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81250541768e5f80283bee748125b427 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2020/06/20/are-enterprise-teams-the-next-big-thing-in-the-freelancing-revolution-26-freelance-executives-explain/?sh=5e86506e1c66 | Are Enterprise Teams The Next Big Thing In The Freelance Revolution? 26 Freelance Executives Explain | Are Enterprise Teams The Next Big Thing In The Freelance Revolution? 26 Freelance Executives Explain
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Covid 19 has been particularly devastating to what freelance platforms call SMB: small and medium businesses and startups. A recent survey by Facebook found over 30% of small businesses have closed as a result of the pandemic; many are unlikely to reopen.
This is an immense human and economic tragedy for the families and the communities affected. It is also the segment of freelance business that has been the “bread and butter” of most freelancer and their marketplaces. Unsurprisingly, more platform leaders are working hard to expand their relationships with larger corporates, also called enterprise customers, because they offer a greater range of opportunity, more economic resiliency, and the stronger likelihood of ongoing work by multiple freelancers.
Enterprises want consistency and reliability from talent marketplaces, and a fast response to talent needs. And, as corporates grow more comfortable with marketplaces as an alternative to agencies or consultancies, they are also increasingly asking freelance platforms to assemble multiple experts to complete more complex, strategic, projects.
All this comes together in a single word: Teaming. There is significant growth in hiring full-on freelance teams rather than simply supplementing full-time employee teams with individual on-demand resources. Freelance platforms want it because it drives utilization and revenue growth. Freelancers want it, because it drives opportunity and continuity. Corporates want it because it provides the resources they need, the flexibility they want, the cost advantage versus traditional agencies and consultancies, and the larger and continuing benefits of a more flexible, blended workforce.
With this in mind, this entry in the continuing Forbes series “freelance revolution during Covid” invited freelance CEOs to respond to the following question:
More and more freelance platforms are encouraging, helping or organizing freelancers to team up to pursue larger and more complex (enterprise) corporate projects and larger customers. Is this an important area of focus for your platform? If so, how are you going about it? What’s been the reaction of your freelancers? Your customers? How successful has it been? What are your future plans in this area?
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Josh Hanning CEO at Proffy (UK). I’m seeing clients value having a single resource that they can rely on to bring together a collaborative team that can work cohesively as one unit. Clients however expect transparency, it shouldn’t be treated or billed like an agency. You should be helping them access specialist expertise and gain fresh insights that a group of freelancers bring, while being nimble with pricing.
Christoph Hardt CEO at Comatch (Germany). “Requests for small teams are growing, but we still need to convince clients that freelance teams are equally efficient as traditional consultancies. How? A team’s key roles are handpicked and enriched with in-house talent, e.g. for better knowledge transfer. We will soon introduce an automated soft skill matching. If still unsure our Consulting Pathfinder evaluates which project setup fits best to a given situation.”
Victor Hoong CEO at Riverflex (Netherlands). “Riverflex brings together high-quality freelancers to team up on projects. The platform offers specialised freelance network based teams as an alternative to traditional consultancies; about 40% of Riverflex consultants are ex-major firms and in high demand. Teaming is a key differentiator. We remain busy over the Covid-19 period as our clients want a lower cost but high quality alternatives to traditional firms.”
Liza Rodewald CEO at Instant Teams. “Enterprise customers want alternative ways to build fractional teams for specific functional needs. We are currently working with Walmart on a project right now. A strong support structure for remote workers/freelancers is important. Building and executing playbooks and weekly meetings with team members ensures communication is fluid and work is on target.”
Will Guilllaume Foussier CEO at AceUp (US). “We've created a unique methodology that allows us to bring many different executive coaches onto the same engagement together for a single customer. This approach not only creates quality and consistency at scale, but also creates a 'community' aspect that our coaches welcome, allowing them to benefit and learn from each other. Our customers greatly appreciate this framework and have cited that it truly allows for maximum impact inside a large organization.”
Mansur Ziganshin CEO at Pochmak (US). “We provide a tech environment to pursue more complex projects but we are not pursuing large enterprises. Our customers are small and medium PE firms and hedge funds. Our immediate goal is to make those engagements more interacting and intuitive.”
Miguel Warren, VP SE Asia at Payoneer (US): “We see freelancers banding together for larger projects; others are hiring and evolving into agencies focused on large enterprises and more complex projects. We launched “Payoneer Plus” geared toward enabling freelancers to scale and fast-track growth. We’ve seen amazing traction in South East Asia, and rolling it out to other regions.”
Scelo Makhathini CEO at Linkdpro (South Africa). "We’ve accelerated efforts with large enterprise companies due to their inherent resilience, and appetite to transition digitally. Enterprise clients are more open to flexible/agile teams post Covid-19. We are strengthening our enterprise salesforce through new hires. Freelancers have welcomed our focus on enterprise clients."
Bryan Chan CEO at TheNightMrkt (Singapore). "Having our freelancers working together has always had been in the books for us. Some freelancers have taken the initiative to invite colleagues with complementary skillsets to form teams; others have asked for help on projects. We also see clients requesting that we assemble freelance teams for them.”
Sheila Mahoney CEO at Lifescihub (US) “In pharma, larger enterprises are a continuing challenging. This is due to complex internal controls built around traditional staffing models. LifeSciHub is starting conversations with companies to overcome barriers and misunderstandings, for example, how marketplaces provide advantages as an alternative to agencies.”
Matt Mottola CEO at Venture L (Singapore) “Our mission is freelancer owned collectives and teams. Companies might not realize, but freelancers are already working in teams. Venture L eliminates the friction to form and manage freelance teams. It’s not work matching, it’s a platform exclusively for scaling a freelance business. Think Shopify for freelancers. Freelancer reaction has been strong. Client sentiment is also strong as freelancers are faster and can scale.”
Emma El Karout CEO at One Circle HR (Dubai and South Africa). “Our consultants can form virtual teams to tackle projects, and can team up for “Yellow Room” client discussions. Corporate procurement departments must take a hard look at their processes to tap into virtual freelancer teams through talent platforms. Until they do, our freelancers typically team up where existing relationships with corporates exist and a team member previously navigated enterprise procurement.”
Charles Thomas CEO at Comet (France). “We recently launched CometFleet, a product allowing clients to quickly build teams of freelancers. These teams are meant to ship large Enterprise projects or MVP. For instance one team built an e-commerce website for a large French retailer. Freelancers love it as it allows them to combine and learn new skills. Customers appreciate the flexibility and tapping into a larger talent pool.”
Sesil Pir CEO at Whirling Chief (Switzerland). “We’re working hard to expand our vetted network of HR professionals. Our challenge: convincing clients we can provide the scale of support they need, when they need it. In our case, multinationals still tend to choose the big consultancies.”
Bridget Loudon CEO at Expert360 (Australia). “The next natural request from customers that appreciate our high quality of talent is: " Can you build me a team". We’re getting more requests for this. Whilst we take full accountability for individual freelancer quality, we draw the line at taking risk for project deliverables - we provide talent, not professional services.”
Rob Biederman Co-CEO at Catalant (US) “Organizations often engage multiple experts for a single project. For some enterprise customers, we’re testing features from our core SaaS platform that help enterprise leaders organize projects and can see how well projects deploying individual freelancers and teams contribute to their objectives. We've made it easy for users to build hybrid teams that leverage both full-time employees and freelancers in our marketplace.”
Ashmita Das CEO at Kolabtree (UK). “Kolabtree's customers are looking to solve complex problems that require deep expertise. Our freelance scientists offer invaluable knowledge and skills that are. We are streamlining procurement and contract management to integrate freelancers into flexible teams, and making it easy for organizations to build agile, remote, freelance teams for large projects.”
Nitin Kunimmal CEO at Avvnue (US) “Large enterprise is a core part of our strategy. We are becoming an integrated talent and skill freelance management partner for our customers. Clients see value in a holistic engagement. This means more opportunities and large projects for our freelancers.“
Matt Dowling CEO at Freelancer Club (UK). “We encourage freelancers to connect with one another, build their professional network and organize teams to serve larger projects and customers. We’ve facilitated 1000s of collaborative projects. We're developing a 'teams' feature to enable freelancers to 'buddy up' for opportunity and promote themselves as a team.“
Alex Gidirim CEO at YouDo (Russia). “We were the first company to co-brand with IKEA in CIS countries. DOers assemble and deliver. We have successful cases in construction where we recruit and manage payroll. In July we will integrate with e-commerce platforms to assemble and install large home appliances. Both client and freelancers are happy.”
Alex Hirst Co-CEO at Hoxby (UK). “We’ve learned to work collaboratively in virtual teams in a super-agile way, whilst respecting the workstyle of team members, by efficiently using digital platforms and processes to share knowledge and execute each Hoxby project with a Project Lead, bespoke team and Business Unit MDs. Over 85 Hoxbies work together to ensure our Core Business operates effectively. We believe that the Hoxby community is the most diverse, highly motivated and brilliant group of freelancers in the world.”
Sebastian van’t Hoff COO at NS Work (Netherlands). “Enterprise teaming is an important focus; we are currently selecting Project Managers in SA for offshore clients in Europe. PMs take the briefs and selects the SA freelancers. Our freelancers in South Africa are very interested due to the exchange rate. We have just started with offshoring and it is our focus for the future.”
Jeff Tennery CEO at Moonlighting (US). "For 5 years, Moonlighting has seen 30%, freelancer to freelancer hiring on our platform e.g., web designer hires the accountant to do their taxes, and the accountant hires the web designer to build a website."
Dan Agmon CEO AT Spyrto (Israel). "Teaming up is why we founded Spyrto’s ecosystem. Our network-based collaboration allows clients to assemble teams that are best qualified to take on complex projects and grow the business. Freelancers will be able to scale-up once they stop working as individuals and start working together."
Tony Wu CEO at Weploy (Australia). “We specialize in customer service and contact centre staff. We're helping larger organisations solve a big problem - speed and responsiveness - improving customers’ experience. By leveraging platforms like ours they can drastically reduce the time to flex up teams.”
Chandrika Pasricha CEO at Flexing It (India). “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.”
Viva la revolution!
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e902bac08df78a13fb43d0b1c3a6e3a0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2020/09/01/a-new-payoneer-report-shows-covid-19-is-accelerating-freelance-growth/?sh=5041d7a15c02 | A New Payoneer Report Shows Covid 19 Is Accelerating Freelance Growth | A New Payoneer Report Shows Covid 19 Is Accelerating Freelance Growth
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Is freelance work growing broadly or just in a few global platforms. And, if growth is broadly based, are there factors at play beyond Covid 19 that offers confidence that the trend will continue?
In a recent article I described the first half 2020 performance of three of the largest digital talent marketplaces: Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer.com. All three operate in many countries, represent millions of freelancers and serve a wide range of organizations, both SMB and larger corporates, and offer a 360 degree global perspective. There was a good deal of speculation about whether the role and financial health of freelancers would improve during the pandemic, and fair optimism within some areas of freelancers and particularly tech.
There is ample logic for the freelance growth case, but not much data. After all, the work and obligations of corporates and NGOs hadn’t reduced while the number of full-time employees certainly had. Startups still needed the work of starting up, and the expertise to do so. Freelancers offered a cost and expertise efficient alternative: buy as much or as little help as needed “on demand”. Moreover, an employment “Covid cocktail” combined the shift to remote work with historically high employee turnover trends for millenials and Gen Zs. The difference between a short-term employee working remotely, and a freelancer working remotely, was small and growing less and less meaningful.
Just as cost advantage enabled freelancer demand, so has a tremendous expansion of supply. In high demand tech areas like AI and machine learning, new digital marketplaces Experfy, Omdena, and Contra, and established platforms like Toptal and Topcoder, have made top professionals more available to both startups and large corporates. Platforms for independent management consultants like Weem in France, Comatch in Germany, Worksome in Denmark and Expert360 in Australia made expert business transformation strategists available at rates well below the cost of McKinsey, BCG or Accenture consultants. Agency alternatives like YunoJuno, Hoxby, Comms People and Measurematch have similarly contributed to new resource options in the UK; We are Rosie and new entries like Torchlite and Marteamo are contributing similarly in the US. In fact, a wide variety of new freelance options are joining, including freelance legal help, medical assistance, writing, and even freelance professionals supporting the diplomatic service and space race.
Not all freelancers have experienced a rising tide of demand. Event and hospitality freelancers, entertainment freelancers, and freelancers in many creative areas have struggled as the world avoided large gatherings. But, for those freelancers able to deliver essential value on a remote basis, we learned from Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer.com that freelancer opportunities and revenues have grown in aggregate through the pandemic. Not surprisingly, as the number of laid off and furloughed professionals grew in tech and in other professional areas, the rolls of freelance platforms absorbed many, and offered a lifeline.
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The period just following the WHO announcement of Covid 19 as a pandemic was a frightening time for freelancers and employees alike. And as many millions of employees were furloughed or laid off, close to 32% freelancers reported that demand had greatly decreased. But, freelancer optimism remained fairly robust. Almost three quarters of freelancers surveyed then believed demand would both return to pre-Covid 19 levels or increase.
The optimism of the greater freelance community appears seems to have been well-founded, and the growth of mega-platforms wasn’t unique. As a recent Payoneer survey points out that Freelancers’ expectations were accurate: COVID-19 led to a short-term slowdown in revenue growth but has returned even stronger:
“Payment activity between freelancers and their clients reveal that the expectations for a return to healthy demand within the freelancing economy have certainly come true, and in some cases grown significantly. While May, which was the peak month for the pandemic in many countries, saw a slight slowdown in global revenues, dropping from 17% to 15% growth, business bounced back in June, with revenues picking up by 28% since the beginning of the year.”
In fact, Payoneer provides a list of the top 10 freelancer growth countries:
1. Philippines – 208%
2. India – 160%
3. Japan – 87%
4. Australia – 86%
5. Hong Kong – 79%
6. Mexico – 72%
7. Canada – 71%
8. Pakistan – 69%
9. Argentina – 66%
10.Spain – 66%
Although not among the top 10 on a percentage basis, freelancer growth in the US was impressive. Here’s what Payoneer had to say:
“With close to 40 million Americans unemployed by late May, one market that seemed to be able to weather the COVID-19 storm was the US freelance economy. In fact, US based freelancers, which until last year made up 35% of the American workforce, saw a surge in demand even as full-time labor was suffering. Many talented professionals that were furloughed or let go by their employers saw the opportunity to turn to freelancing, providing the industry with an injection of skilled people open to gig work. Similarly, many companies that were forced to cut costs by downsizing their staff were open to filling the gap by turning to temporary freelancers. Month-on-month revenues in the US gig-economy increased by 11% between April and May, and in June there was an additional 18% increase.”
An analysis by Freelancer.com added insight to these numbers. According to Matt Barrie, CEO of Freelancer.com, the opportunities tended to be related to the demands of the pandemic. A CNBC report mentioned:
“Jobs related to mathematical modeling — including mathematics, Matlab and algorithm projects — saw the greatest increase over the quarter, as they surged 99.6% to 16,501 jobs. Statistics and statistical analysis positions also saw a major uptick, rising 75%.
“Much of that demand came from health-care institutions, governments, businesses and media organizations, which increasingly require number crunchers to “interpret, analyze and report” data on cases, hospitalizations, mortality rates, testing, as well as the impact of the pandemic.”
“This freelance hiring spurt continues the search for expertise in quantitative analysis and algorithm-related skills . according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2028, demand for mathematicians and statisticians is expected to grow 30% from 2018 levels.
“Other high demand areas were game designers and developers which surged over 60% in the second quarter; e-commerce specialist demand rose 54.4%.”
Taken together, what do these data tell us?
First, the freelance revolution continues to grow both in breadth and depth. As others have commented, Covid 19 has acted as an accelerant both with respect to remote work and freelancing. Not long ago, 76% of corporations reporting to a Toptal survey pointed to an increase in using freelance expertise. These days, the number is much closer to 100%.
Second, as we said earlier, the rising tide has not lifted all boats. When many areas of freelance are thriving, others – unable to perform remotely - continue to suffer.
Third, just as Covid 19 has advanced organizational demand for freelancers, so it has accelerated freelancing as a legitimate, respected, alternative, career path. This is a significant step. Not very long ago, freelancers were regularly seen as less competent, as people who couldn’t find or keep a full-time job, or were freelancing until they found a permanent position. No longer. Upwork and other platforms point out that most full-time freelancers prefer continuing to freelance over full-time employment.
Fourth, as more individuals depend on freelancing either full-time or as a significant side-gig, we can expect that digital talent marketplaces will provide greater services and support to freelancers. It’s well understood that most freelance work continues to be gained or lost through individual or team relationships and reputations: only a small percentage of total freelancing opportunity is transacted through platforms. To grow, freelance marketplaces must provide the support and services that generate a willingness for freelancers to help one another, share opportunities, participate as partners in the enterprise, not talent “inventory.” Growing the pie is a key challenge for talent platforms, and requires a shift from “hub and spokes” to “community”. Startups like Contra, Venture L, and Braintrust are showing the way.
Fifth, many organizations are creating the structures required to more firmly establish the flexible, blended workforce as a reality. MBO Partners, Twago and others architect “white label” platforms that connect corporates to specialized and highly curated freelance mini-marketplaces, making it easy to build blended and all-freelance teams. Ecosystem partners to the freelance revolution like Payoneer are providing a wider array of support services. HR has begun to focus greater emphasis on the structural and process changes needed in a blended workforce, and train managers to better lead remote distributed and blended teams.
Sixth, individual professionals who are full-time are increasingly demanding a freelance-lite employment experience. They are asking for greater flexibility than ever before in their hours, greater organizational investment in their development, more choice in the assignments they are given and the career paths they are offered, and more opportunity to work remotely and find greater work-life balance. As individuals experience this new way of working, the shift to freelance is more a hop than a high jump.
Covid 19 has given many areas of freelancing a significant lift. More individuals than ever before are attracted to the lifestyle and opportunity it offers, and have greater confidence that it can be a successful and satisfying alternative to full-time employment. As most pundits see it, the freelance revolution only shifting from first to second gear. Almost certainly, as freelancing grows, its appeal to professionals will only continue to increase.
Viva la revolution.
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c06e95faa39df66720ec37f2f9040bb5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2020/11/11/freelance-childcare-why-we-need-to-solve-this-problem-made-worse-by-covid-19/?sh=6d8095424e5b | Freelance Childcare: Why We Need To Solve This Problem Made Worse By Covid-19 | Freelance Childcare: Why We Need To Solve This Problem Made Worse By Covid-19
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There was a good article in Axios @Work yesterday afternoon describing the challenge of childcare during Covid-19. As Axios author Erica Pandey put it, “The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the inextricable link between childcare and the economy — and it's pushing businesses to confront the cost of working parents' unpaid side gig.”
Side gig, indeed. Childcare has been a significant ongoing topic in my family: our two sons and their spouses have been schooling us on the bicoastal difficulties (one son and family live on the east coast, the other on the west coast) of finding safe and affordable childcare during the pandemic – and finding safe and affordable childcare before the pandemic was already enough of a challenge.
Cost isn’t a bad place to start. Here in NYC, pre-K is offered by the city, but only starts at the age of three. NY Senator Gillibrand’s office says this about cost:
“In New York City, the cost of child care is increasing $1,612 per year. Now the average family spends up to $16,250 per year for an infant, $11,648 for a toddler and $9,620 for a school-age child. In Western New York, the cost of child care is increasing $600 per year.”
Is New York an outlier? Let’s look at national trends. This is what American Progress reported over a year ago:
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“Licensed infant and toddler child care is unaffordable for most families: The average cost to provide center-based child care for an infant in the United States is $1,230 per month. In a family child care home, the average cost is $800 per month.”
Childcare is not a family issue, it’s a business issue. We know from research that working parents – a third of the US workforce – lose an average of eight hours per week due to child care responsibilities during the pandemic, per Northeastern University research.
We also know, from Care.com, that inadequate, unavailable, and unaffordable childcare costs US working parents $37 billion a year in lost income and cost US employers $13 billion a year in lost productivity.
Freelancers are particularly challenged. More and more full-time employees are working in organizations that recognize their role in helping their employees to ensure safe and affordable childcare for their kids. They’re doing so in a wide variety of ways, from establishing support groups to new benefits that reimburse employees for childcare, particularly during the pandemic. But, freelancers have no such benefit.
And freelance moms with kids are struggling most. As Heather Long of the Washington Post wrote:
“The pandemic recession has been dubbed a “she-session” because it has hurt women far worse than men. The share of women working or looking for work has fallen to the lowest level since 1988, wiping out decades of hard-fought gains in the workplace.
“On Friday, the Labor Department’s jobs report showed that the economy has gained back just over half of the jobs lost in March and April, but the situation remains dire for women. There are 2.2 million fewer women working or looking for work now than in January, vs. 1.5 million fewer men, according to the Labor Department data.
“Put another way, women have recovered only about 39% of the big drop in the labor force they suffered in the spring, while men have recovered 58% of their jobs. Much of the difference in these diverging fortunes for men and women boils down to moms having to stop working to take care of kids.”
What can freelancers do? Well, let’s start with the facts. For many freelancers, work is hard to find. We all know of stories about freelancers making great money and my Forbes colleague Elaine Pofeldt frequently writes about impressive freelance financial successes. But, these are a minority and in industries like events and entertainment, freelancers are particularly struggling. So, while child care may be available, the cost is often more than most freelancers can pay. What then might a freelancer do?
1. Do it yourself, with friends. Wendy Xaoi of the NY Freelancers Union points out that some freelancers join together to form childcare co-ops where parents share responsibilities. This approach solves the financial burden, but it demands a high level of involvement and ongoing communication. If parents don’t share the burden equally, and have similar parenting philosophies and goals and behavior and discipline policies, it can be difficult to keep the arrangement going. People come and go, potentially putting the co-op on an unstable volunteer base. And it may not be easy to find a space that works for the co-op.
2. Co-working alternatives. Xaoi also points out that some co-working spaces are beginning to offer childcare as part of membership. For example, the CoHatchery is a NYC co-working space with onsite childcare. It has a co-located but separate children’s space with breastfeeding rooms and has invested in a “unique curriculum created by early childhood education experts” in which parents can participate. It describes its advantage this way: “CoHatchery's vision is to empower parents to pursue big careers without compromising parenthood. (We) enable true work-life integration by building a family-friendly work environment that allows parents to integrate their work day with their child's day (which means) parents can spend more time with their children throughout the day and transition seamlessly between work and life.”
3. As remote expands, seek less expensive cities and suburbs. As the opportunity for remote increases for both employees and freelancers, a move to a less expensive city can make all the difference. We know that some parts of the US have been actively recruiting freelancers, in fact I’ve written about the efforts that legacy cities like Tulsa OK have made to attract freelancers, including offering money and accommodation. Suburbs of major cities also offer greater opportunity and lesser cost for childcare. As a recent article in Mother.ly put it, “In some cities, daycare costs as much a rent, and may even outrun a mortgage payment for the number one spot in a family's expenses.”
4. Get help and advice from your freelance platform or community. Sometimes we just need a little advice from a parent who has experienced and lived through what we’re just beginning to experience. Hoxby, a UK freelance community, offers a blog for members with ideas for how others are dealing with the challenge of raising a family and freelancing. Instant Teams, a community of US military spouses comprising freelance and full time customer success professionals provides ongoing advice on childcare (e.g., things to do) to its members.
5. Seek stronger advocacy. Finally, we freelancers need our platforms and associations to advocate for better conditions. The fact is, childcare is expensive, it’s often difficult to find safe and reliable childcare. Advocacy organizations like Freelancers Union in the US and IPSE in the UK, and professional organizations that represent freelancers in industries like IT need to continue to make the case for why freelancers need support. While employees have paid leave available to them in most parts of the world, and certainly here is the states, freelancers do not. It’s possible for freelancers to buy insurance to cover paid family leave, but coverage can be expensive and freelancers may face long waiting period before they can use their benefits.
But, first things first: let’s be clear that freelancers represent an increasingly larger and important part of the workforce, and that they need the same help that employees need: safe, affordable childcare. Moreover, the pandemic has hurt working women far worse than men. The share of women working or looking for work has fallen to the lowest level since 1988, wiping out decades of hard-fought gains in the workplace. We need to fix the problem of safe and reliable childcare for freelancers or more and more talented individuals – too often, female – will have an unnecessarily tougher time making it.
Viva la revolution!
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3b3b1820589822722a551bcc1a8686ad | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2021/04/22/andela-an-african-freelance-leader-going-global/ | Andela: An African Freelance Leader Going Global | Andela: An African Freelance Leader Going Global
I’ve been preoccupied by a story that should be far better publicized in the freelance literature. It’s the important role that freelancing can play in creating a larger, broader and deeper middle class in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world. Two reports, in particular, caught my attention. First was a recent report on young African employment from the ILO, the UN agency.
“The young people in Africa are confronted with multiple challenges .. Africa is the only region where the youth bulge will continue to grow in the foreseeable future, presenting both an opportunity to reap the demographic dividend and an imminent time bomb and threat to social cohesion as well as massive migration in search of opportunities ... Just over one in five youth were not in employment, education or training (NEET) in 2019; this state of joblessness has been steadily growing since 2012 mirroring the trends in the global rate ... Young women are particularly more affected.”
The second report, interestingly, described an innovation in Mexican digital skills development. But the relevance of the story of Wizeline Academy to African young and those in other developing economies was obvious and unmistakable:
“We knew that it wasn’t a lack of aptitude or ability but a lack of exposure to the methodologies, frameworks and tools needed to design “Silicon Valley-grade” products. We launched Wizeline Academy in 2017 to provide free tech education that picks up where traditional education ends. Today, more than 30,000 students from around the world have taken a Wizeline Academy course in person or online, and I am optimistic that with distance learning, we will reach 100,000 students by 2022.”
I found this background helpful both in defining the problem and showing how freelancing can play a significant role both the short and longer term: Short-term, by providing young African professionals with opportunity beyond both national and continental African borders, and longer term by supporting the digital economy of Africa. This is important because, as the WEF points out:
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“Africa faces a huge digital skills gap, which is diluting economic opportunities and development. Some 230 million jobs across the continent will require some level of digital skills by 2030, according to a study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group and the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. That translates to a potential for 650 million training opportunities and an estimated $130 billion market. With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing many businesses to go digital to survive, the need for these skills has only become more apparent in recent months.”
The WEF figure below shows the African digital skill gap by country. However, Yasmin Kumi, CEO of the African Foresight Group, an important African freelance management consulting network, wisely points out that African innovative and tech capability is developing more quickly than the western world assumes: “I wonder if this only shows the gaps. I think it looks much better than many people would expect when they consider Africa.”
World Bank World Bank
Since 2018 we’ve seen a rapid expansion of freelance platforms in Africa. I’ve profiled or mentioned a number of African platforms in the past couple of years, platforms like – Linkedpro, theTechguys, Gebeya, OneCircleHR, Agencemood, Pengoinsights, Sapient and Hourspent– and NS.work, a Dutch based platform that connects South African tech professionals with European clients. But, I’m continuing to learn, and recently had the opportunity to speak with Jeremy Johnson and Sachin Bhagwata, the CEO and EVP Enterprise of Andela respectively, one of the largest and best-known African tech professional freelance platforms.
Similar to the Wizeline story, Andela was created by Johnson and partners to drive economic opportunity through software skills. As he built his first company, an Edtech working with major US universities, he bemoaned the relative lack of engagement between Africa and the US, and saw an opportunity to increase engagement between tech professionals in Africa and US based tech companies in need of software talent. Together with two African partners, the trio has built a team that has become Africa’s largest freelance network, including 80,000 African software and tech professionals, as well as members of the Andela learning community, making the network Africa’s largest. More impressive is the length of contracts that Andela has created for its professionals: a large percentage of professionals are on long term contracts, providing economic security to these freelancers.
Johnson put the vision of Andela this way: “Brilliance is widely distributed, but opportunity isn’t.” In starting Andela, he understand that the challenge was larger than many platforms face in more developed economies: it was essential to build an ecosystem to support the growth of tech expertise. The ecosystem began with a deep understanding of the tech needs of fast growing global companies like Facebook, Google, and Microsoft – and included a significant early investment by the Zuckerberg-Chan philanthropy – and led to Andela’s decision to build not only a freelance project platform but also a training platform offering tech and soft skills, as well as an accelerator now operating out of Rwanda.
Industries depending on Andela software engineers now run the gamut from financial services to manufacturing, and increasingly retail, media, manufacturing, and life sciences. And, with continuing partnerships including the African Development Bank and top global tech companies like Alphabet, Google, Apple, and Facebook, Andela is now branching out in some interesting ways. For example, through the Andela Learning Community, over 100,000 professionals have either earned basic skills in software design and development, or advanced applications like React Native. And, Andela is also being increasingly asked to provide pre-formed teams in high demand areas like digital transformation, in addition to individual freelancers incorporated into blended teams.
Like most freelance platforms, it’s challenging to provide good paying, interesting, work for a large percentage of Andela’s freelancers. I asked whether race issues and biases had an impact on Andela (and other African platform) placements and was pleased to learn that the platform has had a 60% increase in placement. Johnson points out that US and European corporates have increasingly identified diversity and inclusion as staffing priorities, and combined with a greater openness to remotely performed work, this has been a significant help to the Andela freelance community. As he pointed out, “We help clients build more diverse tech teams.” Sachin adds, “Getting in the door can sometimes be challenging, but we have the data to demonstrate the expertise of our platform members.” And, in line with Sachin’s comments, Andela internal surveying reports that Andela is, in fact, making a difference for freelancers and learning community members:
Top line impact result - 74% of all Andela engineers had a quality of life improvement. 85% have improved self-confidence 67% have more peace of mind regarding their careers 65% are better able to save 81% of Andela engineers with >1yr tenure report increased take-home pay
What are the growing areas of opportunity for Andela? International expansion is a key part of the plan. Andela is now open for business globally and freelance interest is strong. The company is welcoming applications from 168 countries worldwide, has seen applications from 90 countries already, and have engineers located in nearly forty countries. Overall, Andela reports a 7.5X increase in applications outside of Africa in the past six months, as well as a 5X increase in African applications within the past six months.
Although the expansion demonstrates, Andela sees its model as replicable at global scale. Johnson and his partners are working with Apple and other companies to create greater opportunity for Andela African talent globally, and to expand opportunity for new Andela software engineers in Asia and Latam. As Johnson puts it, “We are eager to double down in the regions where we have the strongest early interest and create the infrastructure needed to grow ‘pod’ by ‘pod’. We want to earn freelance and client loyalty through performance, education, and support. We’ve worked hard to retain 90% of our freelancers in Africa, and believe our approach and support for talented engineers and programmers will work just as well elsewhere, as long as we respect cultural differences.”
Viva la mabadiliko!
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f1e13bb0aeaeb3664064fee1fc4b5a1d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2021/04/23/making-it-as-a-freelance-writer-platform-ceos-share-their-forecast/?sh=243e0709378f | Making It As A Freelance Writer: Platform CEOs Share Their Forecast | Making It As A Freelance Writer: Platform CEOs Share Their Forecast
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 131,000 individuals in the US who call themselves writers. This was a surprise to me, because I personally know more than that many frustrated novelists! My disbelief was vindicated when other categories of people who write are added. For example, the 118,000 editors who plan and manage content, the 52,000 journalists now employed or freelance, the 58,000 technical writers, and the 274,000 PR specialists who primarily earn their daily bread through a pen and keyboard. Writer.com estimates between 650,000 and one million souls world-wide who write as their principal source of income, but I think that we might easily double that when additional writing-centric roles like technical trainer (writing how-to manuals), proofreader, and translator are added to the list.
The data also point out that the profession is bifurcated. Traditional roles are shrinking, for example, with writer losses at 2% and journalism shrinking by 11%.
On the other hand, new media and digital demands for people-who-can-write continue to grow: PR specialist growth is estimated at 7%, and technical writers are growing by a similar percentage. A recent research report "Web Content Management: Global Markets" introduces its findings this way: “The web content management market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The market is mainly driven by the rising demand for outsourced content writing and the growing trend of web-based marketing.”
Moreover, the report reminds us that word based communication is a growing part of a rapidly expanding communications ecosystem that is feeding the demand for content. Organizations are speaking to customers as never before, and customers are expecting and demanding ever more information on which to make purchases and investments. To feed that increasing demand for the electronic word, we’ve seen the development of a global network of freelance writers, editors and designers, as well as full stack marketing teams.
Writing agencies, networks and marketplaces face a mixed future: a boon, but also a dilemma. On the one hand, it democratizes opportunity, making it more possible for a freelancer’s work to be seen by a larger audience. And, platforms like Patreon offer freelance writers the opportunity to build a subscription business of “patrons” that may provide them with a good income. But, along with the good is the challenge: more writers without equivalent demand growth means that pay is in danger of becoming a race to the bottom. In that scenario the top 10% of writers make 90% of the income. What to do?
These are the issues that led me to ask relevant CEOs and thought leaders the question for this survey:
“What are the key opportunities and challenges facing writing / communications freelancers over the next few years? What advice would you give writing/communications professionals who are considering a move into full-time freelancing?”
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Here’s what our CEOs and thought leaders had to say:
Matt Mottola, Founder VentureL. “30% of our network are writers, and we've noticed that their key challenge is differentiating their service. The best have done this by being a go-to partner for content marketing, not just an individual writer. Main advice: connect with others to offer a more diverse offering and be able to scale up production in line with clients demand.”
Scott Galit, CEO Payoneer. “The pandemic created more demand for freelance writers with more opportunities to start and grow their business. However, there’s also more competition, as the freelance workforce has increased. Freelance writers need to expand their customer base in a growing sea of competitors. They can do this by focusing on reviews, cultivating referrals, honing skills, and joining multiple platforms across geographies.”
John Ashton, Director WriteArm. “Good writers are in demand by marketing. The pandemic has forced companies to invest in content for SEO or to establish themselves as leaders. There’s a particular need for specialists, especially in tech, where companies are clamoring for writers who understand what they do and articulate the benefits of their services.”
Nigel Sarbutts, Founder PRCavalry. “The key challenge is finding clients who value your skillsets and the flexibility, resourcefulness and network you bring. The highest value work comes from deep sector knowledge where you are out reach of the race to the bottom of generalised markets. Go deep, go niche and thrive.”
Bryan Pena, Founder Defiant Solutions. “The barriers to entry for freelancers are quite low so it is incredibly difficult for new providers to stand out. The answer is to be clear on your points of differentiation and if possible, focus on becoming hyper specialized within a particular niche industry.”
Sarah Paterson, Founder CommsPeople. “Businesses are moving away from agencies, and towards using freelancers, and this trend will accelerate. For freelancers, the opportunities are huge. The risks will always be there - going out on your own always means you need to be your own sales person. However, companies like CommsPeople help freelancers to find work, which means much lower risk.”
Carolyn Bothwell, Founder Freelance Founders. “More brands and agencies are interested in working with freelance talent but so much of freelancing still relies on referrals, which can be challenging. My advice: surround yourself with a network of people who are already doing your dream jobs.”
Helen Dibble, Managing Director Incredibble.“Employer branding, engagement, well-being and remote working are suddenly under scrutiny, as a changing workforce emerges. Companies are scrambling to get their policies and positioning in line and copywriters are needed beyond the marketing team. HR could be your next big client.”
Matt Dowling, Founder FreelancerClub. “Communicating a brand's message, striking the right tone that resonates with an audience requires craft and precision. While AI writing assistants are on the rise, these tools are mainly support. A great communicator understands the essence of brand, its values and its mission.”
Shib Mathew, Founder YunoJuno. "The way we communicate is changing faster than ever before. Writing/communications specialists show their value by having a view on where the market is going, being a vocal advocate or critic of that direction and showing how their clients can best adapt in this ever-changing environment."
Sarah Kebaili, Director MySherpa. “With the explosion of digital projects during the Covid-19 crisis, companies will find it easier to turn to freelancers in the medium and long term. Companies have had to adapt their communication through digital and will increasingly use this medium to promote their offers.
Lara Vandenburg, Founder Publicist.co. “Companies are looking for hyper specialized skills rather than generalists, and freelance talent is better equipped to meet these needs, especially for one-off projects. As a freelancer, while there is greater opportunity, the challenges is differentiating yourself among a growing pool of talent.”
Peter McPartin, Co-founder Indie List. “Be absolutely clear about your sector or area of expertise. Demonstrate that you understand what grabs an audience, especially in a digital-first world. Be able to show a varied body of work and have a unique approach that will help set you apart from the pack.”
Xenios Thrasyvoulou, CEO PeoplePerHour.com and Talentdesk.io. “Have a rate that you are not willing to go under and stick to it. Have written samples ready for all the relevant industries you want to pitch for (and have experience in) to avoid having to do extra unpaid work, and opt for clients who will respect your work and rates.”
What’s the bottom line?
There is a clear and straightforward message from the shared views of our CEO and thought leader panel. I summarize it this way: A wave of demand growth in written communication is driven by more points of communication, and it’s likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Success riding this wave demands planning, preparation, and some degree of foresight for freelance writers to benefit professionally and financially. Our CEOs and thought leaders remind us that the fundamentals of building a business are relevant here as elsewhere: Build your brand. Differentiate your service and client experience. brand. Establish expertise and promote it. Focus. Gain helpful experience in markets and industries that are growing. Ensure a healthy mix of new and old clients. Avoid dependence on one or two sources of income. Grow your network. Hunt in packs. Stay up to date. Don’t give everything away.
Less immediately obvious but equally important: Be smart about the future. Innovations in AI and Machine Learning offer tools that will continue to improve the writing of less confident communicators, and the productivity of more experienced writers. For example, Writer, a startup that’s built an AI writing assistant for business writing, makes real-time content suggestions to employees to create content consistent with company messaging. It’s expected that machines will compete with, or substitute for humans in lower end writing but will primarily help us humans be better writers rather than replace us. As Tom Davenport, a well-known consultant wrote recently in Forbes:
“Writing has been around for several thousand years, and AI as an aid to writing for only a few years. It’s not surprising that we have some way to go in figuring it out. It does appear, however, that human writing will continue for at least a few more decades.”
Last point to consider: Respectfully, only be a freelance writer if you truly like to – or feel compelled to - write. As the great “Papa” Ernest Hemingway said, “We (writers) are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” At another time, he more candidly put it this way, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
Viva la revolution!
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a4798e0777bf4dfd8174fc1c2d354a72 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2021/05/03/where-to-get-help-building-your-freelance-career/?sh=5d46ad311852 | Where To Get Help Building Your Freelance Career | Where To Get Help Building Your Freelance Career
As the freelance revolution has grown, the dismal reality of freelance platforms continues. Only a small percentage – estimated at about 10% - of freelance work is transacted through platforms. The remainder is managed through relationships with individual freelancers or through freelancer relationships with other freelancers or agencies that invite them to participate in project work based on their expertise or reputation. For example, one of the largest employers of freelancers in the independent management consulting space is the consulting industry turning often to alumni.
The fact that most freelance work is relationship or reputation based is helpful to individual freelancers in one respect: more of the money goes to the freelancers doing the work. But, many freelancers are disinterested or inexperienced in the management and administration of their craft. As many freelancers are wont to say, “I do this because I love the work. I don’t enjoy sending invoices, collecting payment, managing taxes, or posting on Linkedin.” Platforms solve this problem by providing essential administrative and sales services in exchange for a share of freelance revenue.
Over the past few years we’ve seen the growth of what some might call a freelance administrative ecosystem. This consists of a wide range of businesses that offer services to individual freelancers, for example, help with billing, collection, taxes and insurances and, in some cases, extending it to scheduling, blog management, and other activities that help freelancers to manage and grow their business. There are a number of very companies that begin as payment processors and have move considerably upstream. Stripe, for example, is now valued at almost 100 billion dollars. But, we’ve also seen the growth of scrappy new competitors. Here are a few of the newer ecosystem partners we’ve found particularly interesting.
Collective Benefits. Collective Benefits, founded by Anthony Beilin and Benjamin Hay in 2019, is a UK based freelance ecosystem partner providing insurances and benefits for individual freelancers. Beilin described their vision this way “We exist to expand the safety net for independent workers, so they feel secure and valued. Right now, the people who care for our families, pack our produce and deliver our parcels face a fragile financial existence. And that’s not right. We believe they deserve to live and work without compromise. So we’re doing something about it. Together, we’re making independent work, work for everyone.” CB has been on a tear this past year, following its successful seed round. Over the past year its earned recognition as top Fintech and top Insurtech of the year in the UK. Expect Collective Benefits to expand into Europe in the near future.
Collective. Collective was started by Hooman Radfar, a serial entrepreneur and venture investor, and his partners Ugur Kaner and Bugra Akcay. Collective’s vision is to “empower solopreneurs” by providing the services that enable freelancers to build their business. Collective is focused on individuals who have found success in freelancing, are making $70K USD or more, currently operating here in the US, and generates sufficient income and growth to benefit from formation as an S Corp, application of Quick Books, and other tools that “enable successful freelancers to do the work that excites and energizes them most, and to delegate their administrative headache to Collective.” As Hooman describes the goal of Collective as “We put you in business. Our goal is to increase the number of financially successful businesses-of-one by enabling self-employed people to focus on their passion, not their paperwork.” Collective has just exited beta, and reports that freelancer interest has grown by 8X over the past few months.
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Wingspan. Wingspan describes itself this way: “Think of Wingspan as Gusto for freelancers—providing all of the tools you are used to as an employee at a larger company like health benefits, tax withholding, and seamless payments, but for your freelance business.” Started by Anthony Mironov in 2019, a former freelancer, private equity investor and fractional COO/CFO, he and his partner Greg Franczyk saw the potential to create the first operating system that would serve both companies utilizing freelancers and freelancers themselves. Wingspan has two services: it provides modern payments and compliance for companies, and a slate of business services for freelancers getting started or looking for help administratively. Since its creation Wingspan has added other services to its freelancer support. Benefits are now part, including everything from bookkeeping to expense management, invoicing and tax support. Wingspan is now offering benefits like insurance, the aggregation of 1099s, and withholding. Wingspan is growing quickly, and sees the opportunity to extending its offering in several directions to combat income volatility including the potential for lines of credit, retirement savings and help obtaining mortgages.
Nomawo. Nishant Aggarwal, the founder of Nomawo describes the startup this way: “Everything you need to build and scale your independent consulting or freelance business.” Nomawo takes a different approach to ecosystem support. Rather than providing administrative tools and financial services, it has created a peer network for freelancers called Nomawo Club. At its core, the company is building programs to mentor and train freelancers to manage their business effectively. The Nomawo Scale fellowship focuses on accelerating a freelancer’s business “beyond 100K/annually”. Nomawo Brand track focuses on helping freelancers build a reputation as a thought leader. Nomawo Productivity and Ops track focuses on the systems and processes needed for freelancers to scale their business. As a new offering, the company has joined forces with A4E and a couple of other partners to offer operational support as a service with their Nomawo Productivity and Ops offering.
Onpodio and LifterRun. Onpodio and Lifterun are examples of another approach to freelance business building: think of it as “business in a box” for specific verticals. Onpodio, for example, was created by Kal Ramshidi in 2020 to enable fitness instructors to disconnect from the gym or studio, and set themselves up in business. Onpodio does all that for fitness instructors: giving them the digital tools to build and manage their online business. Tools like setting up a website, automating bookings and the administration of payments, managing membership, organizing class packages, and allowing instructors to offer their class recordings on-demand. Jamshidi’s ambition for Onpodio? He has grown the business to 550 instructors, and freelance instructor growth is expanding rapidly. Onpodio is focused now on continuously improving the business tools it provides, expanding services that help fitness instructors attract and retain customers through community tools. LifterRun, a new startup led by Justin Wolz, assists weight lifting, running, and endurance fitness trainers to optimize their scheduling and create customized fitness programs for clients outside the gym or fitness studio. By managing their schedule more efficiently, instructors are able to increase their productive hours, and provide a more convenient and less expensive service to clients who may have been historically been priced out of personal training.
Mentorpass is a new startup that is taking a coaching based approach to the next level. Kenny Hanson, a former Accenture consultant, saw the potential to combine coaching and incubator benefits. Budding solopreneurs and entrepreneurs working with Mentor Pass get a main coach and access to specialized mentors in a wide variety of areas, from how to raise money to service pricing to resource scaling. Hanson describes his service this way: “We offer founders a main advisory relationship supported by experts in different specialty areas.” For this, freelancers pay a monthly subscription fee. Hanson reports that angel investors have expressed interest in using Mentor Pass as a means of identifying attractive investments. It is a new platform and I’m eager to watch how it develops.
Freelance associations and social networks. Finally, there are a wide variety of freelance social networks or associations that, like Nowamo but larger, provide freelance members with information tools, and blog based guidance on managing their freelance business. Freelancer's Union is a well-known non-profit here in the US that welcomes both freelancers and gigsters. IPSE is a trade association that represents freelancers in the UK. For-profit communities have also grown. Freelancer Club in the UK, Freelancing.eu, and the Freelancebusiness.be of Belgium are good examples, and there are many other local and national organizations – for- and not-for-profit - that offer help, support, advice and the potential for collaboration with freelance colleagues. As co-work spaces continue to open, they are also a source of support and education.
It may not take a village, but starting a business of any size is challenging. Get the help you need
Some months back I wrote about alternatives to startup accelerators and incubators. In that article, I was speaking to entrepreneurs committed to building a freelance platform but lacked the time or financial ability to work with an accelerator like Y Combinator. But, solopreneurs – freelancers who are eager to build their full-time career or just starting out in their freelance career journey with side-gigs – often need access to helpful services too. The organizations I’ve introduced above can help. And, who knows, the next side-gig might turn into a unicorn. It’s happened before, and it’s certainly not beyond possibility.
Viva la revolution!
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0b16159e406455f0e9aaf4a62a81d839 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyoushaei/2014/08/27/resumes/?utm_campaign=Workforce+Insider&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=14046718&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8yjx6Sa--rYyl0lZJAIUT9AaL5yj-e-HNpo70-DFz-ZvjQudbYwoLAJmjgixOTV7cbfC6x_QQBd63UETgFLG6K25UF1A&_hsmi=14046718 | 6 Secrets of Great Resumes, Backed By Psychology | 6 Secrets of Great Resumes, Backed By Psychology
The day I landed my job at Google was the day I decided to pay forward all the help I received on reworking my resume.
After going through many resumes, I want to share what I learned in hopes that it helps more people get their dream jobs.
My biggest realization? We don't think like psychologists. And in doing so, we sell ourselves short.
Here are six ways to change that:
1. Quantify Your Impact
Tip: Show your accomplishments in numbers, not just words. It’s such an easy way to standout since few people do this. Answer questions such as: how much money did you manage? How many people attended your last event? How many views did your promotional video have?
Examples:
Weak: Managed a budget to plan large-scale events for students Strong: Managed $12,000 budget to plan large-scale events for 2,500 students
Weak: Compiled a pitch deck for buyout of automotive company Strong: Compiled a 44-page pitch deck for buyout of $53 million automotive company
Weak: Wrote articles on entrepreneurship and technology Strong: Wrote 8 articles on entrepreneurship and technology, generating 107,000 page views, 8,003 likes, and 3,723 tweets
Reason: Greek philosopher Aristotle taught three pillars of effective persuasion: ethos, pathos, and logos. He believed most in the power of logos, which means persuading others using logic, evidence, and facts. By quantifying your impact, you’re doing exactly that. You’re providing evidence to underscore the significance of your accomplishments.
(Credit: CartoonStock)
2. Make Your Interests As Quirky As Possible
Tip: To quote Drake (another great philosopher), you need to “start from the bottom.” The last line of your resume is where most people list their interests, but don’t actually say anything interesting. You like movies, sports, and traveling? How original! Instead, say something that could strike an emotional chord or spark a memorable conversation mid-interview. At the very least, be highly specific.
Examples: Settlers of Catan, Quentin Tarantino films, Mediterranean cooking, Lego Star Wars collections.
Reason: In Give and Take, Wharton professor Adam Grant emphasizes that similarities matter most when they’re rare. “We bond when we share uncommon commonalities, which allow us to feel that we fit in and stand out at the same time,” he says. Your interests are a huge bonding opportunity with your resume reader. Don’t waste it.
