supporting skin’s natural collagen for a filler-effect. This anti-aging cream also improves the appearance of wrinkles and sagging for a firmer, more lifted look. With continued use, you can promote the look of youthfulness and sculpted definition. The Volumizing Cream Supreme also includes Clé de Peau’s exclusive ingredient, Cushioning Plumpifier, which is an innovative blend of two key ingredients that address the loss of facial volume by enhancing the skin’s natural plumpness. $375
Dermaflash:
Dermaflash Dermapore™ Pore Extractor & Serum Infuser in Charcoal Courtesy of saks.com
Dermaflash -DERMAPORE is a unique 2-in-1 ultrasonic device that helps unclog pores and infuses your favorite skincare to instantly reveal a clearer, healthier complexion. Deep cleans clogged pores (dirt, oil, blackheads, and whiteheads) Enhances the penetration of active ingredients in your favorite skincare Delivers spa-quality treatments in the privacy of your own home Gentle and safe for even those with sensitive skin. $99
Dr. Barbara Sturm:
Dr. Barbara Sturm’s Face Cream Rich is perfect for more mature skin or complexions that need extra ... [+] hydration during the winter months Courtesy of Dr. Barbara Sturm
The Dr. Barbara Sturm Face Cream Rich features a luxurious blend of nutrient-rich oils combined with highly active compounds to eliminate fine lines, boost collagen and create visibly firmer skin. The anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant powers of Purslane and Skullcap work together to strengthen skin cells and protect against free radical damage. A complex of Vitamin E, Shea Butter and Panthenol provides intense hydration for a soft and supple skin feel. The Dr. Barbra Sturm Face Cream Rich offers 24-hour care while reducing redness and inflammation for a youthful, nourished complexion. $230
Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare:
An overnight serum that fights the appearance of wrinkles and reduces the look of imperfections. Courtesy of Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare
Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare- Ferulic Overnight Wrinkle Recovery Overnight Serum recovers firmness and helps smooth wrinkles caused by aging and the environment with a potent anti-aging formulation that delivers a time-released dose of retinol overnight to support skin's natural repair process. A synergistic combination of retinol + ferulic acid and skin perfecting niacinamide retextures skin for a more flawless complexion. $88
EVE LOM:
EVE LOM Cleanser Balm Courtesy of saks.com
EVE LOM-The EVE LOM Cleanser changed the face of cleansing and continues too, being expertly balanced for all skin types, skin concerns and environmental conditions. With its signature blend of four aromatic plant oils, the result is incredibly glowing, radiant skin with a smoother, more refined texture. $135
Giorgio Armani:
Giorgio Armani Beauty Crema Nera Supreme Light Reviving Cream targets all signs of aging and ... [+] restores the skin to a youthful and radiant appearance, while delivering 24 hour hydration. Courtesy of Armani beauty
Giorgio Armani Beauty Crema Nera Supreme Light Reviving Cream -Crema Nera is a light-textured reviving cream that targets all signs of aging and restores the skin to a youthful and radiant appearance. Crema Nera contains a carefully curated mix of potent beautifying elixirs that treat all signs of aging such as loss of firmness, dark spots, dryness, lack of pure radiance and clarity, and fine lines and wrinkles. It delivers 24-hour skin hydration & leaves the complexion soft, supple, and naturally glowing. Peach Kernel Oil and Armani-patented ingredients moisturize the skin barrier for noticeable results. Essential ingredients are extracted in their purest form, offering a stronger essence of skin benefits inside the same double silk-textured cream. $400.
Joanna Czech:
Joanna Czech Facial Massager Courtesy of saks.com
Joanna Czech- Joanna Czech's Facial Massager will work wonders for your skin with just a few minutes a day. It will speed your circulation and direct oxygen to your skin, resulting in reduced puffiness, lifted features, and a brighter complexion. This small yet powerful tool is crafted from aluminum and zinc alloy and allows creams and oils to penetrate deeper into the dermis, boosts circulation and elasticity, and drains and sculpts the face for firmer, tighter, better skin. $189
La Mer:
La Prairie White Caviar Eye Extradordinaire Courtesy of saks.com
La Mer- With its power to renew skin’s barrier, The Moisturizing Soft Cream strengthens and protects while reducing the look of fine, dry lines. Miracle Broth™ — the legendary healing elixir that flows through all of La Mer — infuses skin with sea-sourced renewing energies. Ideal for combination / drier skin. $95-520
Lancer:
Lancer Legacy Eye Treatment Duo Courtesy of Lancer Skincare
Lancer-This advanced eye treatment duo works day and night to target 360° eye concerns with its unique triple rollerball applicator that gently massages while helping brighten, smooth, firm and hydrate the eye area. Price: $450
La Prairie:
La Prairie White Caviar Eye Extradordinaire Courtesy of saks.com
La Prairie -White Caviar Eye Extraordinaire is enriched with the breakthrough illuminating molecule Lumidose - the most potent inhibitor of tyrosinase, the enzyme responsible for the formation of melanin. The formula intensely targets grey, brown, yellow, red, and violet chromatic disturbances that can dull skin's natural light and boosts the reflection of light from the skin, illuminating it. $570
Luzern:
Nuit Hydra Enzyme Masque, The Perfect Entrée Into A Beautiful Night’s Sleep Courtesy of Cas Hostalery
Luzern-A thin layer of this sumptuously hydrating masque applied before bed leaves your skin looking brighter, firmer, and more healthy in just one night! Luzern bio-fermentation complex of enzymes and peptides gently speeds the shedding of surface cells while you sleep. Vitamin C and Organic Licorice Extract help promote a more even and bright tone, and Sweet Almond Oil, Squalane, and Hyaluronic Acid deeply hydrate for a more refined and dewy complexion. $125.00
MBR Medical Beauty Research Liquid Surgery:
Medical Beauty Research Liquid Surgery Courtesy of MBR
MBR Medical Beauty Research Liquid Surgery is a A revolutionary serum that transforms the skin, revealing an exceptional perfect complexion. Only found in Liquid Surgery Serum®, a synergistic ingredient system based on a medical synthetic oxygen carrier is used as a hemoglobin substitute and replaces excess carbon dioxide with essential, pure oxygen. This remarkable process allows for a complete rejuvenation of the cell metabolism. Combined with the multitude of highly concentrated ingredients, this state-of-the-art treatment delivers significant, sustainable and measurable skin care results, revealing a youthful, flawless complexion. Neuromuscular blocking compounds reduce micro-contractions, resulting in a dramatic reduction of wrinkles and creases. Strengthened collagen fibers prevent further sagging of the skin and wrinkle formation. Colloidal gold allows for an optimal penetration of precious ingredients. $1,750.00
MZ Skin:
MZ Skin Replenish & Restore Placenta & Stem Cell Night Recovery Mask Courtesy of MZ Skin
MZ Skin Replenish & Restore - This lush night mask combines groundbreaking science with innovative formulations to nourish, detoxify, and brighten skin. Infused with nutrient-rich placenta and phyto stem cells, it repairs the complexion and stimulates growth factors to boost collagen and elastin – keys to youthful-looking skin. Wake up with hydrated and firm skin that lasts throughout the day and beyond. $410.00
Natura Bissé:
Natura Bissé Diamond Extreme Mask Courtesy of saks.com
Natura Bissé—Designed to be perfectly comfortable for night use, this face and neck mask not only seals the DIAMOND EXTREME OIL ingredients into the skin, thus intensifying their benefits, but also provides a high concentration of anti-aging active ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, retinol, and marine DNA in a game-changer formula that provides astonishing results, both immediate and progressive. $115
SAINT JANE:
Clean botanicals thoughtfully paired with a rich concentration of CBD making this lightweight, ... [+] fast-absorbing serum the ultimate skin-transforming powerhouse. Courtesy of SAINT JANE
Saint Jane Beauty- This multi-correctional treatment serum delivers powerful results for your complexion. Meticulously clean and packed with hundreds of phytonutrients, each bottle is rich in potent botanicals to reverse signs of aging and calm irritation. The price in USD $125
Tata Harper:
Tata Harper Rejuvenating Serum, intensive age défence Courtesy of Tata Harper
This is your multitasking serum for visible signs of aging. Our award winning serum minimizes the appearance of wrinkles, tightens and brightens the look of skin, and plumps for healthy, youthful-looking appearance.100% of the total ingredients are from natural origin. 65% of the total ingredients are from Organic Farming. COSMOS NATURAL certified by Ecocert Greenlife according to COSMOS Standard. $168
Valmont:
Valmont's Prime Renewing Pack. The ideal mask to revive and illuminate your complexion Courtesy of Valmont.
Valmont's 'one-and-only', cult Prime Renewing Pack is the ideal mask to revive and illuminate your complexion. With its rich and creamy texture, Prime Renewing Pack smoothes the signs of fatigue and eliminates toxins and impurities. Can be used as a daily treatment to boost your everyday cream or as a mask treatment for an indispensable glow. Essential and irreplaceable! Retail Price: $230.
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a57cde11f6b0e95395c7798a600cceea | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2021/03/25/the-great-return-of-the-silent-spring-on-sustainable-fashion/?sh=3937a4ca6286 | The Great Return Of The Silent Spring On Sustainable Fashion | The Great Return Of The Silent Spring On Sustainable Fashion
The subject of social impact carries one back to the very threshold of the catalyst for change. Through blockchain technology, ecological integrity means obtaining accurate information while improving the resource efficiency of existing operations. At this point in time, sustainability is fostering great change within the world of fashion and related industries. Blockchain technology embracing a sustainable manufacturing system, carries one forward in organizing relevant material to a Call To Arms for planet earth. Putting it all into perspective, I’d say, perhaps the twenty-first century will be remembered as a time of solidarity and social justice for all living things.
The origins of the movement in sustainability began at a time referred to as the silent spring; a noteworthy publication written by Rachel Carson in 1962, which raised serious concern about the damaging agricultural chemicals poisoning our land and our food supply chain. As far as fashion is concerned, I do in fact recall that in the 1990’s the eco-friendly push (by outdoor and lifestyle brand Patagonia) had sounded-off the alarm by co-funding the first ever organic cotton conference. The aim was to help lessen the carbon footprint of fashion products through material processing advancements seeking to improve efficiencies of environmentally harsh manufacturing operations. It was a time for manufacturers and fashion houses to fundamentally reimagine the entire operation system at what I like to refer as the birth of the eco-fashion period.
These days, there is a growing concern amongst consumers of what companies will do to reduce the amount of waste from both production as well as consumption. New methods are actively taking on the challenge. For example, there is upcycling, where you take a discarded material and bring it back to life, recycled plastics that have been recovered from our oceans, eco-friendly dyes sourced right here in the USA and even backpacks by a forthright brand aptly named GOT BAG that proudly uses a BIO-PU coating, which makes sure that all your belongings stay dry.
Nevertheless, I do recognize that for something to be sustainable, it needs to be achievable and maintainable and most of all, fashionable. I reviewed here a list of some of the most progressive sustainable brands who raise the flag of social justice high-and-proud —while delivering a whole-lotta style to take you right into the spring/summer 2021 season - all in good consciousness for a cleaner and healthier environment!
Alex Mill:
The Ollie Overal is made with The New Denim Project, using upcycled post-industrial fabric. Courtesy of Alex Mill
Alex Mill- Alex Mill teamed up with our friends from The New Denim Project, a family-run, zero waste textile mill based in Guatemala. They upcycle post-industrial textiles to create beautiful fabrics, as evidenced in our new collab. Upcycling is the process of taking a discarded material and bringing it back to life as a higher quality product. These overalls are both substantial and incredibly soft. With a straight fit and removable belt, you're looking at an easy one-piece made for layering over a tee or tank. Due to the nature of the upcycling process, variations in fabric appearance may occur and this is what makes it so special. $155
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Allpamamas:
Hand-embroidered trench coat by Allpamamas. Made in the Andes of Ecuador with 100% raw cotton for ... [+] the body, and 100% plant-dyed cotton for the motif. Photograph by Andrés Altamirano
Allpamamas-The hand-embroidery on this trench coat represents what God looks like for Estela Cacoango, the first artisan who joined Allpamamas. She named it "Estrella Pakarina", Star of Dawn. All the embroidery designs on Collection No.3 were born out of a collage exercise using the prompt: If you could create your own personal God, what would that look like? We each assembled our own version of God, for the first time allowing our own values and identities to shape this image. For this exercise, Creative Director, María Puente Silva, was curious to explore the concepts of religion and beliefs, and how they unite or separate us as humans. This gave the collection its timeless, elevated and mystical aesthetic, comfortably embodied by this piece. $257
Aster and Ardor:
Lauren wears the Ashlee Set in Sky Blue, featuring recycled Italian lycra & natural seashell ... [+] details. Photographed by Tracy Tassill
Aster and Ardor—Aster and Ardor is a boutique label made for women who are mindful of our beautiful earth, appreciative of life and unapologetically themselves. The brand was born in California, colliding effortlessly with our Australian heritage and coastal lifestyle. Our collections are designed with sustainability at the forefront. We specialize in reversible styles and provide the ability to mix & match with the adaptability to be worn from the beach to the bar. The Ashlee Set is our modern take on a classic, vintage style. Using Italian lycra, this set is crafted from recycled plastics and regenerated nylon that have been recovered from our oceans. The unique natural seashell detail adds a freshy, beachy twist to our bestselling bottoms. Ashlee Set- Top - $77 , Bottom $61
behno:
behno: The World's Finest, Consciously Made Handbags. Courtesy of behno.