3. Show The Competition
Tip: This one gets me every time. So many people win awards, get into selective programs, and do other impressive things but don’t convey the full amazingness of those accomplishments. It’s because they don’t show the competition; they don’t reveal how many other people were gunning for that very same spot.
Examples:
Weak: Won Granny Smith University’s Innovation Competition Strong: Won $1,000 for Granny Smith University’s Innovation Competition (80+ entrepreneurs competed)
Weak: Accepted into Johnny Appleseed Management Program Strong: Accepted into Johnny Appleseed Management Program (9% admit rate, Granny Smith University selects 50 students per year)
Reason: Social proof is one of the most powerful principles of influence, according to psychologist Robert Cialdini. By showing your competition, you emphasize how coveted your accomplishments are. Many people tried, but only you succeeded. By doing this, you safeguard yourself in case the recruiter hasn’t heard of your program, award, or honor - which they most likely haven’t and won’t bother looking up.
4. Ask An Employee For Feedback
Tip: Relationships are more important than resumes. Before applying to any company, always connect with an employee - whether through information sessions, introductions, or alumni outreach. If the conversation goes well, kindly ask for feedback on your resume before applying.
This accomplishes two things. First, it’s an extremely efficient way to customize your resume to different companies. Employees offer highly specific edits (“hey try using this buzz word, we love that”). Secondly, this is an awesome way to internally pass along your resume without even asking. If an employee finds you impressive, kind, and sincere, there’s a good chance they’ll put in a word with recruiters.
Example: Here’s an email I’ve used before.
Hey Jeff, Great chatting yesterday! I really enjoyed hearing about your experiences at [Company X] and I’m excited to apply for [Position Y]. I know you’re super busy, but could you spare 2 minutes to share any feedback on my resume before I submit? Even a quick gut reaction would mean a lot. Best, Jon
Reason: The Foot-In-The-Door Phenomenon refers to people’s tendency to more readily complete larger requests after they’ve already agreed to smaller ones. By asking for feedback, you’re doing just that. Requesting two minutes of their time is an easy starting point, especially if you’ve built rapport beforehand. Before you know it, they may help out in bigger ways by making referrals, brokering introductions, and more.
5. Associate Yourself With Big Brands
Tip: Build instant credibility by associating yourself with trusted institutions, even if you’ve never directly worked for one. Did any of your clients include Fortune 500 companies? If you worked at a startup, was it backed by notable venture capitalists? Were you featured in any major publications? Well-known brands shine when recruiters scan resumes so find a way to include them.
Examples:
Strengthened relationships with 7 strategic partners (including Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble & Emirates Airlines) through follow-up meetings with senior leadership Hired and managed 6 students from Penn and Yale including programmers, salespeople, and graphic designers Collaborated with Zagat’s “Restaurateur of the Year” Stephen Starr to run a Philadelphia-wide Restaurant Week at 8 different venues
Reason: Authority is another one of Cialdini’s principles of influence. If you don’t have it, the best way to convey authority is by associating yourself with those who do.
Bonus Tip: for college students, an easy way to do this is by becoming a campus ambassador for a notable company. Check out The Campus Job for a quick way to find these types of “campus rep” positions.
6. Follow The “Rule of Seven”
Tip: Great resumes send a consistent message. They convey a personal brand. They make recruiters think, “this kid has done this before. If we hire him, he’ll fit right in.” To accomplish this, follow the Rule of Seven. Find buzzwords (and their derivatives) on the company’s website and repeat them seven times in your resume. For instance, when applying for marketing jobs, use verbs like “marketed,” “advertised” and “promoted” to describe your accomplishments. When applying to a startup, use verbs like “built,” “created,” and “initiated.” And so forth. If you’re really crafty, you don’t have to change much when tailoring to different jobs.
Example:
For Marketing Job: “Marketed YouTube Campaign Video featuring CNN’s Larry King (9,400 views)” For Startup Job: “Created YouTube Campaign Video featuring CNN’s Larry King (9,400 views)”
(by the way, see how I dropped CNN in there? Everyone knows Larry King but CNN is another recognized brand that recruiters gravitate towards. Tip 5 in action.)
Reason: The old adage says customers must see an advertisement seven times before they take action. Apply the same thinking here. After all, your resume is the ultimate personal marketing tool. Make sure you position yourself properly so recruiters know you’re a fit.
Bonus Tip: One of the biggest missed opportunities is when people write “summer intern” on resumes. Stop doing that! Specify your role (ex: “marketing intern”). It’s another branding opportunity. Another way to fulfill the Rule of Seven is through your “relevant coursework” section (if you have one). When applying for a finance job, for example, list statistics and quantitative classes first.
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66c032fda6520c0197f1625c22833cfb | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyoushaei/2017/08/08/8-lessons-most-entrepreneurs-learn-too-late-in-life/ | 8 Lessons Most Entrepreneurs Learn Too Late In Life | 8 Lessons Most Entrepreneurs Learn Too Late In Life
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
It’s great to learn from your mistakes. It’s even better to learn from someone else’s. This is especially true for entrepreneurs. Wouldn’t it be nice to reach success without the stress? If we could avoid costly mistakes that even the smartest entrepreneurs make? I’ve been there. I had my share of setbacks before turning my cartoon series into a successful brand. Still, I feel lucky to have learned my share of hard lessons when I did. Many entrepreneurs, on the other hand, learn these 11 tips far too late. Don’t be one of them. If you learn and apply these lessons today, you can save yourself a lot of time moving forward.
1. Stop Treating Your Business Plan As Your Bible
cartoon from EveryVowel.com EveryVowel.com
Business is like skydiving. Preparation is important for touching down safely, but the hard part is the initial jump. From there, momentum takes over. Yes, business plans are important, but don’t cling to them. Elon Musk? Jeff Bezos? Mark Zuckerberg? They all figured things out on the fly, and you will, too. Take a step of uncertainty. Accept uneasiness as the norm. Learn while you go.
2. Spend Less Time At Networking Events
cartoon from EveryVowel.com www.EveryVowel.com
Time is the world’s most precious resource. No matter how impressive your bank balance, you can’t buy back what’s lost. Attending too many networking events is likely going to make you feel “busy” but not productive. There’s a difference. Instead, work to improve your product or service. Or, spend time and listen to current customers - they’ll do more to impact your success.
3. Be Polarizing
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You can’t please everyone. At least not at first. Amazon didn’t start out as “The Everything Store.” They focused on books. They found a passionate customer base before applying what they learned to other verticals. Most of us do the opposite. It’s better to start small to ultimately go big. So go ahead, be polarizing. Some people won’t like your product. Others will hate it. But there will be a few who love it. Focus on them. Make your product better. And keep going. Just ask Scott Smith who founded a successful financial company called CreditRepair. “We served a very particular financial niche. Focusing on that one group helped us build a successful business,” he explained. “If we’d tried to be all things to all people, we may not have been as successful.”
4. Let Go Of Your Ego
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Too many people think they can do it all. You may know how to build a great product, but that doesn’t mean you can market it, manage PR, or optimize a supply chain. You’ll need the help of others to turn your ideas into a success. When you don’t understand something, don’t spend all your time trying to learn it on your own. Ask. Listen. Delegate. Use others’ ideas and expertise, and you’ll move much faster.
5. Give Yourself Permission To Vacation
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Being a successful entrepreneur takes blood, sweat, and tears (well, hopefully no blood). But at the end of the day, you need to take some time for yourself. Nobody on their deathbed has ever said, “I wish I had spent more time at the office.” It’s okay to take a vacation. It’s okay to spend time with family and friends. In fact, it’s better if you do. Disconnect so you can experience life with the people who matter most. There are few things that will leave you better recharged for getting back to work.
6. Embrace The Detours On Your Path To Success
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Successful entrepreneurs are flexible in purpose. They look for strategic nooks, crannies, and edges. When they find one, they take advantage of it. Take Twitter, for example. The company started out as a podcasting platform called Odeo before spinning out to the cultural phenomenon it is today. It goes to show that the path to success often offers untimely (and unexpected) detours. Don’t be afraid to take them.
7. Stop Waiting
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When you learn something that would improve your process, there's no excuse to stick to old habits. The longer you wait, the more you’ll fall behind the competition. Immediate implementation, on the other hand, will give you that much-needed competitive edge. You shouldn't wait to apply something you've learned. As Sterling Griffin of the Wealthy Coach Academy says, “A lot of people think results take time, but they don’t. People simply take time to take action when they don’t have to wait. Instead, take action now, and you can have the results now, too.”
8. Find Joy In the Journey
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It’s so easy to think, “I’ll be happy when I achieve X.” Or “I’ll be successful once I’ve accomplished Y.” But if your happiness depends on a destination, you’ll have a hard time being happy at all. Your roadmap to accomplishing your goals will change over time. Heck, even your goals themselves might change. So don’t let your distance from your destination dictate your happiness. By choosing to enjoy the process of discovery and work, you’ll be far more satisfied with what you’re doing.
If you enjoyed this article, join 400,000 readers who get my new cartoons every Monday at EveryVowel.com.
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91fe302542ef622723303275af3f1874 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyoushaei/2017/11/30/9-ways-youre-annoying-coworkers-without-realizing/ | 9 Ways You're Annoying Coworkers Without Realizing | 9 Ways You're Annoying Coworkers Without Realizing
Shutterstock
Most of us strive to become that person who everyone in the office loves. Or at the very least, we don’t want to be that one annoying colleague in the office…right? Unfortunately, a lot of us have habits that frustrate coworkers, even when we don't realize it. I illustrated these cartoons to show 9 ways you might be unintentionally annoying your coworkers—and how you can stop.
1. Bragging About Your Past Work
cartoon from EveryVowel.com cartoon from EveryVowel.com
Your coworkers don’t want to hear about how awesome you were in college or in a former job. When I started work at Google, I expected to stroll in and manage the sexiest projects. But reality slapped me in the face. Hard. I quickly realized: your resume may get you the job BUT it doesn't mean much afterwards. As my boss said, "You must prove yourself all over again." So I did the dirty work. Nothing was beneath me. 3 years later, I find myself leading projects meant for much older employees. So when recent graduates ask for advice, I tell them: stop dwelling on past accomplishments. Instead of talking about what you’ve done, show them what you can do.
2. Telling People It’s Your Way Or The Highway
cartoon from EveryVowel.com cartoon from EveryVowel.com
Face it. You’re not always right. Your coworkers have knowledge, experiences, and insights you don’t have. This can allow you to catch mistakes or find innovative solutions you’d never discover on your own. Be humble, and be willing to collaborate. If you refuse to see others' perspectives, you won't have many people who want to work with you.
3. You Nod Your Head At Everything
cartoon from EveryVowel.com cartoon from EveryVowel.com
You might think you’re making things easier for your coworkers when you don’t ask a lot of questions. But you won’t be doing them any favors if this results in disaster for your project. Be willing to ask for help when you don’t understand something. This is a lot less annoying to your coworkers than having to clean up a big mess later on.
4. You Don’t Get To Know Coworkers As Friends
cartoon from EveryVowel.com cartoon from EveryVowel.com
Nobody likes being around someone who is constantly brushing them off. If you give your coworkers the cold shoulder every time they try to speak with you, you won't make many friends. As Shy Pahlevani, president of Hungry, explains, “Unfriendly attitudes create a lot of tension in the office. We launched our office catering service to create opportunities for coworkers to interact with each other in a more casual environment. Even something as simple as enjoying lunch together can build friendships.” Instead of isolating yourself, take a little time to foster friendships in the office. Research shows that forming strong social connections at work can make you as happy as earning $100,000 more a year.
5. You Criticize Without Offering Another Solution
cartoon from EveryVowel.com cartoon from EveryVowel.com
Do you always have something to say about your coworkers’ results? Feedback can be helpful when people ask for it. However, it helps if you pair your criticism with an alternative solution. “I don’t like X, but how about we try Y?” Most people don’t take that extra step and it can be super frustrating for the employee on the receiving end.
6. You’re A Meeting-aholic
cartoon from EveryVowel.com cartoon from EveryVowel.com
Time is a valuable thing—and there are few things your coworkers hate more than having someone else waste it. Don’t insist on holding an in-person meeting for something that could have resolved in an email. Respect your coworkers’ time by limiting meetings, and everyone will be much happier.
7. You’re A Total Downer
cartoon from EveryVowel.com cartoon from EveryVowel.com
Nobody likes being around a pessimist. Pessimistic attitudes create a toxic work environment that stifles productivity and happiness. Making frequent negative comments will annoy your coworkers and drag everyone down. Instead, try to look on the bright side of any workplace situation. After all, happiness is just as contagious as pessimism. Spread positivity, and you could help everyone in the office feel better!
8. You Value “The Process” Over Progress
cartoon from EveryVowel.com cartoon from EveryVowel.com
Process is important. But when you get after your coworkers for even minor “bends” in the process, you’ll stifle their creativity. Many of history’s best innovations have come by shaking up the process, rather than rigidly sticking to the past. As playwright George Bernard Shaw said, “Progress is impossible without change.” Don’t get so focused on the process that you neglect the real goal of progress.
9. You Think Too Much About Yourself
cartoon from EveryVowel.com cartoon from EveryVowel.com
People can tell when you only have your own selfish interests in mind. This is especially true in today’s millennial-dominated workforce, 94% of whom want to work for a cause. A self-centered attitude will alienate your coworkers—and your work will suffer as a result. Look beyond yourself, and you’ll make a positive impact in your office and the world.
Changing your bad habits is always worth it. Not only making these changes help you develop better relationships; they will also help you become a happier, more productive person. Making an effort to become a better coworker will ultimately be a win-win for everyone.
If you enjoyed this article, join 400,000 readers who get my new cartoons every Monday at EveryVowel.com.
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58b40f8755b54e93fb4f31beeab2c94e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyoushaei/2020/05/18/5-ways-to-adapt-your-marketing-during-a-recession/ | 5 Ways To Adapt Your Marketing During A Recession | 5 Ways To Adapt Your Marketing During A Recession
Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room: we’re living in tough times. Some days, it feels hard to get out of bed, let alone think about your business. But now may also be a good time to rethink how you’re reaching your customers — and use one of today’s most underrated marketing channels: email.
Yes, email still works. In fact, recent studies show that brands typically see an average return of $42 dollars for each dollar they spend on email marketing. With that mind, I recently went down a rabbit hole of research and spoke with an email marketing expert — Joshua Chin, founder and CEO of Chronos Agency — to learn more. He shared five tips to build an email list and help your business during these surreal times.
1. Don’t Email More Than Once Per Week
We’re each coping with this pandemic in different ways. People are worrying about the health and sanity more than their inboxes. It’s important to be mindful of that and not email more than once per week. “Studies show that 49% of your customers are happy hearing from you on a weekly basis, but that means that 51% don’t want to hear from you that often,” Chin warns.
“Sending emails too often is one of the leading reasons why brand emails get marked as spam, and that could cause future emails to other customers to get flagged by spam filters.” He continues to explain. “If you’re running multiple email campaigns at once, you could accidentally bombard your customers with several emails in a single day.”
To avoid this, Chin recommends using frequency capping, which sets a limit on how many emails subscribers receive from you during a set time period. As a result you will likely increase your open rates and avoid people marketing your content as spam.
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2. Use “Double Opens” To Increase Clicks
If at first you don’t succeed, try again - but this time with a different subject line.
“Just because someone didn’t open their initial email doesn’t mean they have to miss out on that message entirely,” Chin says. “One of the best ways to increase your click rate is to use the ‘double opens’ strategy, where you send the same message to people who didn’t open it the first time, but with a new subject line.”
Of course, make sure to keep the first tip in mind by waiting at least a week before sending the second email. When done right, this “double open” strategy can increase your open rates by 30%, according to a study from OkDork. This also gives you the opportunity to A/B test subject lines to better understand your customers when it comes to drafting your next message.
3. Don’t Forget About The “Preview Text”
We already know about the importance of the subject line, but too many marketers don’t spend enough time thinking about their preview text (also called the “pre-header text”). This is the small snippet of the email that’s visible in a receiver’s inbox before they click to open it.
"Preview Text" is the snippet right after the Subject Line Personal Screenshot
Preview text can be 35 to 140 characters (depending on whether your viewer is opening on mobile or desktop), so it’s important to use it well. This text should complement your subject line, giving readers a better idea of what to expect when they open the email. Here’s the analogy I like to remember: reading a great email as going to a great restaurant. The subject line is the appetizer, the preview text is the cocktail, and the email itself is the main-course. If you mess up the first two parts, there’s a chance your customer won’t stick around for the third part.
4. Use First Names
Dale Carnegie once said: “A person's name is the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” Yet, most marketers forget to include that in email marketing. They start their messages with “Dear All,” or “Hey Everybody!” Rookie mistake.
“Try to collect subscriber’s names when you get their email addresses,” Chin explains. “Then put their name in the subject line or body text of an email. It grabs their attention in a way a generic message never would. You can become even more effective when you adjust the emails they receive based on past interactions with your brand.”
Research from Experian backs this up: personalizing your emails can lead to a six-fold increase in your recipient’s likelihood of taking action. Despite this, many marketers fail to fully personalize their content and miss out on the potential of their email list.
5. Focus On Abandoned Cart Users
This tip is geared towards e-commerce sites, but given how many businesses are moving online due to social distancing, I thought it would be worthwhile to include. When it comes to e-commerce, there’s nothing more frustrating than having a high abandoned cart rate. This means your customers are interested enough in your products to put them in their virtual shopping carts, but not interested enough to buy. In fact, the Baymard Institute estimates that an average of 69.57% of all online shopping carts are abandoned.
So what’s the solution? You guessed it: email marketing. Email your customer as a reminder of what they left in their cart. Research from Omnisend found 46.1% of people open “abandon cart emails” and 35% end up making a purchase. Better yet, businesses who sent three follow-up emails (with the time constraints we covered above), increase their conversion rates by another 69%. When done right, email can be both powerful and welcomed to a customer who had already put your product in their shopping cart.
For more marketing tips, connect with me on LinkedIn or subscribe to my YouTube channel called Admazing where we analyze the world’s best and worst advertising campaigns. Until next time, I hope you found these tips helpful especially as we navigate these tough times together.
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f863c63ed5b0b61751cd248e8a591b87 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyoushaei/2020/09/03/how-under-armour-stole-steph-curry-from-nike/ | How Under Armour Stole Steph Curry From Nike | How Under Armour Stole Steph Curry From Nike
With the NBA back in full swing, there's never been a better time to talk about sports endorsements. After all, many professional athletes make more money off the court than they do on it. Obviously, brands like Nike and Gatorade typically have their pick of which athletes to endorse. So how does an up-and-coming brand break through? Better yet, how does a no name brand nab a household name athlete to be their spokesperson?
For that, let’s rewind back to 2013 when Under Armour was starting to endorse NBA players. They were the David to Nike's Goliath. Yet, Under Armour somehow stole a once-in-a-generation talent in Steph Curry from Nike's grasp. Here’s how they did it:
Build Brand-Boosting Connections Using the ‘Inner Circle’
When Under Armour was first trying to reach Steph Curry, they actually copied what Nike did to lure Michael Jordan away from Adidas in the 1980s. They essentially “infiltrated” his inner circle. Instead of starting by reaching out directly to their superstar target, they focused on those who would have a big influence on his decisions.
With Michael Jordan, Nike reached out to his parents who convinced him to take a meeting. To nab Steph Curry, Under Armour went through his teammate, Kent Bazemore.
After signing Bazemore, they gave him the royal treatment. Even though Bazemore was a rookie, “he got more gear and boxes in front of his locker than anyone else on the team,” Curry explained in a video interview. “[Bazemore] was a huge reason I made the switch. He’s like the biggest spokesperson for the brand.”
Under Armour started by focusing on someone who they knew could influence Steph Curry. After all, wouldn’t you at least be curious if you saw a brand showering your no-name teammate with free stuff? It’s taking the idea of word of mouth marketing to a whole new level.
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Rather than trying to make a cold call to your big-name prospect, try to reach their inner circle first. More natural exposure to your brand will leave them curious and interested in your company.
Become The Big Fish in a Small Pond
Another factor in Steph Curry’s decision was that he felt slighted by Nike. Sure, he was a superstar, but Nike works with many big-time athletes. Even for a superstar athlete like Steph Curry, Nike was too big of a pond for him to stand out like he wanted. He would have been just another name.
Under Armour offered to make him the face of the brand — to give him his own signature shoe, put his name in lights and even pay him more to show how much they valued their relationship with him.
To learn more about this concept, I spoke with Gevorg Hambardzumyan, who runs a company called Square Signs that uses this same customer-first mindset in its production of signs, decals and other materials. He explained that “customers and brand partners both want to feel valued. The best way to appeal to a rising star is to show them that you’re going to make them the priority they deserve to be. Whether this means paying more money or making them the primary focus of your marketing efforts, you need to be willing to offer more than what your competitors would.” And that’s exactly what Under Armour did for Steph Curry.
Take Advantage of the Psychology of ‘Name Repetition’
According to ESPN, Nike continually addressed Stephen as “Steph-on” instead of pronouncing his name correctly. It only got worse as Nike’s PowerPoint slide featured Kevin Durant's name in the place of Steph Curry - which was likely the result of recycling slides from Nike’s pitch to Kevin Durant.
These mistakes were the nail in the coffin. J.J. Hebert, president of MindStir Media, is an expert when it comes to personalizing pitches and building business relationships through his publishing service. “Pronouncing someone’s name wrong might not seem like that big of a deal, but it can make all the difference when pitching a client or partner,” he explained. “Our brains are stimulated when we hear our own names. Having someone repeatedly pronounce your name wrong robs the listener of the powerful yet subtle emotions that come from hearing it.”
If you don’t take the time to learn to pronounce someone’s name correctly, it immediately sends the message that you don’t truly value them or your relationship. It sets a negative tone for any phone call or in-person meeting you might have when trying to close the deal.
Building a Winning Brand
The fact that Under Armour was able to lure Steph Curry — one of the top players in the game — away from Nike seemed like a major marketing coup. But as we now know, it didn’t happen by accident. It came through a patient, deliberate approach that helped him feel valued.
Yet as valued as Under Armour made Steph Curry feel, he’s perhaps been even more valuable for them. Financial analysts estimate he is worth as much as $14 billion to the company that put him in the spotlight. Talk about a win-win situation.
So next time you’re building a relationship, remember to approach it like Under Armour did with Steph Curry.
Interested in more marketing tips and case studies? Connect with me on LinkedIn or subscribe to my YouTube channel called “Admazing” where I regularly analyze the world’s most creative advertising campaigns.
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43beee922398f1b254368f3583325eee | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jopiazza/2016/07/05/the-life-changing-magic-of-saying-no-to-work/ | The Life-Changing Magic of Saying 'No' to Work | The Life-Changing Magic of Saying 'No' to Work
Saying no to assignments and offers and projects is like a juice cleanse for your mind. As this... [+] author found out.
I’m a yes person, and I always have been. I've also been called a people-pleaser, a go-getter, and an eager beaver. You could label me a workaholic and that wouldn't be wrong, but it wouldn't be nice either.
Call me whatever you want. It boils down to the fact that I hate saying no.
There are plenty of reasons for this. One is that I live in constant fear of turning down offers, assignments, and projects. As a freelance consultant, editor and writer, I fear that another one might not come along. I'm afraid of this for monetary reasons and psychological ones. I've been trained that in order to be successful, I cannot, not even for a second, get off the hamster wheel of industry.
I'm not alone. I'm constantly meeting other yes people across a wide variety of industries. Like me, they work extra hours and take on more than any one person should be able to handle. They aren't getting enough sleep and they rarely see their loved ones. Their nannies and dog walkers are more familiar to their dependents than they are.
Gallery: How To Say No At Work 8 images View gallery
Experts say there are lots of us out there.
"It's an easy trap for those of us who hate conflict or don't trust that if we turn down one gig or project another will come along. This happens all the time to people who need something outside themselves to feel like good people and feel validated," says Dr. Laurie Sanford a clinical psychologist in private practice in Honolulu Hawai'i and San Diego California.
"The word 'No' can be an anathema. It fills us with terror and we avoid it."
But I recently started saying no—to everything.
This is partly a function of burn-out, a bit of exhaustion and the desperate need to finish two book projects that are already on my plate. For the past two years, I worked as an editor at Yahoo Travel, before Yahoo Travel was a thing that no longer existed. I put in 85 hours weeks, plowing through nights and weekends in an effort to drive our already high traffic figures higher and higher. But for what? We made a decent amount of money as a small content site in a large Internet parent company and were ultimately relegated to the graveyard of similar divisions of large companies that put words on the Internet. I needed a break from that. But I didn't know how to do it.
When you're so busy with work, you ignore an adorable baby elephant. Snapped at Kaziranga National... [+] Park, Assam, India.
From the second I was laid off I furiously lined up freelance assignments and projects, taking on anything and everything, working even more than I did when I had a full-time job.
"Aren't you also supposed to be finishing up a couple of books," my husband asked me. "Just do that."
But I couldn't. I was terrified. I wasn't terrified of going broke. Not yet, at least. I received a perfectly normal severance payout from my old employer which kept me comfortable for a couple of months as long as I didn't eat out at expensive restaurants or buy things made of artisanal wool.
I was afraid of being irrelevant.
But I was making myself ill. I couldn't sleep at night and when I woke in the morning a bouncing ball of anxiety was already waiting for me in the depths of my belly. I was irritable and awful to be around.
I took one assignment reporting on the wild and wonderful Northeastern region of Assam in India, but I hardly saw anything because I spent so much time reporting on and writing other assignments. By the time I reached Rishikesh, a town known for relaxed yogis and spiritual enlightenment in the foothills of the Himalaya mountains, I was completely fried. It was there, at the Ananda wellness center that I realized something had to change. This was the kind of place where you reconnect with the Earth and your soul, and more importantly the kind of place where you wear pajamas ALL OF THE TIME. But I couldn't enjoy it.
"Your mind doesn't know up from down," one of the many wise gurus at the center told me. "You're doing so many things, that you can't do any one thing well. Your mind is like a top that will just keep tipping over if you don't find balance."
I hate it when strangers are better informed about my well-being than I am. I hated that I was having an Eat, Pray, Love moment in one of the actual Eat, Pray, Love countries. I felt like cliche who was being condescending to.
I started to say no. I began turning down assignments that would have paid good money, trips to exciting places that would have led to assignments that pay good money, weekend outings with friends, hiking trips with my husband, coffees with aspiring writers, invitations to dinners at yummy restaurants.
"As we say no, we realize that our fears are unfounded. People will wait for us. We will still be 'good'. And ALL personal gratification does not need to be delayed for us to be successful," Dr. Sanford explained to me.
"The bonus, setting aside time for our own personal needs and our relational needs, actually makes us more effective at our work. It gives us more energy, more clarity and therefore ability. Overall, saying no is a great skill to learn. No, no, no. Pretend you are a toddler. It's fun. That's why they do it."
It didn't happen overnight. I had to keep saying no for weeks and then for a month, and then another month. It was only a few days ago after I turned in the final drafts of my new books to Random House that I had nothing on my plate.
I recently ran into a friend in New York who asked what I was working on.
"Nothing," I said. And I didn't feel ashamed.
By saying no, I’ve finally cleared a little patch of space for myself.
I don’t wake up with that chihuahua-sized ball of anxiety that sticks around until I clear my inbox, check my Twitter , update my Facebook and snap a Snapchat before 7 am. I’m able to concentrate solely on any one task at hand, rather than leap frogging in between 10 different things at once, inevitably doing half of them poorly.
I recently watched a Michelle Obama interview with Oprah in which she said that she realized, early on in her tenure as First Lady, just how important it would be for her and her family that she focus on protecting her time.
"One of the things I realized is that if you do not take control over your time and your life, other people will gobble it up," Obama said. "If you don’t prioritize yourself, you constantly start falling lower and lower on your list, your kids fall lower and lower on your list."
This isn't a case of the forever nos. I'm not a secret millionaire or a shaman. It's for right now. Maybe just for the next couple of weeks. I realize that being able to do this is a privilege. I have enough savings to say no for a month or two. Many people don't have this options I'm very, very lucky.
In the past I've claimed I would "unplug" and "take a breather" but I've never done it. I didn't even unplug on my honeymoon.
I'm looking at this time of no as a reset, a juice cleanse for my brain. A way to help determine what I want to say yes to, what I need to say yes to and what I can say yes to. These are all very different things.
My time of saying no is returning me to a place where I believe anything actually is possible, instead of the place where I believed anything is doable...but getting it all done will be miserable.
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fb23508a7229c84c4be11ad0fc70d9ae | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jopiazza/2016/09/28/the-american-entrepreneur-changing-haitian-womens-lives-one-ice-cream-at-a-time/ | This American Entrepreneur Is Changing Haitian Women's Lives One Ice Cream At A Time | This American Entrepreneur Is Changing Haitian Women's Lives One Ice Cream At A Time
Improving things for women in Haiti one ice-cream cone at a time (Courtesy of Alexis Gallivan)
Plenty of us have dreamed about giving up corporate life to open something we love, like an ice-cream shop. Alexis Gallivan did exactly that, and after a successful run in Brooklyn, the American entrepreneur is now trying to bring her spirit of fearlessness and accomplishment to one of the most under-served populations in the world—the women of Haiti.
After working in international development for nearly a decade, Gallivan was frustrated with what she saw as a senseless divide between the private and public realms. It seemed like a terrible waste of opportunity, one that limited the impact any one organization could actually have.
In the midst of her frustration, she moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn. These were the days before the artisanal food renaissance made Brooklyn what travel blogs like to refer to as a "destination", and the ice cream fanatic in her was disappointed to discover that there were no good scoops to be had in my her neighborhood. She complained about it for months before deciding she should be the one to fill that hole.
"I realized that filling this gap in the ice cream market was my chance to both satisfy my sweet tooth AND push for more good in the world in an entirely new and innovative way," Gallivan said.
At a birthday party in January 2007, she was chatting about her radical ice cream business concept and caught the interest of one of her friends, Jennie Dundas. Before long, the two women had purchased a $99 business plan template online and were on their way to launching Blue Marble Ice Cream. One week shy of nine months later, they opened the doors to their first shop and have been managing the fast and furious growth of their company ever since.
One year after the opening Gallivan and Dundas launched their first ice cream social venture, Blue Marble Dreams, by partnering with a group of women in Butare, Rwanda to build Inzozi Nziza (Sweet Dreams), the town’s first-ever ice cream shop. The shop generated stable jobs for dozens of women, built demand for area farmers and stimulated commerce throughout the community.
Now the two women are taking on a new challenge. They've moved on to Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, the third hungriest country on the planet and a place where the richest one percent of the population controls half of the wealth. Haiti is also a place that is notoriously difficult for foreigners to navigate, particularly when it comes to building new infrastructure and disseminating aid. We spoke with Gallivan about why they chose Haiti and how they intend to make women's lives better through ice cream.
Jo Piazza: Why would you choose to open in Haiti? Why not somewhere a little easier?
Alexis Gallivan: Just like Rwanda, Haiti chose us. I was leading a Q & A session, and afterwards, some women in the audience approached me. They were originally from Haiti and explained that Port au Prince desperately needed something like what we had in Rwanda. They recognized many parallels Rwanda’s genocide and Haiti’s earthquake. Both were hugely traumatic events that left survivors to grapple with the daunting process of rebuilding not only the infrastructure of their countries but also the lives and spirits of their people. They also pointed out that, like in Rwanda, there are very few jobs and training opportunities in Haiti's formal sector, leaving many to eke out their livelihoods through subsistence farming and other hand-to-mouth occupations.
The heartbreaking images from the 2010 earthquake were still fresh in our minds, and we had come to understand that the recovery process had been slow and uneven, to put it gently. We were excited by the prospect of using an ice cream shop as a way to help nurture this process along in a modest but still meaningful way.
Piazza: How did you choose who to employee?
Gallivan: One of the factors that’s been so critical to our success in Rwanda was partnering with an established group of women who had a shared sense of purpose and built-in trust among the members. In Rwanda, this group was the country’s first-ever all-female drumming troupe, Ingoma Nshya—which was particularly helpful because the women walked into the opportunity already disciplined, dynamic and able to work really well as a team.
(Courtesy of Alexis Gallivan)
The staff of Bèl Rèv is comprised largely of young women from the Fontamara neighborhood. Through their training in basic business finance, operations and culinary production, these women have been equipped to run the business proficiently, sustainably and independently. Initially, the shop will provide full-time employment to seven women, but there are plans to expand the team as the business grows. Additionally, Bèl Rèv will employ a number of supporting staff, including security guards, groundskeepers, technicians and builders.
We decided to focus primarily on women for the same reasons many other organizations do: women often have less access to opportunities in the formal sectors of the economy than men and yet are more likely to use those opportunities to advance the welfare of their families and communities. So it was as much a moral decision as it was just plain business sense. Also, as women business owners ourselves who have benefitted greatly from the guidance and friendship of other women entrepreneurs over the years, we felt compelled to pass this “sisterly” support along to others.
Throughout our training sessions in Rwanda and Haiti, we repeatedly emphasized that we were not preparing the participants to work in an ice cream shop. Instead, we were equipping them to run an ice cream business. For a full year before our Haitian staff even touched the ice cream equipment, for example, they studied the concepts and processes of business finance and operations. We wanted them to understand the intricate connections between the performance of the staff and the performance of the business, instilling in them a sense of responsibility and purpose and, hopefully, ensuring Bèl Rev’s long-term lasting success.
Piazza: How will this help women in Haiti?
Gallivan: Safe, steady jobs that pay a good wage are extremely scarce in Haiti and usually require high levels of education. This leaves most Haitians with few prospects and a lifetime of poverty. Out of desperation, many women are drawn into relationships and occupations that jeopardize their health and safety just to meet the basic needs of their families.
(Courtesy of Alexis Gallivan)
Piazza: What were the challenges?
Gallivan: Where do I begin? Haiti is an incredibly complex place. Over the past three years of development, we experienced several lengthy project delays, most stemming from issues within the Haitian government. In addition to the challenges of its generally serpentine and opaque bureaucracy, the country has experienced significant political instability over the last year. On one trip, in fact, I was sequestered in my hotel because of mass demonstrations in the streets that made them impassable and unsafe. The frequent changes in government process and personnel forced us to repeatedly build new relationships and adjust our timeline. Further, the cost of goods and services is extremely high in Haiti in general, but the political uncertainty spurred public anxiety and inflated prices further, forcing adjustments in our initial budget.
Piazza: Did you ever want to just give up?
Gallivan: I’ll be honest. Getting Bèl Rèv off the ground has been one of the most exhausting and difficult experiences of my entire life. With every setback (and there were MANY), I was tempted to give up and accept defeat. But there was one story of one woman that pushed me to dig deep and keep pressing forward. To protect her privacy, I will call her Angeline. On the morning of January 12, 2010, Angeline was married, had two daughters and ran a small roadside stall from which she cooked and sold plantains, rice and other local staples. Later that day, the earthquake took the life of her husband and destroyed her business and home. Thankfully, she and her daughters survived. Shortly after, with nowhere else to go, they were living in one of Port au Prince’s notorious “tent cities.” With no lights, no proper sanitation, inadequate shelter, scant food and mass emotional trauma, the living conditions were dangerously unstable. One night, Angeline was attacked by a group of men. They sexually assaulted her, and one man stabbed her in the side of her chest.
But despite the challenges, Angeline was always the first to arrive at our training sessions and the last to leave. She struggled with some of the material, but that never stopped her from trying (and smiling). And whatever she lacked in technical skill was more than compensated for with her leadership, her ebullience and her commitment. Not surprisingly, she was selected as one of Bèl Rev’s starting staff line-up and is sure to be one of our stars.
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eca9370f117cb039e0670362a862abfc | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordandaykin/2018/11/21/mistakes-made-in-business/?sh=1d1bf8c21529 | Mistakes Made In Business | Mistakes Made In Business
Vector flat illustration with a slipped man on a banana peel in the park. Getty
Mistakes happen, we know everyone makes them, we are only human and in general are fallible. Hindsight would be a wonderful thing to save those mistakes from happening, to protect us from embarrassment and the sinking feeling in the pit of our stomachs. There are many articles online advising how and what mistakes to avoid when starting up. Like many entrepreneurs, Mark Zuckerberg believes, “Don’t even bother avoiding making mistakes, because you’re going to make tonnes of mistakes and the important thing is to learn quickly from the mistakes you make and to not give up.”
Success is not in a magical pot at the end of the rainbow, ‘Before you succeed you first must learn to fail.” Making mistakes allows us to discover more about ourselves. In business, they can be valuable lessons to enable growth. “A person who makes few mistakes, makes little progress” are the words of a human potential thought leader, Bryant McGill. He feels that we cannot move on from something until we have learned from it. The fear of failure has created a stigma that goes along with making mistakes. There is such a thing as a good mistake; these are made through a strong and educated action, that may have had a bad result, there is no shame in that. It is possible to learn from good mistakes and use the knowledge gained in your next action. Bad mistakes are made with little thought and effort and as a result, bad results are inevitable.
Bill Gross suspects that the most important reason the majority of businesses succeed is when they start up at the right time. In his Ted Talk, The Single Biggest Reason Why Start-Up Succeed, Gross analyzed a handful of business and found that timing was the biggest reason for the company’s success, with the team in second and the idea in third. Gross gives the example of one of his failed companies, Z.com, which was an online entertainment company, the timing for this was when broadband penetration was too low and in consequence, took a long time and a lot of effort to do anything. A couple of years later, when the codec problem had been resolved, Youtube was perfectly timed.
There are many other blunders in business from a weak or non-existent business plan to overspending. A lapse in judgment in those we partner with or work alongside us is typical when starting up. Working with the wrong people who do not share your vision or compliment your abilities can quickly become a big mistake. This isn’t just because of the time and money of having to find new people but the clean-up of the havoc they leave behind and that is depending if it is as simple as cleaning up spilled milk. Without making this mistake, you are relying on luck to find a perfect match rather than a choice made through the knowledge gained in making that mistake.
Mistakes happen whether you are starting up or well established in the market. Kodak patented the first digital camera, but as they made so many sales in film cameras, going digital was forgotten until it was too late. Blockbuster Video was left in the dust by Netflix because they became more retail than entertainment based and Nokia stunted their growth by refusing to go android. This shows that a company needs to move with technological advancements and be able to see the possibilities of the future, so there are no missed opportunities. Elon Musk sees a sustainable future and is working towards it, though he has made mistakes along the way he has learned from them instead of giving up. “If something's important enough, you should try. Even if the probable outcome is a failure.”
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e9ec7673eebe8717eb2bbb71b1e8ff67 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanhorrobin/2019/12/05/nathan-mackinnon-contract-underpaid-team-friendly-nhl-colorado-avalanche-shifting-rfa-market/?sh=2eea30175c03 | ‘I Have No Regrets’: Nathan MacKinnon On Being Underpaid, The Shifting RFA Market | ‘I Have No Regrets’: Nathan MacKinnon On Being Underpaid, The Shifting RFA Market
DENVER, COLORADO - NOVEMBER 30: Nathan MacKinnon #29 of the Colorado Avalanche takes to the ice ... [+] prior to the game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Pepsi Center on November 30, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images) NHLI via Getty Images
In the summer of 2016, Nathan MacKinnon was due for a substantial pay raise.
As a restricted free agent (RFA), he didn’t have leverage to seek out the highest bidder. But the 20-year-old still had plenty to bring to the bargaining table: status as the No.1 pick in the 2013 draft, a Calder Trophy and three productive seasons with the Colorado Avalanche.
What he didn’t have was a crystal ball.
So when MacKinnon signed with Colorado that July — for $44.1 million spread over seven years — he had no way of knowing he’d soon become one of the most underpaid players in the league.
“I was just excited to get paid that much money at such a young age,” MacKinnon said Wednesday from his visitor’s room stall in Toronto. “Obviously it’s pretty (team) friendly now, but I was worth that at the time … I have no regrets.”
No one should blame MacKinnon for taking a long-term deal. Stability, in some ways, is priceless. But as player empowerment continues to grow for NHL free agents, there is only one way to describe MacKinnon’s current salary arrangement: highway robbery.
Consider the fact MacKinnon, 24, is third in the league in scoring this season (44 points in 27 games). He finished seventh and fifth in scoring in 2018-19 and 2017-18, respectively, receiving MVP votes both years.
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But MacKinnon only has a $6.3 million average annual value (AAV) on his contract, which is 82nd in the NHL. And that $6.3 million AAV will remain for another three years.
via CapFriendly
Back in 2016, MacKinnon had another option: roll the dice with a two-year bridge contract and reassess his worth as an RFA after the 2017-18 season, which happened to be when he posted 97 points and finished as the MVP runner-up.
“So that would’ve been decent,” MacKinnon deadpanned.
Bridge deals were common for this past summer’s batch of RFAs, including Matthew Tkachuk (three years, $7 million AAV), Brayden Point (three years, $6.75 million AAV) and Patrik Laine (two years, $6.75 million AAV). The idea is to double-dip as an RFA and really cash out on the second go-round.
All three were among a group of 10 RFAs who dragged negotiations with their respective teams into September. Most of those RFAs were still holding out when training camp began, building on a trend that began last year when William Nylander’s negotiation with Toronto ended only minutes before the Dec. 1 deadline.
MacKinnon has noticed the uptick of RFA holdouts. If he had it to do over again, he might join the movement.
“I think you want to get paid what you’re worth,” he said. “I’d probably do the same thing. If a team isn’t paying you what you think you’re worth, holding out is something (players) are entitled to … I think it’s going to continue that way.”
MacKinnon was willing to play the what-if game, but he has made peace with what he signed up for. He said he already has enough money for retirement and, as a person who doesn’t come from a wealthy background, feels “very blessed.”
CHICAGO, IL - NOVEMBER 29: Nathan MacKinnon #29 of the Colorado Avalanche reacts after the ... [+] Avalanche scores against the Chicago Blackhawks in the second period at the United Center on November 29, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) NHLI via Getty Images
There’s a silver lining for MacKinnon, too. Thanks to his team-friendly deal, the Avalanche were well within their means to sign 30-goal scorer Mikko Rantanen, the final RFA holdout this fall, who signed for six years at $9.25 AAV.
Colorado still has over $5 million in cap space, which will help quite a bit next year when RFAs such as Andre Burakovsky and Nikita Zadorov are due for contracts.
That’s a luxury not afforded to some other teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have more than $33 million committed to three players (Auston Matthews, John Tavares and Mitch Marner) for the next four seasons. The Maple Leafs have maxed out the salary cap and have five of their top-six defensemen set for free agency after this season.
That’s the type of situation MacKinnon wants to avoid. Balanced teams are often the ones left standing at the end of the playoffs, which is where he wants to be. Deals like his, as unfair as they might be, help make that happen.
“We have guys that we wouldn’t (otherwise) be able to bring in,” MacKinnon said. “On my next deal, I’ll take less again. Because I want to win with this group.”
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997acb1e677c143a14bc35f524a3d32d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanhorrobin/2020/01/24/frederik-andersen-toronto-maple-leafs-nhl-all-star-underperforming-whats-going-on/ | What’s Going On With Frederik Andersen, The Underperforming All-Star? | What’s Going On With Frederik Andersen, The Underperforming All-Star?
TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 16: Frederik Andersen #31 of the Toronto Maple Leafs watches as the puck goes ... [+] wide of the net against the Calgary Flames in overtime at the Scotiabank Arena on January 16, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) NHLI via Getty Images
Frederik Andersen is in St. Louis right now for his first All-Star Game, which is ironic because this is the furthest he’s been — statistically — from all-star status in his seven-year career.
In 39 starts, Andersen has a 2.89 goals against average and a .909 save percentage, both career lows. He’s been worse lately, with a 4.08 GAA and .883 save percentage in the past 10 games — two of which he was removed from early.
The Maple Leafs, who’ve lost five of their past six games, are four points out of a playoff spot at the break. They desperately need “Steady Freddy” (or is it Freddie?) to make a triumphant return.
Andersen is not in the dark on this. He knows things have to change and he said as much last weekend, when the Maple Leafs were dealt a 6-2 home loss against Chicago.
“I think it's time to just look in the mirror right now for everyone here, myself included,” Andersen said after yielding six goals on 34 shots. “(But) I think it's not a time to point fingers or anything like that.”
TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 16: Frederik Andersen #31 of the Toronto Maple Leafs gets set to face the ... [+] Calgary Flames in an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on January 16, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Flames defeated the Maple Leafsd 2-1 in a shoot-out. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) Getty Images
Here’s the thing: Andersen hasn’t been that bad.
Well, perhaps by his own standards. But by league standards he has simply been…solidly average.
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Recall his current season stats: 2.89 GAA and .909 save percentage. The 2019-20 NHL league averages are 2.85 GAA and .908 save percentage.
Of course, he’d prefer to be better than average — especially as an all star. And in 5-on-5 settings, which are a more accurate depiction of goaltender play, Andersen’s numbers are even less palatable.
Among 35 goalies with 1,000-plus minutes of ice time at 5-on-5 this year, here’s where Andersen ranks in some key categories (note: GSAA/60 = goals saved above average per 60 minutes; HD = high danger):
via Natural Stat Trick
That’s for the whole season, but Andersen’s recent play is what’s dragging him down. Here’s what his month-to-month stats look like:
October: 10 games, 6-2-2, 3.03 GAA, .901 SV% November: 11 games, 7-3-1, 1.97 GAA, .938 SV% December: 11 games, 7-3-1, 3.03 GAA, .904 SV% January: Seven games, 2-1-2, 4.12 GAA, .881 SV%
Not every month is going to be like November, but clearly January can’t end fast enough. And really, the trend started earlier than that.
Here’s how Andersen has fared since Dec. 1, among 33 goalies with 500-plus minutes of ice time at 5-on-5:
via Natural Stat Trick
On the bright side, he’s stopping a greater percentage of quality chances. But he is also facing more, so that counteracts it a bit.
Keep in mind that head coach Sheldon Keefe just passed the two-month mark as an NHL head coach. Keefe is still learning at this level and systems take time to implement.
Yes, Keefe has now coached more games this season than ex-coach Mike Babcock, but Babcock also had training camp. And, oh, upwards of four previous years with some of these players. Learning your team and guiding it to play how you want takes time.
The recent adjustments in the defensive corps are also worth noting, with injured veterans giving way to a pair of rookies.
Jake Muzzin and Morgan Rielly, Toronto’s top minutes-munchers, have missed a combined 13 games since late December with foot injuries. That prompted the Maple Leafs to call up 20-year-old Timothy Liljegren for his NHL debut against Chicago. Rasmus Sandin, a 19-year-old who recently returned to the NHL for the first time since October, has stuck around to fill a spot as well.
TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 18: Rasmus Sandin #38 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the Chicago ... [+] Blackhawks during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on January 18, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blackhawks defeated the Maple Leafs 6-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) Getty Images
The final element to consider is Andersen’s workload, an oft-discussed issue from the offseason. Toronto’s publicized plan was to lighten his workload, since Andersen played more minutes than any goalie between 2016-19.
That hasn’t really happened, as Andersen still ranks third in starts and minutes among NHL goalies (and he’s on pace for 65 starts, one off his career high).
But maybe Andersen is simply built to be a workhorse. Consider his save percentages based on amount of rest days. It’s a small sample size, but the variance in these numbers is fascinating:
0 days rest (one game): .931 1 (15 games): .922 2 (12 games): .902 3 (nine games): .903 4+ (two games): .875
“I don't think fatigue is the issue,” Keefe told TSN’s Mark Masters on Jan. 12. “We've done a pretty good job managing that of late. In fact, when his workload was heavier he was playing better…
“So maybe it's something the other way, perhaps, we have to look to get him in a better rhythm.”
Maybe Andersen needs to play more regularly (if that’s even possible) to get himself going. Maybe he’ll see some positive regression because his track record is better than this. Maybe the eventual return of the team’s most-leaned-on defensemen will help. Maybe some of the coaching adjustments under Keefe are just starting to click.
That’s a lot of maybes. Here’s one thing that’s definitive: the Maple Leafs, Andersen included, have to be better.