behno-The Ina Mini Crossbody is a member of our iconic Ina Series, an modern exploration of the traditional bucket bag. Its knot detail, a symbol of communities coming together and joining hands, it stimulates a conversation around our ethical philosophy amongst our customers. Its innovative side-drawstring closure, luxurious Italian leather, crossbody functionality, and teardrop silhouette offers versatility for the bag to be dressed up or down and be able to carry all the essentials of the current day behno client. All of behno's handbags and small leather goods are made consciously, following The behno Standard, a set of six guiding principles focusing on healthcare to eco-consciousness to garment worker mobility. We believe in a space where luxury design meets ethical thinking. $450
BOYY:
BOYY Up’s LUCAS 23 TOTE is representative of the unique creative and circular journey of each item ... [+] in the BOYY Up Collection. Courtesy of BOYY
BOYY-The LUCAS 23 Tote, produced of upcycled, recycled, previously purchased raw materials, and existing products from BOYY’s inventory of stock finished goods, is representative of the unique creative and circular journey of each item in the BOYY Up Collection. BOYY Up is a design initiative that seeks to creatively minimize BOYY’s environmental impact, while producing long-life, wondrous products that inspire. The LUCAS 23 Tote features a demi section of BOYY’s signature oversized belt and buckle LUCAS handbag coupled to a natural raffia tote - perfect for separating larger goods from smaller items like cell phones and wallets. $795
CASHE:
A versatile cashmere duster, that you’ll wear on repeat. A beyond-chic lightweight knit that can be ... [+] worn over the Zoe Ribbed Tee & Knitted Shorts for an elegant WFH outfit, buttoned-up as a dress, or to elevate a simple white tank & your favorite pair of jeans. It provides the perfect amount of warmth for a spring day or a cool summer night on the beach. MICHAEL BEZMAN/Courtesy of CASHE
CASHE- The Zoe Duster is part of the Pokhara collection for Spring, inspired by views of snow-capped mountains, rich greenery and the abundance of reflective ponds found in the city of Pokhara in Nepal. All CASHE cashmere is sourced ethically and cruelty free via bi-annual combing processes and manufactured in Kathmandu, Nepal. $275
Charles & Colvard:
Forever One Oval Link Moissanite Tennis Bracelet in 14K Yellow Gold Courtesy of Charles & Colvard
Charles & Colvard—For consumers looking for an alternative to diamonds, one of the best options is moissanite for its brilliance, clarity, durability and affordability. Virally trending on social media platforms like TikTok, the Forever One moissanite stone from Charles & Colvard is only available in colorless or near-colorless grades and falls within a clarity range equivalent to VS1 to internally flawless. These gems are graded to have excellent cut, polish and symmetry and are lab grown locally in the USA at their headquarters in North Carolina. $799.00
Culprit:
Culprit’s @supersnake collaboration, featuring characters from the account's famous memes. Courtesy of Culprit
Culprit Underwear—Culprit Underwear is the first premium underwear to be sustainably made in California in an eco-friendly vertical mill, with the utmost attention to detail and quality control. Culprit’s cheekily unapologetic designs highlight cultural moments, such as a Retail Investors vs Wallstreet inspired print in which 100% of sales go to buying GameStop stock, and a collaboration with social media sensation Super Snake. These leading-edge designs are printed using eco-friendly dyes on ultra-breathable, unbelievably soft micromodal, sustainably sourced right here in the USA from beech trees, with a production process that uses 20x less water than cotton. Sustainable, sexy, and satirical – what more could you want from your underwear? $36
Dania Shinkar:
6. Courtesy of Nooriyah Hamdani 7. The MOE - Lamb/ Aqua/ White, crafted from Italian cow leather, ... [+] is a vintage-inspired box bag featuring a large buckled belt across the front and chunky hardware. Magnetic flap-clip closure, light gold-tone hardware, two straps, 100% made in Italy. Courtesy of Nooriyah Hamdani
Dania Shinkar—The season's must-have shoulder bag, the MOE, is a structured box bag that re-imagines vintage 1930s jewellery cases with contemporary chunky hardware. Named after the founder's father, the MOE is defined by a large buckled belt across the front in light-gold tone. It features a magnetic flap-clip closure and opens to reveal a spacious suedette-lined interior with a handy slip pocket for your cards. Made in Italy, this MOE variant is crafted from ethically sourced cow leather that are by-products of the meat industry. The MOE is the perfect combination of style and functionality, as it is designed to be worn two ways - carry it over the shoulder or attach the longer adjustable strap to wear it cross-body. 674 USD
E.L.V. DENIM:
The straight leg jeans sit on your high waist, which will give the illusion of longer legs and is ... [+] made from a set of two contrasting in colour, vintage jeans. They are slim through the hip, and thigh, with a straight leg finish. Image Courtesy of Julia Kennedy
E.L.V. DENIM—All E.L.V. DENIM jeans are made with upcycled denim and are assembled by hand within a 5-mile radius in East London, with branded eco-finish hardware and leather labels made from left-over leather. Founded in 2018 by fashion stylist Anna Foster, “Our signature aesthetic is the contrast denim colourway. Sustainability is the ultimate pillar of E.L.V. DENIM however, we live in a very aesthetic world, so I am aware that the success of the brand depends on an ability to carefully marry the two. We design from a point of waste, which I believe is quite unique. Unlike traditional designers who create a piece and then find the material, I find the material and then design to work out what can be made from it. The contrast jean highlights how well two different items of ‘waste’ can be put together to create something new, exciting and wearable”$420
GOT BAG:
GOT BAG’s ROLLTOP backpack is the ultimate sustainable bag for everyday adventures. The ROLLTOP ... [+] backpack is robust, lightweight and can be easily adjusted from 23 to 30 litres to fit all your essentials. The removable laptop sleeve offers additional storage space inside, while the water-resistant fabric keeps your valuables dry. Courtesy of Nando Kuschel
GOT BAG—GOT BAG has developed the world’s first backpacks made of ocean plastic. For every ROLLTOP backpack made, GOT BAG recovers 7.7 lbs of ocean plastic with its own clean-up program in Indonesia. By using recycled PET, GOT BAG is able to ensure that its products are as eco-friendly as possible. The fabric of their ROLLTOP is waterproof thanks to an innovative and environmentally friendly BIO-PU coating, which makes sure that all your belongings stay dry. Through meticulous research and development, GOT BAG has been able to create a truly sustainable travel companion with a minimalistic design and maximum durability. $149
Helmm:
The sleek Heritage Vessel is made with luxe & durable metal alloy with hand-stitched leather and ... [+] laser-etched logo. Courtesy of Helmm
Helmm-Helmm aims to innovate a product men and women use every day but tend to take for granted: deodorant. This natural deodorant prioritizes form, function, and luxury with a unique design and sleek, modern aesthetic as seen in the original Heritage Vessel. This patented, durable vessel is designed to revolutionize the personal care industry, where 120 billion single-use plastic packages are made a year with less than 9% recycled after use. The Heritage Vessel reduces waste and uses 65% less plastic while not compromising on style or luxury, as their crisp fragrances are created by world-renowned French perfumer Cecile Hua and also dermatologist tested and approved. $40 Heritage vessel starter kit with first deodorant pod included
Jonathan Cohen:
Jonathan Cohen x TIDAL Multi Pressed Flower Flip Flops Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen-These flip flops are a collaboration with Tidal New York. Through innovative manufacturing processes, Tidal makes long-lasting flip flops in their low-waste factory in NY. This is the fourth series Jonathan Cohen has collaborated with Tidal New York. We are excited to see Our Flower Shop come to life with our favorite flip flops! All artwork is hand drawn by Jonathan. This Multi Pressed Flower design is inspired from the Jonathan Cohen FW17 collection based off Grey Gardens. Each flower is meant to give the feeling that it has been pressed and preserved, but in vivid colors. $40
KOZM:
KOZM yoga short Photo Credit: Cam Oden
The Kozm Yoga Short is made for yoga, good for everything else. We started the KOZM brand with a short in mind; this short, actually. We wanted a natural fiber alternative that would work killer for yoga and would be just as good on a coffee run. I think we’ve accomplished that mission. We chose organic cotton and hemp as our base fibers for this short. Organic cotton to benefit soil, ecosystems and farmer communities, and hemp because of its rapid regrowth, it’s insane durability & versatility, and its inherent antimicrobial properties (that means less washing!). Intentionally simple: There are no bells, no whistles (one simple back pocket), no metal eyelets, no plastic coatings, no zippers … just the essentials.The Kozm Yoga Short, Made Fair With Care in Downtown Los Angeles, is a perfect blend of style, comfort, sustainability, performance, and durability that you’ll want to wear all day long. Plus, we do business with an Open Book Business model (that means traceable supply chains, and a transparent business model, where we tell you everything) available at www.thekozm.com.*Special Note on the Kozmic Green colorway: Tye-Dye look achieved with a more sustainable, bleach-free, ozone treatment thanks to Jeanologia G2 equipment at Soft Finish. Ozone technology, sustainable finishing, zero discharge. $84
KUST:
Kust - Sustainable Men’s Essential Jakub Stachowiak
KUST—Our luxury lounge suits are made out of viscose silk. The viscose fabric is durable and soft as silk, and it is one of the world’s most beloved textiles. Produced of the wood pulp of trees that grow and regenerate fast enough to consider viscose production as sustainable. It requires less water than cotton, manufactured without harmful chemical treatments. It remains in perfect shape and colour for long time. $215
Machete:
Machete Sally Sunglasses in Clear Biodegradable Acetate. Courtesy of Studio De Luca - Chris & Karen De Luca
Machete—Eyewear has been a long-time dream of our Creative Director and Founder, JJ Matchett. One of the top priorities when diving into this new product line was finding the best materials on the market, meaning the most-sustainable and eco-friendly acetate available. The M49 acetate used to handcraft select styles of our new Eyewear collection replaces the traditional plasticizer used in Acetate with vegetable-based cellulose, making these frames not only bio-based but biodegradable. $155
Pact:
Versatile, high waisted leggings with side stash pockets to hold your phone. Updated fabric offers ... [+] ultimate stretch for easy comfort and movement. Courtesy of Pact
Pact—What you choose to wear everyday matters. Pact offers exceptionally soft organic cotton basics for max coziness. From leggings to sweaters to undies and more, the sustainable apparel company offers a variety of wardrobe staples to enjoy all season long. Everything is made with Organic Cotton in a Fair Trade Factory. In addition to clothing for women, men, kids & babies, Pact also offers organic bed & bath products. $45
Polite Worldwide:
Polite Pink Pearls Photography by Akram Soliman
POLITE WORLDWIDE- Polite pearls are freshwater and genuine combined with real solid gold and silver hardware, pendants and charms. They do not use imitation or plastic components in our jewelry. As a pearl trend has since grown in popularity it's important to us to offer truly authentic and fine pieces that will long survive any trend. The pieces are designed to be timeless and sustain their valve and quality. Polite Worldwide jewelry is made with fine materials and aspects of energetic benefits to its wearer. The pearls are believed to attract abundance and luck as well as offer protection. Known for their calming effect, pearls can provide balance and strengthen relationships. The pearl symbolizes purity, generosity, integrity and loyalty, these combined values are what it means to be Polite. $1,100.00
MASONgrey LA:
Stay sexy, comfortable and effortless while lounging around at home in this easy to wear classic ... [+] short robe. Courtesy of MASONgrey LA
MASONgrey LA—The Classic Short Robe is the first short robe we ever made! Over the years, the Classic Short has evolved from different material sleeves, lengths, ties and so much more to what it is now. The Sandy Palms Classic Short however is and always be very near and dear to our heart. $95
Moral Code:
Being eco-friendly is a beautiful thing. This chukka-style boot is all about being stylish and ... [+] sustainable, it’s the best of both worlds. A gender-neutral style that is perfect for a night out on the town, a down-to-business meeting, or a laid-back Sunday with the crew. The Forrest (M) is available in Cognac, White, and Black; the Faye (F) is available in Cognac and Blush. Photo credit: Courtesy of Moral Code Footwear & Accessories
MC Ethical Living- MC Ethical Living is Moral Code’s first sustainable collection launches March 22nd. Moral Code is one of the first brands in the United States to obtain the license to produce its leather with the Olivenleder tanning process. Unlike many forms of leather tanning processes, Olivenleder uses natural, discarded leaves from Olive trees as the primary tanning agent to provide beautiful characteristics to the finished product. Not only is Olivenleder sustainable, non-toxic and 100% natural, it enhances the natural beauty of the leather and improves the aesthetics in the final production of the products. With so much current dialogue on the topic of Sustainability, it is important to remember that natural Leather is an incredibly sustainable material. As the leftover byproduct from the meat industry, without using natural leather, these materials would end up in landfills. By utilizing this waste as a primary ingredient in footwear and accessories, we are not only removing leather from landfills, but also creating beautiful, long lasting products instead of perpetuating disposable fashion that is discarded after a season or two. $169 Product: MC Forrest (for men) + MC Faye (for women)
niLuu:
niLuu Monroe Mini Kimono Robe @gabrielmatarazzo
niLuu—Designed by Founder Nilufer Bracco, niLuu combines the iconic elegance of traditional silk with a socially and environmentally ethical production process by using a vegan silk that does not harm any silkworms. niLuu encourages fashion brands to reduce their carbon footprint by using vegan silk made from Cupro, a yarn fiber derived from cotton linter, a cotton byproduct. Unlike conventional silk, Cupro doesn’t use animal-derived proteins in its production process. In addition to being cruelty-free and vegan, Cupro is substantially more sustainable than traditional silk and many other premium fabrics, as it is made from plant-based materials and is biodegradable. $580
noyah:
Better for you, better for the planet. Courtesy of noyah
noyah-natural lipsticks -Made with natural ingredients and minerals such as Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, and skin-protecting Vitamin E, your lips will look and feel their best. Lipsticks are available in TEN shades from a vibrant red to a flirty pink, versatile enough to take you from daytime chic to a fun-filled, sultry evening look. All lipsticks come in stunning earth-friendly bamboo packaging that not only look good, but also result in a 60% reduction in plastic. $18
Parker Clay:
With attention to detail and minimalist design, the new Topa Mini bucket is the perfect statement ... [+] leather bag inspired by the best of East African style and California confidence. Courtesy of Parker Clay
Parker Clay—Parker Clay, an Ethopian-made fine leather goods brand, offers a wide variety of timeless yet chic totes, weekenders, clutches and more. Each style is handmade ethically and sustainably from 100% Ethiopian leather and supports Parker Clay’s Center of Excellence, which provides personal and professional development and employment for marginalized women in Ethiopia. The newly released Topa Mini alone provides hours of employment for their 200-person team in Ethiopia, where over 550,000 hours of work have already been created. Parker Clay is dedicated to producing sustainable leather by using traditional, local practices that reduce the impact of chrome and other chemicals that can be found in competitor’s products. $128
RELLERY:
RELLERY Baby Cuban Link Necklace Courtesy of RELLERY
RELLERY—Rellery is made to last and only uses precious metals: Sterling Silver, 14K Solid Gold, or thick 18K Gold plated over Sterling Silver, that can be melted down and recycled – unlike cheap materials such as brass, steel, zinc, or nickel. This cuban link chain necklace is perfect everyday option! Wear this on the longer length as a regular necklace or its shorter length as a choker. Designed to lay perfectly on your neck for a shining silhouette. $115
Ritter:
The Rittervest is thoughtfully constructed with superfine Alpaca and Merino sheep wool, natural ... [+] fibers that exhibit superior thermoregulating properties. Soft like cashmere and stain, water, and wrinkle resistant. Michael Bueno 2015/Courtesy of Ritter
Ritter- The Rittervest is the cornerstone of the Ritter Apparel brand. Thoughtfully constructed with superfine Alpaca and Merino wool and sustainably produced in their female-owned factory, the classic vest provides unmatched comfort, style and quality. By producing products in smaller batches, Ritter avoids excess while intentionally choosing partners whose values align with theirs. From the factory in Peru to their friends at 1% For The Planet, they choose their partners wisely to keep the supply chain sustainable and suitable for a cleaner world. Ritter is an absolute wardrobe staple for the modern working man who wants to feel good and look good. $249
Sandy Leong x Gemfields Sol:
Sandy Leong x Gemfields Sol Collection Emerald and Diamond Sol Cuff Photo courtesy of Milan Zrnic
Sandy Leong x Gemfields Sol Collection—On the heels of her 10 year anniversary and the start of a new year, Sandy Leong is renewing her commitment to sustainability by partnering with world-leading gemstone supplier Gemfields on the release of Sol, a new fine jewelry collection. Sol will be the first-of-its-kind partnership between Sandy Leong Jewelry and the newly formed Gemfields Foundation- the charitable arm of Gemfields that supports community and conservation projects in Africa. Sandy aims to support the ongoing efforts of the Gemfields Foundation by contributing 10 percent of all sales on the Sol collection towards specific projects centered around children and education. This cuff from the collection is a new silhouette for Sandy and made of 18 karat recycled yellow gold with 0.86 ct. Zambian responsibly sourced emeralds and 2.73 ct. ethically sourced white diamonds. $22,200.
Santos by Mónica:
Jacinto Round Hobo by Santos by Mónica. Hand-made in New York City from vegan leather crafted from ... [+] cactus fibers. Courtesy of Santos by Mónica
Santos by Mónica—With a playful yet functional aesthetic, the Jacinto Round Hobo is made entirely out of vegan leather crafted from cactus fibers. The cactus used to create this material is grown in a farm in Mexico where only the mature leaves of the plant are cut, without damaging the cactus itself. Being partially bio-degradable and the remaining components highly recyclable, this style is the go-to bag that never compromises style (or the environment!). $350 USD
Sentenced:
Shadow-effect Milo joggers featuring contrasting side stripes and split hem pictured with ... [+] coordinating Missy hoodie with suspender detail creating a clean, minimal look. www.gannonstudios.co.uk/Photographer - Vivienne Edge
Sentenced.-Sentenced aims to bring awareness and educate consumers by establishing unique garments made from organic, pure and recycled fabrications and produced by certified suppliers. The Milo joggers are fundamental to our ethos as a brand and contrast with the aesthetic of the other pieces. Inspired by the blurry look and feel to 80s imagery, the Milo joggers are embroidered with the singular Sentenced logo in a contrasting white and forest green shadow-effect that will have you feeling nostalgic in the '80s sporty interpretation. Sentenced recognizes that for something to be sustainable, it needs to be achievable and maintainable; the Milo joggers are made to last, using high-end and innovative fabrications and craftsmanship, even down to the delicately engraved gunmetal zips. These straight leg joggers are cut from a heavy-weight pure organic cotton with a looped backing for an ultra-soft feel. The side profile boasts striped paneling and functional zip hems, making these versatile pants a staple for every wardrobe. $225
SheWarrior:
Dream Chaser Sports Bra & Legging Set by SheWarrior Courtesy of Steven Gray
SheWarrior—As with all our products, the Dream Chaser Leggings are made using fibers spun from recycled plastic bottles, and the colors are added using a water-free dyeing method. All our products are produced by a local manufacturer, and made to order, reducing landfill and shipping impacts. This design in particular was inspired by the idea of tapping into the universe, embracing life without limits, and being unafraid to go after your dreams. $85
Sophie Ratner Jewelry:
Delicate Jewelry + Bold Ideas Courtesy of Stella Berkofsky
Sophie Ratner Jewelry—We are all about jewelry that can be worn everyday and anywhere. This edgier twist on a classic hoop just shows you that delicate jewelry can be bold. It is made from recycled gold and lab-grown diamonds. We love it layered, but it also is a great stand-alone. $680
Stella McCartney:
The Stella McCartney light blue, multicolor marble denim jumpsuit is a practical and unique jumpsuit ... [+] for the Spring season. Made from COREVA® denim and featuring customizable Velcro cuff fastenings and zipper at the ankles for an individual and flattering fit. Courtesy of Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney—The Stella McCartney Denim All in One jumpsuit is the made from the world's first biodegradable stretch denim made by Candiani, called COREVA® is an innovative stretch denim that is made from only renewable resources and is completely plastic-free. For all our collections, including our Spring 2021 season, the materials we choose to use in our clothing show our ongoing commitment to fashion with a conscience and are at the forefront of our brand’s ethics. $2,075
Tiina Smith:
Tiffany & Co. 14k Yellow Gold Retro Tank Bracelet Image courtesy of Tiina Smith Jewelry
Tiina Smith Jewelry -A classic Machine Age design, this high polish gold tank track bracelet from Tiffany & Co. features an articulated three-dimensional faceted block design. Circa 1940s. Vintage jewelry collecting is inherently sustainable as it involves the passing on of finely crafted objects of exceptional quality from one collector to another, either in their original aesthetic forms or by taking component parts and using them to create new pieces - the perfect illustration of reuse and recycle. $12,750
Tombolo:
Each Earth Cabana shirt is made of the brand’s signature terry-cloth and features a print by William ... [+] Morris. Courtesy of Tombolo
Tombolo—Long committed to reducing its environmental impact with thoughtfully selected fabrics, Tombolo will be donating 100% of sales from its ‘Earth Cabana’ collection during the pre-order month to environmental causes: 100% of the Earth Cabana (Blue) proceeds will be going to Oceanic Global to support the world's oceans while 100% of the Earth Cabana (Green) proceeds will be split between Amazon Watch and Rainforest Trust. Additionally, each Earth Cabana shirt features a print by William Morris, a 19th century artist and a man long considered to be the “father of the sustainability movement.” $128 USD
Wol Hide:
Wol Hide Sweatshirt Sweater in Earth from their Domestic Color-Grown Cotton Capsule Image Courtesy of Louie Kovatch
Wol Hide— Wol Hide’s first naturally pigmented cotton capsule can be seen in the brand’s Sweatshirt Sweater with two different shades: Earth & Sage. Going back to its roots of domestic, small-batch production, Wol Hide partnered with a small, female-owned farm in Northern California who revives ancient naturally pigmented cotton breeds. Originally used by South American indigenous groups, Wol Hide’s partner is the first to ever organically grow and breed these ancient breeds of cotton in the U.S. The undyed process requires less water usage and chemicals. $455
Wolf Circus:
Wolf Circus Venus Earrings in recycled 14k gold plating over bronzer from the Contour collection. Image Courtesy of Ian Lanterman
Wolf Circus—The Contour Collection finds balance between delicate and undulating shapes, and oversized statements. Featuring hoops, double stacked rings, and chunky chains and bracelets, it's reminiscent of Wolf Circus classics, with a vintage twist. Handmade in Vancouver using recycled metals. $166
Wuxly:
Wuxly Movements Greta coat in Lava Orange Courtesy of Fred Yurichuk
Wuxly—The inspiration for the Greta came from the idea of creating a classic, sustainable, air-weight, that embodies the Wuxly way. It’s a fashionable piece, ideal for the city commuter, dog walker, and just about anybody going to and from. Through thorough research and design we developed a biodegradable polyester for the shell and lining. In search of the perfect warmth factor we developed the Greta using a biobased Sorona insulation for its superior lightweight and heat retention capabilities. Aesthetically, the Greta has a minimalistic sleep design, which speaks to sustainability and function. Colorways are a combination of pop and classic. The bright lava orange and bright blue are certain standouts, while the army green and black are seasonless. The three-pocket feature is great for storing gadgets and is much appreciated by our users or commuters. In addition, reflective logos were added to the sleeve and hood, because, well, safety first. $399
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38b99f2805800da93a17871f740b3beb | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2021/03/27/innovative-blockchain-technology-creates-new-opportunities-for-the-high-end-fashion-industry/ | Innovative Blockchain Technology Creates New Opportunities For The High-End Fashion Industry | Innovative Blockchain Technology Creates New Opportunities For The High-End Fashion Industry
PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 06: A model, outfit detail, walks the runway during the Chanel Womenswear ... [+] Spring/Summer 2021 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on October 06, 2020 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dominique Charriau/WireImage) WireImage
Traditionally, the luxury fashion business has been associated with an upper-echelon status. Predicting a return to pre-pandemic status with competitive price-points driven by limited distribution and celebrity endorsements. Overall, the luxury apparel and accessories market segmentation has seemingly carved out a niche for itself by focusing on a consumer who leans towards luxury product and developing a market segmentation around it.
According to Statista, In 2021, the luxury global fashion industry is currently estimated to be about $107.9 billion dollars. This robust market segmentation has achieved these promising numbers during the year of the pandemic. More importantly, the market segmentation has an expected annual growth of 4.8% (CAGR 2021-2025).
Although this all sounds promising, major policy challenges face the luxury fashion industry. Among the most important is counterfeiting. An abundant number of brands within the portfolios of multinational corporations specialized in luxury goods such as French-based LVMH and Kering; who aim to maintain both accessibility and exclusivity within the highly competitive marketplace. In 2020, Kering’s President and CEO Francois-Henri Pinault reported the groups revenue to have reached 13.1 billion euros- roughly $15.49 billion in US dollars.
Let’s face it, major brands go to great lengths to preserve exclusivity and fight counterfeiting including burning products worth billions of dollars. However, burning excess products to maintain exclusivity does not sit well with consumers. And there’s no letup. Case in point; a consumer boycott campaign against luxury fashion house Burberry, headquartered in London, England- after the news of the burning practice had been made public knowledge. In short, it is a business world of caution. And rightly so. Nowadays, the interconnectivity between brands and customers have given rise to the voice of the people. In a word, the boycott forced Burberry to end the practice of burning its excess products, but sadly, the damage had already been done with respect to consumer distaste at that time.
Employing blockchain technology is NFT’s Brian Foote—founder and CEO of HUMBL—alongside a new product line called Origin Assurance™, is targeting some of the challenges that may hinder the projected growth of the global fashion industry.
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HUMBL Marketplace recently teamed up with Hollywood celebrity photographer Smallz + Raskind to tokenize and catalog exclusive prints on the blockchain, ensuring that customers receive a certificate of authenticity and a digital signature QR code for tracking the lifecycle of any product.