“I think you've got to use this (bye) week to reflect,” Andersen said, “and make sure we come with more intensity and more purpose when we play after the break.”
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fe25c69e6fdd1caa585422b36026861b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanhorrobin/2020/06/08/who-will-blue-jays-pick-in-mlb-draft/ | Who Will Be The Blue Jays’ First Pick In The MLB Draft? | Who Will Be The Blue Jays’ First Pick In The MLB Draft?
CHICAGO, IL - JULY 22: Zac Veen #13 bats during the Under Armour All-American Game at the Wrigley ... [+] Field on July 22, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Stephen Green/MLB Photos via Getty Images) MLB Photos via Getty Images
Though MLB remains paused, the selection of future big leaguers will proceed — albeit in a substantially truncated format — with Wednesday’s draft.
There will be only five rounds, as opposed to the typical 40, meaning some significant (and unpredictable) free agency action is bound to follow.
Before thinking about that, let’s remember the Toronto Blue Jays hold the fifth overall selection in the draft, where they’re bound to find somebody with plenty of promise.
Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro recently told MLB.com, “Having the fifth pick this year, we’ll have a lot of focus on the three or four (players) we feel like are in our mix there.”
Here’s a closer look at the players he was likely talking about.
RHP Emerson Hancock, University of Georgia
6-foot-4, 213 pounds Previously drafted: 2017, 38th round (1,132nd overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks
Many believe Hancock has the highest floor among pitchers in this draft — so if he’s still around at No. 5, it won’t be surprising if the Blue Jays call his name.
He is long and strong like a prototypical power pitcher, with a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and tops out around 98. He also boasts a plus changeup and slider, both of which sit in the low-80s.
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The 21-year-old bulled his way into the 2020 draft conversation with a dominant sophomore season in 2019, when he posted a 1.99 ERA in 90 1/3 innings, while striking out 97 and walking only 18.
It’s worth noting that he missed part of that sophomore season — and the entire ensuing summer season — with arm soreness. But this spring, to the relief of scouting departments everywhere, he bounced back.
His 2020 campaign was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, as was the case for all ballplayers, but he’d gotten off to a solid start: 3.75 ERA in 24 innings, with 34 strikeouts and only three walks.
OF Zac Veen, Spruce Creek High School (Fla.)
6-foot-4, 190 pounds Bats left, throws right Previously drafted: N/A
In a pandemic-shortened season, Florida’s warm weather allowed Veen a chance to showcase his talents more than most of his prep counterparts around the country. With excellent size and a naturally smooth swing, the upside in Veen is intriguing.
Fangraphs’ assessment of the 18-year-old says this: “Of the high school hitters in this draft with big, projectable, athletic frames, Veen has the best present feel to hit. His in-the-box actions are quiet and smooth up until the moment he decides to unleash hell on the baseball.”
This past winter, Veen put on 15-20 pounds of good weight, according to one report, but he still has room to fill out as he matures. For now, just marvel at this swing:
via Perfect Game
Veen is committed to Florida, a reminder that he has more leverage in this COVID-19 era than college players do. That means he might be able to drive up his signing bonus beyond slot value.
For what it’s worth, The Athletic’s Keith Law wrote recently that he’d be “very surprised” if Toronto didn’t select a college player with its first pick.
2B Nick Gonzales, New Mexico State University
5-foot-10, 190 pounds Bats right, throws right Previously drafted: N/A
Gonzales is riding a meteoric rise that transformed him from undrafted high schooler, to college walk-on, to projected top-10 draft pick.
After batting nearly .600 as a high school senior in the Tucson, Arizona area, Gonzales walked on at New Mexico State and soon began destroying baseballs. His career slash in three years with the Aggies was .392/.484/.690, with 67 extra-base hits in 112 games.
But that doesn’t do justice to how exceptional he was in his brief showing this season: 16 games, 12 home runs, 36 RBIs and a 1.174 OPS.
He was, at the time of the NCAA’s stoppage, ranked top-five in the nation in home runs (first), runs (first), RBIs (first), total bases (first), slugging percentage (second), on-base percentage (third) and walks (fourth).
With that said, it’s difficult to know exactly how much weight those numbers carry given that Gonzales was playing in the Western Athletic Conference — not known for dominant pitching.
So perhaps his most impressive statistical feat was his performance in the Cape Cod league (the nation’s top collegiate summer league) in 2019, when he slashed .399/.502/.747. That should quell most scouts’ concerns in regard to his strength of competition.
The remaining concern with Gonzales is his defense, which lacks consistency. Fangraphs reported he will “botch some routine plays and make some spectacular ones, at times looking like a passable middle infielder and other (times) like he belongs in the outfield.”
RHP Max Meyer, University of Minnesota
6 feet, 185 pounds Previously drafted: 2017, 34th round (1,006th overall) by the Minnesota Twins
Meyer touched 101 mph with his fastball this year. It felt pertinent to lead with that.
Yes, he is a bit undersized, but not to the extent of another college righty the Blue Jays took in the first round eight years ago (Marcus Stroman is 5-foot-7, folks…and that worked out just fine).
What’s particularly intriguing with Meyer is that many believe he’d be ready for a big league call-up this year. With a shortened season that gives more hope for the playoffs, and a presumption of extended rosters, that’d be quite the boon for the Blue Jays.
The long-term concern for Meyer is that he might not be destined for the starting rotation. His lack of size is one thing, but the more pressing matter is his reliance on largely a two-pitch mix of fastballs and sliders.
The 21-year-old only made 15 starts in college. He began his Golden Gophers career as a reliever (nabbing 16 saves as a freshman), transitioned to the rotation during his sophomore year and was brilliant in four starts this season (3-1, 1.95 ERA, 46 strikeouts and 0.83 WHIP in 27 2/3 innings).
Meyer’s velocity is exciting and undeniable. His readiness for the majors is important to keep in mind. But the risk that he’ll turn out to be a reliever could give the Blue Jays some pause on draft day.
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eaea5bff7da6018b9f1af970acbf33a6 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanlulich/2018/06/14/consider-these-four-property-owner-responsibilities-before-purchasing/ | Consider These Four Property Owner Responsibilities Before Purchasing | Consider These Four Property Owner Responsibilities Before Purchasing
A recent survey showed that 64% of U.S. adults indicated that they believe home prices will continue to raise over the next year. This marks the highest percentage since before the market crash over 10 years ago. If you are in the market for a house, know what responsibilities come with a property owner.
Do I have to pay property taxes on my home?
The U.S. Census Bureau conducted a recent survey on the average American household. They found that the average family pays $2,127 per year on property taxes. These property taxes aren’t optional either, and they continue to rise. Between 2000 and 2010, property taxes rose to $476 billion from from $247 billion.
Failure to pay property taxes can lead to a forced sale of your home through a foreclosure proceeding. Additionally, the taxing authority may impose a tax lien and sell that tax lien. Ultimately, this could lead to the purchaser initiating foreclosure proceedings.
Am I responsible for property insurance?
Property insurance substantially serves the interests of the insured. These insurances provide financial compensation after a natural disaster or similar loss. In fact, one in 15 homeowners have a property insurance claim each year. Legally, you can own a home without property insurance; however, many lenders require that borrowers have property insurance on the home.
One consequence for failure to pay homeowners insurance and/or a cancellation of a homeowner’s insurance policy is foreclosure. It’s important to check the language of your mortgage for the following language: “Failure to pay insurance is a default.” If this is present in your mortgage, it this signifies that the lender has the right to foreclose the property against you for failure to pay property insurance.
What happens if I neglect to pay my mortgage payments?
In 2016, new first lien mortgages surpassed the $2 trillion mark for the first time since the end of the housing bubble nearly eight years prior. As the data indicates, more individuals are obtaining loans; however, it’s important to know what happens as a result for failure to pay those loans.
Mortgage payments are monthly payments to the lending institution from the borrower for principal interest on the home loan. Within as little of 90 days after a borrower fails to make a mortgage payment, the lender can initiate a foreclosure proceeding against the borrower. This means the lender can sell the house and collect the proceeds to apply towards the borrowed amount of the home.
Do I need to maintain the property?
Slip and falls are the sixth most serious cause of death. Over eight million people each year have to visit the hospital for this personal injury. One of the leading causes of slip and falls is from a homeowner’s failure to maintain his or her property. A homeowner cannot neglect or abandon their property without facing legal liability.
The law states that an owner has a duty to keep the property reasonable safe and make adequate repairs for anyone entering the property (except for unknown trespassers). These responsibilities do vary state to state. For example, in Florida a property owner can be responsible even if they did not have knowledge of the dangerous condition.
This responsibility extends to inspecting the property on a regular basis to discover any dangerous conditions and either repair them or provide notice (with a sign) to anyone who enters the property. The result for failure to maintain your property is that you can be sued for the personal injuries that are caused by your neglect.
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51615e9e696e81d345648b6defa491f7 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanlulich/2018/06/25/does-hurricane-damage-negatively-impact-your-real-estate-value/ | Does Hurricane Damage Negatively Impact Your Real Estate Value? | Does Hurricane Damage Negatively Impact Your Real Estate Value?
June 1 officially marked the beginning of hurricane season for 2018. The forecast for this year, according to Colorado State University, will be 14 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes. After the devastating hurricane season last year, with over $282 billion in damages, homeowners are considering the consequences of owning real estate on the Atlantic Ocean.
Last year, the Virgin Islands and Florida suffered severe damage from Hurricane Irma. Parts of the British Virgin Islands, United States Virgin Islands and Leeward Islands reported complete devastation. In fact, Florida hasn’t seen a major hurricane make landfall since Hurricane Wilma in 2005.
Why would I want to own real estate in the south where they experience many hurricanes?
Surprisingly, a hurricane has the opposite effect than what’s expected. Reports show that hurricane damages actually cause housing market prices to go up. Therefore, as a real estate investor, you should be inclined to invest in properties that surround the Atlantic Ocean due to this positive impact from these natural disasters.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas completed a study after investigating the hurricane impacts on housing markets in U.S. cities. They reported that the “typical hurricane strike raises house prices for a number of years, with a maximum effect of between 3 to 4% three years after occurrences.”
So there is no negative impact on the housing market from a hurricane?
While there is a positive long term impact as a result of hurricanes, reports show that home sales happen less frequent and at a lower cost immediately after a storm. Experts have reported that pending home sales drop by about 50% in Florida housing markets. However, as the study at Colorado State University found, this negative impact is short-lived. In Texas, after two months from the flooding left by Hurricane Harvey, 31% of residential neighborhoods saw an increase in median home prices.
This negative impact makes sense. Homeowners are busy recovering from the storm. For anyone who has experienced a storm, they know about the aftermath that homeowners are left to clean up. Minor repairs on the house, debris in the yard, long lines for gas, and shortages for food are all of just some tasks that keep property owners busy after a storm.
Should I rent in areas that can be hit by a hurricane instead?
The rental market also is impacted from hurricanes as well. According to a study focusing on the effects of pre-Katrina versus post-Katrina, New Orleans saw a sharp increase in rents after Hurricane Katrina. In fact, the report showed that this increase is common after hurricane storms, and was not just unique to Hurricane Katrina.
As evidence shows, it’s actually wiser to purchase a home since property values have a tendency to rise after these natural disasters. The cost of repair however may be a concern. The only way to protect yourself as a homeowner is to make sure that you are insured from any wind and water damage as a result of a hurricane.
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a0583c930ddf93730106a625d6b2d53d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanlulich/2018/06/30/is-building-a-new-house-realistic/?sh=8c63f3aae96a | Is Building A New House Realistic? | Is Building A New House Realistic?
Last year, the housing industry reached an 11-year high for residential construction in the United States. In fact, recent reports show that the inventory on the housing markets reached all-time lows. For this reason, prospective homebuyers are considering more now to build a new home due to the limited availability of residential homes and higher prices.
Is it possible to find a contractor?
As the construction industry continues to thrive, contractors are becoming even more busy. In smaller towns across the United States, it’s realistic to wait about 6 months in order for the contractor to commence work. On the other hand, it’s little easier to find a contractor in a larger city, since there are more options to choose from.
How much does new construction cost?
The average median home price is around $269,000 according to realtor.com. In addition to building the home, it’s important to consider the price of the land in which you want to build. Parcels that are located on the water, river, or lakes are most likely to be much more expense than a parcel of land found in the suburbs. In addition, a piece of property in the midst of the city is likely to be more expensive too.
To build a 2,000 square foot home, homeadvisor reports the cost per square foot is $150. Of course the price will certainly depend on the type of material that will be used. Although it’s slightly more expensive, many home buyers are electing to build block frame homes versus wood framed homes. This may be an important consideration if you plan to purchase real estate in hurricane related area.
Can I finance new construction or do I need to pay cash?
Building a home is considered to be much riskier than purchasing a home, at least in the eyes of lending institutions. It’s important to have a high credit score and as much as a 20-25% down payment on the total cost of the construction project. This means that a bank will not give you a construction loan unless you have 25% of the total loan in cash.
There are some alternatives to building a home. FHA offers a construction loan to build a new home. This is a loan offered by the government’s federal housing administration. This type of program offers down payments as low as 3.5% in some situations additionally a lower credit score may be accepted (around 620).
Consider the benefits of new construction
In contemplating whether it’s better to build or buy, there are many benefits to constructing your new home. No immediate repairs will be needed once you move into the house. It’s obvious that an older home will require more maintenance. You wont have this type of issue with a brand new home.
Additionally, there will be no hidden defects when you move into your newly constructed home. Often homebuyers report of termites, mold, or other issues when the purchase used homes. This simply wont happen to your new home, because everything is brand new. There are many benefits to building a new home, especially in todays economy.
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4656fd6579a6a7c43f28b0c9234a6100 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanlulich/2018/07/31/how-not-to-get-sued-when-selling-a-home/?sh=565604c013fa | Tips For Avoiding Legal Troubles When Selling Your Home | Tips For Avoiding Legal Troubles When Selling Your Home
Bob and his wife Ann purchased a home in Little Town, U.S. Before purchasing the home, they inspected the home and the sellers assured them that there were no problems in the home – both cosmetically and structurally. The house met their expectations, according to the seller’s representation of the home.
After Bob and Ann moved into the house, they discovered that when it rains, there is a terrible leak in the roof. They additionally found out that the seller had repaired the issue, but the repairmen had just simply patched up the hole and painted over the ceiling stains. The result? A lawsuit to recover for the cost of the repairs against the seller. The seller now has the responsibility to defend himself against this litigation and even has the possibility that they must pay. By understanding these rules, they will be sure to keep the seller from potential future legal trouble.
What type of disclosures should the seller make?
The best advice to follow is when in doubt, disclose. In order not to wind up like the seller of Bob and Ann’s home, it’s important to make the buyer aware of everything. In the above example, the seller should have warned the buyer's about the repair. A seller should disclose ANY minor or major problem with the house. If the defect is not obvious, then the buyer may not have the opportunity to discover it. Therefore, in order for the seller to protect him or herself from liability, the safest bet is report any known problems.
These problems can involve the structural or even the cosmetic conditions of the house. They can include problems such as:
Ceiling or Roof that leaks water Termites or any pests Issues involving the plumbing, air condition, walls, floors, windows, electrical unit, or exterior such as sidewalks, lawn, driveway, etc. Zoning ordinance violations Building code violations Deaths that occurred on the property Interior Flooding
Does the seller’s real estate agent have a duty also?
The seller’s agent represents the seller, and therefore has the same responsibility to disclose to the buyer any problems with the condition of the house. They are NOT permitted to conceal these problems. Additionally, the seller or his agent may be liable to the buyer for damages in a lawsuit. These damages include but are not limited to:
Equitable Relief: a court order that the seller should or should not take a certain action. This differs from the other type of damages which are monetary. Non-Economic Damages: compensation for pain and suffering Economic Damages: expenses that were made out of pocket such repairs or even lost profits as a result of the defect Punitive Damages: involves intentional and serious non-disclosures and awards compensation to deter future wrongdoing
Should the seller conduct a property inspection?
Home inspections are one of the leading issues for a real estate deal to fall through. As recently explained here, home inspections help to discover material and nonmaterial defects in a home. A home inspection is very useful for sellers. The home inspection can make the seller and the buyer aware of the defects in the home.
The seller can choose to repair and fix these defects, or they can attempt to sell the home with them. However, those sellers who wish to sell the home in it’s current condition (with existing defects), should certainly disclose the inspection report to the buyer. This relives the seller from liability, since they are making an active effort to disclose defects from a professional inspection.
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634a151f38c540ac77a3d2d7a8332665 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanmaglich/2012/12/20/meet-the-madoff-victims-that-profited-from-their-investment/ | Meet The Madoff Victims That Profited From Their Investment | Meet The Madoff Victims That Profited From Their Investment
It could be likened to the legal version of winning the lottery - a group of investors in Bernard Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme, once on the brink of having their $141 million claim denied and instead facing a $28 million clawback lawsuit, now stand to not only recover their initial investment but to legally realize a sizeable profit from the largest Ponzi scheme in history. But such a remarkable outcome- indeed, the first in memory - was not typical, and is due in large part to a clever legal strategy featuring multiple parties, multiple lawsuits, and, of course, deep pockets.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The tale starts with two Madoff "feeder funds", Beacon Associates ("Beacon") and Andover Associates ("Andover") (collectively, the "Funds"). The Funds were managed by Ivy Asset Management ("Ivy"), itself a subsidiary of financial behemoth BNY Mellon. Ivy's connections to Madoff's brokerage firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities ("BLMIS") dated back to the the late-1980's, and the Funds began investing with BLMIS in the mid-1990's . The Funds would invest nearly $170 million - 71% of client assets - over the life of their relationship with Madoff, while withdrawing only $25 million. When Madoff's fraud collapsed in December 2008, the Funds' investors suffered collective losses of over $140 million.
The bad news did not stop there. When investors attempted to file a claim for a portion of recoveries in the BLMIS bankruptcy estate, court-appointed trustee Irving Picard informed them that only the Funds - and not its investors - met the legal definition of a party entitled to share in recoveries. And, to add insult to injury, Picard denied the Funds' $141 million claim and instead filed a 'clawback' lawsuit seeking the return of over $28 million in distributions made to the Funds over the six-year period preceding the BLMIS bankruptcy filing. Investors hoping to recover at least a portion of their losses through the claims process saw those hopes dashed.
However, the adoption of a shrewd multi-faceted legal strategy now "virtually guarantees" that these investors will achieve what was previously unthinkable - realizing a legal profit from investing in a Ponzi scheme. And, no less, the largest Ponzi scheme in history.
The investors retained the law firm of Herrick, Feinstein LLP ("Herrick") which, through lead attorney Arthur Jakoby, recognized that the Funds' investors had viable claims against Ivy and the Funds, which was under investigation by the New York Attorney General ("NYAG") for withholding damaging information about Madoff and failing to conduct adequate due diligence on its Madoff investments. The NYAG later filed a class action lawsuit accusing Ivy and the Funds of fraud and breach of fiduciary duties (the "Class Action"). The Funds' investors soon joined the Class Action.
Meanwhile, Herrick continued to battle with Picard over the $28 million clawback lawsuit. After court-approved mediation proceedings began in February 2012, the parties ultimately settled the lawsuit nine months later. Under terms of the settlement, the Funds recognized Picard's clawback claim, and agreed to pay $24 million to the BLMIS estate to be added to the pot of funds collected for Madoff victims. In return, Picard agreed not only to recognize the Funds' claim for $141 million in losses, but to add the $24 million settlement payment to the allowed losses, resulting in a total claim of approximately $165 million. Most importantly, the settlement agreement contained the following language:
In contemplation of the potential settlement in the District Court Actions, the Trustee agrees that (i) he will not object to the Beacon/Andover Fund Defendants receiving funds from any of the other Settling Defendants or from certain other persons as recovery for losses due to Madoff, and (ii) any such payment will not affect the allowed claims of Beacon I and Andover Associates.
The District Court Actions referred to several consolidated lawsuits against Ivy and the Funds - one of which was the Class Action. The concession was crucial, for it freed the Funds' investors from any future scrutiny or intervention by Picard based on the amount of any recovery in the Class Action. Indeed, soon after the settlement with Picard was finalized, Herrick negotiated a settlement in the Class Action that would net the Funds' investors $99 million after legal fees and costs. Moreover, as part of the settlement, Ivy agreed to contribute $2 million toward the $24 million settlement with Picard.
Considered separately, the two settlements each represented positive outcomes for the Funds' investors. However, considered together, and coupled with the expectation that Picard's recovery efforts would likely result in total recoveries to victims of 65% to 80% of principal losses, these investors will have successfully (and legally) profited from investing in a Ponzi scheme. Based on the investors' $165 million claim, total distributions from the BLMIS estate could range from $107 million to $140 million. Factoring in the $99 million brings the total range of recoveries from $206 million to $239 million. Thus, an "investment" of $165 million (including the clawback claim) will net a positive return of at least 25% - with upside to a possible 45% recovery. And, should Picard exceed the estimated 65% - 80% recovery, investors will profit even further.
The key to the investors' success? Resolving the clawback claim and securing the release of any third-parties from whom the investors could turn to for compensation. Indeed, Picard took a strikingly different position in a recent proposed settlement between the NYAG and investors in the hedge fund of famed money manager J. Ezra Merkin. Seeking to block a proposed $410 million settlement, Picard claimed that the settlement encroached on his exclusive authority to recover assets for the benefit of Madoff's victims. The crucial difference? Little, if any, funds would remain to satisfy Picard's pending $500 million claim against Merkin and his hedge fund. Picard's lawsuit remains pending.
Picard has recovered over $9 billion in his role as trustee. To date, he has made two distributions to victims representing just under 40% of their allowed losses.
Picard's Motion to Approve Settlement is here.
The Order approving the settlement is here.
Jordan Maglich is an attorney at Wiand Guerra King P.L. in Tampa, Florida whose practice includes white-collar crime and securities and financial litigation. He also covers Ponzi schemes on his blog, PonziTracker. Follow him on Twitter at @PonziTracker.
Gallery: The 10 Biggest Frauds In Recent U.S. History 11 images View gallery
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6afd93f292e7266ba2261c346b51baa8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanmaglich/2013/05/21/once-reserved-for-drug-crimes-wiretapping-takes-center-stage-in-white-collar-prosecutions/ | Once Reserved For Drug Crimes, Wiretapping Takes Center Stage in White Collar Prosecutions | Once Reserved For Drug Crimes, Wiretapping Takes Center Stage in White Collar Prosecutions
“Today, tomorrow, next week, the week after, privileged Wall Street insiders who are considering breaking the law will have to ask themselves one important question: Is law enforcement listening?” - Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York
When the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act (the "Act") was passed in 1968, proponents lauded the Act as a new weapon against organized crime and its growing involvement in the importation and distribution of narcotics. For the first time, federal law enforcement was permitted to wiretap conversations of criminals with suspected involvement in a variety of serious offenses, including organized crime, gang-related activities, and drug trafficking. These techniques would prove to be a valuable addition to authorities' arsenal in fighting blue-collar crime.
Fast-forward forty-five years later. Where once reserved for violent and narco-related crime, the use of wiretaps has evolved to become a potent tool in the fledgling battle against white-collar crime. This article examines the history of wiretaps, their foray into white-collar crime prosecutions, and a potentially cloudy future.
Wiretaps: A History and Expansion
The use of wiretaps proliferated from the 1990s to the 2000s, with the amount of court-issued wiretap warrants surging from 1,190 in 2000 to 3,194 in 2010 - a nearly 200% increase. Their use, however, remained predominantly isolated to combating violent and drug-related crimes, owing partly to the strict process required for a judge to sign off. Indeed, many involved in passage of the bill recognized the fine line that existed between an individual's privacy rights and authorities' investigatory needs. The crafters recognized that any wiretap must be "conducted in such a way as to minimize the interception of communications not otherwise subject to interception," with a focus on preventing unnecessary intrusion into the target's privacy.
Wiretaps were intended to be a last resort, rather than a first choice, with Congress requiring that the government provide a "full and complete statement as to whether or not other investigative procedures have been tried and failed or why they reasonably appear to be unlikely to succeed if tried or to be too dangerous." The consequences of failing to heeding this admonition were severe - evidence resulting from an improperly obtained wiretap could be prohibited from use at trial. For organized crime and drug-trafficking cases, this standard was often easily overcome or satisfied, as there existed few alternatives in building a case that did not present a real risk of danger to both authorities and the public.
When compared to the perils faced in a drug or gang-related investigation, however, the ability to satisfy the conditions for obtaining a wiretap are not as clear cut. For example, the possibility of satisfying the "too dangerous" prerequisite is drastically reduced, since while violent acts are not entirely absent from white-collar crime, their prevalence is the exception rather than the norm. Thus, a showing would likely be required that other investigative procedures have been tried and failed. In white-collar crime investigations, criminal prosecutions are often aided by a parallel civil investigation that has the ability to utilize a variety of fact-finding techniques. Thus, rushing to obtain a wiretap before exhausting or at least exploring these avenues could potentially result in a later motion to suppress. Additionally, there is the chance that the subject could learn of authorities' suspicions, since while these investigations are usually not made public, a subject's acquaintance could receive a subpoena or even the subject himself could be requested to submit sworn testimony themselves.
When the Act was passed, electronic surveillance was authorized only during the investigation of a list of enumerated offenses. This list did not include white collar crimes, and was initially limited to crimes pertaining to organized crime and narcotics. However, the list was expanded over time, eventually including crimes such as mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud, and obstruction of justice in later amendments. Indeed, in early 2011, the Obama administration even proposed that wiretaps be authorized for prosecutions of criminal copyright and trademark offenses. Prosecutors also have the ability, as a result of Section 2517, to use properly obtained wiretap evidence to prosecute crimes that were not specifically listed in the Act. These revisions thus seemed to slowly lay the path for what would be an inevitable showdown with white-collar crime.
Wiretaps Meet White-Collar Crime
While the use of wiretaps in white-collar prosecutions was not unprecedented, its use had largely been limited to isolated occurrences that lacked any coordination or significance. However, it was authorities' decision to employ wiretaps in an insider-trading case that would mark the beginning of an unparalleled and aggressive entrance of wiretaps into white-collar crime jurisprudence.
In 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") opened an investigation into Raj Rajaratnam and his hedge fund, Galleon Group ("Galleon"), based on an uncanny pattern of well-timed trades that had resulted in handsome profits. Rajaratnam's Galleon Group was an example of the many rags-to-riches stories on Wall Street, with Galleon rising to prominence based on an impressive record of above-average returns that were credited to aggressive analyst research. It quickly went from managing $830 million in its first year to over $7 billion at its peak. This resulted in immense wealth for Rajaratnam, with Forbes pegging him as the world's 559th richest person in 2009 with a net worth of $1.3 billion.
Despite an extensive investigation that yielded millions of pages of documents, numerous interviews and subpoenas, and even sworn testimony from Rajaratnam himself, the investigation was generally not successful, and yielded little little evidence to support a case that Rajaratnam had engaged in insider trading. Indeed, unlike violent crime, drug-trafficking, or narcotic crimes, the underlying inherent acts of insider trading are inherently legal - there is no law against (attempting) to buy low and sell high in the high-stakes arena of Wall Street, where fortunes were regularly made (and lost). While the SEC gathered a substantial amount of circumstantial evidence pointing towards insider-trading, it was not viewed as enough to initiate a case against Rajaratnam.
After the SEC's investigation stalled, criminal authorities at the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York were brought up to speed. But criminal authorities were undeterred, and the investigation remained ongoing. One year later, on March 7, 2008, United States District Judge Richard J. Holwell received a government request for a wiretap on Rajaratnam's cell phone, with prosecutors explaining that "normal investigative techniques" had either been exhausted or had failed. Judge Holwell granted the request, and over the next nine months, the government would intercept over 2,000 calls between Rajaratnam and his accomplices. What followed would stun authorities as they discovered a deeply-entrenched insider-trading scheme with tentacles reaching deep into corporate America. By the end of 2008, authorities had amassed a treasure trove of information. Listen to some of these conversations here:
Wiretap 1
Wiretap 2
Wiretap 3
Among Rajaratnam and his group, the wiretaps showed that insider information was traded freely as a virtual currency For example, Rajaratnam disclosed in a call that ""I heard yesterday from somebody who's on the board of Goldman Sachs that they are going to lose $2 per share. The Street has them making $2.50." In another call, after learning that a company would be making a favorable announcement, Rajaratnam declared that "I blew it out today, because, I just said, I need to get back to basics, I'm gonna become Mr. October." A database of these transcripts is available here.
After learning that Rajaratnam was planning to leave the country, authorities brought criminal charges on October 16, 2009, charging Rajaratnam and five others with conspiracy and fraud charges. After surviving an attempt to have the wiretap evidence thrown out, the government obtained a guilty verdict, and Rajaratnam was sentenced to a record 11-year prison term. He is currently appealing the wiretap suppression before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, with eight former federal judges filing amicus curiae briefs on his behalf.
The wiretaps used to convict Rajaratnam resulted in numerous additional convictions against Rajaratnam accomplices, including Danielle Chiesi, Anil Kumar, and Rajat Gupta, and have served as the impetus in what has been an extraordinarily successful focus by authorities on insider trading. Indeed, the statistics paint a telling story - The SEC has filed more insider trading cases in the past three years than any three-year period in history, and criminal authorities have obtained more than seventy convictions. Authorities have seized on this momentum, and many more cases are expected.
Wiretap Evidence Extends Beyond Insider-Trading Prosecutions
As wiretaps have become increasingly prevalent in insider trading cases, authorities have started expanding their use of wiretaps in the prosecution of other white collar crimes, including a "pump and dump" stock manipulation scheme, and a massive Ponzi scheme.
In the case of Timothy Durham, who was notoriously pegged as the "Midwest's Madoff" after being convicted of running one of the largest Ponzi schemes in Ohio history, wiretaps played a pivotal role in Durham's conviction. In several recorded phone conversations between Durham and several of his co-conspirators, prosecutors captured conversations about plans to hide financial irregularities, how to handle investor redemption requests, and even the possibility of jail time for their actions. Armed with this evidence, a jury convicted Durham and his associates, and Durham later received a 50-year prison sentence - well above the average sentence for the amount of estimated losses.
Future Implications of Wiretaps in Investigating White-Collar Crime
As authorities become increasingly comfortable in using wiretaps to prosecute a growing variety of white-collar crime, the legal community is taking notice. Michael Volkov, a noted authority in the increasingly popular area of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") litigation, recently authored an article warning that wiretaps could soon extend to FCPA prosecutions. In a conversation with Forbes.com, Volkov noted that the FBI had recently arrested a senior executive of a mining company for FCPA and obstruction of justice violations based on recordings made by a cooperating witness. According to Volkov,
"There is no question that federal prosecutors will and want to use a wiretap to investigate and prosecute high-level executives who may be violating the FCPA."
Volkov's comments reflect a growing consensus that federal authorities would welcome the opportunity to employ wiretaps in previously-untested legal areas such as FCPA prosecutions As a surge in the use of wiretaps has proven successful in rooting out white-collar crime, authorities have not only touted their successes, but also insinuated that this approach could serve as a model blueprint. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated in a recent speech that
"This aggressive use of wiretaps is important. It shows that we are targeting white-collar insider trading rings with the same powerful investigative tools that have worked so successfully against the mob and drug cartels."
As Bharara warned after Rajaratnam was convicted, “When sophisticated business people begin to adopt the methods of common criminals, we have no choice but to treat them as such.”
However, while the future of wiretaps is certainly enticing from a prosecutorial standpoint, some have also urged restraint. Peter J. Henning, a professor at Wayne State University Law School and expert on white collar crime, authored a blog post at the New York Times' Dealbook urging that wiretaps be used very carefully, and warning that
The Justice Department needs to be careful, however, that it does not become so enamored of this tool that prosecutors rush to use it when it will not be effective, or worse, ignore the complex requirements for tapping telephones.
In closing, few can argue that authorities have amassed an impressive record fighting insider-trading that has been bolstered by the use of wiretaps. Indeed, the statistics are daunting - over seventy convictions and not a single acquittal over the past few years. However, while this streak has emboldened authorities, the war is far from over. Rajaratnam is currently appealing his conviction, arguing that the wiretaps should be thrown out. And as authorities increasingly turn to wiretap evidence, there is the chance that future court decisions will restrict, rather than increase, the use of wiretaps. Finally, there is the threat that criminals will stay a step ahead of authorities by embracing the latest and greatest technology, such as untraceable conversations or dialogues. But all can agree on one thing - the criminal activity will continue.
A copy of the Rajaratnam indictment is here.
Follow Jordan Maglich on Twitter at @Ponzitracker.
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229556c55f492f1897ca968aafc5f07d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanmaglich/2015/08/11/criminal-charges-filed-in-massive-alleged-cyber-insider-trading-ring/ | Criminal Charges Filed In Massive Alleged Cyber Insider Trading Ring | Criminal Charges Filed In Massive Alleged Cyber Insider Trading Ring
(Photo by Michael Bocchieri/Getty Images)
Federal authorities announced criminal charges against a massive alleged insider trading ring that reaped tens of millions of dollars in illicit profits by gaining unauthorized access to - and subsequently trading on - news releases announcing various mergers and acquisitions in numerous industries. The case, which is thought to be the largest of its kind brought to date, may herald a previously-unseen era of hackers seeking to profit off their efforts by coordinating with unscrupulous traders. The New York Times is reporting that five defendants named in an indictment have been arrested. The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed a parallel civil enforcement action earlier today.
According to authorities, several Ukraine-based hackers gained unauthorized access from 2010 to the present to news wire services, such as Business Wire, PR Newswire, and MarketWire, which major companies often use to make significant announcements including mergers and acquisitions. To accomplish this, the hackers employed the use of stolen username and password information of authorized users, deployed malicious computer code to delete evidence of the intrusions, concealed the identify and location of the computers used to perpetrate the attacks, and used back-door access modules. After gaining access to tens of thousands of early releases, those hackers allegedly passed that information on to a network of individuals in the United States who subsequently traded on that information in their retail brokerage accounts. The targets included major Fortune 500 firms such as Bank of America and Caterpillar . The hackers were compensated either by flat fee or based on a percentage of the trading profits.
The Securities and Exchange Commission estimates that the ring of traders ultimately profited by more than $100 million in illicit trading profits, with two traders alone reaping approximately $28 million of that amount. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the lead traders maintained brokerage accounts at nearly 10 different brokerage firms.
The scope of the operation and magnitude of alleged profits evokes parallels to the insider trading ring uncovered in 2009 involving former hedge fund magnate Raj Rajaratnam, whose arrest ultimately exposed an intricate insider trading ring that peddled inside information across Wall Street and profited handsomely. Rajaratnam is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence. However, Rajaratnam's scheme was centered around the trading of information from certain sources who gained access to the inside information through connections or their profession. The scheme alleged by prosecutors today, if true, involves a much more technologically-savvy operation involving the marriage of professional hacking and unscrupulous trading - a combination that authorities have long feared due to the intricate difficulties of detecting and prosecuting such crimes. Indeed, Bloomberg is reporting that criminal authorities only became aware of the operation through a referral from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has devoted significant resources to create new methods to detect insider trading through its market abuse unit.
UPDATE (8/11/2015, 9:51 A.M.): The Wall Street Journal has identified the following individuals as being charged in the indictment:
Ivan Turchynov; Oleksandr Ieremenko; Arkadiy Dubovoy; Igor Dubovoy; and Pavel Dubovox.
Messrs. Turchynov and Ieremenko are the alleged computer hackers who reside in Ukraine, while Arkadiy and Igor Dubovoy are traders living in Alpharetta, Georgia. A news conference has been scheduled for 11:30 a.m. EDT.
UPDATE #2 (8/11/2015, 11:59 A.M.): The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil fraud charges against 32 defendants, alleging an "unprecedented" scheme that reaped more than $100 million in illicit profits. A link to the SEC's Complaint is here.
Jordan Maglich is a securities law attorney at the Tampa, Florida law firm of Wiand Guerra King, and also writes frequently at Ponzitracker.com. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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c901ac8b2b638c02209801b7e48f84d4 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanmckee/2019/04/14/strong-customer-authentication/ | E-Commerce In Europe Is About To Change Forever | E-Commerce In Europe Is About To Change Forever
According to 451 Research's Global Unified Commerce Forecast, digital commerce sales in Western Europe will grow at a 17% CAGR between 2018 and 2022 , cresting to $1 trillion by the end of the forecast period. This rapid expansion of the market is bringing with it exciting opportunities but is not without consequences. Fraudsters are increasingly migrating into digital channels, sparking a growing need for improved risk management and robust customer authentication.
Regulators in Europe have chosen to address growing complexities in the digital commerce fraud landscape with Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), a fast-approaching regulation intended to mitigate fraud by mandating a more uniform and stringent approach to authentication. SCA has significant and far-reaching implications across the value chain and will have a direct and potentially unfavorable impact on merchants' checkout flows. SCA may lead to a rise in cart abandonment Getty What is SCA? SCA is being introduced in the European Economic Area (EEA) as part of the Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) regulation. It applies to customer-initiated purchases that take place in Europe, so long as both the cardholder's issuing bank and the merchant's payment provider (e.g., acquirer) are located within the EEA. Under SCA, digital commerce transactions in Europe must be verified by two mutually independent forms of authentication starting on September 14, 2019. EMV 3DS (3D-Secure 2) will be the primary vehicle for payment providers and card issuers to implement SCA. It is the decision of the card issuer to settle on the authentication methods and factors it elects to leverage during a transaction. The three possible types of authentication issuers must choose from include: Something you know, such as a password or PIN (note that this does not include payment card information). Something you possess, such as a smartphone or wearable. Something you are, such as a fingerprint biometric or facial scan. Transactions that fail to meet these requirements will be declined unless they qualify for an exemption. What's Exempt? Not all transactions are required to adhere to SCA. Key exemptions include: Merchant-initiated transactions. This includes recurring purchases of the same amount made to the same merchant, such as gym memberships and digital services subscriptions. An important caveat is that SCA will be required for the initial payment to the merchant. At this time, metered billing subscriptions (e.g., subscriptions of varying monthly amounts, such as a utility bill) and various other types of 'off-session' payments (e.g., crowd funding) will not be included as part of this exemption. Low-value transactions. Purchases under €30 are exempt from SCA. However, SCA will be required once five transactions below €30 have been made or the total value of those transactions reaches €100. At that time, SCA will be applied and then the 'transaction count' will be reset. Trusted beneficiaries. Under this exemption, cardholders can request that their card issuer 'white-list' a merchant so that SCA need not be applied to future transactions. The onus is on the card issuer to manage white lists for each cardholder. This exemption is worthy of close consideration by merchants and their payments partners to ensure that frequent customers have the best possible checkout experience. Merchants (especially those reliant on card-on-file transactions) should work with their payments partners to streamline the process for customers to add them to a white list. Transaction Risk Analysis (TRA). TRA is perhaps the most important exemption because it allows merchants to skirt SCA requirements if their payment provider's aggregate fraud rate (e.g., across all the provider's customers) is below certain thresholds. These fraud thresholds are .13% for transactions under €100, .06% for transactions between €100 and €250 and .01% for transactions between €250 and €500. Permitted the payment provider's fraud rates stay beneath these thresholds, real-time risk analysis can be applied to the transaction to assess if SCA should be applied. Secure corporate card payments. Transactions made with a corporate card will be exempt from SCA if the card is 'lodged' (e.g., stored with a travel agency that makes airline bookings on behalf of employees) or a virtual card number is used for the transaction. It's important to note that applying an exemption is optional. When an exemption is applied as part of EMV 3DS, the fraud liability will fall back on the payment provider (and often, ultimately the merchant) instead of the card issuer, which will own the fraud liability on all transactions where SCA is applied. Further, it is ultimately the decision of the card issuer to support and accept an exemption. We expect that it will be highly unlikely all issuers will be prepared to support every exemption by September 14. What's the Market Impact? The onset of SCA has significant implications for merchants in Europe that sell in digital channels in addition to many of those selling cross-border into Europe. Among the most pertinent is the impact on the checkout experience, which stands to see added friction through the introduction of additional steps to complete a purchase. While cart abandonment and decreases in conversion rates are legitimate concerns, on the flipside is the prospect of improved authorization rates and a reduction in fraud losses should SCA play out as intended. Importantly, SCA also creates an opportunity for a competitive advantage. Those merchants best able to integrate SCA into their checkout flow and effectively apply exemptions will separate themselves from the pack by minimizing customer impact. To achieve this, it will be critical to align with payment providers that have a deep commitment to the customer experience and can deliver a comprehensive and streamlined response to SCA.
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dcd8680792c63703a9c248cd38e26088 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanmckee/2019/08/08/mobile-contactless-payments-will-account-for-less-than-2-of-us-retail-sales-this-year/ | Mobile Contactless Payments Will Account for Less Than 2% of US Retail Sales This Year | Mobile Contactless Payments Will Account for Less Than 2% of US Retail Sales This Year
The push for mobile contactless payment adoption in the US has been a decade-long journey entailing a multibillion-dollar investment in wallet development, POS hardware and consumer marketing. To date, the results have been underwhelming, with payment methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay forecasted to account for just 1.6% ($78.6bn) of US brick-and-mortar retail sales this year, according to 451 Research's Global Unified Commerce Forecast. Consumer payment habits die hard, and without a measurably better value proposition, habitual behaviors like reaching for a card from a leather wallet will beat out mobile alternatives every time.
Contactless mobile payments have yet to see widespread uptake (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) ASSOCIATED PRESS
The reasons mobile contactless payments have yet to become a breakout success are many:
Lack of a measurably better value proposition than plastic cards. Currently, contactless wallets are solving for a problem most people don't have – issues using traditional payment methods at the point of sale (POS). Plastic credit and debit cards aren't broken, and while it can be argued that contactless wallets are slightly faster than an EMV transaction, it's not enough to move the adoption needle for the average consumer. According to 451's 2H 2018 VoCUL Representative Survey, the top two reasons consumers aren't using mobile payments are 'a preference for using traditional payment methods' and 'no need/not interested,' which together are cited by 50% of nonusers. Until wallets become a noticeably better way to pay than what already exists, take-up will struggle to cross the chasm from early adopters to mainstream consumers. Limited merchant buy-in for value-added services. The acceptance network for contactless mobile payments in the US continues to grow, in large part thanks to the transition to EMV that began in 2015. Today, more than 60% of Visa's US transactions occur at a contactless-enabled merchant location, and 80 out of Visa's top 100 merchants by transactions in the US currently offer customers the ability to 'tap to pay' at checkout. While acceptance is growing, merchants have been slow to implement value-added-services capabilities offered by the like of Apple Pay and Google Pay, which enable single-tap redemption of loyalty and rewards during a contactless transaction. This requires both software updates to the POS terminal and mobile development work, which merchants have not prioritized, largely due to the relatively low usage of contactless mobile payments among their customers. 451's survey reveals that the ability to 'receive discounted offers on products/services' is enough to encourage nearly one in three non-digital-wallet users to adopt. Security misconceptions. Since 451 Research began tracking consumer mobile payment sentiments nearly a decade ago, security concerns have continuously registered as a top factor throttling adoption. Just one in four consumers believe that digital wallet transactions are very secure, and little more than one in three think they are more secure than traditional credit cards. Furthermore, 'security against fraud that is better than traditional payment cards' ranks as the top reason cited by nonusers that would encourage them to use a digital wallet. This is somewhat perplexing, given wallets like Apple Pay bring to the table technologies including biometrics and payment tokenization that significantly enhance their security compared with plastic cards. The onus is on all value chain participants – including wallet providers, card issuers and payment networks – to enhance consumer education and dispel lingering misconceptions.
Despite the slow start, there is reason for optimism for the long-term prospects for contactless mobile payments in the US. For one, the enabling infrastructure, which was arguably the biggest challenge for the industry up until now, has finally fallen into place. 451's consumer research shows that 94% of US iPhone owners have an Apple Pay-compatible device, and Visa data shows the majority of US card volume is now flowing through contactless-enabled POS terminals. With a foundation for growth in place, the focus must now shift from enablement to value.
The migration of major transit systems, including New York's MTA and Boston's MBTA, to open-loop contactless ticketing will be an important inflection point for contactless payments. Instead of having to guess transit-card balances and wait to load funds at outdated machines located in metro stations, many consumers will soon be able to utilize a credit or debit card linked to their contactless wallet to move through the turnstiles. This is already a reality in Portland, Oregon, and Chicago. Transit is an important use case because it elevates mobile as a superior way to pay by minimizing friction, and it is a high-frequency, habit-forming activity that may encourage consumers to use their wallets at different types of merchants.
The work Apple is doing to expand use cases for near field communication (NFC) beyond payments is also enouraging. For instance, Apple has partnered with Ticketmaster on contactless ticketing and PayByPhone for parking to eliminate the need to enroll in an app. Furthermore, it is engaging merchants like Dairy Queen and Caribou Coffee on NFC tags that streamline signup for their loyalty programs. These types of nonpayment use cases are important developments that enhance the overall value of contactless mobile wallets and increase consumer comfort with NFC technology.
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a81626aba24bd2c84698a73bfbac76c0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanmckee/2020/04/10/fraud-an-inevitable-symptom-of-covid-19/?sh=2b1c7b0e7582 | Fraud: An Inevitable Symptom Of COVID-19 | Fraud: An Inevitable Symptom Of COVID-19
For criminals, the confusion, distraction and vulnerability stemming from crises spells opportunity. The coronavirus outbreak is no exception. Fraud trends are rapidly emerging as bad actors look to turn a quick profit on the global pandemic.
More than half of merchants expect online sales to increase due to the coronavirus outbreak 451 Research, Part of S&P Global Market Intelligence
More purchase volume is moving into online sales channels as a result of store closures. According to a mid-March survey by 451 Research, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, 52% of US merchants expect their online sales to be higher due to the coronavirus outbreak. Fraudsters take this as an opportunity to more easily blend in with legitimate customers, and already reports of increases in card testing attacks and buy online/pick up in-store fraud are mounting. Criminals are also setting their sights on bigger ticket items. ACI Worldwide noted that in March, fraudulent attempted transactional value grew by 13% Y/Y as fraudsters increased their focus on categories like electronics.
Merchants should expect fraud to diversify. As spending-conscious consumers flock to mobile order-ahead apps, one unique form of fraud likely to spike is promotion abuse. A common tactic is abuse of new user promotions, whereby users generate bogus emails to reap free referral credits. According to Forter, at the beginning of January there was a 7.5% growth rate of new accounts being opened on food service sites; at the end of March this new account rate had skyrocketed to 36%. Economic hardship brought on by the coronavirus may also fuel increases in item-not-received (INR) fraud and friendly fraud as cash-strapped consumers look to put money back in their pockets.
Returns abuse is also likely to rise with quarantined consumers engaging in practices such as boredom shopping. Buyer's remorse is a common byproduct of this behavior and may lead to widespread abuse of return policies after shoppers realize their impulse purchases (like a puzzle or gaming system) are no longer necessary, just prior to the end of the return window. On the other end of the spectrum, retailers and marketplaces must watch for consumers that are hoarding essential items and engaging in retail arbitrage.
Growth in account takeovers should also be expected. There is a lucrative market for loyalty points on the dark web and login credentials for accounts loaded with points can fetch hundreds of dollars. With the precipitous decline in travel, consumers are less likely to spot suspicious activity in their airline and hotel accounts, making them ideal targets for criminals.
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Phishing scams, which are all too common during crises, are also increasing. The FBI, WHO, IRS and Secret Service have independently issued warnings about COVID-19-related scams, which have included fake charities requesting donations and sites claiming to provide a coronavirus vaccine. Fraudsters use these scams to harvest sensitive data like credit card numbers, later offloading them for a profit on the dark web.
We must also remember that criminals traditionally focusing on in-store fraud such as card skimming will plausibly begin to shift their efforts elsewhere as a result of store closures. While online fraud is a natural pivot, they may also engage in mail theft and new account fraud as waves of stimulus checks begin to hit mailboxes across the country.
The upshot
Fraud patterns are evolving quickly as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Merchants must monitor this activity closely to avoid further loses. Those with heavy reliance on manual reviews should seek out automation, especially in the event of widespread illness across their fraud operations teams. It’s also critical to watch for fraud across the entirety of their customer journey. Bad actors are increasingly diversifying their efforts by exploiting less-protected touchpoints.
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eed6059cc7f699611b812228fe0bcce6 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanpassman/2016/11/02/intel-netflix-apple-and-the-power-and-influence-of-sonic-branding/ | Intel, Netflix, Apple And The Power And Influence Of Sonic Branding | Intel, Netflix, Apple And The Power And Influence Of Sonic Branding
(David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)
Twenty-two years ago, three seconds of audio comprised of five musical notes was written to help a tech brand with its marketing. Today, you can’t think of Intel without hearing the iconic “Intel Inside Bong.” You’ve heard it so many times, even with different variations, but the core five note progression is always the same. How can something so simple be so effective? Well, when you really examine Intel’s use of the mnemonic, you realize that it’s hugely associated with its brand, and its success. What you hear are adjectives that the company wants you to associate with Intel: A modern, trustworthy, sleek, intelligent, simple and efficient brand. According to Walter Werzowa, the composer of the Intel theme, the mnemonic is worth millions of dollars, which shouldn’t be surprising to anybody. Werzowa worked closely with Intel to craft the theme in 1994 - today, it’s older than most college students!
I reached out to Yogiraj Graham, Director of Production for Intel Global Production Labs, who explained, "The Intel bong is one of the most powerful assets we have. We’re always looking for ways to showcase the amazing experiences that Intel enables, and the Intel bong sound helps keep our messaging consistent."
Apple is another brand that has prioritized crafting beautiful sounds for their users to associate with their experience. Whether you are scrolling through the soothing sounds of your Apple TV on a lazy Sunday, rebooting your computer at work or receiving a highly-anticipated text message, you are met with pleasant and carefully thought out sonic branding.
Netflix has also done an amazing job with their logo mnemonic, which I’ve heard is a nod to Frank Underwood’s infamous double table knock in House of Cards.
There are so many more--AOL’s “You’ve Got Mail,” the McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It,” Nationwide’s “Nationwide is on your side,” the THX “Deep Note,” NBC’s “Chimes”—all are powerful examples of logo branding. With a mention of the name, you can hear the brand.
According to the Harvard Business Review, research presented at the 2012 Audio Branding Congress showed that “congruent sound cues can increase the speed of a visual search for products (a key for success in both online and retail settings), as well as improve the perceived taste of food and wine." In addition, “the strategic use of sound can play an important role in positively differentiating a product or service, enhancing recall, creating preference, building trust, and even increasing sales.”
In a world where every company feels the mandatory importance of visual logos, you have to wonder why there are still plenty of brands that don’t take advantage of this incredible branding tool.
One hurdle is that the process of creating your own sound and logo mnemonic can be challenging and expensive for brands. If you’re not confident with music/sound direction, it may be much easier to pick apart what isn’t working, rather than creating your own brief for a composer to work with. This is why industry leaders attempt to simplify the process. If you can speak in your native language about the general marketing strategy for your company and how you want to be portrayed, a great sonic branding firm can translate that into sound. Experts in the industry close deals up to the high six figures for their professional services. A package often includes the core melody (let’s use the five notes from Intel, for example) and then additional versions with various instrumentations for different moods (an acoustic version, an electronic version, a full version, a simplified version etc.). The mnemonic must be built to scale, from massive stadiums or to a mobile device, the quality must be exceptional.
So how can you keep a long-standing mnemonic fresh? Earlier this year, in collaboration with ad agency mcgarrybowen (music production by Jerry Krenach & Jean Scofield), Intel launched a global TV spot using an inventive musical adaptation created by the mnemonic legend himself, Werzowa. According to Graham, "With a mixture of pride and humility, [Werzowa] once said to me, 'The Intel bong is the emperor of Mnemonics.' I think he’s right. We hold it dear and recognize its power. The piece of music he created for our campaign brought together Beethoven’s 5th symphony and the sound of the Intel bong. The desire was for people to hear those 5 notes in a completely new way. The result was extraordinary." Hear it below:
Will you or your company inspire the next “Intel Inside” logo mnemonic?
Hey! You made it to the end of the article and that’s awesome. This is my first of many articles as a regular contributor for FORBES. You will find more content like this on my page going forward, and I would love to hear from you with commentary and story ideas, or if you want to say hello and introduce yourself. Thanks so much and happy reading!
-Jordan Passman
I am one of FORBES’ 2014 30 under 30: Music entrepreneurs. A native to Los Angeles, I founded SCORE A SCORE in May 2010 and run the company from our headquarters in West Hollywood, CA. SCORE A SCORE helps musicians and composers discover exciting opportunities in the music-for-picture industry, while providing media-makers an outlet to access top-tier musical talent from around the globe. Our innovative approach to music licensing, creation, placement, and supervision has been featured in Inc. Magazine (2016 – ranked #1492 on the annual Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies and #22 in the media companies category), Forbes, Rolling Stone, The Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Billboard, Mashable, LA Times, Businessweek, Indiewire and AOL. Through SCORE A SCORE I have worked with the biggest companies, brands and film franchises in the world, including Google, Verizon, Apple, Intel, Microsoft, Salesforce, Fox, NBC, CBS, Disney, Universal, Paramount, Netflix, MasterCard, Target, Honda, Subaru, Pfizer and many more.
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ebc95513282bdc6d0bc5fb084ea9e187 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanpassman/2016/11/10/spotify-swims-upstream-in-cd-obsessed-japan/ | Spotify Swims Upstream In CD-Obsessed Japan | Spotify Swims Upstream In CD-Obsessed Japan
Daniel Ek (Spotify CEO) launches Spotify in Japan (Courtesy of Spotify)
I just got back from a trip to Japan, and by far one of the most surprising and exciting cultural discoveries was the refreshing respect for music. From the jazz clubs in Kyoto to the massive Tower Records store in Shibuya (occupying nine floors), music, and the business behind it, is thriving.
Coincidentally, I happened to be there during the Spotify roll out, a first-time major streaming player in a nation where CDs reign supreme. A spokesperson from Spotify explained to me that while CD sales are significant, they have "have been falling gradually over recent years, as well as being centered around a relatively small pool of artists." Music fans will pay up to $30 for an album (the "premium" albums are accompanied by posters, toys, calendars, etc.), and streaming has massive potential for growth.
According to the Japan Times, “As the CD goes virtually extinct and digital downloads thrive everywhere else, they account for about 80% of Japanese sales.”
The music market in Japan is actually the second-largest music market globally, with close to three billion in sales per year.
Local musicians dominate CD sales, according to Ichiro Asatsuma, Chairman of Fujipacific Music Inc., one of Japan’s leading music publishers for over 50 years. He explained that the market is “85-90% Japanese artists and the remaining 10-15% is for international artists, including classical music.”
Spotify is optimistic about their presence in Japan. "We expect Spotify and music streaming in general to have a positive impact on the industry and also music fans, who’ll have instant access to so many more artists, and vice versa," says a Spotify spokesperson. "We’re the biggest driver of growth for the music industry globally, while introducing music fans to a far greater diversity of artists and genres. Crucially, Japanese artists will get exposure to our 100 million music fans around the world."
(Courtesy of Spotify)
Will streaming become the mainstream? I think so (eventually), but one unfavorable comparison would be to examine Hulu and Netflix. The Japan Times reports that those streaming content companies have “barely dented the video-rental market as chains like Tsutaya thrive.”
However, Spotify argues, "We’ve launched a music service in Japan unlike anything that’s come before us: a powerful new music experience, with best-in-class discovery and personalization, which crucially is available to everyone."
Asatsuma thinks that the Spotify launch (which is invite-only as of September 29th, 2016) will have a “good impact on the Japanese music scene, especially for young people.”
Germany's music market is the most comparable to Japan's (Germany standing as No. 3 in the world). Spotify launched there in March 2012, and explained that the "combined sales of physical and digital revenue grew 4.6% last year, which was more than double the rate in 2014 and three times the rate in 2013. By offering both free and subscription services, Spotify has connected over 100 million fans with artists across the world. We'll be looking to open up the service to everyone in Japan in the near future."
Do you believe in Spotify's path to success and the power of "freemium" driven growth? I want to hear from you, so comment below.
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0a3c7dd5406aa83831703af4ff2f6c67 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanpassman/2016/11/11/goodbye-leonard-cohen-the-story-behind-hallelujah-and-the-5-best-cohen-covers/ | Goodbye, Leonard Cohen - The Story Behind 'Hallelujah' And The 5 Best Cohen Covers | Goodbye, Leonard Cohen - The Story Behind 'Hallelujah' And The 5 Best Cohen Covers
Leonard Cohen performs during a concert on Sint-Pietersplein in Ghent, on August 12, 2012. (NICOLAS... [+] MAETERLINCK/AFP/GettyImages)
The world lost a true musical legend, lyrical genius and poetic mastermind yesterday. After an influential 60-year career, Canadian-born Leonard Cohen passed away at the age of 82.
In addition to an amazing career as solo artist, Cohen’s music also inspired other performers to create some of the greatest covers of all time – each utilizing their unique artistry to interpret his music, while capitalizing on his powerful lyrics and dreamy melodies.
Perhaps one of the most popular covers in history, “Hallelujah,” was not an immediate success for Cohen as an artist himself. The song debuted on his 1985 album, Various Positions. It took Cohen five years to write it, according to his biography, I’m Your Man, and the album didn’t even make the charts in the U.S.
Then, in 1991, John Cale covered the song on a Cohen tribute album entitled, I’m Your Fan, which ultimately inspired the "Holy Grail" of covers – Jeff Buckley’s version.
By late 2008, Buckley’s version sold more than five million copies, and has been used in many television shows, such as The West Wing, Crossing Jordan, Without a Trace, The O.C., House, Dirt, Criminal Minds, ER, Ugly Betty, NCIS and many more.
From a financial standpoint, this works in Cohen’s favor, as in accordance with U.S. copyright law, any artist releasing a cover of another writer’s work must purchase a compulsory mechanical license (based on number of units sold, both physically and digitally) which compensates the original songwriter and publisher for use of their material.
These statutory rates are regulated by the government, and unlike synchronization licenses which must be negotiated and approved by copyright holders on a case-by-case basis, anyone can purchase a mechanical license and create a cover song without artist and/or third party consent (often through an automated clearing house such as The Harry Fox Agency). Given the low barrier to entry, and the proven success of the foundational song, it’s no surprise that over 300 artists have reportedly released covers of “Hallelujah,” including Rufus Wainwright (as heard in the film Shrek), Neil Diamond, Justin Timberlake, K.D. Lang, Bob Dylan and more.
With the current statutory rates for physical formats (CDs, cassettes, LPs) and permanent digital downloads at: 9.10¢ per copy for songs five minutes or less, or 1.75¢ per minute or fraction thereof, per copy for songs over five minutes, “Hallelujah" is a great example of how pennies can lead to a fortune in the aggregate for songwriters.
When asked about its success, Cohen stated, “I think it’s a good song, but I think too many people sing it.”
You will be missed, Mr. Cohen.
Here are the five best Leonard Cohen covers that you should listen to today:
Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
If It Be Your Will – Anohni
Dance Me to the End of Love – The Civil Wars
Suzanne – Nina Simone
First We Take Manhattan - R.E.M.
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Jordan Passman is the Founder & CEO of SCORE A SCORE, an LA-based company focused on simplifying custom music and licensing.
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b1e140e74bc970399846eafb472b3f31 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanpassman/2016/11/23/the-worlds-most-relaxing-song/ | The World's Most Relaxing Song | The World's Most Relaxing Song
A golden sunset in Blackpool, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Listening to music is a universally accessible path to unwind, increase productivity and fall asleep when we’re overly stimulated. British ambient band, Marconi Union, incorporated scientific theory to unlock “the world’s most relaxing song.”
Similar to the collaboration between a music composer and filmmaker, the band worked closely with sound therapists during the creation process. With the goal of lowering a listener’s blood pressure, stress levels and heart rate, the song utilizes a peaceful production landscape filled with dreamy rhythms, melodies and complimentary instruments (featuring piano, guitar and electronic samples of natural soundscapes). Like the soothing sounds of a waterfall in nature, one can follow the movement and layers as they effortlessly induce a dreamlike state. In fact, the song is considered so effective that it’s dangerous to listen to while driving!
Richard Talbot from Marconi Union said, "It was fascinating working with a therapist to learn how and why certain sounds affect people's mood. I always knew the power of music but we have previously written using gut feeling."
According to Mindlab International, the group behind the research, the power of this song is outstanding compared to any other song they have ever tested. “Weightless” induces a 65% reduction in anxiety and a 35% reduction in usual physiological resting rates.
Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson from Mindlab International explained, "Brain imaging studies have shown that music works at a very deep level within the brain, stimulating not only those regions responsible for processing sound but also ones associated with emotions.”
But what is it about the song itself that makes it so effective? According to Lyz Cooper, the founder of the British Academy of Sound Therapy, there are basic musical principles that correlate with relaxation. She explains that the song “contains a sustaining rhythm that starts at 60 beats per minute and gradually slows to around 50.” The listener’s heartbeat will naturally slow down to match the track’s BPM (beats per minute). The song’s length is also critical. Cooper explains, “It takes about five minutes for this process, known as entrainment, to occur. And there is no repeating melody, which allows your brain to completely switch off because you are no longer trying to predict what is coming next.”
So how can we incorporate the positive and powerful effects of sound therapy into the practical settings of our day-to-day lives? Some believe that introducing music into stress-inducing activities (such as test-taking) can reduce anxiety and improve performance. The town of Lancaster, CA plays the tranquil sounds of birds chirping through loudspeakers along their downtown strip, which is believed to have reduced the local crime rate (minor misdeeds by 15% last year, and serious crimes by 6%), since its launch. Perhaps offices that play calming music can help to improve their employees’ stress levels and productivity.
While there’s sill a lot of research to be done in this space, it’s clear that music has the power to help us clear our heads, relax and focus. We all know the value of sleep and relaxation, and toxicity of stress and anxiety. So keep this as a resource in your back pocket to unwind, on-demand, any time you need it. Having trouble falling asleep? Drift off to this 10-hour version of “Weightless”:
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Jordan Passman (@TheJPPass) is the Founder & CEO of SCORE A SCORE, an LA-based company focused on simplifying custom music and licensing.
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9141892605438047863cbd6ac7c77e99 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanpassman/2017/01/10/moby-will-perform-at-trumps-inauguration-under-one-condition/ | Moby Will Perform At Trump's Inauguration Under One Condition | Moby Will Perform At Trump's Inauguration Under One Condition
LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 27: DJ Moby performs onstage during FYF Fest 2016 at Los Angeles Sports... [+] Arena on August 27, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for FYF)
“Hahahahaha, wait, Hahahaha, really?” This is just a part of iconic electronic artist Moby’s dumbfounded response to the invitation he received from the Trump campaign to DJ one of the inaugural balls.
Moby (who is a publicly outspoken libertarian) revealed this news yesterday via an Instagram post, in which he goes on to say if he were to accept the invite, he would play Public Enemy and Stockhausen to “entertain the Republicans.” He also sarcastically offered to consider the gig in lieu of payment if Trump would release his highly anticipated tax returns to the public.
Moby is known for his veganism, animal rights activism and electronic music, none of which seem to align with Trump’s overall political agenda. Can you imagine the throng of Trump supporters holding their lighters to the sky as Moby starts playing his dreamlike jam "Porcelain?" The invite seems bizarrely out of touch for the Trump Campaign, especially considering Moby’s “Open Letter to America”, in which he made his feelings towards Trump very clear, with statements such as “Donald Trump is a racist and a misogynist who has ruined countless businesses and will be the worst president our country has ever, ever seen.”
That said, from a strategic standpoint, securing Moby’s support could help to open up a whole new demographic of Trump supporters, as the power and influence of an admired (and opinionated) artist could go a long way with his wide fan base.
With a career that’s spanned decades, Moby has sold over 20 million records worldwide, holds multiple Grammy Awards nominations and is noted by many as one of the pioneers of electronic music into the mainstream market. With this undeniable credibility and a loyal, multi-generational following, you can’t blame Trump for trying to extend the olive branch - however, to the very"‘slim" demographic of Trump/Moby cross-over fans, I wouldn’t hold your breath for this to happen.
To play out the fantasy, Billboard reached out to Moby to see what other songs would make the cut on his inaugural playlist – selects include: “I’m So Bored With The U.S.A.” (The Clash), “Killing in the Name” (Rage Against the Machine), “Idioteque” (Radiohead) and “American Idiot” (Green Day). The last song on the playlist? Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit," a track which was written in the 1930's to protest racism and the lynching of black people. This being particularly timely because Rebecca Ferguson recently told Trump's team that she would play the event if she could sing that song. You can check out the full playlist here.
Trump has suffered a publicly exposed hard time securing A-list performers for his inauguration, which is a reflection of how many big artists refuse to be associated with welcoming the President-elect. Boris Epshteyn, director of communications for the Inaugural Committee, dismissed the absence of major musicians in an interview on CNN in December. “This is not Woodstock,” Epshteyn said. “It’s not summer jam. It’s not a concert.” Other invited but declined acts include The Beach Boys and Sir Elton John. The artists who are currently confirmed for the inaugural performance include Jackie Evancho, Big & Rich, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Cowboy Troy and (those willing members of) The Rockettes. While the campaign finalizes these performances for Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, we know not to count on superstar acts that happily supported President Barack Obama, like Beyoncé and Yo-Yo Ma.
And on the other side of the spectrum, Common and The National have been confirmed to play “Show Up!” - a free concert hosted the night before inauguration day by Planned Parenthood and All Access, which is a “call to action for supporters of reproductive freedom to take action wherever they are.”
While this may just be another kooky anecdote in the story of this election, it is a great example of the impact that artists and music have on our society, and it’s not just limited to the entertainment that we all adore.
Jordan Passman is the Founder & CEO of SCORE A SCORE, an LA-based company focused on simplifying custom music and licensing.
Keep up on Twitter @TheJPPass
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120a95973ca16aedd4950568b7a1b46a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanpassman/2017/01/12/vinyl-is-officially-booming-the-new-billion-dollar-music-business/ | Vinyl Sales Aren't Dead: The 'New' Billion Dollar Music Business | Vinyl Sales Aren't Dead: The 'New' Billion Dollar Music Business
Photographer: Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg
Vinyl records are projected to sell 40 million units in 2017, with sales nearing the $1 billion benchmark for the first time this millennium. This impressive milestone has been untouched since the peak of the industry in the 1980s. While explosive by today’s standards, according to Deloitte, in its heyday (‘81), total vinyl album sales surpassed 1 billion units in just that year alone.
The record industry’s hunters and gatherers have been busy collecting. According to Deloitte, new vinyl records and revenue will enjoy a seventh consecutive year of double-digit growth in 2017. But the slice of the pie is still a very small one - with broader music industry revenues projected to be approximately $15 billion this year, vinyl will account for only 6%.
I spoke with Toddrick Spalding, the Director of Music at the trailer production agency Mob Scene – a music expert by trade, and avid record collector in Los Angeles. At 37 years old, Spalding listens to vinyl daily. His “modest” collection is a very highly-curated mix of 2,000 albums, both old and new. Other collectors have over 10,000 albums, completing discographies and aggregating every album from a specific record label, so he feels his is relatively small. Anytime he travels somewhere new, Spalding takes a dedicated day to find the record store and add to his collection.
For Spalding, there are countless reasons why vinyl is superior to any other music listening format, but above all comes the fidelity, romanticism and ritualistic nature of the experience. “Listening to vinyl is a physical act – it’s an active choice to go to the rack and pull out a record from the sleeve and then eventually flip the side to continue listening. It physically forces you to interact, contrary to telling Alexa to play a playlist on Spotify.”
Many of today’s consumers just want to own something that they can hold in their hands. The 12 x 12 artwork is another massive draw. Spalding continues, “You can go into a record store, buy the first Velvet Underground record and bring home a Warhol!”
Will future generations care for vinyl? Spalding’s 7-year-old son, Salinger, may be a great indicator for continued growth. He has his own record player and collection. It’s easy to purchase a record player today, so the barrier of entry isn’t a big one.
Salinger Spalding and a David Bowie "Rebel Rebel" 45 (Courtesy of Toddrick Spalding)
There are also growing subscription-model businesses like Vinyl Me, Please, which delivers a new special edition vinyl album to your door every month. Another modernization on the classic industry is the annual Record Store Day (April 22 this year), which is hosted by local record labels and record stores across the country to celebrate and sell vinyl.
For those looking forward to perusing a record store, finding what they want, unwrapping the plastic, taking a dedicated moment to listen to music, reading the “Thank You” section and admiring the artwork, vinyl provides an unmatched and intimate experience. Despite the sustaining massive CD sales in Japan, I don’t believe cassettes and CDs carry the same sentimental weight. Vinyl records offer a nostalgic listening journey for every generation, whether it was previously a favorite pastime, or a time capsule for those discovering it for the first time.
It may not be a coincidence that the vinyl resurgence in 2008 coincides with the launch of Spotify. In many ways, vinyl is like the print industry. As streaming continues to grow (and change), there will always be a market for the powerful emotional impact of something tangible, especially with a nostalgic tie.
Jordan Passman is the Founder & CEO of SCORE A SCORE, an LA-based company focused on simplifying custom music and licensing.
Keep up on Twitter @TheJPPass
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4714d8dd980165c5184db0a1695ebf64 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2013/02/18/how-game-based-learning-can-save-the-humanities/ | How Game-Based Learning Can Save the Humanities | How Game-Based Learning Can Save the Humanities
My seven year old son and I have been playing on the Gamestar Mechanic website all week. We’re learning the principles of game design. We’re making our own video games. Most importantly, we’re playing together.
I’ve also been reading the book The Soul Does Not Specialize: Revaluing The Humanities and the Polyvalent Imagination. This collection of essays, edited by Jennifer Leigh Selig, takes a hard look at the predominant educational landscape “from primary school through doctoral degree programs both in the United States and abroad” which emphasize “standardization and specialization.” Each essay in the collection makes “an impassioned argument for the importance of education in the humanities which stimulates the mind, nourishes the soul, and gives wings to the imagination.”
Gamestar Mechanic is one example of a game-based learning platform that uses the magic of interactive storytelling--video game design--to bridge the catastrophic gap that undervalues the humanities in education.
Created by E-Line Media and the Institute of Play, with initial funding from the MacArthur Foundation, Gamestar Mechanic is “currently used in over 4,000 schools, with over 350,000 youth-created games published and played over 10 million times in 100+ countries!”
While the statistics are impressive, I’m more enamored with Gamestar Mechanic because it helps to close the increasingly problematic divide between quantitative and qualitative learning. It mediates this dichotomy by teaching game design as a creative discipline that integrates technical and aesthetic thinking.
The separation between what’s technical and what’s aesthetic is a modern construction. I’ve written in a previous post about how the ancient Greeks thought about the “technical”:
The word technology comes from the Greek word “technikon,” meaning that which belongs to “techné.” According to philosopher Martin Heidegger, “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."
Our modern distinction between technical and aesthetic runs parallel to a familiar educational division between the arts and the sciences. The division has led to the drastically reduced funding for arts and humanities programs.
In an age where everything is reduced to bits and bytes, educational initiatives that demonstrate measurable markers of success are what matter. And of course, “what matters” are those things that can be measured in ways that resonate with binary thinking. This is hardly surprising.
Educational, psychological, and developmental models always tend to mimic the commercial products of their times. In the age of the automobile, for example, Sigmund Freud was preoccupied with “drive” theory. Today, we describe the mind like a computer, distinguishing between nature’s “hard-wired” personality traits and nurture’s software-like programming.
Metaphors, signs, and symbols are useful. As the building blocks of language, they let us articulate our experiences through a shared system of meaning-making. What’s more, metaphors are all we have. We re-present the universe through analogies that make social, technological, and medical accomplishments possible.
Unfortunately, we sometimes forget that metaphors have us more than we have them. This is why, at the risk of sounding extreme, I’d like to suggest that the image of the binary digit (bit) has a hold on humanity. In what could be considered an overdependence on metrics and analytics, we’ve come to privilege things can be easily divided, bifurcated, and separated into oppositional categories. Black and white. Right and wrong. Yes and no. Republican and Democrat. The unintentional prejudice of a computational metaphor system that is dependent on just two values--one and zero, on and off--casts a wide cultural influence.
Fortunately, innovative game-based learning systems like Gamestar Mechanic are harnessing the power of computational technologies and offering new integrated ways to think about how a child’s emotional and creative self-expression fits into our educational categories, disciplines, and curricula. “Knowing how to put together a successful game,” they argue, “involves system-based thinking, problem solving, collaboration, art, storytelling, and digital media literacy.”
Gamestar Mechanic is a web-based game design platform that involves three components, separated into three different sections of their website:
Quest involves playing through an interactive narrative experience. Through a combination of comic-book-style introductions and mini-games, players can earn components they then use to create their own games. The design of the quest section of gamestar mechanic is impressive because it is not only about rewards, but also about unlocking new game making components and learning how those characters, avatars, enemies, and obstacles fit into the system as a whole. The mini-games and interactive adventures teach the principles of game design that can be used in “the Workshop.” Workshop is where players design and create new games using the components that have been unlocked through the process of play. Here, players apply the lessons of the quest. In the spirit of Joseph Campbell’s monomyth, players become heroes. In an interactive narrative, kid-game-designers take a journey full of tests, trials, and obstacles. Eventually, they are rewarded with an “ultimate boon.” They return to the workshop carrying a new game piece and new knowledge about how to use it. Even it better, players share their new skill with the community at large in “Game Alley.” Game Alley is where kid-game-designers share and publish their games for a community of game “mechanics.” Game Alley forces young game designers to ask, “Who is the audience?” The audience is a community of users who provide feedback by rating and reviewing the games. Players can give 1-5 star reviews of their peers’ games. They rate the difficulty; and they can leave comments for the game designer. I was surprised at how constructive the comments were. In a community of 5-12 graders, I would’ve expected juvenile exclamations like “boring,” “awesome,” “lame,” etc. Instead, my 7-year-old has received concrete suggestions about what would make his games better.
Overall, Gamestar Mechanic is impressive. Clearly it was created “with the understanding that game design is an activity that allows learners to build technical, technological, artistic, cognitive, social, and linguistic skills suitable for our current and future world.” It teaches pretty sophisticated “systems thinking,” or systems-based problem solving. “Game mechanics” learn to adjust settings and manipulate the relationship between components within a particular framework.
In addition, Gamestar Mechanic encourages social interaction. The ideas don’t stay isolated within a kid’s head. Instead, kid-game-designers create and share their learning experience with peers. In this way, they are motivated by relationships; kids are inspired to think of game creation as a way to articulate and express themselves. Likewise, they are motivated to interpret other people’s games and comment accordingly.
It seems to me that game design is one way that the arts and humanities continue to manifest. In a world of non-linear communication modes of self-expression take on new forms. The personal essay, the autobiography, and the self-portrait are no longer sufficient by themselves. Intelligent educational models need to consider how to provide meaningful creative and interpretive skills that embrace interactive social technologies. Leaders in so-called “soft” subjects need to see video games as a new narrative genre so that the arts and humanities become the priority in education. After all, it is through the arts and humanities that we get a grip on metaphors and they lose their grip on us. Gamestar Mechanic is a great start.
Although Gamestar Mechanic is designed for older kids, my 7-year-old has had no problem navigating his way through it.
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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00df5d467597adcecb3d41625ed2da37 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2013/03/19/how-to-invest-in-game-based-learning/?ss=cloud-computing | How to Invest in Game Based Learning | How to Invest in Game Based Learning
When I was a kid, time spent with the Atari 2600 console was tantamount to dodging responsibilities. Today, video games are no longer just an instrument of procrastination. For my kids, playing video games is often their homework. Last night they spent hours with Jiji, the adorable penguin who is the centerpiece of the Mind Research Institute’s ST Math software.
ST Math is just one example of a learning game that supplements a traditional K-12 school curriculum. Increasingly, game based learning is becoming a central component of the school experience.
At the end of January, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at the Sesame Workshop published a report that aims to understand “the market dynamics for digital learning games in K-12 schools” and identify “areas of innovation that are ready for new investment.”
The “Games for a Digital Age: K-12 Market Map and Investment Analysis” report, written by John Richards, Leslie Stebbins, and Kurt Moellering, provides “information and recommendations for investors, game developers, and publishers hoping to succeed in the K-12 institutional space.”
Despite the many systemic obstacles to moving new products into the K-12 marketplace--”a few multi-billion dollar players, a long buying cycle, selling costs, a byzantine decision-making process, demand for curriculum and standards alignment, requirements for proof of effectiveness, and a need for professional development”--the game-based learning space, which is still in the formative stages of technological evolution, is clearly a sector fertile for investing.
As Dave McCool, President and CEO of Muzzy Lane observed, “the stigma of games seems to have pretty much fallen away at this point,” suggesting that serious school district and institutional spending on games is about to skyrocket. Muzzy Lane is one of the big name developers in game based learning, working closely with long established players in the education market like McGraw Hill Education. Last week I wrote about Muzzy Lane’s collaboration on “Government In Action,” a role-playing strategy game designed as a practical supplement for high-school and college classes teaching the basics of U.S. Government. Check out my review: “Government in Action” is the educational game-based version of Netflix’s “House of Cards” series.
Not only has the stigma around gaming lessened, but also schools have become more receptive to technological innovation. For example, it is becoming increasingly common for every K-12 student to have a computing device, interactive whiteboards are now commonplace, cloud computing is lowering the costs for software implementation, and social networks are increasingly playing a part in our everyday social and educational lives. It seems likely that game-based learning will no longer be a novelty, but rather a normal part of the school experience in the coming decade. Games are no longer just entertainment.
The Cooney Center report distinguishes between long-form and short-form games. Long-form games “are focused on higher order thinking skills” and continue for long periods of time--perhaps a semester, a full school year, throughout a multi-grade curriculum. Short-form games ”provide tools for practice and focused concepts,” fitting neatly into classroom time, perhaps supplementing a core curriculum in short (maybe 10 minute) bursts. The larger market opportunity appears to be in short-form learning games that function as supplemental material.
Certainly game-based learning presents both opportunities for profit and for improved teaching and learning. Scalability alone is an argument for the implementation of more games in schools. Games have the potential to increase accountability in the area of process rather than in the narrow and often limited area of quantifiable outcomes. In other words, more quality educational play-time is preferable to more testing, measuring, and evaluating.
If you follow me on Forbes, you already know that I strongly believe in the promise game-based learning. However, the philosopher, the depth psychologist, and the educator in me all hope for more research that looks into the cultural implications of such a pedagogical shift.
French philosopher Jean Luc-Nancy is one in a long line of thinkers that remind us about “the indistinctness between the ‘message’ and the ‘medium.’” By changing our method of transmitting information we also change the information itself. We are not just changing school curricula. We are also altering the way our children think about the world. The big purpose of education is to prepare good citizens by providing them with a foundational competency in our cultural way of structuring reality, a process that has immediate impact on the social systems in which they will inevitably participate. We are not just teaching STEM and language arts skills, but also lessons about our collective values.
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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d492b206bfef7c95562b7a698875d4db | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/06/30/too-many-games-and-apps-pediatricians-say-read-aloud-to-your-children/ | Too Many Games And Apps? Pediatricians Say Read Aloud To Your Children | Too Many Games And Apps? Pediatricians Say Read Aloud To Your Children
You have probably heard the terms “summer slide” or “summer slump.” These terms refer to the learning loss that happens when kids are not in school. The National Summer Learning Association says that “research spanning 100 years shows that students typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning of the summer.” (The trouble with testing aside, this is still cause for concern).
Children are engaged in intentional learning activities most of the week during the school year, but we don’t offer as many intentional opportunities for learning over the summer. If your house is anything like mine, there are a lot of video games, a good amount of movies, hiking, digging, and running around outside, but not a lot of formal learning. Once they start camp, things get better. But it is still not ideal.
Of course, I’m not suggesting kids should be learning Greek and studying algebra all summer long. Over achievement can be just as problematic as under achievement. Free play is good. But creating intentional structured opportunities for free play is even better.
Remember that during the year, they spend a lot of time on words and books. How can we make sure they stay focused on words and books throughout the summer vacation? One way is by reading aloud as often as possible.
Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) Council on Early Childhood issued a recommendation that all parents read to their kids from infancy. It may sound like that’s old news. After all, folks have stressed how essential it is to read to your kids for decades.
You have probably heard about the famous “Word Gap” study, in which “observers found that 86% to 98% of the words used by each child by the age of three were derived from their parents’ vocabularies. Furthermore, not only were the words they used nearly identical, but also the average number of words utilized, the duration of their conversations, and the speech patterns were all strikingly similar to those of their caregivers.”
What’s more, the number of words that children are exposed to seems to correlate directly to socio-economic factors. In the most extreme cases, the gap between wealthy and underprivileged can be as large as 30 million words. The number of words that children are exposed to in early childhood impacts their performance in early reading education, and therefore, this is one of the best predictors of long term success.
Television impacts early childhood literacy negatively. A recent study published in the Journal of Children and Media found that parents speak fewer words to their infants if the TV is on. Even if nobody is watching--even if the kids are doing other things--it counts as TV. The study found that “children 8 months to 2 years of age are exposed to an average 5.5 hours of background TV per day, while those 2–4 years of age are exposed to an average of 4.4 hours. Thus, very young children spend a substantial proportion of their waking hours in the presence of background TV.”
Here is the problem: “background TV disrupts toddlers' solitary toy play” and children demonstrate “more frequent and shorter looks at toys and shorter bouts of focused attention with toys in the presence of background TV programs than when the TV was off.” All of that doesn’t seem to mean much until you look at how it impacts language development.
I remember when my kids were little, I would put on grown up TV shows that they barely understood. I figured if I heeded the AAP recommendations to limit screen time for kids under two years old, I was safe. But it turns out that even if the kids are not watching--if it is on in the background--it can still have negative impact on early literacy. The Journal of Children and Media study found that “when the parent's attention was directed at the TV, he or she likely ignored the child, providing fewer opportunities to interact and to introduce new words.”
Of course, nobody is perfect and the point here is not to make you panic, or worry. However, you should remember that many factors play a part in how your children learn to read. Also, remember that reading skill is not just about teaching kids how to sound out words and comprehend text. Kids also need to learn how to think about the texts they read. This is why I believe that you should read to your kids until they are old enough that they don’t want you to read to them anymore.
Most parents I know read books to their kids when the kids are little, picture books like Dr Seuss. But they stop once the kids are old enough to read to themselves. Reading “chapter books” to older children is equally important.
My children (boys six and eight) read all the time. Partly because I make them read all the time. I think it is like brushing their teeth: even if they don’t want to read, I still require it. But also, when they find a book they like, I don’t even have to even ask them. They choose to read non-stop. Currently my six year old is reading the Amulet series of graphic novels. He’s got Doug TenNapel’s Cardboard and Bad Island on deck. My nine year old just read Orson Scott Card’s Space Boy and he also loves the Secret Agent Jack Stalwart series.
Walking into a room and finding your kids reading a book is awesome. But it is important to continue reading to them, especially chapter books. It gives adults a chance to model long term commitment to a story. It gives adults a chance to discuss complex emotional questions with their children. And it gives adults a chance to show kids what it means to ask difficult questions about complex texts.
So far this summer my kids and I have already read half a dozen books together. We snuggle in bed around the e-reader. Here are three great novels that my kids and I recommend. They are all Newbery Medal winners or runners-up. The Newbery award winners list is one of my go to sources to find new books.
The thing about all three of these books is that even though my nine year old could probably read them all himself, it is still preferable that we read them together. They don’t have enough action to keep my boys absorbed on their own. They like chase scenes, aliens, monsters, and heroes. When they read with me, however, they get an exposure to other genres, new ideas, and other styles of storytelling.
Flora & Ulysses is the newest offering from Kate DiCamillo. It is about a squirrel with super powers. The book is silly and smart. It features divorced parents, which is rare. Ever since my wife and I split a couple of years ago, I have noticed how strong the cultural messaging is to tell my kids that their situation is not normal. I applaud Dicamillo for creating a story that explores some of the difficulties for children of divorced parents without making it so explicit that it feels like an after-school special.
Because the protagonist of this book, Flora, is not a boy on an adventure, I doubt my sons would have read it by themselves. But they loved it when I read it. They always like the books I read aloud the best. Meanwhile, I get to subtly teach lessons by explicitly expressing my approval or disapproval of characters in the story after we finish each night’s chapter.
The Year Of Billy Miller is a novel about a second grader trying to make sense of his everyday experiences. I find this work by Kevin Henkes is especially interesting because it lacks a big over-the-top story. There is no great quest or adventure. It is about the everyday anxieties of a second grader with an annoying younger sister. The biggest moment is when Billy tries to stay up all night.
My boys and I discussed this book in detail while we were reading it. First, I asked them if the feelings Billy expressed sounded familiar. They answered “yes.” And I followed up with a series of questions asking them how a grown up could write a story about a second grader that sounded so real. “How could an adult know what a kid thinks?” This kind of questioning is great because it makes them think about writing and provides the foundation for the kind of critical analysis they’ll need to do later in life--not only of books and movies, but also of everyday events. I’ve written in detail about how this kind of conversation about video games can help kids develop metacognitive skills.
The One And Only Ivan is a classic. It has short chapters and simple language because it is written from a gorilla’s perspective. This book is an instant classic. I won’t tell you too much about the story. Just know that it is about a gorilla who spends most of his life in a tiny glass cage inside a rundown shopping mall. Parents and kids will both love it.
I read this to my kids in three nights. We couldn’t stop reading. My kids said it was one of the best stories they ever heard. In fact, the story is simple, but it is so well told that it carries enormous emotional weight. At the end of the book, tears were rolling down my cheeks. When kids see adults having authentic emotional reactions to books, they learn that books are powerful. They learn that authors are important. They learn that ideas are influential. And they learn that feeling, empathy, compassion, and caring are just as valuable as winning and achievement.
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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ca78cd36153baee21cb2557fbd8c6ae8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/07/31/our-schools-are-un-american-video-games-can-fix-that/ | Our Schools Are Un-American. Video Games Can Fix That | Our Schools Are Un-American. Video Games Can Fix That
“Game based learning” is a misleading term. After all, gaming always involves learning. You learn who the bad guys are, how to shoot, how to jump, how to run, where the secret portals are. Gaming is constant learning.
Life is also constant learning. You’re learning when you scroll through your Facebook timeline. You‘re learning when you buy yourself a jelly donut. You’re learning even as you walk down the street and take in all of the sensory data about the world around you. But we generally use the word “learning” when we’re talking about the process of incorporating and understanding intentionally structured data sets--when we’re talking about the process of coming to understand complex systems.
Game based learning works because all video games are complex systems. Being able to play Donkey Kong involves understanding the complicated relationship between various elements in a system. How does one thing impact another? What’s the deal with those oil barrels and fireballs? How does the universe of the game respond to certain actions? What happens when you ride elevators and climb ladders? How do unique virtual physics engines manifest as the time and space of the game’s user interface?
These are just some of the questions that we’re forced to answer on the fly as we’re playing a video game, as we’re learning to navigate the game world. When it comes to systems thinking, the game world is not so different from the life world.
The great physicist Richard Feynman used to say that physics was like discovering a giant game of chess in midplay and trying to extrapolate the rules of the game based only on watching the few pieces we are able to see--maybe two pawns and a rook. Translate that metaphor to video games. Imagine you can only see Mario jumping for a level’s final flag and from that you had to figure out all of rules of the mushroom kingdom. Good luck.
There are forces much larger than us thumbing away at their gamepads, moving these avatars around a complex game world. And what we do, as humans, is look for systematic ways to make sense of this chaotic chess game--of this chaotic game world in which we happen to be primary players. See, we know how to play, we just don’t know how to describe it.
So, we tell stories. We organize the chaotic reality of existence into systems, narratives, and patterns. We try to provide a meaningful order to our experience because stories and systems enable participation. Stories and systems enable relationships. They let us talk to each other. They let us establish common ground. Stories and systems are the building blocks of human civilization. What we do in schools--the fundamental reason for education--is to transmit, from one generation to the next, the systematic descriptions of the universe that our civilization finds most useful.
There are many systems. Thousands of years worth. For most of recorded history, humans have done this kind of systems creation in more or less the same way: we tell linear stories with beginnings, middles, and ends.
Then, a few decades ago, something happened. We began to construct knowledge differently. Now, on the web, information no longer has the narrative arc that Aristotle laid out 23 hundred years ago in Rhetoric and Poetics. Instead, now things are non-linear. Queries open, they hyperlink endlessly around a web, and then they hover permanently in the realm of networked possibilities.
This is a monumental shift for humanity. And it is not, as the media and the technocrats would have us believe, the result of internet technologies. The web is not changing humanity. Humanity has already changed. We’ve already changed in such a significant way that our perception of the world around us, consciousness itself, has been fundamentally shaken. But these changes did not happen because of technology. The internet is not that strong. Rather, what happened was, our thinking changed and we didn’t have the tools to interact with the world in a way that resonated with this revolutionary new way of systematically organizing experience. We still don’t. So we continue to build new tools. We built the internet because we needed a tool that would allow us to utilize these new non linear ways of constructing systematic knowledge. Remember: Tools do not change us, we change tools.
We used to tell linear stories about heroes, like Heracles. Heracles went through twelve labors and each one was like a level of a video game. It demanded mastery before he could level-up. In many ways, Heracles can be considered the prototypical hero. Maybe even the first ever video game avatar. Like a gamer, he’s dropped into challenges, tests, and pre-determined trials. Each trial is a system.
The monsters of ancient Greek mythology are not unpredictable like irrational humans. Instead, they are otherworldly beings that each adhere to particular rules, particular laws. Each one has a specific systematic logic. The Hydra, for example, is a nine headed serpent-like dragon with poisonous breath and deadly blood. Every time you cut off one head, two more grow unless you cauterize the decapitated stump with flames. Heracles figures this system out, as well as 11 others. He masters each level of the game. He uses his power-ups--his strength, his agility, his wit--to best navigate the system of each challenge. He beats each level, defeats the boss, and wins the game.
Today, many of our modern movies and video games still borrow narrative tropes from the stories of the ancient Greek heroes because these stories still resonate. More often than not education technology works this way. Many of our so called “innovations” draw their structural logic from the hero archetype. Consider MOOCS and Kahn academy, both are great in terms of distribution, in that they make quality educational content widely accessible. But on the other hand, when educators present a subject as content to be shared, it becomes like a heroic trial, something to test, something to be mastered, something to conquer, something to overcome. When that happens, you know that we’re caught in a heroic way of thinking.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with a heroic way of thinking. Grit has its place. Perseverance serves a purpose. Heroism is not necessarily a bad thing. But remember that Heracles remains stuck in the distant past. His story is the product of very early mythological thinking. A kind of top down thinking that is, at its core, undemocratic. If we want to educate citizens to participate in a democratic society, it seems counterproductive to do it in undemocratic ways. It seems un-American.
In the mythological, heroic worldview, the universe is imagined as a top down construction in which the gods have all the power. It is an oligarchy, or maybe a plutocracy. The gods hand us the game levels. They hand us the trials. They hand us the systems.
Kind of like the sage on the stage classroom. The teacher is like the god or the monarch, the ultimate authority in the room. The knowledge and the tasks are predefined. And the individual students, although heroic, have no agency. The change in students from year to year, or semester to semester, is like kids taking turns playing an algorithmically predetermined arcade game.
In this model, individuals are irrelevant. Heroes are irrelevant. Heracles is irrelevant. The great French mythologist Jean-Pierre Vernant once wrote that in classic myth the exploits of heroes “are valid in themselves and on their own account, quite apart from the hero performing them.” In other words, Heracles is just an avatar. He’s an everyman, like Pac Man, or Frogger, or Sonic the Hedgehog. “He does not perform the impossible because he is a hero; rather, he is a hero because he has performed the impossible.”
This is the mindset of high stakes testing. Our 20th Century education system is not only a “Factory” model of education, but also a “Heroic” model of education. And this also happens to be how things looked for most of ancient history, likely for hundreds of thousands of years. Probably, for all of the time even before humans started to write down stories, individuals only imagined that they had the agency to respond to the world. The universe was like an early Atari game: it threw challenges at the players and the humans played it like little children. They guessed, prayed, and hoped that the world would present in its easiest iteration.
Then, in the 5th Century BC, something changes. One of the best representations of that change comes from a Philosopher named Anaximander who imagined a cosmology of the universe that was geometric. That is, it was located in space. It was no longer an ancestral series of gods that begot gods--like the Titans who preceded the Olympians who preceded the Demi-gods and the Heroes who preceded the kings and their subjects. Instead, Anaximander defined the world as a product of the distance, or the geometry, between elements with equal rights, elements connected through symmetrical forces. It described celestial bodies as mechanical nodes in a rational interconnected system that followed natural laws of cause and effect.
With this new cosmology, Anaximander set the stage for scientific thought, for Democracy, for the enlightenment, for physics as we know it, for the discovery of electricity, and for the invention of video game consoles. But if all that happened in the 5th Century BC, why do we still teach as if we are living in the age of heroic mythology? Why do we continue to teach and organize our school system using undemocratic, oligarchic, heroic, top-down structures? I’m not sure. But I do know that if we want to educate citizens for a thriving democratic society, we need to abandon a heroic model of education.
After all, the only reason we teach anything--math, literature, history, physics--is so that we can use the knowledge to make meaning in the context of our world. It is so we can apply those skills to the video game of life. When we approach from a heroic perspective, however, we forget that we have the power to construct our own rules, that it is OUR game.
This is one reason why I believe schools should be hurrying to embrace game based learning. Learning games are designed to let students interact with the elements that make up a system. The player gets to enter an unknown world and experiment within it. Good learning games are just interactive simulations with a dopamine based reward system. Students don’t just get fed content. They get to learn by trial and error. They get to develop an iterative understanding of the subject matter. They get to experiment and see how their actions have an impact on the system.
Students educated to be democratic citizens need to imagine knowledge not as data transmitted into biological hard drive, but rather as the wisdom that enables one thing to interact responsibly with another. If Anaximander’s approach to the cosmos had such a profound impact on the trajectory on human knowledge, opening the portal that enabled science and democracy, imagine what could happen if we teach an entire generation of children to experience everything, even themselves, as interdependent nodes in much larger systems.
See, it is important to remember that we are never just teaching content. We are always teaching content in some way. There's always an underlying message that resides in the structure of our pedagogy.
What is the message in the Heroic model of education? Well, at the risk of oversimplifying things, I’d argue that it contextualizes academic content within a narrative of fierce ownership, individual ambition, commodified rewards, private property: conquer, master, overpower. They are MY grades, MY education, MY opportunity to get ahead in the world (usually by leaving someone else behind). We learn that the usefulness of engineering skills, for instance, lies in their ability to build personal wealth, or at best, wealth for one particular team--maybe a corporation, or a city, or a nationalist/separatist identity. Being successful means working your way to the front of the room, becoming the plutocrat at the top of the ladder.
I find this ironic because, in my opinion, the key reason we educate is to provide citizens with the ability to look at themselves and see how they function within a larger system. The only reason we even bother with school at all, is not to create laborers or workers, but rather to create democratic citizens. In other words, school is about social impact.
The promise of game based learning is that it may help us create intelligent, thoughtful, kind, caring, compassionate, and engaged participants in this experiment we call American Democracy.
This post was adapted from a lecture delivered at Rockefeller University on July 28th, 2014.
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671a1856bfe8217d349fa2460409dfc3 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/10/24/3-ways-to-close-the-play-gap-between-rich-and-poor-kids/ | 3 Ways To Close The 'Play Gap' Between Rich And Poor Kids | 3 Ways To Close The 'Play Gap' Between Rich And Poor Kids
Children are the adults of the future. When you watch them play out fantasies with action figures, when they chase each other around a swing set, when they collaboratively build scenarios within the virtual Minecraft world, they are imagining, exploring, and experimenting with possibilities for understanding the world. Think of playtime like an innovation lab where tomorrow’s civilization is being actively designed. Play spaces are where children gather in think tanks that need to be nurtured, encouraged, and supported by the grownup benefactors who are invested in our collective future.