Brian Foote: founder and CEO of HUMBL Courtesy of HUMBL
These days, it is more and more important to retailers and consumers alike -to ensure accessibility in luxury fashion through blockchain. More to the point, the blockchain process can not only trace the sourcing but rather track the supply chain for a fashion brand. When it comes to millennials and Gen Z, they often feel left out of the luxury shopping experience. At this point, most market groups are well-aware that this age group has always favored experience over acquiring goods. I guess I am lecturing now, but technology is the proven way to capture this burgeoning market sector.
“Tokenizing luxury-fashion on blockchain will create exciting opportunities for the high-end fashion industry and attract the young market,” Brian said. “The HUMBL Studios is where the tokenization of the luxury fashion items, NFT”s, physical and esoteric assets will occur on the blockchain.
It’s essential that luxury fashion customers find what they’re looking for under one roof, and a marketplace that makes the shopping experience seamless is key.
“In fashion, accessibility is essential for luxury brands to remain relevant. Smart luxury brands will leverage the web 3 that’s supported by blockchain to become accessible on both primary and secondary resale markets, particularly in luxury brands where there is a longer life-cycle of collection.” says Foote.
Along with the uprooting of so many long standing traditions in the period following the pandemic, an increasing number of fashion brands began abandoning the standard business practices stimulated by the awakened awareness of the benefits of blockchain technology. I recently attended a remote forum run by experts with respect to the opportunities for luxury fashion and beauty brands at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. At this time around, the winning brands are delivering an inside track on this forthright technology as well as pinpointing a defined market strategy triggering a call to arms.
“Blockchain technology provides total transparency of product from inception to end use. This single technology can allow users to track and trace the legitimacy of any product from luxury fashion to basic necessity. In doing so, blockchain can cover a variety of corporate, consumer, and social goals, including sustainable sourcing, identifying the source of all merchandise along the supply chain, and further advancement of trust between brands and their numerous stakeholders”. says Vincent Quan, Associate Professor of Fashion Business Management Department at the Fashion Institute of Technology SUNY.
Unlike in the past, consumers of high-end luxury fashion are no longer restricted to in-store shopping experience, as technology now brings the experience most busy high net worth individuals crave right to their homes and offices, and even on their palms. VR technology captures the right fitness and measurement, while blockchain keeps a record for repeat shopping experience.
This is even more common today as physical stores remain shuttered due to the pandemic. Max Krupyshev, CEO at CoinsPaid, crypto payment processing gateway also echoes the same views. His company has seen increased integration from luxury brands since the start of the pandemic. “With blockchain technology and acceptance of crypto as a mean of payment, more luxury brands can reach a wider circle of customers and especially millennials, who are the biggest fans of digital assets,” Krupyshev said.
According to a report on Harvard Business Review, the total global counterfeiting trade costs manufacturers $4.5 trillion, with the luxury goods market accounting for 60% to 70% of that figure. Another report by World Trademark Review placed the losses caused by counterfeit luxury goods in 18 States in the US at $12 billion annually.
When questioned about the importance of implementing Blockchain technology in today’s luxury sector Luca Spano Director at IFG Men’s Fashion had this to say. “This is a very important part for many businesses already and it's a must for us all to implement rather sooner than later, Covid has moved our industry 10 years ahead and made us understand what technology can do to keep the economy moving and be strong. Marketing must think ahead and definitely make blockchain implementation one of their top priorities”
MILAN, ITALY - JANUARY 10: A model walks the runway at the Ermenegildo Zegna fashion show on January ... [+] 10, 2020 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Jacopo Raule/Getty Images) Getty Images
Tokenizing on Blockchain allows valuable luxury products such as bags, sneakers or luxury watches to be assigned a unique identity that is immutable. The identity of the product is recorded in the blockchain ledger and is trackable right up until it reaches the end consumer. More to the point, consumers have a growing concern to live the culture of a brand by knowing its production path from start to finish. This uses technology to eliminate the need for a wasteful and environmentally harmful procedure at curbing counterfeiting in high-end fashion.
Rafael Papismedov, Managing Partner and Strategy Director at HB Antwerp:“Innovative blockchain technology enables HB Antwerp to track and trace the entire process from mine to finger. This is crucial for today’s luxury consumers who are much younger on average than they were only five years ago, and are more often female. Millennials and certainly Gen Z are typically more self-confident and informed about the world than prior generations. They demand answers to their questions and attach importance to fair trade. They want to know under what circumstances products were made, what the ecological impact was, the working conditions in which they were produced, and they want to know this about all consumer goods … whether it's chocolate or diamonds.
We use blockchain technology and data visualisation techniques to monitor and map all steps in the process from mine to jewel. We have created an ecosystem called Signum, in which the participating partners exchange information with each other, both on the side of the mines and on the side of the jewellers. Thanks to this Signum ecosystem, jewellers working together with HB Antwerp are today the only ones who are able to tell their consumers exactly where their Signum-diamond comes from, how it was mined, when it was found.”
At this time, I think that luxury fashion should not be restricted to the traditional ideals that it started with. By maintaining exclusivity and ensuring anti-counterfeiting, technology is still the best bet at solving most of luxury fashion’s current challenges.
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ce50108ac26eef7a02ed20b5de8a3bcf | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2021/04/07/the-new-face-of-seersucker-cool/ | Haspel: The New Face Of Seersucker Cool | Haspel: The New Face Of Seersucker Cool
Haspel SS 21 Courtesy of Haspel
Reinventions are quite often incredible journeys, and they require mapping out, just as if you were going into battle facing the opposition. Hopefully, they are successful and fulfilling. In life, we have to be able to recognize the moments of good style and celebrate them. For me, seersucker is that style. The illusion that seersucker is a highly conservative menswear item persists thanks in part to distorted narratives that have conflated conservative fashion ideas. If you still think of this puckered fabric as a stodgy item, then you have yet to discover Haspel Menswear. Today, Haspel CEO Laurie Haspel (from the First Family of Seersucker suits) proudly wears the crown as the reigning queen of seersucker. Think of the new product offerings as seersucker hybrids.
Haspel Menswear SS 21 Courtesy of Haspel Menswear SS 21
The word seersucker is derived from the Persian words “sheer” and “shakkar,” meaning milk and sugar. What makes the fabric so light and airey is the combination of smooth and bumpy (milk and sugar) texture that allows the fabric to lift away from the skin when worn.
So then, what makes seersucker cool again? The brand has advanced forward by adapting to the changes in society: re-imagining new codes of fit, comfort and style! Haspel is a creative and cultural brand that interprets the changes in seersucker as they unfold into contemporary society, providing fresh new thoughts and ideas into timely suitable products of the moment.
Haspel SS 21: Shot on Location at the Casa Monica Hotel Photography: Macrae Marran
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Haspel is a family-owned American brand founded in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dating back to 1909, it quickly established its heritage when Joseph Haspel Sr. transformed the breathable seersucker pucker from a laborer’s uniform into an iconic gentlemen’s suit. Today, fourth-generation owner Laurie Haspel leads the business with a creative vision rooted in her great-grandfather’s methodology…clothing made for a good time!
Seersucker was imported to America from the British Colonial East Indies in the 19th century. At first, the fabric was used to make overalls worn by laborers in the hot and humid south. However, in the early 20th century, Joseph Haspel manufactured seersucker for workwear in New Orleans. At that time, it was known as a poor man’s fabric. Then one fine day, Mr. Haspel decided to take a chance by designing a suit out of the lightweight fabric for businessmen.
Haspel Founder: Joseph Haspel Courtesy of Haspel
From that point on, the suit became a favorite in the south amongst businessmen. Before you knew it, Brooks Brothers caught on and developed a seersucker line for the store in NYC. The fresh fashion item appealed to the Great Gatsby gentlemen in the USA. Separately, Ivy League students were wearing the suit in a rebellion style of reverse disruption to tradition. Soon Thereafter, seersucker was being worn by FDR, Harry Truman and Duke of Windsor as well as actor Gregory Peck in the film To Kill A Mockingbird.
“Seersucker suits have always been a favorite of mine on a man especially in summer. It keeps you cool and looking polished when having to wear suits during the summer. It reads fashionable and successful. Seersucker has come a long way incorporating stretch and taking it into shirts and formal wear. Nothing is better than a sharp dressed man in a Seersucker suit.”Sadia Seymour —Fashion Stylist and CEO of Behind The Rack
In 1977, the family sold Haspel as they watched it change hands numerous times and slowly lose its significance in the menswear business. Alas, slowly but surely Laurie Haspel began purchasing up the licensed labels and by 2012 the Haspel family was back in business. Even better, in 2014, the United States Congress declared National Seersucker Day, celebrating a nationwide day where people can wear their seersucker with an effortless attitude and a fun-loving put together American style.
The newly recharged Haspel brand not only held on to the brand’s rich heritage but rather began creating a new line of seersucker suits and sportswear to peak the interest of style driven millennials and Gen Z.
It is time for Americans to take into account that apparel being made in the USA lightens the carbon footprint significantly. In addition, Haspel is currently in the process of researching and developing new methods of sustainability. More to the point, Haspel is creating American jobs during a time of economic uncertainty.
I recently caught up with President and CEO Laurie Haspel to speak about how her great-grandfather was one of the first to pioneer fabric technology, why seersucker is more colorful and versatile than ever before and how Haspel kept tailored clothing manufacturing stateside - proudly, right here in the USA!
Haspel President and CEO Laurie Haspel Courtesy of Haspel
Joseph DeAcetis: Comfort seems to be a key aspect in your lines, is that a prime consideration for your designs?
Laurie Haspel: Comfort is always at the forefront of selecting fabrics and designs for Haspel. We gravitate towards lightweight fabrics that move, stretch and breathe as you do.
JD: Part of your line's success can be attributed to the current American preoccupation with style in recreation. Do you think this trend will continue?
LH: Style, even when on-the-go, has long been part of Haspel’s DNA and we don’t plan on changing that. My great-grandfather was also the innovator of adding technical properties to fabric; therefore, he pioneered a trend that is still ongoing.
JD: What other design direction would you like to take with seersucker?
LH: A women’s line has been on our minds for a very long time. It would make sense to explore our ideas into women’s in a few key categories. We also see a natural evolution into home products as well.
Haspel Menswear SS 21:Shot on Location at the Casa Monica Hotel Photography: Macrae Marran
JD: Considering the fashion preferences of the traditional man, wasn't it risky to introduce a line of seersucker in orange, red and green?
LH: Not at all! You’d be surprised how many men want to introduce color into their wardrobes. Because we sell our tailored clothing as separates, often we see men ordering just a jacket or pants in a fun color to coordinate with other items in their wardrobe.
JD: Talk to our readers about how, why and what makes seersucker cool again?
LH: Seersucker has always been cool – we’re just styling it differently than we have before – and so are our Haspel customers. Seersucker is more versatile than ever. We offer a large variety of seersucker in our sportswear line and it’s relevant 12 months a year. Repeat. 12 months a year.
JD: Given so many brands' source and manufacturer overseas, talk to Forbes about how and why Haspel succeeds in product development right here in the good ol USA?
LH: The genesis of Haspel was in the USA. Our tailored clothing factory was right here in New Orleans for many years. Our roots are in the USA and we want to produce here whenever we can which is why we kept our tailored clothing manufacturing stateside.
JD: Briefly, can you lend some insight on the great history as well as your personal lineage to the Haspel brand?
LH: My great-grandfather, Joseph Haspel Sr, started Haspel in 1909. He saw a need for comfort and style in men’s tailored clothing and he pioneered a continuous wave of fabric innovation – not just seersucker, but also developed the first technical fabric to be used in tailored clothing with his wash-n-wear suits. I grew up with my grandfather, Joseph Haspel Jr, running the business and visited him in the factory growing up. I remember my grandparents taking me to NYC for the first time when I was 10. My grandfather would work in midtown during the day, and my grandmother and I would meet him at the 21 Club for dinner. 21 was their “Galatoire’s” of NYC.
Haspel Menswear SS 21: Shot on Location at the Casa Monica Hotel Photography: Macrae Marran
JD: What is your best advice to millennials and Gen Z on how to flex while wearing a seersucker?
LH: Style seersucker YOUR way. There are no rules. Be confident.
JD: If a man shows up wearing seersucker and his guy friends poke fun at him for being too fancy, how should he respond?
LH: Well, it’s nice to be the best-dressed and the best-looking guy in the room.
JD: If the south has risen, then what are your thoughts on a man wearing seersucker on his first date to impress?
LH: It depends on his style and where he is going. You will never be comfortable in what you are wearing unless you have confidence. If wearing seersucker makes you feel good, then wear it.Often I tell people to get out of their comfort zone and experiment with different looks (women do the same thing). At the end of the day, you must be confident in your outfit or it just won’t work.
Haspel Menswear SS 21: Shot on Location at the Casa Monica Hotel Photography: Macrae Marran
JD: In terms of breathable options for men to wear during the hotter months, why do you feel most men gravitate towards linens as opposed to seersucker? Why do you feel they should lean towards seersucker?
LH: We happen to love linen, but we love seersucker even more. Most people don’t fully understand seersucker. Most believe it’s only a stripe and only in blue and white; that is the traditional look. Seersucker is simply a process that you do to a fabric to help it lift off of your skin to breathe and be more comfortable. Our sportswear seersucker options clearly reflect seersucker in a different way that most are not used to seeing.
JD: As one of the leading seersucker companies in the world, who or what do you feel are your biggest competitors?