Play is vitally important to individual childhood development. Active playtime provides children with exercise. And because play teaches children how to share, cooperate, and empathize it needs to happen in both the digital and physical worlds. These days there are plenty of virtual opportunities for digital play, but not enough material opportunities for active play. Things are out of balance and this is cause for concern. After all, play is a crucial element in intellectual development; one cannot even begin to play with ideas, words, and numbers without first learning to play with toys.
By now, most of us are familiar with the “word gap.” The development of vocabulary--early language acquisition--is directly correlative to the quantity of words that a child is exposed to between birth and three years old. But there are differences in both the quantity and quality of words heard by infants that cut pretty clearly across socio-economic class lines. Therefore, because early vocabulary exposure is also a predictive factor in early literacy skills, relative economic difference is also a primary determining factor of academic success.
Before they even begin kindergarten, children from families with low socioeconomic standing are already behind. They have already heard significantly fewer words than peers from more affluent families. When you compare the child who has only heard 13 million words with the child who has already heard 45 million words, and consider that children’s vocabularies will double (on average) between grades three and seven, the cumulative differences seem almost insurmountable.
The White House recently hosted a conference on “bridging the word gap.” At the conference, Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek presented a study showing that the quality of language is more important the quantity. She told the New York Times, “It’s about having these fluid conversations around shared rituals and objects, like pretending to have morning coffee together or using the banana as a phone. That’s the stuff from which language is made.”
It sounds to me like she’s talking about playing with words, manipulating language. Playing with words happens when children and adults have the opportunity to engage in activities that are fun, whimsical, exploratory, and free--when they have the opportunity to interact playfully while describing their world.
Therefore, play is a precursor to intellectual freedom, it empowers individuals with agency and voice. Play is a matter of human dignity
But play, like language, is not equally distributed. Low-income children do not have the same access to safe opportunities for play as their affluent peers. On average, there are only 18 minutes of recess in the lowest income schools; and among schools with the highest rates of poverty, 28% have no recess at all.
KaBOOM! is a national non-profit that aims make play accessible to more kids. They have already built over 2500 playgrounds in the United States. They are showing cities the remarkable economic and infrastructural benefits that come from prioritizing “playability” as highly as walkability and bikeability. And they are working to encourage families to integrate more play into their children’s daily routines.
I was honored to be a moderator at KaBOOM!’s Playful City Leaders Summit in Chicago (sponsored by Humana), where they released a new study entitled “Using Behavioral Economics to Create Playable Cities.” The study, undertaken in partnership with Ideas42 and written by Sarah Welch and Shawn Lin, looks at how families make decisions about children’s play and identifies “major behavioral bottlenecks”--challenges that make play difficult. Simultaneously, it offers “innovative solutions that city leaders can embrace to ‘nudge’ kids, and the adults who care for them, toward better outcomes through play.”
Here, I summarize both the bottlenecks and the solutions proposed by the study.
Bottlenecks:
“Parents and caregivers may not even consider play.” Our days are so busy. We all have habitual routines that involve rushing from one place or one activity to another; adult chores are intimately intertwined with children’s schedules. Choosing playtime is not easy. What’s more, play thrives within opportunities for spontaneity and may not always fit best within scheduled blocks of time. “Feedback on different types of activities is unclear.” People like to know the impact of their actions. But the “immediate benefits of play” are intangible and play, as a concept, is somewhat abstract. How do parents know if they are “doing it right?” There’s no play meter measuring success. Parents get lots of advice about healthy amounts of screen time, but it would be absurd for experts to prescribe the appropriate amount of play time (besides, the right answer would be: “all of it,” or “as much as possible.” “Play can feel unexpectedly hard to do.” Let’s face it, getting kids to the playground is not the easiest thing to do. There are things to pack and transportation to be arranged. Kids need snacks and drinks. For parents, 30 minutes of play time can involve another 30 of preparation and cleanup. It can feel overwhelming. “This can lead to a disproportionate focus on the small, short-term costs of play, even while parents recognize the larger, long-term benefits.” Because of the challenges, parents often find themselves resigned to handing kids a gadget or a device and neglecting active play time altogether.
Solutions:
“Play Everywhere.” Turn downtime into play time. Throughout our days, we are faced with idle time. At the bus stop, the train station, or waiting for the doctor, parents need ways to keep their children occupied. These days, mundane moments like these are filled with smartphone gaming, or other easy digital distractions. By structurally integrating unexpected playful options into city, however, “play can turn moments of frustration into fun-filled moments of engaged family time.” “Proximity Matters.” This is a matter of convenience. Think about the difference between the grocery store and the corner store; one is a scheduled destination, the other a place to grab and go. By creating closer and smaller “play destinations,” cities can encourage more short and quick opportunities for play. “We need to create a second type of play space that is small and limited, but right around the corner--a ‘convenience store’ for play.” “Family-Friendly Cities.” Create play spaces that are not aimed at only children, but also at their parents. “If we could focus on creating family-friendly places that appeal to all generations, we will increase the motivation of adults to take their kids to play for longer and more frequent periods of time.” Creating safe spaces that offer social opportunities for parents and play time for children will help cities that are fiercely competing to attract and retain the residents who “breath energy and enterprise into neighborhoods.”
Healthy societies understand that play is not just about superficial whimsy. Instead, it is about the kind of exploration and creative challenge that makes humans thrive. The freedom to play is the freedom to think for yourself, to make your own experience in the world, to have agency and autonomy. If we really value the innovative enterprising attitude that we so often celebrate, we need to cultivate a more playful civilization.
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7ca3c2d5af42563f436d6b83f99b92ac | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/10/29/heres-how-gamer-teachers-use-video-games-in-the-classroom/ | Here's How Gamer-Teachers Use Video Games In The Classroom | Here's How Gamer-Teachers Use Video Games In The Classroom
Games are being used much more widely in schools than they were when I first started writing about them 2 or 3 years ago. As of fall 2013, 74% of K-8 teachers were using digital games. 55% of these teachers have students playing digital games at least weekly, 9% daily. The games they are using are mostly designed to be educational, with only 5% playing commercial games, and 8% playing hybrids (commercial games adapted for education like MincraftEDU or SimCityEdu).
These insights come from Joan Ganz Cooney Center at the Sesame Workshop, who recently released a study surveying K-8 teachers in order to understand how they are implementing digital games in their classrooms.
It seems the majority of teachers (82%) play games in their own free time and that there is a relationship between personal game play and in class game use.
Here are four different gamer-teacher profiles that the study identifies.
The Dabblers (20%):
Dabblers “play digital games less often than their peers” and “report relatively low levels of comfort when using digital games with their students.” This doesn’t seem surprising. One must be well acquainted with the skills one’s trying to teach. In the Guide to Games and Learning that I wrote for MindshiftKQED, I explain how important it is for teachers to play the games they are using to teach. Just dabbling won’t lead to success.
Dabblers report facing “moderate barriers” to implementation and “moderate levels of support from parents, administrators, and fellow teachers.” But I’m curious what they mean by support. Because they also report low access to professional development resources and the best kind of support that schools can offer is training and resources. Certainly Dabblers understand this, they have 15.9 years of classroom experience on average.
Interestingly, although they don’t necessarily have high confidence in the efficacy of games, Dabblers are more likely than the others “to indicate positive or no changes” rather than “negative changes” in student behavior and classroom engagement. Perhaps they are using games so rarely that they seem innocuous, just another moment in a much busier day.
The Players (23%):
Players are “avid gamers, but teach with digital games the least often of the four profiles--just a few times a month.” At first, I assumed this group must be fanboy gamers who wanted to preserve the purity of games as entertainment--that once you add educational content it is no longer a game, but suddenly work. I was wrong.
It turns out the Players “demonstrate concerted efforts” to implement digital game based teaching methods, but they report many barriers and “the lowest level of support from parents, administrators, and fellow teachers.” Perhaps these are folks who grew up playing Mortal Kombat under the early video game stigma. Maybe they’ve internalized some level of paranoia about external authorities’ perceptions of gaming in general. I’m just guessing.
The Players are the “most likely group to say that games haven’t changed student behavior or content delivery.” And on average, they’ve spent 14.5 years teaching (the national average for K-8 teachers).
The Barrier Busters (22%):
“Digital games are a common pastime” for this group. Barrier Busters use games with their students regularly--at least weekly. They “express high levels of comfort employing them in instruction.” But these Barrier Busters “face a high number of barriers.” Still, they take advantage of more professional development opportunities than the others. They use the largest variety of games/devices, and they use them both for content delivery and assessment.
I imagine these to be the rebels, the revolutionaries. These are the new rule-breakers. Gone is the old stereotype of the hippy English teacher, standing on desks and suggesting that students choose their own grades. The new cool progressive teacher found him or herself during the Silicon Valley boom. These teachers are entrepreneurial disruptors, not tie-dyed liberal activists. The Barrier Busters are motivated by innovation and the idea of overcoming barriers while taking the initiative to seek out opportunities for self improvement.
They have been teaching, on average, for 13.6 years and are “more likely than other groups to notice changes in student conflict after introducing games--for better and for worse.” It seems likely, however, that the more one implements games, the more changes one will see.
The Naturals (34%):
Naturals play games often and teach with them often--at least weekly. This group seems to take games for granted. It is not an innovation, just another teaching tool among many. Maybe they’ve already stepped into the future and integrated games, as fully as the chalkboard, into their image of what it means to teach.
Naturals “uses games to deliver core content more often than supplemental content.” Games are not a special side activity they sometimes use, but a central part of their teaching repertoire. Naturals report “the fewest barriers and the highest levels of support from the school community,” which may speak more to their perceptions than it does to the actual school circumstances.
Not surprisingly, Naturals have been teaching less than the other groups, only 12.3 years, on average. And their perception is that games just work. More than the other groups, they see the efficacy of game-based learning “in improving student knowledge, skills, and motivation.”
The full study, with great insights about how digital games are being used in the classroom is available here.
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e4bfe3686316510607740768c964891e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/12/29/5-ways-to-be-a-better-parent-next-year/ | 5 Ways To Be A Better Parent | 5 Ways To Be A Better Parent
Some days, when I’m tired, overworked, and confronting compounding deadlines, my children feel like just another responsibility, a burden even. I imagine most parents feel this way sometimes. It’s okay; take it from me. I speak with authority. My job is to think and write about kids, and sometimes that even gets in the way of attending to my own.
To make matters worse, I’m also confused. You can’t blame me. The cultural messaging around child-rearing is bewildering. Consider the expectations. The popular narratives of individuated adulthood don’t complement the predominant narratives of engaged parenting. The two identities are in tension with one another.
Watch TED Talks, read blogs, and watch television commercials. You’ll see that the ideal parent is exhaustively selfless and giving, but also stern and principled. A good parent always puts the child first but somehow miraculously avoids creating a spoiled brat who thinks s/he is the center of the familial universe.
Watch different TED Talks, read different blogs, and watch different television. You’ll learn that the ideal adult recognizes the importance of self-indulgence: self-care leads to self-worth and ultimately makes one an asset to spouses (and/or lovers), children, and employers. One must advocate for one’s personal needs--put one’s self first--if one wants to be a productive contributor to civilization or a loving family member.
Think of parenthood and adulthood like two circles in a Venn diagram. The intersecting sliver is impossibly narrow and precarious. Perfection involves deriving pleasure from a form of martyrdom that operates just shy of the border into co-dependence.
Frankly, you can’t win. But maybe you can raise children who are better equipped than you are to cope with a culture that promotes unattainable and contradictory ideals while simultaneously depending upon an economic marketplace of information and goods that promise to temporarily assuage media-induced feelings of inadequacy.
To do so, you’ll need to consider your past performance and iterate accordingly. That’s how we model critical thinking and self-reflection for our children. Admit your own fallibility and be willing to adapt and change.
Here’s five ways I want to change for next year.
1. Teach Them Socio-Economic Awareness.
I teach my kids (seven and nine years old) subtle lessons about spending and saving but rarely talk explicitly about the economy. Before we go to the movies, we stop at Target to buy discount candy; it’s part of a discussion of smart spending and the relationship between cost and value. I make them give me what little cash they earn cleaning pinecones off their grandparents’ lawn for any game they download from the app store. And each has a small investment account that I manage, but I also regularly show them how their stocks and ETFs perform.
They’re learning the big thinking lessons that I hope will prepare them to understand personal finance as they grow older. But I don’t talk about how much our familial life costs. Like most parents, I do what I can to make them feel as secure as possible. I don’t share my own financial anxieties. I don’t tell them when I overspend on vacation or when I irresponsibly overdo the credit card debt. I don’t want to worry them.
When I consider that my privileged background has more or less guaranteed our financial security, however, I feel like I’m not giving them an accurate picture of the world they live in. Do they imagine that all of their friends live like we do? Do they understand the financial inequality that exists in the United States? In the world?
This year, I want to teach my kids about money. Not just financial literacy, but the socio-economic realities of the world. I want them to begin to think about how their own personal wealth (likely measured in their minds as quantity of video games and toys) impacts the world as a whole.
2. No Video Game Punishments.
When I listen to other parents interact with their children, it is clear that there’s still a video game stigma. Parents are still confused about how to think about screen time. No matter the offense, it seems like restricting video game play becomes the punishment. This is likely because we still unconsciously understand video games through a religious narrative of sin, temptation, and possession. Therefore, digital asceticism becomes penance. Each time we punish our kids hyperactivity by limiting their game play, are we trying to cut off the portal through which the demon of misbehavior sneaks into their bodies? Seems far-fetched.
We may tell ourselves that we are just trying to confiscate something they care about. We may think that we are just trying to create consequences that have adequate weight and urgency for a seven year old. But we know things are more complicated. If the ramifications don’t correlate to the crime, we are not using discipline as a teaching opportunity, but rather as an instrument of domination. What’s worse, children will probably deduce a correlation between the restriction of screentime and their behavior that’s even more baffling than demonic possession.
This year, I’m only confiscating video games when gaming itself is related to the behavior in question. Appropriate examples might include: when brothers fight over a controller, name calling and bad sportsmanship, game-induced temper tantrums, refusal to stop playing when it is time to go to bed, etc.
3. Find More HD In Real Life.
When I was a college student, I worked as a line cook at a few of Bobby Flay’s restaurants. The Food Network was still in its infancy and Bobby was not yet the international celebrity he has now become. Then, he used to talk about “bold flavors,” demanding we create fireworks for the palette. He didn’t just want us to balance sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami; he wanted each taste sensation to express itself like a hyperbole (still without overpowering the others). It was the culinary equivalent of HDTV.
I want to bring the same vibrancy of experience to my children’s everyday life. I want to teach them to experience life in HD, with over saturation and high contrast. Just as it was for me as a young cook, this is a matter of training them to think about the ways flavor interacts on their pallette. There are HD flavors all around them, but they need to be able to experience them. Doing so requires both exposure to new experiences and the same representation, interpretation, and descriptive skills that are involved in the arts and humanities.
First, I’ll make sure I take my kids on more natural adventures. In early December, we visited the Grand Canyon. We went on a fantastic hike about two and half miles down with an expert guide from 360 Adventures. The kids loved it and I realized that it’s no wonder they always want to play boring tablet games when their ordinary can be so full of boring habitual routines. They need more adventures. Of course we can’t always fly to Arizona, but there are plenty of great experiences within driving distance. For spring break this year we may even take the 6 hour drive to see Niagara Falls (I’ve never been).
But just viewing these wonders won’t teach them to taste bold flavors in their everyday lives. For that, they need to practice observation and articulation skills. Telling your story allows you to live it more meaningfully. Therefore, I’ll get them photographing, writing, and blogging about their escapades until it becomes so habitual to find life’s little moments of excitement that they don’t need over-the-top stimulus in order to do so.
4. More Exposure To Art.
This year I want to take more trips to art museums, galleries, and installations with my kids. And not just to the museums where they can see the tame impressionistic masterpieces that ordinarily decorate notebooks and greeting cards. I also want to take them to some really edgy art installations by young revolutionaries.
Don’t get confused here. I’m not interested in exposing my kids to more art for the sake of elitism or because I want my kids to be ‘cultured.’ Instead, I’ll expose them to art for the sake of critical thinking. Great art stops people in their tracks and makes them reconsider and reassess their habitual ways of thinking about the world. I’ve seen first hand how this can work for children.
In early December, my kids and I had the privilege of touring James Turrell’s Roden Crater. The Roden Crater is one of the most coveted tickets in the entire art world. Still unfinished, Turrell has been working on the magnificent large scale work since 1972. It includes a series of tunnels, pathways, chambers, and viewing rooms dug into the remains of an ancient volcano. Like most of Turrell’s work, the Roden Crater not only messes with your conception of light, but also shifts your experience of perception itself. If that sounds crazy and deep and philosophical and freaky, that’s because it is. My kids were blown away by the experience and talked about it for weeks, even asking if I’d take them to see some of Turrell’s other work.
The great thing about this is that they weren’t just asking for more aesthetic pleasure, or novel entertainment. They were asking for more experiences that made them think, reflect, and ask questions about the world they live in. They discovered it can be enjoyable and rewarding to question their comfortable versions of reality. They discovered art.
This year I want to continue to encourage this kind of reflection. I want them to continue to think in this way. And I hope they will want to try and create similar kinds of art by themselves.
5. Meditation, Mindfulness, and Meeting For Worship.
My elementary and high school education took place at a Quaker school. My family wasn’t Quaker, but there are many of these independent schools in Philadelphia. When it was time to pick a school for my own children, I didn’t choose a Quaker school for them because I prefered a parent-teacher cooperative. I’m mostly okay with that decision. But I’m sad that my kids don’t get to experience the weekly meeting for worship that is a regular part of a Quaker education.
During a Quaker meeting for worship, participants sit in silence for about 40 minutes. There is no clergy, no sermon, no liturgy. Just silent meditation. If the spirit moves one to speak, he or she is welcomed to do so.
The whole thing tends to be a quiet, reflective experience. Students learn how to be in the moment. They cultivate stillness through practice.
Frankly, I’m not sure my sons can sit still for 40 minutes. And I’m pretty certain they can’t do it silently. That feels problematic to me. After all, it is during moments of quiet stillness that great ideas present. What’s more, the ability to intentionally disconnect for 40 minutes seems especially important in a world of smart phones and social networks. I have no objection to our modern virtual experience provided it becomes a supplement to, rather than a replacement for, tangible experience in physical space. Meeting for worship seems to be a good way to practice disconnection and presence.
I’ve read a lot of new-agey stuff about meditation; I’ve taken classes and I’ve practiced myself. But it always feels a little woo-woo to me. Meeting for worship, however, has a kind of utilitarian pragmatic spirit of being-in-the-moment that we could all benefit from nurturing.
This year I hope to take my kids to the local Quaker meeting house in order to teach them the skills required for being present, quiet, and silent.
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11a0e62f2b00112d44a483b380a07b3b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2015/03/24/this-is-what-happens-after-a-month-with-nintendos-new-3ds-xl/ | This Is What Happens After A Month With Nintendo's New 3DS XL | This Is What Happens After A Month With Nintendo's New 3DS XL
Yes, it is true that Xenoblade Chronicles 3D doesn’t fit onto the internal SD card. But memory is pretty cheap these days. I bought a 64GB card for just $10 on Amazon. I’ll admit that it was kind of annoying that I had to unscrew the back plate in order to insert the new card. But I won’t have to open it again; so it is not such a big deal.
I have now spent more than a month with my New 3DS XL. Actually, Nintendo sent it to my nine year old son. He’s part of their “Kid Reviewers” program so he gets lots of free stuff: games, toys, hardware. I stole the New 3DS before he noticed. That’s okay, all his favorite games are already downloaded onto his old one. He doesn’t need the new one until there are many more games with amiibo support.
Besides, I let him use the New 3DS whenever he wants. Ironically, no matter how many times I tell him (or his seven year old brother) that the stable 3D works shockingly well, they both refuse to turn it on. The old 3DS conditioned them to keep the 3D off. “It hurts my eyes. And it’s annoying,” my nine year old says. I’m sure they’ll both give it another try soon. It really is awesome. Little kids are not impressed with terms like “eye-tracking.” But I am. And the new portable console’s new technology finally delivers on the 3D promise Nintendo made with the original.
At first I didn’t believe the 3D was worth it. Like my children, I’ve also been conditioned just to turn it off. But recently, on a long airline flight, I discovered just how well the stable 3D works. I was flying to Dubai, 13 hours during which I doze in and out of sleep. It demands a game with short chapters, so I chose a classic: Pushmo. Despite all the rave reviews, I had never actually played the game. It seemed like a perfect way to test out the 3D: a simple, casual puzzler that is enhanced by 3D but really doesn’t require it. I wondered, stuck on Qatar Airways for more than half a day, would I keep 3D on or turn it off? I kept it on.
Originally, I had planned to play Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars on the plane. When Nintendo sent me a download code for that game a week before I left, I was excited. It is a perfect airplane game. But it is also perfect for so many other occasions when I only had a few minutes to kill. The game was just too enjoyable: charming, engaging, and exciting in a laid back kind of way. I played through the whole thing in a couple of days before I even left the country. I took turns with my seven year old. He said it reminded him of a “super awesome game like Where’s My Water? But better!”
He doesn’t know much about game genres, but he still gets it intuitively. Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars is a “casual game.” It is the kind of experience we find more often on a tablet or a smartphone than a full on game console. Each time Nintendo makes one of these casual puzzlers, I’m reminded just how much better they are at making games than everyone else. Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars is fun and simple. It perfectly balances the degree of challenge with the degree of ease. It incrementally introduces new elements with perfect pacing. And new abilities compound atop old ones, creating ever more intricate puzzles. Each level forced me to play about 30 seconds longer than I really had time for—not so much that I ever got frustrated or irritated, just enough that I stayed engaged, anxious, and on the edge of my seat.
Nintendo did the same thing with Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. Toad was the protagonist of a perfect 3D puzzle platformer. The only problem was that it tethered me to the Wii U. I wanted to take that game with me—on train rides and in waiting rooms. They should have made it for the 3DS, especially a 3DS with stable 3D.
These games make it clear that the casual mobile games industry should be responding to Nintendo’s recent announcement that they plan to make smartphone games with as much anxiety as the watch industry has about Apple’s entry into their domain. Angry Birds, Dots, Cut The Rope, Doodle Jump are not even in the same league. The mobile game world is clearly still guessing about what constitutes a hit; meanwhile Nintendo can consistently and intentionally turn out perfect challenges, perfect user interfaces, perfect mechanics, perfect controls.
But enough about the games. The real question is whether or not the new 3DS is worth an upgrade? I really don’t know. Overall, the improvements are small but significant. The stable 3D is awesome. The stylus slot holds the pen better. The new device has amiibo support. And it just feels slicker in your hands. It seems to run smoother and faster. I’m not sure how I feel about the nipple-like C-button/stick. I’m even a ThinkPad user, so this kind of input device is familiar to me, but on the 3DS it feels odd. Maybe that will change; I still haven’t played a game that needed it.
The device as a whole is clearly an upgrade. With a 2DS and multiple old 3DS XL consoles in the house, I always go for the new one. But do you need to upgrade? Probably not yet. But I expect you will want one eventually. If you’re short on cash, wait until there’s more New 3DS only games, or more games that use amiibo. If you’re buying a new portable console for yourself or for your kids, however, there’s no doubt that this is the best choice.
Also, you’ll need a case. I should recommend one that outperforms all the others—functionally and aesthetically. I’ve now gone half way around the world with my New 3DS XL tucked into the City Slicker case from Waterfield Designs.
The construction of this case is first rate: beautiful leather mixed with ballistic nylon. The new console fits perfectly and feels well protected. There are slots to carry three cartridges (which is all I need for a trip) and a zipper compartment on the back that holds a charger and any other extras. It is like a classy case for grown-ups; I can pull it out of a brief case without looking juvenile. It is so attractive, in fact, that after enjoying this case, I’m considering buying some of Waterfield Designs other products—laptop bags, wallets, etc.
After a little more than a month with my New 3DS XL, I’m loving it more than I did at the start. At first, it didn’t really feel like it was much of an upgrade. But those little incremental iterations feel more substantial after spending more time with them.
Like hundreds of millions of other people, I loved the 3DS and DS. There’s a reason the device, in its multiple iterations, is the bestselling handheld game console of all time. It just feels right. And with the New 3DS XL, Nintendo makes just the right amount of improvements, addressing the bugs without changing things too much.
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2d2bd2781cd9bf6f45d04ac4ea4da1a8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2015/04/25/somethings-wrong-with-both-standardized-tests-and-the-opt-out-movement/ | Something's Wrong With Both Standardized Tests And The 'Opt-Out' Movement | Something's Wrong With Both Standardized Tests And The 'Opt-Out' Movement
All of these reports about the “opt-out movement”—where parents choose not to have their children take the federally mandated standardized tests—are a bit disturbing. The debate seems to have spiraled out of control. We all seem caught in a polarized narrative, a kind of hopeless argument that has more to do with some of the inherent philosophical tensions of modern life than it does with issues of education. Big questions just like the one’s we’re grappling with when it comes to standardized testing actually appear in many areas of our modern lives.
One of the hardest things about living in a hyper-networked world is that we are all constantly trying to figure out how to maintain our individuality despite the ever increasing convenience of conformity. You can see this tension as our media conglomerates reduce human viewers to groups of niche demographics. The tension is in the produce section of our grocery stores thanks to a food supply infrastructure that provides consistent inexpensive mangoes—bruise resistant, but not uniquely flavorful—even in a snow storm. And the tension builds as we browse the well-stocked shelves of our big box retailers which look more or less identically fashionable no matter where in the country you find them. The fact is that with the advantages of egalitarian ubiquity necessarily comes a sacrifice of variety, of regional or local distinction.
When it comes to education, we live at a time when more people have access to formal education than ever before in human history. That means they also have access to an unprecedented and ever-increasing degree of autonomy and freedom. But unfortunately, just like all the other gifts of the industrial world, this opportunity simultaneously brings with it a certain degree of homogeneity and standardization. This is the great paradox of modernity: the more access we get to individuality, the more limited the possibilities for expression.
If we consider standardized testing in schools, it is clear to me that many folks get caught up in the fire of the debate and lose the ability to see both sides of the story clearly. Those who take an extreme anti-testing position are well meaning. They want to protect children’s individuality. They want to shield them from unnecessary anxiety. They want to protect valuable learning time. They want to spare children the indignity of punching chads and filling in circles. And they want to empower young people by providing them with life-long experiential learning skills.
But some of these critics also seem to forget that those who advocate for measured accountability are also well meaning. The intention behind the assessment mandated by No Child Left Behind was to make sure that previously overlooked children were accounted for—it was literally an acknowledgment that these children count—it required that underprivileged individuals not be hidden in the shadows, that their progress be tracked and their right to learn protected by the federal government. Federally mandated standardized testing was born from a desire to guarantee the right to individuality and autonomy across socio-economic bounds. When seen from a desk of a federal bureaucrat, standardized tests make more children stand out. When seen from the desk-chair of a classroom pupil, children are robbed of the individuality that comes from differentiated instruction.
Of course, everyone I’ve ever talked to—parents, students, teachers, administrators, politicians, heads of state—agree that the current tests are insufficient indicators of whole child development. They agree that the very practice of comparatively and competitively evaluating students is probably not in kids’ best interest. And they know that the educational practices which have exalted standardized tests to their current high-stakes stature—in which a single score has the ability to shape an individual’s future—is ethically and morally deplorable. But these are problems with the way testing data is used, not with assessment in itself.
Ultimately, there’s no way for the Federal Department of Education to equitably serve the 50 million students who attend public schools in the United States without some sort of assessment data. But do the current tests provide meaningful data? The critics say no. The advocates point out that all data is ultimately incomplete, but that doesn’t make it worthless.
Many people are working fast and furiously on developing better tools for assessment. In fact, I’ve written quite a bit about video games for assessment in the MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning. And I’ve seen some really impressive digital adaptive learning technologies that make practice, study time, and assessment completely indistinguishable. But it will be a few years until we can transition to better tools like these. In the meantime, as much as I hate testing from a teacher’s perspective—the evidence is clear: exams are bad pedagogy—I remain ambivalent when I think about it from a census perspective.
If we want to settle this debate, we’re going to need to look at it differently. We need to look beyond education. We need to acknowledge that we’re locked into a fundamental dichotomy that’s about more than just the well-being of our children. We need to step outside our habitual thought patterns and see that the historic narrative of revolutionary independence, which holds a primary positon in the U.S. psyche, is keeping us locked into an unconscious battle between local autonomy and centralized power. It was true at the outset of the union and it is expressing itself with renewed fervor in all sectors as we learn to live with new technologies.
We are right to be wary of the cold calculated rigidity and unification of data-centrism. But we should also express gratitude for the gifts that big data has and will continue to bestow on our quality of life. I suspect we’ll spend the next couple of decades struggling as we try to find an ideal balance between quantitative and qualitative ways of being.
In the meantime, we need to get the children out of the crossfire. Remember, our job is ultimately to teach them to mediate the tensions of life better than we do. And test or no test, they will need not only the procedural skills to participate in the economy despite unknown technological shifts, but also the poetic and ethical sensibility required to reflect on the world in which they live--to look objectively at the polarized narratives in which they will inevitably find themselves caught.
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e88cc7249fbca496582088db9a33eb13 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2015/04/27/stanford-study-shows-dramatic-math-improvement-from-playing-video-games-just-10-minutes-per-day/ | Stanford Study Shows Dramatic Math Improvement From Playing Video Games Just 10 Minutes Per Day | Stanford Study Shows Dramatic Math Improvement From Playing Video Games Just 10 Minutes Per Day
Third graders played for just 10 minutes per day, 3 days a week, for four weeks. The comparison group’s class received the same materials and the same instruction, but didn’t play the game. The result of playing was a staggering 20.5% improvement after just two hours of self-guided play.
Of course, it probably won’t work with just any game. And the hard part is figuring out which games to use, especially considering today’s exploding market for learning games. Recently, I spent about an hour browsing the Google Play for Education Store. It was the first time I really looked at it carefully and I was not impressed. There was no way to really evaluate whether or not a game will help my kids learn anything. Likewise, it is extremely difficult to choose learning apps from Apple’s iOS Appstore. Hyper-curated in order to facilitate sales, both stores are full of big claims that play on both our naïve belief that computers will eventually be able to do everything and our incessant fears that our children need an academic head start.
Before I write anything else, let me offer some advice: If you’re looking for learning apps and games read the Joan Ganz Cooney Center’s eBook Family Time with Apps: A Guide to Using Apps with Your Kids, read the Mindshift Guide to Digital Games and Learning that I wrote last year, or visit Graphite.org for dependable teacher reviews of learning games and apps.
I should also mention at the outset that the game used in the Stanford University study was Brainquake’s Wuzzit Trouble, which looks more like a digital interactive mathematics manipulative than a game—but don’t tell my kids that, they consider it a super-challenging puzzler. I consider it one of the world’s great distractions for long hours on an airplane.
Fanboy Wars: An eBook From Forbes The Fight For The Future Of Video Games is a warts-and-all look at the clashes between the video game business and its passionate fans.
The landscape of learning games is confusing. My first experience with shopping for learning games and apps happened recently in a doctor’s office. I don’t usually have to choose my own games, developers usually send them to me weeks before the actual release. A few months ago at the doctor’s office, however, I downloaded some multiplication-table flashcard game direct to my phone while my 9-year-old and I were waiting for his brother to finish his check-up. My son needed to memorize his times-tables and he also kept begging to use my smartphone: two birds, one stone. I soon discovered that there were dozens of multiplication learning options, all of which were crap. We settled on some ridiculous interactive drill-and-kill app with a flashy name and mediocre graphics. It bored him after 5 minutes. He hated it just as much as I hated the goofy plastic table top game that my mom used to force me to play when I was a kid. What was true in those days, still stands: making tests pretty doesn’t necessarily make them fun.
There are thousands of choices available which claim to be learning games and most of them are junk. In fact, whenever people ask me about good learning apps, I generally tell them that there aren’t many. I can think of 4 or 5 off the top of head (one is Wuzzit Trouble), and probably another 4 or 5 if I really look over my notes from the past few years.
The majority of games fail because they attempt to teach skills rather than thinking. They focus on retention rather than understanding. They miss the whole reason we should be excited about game based learning in the first place: because it offers the potential to change the common way we approach teaching and learning. Games can help students improve their critical thinking and problem solving capabilities while offering clear assessment data that could eliminate our dependency on regurgitation and memorization based evaluations.
Expressing a similar concept, mathematics learning experts often make a distinction between “procedural fluency” and “mathematical thinking,” or "number sense." Procedural fluency is just what it sounds like, being competent at executing mathematical procedures—like a human calculator. Mathematical thinking has to do with conceptual understanding. Keith Devlin, one of the creators of Wuzzit Trouble, describes it this way:
Mathematical thinking is more than being able to do arithmetic or solve algebra problems. In fact, it is possible to think like a mathematician and do fairly poorly when it comes to balancing your checkbook. Mathematical thinking is a whole way of looking at things, of stripping them down to their numerical, structural, or logical essentials, and of analyzing the underlying patterns. Moreover, it involves adopting the identity of a mathematical thinker.
Keith explained the idea of mathematical thinking to me when we spoke last summer and we identified 5 Things You Need To Know About The Future Of Math. At that time, he helped me understand just how important it is that we focus on teaching thinking rather than procedure. I highly recommend you read the article, Keith’s insights are fascinating, but simply put: computers can now do most procedural mathematics and individuals need to focus on learning number sense.
This is precisely the reason why the Stanford University study, entitled “Wuzzit Troube: The Influence of a Digital Math Game on Student Number Sense” by Holly Pope, Jo Boaler, and Charmaine Mangram, is so significant. Wuzzit Trouble is a series of puzzles about integer partitions. But the third graders who participated in the study were not focused on integer partitions during class time. They followed their ordinary curriculum. The 20.5% improvement correlated to the student’s number sense, problem solving skills, and algorithmic thinking.
In fact, the final question that the researchers asked the students both pre- and post-intervention was a “non-routine type that the students had been unlikely to have encountered before.” It was what education researchers call a “complex performance task.” That means it could have multiple solutions, but can’t be solved using the technique taught in class. Students first need to figure out what the question is even asking, then they need to make decisions about how to solve it. Students excelled at this after playing Wuzzit Trouble for just 10 minutes per day, 3 days a week, for four weeks. Their gains shocked everyone involved, showing that a game, in a very short amount of time, can significantly improve “number sense.”
The teacher whose classes participated in the study said,
My 5th period class, which is involved in this study, is an inclusion class with students with learning disabilities. On the last quiz I gave, the percentage of students receiving an A or B grade in this class was [only] one percentage less than those receiving an A or B grade in my Honors class which is filled with students in the gifted and talented program and my school’s science magnet program.
Does this mean you can make your kid gifted at math by downloading the game? No, don’t be ridiculous. I know I wrote a hyperbolic headline, but please don’t take it out of context. These students also all had regular math instruction. The game was used simply for ten minutes at the end of their regular math periods.
Learning games are just tools. They happen to be super engaging tools that teach students to “adopt an iterative approach involving exploratory trial-and-error, reflection on failure, and subsequent adaptation.” Kids like playing them. And what’s more, learning games eliminate the question: “why do I need to learn this?” When playing learning games, the context is clear—or at least one context is clear. Even if they think they are learning math only for the sake of the game, that’s okay. This is one of the challenges of teaching: you need to figure out ways to make academic content relevant to students’ present lives. We all know arithmetic is essential for their adult lives, but that doesn’t motivate young people to learn about integer partitions today.
The Stanford Study is the first one I know of that uses a comparison group and an intervention group, “a protocol that is mandated for medical research but rarely, if ever, used to test learning games.” There are still relatively few good studies that show the benefits of learning games in the classroom. Therefore, these results represent a significant finding in the world of digital games and learning.
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3ebfce84e3a1589053378f5bf79b05f5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2015/09/26/video-games-can-make-kids-healthier-happier-and-more-successful-in-school/ | Video Games Can Make Kids Healthier, Happier, And More Successful In School | Video Games Can Make Kids Healthier, Happier, And More Successful In School
Jane McGonigal’s first book, Reality Is Broken (2011), was an international bestseller. In it she celebrated the positive aspects of gaming. The book, along with Jane’s other work, has been enormously influential. The particular ways in which she framed mainstream psychological and neurological research so as to apply it to video games has subsequently become the game-industry standard. What’s more, even folks who know very little about gaming are familiar with her work. Whenever I tell people about my own work, they immediately tell me about watching one of Jane’s very popular TED talks.
Her highly anticipated new book, SUPERBETTER: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient--Powered by the Science of Games, was just released. It is a book that’s “not about playing games—at least, not exactly.” She explains in the introduction, “It’s about learning how to be gameful in the face of extreme stress and personal challenge.”
Jane was motivated to write the book after she created a game called “Jane the Concussion Slayer.” That game helped her recover from a traumatic head injury. Inspired, she designed a game-system called the “SuperBetter” method to help others recover from personal challenges. The SuperBetter Method is now being used by hundreds of thousands of people—folks with physical injuries, PTSD, depression, or maybe just a simple desire to transform their lives for the better. It is a simple and powerful transformational system with 7 basic gameful rules:
1. Challenge yourself. 2. Collect and activate power-ups. 3. Battle the bad guys. 4. Seek out quests. 5. Make allies. 6. Adopt a secret identity. 7. Go for epic wins.
It turns out that approaching life as if it were a game can be extraordinarily empowering. SuperBetter not only describes all the scientific research supporting the ways in which individuals can benefit from adopting a gameful mindset, it also recounts stories from hundreds of successful SuperBetter players.
When I finished reading the book, I was inspired. I had many ideas about gameful parenting, education, and school reform that I wanted to discuss with Jane.
Here is our conversation…
Jordan Shapiro: Even though your new book is aimed at adults and/or teenagers that could potentially play SuperBetter and really integrate a “gameful mindset” into their everyday lives, I handed it to my ten-year-old son. After reading the inside jacket cover, he was really intrigued by the premise. But I don’t think he even realizes there’s such a thing as “self-improvement” yet, so he wasn’t too into it once he started reading. Still, I’ve been talking about a lot of the ideas with him and they seem to resonate. I’m excited to think about how SuperBetter could impact the way folks work with a generation of kids that are usually just scolded for “video game addiction” or “too much screen time.”
Jane McGonigal: Yes! This is one of my big goals in getting this research out to the public. We are doing an entire generation a huge disservice by telling them, constantly, that one of their biggest passions is a waste of time, or worse, that it will somehow warp their brains or stunt their potential. Not only is this probably false, it is actively destructive.
The research from the past few years convincingly shows that the single worst thing you can do as a parent or educator, if you’re trying to prevent video game “addiction”, is to tell kids that games are a waste of time and that they should stop playing and do something “real” instead. The number one positive predictor of who goes on to develop a compulsive or excessive relationship to games is whether they believe there is a disconnect between “games” and “reality.” If you believe that, you probably use games to escape “real life” and avoid your problems, or to block negative thoughts and feelings. The more you try to avoid these things, the worse they get, and so the more you play, and the worse they get… it’s a vicious cycle.
The kids and young adults who really benefit from games, on the other hand, and who are able to keep their play in balance are the ones who can clearly think and talk about why they play, specifically in terms of positive outcomes and goals. They can see the strengths they’re building while they play, so they’re more likely to use them in everyday life.
My biggest advice to parents and educators is to always ask a kid who loves games, “What makes this game hard? What does it take to be good at this game? What have you gotten better at since you started playing this game?” And then help them build a bridge from their favorite games to other areas of their life. “Hmmm… I wonder if being good at that would help you when you’re dealing with a challenge at school.” Or in sports. Or at home. Help kids see that games aren’t a waste of time, they’re a source of real skills, abilities and character strengths that they continue to possess even when they’re not playing a game.
Also, I hope your son comes back to the book in a few years! Because I think you’re right that 13 or 14 is probably the right age for when you might be able to get absorbed in this kind of thinking. In the meantime, I’ve been told that you can do many of the 100 quests from the book with kids even if they skip all the research and advice parts.
Jordan: One of my favorite parts of the book is where you break down the science of how people can “build self-efficacy vicariously by watching an avatar that looks like you accomplish feats in a virtual world.” You explain how self-distancing can empower and motivate us in incredible ways. When I’m writing about children and learning, I usually use the term meta-cognition, which basically means the ability to think about your own thinking. But it is just another term for the same kind of self-distancing you describe.
Jane: Right! It’s the ability to take a step back and be more aware of your own thoughts and feelings and habits. When you can get some distance, you tend to make better decisions about what you really want to think, feel and do. You’re guided more by your most important goals and values, and less by anxiety, fear of embarrassment or failure, or what others expect of you. And it turns out that talking and thinking about yourself in the third person – which, an avatar is really just a third-person representation of yourself – is the most effective technique to get that kind of perspective.
Jordan: For me, this is one of the most exciting things about how games can impact people’s lives. Consider what it takes for a child or a student to be successful at anything. Even better, remember a time from your own childhood when you were successful. Chances are you first had to create the mental image of your future self. For example, I remember imagining myself being congratulated for my Tony-worthy performance in the school play. And every time I wrote an essay or a research paper, it was the mental image of my teacher being amazed at the quality of my work that kept me motivated.
Basically, I was creating what you call a “Secret-Identity.” I didn’t name him “Theater Jordo” or “Captain Writes-So-Well.” But I might as well have. I had a very clear image of an avatar in my head. And in the places where I could choose to play the game of school as one of those heroes, I was very successful.
Jane: Well this is interesting, because what the research literature suggests is that the real benefits of the secret identity or self-distancing techniques come from thinking about the action and effort required, and not imagining the positive outcomes. So it helps to imagine yourself drawing on your signature strengths – like creativity, determination, love of learning, courage – to do what’s hard. Imagining the positive outcome can actually distract from the real effort required or diminish your motivation to do the hard work. In all the studies I write about in the book, the benefits are coming from thinking positively about the hard work and the skills required and the strengths you have to help you meet the goal, to rise to the occasion. So that’s an important distinction to make!
Jordan: Okay, so even more significant than the motivational impact that comes from adopting a secret identity—or the practice of meta-cognitive self-distancing—is that it has the potential to fundamentally shift the way children think about the skills they master? They learn to think of critical thinking skills or academic content as if they were super powers, or as tools through which they can contribute to the world. That’s a huge “gameful” shift away from the predominant perspective which sees learning as a kind of practice in obedience. For example, students are often asked to prove proper procedural execution of math skills, but not to show that they can apply algebra, like a super power, in a real-life context.
Jane: Yes! That’s exactly it. Now you’ve got it.
Jordan: In a general sense, then, I suspect that if parents, teachers and administrators simply adopted a more gameful understanding of school it would be an epic win for the education system. The adults would immediately have to think deeply about how the “game of school” is currently played. What sort of values are implicitly reinforced through the unintentionally game-like systems, rules and procedures that make up a student’s experience? We’d discover that schools currently reward obedience over understanding. They offer power-ups that are collected through behaviors which run counter to thinking and creativity. And teachers, more often than not, relate to students not as allies, but rather as bad guys—deans and principals being evil Bosses.
Have you ever imagined what the world’s adults would be like if we raised an entire generation within a new “game-of-school?” What if we emphasized coop mode, shifting school from one-player to multiplayer mode? What if we taught them to prioritize “synchronization” above individual achievement?
Jane: I love your thinking here. I’m really struck by the idea that most teachers and administrators wind up playing the role of “bad guy” rather than ally. That seems like a great starting point for reimagining some of the more soul-crushing aspects of school. Let’s play with that idea for a minute. I’m thinking about all the things that allies in the SuperBetter method are encouraged to do for each other. I mean, here, from the book, if you don’t mind me quoting it directly, are the first things we suggest allies do for their “hero,” which in SuperBetter is what we call the person who is tackling a significant challenge, whether it’s getting superbetter at healing their brain from a traumatic injury (which is what I was doing when I invented it) or getting superbetter at finding a new job, writing their first book, or other personal challenges people use the gameful mindset to tackle. So here are some of the ways an ally relates to a hero:
1. Know your hero. Being an ally always starts with getting to know your hero’s current challenge, power-ups, and bad guys. (And their secret identity, if they’ve chosen to adopt one!) Ask your hero to give you a quick rundown. 2. Bring your hero power-ups. Now that you know your hero’s power-ups, offer to activate one together. 3. Help your hero battle a bad guy. Pick a bad guy on your hero’s list, and try to think of a strategy to help him or her successfully battle it. 4. Give your hero a quest. It’s not always easy to see the path forward. You can help your hero by challenging him or her to accomplish a task of your choosing in the next twenty-four hours. 5. Get a report. Ask the simple question, “How is your SuperBetter journey going?” You can spark conversation by asking specifically about different things. “What’s your favorite power-up so far?” “Is there a bad guy you feel you’ve made a lot of progress with?” “Have you done any interesting quests lately?” 6. Hunt the good stuff. One of the most important things you can do is to shine a light on your hero’s hard work and accomplishments. Think of yourself as a detective—your mission is to hunt the good stuff they’re doing, then make a big deal out of it. You’ll want to do more than just say “Good job.” When he or she makes a heroic effort or accomplish a tough goal, ask questions about how they did it. What were their strategies? Where did they find the strength? Ask how it feels now that they’ve done it. Ask what it inspires them to do next. Or tell them what it inspires you to do!
So that’s a little excerpt from the chapter on recruiting alies, but I think it really provokes the imagination to think, what if this was the model for teachers, administrators, and even a model for how students interact with each other?
Jordan: Also, consider the ways in which the current game of school teaches students that stress is an indication of caring, a marker of performance, a signifier of responsibility. We reward those who are often the most anxious with the highest scores—the students who stress all night about the big exams, the ones having panic attacks. It is very sad. We haven’t designed school in such a way that it gives bonuses for deep engagement and thoughtful introspection.
The biggest problem with this, in my opinion, is not just the negative impact it has on individual mental health. It is that we implicitly teach our children to value crisis aversion above all else. We tell them that they should study hard and memorize everything so that come test time, everything is nice and predictable and they can run on auto-pilot. It is like we are systematically teaching them not to play the game.
Wouldn’t it be better if we taught them the positive power of confrontation? If we equipped them to come face-to-face with difficult problems and ideas? Don’t you think that if we built a more gameful school system we’d implicitly cultivate a generation of adults who, because they get rewarded for engaging with bad guys and obstacles, would learn to value engagement over avoidance? Do you have suggestions for how teachers might bring this mindset into their classrooms? Or how parents might use it to help their own kids become more thoughtfully and intentionally engaged with the world around them?
Jane: Well, this is a very practical thing, and some schools inspired by game research are experimenting with this already, but the single most important change we could make to help reduce the fear and avoidance of students is to make tests re-takable as many times as the student wants.
In games, you can replay a level as often as you want. You can replay it if you failed, or you can replay it if you just think you can do better and want a higher score. This should be how tests work in school. We already know from educational research that kids learn better by taking tests than studying for them anyway! That’s because when you study, you tend to reinforce and review what you already know and feel comfortable with, whereas when you take a test you’re forced to confront the gaps in your knowledge or understanding.
So from both a learning perspective and from the point of view that we want kids to be happy, optimistic and not negatively stressed and anxious, there is no reason why exams in schools should only be takeable once. It makes no sense – for 99% of adults, once you get out of school, there is no real-world correlation with this high-stakes, single-shot performance model. It is much more important to stay engaged with difficult tasks, projects or learning goals even if you’ve not got it right or great the first time.
That’s why in the SuperBetter model, we challenge you to battle one bad guy a day – to confront one thing that is currently hard for you, or makes you nervous, or anxious, or worried. This is one of the elements of the “daily dose” of the game that we tested in our NIH-funded clinical trial and also in our randomized controlled study at the University of Pennsylvania. The daily dose is to activate 3 power-ups – quick, little things you can do anytime, anywhere that make you feel happy, healthy, strong, or connected to the people you care about; battle one bad guy, and complete one quest. (A quest is spending time and energy on whatever is your most important goal right now.) Anyway, it turns out that battling bad guys – choosing to engage with things that are likely going to cause frustration, or anxiety, or stress – increases optimism and self-efficacy, and reduces anxiety and depression.
Jordan: You can probably tell that I’m a fan of this book. I’m not usually a big self-help guy but in this case, I think you do such a great job of using game metaphors in empowering ways. There’s just one thing that concerns me: folks aren’t always free to choose the game they want to play.
SuperBetter can be enormously impactful in the places where we have the ability to change our circumstances, but in some parts of our lives, we really do just find ourselves stuck in really bad games. There are bad levels that we need to grind through. I suppose that by applying a gameful mindset we can persevere through these challenges with more resilience. But do you ever worry that your message could backfire? That telling folks that they have the power to change their lives by shifting their mindset could be problematic? What if they really can’t change the game they’re playing? Especially when I think about socio-economic disparity and racial inequality in the U.S., I worry that game needs to change just as much as the players do. What if there are systemic problems that first need to be fixed on a infrastructural level—by the game designers—in order to create a fair playing field?
Jane: Yes, this is important. So, two things. You are absolutely right that the SuperBetter method and mindset works for personal challenges, not societal ones! But I do want to point out that the people who tell their stories in the book are facing absolutely all manner of the most difficult, painful and even terrifying challenges that can happen to a person – and they all talk about feeling like they have, with this gameful approach, become stronger, braver, more resilient, better understood by their friends and family, even happier, even while they’re in the middle of just horrible circumstances.
We’re talking about people who have PTSD from surviving domestic violence, people with terminal cancer or ALS, people who are grieving for the loss of their spouse, parent or child. The four most common challenges people use SuperBetter effectively to deal with are: depression, anxiety, chronic pain and PTSD. I know how ridiculous it sounds to some people that anything that stems from games could help in such serious circumstances. But I really want to let people know that it’s not just trivial or self-chosen challenges—like training for a half-marathon or wanting to adopt healthier habits—that this mindset helps with. It absolutely works for the challenges you did not choose for yourself, that no one would ever choose.
At the same time, everything you say about there being games we are stuck in that we cannot individually play our way out of – structural elements of society related to economic inequality and racism and sexism and xenophobia and every other kind of hateful phobia – this is all true and hugely important. A self-help method will never be able to address these kinds of massive social problems because they are bigger than the self. And yet, I was prompted to focus on the self in my last five years of game design and research because of my own experience of suffering, through the traumatic brain injury, and the depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation that followed it. My traumatic experience did not make me any better able to address the structural issues in society (at least, not as far as I can tell, or not yet!). But it did make me better able to address personal suffering in others, and hopefully offer a tool for people to increase their resilience and come out on the other side of a difficult challenge feeling better able to lead the life they want and to help others do the same.
But I agree that there is a bigger game that needs to be redesigned, and it that society needs some “game tuning” or “balancing” as we say in game design, so that people who start out with an advantage aren’t increasingly advantaged, and everyone else increasingly disadvantaged, the longer the game plays out. And it shouldn’t simply be a game of luck to get out of that position of disadvantage.
Jordan: Anything else you want to add?
Jane: Well, I’d love to let you share something from the book that hasn’t appeared anywhere else. How about the Gameful Strengths Inventory? I think it would be great to communicate what being “gameful” really looks like in practice – and maybe leave readers with the idea that this list of 20 psychological strengths could be a set of goals for parents or educators to be developing. Here’s that inventory
How Gameful Are You? What to do: Answer each question on a scale of 0–5 points. Give yourself 0 points for “No way!” (you completely disagree with the statement), 5 points for “Heck, yeah!” (you completely, wholeheartedly agree with it), and points in between if you agree a lit bit, somewhat, or a lot. The higher your score (out of a possible 100), the more developed your gameful mindset. 1. I’m optimistic about my future. 2. I frequently look for new things to learn or new experiences to try. 3. Every challenge I face is an opportunity to learn or to grow. 4. I can think of at least one thing I could do in the next hour to feel happy, strong, or productive. 5. I do what matters most to me, even if it’s hard, painful, or scary. 6. I can do things in a new way. I’m not limited to the way things have always been done. 7. I have faith in my ability to accomplish whatever I set my heart to. 8. I feel grateful to many different people. 9. This week I was able to overcome an obstacle. 10. Setbacks don’t discourage me. 11. I feel a strong bond with other people who are going through the same challenge I face or who have already been through it. 12. When I face a problem, I can usually find a way to solve it. 13. I can think of at least one goal I would like to accomplish tomorrow 14. If I’m not sure whether I can do something successfully, I feel motivated to try and find out. 15. I have something specific to look forward to. 16. If I don’t like how I feel, I can change it. 17. I often lose track of time, because I get so immersed in an activity I enjoy. 18. I enjoy coming up with new, creative strategies. 19. I can think of at least one other person who really wants me to succeed. 20. I have the courage to face life and whatever challenges and complications it brings
Excerpts in this interview are from SUPERBETTER: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient--Powered by the Science of Games by Jane McGonigal. Reprinted by arrangement of Penguin Press, part of the Penguin Random House company. Copyright (c) 2015 by Jane McGonigal.
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7769ebd113a354f78802ea031b51593e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2016/03/19/this-edtech-conference-puts-teachers-before-tablets/ | This EdTech Conference Puts Teachers Before Tablets | This EdTech Conference Puts Teachers Before Tablets
Last week in Budapest, I spent the afternoon partying with teachers from all over the globe. Most of my colleagues were back in the USA at SXSWEdu, reveling in “disruptive” ideas and uber-hip edtech solutions. But I was glad to be in the Central Europe. The truth is you don’t see all that many teachers in Austin; SXSWEdu is really a tech industry conference. It is full of edu-sector entrepreneurs, consultants, pseudo-celebrity thought-leaders and words like scalability or growth.
In Hungary, the scene was very different. Microsoft was hosting its Educator Exchange conference: E2. During this event, held in a different part of the world each time, an international group of teachers meets to celebrate and share the innovative ways that they are using education technologies. The focus is all on classrooms, specifically, creative teaching strategies. It is about new and imaginative ways that teachers use Microsoft products to reach their students.
Of course, there are the ordinary workshops and breakout sessions like one finds at any education conference. As you’d expect, the folks from Redmond show off their software products and reinforce the value of those products. But the centerpiece of this gathering doesn’t seem to be Microsoft. Instead, it’s the teachers. This is an opportunity for educators from around the world to collaborate, share, and support each other.
(Photo credit: Praveen Katta/Microsoft)
I could feel a spirit of comradery, excitement, and mutual admiration as I walked through the conference’s centerpiece: The Learner’s Marketplace. At first, it looked just like an ordinary convention center trade show. Row after row is filled with elaborate displays, complete with free swag—pens, candies, buttons, etc. There are even refreshment tables around the perimeter and an espresso bar. The aisles are tightly packed with hundreds of people. But look a little closer and you realize that these are not communications departments, event planning specialists, or professional booth babes. These are ordinary teachers that came from all corners of the globe to share their favorite strategies and best practices with one another.
One teacher explains how she uses Skype to let her students chat with young people on the other side of the globe. “My kids are too young to do a lesson on geography and culture, so we focus on animals.” They learn about the wildlife that’s indigenous to the parts of the world their video chatting with, and they teach their digital Skype-pals about their own fauna.
(Photo credit: Praveen Katta/Microsoft)
Another teacher tells me how he uses Minecraft to teach creative writing. “I used to tell them to write a story and they’d give me these blank stares. Now I ask them to act out a story in the Minecraft world first and then, together, we figure out how to articulate it in writing.” He describes how the virtual block world lets him walk his students back to specific locations so he can interrogate them about the details. “I encourage them to get more descriptive and specific; I tell them to imagine how things might smell, what the grass might feel like under their feet.”
Two more teachers show me how they’ve created their own social and emotional assessment tool within OneNote’s Class Notebooks feature. They use a traffic light metaphor, asking students to rate their experiences as red, yellow, or green. “Red is a sad face, green is a happy face.” They explain how new OneNote features let them push content to individualized, private notebooks. It has allowed them to personalize content and feedback without having to worry about student embarrassment or vulnerabilities.
After meeting twenty or thirty teachers and listening to them describe the projects that earned them a place at this event, the folks from Microsoft give me a demo of some new add-ins for OneNote Class Notebooks. Edtech companies are always talking about how they build their products in collaboration with their customers—integrating features suggested by users—but Microsoft takes it one step further, introducing me to the teachers who worked with them through the beta testing and iteration process. Teachers wanted to see particular features within the Class Notebooks, like the ability to distribute notes to individual students and small groups, or to sequentially review student work. Now these features are available.
It occurred to me that with each new add-in and each new version, OneNote is becoming increasingly robust and comprehensive. When I see the creative ways teachers are using these new add-ins to manage their students’ experience, I wonder if full Learner Management Systems will be obsolete in the near future. Unlike an LMS, OneNote feels way more compatible with the brick and mortar classroom; it’s not a separate digital space, but rather an integrated supplement to the traditional learning experience. Every LMS I’ve tried seems to be grounded in the logic of data management, whereas OneNote is more like a 21st Century Trapper Keeper.
After my OneNote demo, I walk through the city to the Hungarian National Gallery. Here, the conference ends with a big awards gala ceremony. There’s food, drinks, music and dancing. Earlier in the week, the teachers were grouped up with international strangers and challenged to dream up pedagogical techniques together. Now, the best of these creative projects are recognized in an over-the-top awards ceremony.
It is fantastic to watch an international group of educators hoot and holler. They cheered one another on. They celebrated. They laughed and they shared ideas until the wee hours of the morning. I looked around and saw the archetypal spirit of the teacher filling the room. It is crazy to think that it takes an event like this to remember that educators are such a passionate, dedicated, spirited, and collaborative bunch. Ordinarily, they’re isolated in classrooms and barely encouraged to show up in all their glory.
(Photo credit: Praveen Katta/Microsoft)
Unlike other edtech events, it struck me the Microsoft’s Educator Exchange was not about disruption, scalability or growth. It was about professional development, a symposium for teachers. And it turns out, Budapest was the perfect location. Driving from the airport to the city center, I watched out the window as the car passed by homogenous concrete high-rise apartment buildings left over from the era of the Hungarian People’s Republic. These socialist artifacts litter the city’s outskirts, offering a striking contrast to the majestic Ottoman-influenced 18th and 19th Century architecture on both banks of the Danube. I studied the aesthetic disparity even more carefully on the way out of town and reflected on the what’s lost when so much efficiency and standardization is gained. I’m guessing the rest of the world (in a way US venture capitalists never could) remembers what life felt like just a few decades ago when some cities were still rigidly held to State-mandated infrastructural “scalability” standards.
In the education sector, we spend a lot of time looking for solutions. Scalable solutions. But we often forget that it is not only about the things that we can replicate and grow. It is also about learning to listen, celebrate, and elevate the little things that are happening in local, individual classrooms all over the world. Because ultimately, it is the teachers that make the biggest difference.
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49bb9ef0e00a66e9dcd51bb4abf0f012 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanstrickler/2020/10/28/study-finds-corn-increasingly-sensitive-to-drought/?sh=7510b5cb480e%20 | Study Finds Corn Increasingly Sensitive To Drought | Study Finds Corn Increasingly Sensitive To Drought
While yields have increased, corn has become significantly more sensitive to drought conditions. getty
Corn is the number one crop grown by American farmers, accounting for more than 95% of total production and use. The crop, which was a human invention and cannot be found in the wild, is also one of the most dependent on ideal weather conditions to grow. In a world with an ever-warming climate, these two factors do not play well with one another.
Now scientists from Stanford University have found another “oh, goody” moment to insert into the conversation. A new study, published in Nature Food, has found that the staple crop has become significantly more sensitive to drought conditions.
New technologies are able to help raise yields in a variety of weather conditions. That’s the good news.
"The bad news is that these technologies, which include some specifically designed to withstand drought, are so helpful in good conditions that the cost of bad conditions are rising,” said study lead author David Lobell, the Gloria and Richard Kushel Director of the Center on Food Security and the Environment at Stanford. “So there's no sign yet that they will help reduce the cost of climate change."
Corn production in the U.S. is a seemingly unstoppable juggernaut. Despite concerns about resistant weeds, a changing climate and many other factors, the industry has set record yields in five of the last seven years. Likely drivers of these bumper crops include changes in planting and harvesting practices, such as adoption of drought-tolerant varieties, and changes in environmental conditions, such as reduced ozone levels and increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations that generally improve the water-use efficiency of crops.
Corn yields have hit records five of the last seven years. USDA NASS
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As climate change intensifies, however, the cost to maintain crop yields will likely increase. A variety of factors enter into the equation, such as increased crop water needs due to increased plant sowing density. What is clear is that despite robust corn yields, the cost of drought and global demand for corn are rising simultaneously.
The Stanford scientists akin it to “a baseball slugger whose home run totals rise despite missing more curveballs each season.”
To accomplish the study, scientists used county soil maps and satellite-based yield estimates, among other data, to examine fields in the Corn Belt, the nine-state region of the Midwest which account for roughly two-thirds of the nation’s corn production. By comparing fields along gradients of drought stress each year, researchers could identify how sensitivity to drought is changing over time.
Even within a single county, they found a wide range of soil moisture retention, with some soils able to hold twice as much water as others. As might be expected, there were generally higher yields for soils that held more water. They found yield sensitivity to soil water storage in the region increased by 55 percent on average between 1999 and 2018, with larger increases in drier states.
The results made it clear that soil's ability to hold water was the primary reason for yield loss. In some cases, soil's ability to hold an increased amount of moisture was three times more effective at increasing yields than an equivalent increase in precipitation.
The Stanford report comes less than a month after a pair of studies out of the University of Illinois found that as the climate trends warmer and drier, global food security increasingly hinges on crops' ability to withstand drought, and scientists and producers aren’t really focusing on the right metrics when measuring crop-relevant drought. Researchers said that atmospheric dryness (called “demand” in the studies) was not taken into account nearly enough.
“Plants have to balance water supply and demand. Both are extremely critical, but people overlook the demand of the equation, especially in the U.S. Corn Belt,” said Kaiyu Guan, principal investigator on the reports. “If you only consider rainfall and soil moisture, which is how most people think about drought, that’s mostly describing the supply side. Of course if you have low soil moisture, plants will be stressed by how much water they get. But the supply is often pretty sufficient, especially here in the U.S. Corn Belt...however, the demand side from the atmosphere can also severely stress plants. We need to pay more attention to that drought signal.”
The first study, “Redefining droughts for the U.S. Corn Belt: The dominant role of atmospheric vapor pressure deficit over soil moisture in regulating stomatal behavior of maize and soybean,” published in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, used data from seven sites across the Corn Belt to conclude Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD) accounts for nearly 90% of the changes in crop stomatal conductance, a proxy for drought stress, and approximately 85% of changes in gross primary productivity, a measure of productivity.
In the other study, “Connections between hydrological cycle and crop yield in the rainfed U.S. Corn Belt,” published in the Journal of Hydrology, Guan’s team focused on grain yield. Yield depends on many factors related to water cycles, but the researchers found that VPD explains the biggest proportion of variability in crop yield and also provides the earliest warning for yield loss when comparing with other water cycle metrics and traditional drought indices.
Stanford researchers believe that to better understand how climate impacts to corn are evolving over time, there should be increased access availability to field-level yield data that are measured independently of weather data, such as government insurance data that were previously available to the public but no longer are.
"This study shows the power of satellite data, and if needed we can try to track things from space alone. That's exciting," said Lobell. "But knowing if farmers are adapting well to climate stress, and which practices are most helpful, are key questions for our nation. In today's world there's really no good reason that researchers shouldn't have access to all the best available data to answer these questions."
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e58771ae6254b6e216d0f7fdf1d134f8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanstrickler/2021/02/23/food-and-agriculture-climate-alliance-momentum-gains-traction/?sh=5a0fbffd247e | Ag Alliance To Fight Climate Change Gains Momentum | Ag Alliance To Fight Climate Change Gains Momentum
An alliance of farming organizations is forming to combat climate change. getty
In an effort to assist the Biden administration’s effort to combat climate change, an alliance between organizations which have butted heads in the past is forming. The Food and Agriculture Alliance (FACA), a mix of agriculture and environmental organizations, have now ballooned to 42 members.
FACA consists of entities representing farmers, ranchers, forest owners, the food sector, state governments and environmental advocates which work together to define and promote climate policy priorities. The Biden administration and Congress have expressed interested in FACA’s recommendations and will be working with the organizations on how to achieve their proposed climate change goals. In response, the alliance’s policy working groups are producing more detailed and specific proposals focusing on the carbon bank concept, tax credits and other incentives, as well as climate research.
In November, FACA released more than 40 recommendations, though many were only beginning to come to shape with no implementation details. Now, however, the alliance’s leaders are producing more structured proposals.
“We are encouraged that leaders in both the House and Senate are requesting more detailed guidance to achieve FACA’s climate goals and recommendations,” said American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Zippy Duvall in a statement. “It’s important that any new climate policies respect the people who will be impacted the most – farmers and ranchers. FACA’s 40-plus proposals demonstrate farmers and ranchers must be treated as partners as we work together to build on the impressive advances already achieved toward climate-smart farming.”
The group is working on developing a set of policy recommendations for federal lawmakers in six specific areas: soil health, livestock and dairy, forests and wood products, energy, research and food loss and waste.
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The agricultural and forestry climate policy requirements must be built upon voluntary, incentive-based programs and market-driven opportunities, promote resilience and adaptation in rural communities and must be science-based.
Climate change has had a significant impact on agriculture the past few decades and is giving the groups — which have differed in the past on a number of issues — a chance to come together for a mutual benefit.
In 2019, Columbia University posted an article warning that agriculture was on a tipping point. Geoffrey Heal, an environmental economist in the Columbia Business School, said that although agriculture makes up a fairly small part of the nation’s total economy, “locally these effects could be big. There are about a dozen states in the Midwest that are very dependent on agriculture and they could take quite a big hit.”
According to the school, extreme rainfall events have increased 37% in the Midwest in the past 70 years.
A 2015 study showed that, at the global level, the climate change will cause an agricultural productivity decrease (between −2% and −15% by 2050), a food price increase (between 1.3% and 56%) and an expansion of cultivated area (between 1% and 4%) by 2050.
In 2011, a National Academy of Sciences report concluded that for every degree Celsius the global thermostat rises, there will be a 5 - 15% decrease in overall crop production. This would have an extreme impact on commodity crops such as corn, soybean, wheat, rice, cotton and oats which do not grow well above certain temperatures.
A study published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science found that damage in agriculture may reach the annual loss of 0.3% of future total gross domestic product at the end of the century globally, assuming further opening of trade in agricultural products.
“For any incentive program to be meaningful, it has to be simple, transparent and provide tangible immediate benefits,” Produce Marketing Association’s Max Teplitski, chief science officer, said in a news release. “PMA sees it as our responsibility to ensure just that, in collaboration with environmental groups, trade associations and non-profits, we will help drive the conversation on how to make these incentives meaningful.”
FACA, which was formed last year, had four original members: the AFBF, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Environmental Defense Fund and National Farmers Union. Not long after the original alliance, four new members joined including the Food Industry Association, National Alliance of Forest Owners, National Association of the State Departments of Agriculture and the Nature Conservancy.
After the recent growth the past week, new steering committee members also includes the American Seed Trade Association, American Sugar Alliance, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, Biotechnology Innovation Organization, Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau, Ducks Unlimited, Farm Credit Council, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Cotton Council, National Milk Producers Federation, PMA and USA Rice Federation.
A hearing is set Thursday in the House Agriculture Committee on climate change.
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b4cedd541cb23dbe7868ac962a0ec7e1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanstrickler/2021/04/08/panorama-organic-is-teaming-up-with-the-audubon-society-to-save-birds/?sh=2e0c6c9a5c52 | Panorama Organic Is Teaming Up With The Audubon Society To Save Birds | Panorama Organic Is Teaming Up With The Audubon Society To Save Birds
Panorama Organic is teaming with the Audubon Society to curb bird declines. getty
Early this week, the Audubon Society, one of the oldest bird conservation organizations in the world, announced that they will be entering into a partnership with the Perdue-owned Panorama Organic Grass-fed Meats which will add almost a million acres to Audubon’s Conservation Ranching Initiative (ACR).
“Over the last 50 years, no ecosystem has been more imperiled than the grasslands, including pastures and rangelands that birds like the Grasshopper Sparrow and Western Meadowlark rely,” said Marshall Johnson, director of Conservation Ranching for Audubon. “When birds go silent, that’s an indication that we're losing our soil health and wildlife habitat. We recognized early on that partnership between Audubon and ranchers was mission critical to saving them.”
Since 2012, Johnson has headed up the expansion of ACR and with the partnership with Panorama, would double the rancher network to two million total acres of certified lands by 2030.
“With 95% of grassland birds living on cattle ranches in the United States, and the bird population in steep decline, the connection between cows, birds and land conservation is a priority for Panorama Organic and the National Audubon Society,” said Kay Cornelius, general manager of Panorama Organic, and a fourth-generation rancher.
To participate in ACR, ranchers adopt “regenerative grazing practices” which mimic the grazing practices of bison herds that once traveled the plains. These practices allow a variety of native grasses to grow and thrive by allowing pastures to rest and recover.
That unused land will, in turn, provide a habitat for endangered grassland birds, whose numbers have declined by more than half over the past 50 years. A 2019 study published in Science found that since 1970, bird populations in the United States and Canada have declined by almost 30%, representing a decline of almost 3 billion birds. Grassland birds have bore the brunt of losses with a population loss of 53%, more than 720 million birds.
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The program also requires that livestock be able to freely graze on open grassland, prohibits use of animal by-products or antibiotics in feed, forbids use of feedlots and includes monitoring for animal health and welfare. In return for their efforts, ranchers receive a premium price for their products, which bear Audubon’s “grazed on bird-friendly land” certification seal.
“Not everyone can afford a Tesla to reduce their auto emissions, and solar panels on a roof might be out of reach,” said Cornelius. “But for the 48 million bird and conservation enthusiasts in the U.S., buying Panorama Organic with the Audubon seal allows them to use their purchasing power to vote their conscience and support ranchers committed to not only supplying quality products, but to regenerating habitat for wildlife and restoring ecosystems as well.”
To quantify ACR’s impact, Audubon’s science team has developed a Bird-Friendliness Index. The index measures the abundance, diversity, and resilience of the bird community on ACR-certified ranchland, and compares them to conventionally managed lands.
“Birds are great indicators of overall environmental health,” said Johnson.” If there aren’t native grasses and cows propagating it, then we’ll continue to see the dramatic decline of birds across America. We have a very simple saying at Audubon, ‘no cows, no grass, no birds.’”
During the pandemic, purchases of grass-fed meat surged by more than 50%.
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480f844c6a267542d61ce5ff65319559 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanstrickler/2021/04/13/biden-administration-request-gives-boost-to-agriculture-budget/ | Biden Administration Budget Request Gives Boost To Agriculture Funding | Biden Administration Budget Request Gives Boost To Agriculture Funding
If approved, the USDA would get a big raise in funding. Getty
The Biden Administration’s discretionary budget request gave agriculture a big step up in funding. Friday’s request called for a 16% increase from the 2021 enacted level, a jump of $3.8 billion to $27.8 billion.
Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, stated that the discretionary budget would expand broadband access; provide more funds for agricultural research, extension and outreach programs; would address wildfires by providing more money for forest management; and would increase the funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).
"This is our moment to solve big challenges by acting boldly-to close the broadband gap facing rural America; to work with farmers, ranchers and producers to transform our nation's food system and build new markets here and abroad; to protect and manage our nation's forests and grasslands from catastrophic wildfires; and to ensure Americans have access to healthy and nutritious food,” said Vilsack, who will appear at an online hearing on Wednesday with the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee. “The President's budget commits to building back better and USDA is at heart of that historic commitment.”
The request was part of a $118 billion increase in domestic spending. Civilian agencies would receive an overall 16% increase in funding, to $769 billion, while defense spending would rise by less than 2%, to $753 billion.
Rural broadband has been promoted greatly by the past two presidential administrations. According to the USDA, rural Americans are more than 10 times likelier than urban residents to lack access to quality broadband. Biden’s request would provide an increase of $65 million over the 2021 enacted level for the Rural e-Connectivity Program "Reconnect," which provides grants and loans to deploy broadband to unserved areas.
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"The benefits of high-speed internet will serve as an economic equalizer for rural America and the work of installing broadband will create high-paying union jobs with benefits in rural communities,” said the USDA in it’s release. “This investment will build on the Coronavirus Relief Provisions provided in 2020 to support broadband infrastructure deployment to areas lacking broadband, especially rural areas."
In its goal to ramp up investments in research and development for agriculture, the budget would provide $4 billion, or nearly $680 million above the 2021 enacted level, for USDA's research, education, and outreach programs.
Nutrition was also big on the president’s list. The 2022 discretionary request provides $6.7 billion, more than $1 billion above the 2021 enacted level, for programs such as WIC.
The request also addresses the growing threat from wildfires. According to the agency, the discretionary request provides nearly $1.7 billion, an increase of $476 million, over the 2021 enacted level for high-priority hazardous fuels and forest resilience projects. This funding supports the administration's science-based approach to vegetation management at the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior.
The budget proposal was heralded by the agriculture sector.
“I think this is going to be good for us, is going to help store carbon and is going to help with a lot of the conservation methods that we've been always talking about and incentivizes the right people to do the right thing,” said South Dakota Farmers Union President Doug Sombke in an interview with radio station WNAX. “Something that we've been talking about for a long long time is that we just haven't invested enough in research over the years. The Farm Bill has been cutting that type of funding, and we just can't do that in today's age. If we're going to continue to be the top producing nation worldwide, we're going to need to continue to do better research.”
Even conservative organizations such as Taxpayers for Common Sense gave the increased funds for the USDA a passing grade (for now).
“While we’ll likely have to wait until the full budget is released to get details on these ‘significant investments’ at (United States Forest Service) and (National Resource Conservation Service), we have called for better monitoring, measurement, and verification in agriculture conservation programs in the past,” the group said in a statement. “We’ll have to wait for details to draw conclusions. But if USDA is serious about increasing investment in tools that will promote farmer and rancher resilience instead of dependence on federal subsidies, that’s a good start.”
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b68e808bb996569acab8d599256974e5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanstrickler/2021/04/20/drought-continues-to-ravage-western-us/ | Drought Continues To Ravage Western U.S. | Drought Continues To Ravage Western U.S.
Poorly developed cornstalks show the effects of prolonged hot, dry weather on a farm in southern ... [+] Wisconsin. getty
Extreme drought now encompasses almost 10% of the country. In Texas, only 8% of the state is considered drought-free. Another 8.5% of the state is considered in “exceptional drought (D4),” the worst category on a four-point scale. The entirety of North Dakota is in a drought state while 78% of its southern neighbor is considered in drought, with conditions rated from moderate (D1) to extreme drought (D3). In Iowa, 39% of the state is suffering from abnormally dry conditions, or worse. In fact, pretty much all of the western half of the United States is parched to say the least.
"Dry is an understatement," northeast Colorado farmer Marc Arnusch, whose farm may have to idle 60% of its acres in the face of irrigation water rationing, told Progressive Farmer. "Last week, our irrigation district issued a 5% pro-rate, which means many of our farms will have two to four days' worth of irrigation water for the year."
Water levels in the southwest will be getting low enough that water shortage declarations might be declared for the first time. According to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), water levels in two major lakes — Lake Powell and Lake Mead —are threatening the supply of water from the Colorado River which growing cities and farms rely on. The low supply in Lake Mede, the largest reservoir in the country, could also threaten electricity generation at Hoover Dam. It would be the lowest the lake has been since it was filled in the 1930s.
The west and northwest are experiencing some of the worst drought conditions in years. United States Drought Monitor
In Oregon, the USBR will only be allocating 33,000 acre-feet of water from the Upper Klamath Lake. Farmers say this is only 8% of what they will need in such a dry year.
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On March 5, Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack formerly declared 50 counties in California as “primary natural disaster areas” due to the drought. That designation makes those counties eligible for assistance from the Farm Service Agency (FSA), including FSA emergency loans.
The drought prompted many California Congressmen, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, to write a letter to the governor, urging him to declare a state of emergency.
"We write to urgently request for you to make a statewide declaration of emergency for the state of California,” said the group. “It is not a secret that we find ourselves yet again with a major drought. It is imperative we do all we can as elected leaders to ensure our constituents, and the communities they live in, have access to the resources they need during this time, namely water."
So far, however, the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, has yet to make the move. The designation is a balancing acting between environmentalists and agriculture groups since it would give state officials more flexibility in managing water supply and each group would have its own priorities as to how it was utilized.
“We’re preparing to do many things as it relates to preparing ourselves for the reality formally of second drought conditions,” the governor responded. “As it relates to the specific declaration of emergency which has all kinds of component parts, we are not prepared to do that at this moment.”
The drought has also been affecting the topsoil conditions. According to the latest Crop Progress Report, 12 states are seeing more than half of its topsoil in short to very short conditions.
“We’ve had minuscule amounts of moisture,” Kim Saueressig, a farmer in McCluskey, North Dakota, tells AgWeb.com. “We probably really haven't seen a decent rain since probably the first week in August last year. Last fall was our fastest harvest we've ever had. And so, to go from a wet fall in 2019 and a wet spring in 2020, to now, it’s a total turnaround.”
According to the USDA, 85% of New Mexico had short to very short topsoil moisture conditions, while 77% of Texas finds itself in that category. Worse off is North Dakota , which is seeing 83% of the state with topsoil conditions that are desperately dry.
Planting season doesn’t ramp up for a several weeks, so there is time for improvement. According to the USDA, as of April 12 only 4% of corn has been planted in the nation. Currently, droughts rank second in types of phenomena associated with billion-dollar weather disasters during the past three decades, with annual losses nearing $9 billion per year.
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ba88a4073467581441b8772485c3f5ed | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanwaldrep/2018/06/05/why-you-should-bet-with-casinos-in-the-market/ | Why You Should Bet With Casinos In The Market | Why You Should Bet With Casinos In The Market
“The house ALWAYS wins in the end.”
“Las Vegas wasn’t built on winners.”
Anyone who has spent time in Las Vegas has heard these phrases, usually after a bad session at the tables. The casinos always have the odds in their favor. Yet knowing this does not stop gamblers, myself included, from coming back repeatedly. We KNOW we are going to lose in the long run, but we keep coming back for more. However, there is one place you can bet on the house, and that is in the stock market. There are three long-term trends driving growth in casinos that might make you want to consider gaming stocks for your portfolio.
Macau
The Morpheus hotel, developed by Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd., stands during a media tour in... [+] Macau, China, on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/Bloomberg
When Americans think of casino gambling – they typically think of Las Vegas, but that is small potatoes compared to Chinese Macau. The growth of gaming in Macau is the biggest revenue driver for casino stocks and is a well-known story in the investing community. However, many investment professionals I speak with are often astonished when they hear the sheer size of the market.
In the chart below, notice how much larger Macau is than Las Vegas.
Las Vegas Macau Visitors 42.2 million 32.6 million Casinos 161 40 Gaming Revenue $10.0 billion $33.1 billion
Macau’s gaming revenue was more than triple that of Las Vegas in 2017. That is the only number that really matters and is still growing. Visitors have increased at a consistent rate of 3.5% annually over the past ten years. Gaming revenue jumped over $5 billion (18%) in 2017 and increased 21% year over year in the first quarter of 2018. Five casinos have opened in the past two years, and two or three more are in the late stages of construction.
These Macanese casinos run on Chinese economic growth. 87% of visitors to Macau are coming from mainland China or Hong Kong, so visitor income is strongly tied to economic growth in China. Of particular importance are the Chinese VIP’s who seemingly cannot stay away from baccarat tables and generate over 50% of gaming revenues.
Remember, all this growth and opportunity is concentrated in the six companies that have licenses to operate casinos in Macau - SJM, MGM Macau, Wynn Macau, Sands Macau, Galaxy, and Melco.
Sports Betting
LAS VEGAS, NV - FEBRUARY 02: The Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino on February 2, 2016 in Las... [+] Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
On May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court struck down the law limiting sports betting in the United States. This allows each state to pass laws regulating sports betting and many appear poised to do just that. The state legislature of Pennsylvania was so excited about the opportunity that they passed sports gambling laws last year just to be ready. Today, five states have changed laws to allow sports betting, and 14 more have introduced new bills to legalize it. States are lining up to take advantage of the increased tax revenue. And why wouldn’t they? There will likely be huge sums wagered on the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. However, what matters for investors is not how much is wagered, but how much revenue is generated for the casinos and sportsbooks. Legalized sports betting offers another opportunity for casinos to grow significantly. The best comparable is probably Great Britain, where sports betting is legal and generated £5.3 billion in revenue during 2017. If we compare this to the United States, that would mean about $50 billion in revenue alone. This assumes similar betting habits as well as legal sports betting in all 50 states, neither of which is true. However, as a back of the envelope estimate, this gives you an idea of the potential size of this new market for casinos. With digital betting available on your phone, you do not need a multi-billion dollar casino to participate in this market. So, a lot of small private companies will be vying for a share of the sports gaming pie. Still, regional casinos like Penn and Boyd should benefit, and larger casinos like MGM, Wynn, Sands, and Caesars should be able to leverage their physical assets to claim digital market share.
Japan
The last opportunity I am following closely is in Japan. The government of Japan approved casino gambling in December 2016. Since then, the government has been working towards approving the regulatory structure of the gaming market. However, there have been delays over concerns of gambling addiction ravaging the country. If casino gaming in Japan moves forward, the opportunity for international casinos to create Las Vegas-style casino resorts would be significant. Japan has the tenth largest population and the third largest economy in the world. Estimates for the market potential vary widely and are just guesses until we know how the Japanese government will tax these revenues. Yet the idea of another Las Vegas or even Macau sized market opening in Japan has casinos and investors lining up.
Important Trends in Gaming Stocks
Macau, sports betting and Japan. These diverse areas should add tens of billions of dollars to the casino bank vaults over the next few years. While I am still going to Las Vegas to play blackjack knowing my chances are low, I will also have a side bet on the house in the stock market. That is a bet I want to make.
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6bcf04298e6093981c2306b4c7402003 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanwaldrep/2018/09/20/how-chinese-vips-figured-out-an-easy-way-to-beat-casinos/ | How Chinese VIPs Figured Out An Easy Way To Beat Casinos | How Chinese VIPs Figured Out An Easy Way To Beat Casinos
Chinese VIPs have apparently figured out how to beat the house odds at casinos. As someone who covers gaming stocks closely, that may sound a bit snarky but seriously…if you follow the Macau gaming stocks, you would conclude that VIP’s have figured it out. In a sense, they have but only for a few weeks.
Macau casino stocks have been in a tough position over the past few months as VIP’s have not delivered the stellar returns that markets have come to expect. Since the end of May, the six casino stocks of China’s (and the world’s) gaming capital in Macau have been selling off dramatically – averaging a -34% fall through September 14, 2018. The roots of that sell-off are lowered expectations for growth, particularly of VIP gaming revenues, stemming from a relatively weak 2nd quarter.
The Casino Grand Lisboa, left, and the Casino Lisboa, center, both operated by SJM Holdings Ltd.,... [+] stand next to signage for Wynn Resorts Ltd.'s Wynn Macau casino resort at night in Macau, China. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg
Macanese casinos are highly dependent on VIP visitors from mainland China. On average, these ‘whales’ are responsible for a large percentage of gaming revenues, almost exclusively playing baccarat. VIP Baccarat has been responsible for about 56% of gross gaming revenues for the past few years and even more in the past. Literally billions are being bet on baccarat each month in Macau and how VIPs fare at the tables impacts share prices on stock exchanges around the world.
VIP Baccarat
Everyone knows that casino games have the odds stacked in the house’s favor. While you may win a particular hand, the casino will win out over the course of time. This is referred to as the ‘house edge’ and it is why multi-billion dollar casinos exist. The bigger the house edge, the worse the chances are for the player to win over time. In roulette, the house has about a 5.5% edge, meaning that the casino expects to win $5.50 out of every $100 bet over time. But in roulette, there is no skill involved so your choices don’t affect that edge. Some of the best odds for the player are available in blackjack, where if you play the game perfectly the house edge is about 0.5%. However, blackjack forces the player to make decisions that affect the house edge and most people do not play perfectly. Anyone who has watched in horror as some ‘bold’ player splits 10’s against a 2 at 3AM in the Bellagio can vouch for that. Casinos love poor play because it makes the house edge larger than the expected rate, i.e. they expect to win more.
That leads us to James Bond's game of choice, baccarat. If you don’t know how to play, it isn’t complicated from the players perspective. Baccarat is a card game like blackjack. Yet you don’t have to make any choices other than where to bet so in that sense it is similar to roulette. You place your chips on the table, watch the cards turn and see if you win. Like roulette, there are no ‘mistakes’ you can make as a player. However, the house edge is almost as small as blackjack at just over 1% which makes it very appealing to gamblers. Baccarat is easy to play and offers good odds compared to other games available in the casino.
A croupier sits at a baccarat gaming table at Galaxy's broadway casino in Macau. (AP Photo/Vincent... [+] Yu)
So how did VIP’s in Macau figure out how to avoid losing a game of pure chance with no skill involved? Simple – they stopped playing. Not permanently, just for a few weeks while the World Cup was happening in Russia from June 14-July 15. The ‘whales’ who have funded so much of the growth of Macau, making it 3 times larger than Las Vegas, were off watching the biggest sporting event in the world. VIP’s took advantage of the only way to beat the house – they chose not play.
The House Still Wins In The Long Run
When you look at revenue and visitors, such a strong sell-off in the Macanese casino stocks is a little surprising. Average visitors to Macau continue to rise, with 175 thousand more visitors per month on average this year over last – a 6.6% increase to over 3 million visitors in July. Additionally, those visitors have more money to spend as China’s economy grows. When Macau started ramping up operations in 2002, there was a need for visitors for other parts of the world as the Chinese economy was still in the early stages of this historic growth cycle. Even a decade ago, only 44% of visitors were from mainland China. Today that number is over 70% and trending upward as economic growth and optimism for the future abound in China. Visitors from the mainland come with new found wealth to Macau and try their hand at games of chance. Meanwhile, total gaming revenue and average gaming revenue per visitor are both trending upwards. Macau has more visitors with more money to spend who are spending more on average. Taken with Chinese economic trends, these metrics all seem to point towards a more positive outlook in the long run.
So what caused the sell-off? With VIPs at the World Cup, the growth numbers were softer than many analysts expected. The performance of the stocks suffered and investors questioned the underlying growth potential. Reliance on VIPs has been a blessing and a curse. Yet, the VIPs should return to continue to power earnings growth. While acknowledging that the recent Typhoon Mangkhut may delay the bounce back in the numbers, I do not believe that Chinese VIPs will suddenly resist the clarion call of baccarat in Macau. The only way to win is to not play. That may have worked for a very short time but until we see something indicating Chinese VIP’s have given up baccarat, I’m going to keep betting on the house in the stock market.
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271a3e8a1305ac01b561f68f09280424 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordilippemcgraw/2020/09/15/sarah-flint-shoes-slippers/ | Sarah Flint Releasing Slippers Inspired By A Yorkshire Estate | Sarah Flint Releasing Slippers Inspired By A Yorkshire Estate
These might be the most elegant house slippers ever. Sarah Flint
Fashion designers draw their inspiration from many different places. But for Sarah Flint's latest collection, it came from her travels to Yorkshire. The celebrity-favorite shoe designer (Meghan Markle is a fan) was taken aback by the estates' stunning interiors in the area and decided to create a new line of footwear that embraced country castle living. And, for the first time, released a house slipper to really highlight the traditional cozy vibe.
In time for the fall/winter season, Sarah Flint is launching a new house shoe with interior trim company Samuel & Sons called the Fireside House Shoe. This plush slipper comes in Navy and Burgundy and features Samuel & Son's signature trim with a custom Pom Rosette on the top. The inside is lined with a cozy shearling to keep your feet warm in the coldest months, while the style is still squarely modern.
"My designs are often inspired by my travels," Flint told me. "I love taking in the architecture, colors, and historic sites of any new place, down to the tiniest details. For my Fall/Winter 2020 Collection, Cozy Yorkshire Interiors, I took much of my inspiration from the centuries-old British estates Newby Hall and Broughton Hall. I'd visited there in 2019 to plan my wedding and absolutely fell in love with all of the vintage furniture, upholstery, and decorative trims."
She added, "This design story led to a really exciting collaboration with Samuel & Sons, a family-owned trimmings company I've long admired for their outstanding craftsmanship. Within that capsule, I created the Fireside House Shoe, because what would a cozy interiors-themed collection be without a cozy house shoe? Crafted in suede and lined in plush shearling, this style features a statement rosette and Palais cord piping from Samuel & Sons' vast selection. I can picture myself wearing these by a crackling fire with a good book, or even at my desk while working from home."
Along with slippers, Flint also created another first that was a nod to both travel and staying home: stationary. She found that during quarantine, she started painting and writing letters again and decided to combine these two passions and create custom stationery. So, the young designer partnered with stationery company Crane & Co. Sarah to create limited-edition sets in two patterns: Bleeding Hearts and Daffodils. Each print comes with cards and matching lined envelopes, and also pays homage to those Yorkshire interiors that inspired the rest of the collection.
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The stationary is a nod to travel and Yorkshire as well. Sarah Flint
This latest collection is yet another evolution of Flint, who first launched the brand in 2013 when she was just 25. Since then, she's been appointed to the CFDA, featured in Forbes "30 Under 30" and "Ten of Tomorrow" in WWD. The classic yet comfortable shoes have also been seen on the feet of the world's most influential celebrities, including Meghan Markle, Amal Clooney, Cindy Crawford, Lady Gaga, Jane Fonda, Karlie Kloss, Emma Watson, and many more.
The Fireside House Shoe will be available on October 27 while the stationary launches on October 6.
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362d1bca370b3ae8739464b1fb1b1890 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordilippemcgraw/2021/04/16/churchill-downs-chef-will-teach-you-how-to-cook-a-kentucky-derby-meal-at-home/ | Churchill Downs Chef Will Teach You How To Cook A Kentucky Derby Meal At Home | Churchill Downs Chef Will Teach You How To Cook A Kentucky Derby Meal At Home
Chef Danielson will teach you how to whip up some Kentucky Derby favorites. Copyright 2020 Andrew Kung Group www.andrewkung.com
For over a year now, major events have been put on hold or altered significantly to meet safety requirements. And the same is true for one of May’s most anticipated affairs: The Kentucky Derby. Though the 147th running will happen on the traditional first Saturday in May this year, the number of reserved seats is 40-50% of capacity, limiting the thousands of revelers that typically flock to Churchill Downs. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get a racetrack experience. The famed Churchill Downs’ Executive Chef David Danielson is hosting virtual cooking classes to teach fans how to create classic Derby dishes at home.
For the first time, the Kentucky Derby is also launching an all-new free virtual cooking class series to coincide with the release of the highly coveted at-home viewing menu. The easy-to-make dishes, crafted by Danielson himself, are inspired by the culinary classics served up for the Run For The Roses. Featuring individually served “Jarcuterie” appetizers, kid-friendly bites, and decadent bourbon caramel desserts, the recipes will allow anyone to travel to Louisville via their taste buds and get the rare opportunity to learn directly from the experts at Churchill Downs.
The online classes will be taught by Danielson, who will provide step-by-step instructions for recreating some of the southern staples. Examples include Pulled Pork Sliders, Chicken Nuggets with Kentuckyiaki Glaze, and Masterful Mixology: Mint Julep & Woodford Spire. Danielson selected two recipes that people can whip up using popular kitchen gadgets – air fryers and crockpots – to make these dishes even more approachable when creating the classes.
“My chicken nuggets and pulled pork sliders are not only delicious, but they are simple to make, so home cooks of all levels can bring a taste of Louisville into their own kitchens,” Danielson told me.
And to enhance the at-home experience, the dishes will be paired for the first time with wine and cocktails by Bourbon Ambassador Tim Knittel and other expert sommeliers and distillers.
“Each year, we’ve innovated by adding different enhancements to the menu to give fans across the country new ways to celebrate Derby from their homes,” said Danielson. “The Kentucky Derby is more than just the ‘Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports,’ it’s one of the most fun events in food, cocktails, entertainment, and style. We will continue to bring together these different elements to make the Derby experience possible no matter where you are celebrating from.”
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Churchill Downs aren’t the only ones curating something special for at-home viewers. This year Woodford Reserve partnered with chef-driven meal company WeFeast to create a Derby feast for two. The menu items include Country Ham & Cheese Biscuits and can be delivered anywhere in the U.S. on time for the big race.
“The Kentucky Derby has looked different for everyone these past two seasons, and at Woodford Reserve, we’ve looked for ways to bring the Derby experience into people’s homes,” said Elizabeth McCall, Woodford Reserve Assistant Master Distiller. “Though we’d all love to cheer on our favorite horses together, the past year has shown us all that the best Derby celebrations don’t necessarily have to take place at Churchill Downs as long as we’re connected with our friends and family.”
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da1dd7926ceb4c0488140c8cecdc5977 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordilippemcgraw/2021/04/19/mothers-day-gift-guide-the-best-overnight-bags-for-mom/ | Mother's Day Gift Guide: The Best Overnight Bags For Mom | Mother's Day Gift Guide: The Best Overnight Bags For Mom
Help mom prep for the getaway she deserves. getty
After the year most moms have had, they deserve some time away. While planning a night away would certainly be a nice gift, so too would an overnight bag that she can use on the trip (and the many trips to come). Luckily, there are plenty of styles to suit every type of mom and corresponding getaway. From rugged to runway, these are the best overnight bags for mom.
Travelpro x Travel + Leisure Drop-Bottom Weekender
The versatile bag is stain and tear-resistant and comes with a removable lower section. Travelpro
Leave it to one of the world's top travel magazines and luggage creators to design the ultimate weekend bag for $345. The versatile bag is stain and tear-resistant and comes with a removable lower section to make unpacking and storage a breeze. It also features tons of organization details like interior zippered pockets, easy-access front pockets, and a zippered divider panel. Not to mention, the four sleek colors make it a piece that goes with everything.
George Esquivel x The Beverly Hills Hotel Overnight Duffel Bag
Does a bag get any more fun? Dorchester Hotels
Why not get a bag as classic and iconic as the special mom in your life? Well, then you'll want the Beverly Hills Hotel duffel bag by George Esquivel from $2,000. It was designed with the luxe property's signature banana leaf print and comes with pink or tan trim options. The beautiful bag is sure to get noticed just like a mom should.
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SCOUT Overpacker
Just fold it up when you're done. SCOUT
SCOUT Bags are made from lightweight yet durable fabric, with soft sides that allow them to fit under airplane seats, overhead compartments easily, or tucked away in a trunk for road trips. As an added bonus, the Overpacker's ($45.00) fabric wipes clean, so there's no need to worry about the inevitable travel scuffs, and a top zipper ensures that none of your precious belongings get lost. Did we mention it stores in a pouch when not in use?
Cuyana Leather Triple Zipper Weekender
It fits all the essentials. Cuyana
Sleek and chic defines the Leather Triple Zipper Weekender for $395. The Italian leather bag is available in black or stone pebbled leather for the mom who likes simple, high-quality accessories. There are three compartments for organization and a trolley sleeve to make long trips effortless. What's more, each bag is crafted in a woman-owned factory in Turkey so that you can feel good about the purchase.
Under Armour Women's Undeniable Signature Duffle Bag
Perfect for the nature loving mom. Under Armour
Does mom love being outdoors? Give her an overnight bag that's ready to tackle the harshest elements. The Under Armour Women's Undeniable Signature Duffle Bag (starting at $39) has unique technology that makes the fabric water and abrasion-resistant. There's also a vented pocket for any clothes that get dirty on the adventure and a large front zippered pocket with a zipper pull that doubles as a hair tie. Bonus: it comes in 12 colors.