LH: Haspel is the original. Others are imitators. Many other brands associate seersucker with just being a stripe and that is where they go wrong (it’s obvious from their striped, flat fabrics). Haspel uses the highest quality seersucker (in fact, we just introduced a new stretch seersucker) that puckers as it should.
JD: Tell our readers some upcoming trends Haspel is looking forward to releasing in 2021?
LH: STRETCH is in! We’ve finally crafted a seersucker fabric that has 3% stretch woven into the high-quality seersucker that continues to pucker as you would expect it to.
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6d15f2face362995261564f5245248ca | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2021/04/08/torino-belts-swing-into-fresh-style-for-2021/ | Torino Leather: Swing Into Fresh Style For 2021 | Torino Leather: Swing Into Fresh Style For 2021
Torino SS 21 Courtesy of Photographer MLCWORKS
Today, in menswear, you must be mindful of two critical elements: defined artisanal expertise and advanced manufacturing technologies. The combination of a countercultural spirit and the belt business has created a new code of style in menswear.
Despite their universal functionality, the main purpose of a gentleman’s belt is to secure and hold-up trousers. The second purpose is to define the waistline. And choosing the right buckle is an important styling decision as well. I find that the best thing about a belt is its adjustability—according to the level of comfort around the waist.
Torino SS 21 Photography by Jackson Hill
“Men don't get to accessorize the way women do. They are limited to cufflinks, tie bars, pocket squares, watches and belts. A man's belt says a lot about his fashion sense, prestige and attention to detail. From the leather that's chosen to the belt buckle and it's finishes. Designer logos can be admired or snubbed at depending on the the atmosphere of your environment. Men should take note of what the culture is and flow suit. It's also ok to stand out as well. It can be a great conversation starter of some properly”. says Sadia Seymour —Fashion Stylist and CEO of Behind The Rack
Since the Bronze age, belts have appeared on the menswear scene. Like many articles of men's apparel, they were associated with the military uniform. In fact, a high-ranking officer wearing a good belt looks strong and polished.Tightly cinched belts had given the officers a trim look while emphasizing wide shoulders and strong chest.
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Before the 1920’s belts mostly served as a decorative item. But ever since then, trousers waists fell to a lower line on the body. Subsequently, pants were made with belt loops and the rest is history.
Whether your aim is to dress for success at the office or flex big time on the golf course, it is important to know that the proper width of a belt should be scaled to the width of the belt loops on the trouser. Just ask Torino Leather Company. Not only is this brand the premier U.S. manufacturer of fine belts and leather goods, but it is proud to call New Orleans home. The factory is located along the Mississippi River in New Orleans. For me, it is refreshing to see businesses developing great craftsmanship made right here in the USA! Taking pride in American made fashion and creating jobs gives one a sense of promise.
Torino SS 21 Photographer: Macrae Marran/ Torino
You see, the rich heritage New Orleans possesses packs the punch with old world craftsmanship and a whole lotta southern spice. What makes a torino belt special is that the artisans have developed the skills needed to perform handmade operations. For example, custom burnishing, antiquing and even hand sewn whip-stitching. In a word, The American artisans take great pride in their work by expertly cutting, sewing and burnishing fine leathers and exotic skins from around the world into highly coveted belts and wallets. Known for their versatility, durability and quality, it is no coincidence that each belt is handmade by a group of artisans— who’ve been with the company a minimum of 11 years.
“Our belts are about handcrafted quality. We make sure the belts are enduring style-wise, fashion-wise and longevity-wise,” affirms Tom Garner, Torino Leather managing director. “We also pride ourselves on being an efficient company with an emphasis on customer service.”
On August 23rd 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck hard and Torino Leather Company faced great challenges rebounding. The original factory, located in New Orleans East, was under water for six weeks. Evacuating the factory, employees also faced damaged homes and lost belongings. But the cloud always has a silver lining. After the hurricane, Garner and three other employees purchased the company from the owner, who decided to retire. They quickly found a new location and reopened for business. “Every day we experienced disappointments. For a while it was just the four of us working here; eventually everyone returned. Tenacity is what helped us to come back,” Garner explains with much pride.
I had a chance to chat with Tom Garner managing director at Torino Leather Company about why comfort is a key element, why he believes the spirit flows through everything they do and why he believes that American made isn’t a changing fad; rather, it is a way of life for them!
Tom Garner Managing Director: Torino Leather Company Courtesy of Photographer Jackson Hill
Joseph DeAcetis: Considering the fashion preferences of the traditional man, wasn't it risky to introduce belts featuring orange, red and green...
Tom Garner: Not at all because men’s attitudes toward fashion have changed dramatically and are driven by many changes in how we live our lives and conduct our business. Our lifestyles project the world we live in now with all of the changes. Comfort is a key element now and there are many new technical fabrics being used to enhance comfort. This isn’t new; 10 years ago casual Friday happened for a reason. Men wanted alternatives to wearing a suit and tie 5 days a week. This has grown since then and has exploded as we learn to do business virtually. Color is a vital part of every wardrobe. Even the most conservative guys want a little zip to spice up their look today.
JD: Many designers and brands are currently focusing on a distinctly American spirit in their collections. Does that indicate a renaissance of originality in American menswear? Do you envision a return to menswear made in the USA?
TG: Yes indeed. We have a red/white/blue braided stretch belt in our line this season named the “Patriot”. Our products are made right here in the USA in New Orleans and we think this is a big plus. Customers know how difficult this past year has been for us all and want to support companies that are trying to make it. For Torino Leather, American made isn’t a changing fad; rather, it is a way of life for us. We have a responsibility to ourselves, our employees, our community and our customers to make products we can all be proud and Made in the USA.
Torino SS 21 Courtesy of Photographer MLCWORKS
JD: Talk to Forbes about what it means to you to design and manufacturer Torino belts in the USA?
TG: Our history here is rich. Torino Leather Company was born from the devastation left behind by hurricane Katrina back in 2005. We survived the economic tsunami of 2008 and the BP oil spill of 2010 and now the economic disaster created by the spread of covid. Through it all, we have remained positive and committed to success. It just makes sense, we have skilled artisans that are family to us and make our products with love and compassion. You can feel it walking through the factory talking to our people. This gives us all a kinship that is powerful and translates to our customers.
It also gives us better control of the manufacturing process. We are here every day, we see what is being made and we can react to any needs or issues in real time. That is a huge advantage for us. Finally, we all live here and love New Orleans!
JD: In your words, in dressing for corporate success, what makes wearing a belt important in one's overall look?
TG:Dressing for corporate success remains very important. The old adage, Get up, Dress up, Show up, can’t be emphasized enough. Looking ones best at all times is critical because you never know where your next major business relationship with happen. Wearing a belt that complements ones business look is essential and shows attention to detail. Aspiring to success requires many different looks that work together and the belt completes the look no matter if it is in the boardroom or on the golf course. Relationships happen everywhere and looking right matters.
JD: In your own words, what separates Torino belts than any other belt for a man to purchase?
TG: To begin with, our story of survival through some of the most difficult times says a lot about our character. Through it all, we remain positive and focused on moving forward.
We work extremely hard to make quality products and are focused on doing what we do best, making the best belts anywhere. We love New Orleans and take great pride in seeing our artisans happy and successful! Our spirit flows through everything we do and we hope our customers feel it just a little in what they buy from Torino Leather. Our story is real and compelling and once understood, our customers rarely leave us.
Torino SS 21 Photographer: Macrae Marran/ Torino
JD: What should a consumer be looking for in a well-made belt?
TG: This question comes up often primarily because customers are unclear of how a belt is made. The process is as important as the materials used. Our belts are the result of 45 individual steps with quality control all along the way. We use the finest leather available and our artisans have many years of experience. Great care is taken to achieve the correct body in each belt so that flexibility and touch are correct. The feel of each leather is different as is the thickness and requires our artisans to work the leather so that the finished product isn’t too stiff (boardiness) or too soft (pliability), Too stiff, uncomfortable. Too soft, stretches with decreased wear characteristics. It is impossible to know the effort that goes into our products without visiting the factory and seeing our artisans in action, however, if it has the Torino Leather logo on it, know you are getting the best quality available anywhere.
Torino SS 21 Photographer: Macrae Marran/ Torino
JD: Can you give Forbes readers some advice on what type of belts to wear with office-wear such as: Should a belt match a man's shoes? What belt does a man wear with luxury sneakers for the office?
TG: Excellent question, a man’s belt is one of his most personal wardrobe accessories. It makes a statement and enhances ones vibe so care should be given when choosing it. Most men try to tie their shoes into the look by picking the belt that helps. Not so perfectly matched but similar in style and feel. Suede sneakers in navy with a contrast topstitch may call for a similar navy suede belt. It all depends on the total look. Be open to a variety of colorful belt looks. We divide our belt categories into exotics, dressy elegance, dress casual, cool casual, resort casual and all work for office wear depending on the office environment.
JD: In your words, what is the absolute must have belt from Torino and why as a common forgotten or less prioritized men's product, why do you feel that belts can make or break an outfit?
TG: Absolutely the belt completes the outfit! Belts have become the “It” accessory for men and are becoming more popular each year. The well dressed man understands the importance of a belt as an integral part of his wardrobe. That being said our American Alligator belt is the most coveted and immediately makes a statement when worn. There is nothing like the feel a man has while wearing an Alligator belt. He gains swag and has a positive vibe that is difficult to quantify. It is instinctive! All men should own a Torino Leather American Alligator belt!
Torino SS 21 Photography by Jackson Hill
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39a4616819b08212a73e8c319a9ecaad | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephgrenny/2012/12/13/the-media-is-an-accomplice-in-public-shootings-a-call-for-a-stephen-king-law/ | The Media is an Accomplice in Public Shootings: A Call for a "Stephen King" Law | The Media is an Accomplice in Public Shootings: A Call for a "Stephen King" Law
**Update 12/14: In light of this morning's horrific events in Newtown, Connecticut, the clock is ticking on our responsibility to influence our society for better. It's time we felt safe in our communities again and I firmly believe ethically reporting the news is one important way we can achieve that important goal. God bless the victims and their families. **
This week, I watched in horror with most of America, as yet another person unleashed a fury of bullets in a busy Portland, Oregon, mall killing two and injuring others. But my horror was twofold. The first misery came as I heard the names and numbers of victims and thought about the pain they and their families will endure for the rest of their lives. The second dose came as I held my breath, hoping and praying the media wouldn’t amplify the violence.
But they did.
They did exactly what they needed to do to influence the next perpetrator to lock and load.
They named the shooter. They described his characteristics. They detailed the crime. They numbered the victims. They ranked him against other “successful” attackers.
Public shootings are a contagion. And the media are consistent accomplices in most every one of them.
There’s really no useful debate on the point. The consensus of social scientists since David Phillips’ groundbreaking work in 1974 is that highly publicized stories of deviant and dangerous behavior influences copycat incidents. Phillips’ and scores of subsequent studies showed, for example, that suicide rates spike in the week after an inappropriately publicized celebrity suicide. Contrast this trend with no increase in suicides in the week following a media strike that unintentionally suppresses such coverage.
The same is true of school massacres. On Feb 2, 1996, a 14-year-old boy walked into his Moses Lake, Washington, Junior High School algebra class and started shooting. He killed his teacher, two classmates and severely wounded another student. Subsequent media coverage obsessed over the color of his clothes, his insidious planning and the inventory of his arsenal. In addition, they practically offered a how-to guide for concealing and deploying weapons in a coat. But what got the most attention was the fact that after shooting his teacher, he delivered a line from the Stephen King novel Rage with charismatic panache. Suddenly, the invisible adolescent was a cultural icon. Within a week, another shooting occurred that clearly echoed that of Feb 2. Then another on February 19. Another on March 11. Yet another on March 13. Along with other similarities, more than one of the apparent copycats also cited King’s novel as a creative resource.
Of course, when the Rage pattern became clear, the media scurried to get King’s reaction. King could have defended his right to free speech and used the “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” argument—but he didn’t. Instead, he apologized for writing the book. In an interview he said, “I took a look at Rage and said to myself, if this book is acting as any sort of accelerant, if it’s having any effect on any of these kids at all, I don’t want anything to do with it.” Then he insightfully added, “Even talking about it makes me nervous.” King understands that attention is influence. He asked his publishers to pull Rage from publication and let it fall out of print shortly thereafter.
The media appropriately defends its right to participate fully in a marketplace of ideas. The risk of limiting free speech is clear and substantial. And yet, I believe when free speech leads to verifiable harm, it’s time to discuss limits. It’s time we found a way to balance the right to speak freely with the responsibility to influence ethically. It’s time we consider passing a law that requires the media to act with Stephen King’s level of responsibility.
We have laws against shouting fire in a crowded movie theater. Free speech is not unlimited. When it incites crime or influences harm we limit it. Too often, the primary concern of competitive media marketplaces is not the effect a story will have, but the attention it will generate. Media moguls have had 38 years to consider the ethical implications of Phillips’ and others’ findings and have been found wanting in accepting their responsibility.
We need to discuss the merits and morality of a law. I don’t suggest a broad one – but one that matches responsibility with influence. It’s already illegal to use free speech to incite others to criminal acts. So if we know a particular kind of speech is inciting violence, how can we appropriately limit it? Is there a way to do so without creating a slippery slope that limits all speech that tenuously connects to some kind of mischief? And if a law is the wrong device, what can we do to make Stephen King’s response the norm rather than the exception?
For example, we know naming a shooter amplifies his or her influence. We know that when his or her race, gender and other personal characteristics are detailed, those who see themselves as similar are far more likely to feel a sense of permission to follow suit. We know details of the crime act as a virtual workshop for would-be acolytes. And for heaven’s sake, when body counts are not only reported but even compared to previous perpetrators, you incite a hideous competition.
It’s time our media leaders wake up to the fact that they are not just reporting these crimes. Depending on how they report them, they are accomplices in them.
It is also time our legislators consider taking up the task the media appears unwilling to assume. We need to match responsibility with influence.
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ffa87d9e436a1df1414783ec25a35536 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephhargett/2012/02/09/post-plunge-groupon-options-strategies/ | Post Plunge Groupon Options Strategies | Post Plunge Groupon Options Strategies
Groupon (GRPN) shares are being hammered this morning, with the stock plunging more than 11% in the wake of the company's weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings report. Options traders have also gotten in on the act, with GRPN put volume easily outstripping call volume in the early going. However, not everyone viewed the company's quarterly report in a negative light.
In fact, Goldman Sachs actually raised its earnings estimates for Groupon following what it sees as solid fourth-quarter results. In a research note, Goldman reiterated its Buy rating and $29 price target, saying that Groupon "exceeded the consensus by $28 million in billings, $33 million in revenues, and $21 million in CSOI on strong billings growth, a higher-than -expected take rate, and reduced marketing expenditures."
As a result, the brokerage firm lifted its 2012 earnings and revenue expectations to 40 cents per share and $2.5 billion. Goldman also boosted its 2013 earnings and revenue targets to 85 cents per share and $3 billion, respectively.
Clearly, the brokerage firm's enthusiasm has not caught on with traders or with options speculators. In the options pits, put volume has already topped 8,000 contracts in early action, compared to call volume of roughly 6,000 contracts. The result is a bearishly oriented single-session put/call volume ratio of 1.35.
The most popular put on the day is GRPN's weekly February 20 strike, where nearly 1,000 contracts have changed hands. Other notable strikes include the weekly February 21, 22, and 23 puts, which have each seen volume of nearly 900 contracts. Outside of weekly activity, the July 10 put is the most popular, attracting volume of more than 530 contracts on open interest of 1,067 contracts.
As for call volume, weeklys are once again the most actively traded. At the top of the heap is the weekly February 21 strike, where 636 contracts have traded on open interest of 75 contracts. With volume exceeding open interest at this strike, it would appear that options traders are expecting GRPN to rebound before the weekly February 21 call expires at the close of trading tomorrow. Similar call activity can be seen at the weekly February 23 strike, where 502 contracts have traded on open interest of 449 contracts.
Outside of weekly call activity, the March 24 strike is the most popular, attracting volume of 535 contracts on open interest of 948 contracts.
Technically, GRPN actually stands an excellent chance of recuperating from today's losses. While the shares are off a hefty 11%, GRPN appears to have found support at the $21 level. This area is home to prior resistance, as well as GRPN's 50-day moving average. Additionally, the round-number $20 level is also just below the stock's current perch.
Essentially, GRPN appears to be once again trapped in a trading range between $21 and $25, the same trading range that held the stock enthralled for most of December. For options traders, there are a couple ways to take advantage of this technical setup, but which one you choose depends entirely upon your outlook for the stock.
If you side with Goldman Sachs and their bullish assessment of GRPN, then a bull call spread may be the strategy for you. At last check, the March 21/25 bull call spread was asked at $1.30, or $130 per pair of contracts. Break even for this trade lies at $22.30, a 2.3% gain from GRPN's last trade at $21.80, while a maximum profit of $3.70, or $370 per pair of contracts, can be realized if the stock closes at or above $25 when March options expire. The maximum loss is the initial premium paid, $1.30, upon opening the trade.
If you believe that the worst of GRPN's selling is over, but you are not confident that the stock will come roaring back anytime soon, then a short strangle may be a strategy that fits your outlook. With GRPN potentially reentering its December trading range, a March 20/25 short strangle has the potential for positive returns. Since this trade involves selling options, you may want to consult your broker before attempting this strategy.
To enter a GRPN short strangle, you'd simultaneously sell the March 20 put and the March 25 call, resulting in a net credit of $1.95, or $195 per pair of contracts. The credit of $1.95 is your maximum profit, which you pocket immediately and retain as long as GRPN closes between $20 and $25 when March options expire.
There is a pretty important catch to trading short strangles. Specifically, the short strangle is a limited reward/unlimited risk risk strategy. In fact, the losses are theoretically unlimited if GRPN were to rally above the sold call, as there is no cap to how high the stock can soar. On the downside, losses are substantial, but are limited to the GRPN falling to zero. This is why you must be confident in your analysis that GRPN will remain between the sold strikes through expiration. If everything goes as planned, a short strangle can be a very profitable tool for options traders.
Disclaimer: I hold no open positions on any stocks, securities, or options mentioned in this blog. Any ideas, and/or forecasts, expressed or implied herein are for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as a recommendation to invest, trade, and/or speculate in the markets. Use caution when trading options, and never risk more than you can afford to lose.
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6d9b09cd4fe3aa6b51bed5e66cf05001 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephholt/2020/01/28/sustainability-in-business-is-more-an-opportunity-than-a-threat/?sh=311a11701b76 | Sustainability In Business Is More An Opportunity Than A Threat | Sustainability In Business Is More An Opportunity Than A Threat
Sustainability efforts present an opportunity to tap new sources of capital and innovation. Getty
Sustainable investing has moved to center stage in early 2020. In his latest letter to CEOs Blackrock CEO Larry Fink writes that sustainability, which involves integrating environmental and social concerns into business decisions, would be at the center of his firm’s investment approach. He also foresees an imminent and “fundamental reshaping of finance” that would better recognize the jeopardy to investment posed by climate risk and lead to “a significant reallocation of capital.”
CFOs and other business leaders might see the coming changes as a threat. Blackrock,with nearly $7 trillion in assets under management, has promised to exit investments that pose a high sustainability risk, and only time will tell what investments that will ultimately include. Fink also warned that failing to manage climate-related risks and other harmful actions “will catch up with a company and destroy shareholder value.” He added that companies that are insufficiently responsive to stakeholder and sustainability concerns will face increased skepticism and higher capital costs.
The future holds unparalleled opportunities, however, for companies that heal rather than damage society.
First, as Fink points out such companies will have an easier time attracting patient investors with a greater willingness to wait for return of capital. That is crucial given Fink’s explanation that Blackrock’s fiduciary responsibility to its clients is to create long-term value. Impatient capital renders that task difficult, if not impossible.
Second, sustainability represents a source of innovation. We simply cannot get from where we are to an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable future without an historically unprecedented amount of innovation. Paul Hawken is an entrepreneur and the author of The Ecology of Commerce, a groundbreaking 1993 treatise that took business to task for environmental damage. In the 2010 revised edition, Hawken writes that if he were rewriting the book today he “would emphasize that sustainability is one of the most certain paths to innovation for companies seeking a competitive edge.”
Third, integrating sustainability more deeply into a company’s overall strategy is a great way to grow both top and bottom lines. The late Ray Anderson, founder and CEO of the carpet tile company Interface and considered by many to be the greenest CEO in America, described sustainability in his TED talk as “a better way to bigger profits.” He also writes that “Done right, sustainability doesn’t cost. It pays.”
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In that TED talk Anderson decried the “false choice” between the economy and the environment, claiming that worrying about the climate didn’t mean losing sight of profits. He observed:
Our products are the best they've ever been, inspired by design for sustainability, an unexpected wellspring of innovation. Our people are galvanized around this shared higher purpose. You cannot beat it for attracting the best people and bringing them together. And the goodwill of the marketplace is astonishing. No amount of advertising, no clever marketing campaign, at any price, could have produced or created this much goodwill.
Fourth, as Anderson discovered, going a credibly deeper shade of green is a good move for companies that want to be employers of choice. Fink noted in his letter that “Young people have been at the forefront of calling on institutions… to address the new challenges associated with climate change.” They care about the issue and want to work for companies that share that concern.
A recent global survey of more than 3,700 students from 29 top business schools found that the respondents were “ increasingly sorting companies into top and bottom environmental performers with associated consequences for recruiting and compensation.” The survey found that 78% of students were more inclined to apply for a job with a company with excellent environmental performance, 80% were more likely to accept a job with such a company, and 44% would accept a lower salary to work for a sustainability standout. The survey was conducted by Yale University in collaboration with the Global Network for Advanced Management and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Finally, the promised reshaping of finance and capitalism represents an historic opportunity for business leaders to do their part to stave off environmental catastrophe and related economic collapse. That is a legacy to be proud of.
Larry Fink in his letter took the position that government must lead the transition to a more sustainable future but that companies and investors also have a “meaningful role to play.” Ray Anderson and others would see that as understating the role of business. In his TED talk, Anderson echoed Hawken’s view that while business was the “chief culprit” in causing environmental decline it was also “the only institution that is large enough, and pervasive enough, and powerful enough, to really lead humankind out of this mess.”
Hopefully current business leaders will earn the gratitude rather than the scorn of future generations by doing just that while time allows.
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5f2a49f3a01222dfe2788509bbe75192 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephhurley/2015/05/13/529-plan-trumps-roth-ira-in-saving-for-college/ | 529 Plan Trumps Roth IRA In Saving For College | 529 Plan Trumps Roth IRA In Saving For College
I love my Roth IRA, and you should love yours too. The investment possibilities, flexibility, and tax benefits are outstanding.
Just don’t let anyone tell you that you should be saving for college with a Roth IRA.
If you are like most people, you will be depending on your Roth IRA for a comfortable retirement. Provided you satisfy the five-year and age 59 ½ requirements, any amount you decide to withdraw is tax-free. And no matter how much you might have in your Roth IRA when your child attends college, the federal government disregards the balance when calculating his or her Expected Family Contribution (EFC) for purposes of federal student aid.
In other words, holding retirement savings in a Roth IRA will not reduce your child’s chances of receiving federal student aid. The federal government got this right.
But if you actually use your Roth IRA to pay for college, the situation changes dramatically. Your child becomes LESS eligible for need-based student aid. This occurs because any distributions you receive from your IRAs this year will increase the parent income reported on next year’s financial-aid application (the FAFSA). In fact, income has a much larger impact than assets do in the EFC formula.
The irony here is that if your financial circumstances demand you use your Roth IRA to pay for college, chances are probably pretty good that your child is eligible for need-based financial aid and will be negatively impacted.
Much is made of the fact that you can tap your Roth IRA without triggering taxable income, even before you reach age 59 ½, provided you restrict your distributions to the amounts contributed to the Roth IRA. You might assume that those distributions do not affect the EFC because they do not get reported as income on your tax return. But that assumption would be wrong. Any distributions from a Roth IRA that are not already included in taxable income must be reported on the FAFSA as “untaxed income” and will be picked up in the EFC formula.
A 529 plan is the better college-savings vehicle largely because tax-free distributions from a parent- or student-owned do not get reported as untaxed income on the dependent student’s FAFSA. Unlike a Roth IRA, the value of a 529 account is reported on the FAFSA. However, the impact is limited: EFC is increased by no more than 5.64 percent of the account balance.
Need more reasons to prefer a 529 plan for your college savings? Here are four:
1) Depending on where you live, and in some cases on which 529 plan you use, you may gain from a tax deduction or credit on your state income tax return. This is an immediate and substantial advantage over a Roth IRA since no state offers a tax deduction for Roth IRA contributions.
2) A 529 plan can be a magnet for contributions from other family members. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even your friends may choose to support the worthy cause of educating your child by making contributions to your 529 account. I have yet to hear of anyone making “gift” contributions to another person’s Roth IRA.
3) Your 529 account is managed by investment professionals with the sole objective of maximizing your college savings within appropriate risk parameters. The age-based option available in just about all 529 savings plans is the most popular choice among parents, with good reason. Yes, a Roth IRA allows you to self-direct your investments whereas a 529 plan does not, but few (if any) college-specific options exist outside a 529 plan. In the end, the investment manager hired by your 529 plan will probably do a better job investing your child’s college savings than you would on your own.
4) You might even find the same investment for lower cost in a 529 plan. For example, if you wanted to invest in the Vanguard Growth Index Fund (VIGRX) in your Roth IRA, your minimum investment would be $3,000 and the expense ratio at that level is 0.23%. But the institutional-share class of Vanguard Growth Index Fund (VIGIX), with an expense ratio of only 0.08%, is available for a minimum $25 investment through New York’s 529 College Savings Program—Direct Plan. Even after adding in New York’s program manager fee, the total expense ratio of 0.16% in the 529 plan is still significantly lower. (Note: Admiral shares of this fund, with an expense ratio of 0.09%, are available directly from Vanguard but require a $10,000 minimum investment.)
Joe Hurley is the founder of Savingforcollege.com, the leading independent source of information and education on 529 plans and other college savings topics. Visit today to access information, calculators and more to help you reach your own college funding goals.