Four Seasons Weekender Bag
Classic and elegant just like mom. Four Seasons
The perfect gift for a travel-loving mom, the Four Seasons Weekender Bag ($1,099), is handcrafted in Europe from the finest Italian pebble grain leather. It comes subtly embossed with the iconic Four Seasons logo. An additional side pocket complements the roomy interior with an invisible zipper for added security and a leather luggage tag. Every item from the Four Seasons online retail collection also comes beautifully wrapped in bespoke packaging and arrives ready to gift.
MCM Traveler Weekender Bag
Fashionable bag for a fashionable mom. MMCM
The Traveler Weekender Bag ($1,270) is perfectly sized for mom's long-haul journeys and short weekend getaways. Although sturdy and big enough to hold all of mom's overnight essentials, it's actually the lightest weekender bag yet. That's thanks to the durable, lightweight Visetos coated canvas the designers used to reduce weight. Of course, she also gets the iconic MCM design to highlight her sense of fashion.
Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Del Dia
Help mom get ready for the perfect camping trip. Cotopaxi
Nature-lover mom will love the Allpa 35L Del Dia ($180) for her next camping trip. It has a suitcase-style full zipper opening to a meshed-in main compartment for easy access that won't spill over. Plus, it uses 100% repurposed fabric because they use leftover and repurposed fabric scraps to reduce waste. Oh, and the color combos are perfect for mom's bright personality. Every bag sold will be one-of-a-kind, and Cotopaxi just received Climate Neutral certification, so you can feel even about purchasing products from their collection.
Briggs & Riley's Rhapsody Cabin Spinner
It's compact, lightweight, and features various pockets for efficient packing. Briggs & Riley
Rhapsody Cabin Spinner is perfect for mom's overnighter as it's compact, lightweight, and features various pockets for efficient packing. The extendable handle and smooth-rolling wheels make it easy to navigate and fit in the car (train or plane). Make it extra special for mom with complimentary monogramming. It's currently on sale for $189.50. The brand is now offering a Mother's Day sale of $50 off any Baseline plum or Rhapsody item over $200.
Away's The Everywhere Bag
Does a bag get any more fun? Away
We all have those moms in our life that are perfectly unpredictable. Away's The Everywhere Bag for $245 is made for her. In either nylon or leather, the bag was designed with organization and durability in mind. It features a 15-inch laptop pocket, zippered waterproof umbrella pocket, and plenty of space for clothes, shoes, and adventurous accessories. Choose from eight colors and get it monogrammed to add a little something special.
Zero Halliburton Edge Lightweight Continental Carry-On
Help mom prep for an overnight and beyond. Zero Halliburton
Why not set mom up for travel beyond an overnight? The 22-inch Continental Carry-On for $475 is the right size for an overnight but will also work for longer journeys in the future. It's designed to make all kinds of travel easier with its hard (yet lightweight) shell, 360-degree spinning wheels, and a telescoping pull handle. It comes in six colors and has free monogramming. Let's just say they paid attention to detail just like mom.
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fd1923e6139639512f70ae54aefed06e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordilippemcgraw/2021/05/04/how-to-drink-a-gin-martini-according-to-highclere-castles-lady-carnarvon/ | How To Drink A Gin Martini According To Highclere Castle’s Lady Carnarvon | How To Drink A Gin Martini According To Highclere Castle’s Lady Carnarvon
Highclere Castle’s Lady Carnarvon reveals how to drink gin like royalty. Highclere Castle
Highclere Castle became famous over the years as it was the setting for the hit show Downton Abbey. But it’s also home to real-life aristocracy Lady and Lord Carnarvon with a history dating back hundreds of years. And one of the things recovered from the family archives within the castle was a reference gin cocktails from the early 1900s. From that, Highclere Castle Gin was born in 2019.
Today, the gin is the winner of 35 international double gold and platinum awards and is made with juniper that has grown on the estate since the ancient Roman era. It’s also still encouraged to be enjoyed “Highclere Style,” aka as a cocktail made with gin, tonic, fresh orange juice, and peel, and topped with a rosemary sprig from the garden.
And there’s a reason to raise a toast with the historic drink as it was recently announced that “Downton Abbey 2” will be released with the original principal cast this December. Of course, Highclere Castle was used in the filming. So, to honor the big news, it seemed only appropriate to tap the official lady of the house to get her top drinking tips. In this case, Lady Carnarvon reveals just how to drink a gin martini like royalty. Here’s what she had to say.
Have Special Glassware
“Gin martinis should always be served in a martini glass and are best served before dinner. Ideally, the glass must be as thin as possible and chilled or, even better, kept in the freezer before preparing the drink. If possible, all ingredients should be chilled as well.”
Don’t Wait To Drink
“Drink a gin martini as soon as it is made. It is a cocktail that doesn’t like to wait!”
Be Mindful Of Your Garnishes
“To garnish a gin martini, use a verdant olive or a lemon peel. If you’re garnishing with olives, use 1 to 2 olives. Typically, olive garnishes are not meant to be consumed while drinking.”
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Follow these tips to sip gin in style. © 2019 John Shyloski
Hold The Glass Properly
“Always hold the martini glass by the stem to avoid the drink getting warm. When you’re drinking it, always take small sips, not gulps, so that your taste buds can savor the botanicals in Highclere Castle Gin.”
Listen to Ian Fleming
“Overall, I would follow the advice of Ian Fleming: the creator of James Bond, who was a friend of the 6th Earl of Carnarvon - Martinis, should be shaken, not stirred. A Gin Martini should be just the one cold drink enjoyed before dinner, and it should always be ordered with confidence.”
An original dry martini is six parts gin to 1 part dry vermouth. Because Highclere Castle Gin is so smooth, we use less vermouth and more gin. In addition to Lady Carnarvon’s favorite gin martini, the brand also recommends cocktails like A Royal Sea made with beetroot Schnaps, Pamplemousse rosé, and Blue Curacao as well as the Highclere Castle Gin Sour with Parfait Amour, lemon juice, and egg white.
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610a60766cfe050dda6bb68e7f07bc1e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joresablount/2018/12/06/the-dramatic-turnaround-of-jeff-beacher-from-madness-to-making-millions/ | The Dramatic Turnaround Of Jeff Beacher: From Madness To Making Millions | The Dramatic Turnaround Of Jeff Beacher: From Madness To Making Millions
Jeff Beacher, who made a name for himself with his vaudeville show, Beacher's Madhouse, is now... [+] connecting tech companies with Hollywood with two new companies, Beacher Media Group and Beacher Ventures. Photo credit: Jared Schlachet and Joe Magnani
Celebrities have been taking their stake in Silicon Valley in recent years. From Ashton Kutcher to Nas, several celebrities have made investments and expanded their portfolios with partnerships with several tech startups. Jeff Beacher, founder of Beacher Media Group and Beacher Ventures, is one of those entrepreneurs who got into the game early on, connecting the two worlds before we even knew the word 'influencer'. Beacher is known for Beacher’s Madhouse, a vaudeville act that made him the youngest headliner at The Hard Rock and MGM in Vegas at the time. Rolling Stone once referred to him as “The Greatest Showman on the Strip.” For over a decade, celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Steven Tyler, Johnny Depp, the cast of Shark Tank and Mick Jagger could be seen seated in a corner or interacting with a celebrity impersonator any night of the week. Today, Beacher is the creative guru connecting celebrities to tech companies with results that give a high ROI.
Beacher was the King-of-Cool, the face of Vegas, the popular impresario with money and cool celebrity friends. He came a long way from selling t-shirts and living in his shoebox-sized New York apartment with days of no electricity, hustling to meetings in hopes of getting help to get the Madhouse off the ground. It paid off. From 2002 to 2008, Beacher began creating his fortune with shows on Broadway, which soon moved to Las Vegas. He traveled down to Hollywood to host the first opening headlining show at the Roosevelt Hotel before doing an 81 city tour. In 2010, Beacher landed a five-year deal for Beacher’s Madhouse worth $25 million.
In 2014, Beacher received the key to the city by former Las Vegas mayor, Oscar Goodman. Photo credit: Bryan W. Steffy
The long hours, meetings over drinks and expensive dinners, as well as the pressure to be the best in the business, seemed to be a high time for Beacher, looking from the outside. However, the unhealthy lifestyle led him to weighing over 400 pounds. “I was addicted to food,” Beacher said. His addiction was accompanied by depression and thoughts of suicide. As his life began to take a turn, two close friends of his encouraged him to take up holistic therapy.
Miley Cyrus unveils Beacher's Madhouse Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino on December 27,... [+] 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Getty Images
“After several sessions of going over a lot of things in my life, there was one session that made it clear how I got to that place,” he said, remembering the low emotional place at an exciting time in his life. “I was adopted at birth, and my parents died when I was young. That created abandonment issues and insecurities. I wanted to be the cool kid, have cool friends, sold out shows, and make people laugh. When I realized that, that was when the weight flew off.” After some encouragement from close friends, Beacher signed up for a raw vegan camp and continued to work on his mindset. “Now, health is my priority. To be excellent in all facets of my life, including my career, I take my health seriously. It’s almost like a second job,” he said. “Instead of the show defining me, being healthy became my focus,” he added, and his focus resulted in him losing over 200 pounds and making a career pivot.
Beacher moved on from the Madhouse days to launching Beacher Media Group, which bridges the gap between Silicon Valley and Hollywood. It is one of the first companies to create partnerships between celebrities and tech companies. In just three years, Beacher Media Group has done over 200 celebrity integrations, created over 20 billion media impressions and generated $100 million dollars in media value for their clients. Beacher has worked as an Entertainment Relations Consultant for Airbnb, Lyft, The Wynn and The Hard Rock Hotel. He has also consulted for sports teams such as The Los Angeles Clippers and Rams. “Jeff’s track record speaks for itself -- he identified and consulted with brands like Airbnb, Lyft, and Wag before anyone else in Hollywood was hip to the cultural shift that was coming from Silicon Valley to Southern California,” said Reece Pearson, President and COO at Philymack.
After realizing the reasons for his weight gain, Beacher enrolled in a raw vegan camp and had... [+] gastric sleeve surgery. He lost over 200 pounds. JB Instagram
Jonathan Mildenhall, former CMO at Airbnb and current CEO of TwentyFirstCenturyBrand said, “I call Jeff Beacher a cultural alchemist. Like no one I have ever worked with, he knows, instinctively, how to turn celebrity social media engagement into a global news phenomenon. During our time together at Airbnb, I always considered him an extension of my team. We transformed the cultural narrative regarding the Airbnb traveler. From Mariah to Beyoncé, from Bieber to Mr. Jamie Foxx and no less than 60 other A-List celebrities, Jeff’s work made Airbnb the most desirable way to travel for the world’s most discerning clients. I love working with this man.”
“Jeff is a marketing and brand strategy genius with a keen eye towards backing companies that will become the next unicorns,” said Pearson. His sharp intuition for successful companies led Beacher to create an investment company, Beacher Ventures. His earnings from the Madhouse allow him to invest in companies such as the popular scooter brand Lime, Craig’s Vegan Ice Cream by the owner of the celebrity-filled West Hollywood restaurant, Craig’s, to a rowing fitness brand called Health House which was co-founded by Patrick Schwarzenegger, the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Health House is an intense group workout class that involves rowing, where you burn twice the amount of calories without placing extreme stress on the body.
Jeff attending the 24th Annual Elton John Aids Foundation's Oscar Viewing Party with a new smile and... [+] healthy lifestyle. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
The next big move from Beacher connects him back to health and his days of producing for television. “I spend a lot of time mentoring others who also want to lose weight but have been struggling in the process. I start with their mind and self-esteem first,” he said. In 2019, Beacher will launch a charity to provide health education, and a television show that will pay for gastric sleeves for guests looking to tackle weight surgically.
Some of life’s darkest moments can bring out the best in you, which is the case for Beacher. Taking control of his personal life has been a powerful launching pad that continues to fuel him. He continues to be the connector with the awesome sauce, adding revenue and visibility to several companies and now with a new charity on the way, a smile and new life for those who deeply desire it.
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569835b9ce2738ea99afabf60b02912c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joresablount/2019/08/17/this-is-how-irl-app-wants-to-address-generation-z-social-loneliness/ | This Is How IRL App Wants To Address Generation Z "Social" Loneliness | This Is How IRL App Wants To Address Generation Z "Social" Loneliness
Abe Shafi’s - IRL CEO - mission is to fight social isolation among young people by making them more... [+] active. IRL app
Social apps help to keep in touch and connecting with friends and family regardless of distance, hence facilitate the strengthening of relationships. But when it comes to social media, the line between social and isolation is very thin. It can have a feel of a community, indeed, but spending hours on your feed scrolling can lead you to disconnect yourself from reality.
Facebook is still dominating the Social Media era, but people started questioning how long this leadership position will last. 2018 was an annus horribilis for the company with shares losing over 35% in just a few months.
The damage is not only financial, but it is also a reputational one. The company has recently enabled brand endorsement policies to Instagram and WhatsApp, in the attempt of fixing Facebook's image. The new policies have generated internal dissension as well as generating questions about Mr. Zuckerberg's capabilities to moving to right the listing ship.
A survey conducted by CIGNA in 2018 revealed there’s an epidemic to a degree in which people feel isolated and lonely, with almost half (46%) of Americans indicating that they sometimes or always feel alone. But the most alarming findings of the survey are that Generation-Z was addressed as the loneliest generation, proving how isolation is very frequent among younger people. The survey reports that "People who engage in frequent meaningful in-person interactions have much lower loneliness scores and report better health than those who rarely interact with others face-to-face." But people - and particularly teens - aren't giving up on social media. To beat loneliness, they're just embracing new products that drive them to do more in the real world, to put their phones down and enjoy more outdoor activities.
That explains the immediate market traction of the IRL (in real life) app. The app ranked as Apple's top ten social apps only a few weeks after its launch around Valentine's Day, just trailing Pinterest. Unlike other social apps, IRL only connects users to a known, circle of friends saved in your phone contacts. IRL gives users a way to effectively organize offline activities, whether that's a big event, a date, or a group workout.
Abe Shafi’s - IRL CEO - mission is to fight social isolation among young people by making them more active. “Right now social media is not making people feel connected; we wanted to be the antidote. There is no social app that is focused on helping people spend more time with friends, family, and people with shared interests. We are addressing this by building a product that is fun, easy, and helps take away a lot of the social anxiety around getting people together,” Shafi said.
IRL developers integrated a built-in chat around calendar events as well as listing all the events happening around the user, hence making organizing with their friends around events as easy as ever. Shafi explained, "we have built the most powerful social tool focusing on getting you to spend more time offline doing the things you love with the people you love.”
This new-to-market positioning of the IRL app has attracted a new $8 million Series A funding round led by Goodwater Capital, Founders Fund and Kleiner Perkins. IRL has also received the attention of many entertainment and event CEOs that have joined the project as strategic investors, including Warner Bros. president Greg Silverman, Lionsgate Films president Joe Drake. ClassPass CEO Fritz Lanman has also joined the team in recruiting calendar influencers that users can follow.
“Investors are interested in our app because in solving a social problem we can also build a big business where the revenue model isn’t based on how much time users spend on the app but how much value we can provide for the user in their life. We won’t have to find ways to make people addicted in an unhealthy way” said Shafi. He added, “Since the start of social media, the main goal has been to keep users as active on the platforms as possible generating addiction. Only recently has it been reported as a real social issue.” Neuroscience studies have reported that "on average, people spend 60 percent of conversations talking about themselves" which is very similar to what happens on social media - their brains’ pleasure centers are stimulated the same as with sex and food.
IRL app presents a way to “re-think” Social Apps. Is this step back to “social” roots the way to win over the recent pitfalls social media giants have experienced?
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99866864d3caded168c26ae6a217d908 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joresablount/2019/09/05/these-startups-show-blockchains-potential-in-various-industries/ | These Startups Show Blockchain's Potential In Various Industries | These Startups Show Blockchain's Potential In Various Industries
Decentralized networks solve problems across many industries. Thus, it’s no surprise that blockchain companies will reach $10 billion in revenue in the next couple of years, according to ABI Research.
Distributed ledger technologies (DLT) refer to decentralized, trustless systems, and according to cryptocurrency guru Nick Szabo in “Money, Blockchains and Social Scalability”:
“Innovations in social scalability involve institutional and technological improvements that move a function from mind to paper or mind to machine, lowering cognitive costs while increasing the value of information flowing between minds, reducing vulnerability, and/or searching for and discovering new and mutually beneficial participants.”
The technology will see a 5-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 76% between 2018-2023, according to International Data Corp.
Value Transfer
Blockchain can be a secure medium for value transfer (like the Bitcoin network), where nodes agree on the status of a public ledger. Altcoins, which are smaller crypto projects, appeal to smaller niches. For example, the Free Coin project encourages unbanked people to use crypto, and to switch from fiat to digital funds. Their tech enables peer-to-peer payments that feature low fees.
A sophisticated project is Global Digital Assets (GDA), a blockchain-focused merchant banking services firm. It helps blockchain ventures to raise funds or gain liquidity through venture capital, public markets, or loans. The firm also helps companies to structure utility and security token offerings (STOs).
Securing Data
DLT has applications outside of cryptocurrencies, from secure voting to supply chain tracking. According to World Economic Forum, wide-scale adoption will lead to 5% increase in global GDP and 15% increase in trade volume.
Blockchains are excellent at tracking and preserving data, and the capability can be combined with physical hardware like RFID tags to improve logistics, shipping, and warehousing operations.
Another application is e-voting. Due to concerns with interference, technologists view blockchain-powered e-voting as more secure and private. An example is ZCoin, which launched a large-scale political election in Thailand in late 2018.
There are also networks that make it easier to comply with regulatory frameworks.
“The implications of KYC (know your customer) and AML (anti-money laundering) extend beyond cryptocurrencies,” says Mark Homeier, CEO of Maxonrow. “Blockchains have a unique capability to make KYC and AML identification better while preserving user privacy to a specific extent, and concurrently handing users control over their own identification data.”
Maxonrow is a high-throughput transaction blockchain with mandatory KYC verification.
DLT can protect data. Projects like Veridoc aim to disrupt document management, and applications include the verification of passports, land titles, and education certificates. The company recently partnered with DocuSign to bring the innovation to small businesses.
Contentos uses blockchain to transform how videos are monetized and shared. The project uses a peer-to-peer model for distributing revenue, and uses a decentralized approach for distributing traffic. The firm’s tech authenticates copyrights, as well as securely records users’ credit score, which measures contributions on the platform.
Going Mainstream
Blockchain is applicable in social media and retail. Forty-one percent (41%) of executives expect their organization to implement blockchain within a year, according to a 2018 survey by Deloitte.
Dyson Network provides an enterprise solution to accelerate transactions for all decentralized systems which would enable real-time payment and promote all blockchain performance. Payment experience will become fast, easy and friendly just like using a credit card, PayPal, Square and other payment methods.
BitWallet, which operates out of Houston Texas, reduces the barrier to accessing crypto.
BitWallet simplifies the buying, selling, and storing of cryptocurrencies with an intuitive portfolio app. Fiat gateways with multiple cryptocurrencies are hard to come by with fragmented regulatory statuses around the world.
Merchant adoption is crucial for mainstream adoption.
Vexanium is a next-gen blockchain that supports smart contracts, decentralized applications (dapps), and retail penetration. Users don’t incur a transaction fee when making payments. To gain mass adoption, developers built the platform to accommodate 2,000 transactions per second (TPS).
Reddcoin, a crypto and blockchain project, verifies IDs and enables tipping on social media channels. Supporters, therefore, look at Reddcoin as a social commerce tool.
DxChain caters to enterprises and consumers who favor privacy and data security. The decentralized big-data network protects sensitive info, and gives users the power to control their data. DxChain’s data storage also protects privacy.
Blockchain is an innovation whose functions include frictionless transactions, tamper-proof recordkeeping, and data privacy. Organizations can tap into its capabilities to improve their business practices.
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e431bdb2c0305d0bd806baad744982eb | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephbrazel/2021/04/12/study-examines-how-us-companies-overseas-employees-offer-them-us-tax-benefits/ | Study Examines How U.S. Companies’ Overseas Employees Offer Them U.S. Tax Benefits | Study Examines How U.S. Companies’ Overseas Employees Offer Them U.S. Tax Benefits
U.S. corporations with a high percentage of employment in foreign countries experience more tax ... [+] benefits. getty
U.S. corporations with a high percentage of employment in foreign countries experience more tax benefits, according to a study forthcoming in The Accounting Review.
In an article titled “Foreign Employment, Income Shifting, and Tax Uncertainty” researchers analyzed the relation between the location of employees at large U.S. multinational companies and income shifting activities, a particularly aggressive form of tax planning. The article is authored by Katharine Drake of the University of Arizona, Nathan Goldman from North Carolina State University, and Frank Murphy of the University of Connecticut.
“We were interested in how tangible investments, such as employment, affect tax planning activities. Companies like Caterpillar have recently been scrutinized by Congress over whether their employees' location aligns with where they report their income. We were interested in understanding these companies’ tax benefits,” says Goldman.
In the study, the researchers describe how U.S. multinational companies can differ in where they place employees and how this can alter tax planning opportunities. For example, a company with employees in the U.S. and France has different opportunities and incentives to shift income than a company with employees in the U.S., France, Ireland, and a tax haven country like the Cayman Islands.
The research team used financial statement disclosures of employment information to create a sample of 6,641 observations across 815 unique large U.S. multinational companies. Using this information, they determined whether companies had higher or lower foreign employment relative to their foreign operations.
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For those companies with more foreign employment, they found that these companies shifted more income out of the U.S. The study estimates that companies with higher than expected foreign employment shift $69 billion more in income out of the U.S. than companies with lower foreign employment.
“We find that taxes must be a consideration as companies globalize. Sure, there are non-tax considerations that may be the driving factors on where and to what extent companies expand into new countries. However, our findings suggest that there are significant tax benefits associated with having employees in these lower-taxed countries, and these benefits must be considered when assessing the viability of such a large investment,” advises Goldman.
The study then considers how foreign employment is related to tax uncertainty, or the likelihood a company must reserve for its aggressive tax planning activities in its financial statements. It finds that companies with high foreign employment have less tax uncertainty related to their foreign operations than those with less foreign employment.
“The IRS can overturn tax positions lacking economic substance. Our findings suggest that companies can use foreign employment to generate that economic substance, validating their aggressive tax planning activities in the eyes of the IRS,” says Goldman.
Goldman concludes, “Recent tax reforms, like the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, place an even greater emphasis on having economic substance for multinational tax planning. Our study suggests that tax benefits generated from shifting income from a high tax to a lower tax jurisdiction and incurring lower tax uncertainty while doing so can be meaningful factors as companies continue their overseas expansion. And, for companies already overseas, they should evaluate whether there are opportunities available to them to generate these benefits that they are not already using.”
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fa21ee4317c8fb18c964a849310da083 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephbrazel/2021/05/04/how-can-auditors-and-audit-committees-encourage-managers-to-disclose-risks-to-investors/ | How Can Auditors And Audit Committees Encourage Managers To Disclose Risks To Investors? | How Can Auditors And Audit Committees Encourage Managers To Disclose Risks To Investors?
In settings where both the audit committee is highly effective and the financial statement auditor ... [+] intends to issue a more detailed audit report, corporate managers are more likely to disclose risks to investors. getty
In settings where both the audit committee is highly effective and the financial statement auditor intends to issue a more detailed audit report, corporate managers are more likely to disclose risks to investors. Importantly, more effective audit committees or more informative audit reports alone do not encourage managers to be more transparent, according to a study forthcoming in The Accounting Review.
In an article titled “The Effect of Auditor Reporting Choice and Audit Committee Oversight on Management Financial Disclosures” researchers performed an experiment with 145 financial executives from U.S. publicly traded companies. The vast majority of the executives were chief financial officers. The article is authored by Stephen Fuller of Suffolk University, Jennifer Joe from the University of Delaware, and Benjamin Luippold of Babson College.
“We conducted an experiment with highly experienced executives who provided disclosure decisions based on a case. In the case, we varied the content of the auditor’s critical audit matter discussion regarding a subjective financial reporting issue, as well as how vigorously the audit committee conducted its oversight of financial reporting,” says Fuller.
In the experiment, managers only increased their public disclosures when the auditor provided a more detailed discussion of the subjective financial reporting issue in its report and the audit committee oversight was highly effective. Specifically, a highly effective audit committee was composed of financial experts who were more actively involved in discussions of accounting and disclosure issues. “We also found that the improved management disclosures were quantitative in nature which would likely be valuable to investors. It surprised us that neither of the factors we studied were sufficient on their own to motivate improved disclosure,” states Fuller.
The study describes concerns that have been expressed over auditor reporting of critical audit matters becoming “boiler-plate” and being no more informative to investors than the prior “pass/fail” audit report. Such concerns may be valid. When the auditor’s reporting of the accounting issue was more “boiler-plate,” managers in the experiment were less apt to publicly disclose risks associated with the accounting issue. “Given our findings, we encourage auditors to provide a meaningful discussion of critical audit matters in their reports and audit committees to be more diligent in performing their responsibilities. We feel that will result in investors receiving the information about company risks that they crave,” says Fuller.
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Fuller concludes, “There is a lot of research currently being performed in this area. The first wave of public company reporting with the new expanded audit report has just happened and so we will begin to see how auditors have implemented the new standard. In addition, more research is needed to fully understand how a variety of stakeholders make decisions related to critical audit matters.”
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6fb56ec632f60514838aa8740abaef61 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephcoughlin/2020/04/16/retirement-real-estate--covid-19-will-downsizing-to-the-city-reverse-course/?sh=7fbb9ca66f64 | Retirement, Real Estate & COVID-19: Will Downsizing-To-The-City Reverse Course? | Retirement, Real Estate & COVID-19: Will Downsizing-To-The-City Reverse Course?
Downsizing to the city has been the dream of many empty-nesters and retirees. That was 'BC,' before ... [+] COVID-19. How will home preferences shift post-pandemic? Getty
Anna’s bright blue eyes light up as she explains her reasons for moving to the city in retirement. A little more than a year ago she sold her four-bedroom suburban home and moved into a two-bedroom apartment downtown. When asked why she downsized to less than half of the space she enjoyed for decades, the excited 70-year-old retiree exclaimed, “Everything is right there. Anything I want—food, fun, it’s all right outside my door!”
Boomers across North America have begun eschewing larger living spaces in favor of smaller, big-city digs—and not just for the improved access to restaurants and excitement, but as Jila, a 68-year old retired piano teacher, noted when moving from the outskirts to downtown Toronto, priorities change — such as having ready access healthcare.
Add in the convenience of not having to drive much (or at all) and the ease of maintaining a smaller space (often without a yard), and, for many new suburban and rural retirees, the decision to downsize to the city has been a no-brainer. In fact, AARP reports that data from TenantCloud, a residential property management software service, “show that nearly one-third of all urban applications are for renters over age 60.”
But that was B.C.: before COVID-19.
Events as significant as COVID-19 do not simply affect us in the moment then disappear. They reframe future values, priorities, perceptions of risk, choices, and, ultimately, behaviors. (Think, for instance, about how often people reference the ‘great recession,’ now over ten years distant, when discussing nearly any economic issue today.)
Any number of social trends that were pointing in one direction at the start of 2020 may reverse course by the end of the crisis. Will the urban retirement wave be one of them?
It’s still too early to look for meaning in real-estate numbers, but it’s not too soon to start thinking about shifts in imagery. Consider the associations now developing around the very ideas of urban space and distance. While COVID-19 is affecting everyone, older adults, especially those with underlying conditions, appear to be particularly vulnerable to its worst effects. Meanwhile, cities, as a result of their high population inflows, outflows, and density, are being hit hardest. (For now, anyway—rural regions remain at real risk.) Moreover, space to provide safe physical “distance” is at a premium in cities.
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Then there are the images of exodus. Droves of wealthier New Yorkers—those most likely to occupy the city’s most spacious and comfortable homes—have been seen fleeing to their summer houses: from the outer reaches of Long Island to the Green Mountains of Vermont, the lakes of upstate New York down to the Jersey shore.
So many people have been escaping the nation’s epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, in fact, that Rhode Island installed police and National Guard checkpoints at the border, with orders to stop cars carrying New York license plates. The governors of Maryland, South Carolina, and Texas, too, have ordered their police to stop and warn drivers with New York tags.
Most retirees cannot afford second homes; when they downsize, there’s no extra cottage or condo to escape to. But, as MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski noted in an interview with Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital Partners Healthcare President Peter Slavin, “physical distancing in New York City, Boston, in other major congested areas—it’s, it’s impossible. You are asking people to stay in their apartments, and in their small apartments, for long periods.”
For a few weeks, with most of the “third spaces” that make city life so enviable—bars, restaurants, coffee shops—shuttered, Boston residents rediscovered the city’s parks. But, they visited green spaces and sports facilities in such numbers that physical distancing practices became nearly impossible, compelling Boston’s Mayor Marty Walsh to close public spaces, forcing people back inside.
All told, COVID-19 has potentially reframed what people might view as desirable in terms of living space and neighborhood density. When the veil eventually lifts, what percentage of cities’ attractive pull will remain? Will stories of hipster Millennials and affluent retirees enjoying big lifestyles in small places be replaced by something far less pleasant?
Memories do eventually fade, but the influence of the COVID-19 experience is likely to linger throughout the retirement years of the Baby Boomers. If so, a few possible scenarios might develop.
Personal As Premium — In one possibility, retirees will continue hoping to move to the city, but only if they can find more space than is currently on offer in typical urban, multifamily housing. This mismatch will certainly affect the number of people who can afford such a move, and those who do manage to downsize to cities may arrive with a new set of consumer preferences—to the surprise of developers. The current preference for housing complexes that err on the side of smaller quarters in favor of larger common areas may dissipate. In the wake of COVID-19, a ‘spacious studio’ or a one bedroom with a spare room may simply feel too small, and common amenity space too risky. Vast investments in common rooms and fitness centers may give way to ensuring adequate personal living space to save your relationship with your partner during quarantine and to fit your exercise bike that doubles as a clothes hanger.
Urban Light — Other empty nesters and retirees may seek urban-light living: housing in less dense areas of the city, or even suburbs. Communities that offer walkable, mini town centers with green space and a diversity of retail and restaurant activities, while still situated within ride-hailing distance of the big city, may find themselves attracting Millennials, Gen X’ers, and Baby Boomers alike.
Suburban Sanctuary — Finally, most people approaching retirement—an estimated 87%—report that they want to age-in-place. That is, they would prefer to stay in the home they live in today. For most Baby Boomers, that home is in the suburbs. The COVID-19 experience may have them doubling down on their current situation by remodeling or otherwise altering their current home: one that offers a sanctuary and space both inside and out.
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11c2210eafa035d39a1c6dc94c281962 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephcoughlin/2021/01/25/women-caught-in-between-and-facing-uncertainty-in-retirement/?sh=11f481a8a87e | Women Caught In Between And Facing Uncertainty In Retirement | Women Caught In Between And Facing Uncertainty In Retirement
Women caught 'in between' are part of a larger, seemingly invisible, even forgotten, cohort of women ... [+] facing unprecedented uncertainty in retirement. getty
Standing behind the register Jenny looks on with an amused expression as I fumble with a large box. Inside the box is my newfound treasure — a new coffeemaker marked down a full 50%! Trying to relieve me of my embarrassment from my clear lack of dexterity, Jenny engages me with a little small talk, “It was easier years ago when the price was on the box rather than on a little striped sticker.” Finally finding the barcode, I angle the box so that Jenny can scan the price as she rings me up.
Recalling a news story that the retail department store chain was planning to close dozens of stores, I ask, “Everything is half-off – is this one of the stores that is closing?”
Jenny looks down and responds, “No, this store is not closing.”
I reply, “That’s good, so many folks are already out of work.”
Jenny looks up; her gaze seems to look past me. I guess that Jenny is in her early 60s. She laments, “Today is my last day. You know, I have worked here for years.”
Before I can express my sympathy, she volunteers “I don’t know what I am going to do, my husband can’t work, and I am not sure who is going to hire me now. People think that people like me should just retire...but I am not sure I can afford that. My daughter says I can’t just sit at home. I will go nuts just looking after my husband.”
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Sadly, Jenny is not alone. She is part of a larger, seemingly invisible, cohort of women. Women caught in between. That is, women nearing retirement that are uniquely caught by time, life stage, conflicting family roles, and socioeconomic conditions —all contributing to unprecedented uncertainty about their futures.
Jenny and other women near her age do not fit neatly into popularized generational buckets and life stages. They don’t fit marketing images of Gen X moms managing young teens at home, instead they are likely to be the oldest Gen X women, now empty nesters, and see their late 50s and future retirement in sight. And, they include the youngest Baby Boomer women already in their late 50s and early 60s. Unlike ubiquitous stereotypical images found on retirement brochures of older Baby Boomers strolling beaches and rolling down bike paths, these women are part of an aptly named, seemingly anonymous, Generation Jones that is still very much working and wanting to work
These women do not fit neatly into one generation or another but they are caught in between the demands of younger and older generations. They are likely to be the primary caregiver to a partner or spouse — and almost always — the person relied upon by elderly parents and in-laws. Younger Millennial and Generation Z adult children call these women mother, grandmother, and rely on their advice, care, and often their financial support.
After years of raising children, many of these women reentered the job market. Before the pandemic the share of women over 55 years old in the workforce outpaced all other age groups. Going back to work is more than a strategy to make up for lost earnings while raising children or to shore up retirement savings, it is about something more. As Jenny recounts her daughter’s remarks, “[you] can’t just sit home.” While all women face challenges in job market, women Jenny’s age are caught in between the double-whammy of ageism and sexism. Research suggests that women in their later 50s and early 60s are not only victims of sexism and ageism, they are also less likely than men to benefit from laws designed to protect against ageism.
If getting back to work was not difficult enough, women are disproportionately employed in industry sectors under assault by the pandemic and ongoing structural change — hospitality and leisure, food services, administrative support, and retail. Major retailers, for example, were downsizing, or closing, long before COVID-19. The decline of the mall and the rise of online shopping are just two factors contributing to the retail industry’s ongoing restructuring and Jenny’s own job loss. As retail finds a new equilibrium between big box, little box, bricks, and clicks, the loss of jobs in traditional retail has hit women (nearly 60% of the retail workforce) like her the hardest.
Women caught in between find themselves navigating an uncertain future — a future that is likely to be living for another 25-30+ years. They are more than pre-retirees, they are fulcrums of multiple generations. They are spouses and partners. They are mentors and sources of support to adult children and grandchildren. They are caregivers to elderly loved ones. They are vital sources of household income. They are drivers of economic productivity. They are key influencers and consumers. Yet, they are seemingly invisible, even forgotten by some. The needs of women caught in between deserve attention and positive action from industry, government, and families today. Recognizing their contributions, and supporting them, supports us all.
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7fa4e39210cd83bc20b160bae27a2e04 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephcoughlin/2021/03/29/seven-retirement-surprises-millennials-gen-xers--boomers-learned-during-covid-19/ | Seven Retirement Surprises Millennials, Gen X’ers & Boomers Learned During Covid-19 | Seven Retirement Surprises Millennials, Gen X’ers & Boomers Learned During Covid-19
Life at home under Covid-19 has taught every generation that retirement will be more than home ... [+] improvement projects and leisure. getty
“Do you think this color is nicer than that one?” I look around and realize that the young woman standing next to me in the home improvement store check out line is looking at me and pointing to a paint chip in her hand.
I reply, “I like the deeper pink.”
Chuckling under her mask, she nods, and replies, “This is the third room I’ve painted this year, I am running out of rooms to paint.”
Guessing that the woman is in her 30s, I ask, “New home?”
Her reply was swift, “No, Covid.”
Over a year ago I described the Covid-19 quarantine as a retirement fire drill. It has been far more than a fire drill, it turns out to be a full multigenerational simulation of many of the assumptions people of all ages have about their retirement future. Assumptions and images from vacation and retirement brochures often littering our brains — leading us to believe that retirement is about leisure alone and not everyday life.
MORE FROM FORBESHere's Why COVID-19 Is Your Retirement Fire DrillBy Joseph Coughlin
MORE FROMFORBES ADVISORAfter One Year Of Covid-19, America's Retirement Crisis Is Little ChangedByTaylor TepperForbes Advisor Staff
Covid is testing us all. Many Millennials, Gen X’ers, and younger Boomers are surprised by what they are learning from living at home for an extended period – and much like retirement – many of life’s activities are more difficult or impossible. Here are seven of those surprises.
1. Home improvement projects take less time than you think
How often have we heard, or even uttered to ourselves, “I can’t wait for retirement. There are so many things around the house to fix up and projects that I have been putting off.”
During Covid home improvement store sales have certainly increased. However, unless you have a working farm, you are likely to be like my checkout line companion, and run out of projects sooner than you planned. Just how many rooms can you paint in a retirement that is likely to be 20, 25-plus years?
NPR.orgWhy Home Improvement Has Surged And How It's Changing America
2. Leisure activities and hobbies do not keep you as busy as you thought
A common assumption about retirement is that it is the big payoff — a life stage of earned leisure in return for a lifetime of work.
Perhaps.
Unfortunately, even before Covid-19, many people have found that spending one-third of your adult life on the golf course, on the tennis court, or seated in front of an artist’s easel did not completely, nor happily, fill time in retirement.
MORE FROM FORBES3,000 Rounds Of Golf & Why You Should Not Confuse Vacation With RetirementBy Joseph Coughlin
3. Your home is smaller than you thought
Many Millennials and Gen X’ers learned their home was smaller than they thought – especially for those who have children and must compete with their significant other for a quiet corner and WiFi. Couples of all ages, however, learned something else — that the constant presence of the love of their life can sometimes become a bit much. Long before Covid, younger Boomers and retirees, particularly women, have found it more than a little disconcerting that “he is always there.” Covid work from home demonstrated that quality time together may have its limits.
MORE FROM FORBESThese Are Retirement Numbers All Couples Should Plan On, But Don'tBy Joseph Coughlin
4. Being able to go where, when, and how you want is even more important than when you were a teen
Covid-19 imposed limits on our mobility. Either because we were told to stay home or there was nowhere to go. While transportation is the second largest expense in retirement, few people plan for their mobility in retirement. Until it is limited, we don’t fully appreciate how important seamless unfettered movement is to everyday life – even in retirement.
MORE FROM FORBESThe Big Surprising Cost In Retirement No One Plans For, But ShouldBy Joseph Coughlin
5. Technology is about more than cool & convenience
On-demand living was once just for the cool kids. You know, the Millennials. However, even the Millennials found that life-by-app became less about convenience – it was a vital way to remain connected to everyone and everything. Likewise, Gen X’ers and younger Boomers found that home delivery, telemedicine, and other applications that were once niceties became necessities in their lives during Covid. Now all generations realize that tech-enabled living will be a requirement for quality retirement living.
6. Friends, family, even your in-laws, are your real ‘social security’
The pain of social isolation became evident to everyone during Covid. Regardless of age, the loss of quality human contact has affected young and old. In fact, an ongoing study of public attitudes and behaviors by my colleagues at the MIT AgeLab has shown that younger people report greater concern about social isolation than older cohorts. Living during Covid sparked heightened awareness across the generations that preparing for retirement requires an assessment of your social capital as much as your financial capital. Living where friends, family, and even an annoying cousin or two, are in easy reach must be a priority in retirement – even for those who think that fun and sun alone are key ingredients to retirement living.
MitCOVID-19 and Life Tomorrow
7. Work is about far more than money
Perhaps the greatest surprise for people of all ages is that work is about more than income. Working online ‘worked’ for many, but it did not entirely satisfy the social element of the workplace. Retirees are often surprised to discover just how much of their life they spend with their work colleagues compared to their families. It is not until they retire that they realize that during a normal week most of the time spent with family is when we sleep. Moreover, other than our first cup of coffee, work provides a compelling reason to get up in the morning, adding structure and purpose to the day in a way that few alternatives can provide.
Covid-19 has been a brutal teacher – sadly, more brutal to some than others. However, it is forcing a real-time, year-plus teachable moment about retirement living. While Covid quarantine is certainly not entirely like retirement, there are more than a few similarities. The friction and complexities it has added to daily life are enough for many to question brochure-based thinking of what retirement might be. Retirement is likely to be for a long time and require far more preparedness than plans to spend time with grandchildren, a to-do list of home improvement projects, or dream vacation destinations.
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829ae75b0a5eede8b3ec3c529be58913 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2013/03/08/how-swede-it-is-fjallaraven-swedens-biggest-outdoor-brand/ | The Capitalist Touch: How Swede It Is:Fjällräven, Sweden's Biggest Outdoor Brand | The Capitalist Touch: How Swede It Is:Fjällräven, Sweden's Biggest Outdoor Brand
Fjall Raven $220
Founded in 1960 by Ake Nordin, Fjallraven a Swedish outdoor apparel company can be likened to U.S.-based brands like The North Face, but is so huge back home it's the biggest apparel company in Scandinavia, even outselling Nike. While most of North America is just now becoming familiar with the brand, it's already developed cult followings on the coasts in New York and LA. Their multi-colored square Kanken bags were picked up by Barneys in 2009 and can be seen carried on the streets by fashion forward crowds. Their New York City store also opened in 2009 in Soho and is currently located on Mott Street where their full range of iconic products are sold.
But it's the backpacks that are the foundation of the company. Nordin created the first backpack in an effort to find a lighter solution for his hikes through the Swedish forest and used the native Sami people to test his new lighter wooden frame. The Sami's eventually became his first customers. Ten years later Fjallraven was born and was named after the arctic fox, which is known for being able to endure extreme elements. Since then other classics have become perennially popular staples like their Greenland jacket, which was originally made from tent fabric until it was reinvented with a special durable fabric they created called the G-1000, which is used throughout the collections. It's also famous for a special wax that can be applied that gives the jacket a weathered look, but actually first served a purpose for skiers to protect from the jackets from moisture.
Today Fjallraven North America is run by John Walbrecht, who was brought on in January of last year and is known for cultivating major brands like Spyder, Timberland and the massively successful rebirth of Doc Martins. Walbrecht believes in the vision while maintaining the brand's DNA while focusing on sustainability, like their Numbers collection made from recycled materials and getting people to experience the outdoors and live the product. As he says, "The greatest way for the consumer to learn about and experience the product is by actually getting them outdoors." To wit: The brand cultivates outdoor expeditions available to the public like the Fjallraven Classic, a hiking expedition in the Kiruna Camp Ripan and the Fjallraven Polar, an annual amateur dog sledding contest among many other smaller outdoor events. But what's catching on is this brand's classic, almost vintage look, that appeals to both the outdoorsy and sartorial sets alike.
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4268b58bfa5b53bc09d5f7460f5c0944 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2016/07/11/color-trends-in-menswear-spring-summer-2017/ | Color Trends In Menswear Spring-Summer 2017 | Color Trends In Menswear Spring-Summer 2017
Over the last few seasons color trends in menswear have shifted to rich and luminous hues calling attention to modified silhouettes, technical surfaces and softer construction. Having recently returned from men’s fashion week (Spring/ Summer 2017), at Pitti in Florence, Milan and Paris, I noticed that the menswear color story is undoubtedly eccentric yet conservative. The menswear industry is at an ever-evolving transitional stage with bold and many times high-octane infusion of color playing an important role shaping things to come. I also noticed a robust yet challenging millennial mindset in addition to current day consumer demand.
In the past, bold color was used as accessories or accents to a man's wardrobe. Today, color in menswear is contradicting itself within the same season as it is showcased both delicately and violently—with designers increasingly skilled at smoothly combining emotional stature through color. Unexpected classifications such as suiting’s, footwear and men’s hosiery will now be forever changed with the onset of Athleisure. This season the typical bold shades of red, orange and yellow are present, but it’s the continuing influence of blue and green that is celebrated to the fullest.
The following color trends are coming to menswear next year:
Grey-based shades of light green have quickly become a new option for the Contemporary men’s market. For SS 2017, tide or teal is more saturated than seasons past.
The color referred to as Tide seen here at the Boglioli Spring/Summer 2017 fashion show in Milan.... [+] Defines 21st Century luxury.
A whole new Beige. It is not just deeper beige saturations but rather the various tones of beige and many times worn together. Beige is fresh and looks right for SS 2017
Rich Texture of Beige seen here at the TOD'S Spring/Summer 2017 Presentation in Milan. Reflects... [+] texture and structure of modern era.
Soft Triad contrasting color blend seen here at the Versace Spring/Summer 2017 Presentation in... [+] Milan.
Rich and inky shades of blue are a mainstay for all men’s markets. For SS 2017, it takes on a less purple cast than before, with a dryer and somewhat less saturated appeal.
Blues come to the fore with deep saturation — making a strong statement seen here at the Issey... [+] Miyake Spring/Summer 2017 fashion show in Paris.
Bright yellow has been an emerging accent color for menswear, and for SS 2017, it takes on a slightly more green influence for a kind of acidic alternative to the bold and saturated version from before.
Exploring new ideas with confident yellow as seen here at the Hermes Spring/Summer 2017.
The last two seasons have found an emersion of a spicy clay-inspired red or wine, perfect for all classifications. Almost unchanged from last season, it is one of the most important new hues of the season.
A range of Wine tones and deep crimson—seen here at the Canali Spring - Summer 2017 fashion show in... [+] Milan—is one of the dominant colors for next year. (GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images)
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335ba736e43885fcadcb2b60a8e8f4e6 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2016/07/13/indy-500-winner-alexander-rossi-espy-award-pal-zileri/ | Watch Indy 500 Winner Alexander Rossi Get Styled for the ESPY Awards | Watch Indy 500 Winner Alexander Rossi Get Styled for the ESPY Awards
Watch Forbes' creative style director Joseph DeAcetis outfit Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi for a big night out at the 2016 ESPY Awards.
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443f0e19694bda8a4e6ae3ec360968fc | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2018/01/05/what-makes-orsden-ski-wear-a-dream-champion-on-the-slopes/ | What Makes Orsden Ski Wear A Dream Champion On The Slopes | What Makes Orsden Ski Wear A Dream Champion On The Slopes
At a time when the nation experiences a bone-chilling deep-freeze and people are looking to blame the world for any cold-related problems, one solution would be seemingly obvious: Dress weather appropriate. Generations of outerwear history make it unthinkable for new brands to step away from developing the meandering streams of forthright advanced technology. One company embraces the below freezing temperatures with a smile and is spreading the message of a new hybrid generation of skiwear.
Orsden Alpine Ski Jacket Joseph DeAcetis
Let's face it, there is usually plenty of drama surrounding the skiwear industry with current product offerings ranging from heat-tech to waterproof and everything in-between. Nevertheless, as legions of skiers and spectators alike will purchase ski jackets that support both the sport and the style, price always seems to weigh in at the point of purchase no matter how deep your pockets may run.
Today, activewear business succeeds by making it's presence felt in two places: Firstly, and more importantly, on the slopes (as this is the product design philosophy's natural habitat) where we as consumers expect the product offerings to thrill and amaze us with the most advanced performance. Secondly, there is also the style impact that product can have off the slopes- both back at the ski-lodge and back at home.
Tested on 3 continents Orsden jackets have passed the performance test in the most dire conditions. The jackets are made with 4-way stretch materials and high waterproof and breathability rating which in effect leaves the wearer comfortable and dry. The jackets have an alpine fit coupled with modern colors that enable them to transcend from ski to city geographical opposite settings with ease.
Pronounced orse-den, the name comes from the French word for snow bear, ours de neige. * Although I like the name Orsden, I should mention to my readers that I happen to be fluent in french and still find the word to be a bit of a tongue twister for me. On another note, The brand’s mythical snow bear possesses a unique combination of toughness and playfulness and that spirit inspires Orsden.
Orsden Alpine Ski Jacket Joseph DeAcetis
Founded by Sara and Steven Segall, Orsden was created to fill a void in the market for skiwear that has the technical performance and style of luxury skiwear, but at a more attainable price point.
Men’s Slope Jacket in Redwood. Joseph DeAcetis
I was delightfully surprised to see a brand developing product with all the performance capabilities while keeping the ultimate consumer and cost in mind. In my estimation, it seems as though the market has created an incredible vulnerability unlike any other outerwear item- as price disturbances are largely the concern at this time.