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0ac7b79f65be74dc291855bb498721c2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephnardone/2019/11/26/ncaa-rejecting-missouri-appeal-will-leave-a-lasting-impact-on-college-sports/ | NCAA Rejecting Missouri Appeal Will Leave A Lasting Impact On College Sports | NCAA Rejecting Missouri Appeal Will Leave A Lasting Impact On College Sports
COLUMBIA, MO - NOVEMBER 16: Members of the Marching Mizzou flag corps display their flags to the ... [+] wind during the game between the Missouri Tigers and the Florida Gators on Saturday, November 16, 2019 at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, MO.(Photo by Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Missouri found itself on the wrong side of the NCAA’s wrath on Tuesday. The school’s appeal to limit or overturn sanctions for infractions tied to the case of a former tutor was rejected by the governing body of college sports.
For those playing from behind, Missouri’s situation dates to 2016. This is when a former tutor, Yolanda Kumar, acknowledged a violation of NCAA rules by doing course work to ensure athletes in football, baseball and softball passed certain courses.
Almost immediately, the school launched an internal investigation, even going as far to hit itself with relatively stern self-imposed sanctions. Like other universities, Missouri was hoping by cooperating with the NCAA, the school would soften the blow whenever the umbrella organization’s hammer came crashing down.
And crashing it did... with more vengeance than Bruce Willis in a Die Hard movie.
Not only did each of the three sports face repercussions, with the athletic department being put on probation, but all three were banned from postseason play. For the football program, currently fighting for bowl eligibility, they will yet again be on the outside looking in regardless how the Tigers finish the season.
In a statement released by the NCAA, on behalf of the five-member infractions committee, they were “hesitant to overturn a penalty within the appropriate penalty guidelines unless there is a clear indication of arbitrary decision-making.”
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Missouri is, naturally, not taking any of this well.
“I could not be more upset with this decision,” said Mun Choi, the president of the University of Missouri System. “Mizzou supporters across the state and nation have every reason to be outraged, and college sports fans across the country should be concerned about this decision.”
The issue is less about Missouri causing violations, which it admitted and attempted to rectify, but with whether or not universities should make concerted efforts to be in compliance with the NCAA; or bother operating in a good-faith, cooperative effort when violations occur.
“Today’s decision raises serious questions about whether the current NCAA enforcement system encourages or discourages cultures of compliance and integrity,” Missouri chancellor Alexander Cartwright and athletic director Jim Sterk said in a joint statement. “While we have exhausted our NCAA appeal avenues, we will continue to advocate for meaningful reform within the NCAA.”
A long running joke in college sports revolves around the idea that schools are actually better off being defiant when it comes to NCAA investigations. While the opposite is currently true for the Memphis Tigers, as their initial resistance to subservience is coming at a steep price, Oklahoma State finds itself in a similar position. The Cowboys basketball program is facing Level I allegations despite the university attempting to mitigate issues caused by a sole person’s actions.
While slightly different from Oklahoma State, as literally no one involved with the violation(s) at time is currently employed or playing for the university, a similar situation is happening with Missouri where innocent parties are going to be hurt by the NCAA’s harsh decision.
“Today, about 180 student-athletes who had nothing to do with the actions of one rogue part-time employee will pay a steep price,” their statement said. “NCAA enforcement officials noted that prior to the violation the university employed a robust institutional system to ensure rules compliance. Once the problem was known, we self-reported immediately, held individuals accountable and cooperated with the investigation in what NCAA officials described as ‘exemplary’ fashion.”
This goes beyond just how those within the Missouri bubble feel, too. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey is standing alongside the Tigers.
“It is regrettable that so many innocent current Missouri student-athletes across three sports will miss postseason opportunities due to actions for which they were not responsible,” he said. “While it is important to hold accountable those individuals who engage in unethical behavior and conduct that fails to meet our expectations for integrity in college athletics, it is also important to fully consider the nuances and unique set of circumstances present in each case.”
Alas, the NCAA was so mad at Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks, it went doubly hard at a university attempting to work with the organization to move past the situation.
If following recent NCAA decision making processes, maybe the worst kind of tattletale happen to be those who tell on themselves? After all, Marky Mark Emmert and the NCAA Funkybunch appear not to be handing out bonus points to schools trying to right their own wrongs with honesty and self-imposed punishments.
Expect the rejection of Missouri’s appeal, following the university’s attempts at appeasing the NCAA turning sideways, to change how other schools interact with the governing body moving forward.
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e434ca5bf9692789bd5134851340ac6d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephnardone/2020/01/14/allegations-mounting-against-james-franklin-as-he-and-penn-state-are-sued-for-hazing/ | Allegations Mounting Against James Franklin As He And Penn State Are Sued For Hazing | Allegations Mounting Against James Franklin As He And Penn State Are Sued For Hazing
STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 30: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions reacts to ... [+] a play during the second half of the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Beaver Stadium on November 30, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) Getty Images
Isaiah Humphries, a former player for the Nittany Lions, is suing head coach James Franklin, Penn State and ex-teammate Damion Barber. According to the lawsuit, Humphries was subjected to hazing practices by teammates, with the coaching staff apprised of the instances, reacting to alleged occurrences with indifference.
Linebacker Micah Parsons, defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos and linebacker Jesse Luketa were all named in the lawsuit as parties aware of the hazing. In the lawsuit, people named were painted as members of the PSU football family who orchestrated and facilitated a cruel directive to harass and haze underclassmen on the Penn State football team.
For James Franklin, the allegations of general misconduct are starting to mount. Back in August, Dr. Scott A. Lynch, a former team doctor, filed a lawsuit in Dauphin County Court, alleging Franklin of using his influence to force decisions on whether or not a player was healthy enough to get back on the field.
Over the summer, we documented the troubling pattern of coaches wielding their power in ways opposite of the NCAA’s mission to help protect student-athletes from negligence.
As for the latest allegations, the information coming to the surface is especially disturbing, specifically since players are alleged to infer sodomy as part of the hazing process, stating, "I am going to Sandusky you." It’s a phrase far closer to threatening sexual assault than what people would consider traditional hazing.
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Jerry Sandusky, a former Penn State assistant coach, was arrested and charged with 52 counts of sexual abuse of young boys over a 15-year period from 1994 to 2009. Four charges would eventually be dropped, but Sandusky would later be convicted and found guilty on 45 of the 48 remaining charges.
Also found in the lawsuit, upperclassmen allegedly told new players they were "their (expletive) because this is a prison" and made threatening statements such as, "I am going to (expletive) you."
Philadelphia attorney Steven Marino is representing the former Penn State player. According to the lawyer, the act of hazing wasn’t limited to his client, who is now a member of the California Golden Bears.
"Isaiah attended the school during the calendar year of 2018. He leaves Penn State to another school where he's offered a scholarship in December 2018," Marino said, via ESPN. "The events that arise to an investigation conducted by Penn State's office of sexual misconduct and response, that doesn't arise until May 2019. That investigation was triggered by an anonymous tip and the source of that tip was not my client."
Marino clearly infers several things with the statement, including the original allegations going without a proper investigation until after at least one other anonymous tip forced the university to do so, months after Humphries left Penn State.
Humphries is the son of former PSU and Buffalo Bills standout Leonard Humphries. The father asserts he notified Penn State coaching staff members of the hazing when it happened, but no recourse resulted.
"This is a family with a football pedigree," Marino said. "The father knows the coaches and told them what was happening to his son as it was reported to him by his son. No affirmative action was taken to protect this student athlete at that time."
On Tuesday, Penn State responded to Humphries’ allegations with the following statement:
“The University has established processes in place for responding to claims of potential misconduct. In accordance with our processes, the Office of Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response and the Office of Student Conduct carried out investigations of the plaintiff’s claims independent from Intercollegiate Athletics. In addition, Penn State police investigated related allegations and forwarded the results of that investigation to the Office of the Centre County District Attorney (DA). The DA reviewed the case and decided that no charges would be pursued.”
The university did not immediately respond to a request seeking further comment.
Update (9:00 PM Eastern): The school responded with the statement above, but did also provide bullet point-styled answers to heavily asked questions.
Asked for comment on the allegations involving Coach Franklin: Based on extensive interviews, we did not learn of any information that would substantiate the claims. Asked for comment regarding Damion Barber’s suspension of a game in September: The discipline of individual students is generally a confidential matter consistent with federal law. Asked for comment regarding the hazing allegations: No claims of hazing were substantiated against anyone.
The most damning part of the troubling allegations rests on the claim staff knew about the hazing and on multiple occasion "observed the harassment and hazing which the plaintiff and other lower classmen were being subjected to in the football locker room."
This is a developing story still making its way through the legal process.
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f27813eeb4a4df705f66a32e6a4f8434 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephsteinberg/2012/09/14/your-biology-may-be-impacting-your-digital-security/ | Your Biology May be Impacting Your Digital Security | Your Biology May be Impacting Your Digital Security
As technology expands its influence in every aspect of our lives, the need to protect people from digital threats grows dramatically. Furthermore, because cybersecurity technologies are rapidly strengthening, parties seeking to breach information systems are increasingly exploiting human weaknesses, rather than strictly technological vulnerabilities, in order to achieve their goals. On both a personal and professional level, therefore, it is critical for people to understand the human aspects of cybersecurity.
One area where this comes to play – and in which many readers may want to take action – is with regard to smartphones. In truth there is no such thing as a “smart phone;” the devices in our pockets are full-blown computers – possessing more processing power, and housing more sensitive data, than desktop machines of just a few years ago. Smartphones also sport 24x7 connectivity to insecure networks, and have a far greater chance of being stolen or lost than machines that weighed tens of pounds and never left our offices. Terming pocket computers “smart phones” is like describing a jumbo jet as a “horseless carriage.”
Yet so many people who routinely ran security software on far inferior computers a decade ago don’t do so on far riskier smartphones. Why? We view them as phones, not computers, and people are used to securing computers, not phones. Our perception is distorted by our biological history; since evolution takes far more than a human lifetime to transform one species into another, we humans are biologically predisposed to view offspring as belonging to the same species as its parents. Since we typically obtained “smartphones” by upgrading our phones, purchased them from the same “cellphone service providers” as our older phones, and retained “calling plans” when obtaining the new devices, we view them as the next generation of phones, even though they have evolved into a completely different species. Furthermore, providers not wishing to discourage people seeking to upgrade their “phones” by offering replacement “computers,” called the computers “smart phones” -- exploiting the same human weakness, reinforcing our mistake, and contributing to our risk.
Likewise, we hear so much in the media about computer viruses and malware – about their advanced capabilities and technological sophistication, how much damage they do, and how they are now utilized for cyberwarfare. What we don’t hear often enough is how malware is increasingly reliant on human error – and how the best defense against malware is basic human vigilance and common sense.
Malware commonly invades computers when people download music, applications, or movies from rogue websites. Besides the obvious legal issues, do downloaders consider the basic human question – why is someone whom a downloader never met, who is neither a friend nor a relative, offering the downloader free material? Why is he/she spending time, energy, and money – and risking legal problems – to provide it? We all know that there are no free lunches, so why would someone accept digital candy from a stranger – especially a stranger who publicly violates the law? This is a human error whose risks we have known about for centuries – yet, somehow in cyberspace the lesson is lost.
Even Stuxnet -- the technologically sophisticated malware that temporarily crippled the Iranian nuclear program by misprogramming uranium-processing centrifuges -- relied on human error to obtain access to a secure network. While the details of the mistake are not public, it is self-evident that without some serious lapse in human judgment – perhaps people allowing a spy or saboteur in, perhaps someone bringing into the facility a USB drive labeled “Top Secret” in Persian found nearby, etc. -- Stuxnet would have been altogether unable to communicate with the targeted centrifuges in order to reprogram them. Serious human error was also necessary for the authors of Stuxnet to obtain the information needed to code the malware, as clearly the Iranians did not intend to publicize the make and model of their centrifuge control units.
Why do humans make these mistakes?
For the vast majority of human history, threats were visible and/or tangible, physically dangerous, and in close proximity. Dangerous things looked dangerous. There was no mistaking an invading army, a wild animal, or a fire. Phenomena which could not be explained with something visible or tangible – for example, disease – were usually ascribed to supernatural forces. While we now have conscious knowledge to the contrary, we retain biologically-evolved programming to view localized, visible, and tangible threats as more dangerous than invisible risks at a distance or seemingly nonthreatening objects. While in many cases such an approach may be beneficial, in the case on cyberthreats it contributes to the problem.
We commonly hear talk about “cybersecurity education” – posters warn of information security risks, memos discuss current threats, and the Department of Homeland Security celebrates an annual National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. But the cause of humans being the weak link in the cybersecurity chain is not simply a matter of insufficient education, it is a matter of human nature. If we are going to improve our digital safety we must dramatically increase the amount of human psychology that we apply toward the design of cybersecurity plans, systems, and technologies. I will discuss this more in future posts.
Follow me on:
Twitter: @JosephSteinberg
Web: www.JosephSteinberg.com
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4895591ad91757389a879cdf64e25304 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephsteinberg/2012/10/15/a-vulnerability-in-the-credit-card-networks/ | A Vulnerability in the Credit Card Networks? | A Vulnerability in the Credit Card Networks?
Recently, I used a CVS gift card at a local pharmacy. Since the card had a balance of about $20 and my purchase was for considerably more, I withdrew an American Express credit card from my wallet to pay the balance. Due to a miscommunication between the cashier and myself, I tapped my credit card at approximately the same time that he swiped the gift card. Which one was charged the initial $20?
Both.
This should be impossible; payment processing infrastructure has been around for decades, and it incorporates technology to ensure proper transaction commitment, and, when necessary, rollback. But, despite all the arguments as to why a double charge for a single transaction is impossible, that is exactly what happened. While CVS did refund the second charge after a couple calls to its customer service department, the big picture concern is not the missing $20, but the fact that a serious error remains somewhere along the payment processing path, and that the full-scale implications of that error are unknown.
Is the problem limited to CVS – or, as is more likely, is there a flaw of a much greater scope and scale? Could a dishonest merchant find a way to double charge without a customer even realizing, and could a crooked individual cause credits to be issued to multiple credit cards when only one credit is due? Is the lack of proper transaction handling within the payment process an indication of deficient programming that has created other vulnerabilities and opportunities for theft or sabotage? Could money be being stolen right now, as you read this, by exploiting such weaknesses?
There is a temptation not to address bugs until they are shown to pose problems of a substantial nature – but such an approach can be penny wise and pound foolish. Certainly, it would cost the parties involved in processing CVS’s transactions time and money to figure out where the problem lies. But there is no denying that there is a problem, and, if corrective action is not taken, the cost could eventually turn out to be quite large.
Follow me on:
Twitter: @JosephSteinberg
Web: www.JosephSteinberg.com
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96580677d8995f8d0883cb2a40319ad4 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephsteinberg/2012/12/14/smartphone-taxi-e-hail-apps-new-convenience-or-potential-deathtrap/ | Smartphone Taxi E-Hail Apps: New Convenience or Potential Deathtrap | Smartphone Taxi E-Hail Apps: New Convenience or Potential Deathtrap
Yesterday, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (T&LC) approved an “e-hail” pilot program allowing taxi cabs to be hailed via smartphone apps. Several apps – including those from Uber (http://www.uber.com/) , Hailo (http://www.hailocab.com/) and Zabcab (http://www.zabkab.com/) – allow people in various cities seeking cabs to broadcast their locations to drivers so that drivers can pick them up.
While such apps clearly may help people hail cabs in a more efficient manner, I fear that such apps may have a severe dark side: helping rapists and muggers find people standing all alone, not near their homes, in the middle of the night, in potentially deserted streets.
Contrary to what many people might assume, it might not be just actual cab drivers who can check where waiting prospective passengers are located. You can try it yourself; it took me no longer than a couple of minutes to download a driver version of one of the popular apps, register, and start using the app as if I were a driver. Will the taxi driver app providers be upgrading their apps to utilize some form of initial authentication to ensure that only drivers get access to passenger location information? Do the providers do background checks on who downloads and runs the apps? Never mind that broadcasting such information may also incent any problematic cab drivers to target specific pick-ups, or even incent people interested in committing a crime to sign up as drivers…
This problem is exacerbated by the realities of taxi logistics. Cabs don’t need to be signaled to go where large groups of people congregate; they gravitate toward such areas for obvious business reasons. People waiting on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue in the middle of rush hour, for example, don’t need an app to tell cabs to come to the area -- plenty of cabs will be there without any signal. Furthermore, using an app likely won’t help people hail a cab in such a situation – despite claims to the contrary, cabs that see a signal from an app but which encounter people waiting for cabs before reaching their “target” are not likely to waste time and money going to pick up the signaler, and cabs that see the signalers while empty will pick them up with or without having received a signal from an app. On the other hand, a taxi “e-hail” app is useful for people who are in areas that do not have high-traffic, at hours when the streets are empty and cabs in the area are scarce – precisely the situation in which broadcasting a message to the world that “I am alone, in a deserted area, have money, but don’t have a car” can put someone in serious danger.
There is also the question of potential motor vehicle accidents; due to safety concerns, it is illegal in New York to “text” while driving – is it really safe for drivers to be looking at their smartphone screens in search of their next fare?
Safety should not be sacrificed on the altar of convenience. Taxi hailing apps must be improved to ensure that people are protected. Warnings to users (perhaps at certain times and locations), initial authentication, background check requirements, reporting and logging pickup location information and details as to which drivers saw which passenger signals, as well as logging all driver locations on an ongoing basis are some initial suggestions. Even with these improvements, however, risks remain.
Follow me on:
Twitter: @JosephSteinberg
Web: www.JosephSteinberg.com
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6ec9f6b7187903ec8bcd5e8462edf564 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephsteinberg/2013/04/24/an-important-lesson-from-abraham-lincoln-about-internet-news-reports/ | An Important Lesson From Abraham Lincoln About Internet News Reports | An Important Lesson From Abraham Lincoln About Internet News Reports
Yesterday’s posting by a hacker of a false report that President Obama was injured by explosions in the White House onto an official AP Twitter feed – a tweet that caused equity markets to momentarily plummet – underscores the importance of taking everything we read on the Internet with a grain of salt.
“Trust, but verify” was Ronald Reagan’s position when it came to Russian nuclear disarmament agreements. Such a policy is also wise with regard to information obtained via the Internet, as there is never 100% certainty as to who crafted a particular piece of data or whether its sources are accurate.
When one views a web page or Twitter post, what she actually reads is not the original material, but what her computer says the page or tweet is supposed to look like, after the data to form it is transmitted through many routers, servers, and other network devices along the path from the its original source. Malware or other attack technologies along that path can easily modify contents.
Perhaps even scarier than yesterday’s attack on the AP is one in which hackers attack network devices and then configure various forms of proxies to modify some data when it is sent to some recipients – so that different parties see different results when viewing the same page, Twitter feed, or email message. Such an attack can cause pandemonium, and allow for various forms of fraud; imagine, for example, if people in a particular firm or region were provided with, and reacted to, reports of some shocking news (such as yesterday’s lie about President Obama and the subsequent market sell-off), while others were not. Encrypted communications and site authentication cues can help shield against such attacks, but the vast majority of Internet activity presently leverages neither defense.
Furthermore, the issues of accuracy of data are as pertinent as ever. Last week there were numerous erroneous reports from generally respectable and reliable news sources related to the bombings in Boston and the search for the perpetrators. The “need for speed” in today’s age of instant online news has led to compromises when it comes to fact checking.
What does this have to do with Abraham Lincoln?
Everything.
After all, it was he who proclaimed on June 2, 1861, that “The problem with information that you read on the Internet is that it is not always true.”
Follow me on:
Twitter: @JosephSteinberg
Web: www.JosephSteinberg.com
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7f70c01d96d8c4aa530d379deccb3217 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephsteinberg/2013/04/26/twitter-the-associated-press-and-phishing-why-breaches-still-occur/ | Twitter, The Associated Press, and Phishing: Why Breaches Still Occur | Twitter, The Associated Press, and Phishing: Why Breaches Still Occur
It is widely believed that the hacker who breached an Associated Press’s official Twitter feed earlier this week – and caused temporary pandemonium in the financial markets by reporting that President Obama had been injured by explosions in the White House – leveraged spear phishing to breach the AP. Spear phishing refers to a hacker sending to people within an organization targeted emails which appear to come from another member of the organization or from an affiliated party, but which lead the recipient to install malware or provide the hacker with sensitive data.
One of the fundamental questions about spear phishing, and phishing in general, is why it is still a problem over a decade after becoming a widespread issue. Over the years, numerous technologies intended to curb phishing have entered the marketplace, and, yet, phishing clearly continues to plague the online world with significant real-world repercussions.
The answer is clear.
Phishing attacks utilize a technological medium for communication, but, ultimately they exploit human weaknesses, not computer vulnerabilities. Yet, the vast majority of systems intended to curb phishing are complex technological solutions that ignore the essential role that people play in the cybsersecurity ecosystem.
As I mentioned in a previous blog post, the best way to protect people against phishing is to enable humans to distinguish legitimate entities from fraudulent ones, regardless of what technologies are used to communicate phishing messages to them. Such an aim can be achieved by leveraging real, psychologically-sound system authentication and the human response mechanism behind it, but not by implementing complicated technologies that can, at best, deliver only partial success, and, which, at worst, may condition users to fall prey to even more scams that they would have without the technology in place.
Likewise, training, while an essential component of an overall security strategy, is not on its own a solution, and must be coupled with psychologically-sound systems to prevent people from falling prey to scams. After all, which do you think will work better – educating people for the umpteenth time about the dangers associated with clicking on links that they receive in emails, or making it obvious to them when something is wrong?
At Green Armor, we have invested heavily in the latter.
Follow me on:
Twitter: @JosephSteinberg
Web: www.JosephSteinberg.com
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cbf9a1ec851192a2d002d0e2e1c8671a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephsteinberg/2013/05/13/a-message-for-every-business-owner-from-criminals-who-stole-45-million/ | A Message For Every Business Owner From Criminals Who Stole $45 Million | A Message For Every Business Owner From Criminals Who Stole $45 Million
A well-organized group of criminals recently stole $45 million by hacking into debit card systems, increasing cards’ withdrawal limits, and then using cloned debit cards to make a large number of coordinated withdrawals on two days at ATMs in 27 countries.
How was it possible for criminals to steal so much money from ATM machines in just two days? With massive amounts of security technology deployed by banks how did criminals manage to pull this crime off? And why should this be of concern to every entrepreneur and small business owner?
While there were clearly many factors that contributed to the success of the criminals, I believe that they successfully exploited four primary vulnerabilities, the sum of which provides a very important message to small business owners:
1. The criminals perpetrated their fraud using cloned pre-paid debit cards – which, unlike credit cards or bank-account-linked debit cards, do not have an associated human owner and historical pattern of usage. Hence, detecting anomalies is much more difficult – especially when the cards are first used. If someone uses a credit card in the New York area every day, for example, and on one morning someone else attempts to use it to withdraw a large amount of money from several ATMs in Eastern Europe, anti-fraud systems will immediately raise red flags. Alerts may not occur, however, if similar withdrawals were attempted with pre-paid debit cards; their owners and “normal” usage patterns are unknown, and smaller processing firms may lack the sophistication to detect problems.
2. The cards used to perpetrate the crime contained data recorded on magnetic strips, and did not utilize chip-based technology. Despite remaining common in the USA (primarily due to the cost of replacing payment terminals), magnetic strips are outdated, and their security is inadequate. It is far easier to create a fake debit card that uses a magnetic strip, for example, than one that uses a chip. To appreciate just how antiquated magnetic strip technology is, consider how similar your current debit cards look to the ones you used a decade or two ago. Also, think about when the last time was that you used magnetic strip technology for recorded music (e.g., by recording onto an eight-track tape or cassette) or for video (e.g., by recording a movie to a Betamax or VHS tape).
3. The systems breached by the hackers were at overseas credit card processors, not at the cards’ issuing banks from whom the money was stolen. Overseas processors often lack the robust security infrastructure that banks utilize, and, especially in certain regions of the world, are not immune from insider threats and corruption. The combination of easier penetrability – either the result of insufficient technological defenses or through an ability to obtain access credentials by “paying off” someone on the inside – coupled with weaker fraud-detection systems, makes such systems a highly attractive target for hackers.
4. The hackers hired partners to make the actual withdrawals at ATMs in 27 different countries; by spreading out, and limiting the amount withdrawn at any particular location, they made correlating the various fraudulent withdrawals to the same source more difficult, especially for processors lacking technological sophistication. Ironically, this strategy may have also ultimately undermined the crooks; involving a large number of people in the perpetration of a crime dramatically escalates the chances of errors, and of someone getting caught and “talking.” While the people making the withdrawals may have been kept in the dark about the identities of the crime’s orchestrators, their communications and money transfer records should help direct law enforcement in the right direction.
While various actions could be taken to reduce the chances of a similar heist being perpetrated in the future, that is the focus of the parties involved in the card business and government regulators. This episode, however, should be a teaching moment for small business owners.
Criminals have wisened up to the fact that while large banks have large amounts of money to steal, hacking less sophisticated firms may be, at times, more attractive. Smaller firms are more likely to lack advanced cybersecuity capabilities, are more likely to utilize outdated technologies, and are less likely to have high-level connections with law enforcement officials. Breaching them is easier, and the odds of getting caught are smaller. Furthermore, as was proven by the ATM crooks described above, smaller firms can be exploited to serve as the mechanism for stealing from banks or other larger firms with deep pockets.
This is an important consideration for all business owners. Criminals are working down the ladder and no firm is immune from attack; besides stealing from you, or using your systems to spread malware, a criminal who has breached your systems can use your data as a weapon against others. How hard would it be, for example, for someone to issue a phony purchase order to a supplier if he hacked your internal systems? How hard would it be to craft a fraudulent ACH payment from a partner or customer's bank account – or even from employee accounts – if a hacker obtained the necessary information from your financial, payroll, direct payment, and direct deposit records? How hard would it be for a crook to social engineer a customer into diverting payment to her for goods or services you provided if she had access to all of your customer records? Could a criminal make fraudulent purchases using credit card information obtained from your internal systems, or issue fraudulent checks or ACH payments against a line of credit whose records are kept on a computer in your office?
Your business is not too small to think about cybersecurity. After all, what impact would it have on your business if any of the aforementioned – or any similar type of attack – occurred?
Follow me on:
Twitter: @JosephSteinberg
Web: www.JosephSteinberg.com
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