Orsden on the slopes Joseph DeAcetis
Launched in the Winter 2016/2017, Orsden is a performance skiwear line offering premium technical apparel through direct to consumer e-commerce. Orsden challenges the skiwear industry status quo and allows skiers to stop overpaying for quality which is arguably the most powerful moment for consumers seeking efficiency and style accelerating toward a less expensive purchase which is one of the most important parts of the sustainabliity process.
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9842644d693a142740fd53b03bc5af86 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2018/05/14/how-dolce-and-gabbana-defines-a-new-idea-in-millennial-luxury/ | How Dolce And Gabbana Defines A New Idea In Millennial Luxury | How Dolce And Gabbana Defines A New Idea In Millennial Luxury
Dolce & Gabbana SS 2018 menswear fashion show in Milan Dolce & Gabbana SS 2018
Shortly after viewing the Dolce & Gabbana spring/summer 2018 menswear fashion show in Milan, a new style epiphany came to mind. You see, part of the Dolce & Gabbana appeal is its iconic status. The company founded in 1985 by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana still resembles and seamlessly embodies the creative energy it had from its very first launch. Keep in mind that with respect to this feature, that I would like to focus in on fashion brand evolution. It became apparent to me that the brand gave its marching orders to challenge the consumer with respect to design philosophy. No matter where the overtly creative design is headed, the brand has deep rooted history in quality. In fact, they are helping to define a new idea of luxury that includes representation and respect for the millennial and Generation Z consumers. Statistical data states that millennials hone in on authenticity, quality and heritage. Moreover, they operate with a compulsion to reinvent what is worthy. But how did the whimsical and often highfaluting designs of Dolce & Gabbana go from being celebrity favorites to the most sought after styles of the millennial marketplace. Simply, its an approach not everybody embraces. Often fashion critics derided their style as overtly exhibitionistic, even pompous. In addition, a subsequent flurry of speculation from consumers had contributed to rise in publicity for the global brand. But Dolce & Gabbana maintains that while they prefer their style to be unique, they must stand the test of time with respect to quality. If I recall correctly, Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana joined forces and worked together as a design consulting company roughly 36 years ago. Most certainly it is their solidified foundation of consulting skills that launched the brand to emerge as one of the foremost creative brands of modern traditional design. Allow me to clarify, the traditional language of fashion design and fashion branding can be reinterpreted in a modern way for modern times.
Dolce Gabbana SS 2018 menswear fashion show in Milan Dolce Gabbana SS 2018
Over the last several seasons, while reviewing their fashion shows, one can not help but notice the millennial focus both within the design makeup as well as the celebrity millennial spectators and models such as Christian Combs, Gabriel-Kane Day Lewis, Amelia Hamlin, Delilah Hamlin, Talita Von Furstenburg and Coco Konig to name a few. The design team is doing what they have always been doing; applying the same logic albeit on a slightly grander and moreover, younger stage. Verily., a progressive example of strategic sustainability and creative design that respects the new guard!
Dolce Gabbana SS 2018 menswear fashion show in Milan Dolce Gabbana SS 2018
The Dolce&Gabbana Spring/Summer 2018 menswear show was inspired by The King of Hearts, which represents love and passion. The King of Hearts showcases artists, writers, actors from all over the world with one thing in common – they are all Millennials. Dolce & Gabbana celebrates free expression and creativity of a new generation that defines and shapes the multimedia society where they live. The collection reflects a unique interpretation of the new expressive languages that most of us are taking part in each day. A few highlights is the colorful suiting and the reinterpretation of the pajamas. This season more than ever I saw the mixing of prints, new slogans + graphics, separates. Many prints have Asian influences such as the samurai and geisha prints which surely speak to the millennial market.
Dolce Gabbana SS 2018 women's fashion show in Milan Dolce Gabbana SS 2018
The Dolce&Gabbana Women’s Spring/Summer 2018 collection carries a strong declaration: Amore è Bellezza (or “love is beauty”) which is paying homage to Italian glamour of the late 1950s. Women are celebrated as the true protagonists highlighting their charm, their dreams, and their infinite glamour. The Designers were inspired to reinterpret the iconic and sensual beauty of the 90s supermodels. The pieces are enriched with detailed prints, energetic colors, and contrasting fabrics. What I found noteworthy here is that the designers were inspired to find harmony in contrast. I report on balance and contrast and can testify that this is not such an easy task. Here, the brand deliberately cultivates its forthright ability to take a renegade approach to the industry!
Dolce Gabbana SS 2018 menswear fashion show in Milan Dolce Gabbana SS 2018
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9d320747555f4a5117f2ac700996d8ef | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2018/12/01/pars-unum-and-luka-sabbat-reinterprets-classic-storytelling-in-the-digital-landscape/ | PARS UNUM And Luka Sabbat Reinterpret Classic Storytelling In The Digital Landscape | PARS UNUM And Luka Sabbat Reinterpret Classic Storytelling In The Digital Landscape
PARS UNUM BACKPACK PARS_UNUM
It has been gratifying to witness fashion brands worldwide reach an impact of extreme influence, particularly in it's success that so many consumers are able to filter a brands style guiding principles to fulfill their respective lifestyle needs. But the world is most certainly a diverse place. In fact, the format of consumer dichotomy proves challenging for fashion brands. In my opinion, understanding balance enables leaders to most effectively lead, accomplish the mission and achieve the target goals. I often hear fashion companies boasting about their leadership; whereas the companies that peak my interest as a consumer, are the ones who know when to lead and when to follow, when to hold the reins tight and when to creatively run forward, when to aggressively maneuver and when to be prudent. Verily, the most challenging aspect of fashion brands today is finding the balance between the fashion business, the social-driven consumer and the product itself. In order to correctly balance these three leadership styles, a decision maker must find the middle ground and pay attention to social influence to reach the maximum potential. Conversely, a good leader must follow and support the chain of command all around. Bridging the gap between fine craftsmanship and social influence equals social confirmation -essentially developing brand awareness while simultaneously driving sales way up north!
In the digital age of social media, the business of fashion has undergone a revolution. In a word, it has democratized and disrupted- even jumped lanes onto a new progressive path forward with no end in site. I must say, most fashion veterans barely recognize the fashion industry today from what it had been in decades past. This great transitional period that we are now experiencing is not only limited to marketing but rather permeates throughout the core of design as well as the brands overall DNA. We have witnessed the tremendous asendency of blogs, influencers and social media as well as the rapid speed of fashion to market. It is also of note to review the cycle of trends within the market sectors. Let's face it, the traditional methodology with respect to the fashion ecosystem has been living through a renaissance of sorts. Nowadays, the consumers need for immediacy in receiving new and relatable brand ambassadors and cultures continue to shift in the fashion industry. Today, the interest derives from a collective response, globalized with infinite reach of social media. Influence turns into currency when the user possesses something of interest to a target audience. With 800 million users, Instagram is a focal point for most fashion brands. In this new era, one can't help but notice why it makes sense for a brand to talk directly to their desired audience.
PARS UNUM PARS_UNUM
Capitalizing on the power of developing quality-driven and well-designed new product offerings, PARS UNUM has created strong positioning for their technically exacting and conceptually classic bags. A theory fundamental to the PARS UNUM design process, ‘classic’ is not a stationary set of ideas, but rather a sensibility that is continuously in transformation. Referencing late 1980s–1990s sport, the collection presents homage while perpetually musing on the next progression of classic — establishing an ever-evolving design paradigm. By updating styles to adhere to modern consumer tastes, the brand embraces differentiation of their product offerings from others in the marketplace. In fact, these styles are the type of styles that customers share on social media within their social circles. And social proof is validation with respect to the power of social influence. And speaking of social influence, PARS UNUM has now displayed model, mega-influencer and entrepreneur Luka Sabbat for their creative. Mr. Sabbat ( aka; Mr. Fallback) currently maintains a hefty 1.5 million followers on Instagram. And trust me, most of his followers are looking at his mad cool drip or style if you may. In this day and age, behavioral science social proof involves recognizing a point of view that we can relate to as if the person is "part of us" and in return will develop consumer trust. What is important to me is that not only does Luka Sabbat have recognized status in the entertainment and fashion industry but rather he is believable ( to me) in confirming the value of a fashion product. You see, Luka is an of the moment style icon! Moreover, he is the type of person who would only endorse a fashion product if he believed in it. Ultimately, this campaign will only enhance the bond between PARS UNAM and its direct target audience and fans!
Luka Sabbat sporting PARS UNUM BACKPACK PARS_UNUM
Handcrafted in Italy, PARS UNUM is produced by hand at a prestigious family-run facility in a small coastal town in Southern Italy. Led by a master pattern cutter, artisans carry knowledge and techniques from the ateliers of storied fashion houses. Supple Italian nappa lambskin interplays with technical coated polyamide, accented by custom powder-coated hardware and industry-leading luxury zippers.
PARS UNUM BACKPACK PARS_UNUM
PARS UNUM is a New York-based bag line that debuted this fall with creative featuring model and social influencer Luka Sabbat. All pieces are designed in NYC and handcrafted from lambskin in a family-run factory in Italy. The custom hardware is powder coated in a Ferrari shop. The backpack ($1,195 USD) is a minimal, unobtrusive design that could be perfect for higher price-tiered shopping guides.
PARS UNUM PARS_UNUM
I recently had the privilege to interview founders Jimmy Rau and Fabiola Pedrazzini about the creative design of the current collection, how consumers are seeking newness and versatility and how the digital design space is almost a subconscious component of anything they do! Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about the brand history, development and overall brand DNA (what are your backgrounds in fashion)? Jimmy Rau: I come from a graphic and interdisciplinary design background. I’ve worked in freelance for around 10 years with a pretty diverse client base. Since the mid-2000s, I became more interested in style and fashion– especially some of the minimal masterminds of the 90s – Helmut Lang, Jil Sander. My earliest thought to design bags was probably a result of always being mobile– presenting to clients, working from a café, going to the gym – as a freelancer I needed a bag that would take me through all these situations. I began experimenting with some two-dimensional design ideas before really incorporating three-dimensional structure. I applied an invisible grid structure, which ended up informing design decisions like pocket placement and the proportion of arm straps. Fabiola Pedrazzini: After working in high-end bag production in Italy, I moved to New York to launch my women’s accessories line back in 2010. I met Jimmy and she showed me his early designs, and we began developing the first collection about three years ago. JR: We’ve gone through countless iterations, sampled hundreds of skins, hardware finishes, zippers—every little thing. The focus has always been working toward a minimal, function conscious collection made from some of the best materials and processes available. Every essential detail is crafted with elegant simplicity in mind, no fillers needed. JD: How did Luka Sabbat become the face of the brand? FP: We both love how Luka mixes classic tailoring with really modern stuff. PARS UNUM is about reinterpreting classic through a new lens. JR: Luka and I had a couple of degrees of separation so I dropped some samples off at his agency. A dozen phone calls later, we pulled some pieces from David Casavant’s fashion archive and ended up making it happen! JD: Where is the capital coming from to launch the brand ? JR: In growing the brand from square one, it’s been entirely self-funded. At times its super crazy and I’m working all hours of the night to get the work done, but it’s an object of passion and that makes the difference. I’m fortunate to have a close knit network of friends who are always supportive and ready to lend their talents to the brand. Seeing all our hours of work come to fruition is incredible. JD: What is your comparative advantage? JR: Men are taking more and more interest in their fashion, accessories and style. What’s frustrating is that the men’s accessories space hasn’t really seen much product differentiation in recent years. There seems to be some dichotomy happening here. On one hand, more utilitarian, function-focused bags often compromise on design or fine quality materials. On the other, it’s rare to find any high-end bag options that aren’t marred with logos or maximal elements. Aesthetically clean design and fine craftsmanship can be really challenging to find, much less for under 2K. FB: We worked tirelessly to find production partners that not only had top of the industry quality, but that also believed in what we were doing and were willing to support us in our early stages of growth. All the bags are handmade from an amazing lambskin in a highly-regarded, family-run factory off the Southern coast of Italy, and that’s nearly impossible to find at our price point. JD: Talk to us about the current collection. JR: The past several years have seen a resurgence of 90’s inspired design, and our collection is a classic interpretation of that. We grew up in the 90s, myself in New York and Fabiola in Milan, it’s distilled down into our work. You can see that in the roundedness of the edges, that clean lines of the piping. We’re not a seasonal brand, so we see this first collection as more of an introduction to our core offering. The intention here is to perfect the intersection of function, beautiful materials and careful design. JD:In your own words, what are consumers seeking in backpacks and bags today? JR: I think that the modern consumer is tired of shopping purely on a label by label basis. So much is over-designed, overpriced and overhyped. For us, it was about injecting the right amount of design and allowing intrinsic qualities, like the buttery softness of the leather and smoothness of the zipper, speak for themselves. Our customer is someone who appreciates the versatility of a bag that can shift seamlessly from work to the gym to the airport. JD:What is a typical day like for you? FP: Well, I usually wake up at 6AM for a Skype check in with Marco, the factory owner and pattern maker, to see how our latest prototype is coming along, check on our production deadlines, talk to suppliers, things like that. Marco’s knowledge and experience is a foundation of our production. Four espressos later, I’m translating our design specifications to Italian. There is no match for Italians in terms of words we have to describe special manufacturing processes. JD: How has technology (if any) contributed to your business both online and product? JR: Although our bags are made from natural materials and traditional craftsmanship, we’re digitally-facing when it comes to communicating with customers. Coming from a digital design space, it’s almost a subconscious component of anything we do. We’re actually in the process of rendering our collection in CGI, blending the organic with the electronic, reflecting the pervasiveness of technology within the everyday. We have some very exciting stuff planned for the near future… JD: Who is one celebrity that you would like to see wearing your brand? JR: Frank Ocean—personally I’m just a huge fan of his music and his style. What is your growth strategy? JR and FP: We hope to build on the early success of our initial launch in the upcoming seasons. Right now we’re developing product for new categories like smaller cross-body and belt bags and small leather goods, as well as some interesting limited run pieces. But most importantly, every product we release has to be absolutely dialed in, and that’s an integral part of our process. At the same time, we’re continuing to expand our online storefront offerings as well as planning to pursue strategic retail accounts in the new year.
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1da45efb2bd69d467042b0fed8c9d2a5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2019/05/07/how-sustainable-lingerie-brand-kala-aims-to-disrupt-the-50-billion-dollar-industry/ | How Sustainable Lingerie Brand Kala Aims To Disrupt The 50 Billion Dollar Industry | How Sustainable Lingerie Brand Kala Aims To Disrupt The 50 Billion Dollar Industry
Kala ss 2019 KALA
Despite some differences in opinion, sustainable theories have much in common. First, they share a set of principles or assumptions about the basic eco-friendly business processes in which people engage. They also share of set of basic conceptual elements, units or variables from which the fashion principles and processes are built. Because of these similarities, it is appropriate to refer to these social impact theories with a thorough understanding of the often-confusing similarities and differences among them that conversely hinder and protect theory development and textile research. Fashion evolves.
Today, sustainable fashion business has symbolizing capabilities. It construes the path for its world, and it is this visual construal’s that have the greatest influence on human behavior and emotions. People strive to understand and give meaning to their world. In fact, they encode aspects of their world, including aspects of themselves and other people. Such encoding, once formed, creates change and greatly influences the construal of subsequent events. Both forward-thinking brands and people are also capable of forethought and prediction, including the ability to the ability to imagine themselves living in imagined future situations. In short, fashion brands must remember that consumers are capable of developing mental images of possible future events and states to either be attained or avoided and strategies for achieving or avoiding those future events and states.
Kala ss 2019 KALA
In current times, the advent into man's hands of unlimited style power has been magnified by the world wide web and massive world population, so that now we live under the weight of a weird paradox which threatens us simultaneously with too many people in the world and too many people to dress. Finally, the fashion world is faced with mounting evidence-in pollution in the air and water, in destruction in the balance of nature, in the coming ear-shattering boom of supersonic flight - which we cannot refrain from the despoiling of the environment. The experience has been enough to destroy in many of our generation their inherited belief in human goodness. People define themselves largely by what they think about, how they feel about, and how other people perceive them. Moreover, the individual's behavior is influenced and shaped by other people and by what the individual expects other people to think, feel and do in response to his or her behavioral fashion purchases.
Kala ss 2019 KALA
The question isn't whether or not you can improve your fashion purchasing decisions. Of course you can. Human beings are adaptable creatures, and if it is important enough for us, we can get better at virtually anything. This raises some slippery questions. What is the right fashion product to purchase? What role does self-awareness play in building a strength?
To answer these questions you need a simple way to differentiate between what is environmentally right for your body and what is right for the future of mankind.
Allow me to introduce you to earth-friendly + inclusive lingerie and sleepwear brand Kala. Kala creates simple, good for the earth products that are about to revolutionize the way we look at intimates. The brand capitalizes on the fact that women need a sustainable option in lingerie offerings. Based in New York, all Kala garments are made in NY by local artisans. The brand is focused on using materials that are all natural and biodegradable
Kala ss 2019 KALA
Inspired by her desire to find undergarments that fit Kala founder 26-year-old, Rebecca Migirov asked herself why she, like so many bra-wearers, felt ignored by traditional brands. What she was looking for was earth-friendly intimates and sleepwear that are size inclusive and nude coloring. It is her belief that undergarments don't need to be complicated, they simply need to support you through your day. The brand's intention is to create quality goods that will not end up in a landfill, as undergarments have one of the shortest lifespans of all clothing categories. She has created a full cycle sustainable line that considers every portion of the process when creating their goods and aims to make their product line with zero harm to the earth, taking back all products users are done with and recycling them.
I recently had the privilege to speak with founder Rebecca Migirov about Kala's unique collection, why she left the her prior position to launch a sustainable earth-friendly lingerie brand.
Kala Founder Rebecca Migirov KALA
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about why you decided to launch a sustainable earth-friendly lingerie brand?
Rebecca Migirov: Kala truly came out of a personal need for comfortable intimates that made me feel good. Being eco-friendly was always a given - even when I worked in tech and the blockchain space, I was passionate about creating solutions that would incentivize transparency and environmentalism in wasteful and polluting industries. The fashion industry is the second most polluting and the lifecycle of any given bra is usually only about 3 months. With Kala, we really sought to create pieces that support the wearer and their confidence while working to help the planet, rather than harm it JD: What is the true essence of the brand? RM: Kala is about loving yourself and the planet we're lucky enough to call home. JD: How has technology influenced your brand with respect to fabrications and e-commerce ( direct-to-consumer) sales? RM: We're definitely looking at, long-term, working with new fabrics, such as collagen-infused qualities, and developing our own to embed wellness in the clothes you wear. On the e-comm side, we wouldn't be able to reach customers or serve them if it wasn't was the tools available for new brands, from Shopify to Instagram, tech is a huge part of our reach. On the other side, going offline and connecting to people in person is still irreplaceable. JD: What makes Kala unique? Be specific RM: Our focus on inclusivity, from a range of nudes to sizing, and our stance and commitment to eco-friendly and fair-labor practices. We manufacture with women-owned factories in NYC and support fair-labor fabric mills that produce their materials with low-impact dyes, clean energy, and low waste waste.
Kala ss 2019 KALA
JD: Who is the Kala demographic? RM: Everyone! Truly, Kala is for anyone who is passionate about helping our Earth, supporting fair economies, and feeling good while doing it! JD: How are you marketing towards millennials and Generation Z ? RM: We've found that creating offline experiences is one of the most rewarding ways we have of connecting to our customers. From self-care days with manicures to fittings to some great family-oriented events we have in the works for the summer, millennials and gen-z passionate about experiences. We're also constantly available online, through Instagram especially we're always DM'ing with folks JD: Talk to Forbes about Kala's unique style in the current collection? RM: We sought to marry functionality and aesthetics in our current collection. With our intimates, our bras have double layer bands to add support and our Sheer Bra features a hidden sling for lift. The mesh on our intimates adds breathability while giving an added dimension of interest. With our sleepwear, we focused on breathable fabrics with Tencel, lyocell, cotton - all our bottoms have pockets and we chose colors that evoke nature and remind us of why sustainability matters: Marine, Clay, and Honey. JD: If Kala was a song, which song would it be and why? RM: Easy by Lionel Richie featuring Willie Nelson JD: What is your day-to-day job responsibilities? RM: Day-to -day, I'm doing everything from packing boxes to ship orders to taking calls with investors and journalists to picking the color of cotton candy we want for a fun activation. There really is no standard day at a startup. JD: What imprint would you like to leave on the lingerie world? RM: That we can do better, creating beautiful pieces for all people while doing good, and that our customers, our partners - from factory workers to farmers -, and our planet deserve better.
Kala ss 2019 KALA
JD: Where is the product made and why? RM: All Kala pieces are designed and made in New York. Our materials are sourced from different parts of the world from fabric mills that are all OKEO-TEX, ISO-9002, or Bluesign accredited. JD: If you could choose one celebrity or model to wear your brand who would that be and why? RM:Anyone passionate about sustainability and promoting self-confidence. We're big fans of Emma Watson and Paloma Elsesser. JD: What is your growth strategy plan for the next 5 years? RM: We plan to broaden our reach with brick-and-mortar locations and internationally in select markets. We're currently popping up at Showfields in NYC and will be creating more offline experiences through stores and events.
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b1f6c0906b60740ac0e9286989ca11b9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2019/08/14/meet-the-swimwear-brand-saving-the-ocean-one-plastic-bottle-at-a-time/?sh=1cd779f73f2e | Meet The Swimwear Brand Saving The Ocean One Swimsuit At A Time | Meet The Swimwear Brand Saving The Ocean One Swimsuit At A Time
A campaign image from Fair Harbor's current collection Fair Harbor
Swimming is one sport that didn’t start out as a plaything for society’s upper crust. On the contrary, it is for all people on the planet to appreciate and enjoy.
It is important to know that even-though swimwear strips you down, it still manages to dress you up – particularly in modern times, when swimwear offers a such a plethora variety. Long before the swimwear revolution last season, consumers were wearing styles and colors that were befitting for the fun-filled sports and leisure activity. From traditionally inspired designs (for both men and women), swimwear brands have recently developed style more or less tantamount to meet today’s requirements -with an added dose of tech-fabric make-up for various reasons.
Fair Harbor's One Shorts Fair Harbor
Interesting too, is the fact that forthright apparel companies aim to evolve to meet todays standards of sustainable goals and requirements.
Unlike other swimwear brands, Jake Danehy, CEO at Fair Harbor, uses cutting-edge technology with the environment in mind. As greed and consolidation take their toll, those historically high margins are more and more under attack. In fact, in the long term, I can easily imagine an unraveling of the business model that has rewarded apparel brands so well, and – despite the effect of excessive greed, had managed to serve the public in vital ways.
What sets Danehy apart form other swimwear brands is his powerful interest in a sustainable humanistic approach. Danehy’s attention is in implementing assistive technology that has allowed for his Fair Harbor Swimwear brand to take advantage of sustainable applications by leveraging technology to mitigate the use of single-use plastics and transforming recycled plastic bottles into exceptional swimwear. You see, the burdens of mankind’s carbon footprint have increasingly affected our planet in a negative way. One of Danehy’s recent intelligence alliance projects is a preconfigured manufacturing system that produces fibers out of old plastic bottles. His latest effort in partnership with his manufacturer aims to cleanup our oceans while developing a product with comfort, fit and style.
In my work, I always ask, what are the fundamental human needs here. And how do fashion brands evolve with this situation. Only when you combine answers to both those questions do you end up creating modified designs that powerfully improve sustainability for our beloved planet earth.
A campaign image from Fair Harbor's current collection Fair Harbor
Fair Harbor is a small barefoot community located on Fire Island, New York -sandwiched between the gorgeous Great South Bay and the mighty Atlantic Ocean. Although small in geographical scope, the island is filled with soft sandy white beaches and powerful North Atlantic surf. Fair Harbor is known for its wide beachfront on the Ocean side as well as an active nightlife bay front town. The community was founded in the late 1800’s and has ever since been enjoyed by mainly a summer community. The Splendor of Fire Island is that to get there, it is necessary to take the ferry from the mainland. In short, Fire-Island is free of automobiles- which is refreshing in this day and age.
Launched in 2015, Fair Harbor is a men's and women's sustainable swimwear brand started by brother and sister duo, Jake and Caroline Danehy. Fair Harbor's mission is to keep shores clean, to keep plastic out of waterways, and to offer customers an amazing product at a great price!
Growing up by the beach of Fair Harbor in Fire Island, New York, and later learning about plastic's destructive impact on the environment, Jake and Caroline committed themselves to create a positive change. The brand leverages technology to mitigate the use of single-use plastics by transforming recycled plastic bottles into exceptional swimwear. Each men's and women's swimwear product is made anywhere from 3 to 22 recycled plastic bottles.
Red Stripe Anchor Stripe by Fair Harbor Fair Harbor
All our products are made of recycled plastic bottles. On average, about 11 plastic bottles go into making every suit. It is extremely important for our customers to be aware of the systemic plastic issue and the detrimental effects plastic is having on our environment. It’s been incredible to see the growing awareness about our plastic problem in the last two years and the global conversations that have taken place.
While we’re hopeful for the future, there is still a lot more that we need to do; although it is great that we make all of our products out of single use plastics, it is not the final solution. We need to change our habits and stop plastic consumption at the source. It’s our mission to help people see why they should stop consuming single-use plastics and starting using reusable products.
I recently had the privilege to speak with CEO Jake Danehy about why he believes men are seeking comfort, versatility and fashion in swimwear, how he partnered with one the best swimwear factories on the planet and why Forbes' viewers need to try this brand now!
Jake Danehy CEO of Fair Harbor Swimwear Fair harbor
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about the DNA of your brand?
Jake Danehy: Caroline and I grew up going to the small town of Fair Harbor, every summer, which was located on Fire Island, New York. Fair Harbor is pretty incredible - there are no cars on the island and everyone walks around with bare feet and rides weathered old bikes. The island is a glorified sandbar; only about 100-300 yards wide in most spots, so any plastic waste not correctly discarded would most likely end up in the ocean. During these childhood summers, we witnessed the impact of waste first hand.
Fast forward a few years, while I was studying geography at university, I took a deep dive into ocean plastics and learned about their negative impacts on our environment. I became both fascinated and frustrated with the issue and I decided to dedicate a semester to learn about the problems when plastics get into our ecosystem. Ultimately I wanted to do something about this systemic issue, so I turned to my sister Caroline and asked her if she wanted to start a company together to battle the problem. Our solution was to create Fair Harbor, a brand that makes beachwear out of recycled bottles, with the underlying mission to promote the mitigation of single use plastics.
Caroline was the perfect partner to go into business with as she had always had a keen interest in fashion. Similarly to me, she had a strong passion for our environment and ended up studying geography as well, at the same university I attended, Colgate, in upstate New York.
Swimsuits were a natural starting point for our brand because our namesake Fair Harbor is the ultimate summer town and where we first connected with the ocean. All we needed was a swimsuit, a bike and surfboard and we were the happiest kids.
Dark Denim Anchor Short by Fair Harbor Fiar Harbor
JD: In your words, what is your competitive advantage?
JD: All of our swimwear is made out of recycled plastic bottles to give plastic waste a second life. In an effort to create a positive impact on our oceans and encourage our community to do the same, we organize cleanups to promote the mitigation of single use plastics. Through these initiatives, and others, it’s our goal to raise awareness about the systemic issue.
Not only is our swimwear sustainable, it is also the best men’s swimwear on the market. We have spent the last five years perfecting our swimsuits and have gone through at least 15 iterations of our signature board shorts, designing it down to every little detail, so that the fit is perfect for everyone. In addition, we have received stellar customer feedback, with over 900 verified “five star” customer reviews for our men’s shorts.
JD: How do you intend to market to Millennial's and Gen Z? Advertising?
JD: We have been successful thus far marketing to millennials because we are somewhat marketing to ourselves. Since Caroline is 22 years old and I am 25, we have a keen understanding of what is relevant in the millennial generation. With the rise in plastic awareness and what problems it causes, millenials and Gen Z are leading the charge for a more sustainable future.
We market very heavily on Instagram and other social media platforms. We have been successful at growing our social media following by posting content that we think our community will relate to. In addition, we partner with like-minded influencers who share our same values and ideals. As we continue to launch marketing campaigns, we will focus primarily on cultivating and curating engaging content. The biggest thing that we have learned is that we have to get our story and message across in a split second. Our ads have to be tight, straightforward and show how we are solving a problem for our customer.
Seapine Tiger Achor Short by Fair Harbor Fair Harbor
JD: What are men seeking today in swim shorts
There are three things that men are seeking in swim shorts: comfort, versatility and fashion. At the end of the day, guys really just want to be comfortable. Therefore we focus on making products that are soft, and fit incredibly well. Versatility: We can attribute a large part of our brand’s success to the ultimate versatility of our products. For example, our best-selling “One Short” is a true amphibian short. You can wear this short to the beach, work out in it, and even throw on a polo shirt to wear to dinner. We have seen that as a major trend with all our products. Fashion: Swimwear is one place in particular that a guy is willing to try something a bit more outside their comfort zone. Our top sellers are mostly simple prints and patterns, but the really fun thing about swimwear is that the beach is a place where it is acceptable to wear something maybe a little different than you normally would. This gives us the freedom to be creative and test things that are new, fun and unique.
A campaign image from Fair Harbor's current collection FairHarbor
JD:Talk to Forbes in detail about the current collection and why it is important for consumers to be aware of sustainability (in detail)
JD: All our products are made of recycled plastic bottles. On average, about 11 plastic bottles go into making every suit. It is extremely important for our customers to be aware of the systemic plastic issue and the detrimental effects plastic is having on our environment. It’s been incredible to see the growing awareness about our plastic problem in the last two years and the global conversations that have taken place. While we’re hopeful for the future, there is still a lot more that we need to do; although it is great that we make all of our products out of single use plastics, it is not the final solution. We need to change our habits and stop plastic consumption at the source. It’s our mission to help people see why they should stop consuming single-use plastics and starting using reusable products.
Dark Denim Pebbles Nautilus Boardshort by Fair Harbor Fair Harbor
JD: Talk to Forbes about how technology aided you in the development of your brand?
JD: Technology has been instrumental in starting Fair Harbor. Without much experience, Caroline and I were able to start a global supply chain, while she was in high school. Technology assisted the development of our brand by making it easier to discover fabrics, communicate with factories all over the world, and start our ecommerce website; it would have been much more difficult just five years earlier.
We were able to launch our website on Shopify, a platform created to help e-commerce, and, as easily as with an IPhone, are able to take product photos which then leads to sales across North America. Shopify and Stripe have helped us set up an easy way to take orders and capture payments. They’ve made the process so straightforward that we have been able to operate our own fulfillment. We have our own team that runs our fulfillment out of Westchester, New York, where we can send out upwards of 500 orders a day.
Social media, specifically Instagram, has given us the ability to develop and foster a community of like-minded people who care about our mission and products. The Facebook platform has allowed us to reach millions of people and compete on a platform with companies much larger than us. It levels the playing field and gives us the ability to spend our marketing dollars in the most efficient way possible. Overall, social media has provided a platform for us to expand our mission to an incredible amount of people.
All of our fabrics are technically designed blends built to last. We have 5 different swim fabrics that we have developed with our factories to create the ultimate assortment of swimwear. In addition, we utilized digital printing to print our patterns so we can optimize every yard and also experiment with prints without committing to too many units.
Sea Pine Stripe Nautilus Boardshort by Fair Harbor Fair Harbor
JD: What are your day-to-day responsibilities
JD: I am in charge of: website, sales, product design (alongside Caroline), production management, customer support, fundraising and investor relations.
Caroline looks after email marketing, social media and community engagement. We also have a small team that looks after operations, logistics, accounting, etc.
JD: Where is the product made and why?
JD: Our fabric and products is all made in WRAP (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production) certified factories in China. We have partnered with whom we believe to be one of the best men’s swimwear factories on the planet to manufacture our products and have developed a great relationship with them. We have visited the factory on several occasions.
JD: You have the floor: Talk to my viewers here about why they should try this brand?
JD: People should buy our products because not only are they thoroughly and thoughtfully designed, but they simultaneously help keep plastic out of landfills and our oceans. It is our mission to help promote the mitigation of single use plastics while also striving to make the best swimwear on the market.
Through our different iterations of swimwear, and listening to customer feedback, we found that people absolutely hate mesh lining in their swim trunks. That is why we make all of our products with either no lining or an uber-soft built in boxer brief liner. We’ve nicknamed the products that have this lining as “not your dad’s swim trunk”. It is very comfortable, ultimately versatile and insanely soft. We honestly cannot keep them in stock.
JD:What are you future projections and growth strategy for the next few years?
JD: Sales are up over 1000% year-over-year and we are growing extremely quickly. We are primarily focused on our online strategy while also partnering with strategic retailers to help grow our brand and overall mission.
Red Beacon Anchor Short by Fair Harbor Fair Harbor
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a495b2f0c7b40b49981a11df71f88b75 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2019/08/30/innovative-chinese-e-tailer-icy-to-expand-in-the-us-focusing-on-emerging-designers/?sh=6c1b798f36ef | Chinese Platform ICY Earns $100mm Through Influencers And Placing A Spotlight On Emerging Designers | Chinese Platform ICY Earns $100mm Through Influencers And Placing A Spotlight On Emerging Designers
Designed by HIUMAN for ICY ICY Within the fashion arena, when talking about pushing creativity forward, I often find myself searching for the business clever thoughts and ideas that loosen the screws of the machine to create challenge and impact, and who rebel and explore limits of the industry, that are the purest manifestations of a fashion house and designers' ideas. Briefly, the advancement of the modified fashion business would be unable to find a language to move out of the restriction of tradition without the spirit of entrepreneurship.
Historical fashion designers and retailers must be considered and then re-created until it has radically evolved towards an intuitive and reactive solution to adhere to modern consumer standards. At this time, the industry is experiencing a transformation of the aesthetics of our time. The vocabulary of new technical platforms is developing a modified way of addressing identify, body and gender. These platforms are not always intended for great success but always serve as an abundant source of innovation, unaffected by commerciality that often exists as a purely visual representation of fashion as an n aspiration and an art form.
FENGYI TAN for ICY ICY
In speaking of new and fresh inspirations, I recently came across an interactive forward thinking design and retail global platform that I think will tickle your fancy. This creative platform has a particular talent for reworking and reinvention, often giving young emerging designers a platform to showcase their work in hopes of becoming recognizable to a specific target audience. In fact, there is probably no better new platform alive who can take the DNA of emerging designers or the language of the archetypal, even avant-garde designers and showcase them to the world while staying absolutely true to the original code of business.
Launched in 2017 by Ying Ying Gu, ICY is a global online platform that integrates emerging designers, influencers and a retail supply chain in a successfully innovative manner.
Bridging the gap with luxury fashion, ICY works with over two hundred designers throughout China to create their own subsequent diffusion lines, offering exclusive products to be sold on ICY's platform. Absorbing the cost of sourcing, production and marketing for designers and through ICY's partnership with influencers and celebrities, ICY helps designers to connect with the consumers and further commercialize their brand.
ICY Platform ICY
In the past two years, the company has surpassed the $100 million sales mark! Could this be the way of the future for selling clothing and accessories globally?
Akin to the publishing model, the designers receive payment based on sales of each item on the site with ICY maintaining the copyright in a joint venture with the designer. This collaborative process provides global recognition for the emerging brands while also creating a revenue stream to fund the designer's main collections.Due to the success in the Chinese market, ICY is looking to expand into the American and European market within the next few years. This September, the platform will stage a runway show during New York Fashion Week at Spring Studios on September 4th, featuring four designers: Leaf Xia, Eva Xu, HIUMAN, and Fengyi Tan. The show will kick off fashion week.With ICY's expansion plans for the US and Europe, they would be the go to platform for emerging brands in reaching their respective markets and consumers.
I recently had the privilege of speaking with Icy Founder Ying Ying Gu about how she succeeded in raising capital investment for this entrepreneurial idea, how she developed this triumphant global integrated platform, and how ICY only works with fashion designers at this time, but will expand to include lifestyle products this fall!
ICY Founder Ying Ying Gu ICY
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about how the idea of ICY developed; What inspired you to develop this brand and how has the brands trajectory developed since its inception?
I founded ICY in 2017 after taking note of the consumption changes in China. Younger generations seek individuality with their purchases in a way that differs from their predecessors. I noticed that there is a new generation in China who wants interesting and creative clothing, yet there are not many brands available that are both affordable and unique. I set out to create an incubator for emerging designers that efficiently produces clothing that has an approachable cost for the consumer, people aged 20 to 35. In the past two years, the ICY has surpassed the $100 million salesmark! When ICY was just created in 2017, we only had 10 designers on our platform. We managed to establish some recognition among the public as we reached out to our first batch of fashion bloggers and celebrities who knew the brands we have and posted their daily outfits on social media. In the upcoming months, we begin to build a blogger community to allow more influencers to create fashion content about our collections and post them on social media to increase the exposure of our products among young people. It has a proven track record : pooling nearly 2m users for us till now. As our user base expanded, more designers showed interest in joining ICY. Thanks to that, we now have over 200 designers that we work with to diversify our product portfolio, which contributes to the continual increase of our users. Currently, more than 2,000 fashion bloggers and over 100 celebrities are active on ICY, who post fashion contents about ICY collections on various social media platforms. So, we have made significant progress in online channels with great influences on social media. Going forward, we plan to set up more efforts to establish offline channels. Meanwhile, as our reputation grew in the fashion community, more and more famous Chinese designers decide to cooperate with us. In the future, we aim to partner with more internationally designers.
(L-R) Hiuman, Leaf Xia, Fengyi Tan, and Eva Xu ICY's Designer's ICY
JD: In your words, talk to Forbes about your personal background?
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. While in my junior year at Zhejiang University, known for its start up business program, I foundedFUNCITY, a web game company. The company created one of the three earliest MMRP web games in China. In 2012, I started my second company, Dress Assistant, a platform that now has over 50 million users, that allows for people to share their daily outfits. JD: Who are your investors and what sold them with respect to your business proposal. I am the first investor for ICY as an angel investor. The first round of fundraising was completed in the last year by FOSUN Investment Group, which owns fashion brands including Lanvin and Wolford, and 36Kr Group, the biggest entrepreneurial media group in China. First of all, ICY targets at young people who are born after 1990 or 2000. Investors recognized the fashion consumption demand of this particular group and felt upbeat about the future growth of youngsters’ fashion market. Compared with the previous generations, the youths adopt a totally different idea of fashion consumption, highly valuing individualism and believing clothes express personality. In this sense, they prefer designer brands rather than established commercial brands which can fully demonstrate their unique individuality. However, we also recognized that a single designer brand is inefficient in product manufacturing, selling and marketing. So we found a niche for ICY. This platform can integrate industrial resources to help designers accomplish commercial success by drawing on their distinct designs. There is great potential for this industry-enabling platform to excel and our investors see that for ICY.
JD: Is ICY working with established fashion designers or does the company act as an incubator for additional industries?
All of the designers that ICY partners with are in the emerging space. ICY only works with fashion designers at this time, but will expand to include lifestyle products this fall. For example, we are planning to be the incubator for footwear, bags and other accessory designers and brands. To this end, we will expand our product offerings to incorporate shoes, bags and accessories alongside the current ICY ready-to-wear collections for a full rounded fashion experience on all of our selling channels and blogger system. JD: As a newly developed business model, how does ICY aim to make a profit? ICY partners with the emerging designers to create a diffusion line. ICY pays the designer a copyright fee and then a subsequent percentage of each sale, which allows for ICY to procure a profit. EVA XU for ICY ICY
JD: How are the profits allocated? Akin to the publishing model, the designers receive payment based on sales of each item on the site with ICY maintaining the copyright in a joint venture with the designer. This collaborative process provides global recognition for the emerging brands while also creating a revenue stream to fund their main collections. The remaining profits are then held by ICY. JD: How is ICY working with bloggers and influencers The influencer partnership is a three-fold process. First off, we lend clothing from a variety of brands that the influencers are able to use to make content. They partner with us because of the wide offering we have as opposed to working with one specific brand. Secondly, we work with RewardStyle to create trackable links to accompany the content that allows the influencer’s followers to make a purchase through the app. The influencer then receives between ten and twenty percent of the sale. Thirdly, we put on events such as ICY Presents: Dynasty, a showcase at New York Fashion Week this September of four designers (Leaf Xia, Eva Xu, Hiuman, and Fengyi Tan), that provides a setting for them to create content. JD: Does ICY plan to expand into the European Market? We are looking to partner with European and American designers within the next year and bring their designs to our platform, which at first will only be available in China. We are hoping to launch our platform in Europe and America after 2020.
ICY Platform Image ICY
JD: How are you competing with e-tailers and retailers within the US market? As we plan on expanding into the US market, we are open to collaboration with perspective local retailers and online e-tailers to serve as a platform for the US consumers to purchase the ICY collection. Our plan currently is launch and sell on our own e-comm which will allow our users to shop internationally. However, we don't want to position ourselves as a competitor in the current e-tailer climate within the US market. With more search as part of the expansion plan, we welcome local partners in the US that are more familiar with their local target consumers to work together. In other words, ICY will serve to provide products while local e-tailers or distributors establish selling networks. ICY is open to local partnerships and would like to build a global community in fashion. JD: What has been ICY's greatest achievement? I believe our greatest achievement is giving a platform to the emerging designers and secure revenue for them to grow their companies. JD: Name a few of the American designers that you wish to work with aligned with your US expansion model. A few of the US designers/brands include A.W.A.K.E., Apiece Apart, both of which have a distinct voice and look in their collections. JD: What is your brands overall vision within the next 3-5 years? Our plan is to expand into working with more designers across the globe. We are also looking to grow our network of influencers to include people from different backgrounds and nationalities. Once we grow our designer and influencer base, we will then look into expanding the platform into different localized areas.
LEAF XIA FOR ICY ICY
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770a781963c515036e36084c33aa444b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2019/09/08/style-360-celebrates-its-15th-year-anniversary-at-september-nyfw/ | STYLE 360 Celebrates It's 15th Year Anniversary At September NYFW | STYLE 360 Celebrates It's 15th Year Anniversary At September NYFW
Models walk the runway as STYLE360 hosts Kittenish by Jessie James Decker on September 10, 2018 in... [+] New York City. (Photo by Thomas Concordia/Getty Images for Style360)
Today's fashion shows tend to be trans-seasonal, with the viewer expecting to wear the garment in a matter of days. Quality and longevity therefore have to be built in and wearable fashion cannot be as trend led as its fashion week counterpart. Modern fashion is primarily about detail, the fit and the cloth. It can be tribal, sustainable and exclusive. Today's consumer is nothing if not a decreeing one.
Prominent buyers and editors draw on many different sources for their research but always seem to ground it in real clothing and function. I often explain to my viewers that no matter how mundane or avant-garde a designer may appear to be, at the very core of the design there must be an authenticity of purpose, together with an awareness of the modern world.
To be a successful fashion stage producer of shows, it is vital to have a familiarity with pop-culture history and modern day requirements. Fashion is not about extreme silhouettes and superfluous detail as the shows present during fashion week but rather the contemporary consumer exercises a more discerning eye for attention to detail.
Another key aspect of fashion stage production is drawing upon viable resources and implementing them to the highest degree. A production house is the key element in observing how to capitalize on a brands rich heritage and overall DNA while reinventing in a modern way to showcase the brand each season.
Within the parameters that define fashion week, there is so much scope for reinventing and reinterpreting the shows as well as having the ability and deconstruct what is and play with the elements that makes it all so exciting and news worthy.
Anna Wintour and Rapper Drake Style 360
On the theme of a successful fashion stage production company, I recently reviewed STYLE 360 and their artistically inspired brands that meet a particular market and for that, retailers, magazines, blogs and influencers understand their important touch-points, which are their full, throttle engine of success!
This fashion season, STYLE 360 is celebrating its 15th year anniversary at September NYFW featuring returning designers such as Serena Williams, Rosario Dawson and Jessie James Decker among others. This milestone makes STYLE360 the longest running multi-day fashion stage producing shows for celebrity designers. Since its inception in September 2004, STYLE360 has been established as a preferred fashion week platform for celebrities and emerging designers to showcase their collections, collaborations and brands at New York Fashion Week offering an integrated turnkey platform to show alongside the major fashion players.
To mark 15 years, STYLE360 has partnered with new title sponsor, Klarna , thus enabling it to expand the reach of their presentations by live streaming the shows and running a contest for fashion fans to get in and up close during NYFW. This year the show will be STYLE360 presented by Klarna.
In keeping with the retail landscape- this year will mark the first time clients will have the SEE NOW SHOP NOW activation after each show.
Anna Wintour and Drake Style 360
Founder, David Manning launched STYLE360 in 2004, as a stage for some of today’s leading fashion brands & designers such as Alice & Olivia, Rodarte, Rebecca Minkoff, Patricia Fields, Mara Hoffman, Timo Weiland and Zaldy. David has built a platform that has been a launching pad for celebrity collections such as Avril Lavigne, Ashley Graham, Daisy Fuentes, Eva Longoria, the Kardashians (BEBE Kardashians), Serena Williams, Jessie James Decker, Rosario Dawson, Sofia Resing, Kristin Cavallari, and Heidi Klum (Jordache by Heidi Klum).
Fashion industry elite supermodels have graced STYLE360’s stages and venues including Karolina Kurkova, Naomi Campbell, Carol Alt, Tyson Beckford, Kendall Jenner and Jessica White, as well as countless front row celebrities including the Kardashians, Anna Wintour, Brooke Burke, Gigi Hadid, Ciara, Cardi B, DRAKE, Gerard Butler, Chris Noth, Tommy Hilfiger, Lauren Conrad, Rosario Dawson, and dozens more.
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 11: model Joy Corrigan walks the runway at STYLE360 h Style 360
"STYLE360 is one of the partners that believed in Studio189 in the early days of the brand. They helped support us and give us a platform when others did not. We often times have non-traditional out of the box ideas for how we want to show our collection and promote our mission. STYLE360 has always taken a leap of faith with us, trusted us, encouraged our creativity, and helped us to produce our vision from back of house to front of house. There are so many incredible professionals within the team at STYLE360that have always enabled us to have a wonderful show. Congratulations STYLE360 on 15 years of producing fashion shows and events and celebrating and promoting American fashion design” says fashion designer Rosario Dawson.
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 10: Fashion designer Rosario Dawson walks the runway as STYLE360 hosts... [+] Studio 189 by Rosario Dawson and Abrima Erwiah on September 10, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Thomas Concordia/Getty Images for Style360)
Jessie James Decker- “I’m so excited to work with STYLE360 to bring my KITTENISH line to NYFW for the second year. They are great collaborators that make the KITTENISH production so fun and seamless!”
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 10: Designer Jessie James Decker walks the runway as STYLE360 hosts... [+] Kittenish by Jessie James Decker on September 10, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Thomas Concordia/Getty Images for Style360)
Kristin Cavallari- “STYLE360 always helped me produce my vision from back of house to front of house. It's always a seamless production done by professionals that creates the best exposure for my brands.” "Working with STYLE360 & David Manning to show my collection was amazing. They made a dream of mine come true, by producing a great and successful runway show for the Eva Longoria Collection at NYFW!” - Eva Longoria
VOGUE EIDTER IN CHIEF ANNA WINTOUR STYLE 360
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26bc8e1a558c5b65b6e47fbbb376649b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/01/27/manly-bands-wants-your-girlfriend-to-proposeheres-why-youll-say-yes/ | Manly Bands Wants Your Girlfriend To Propose—Here’s Why You’ll Say ‘Yes’ | Manly Bands Wants Your Girlfriend To Propose—Here’s Why You’ll Say ‘Yes’
Manly Brands Manly
Ditch The Boring Wedding Ring and Rock A Dinosaur Bone from Manly Bands:
When we talk about men’s rings I have one thing to say; man does not live by bread alone and neither does style only depend on clothes. In fact, it is the small rounded details that round off and refine the total look, many times even adding a very special and personal touch to your overall look. What I find appealing is that these small decorative items many times have minor details that reveal so much information about their owners. This is especially so if the meticulous care devoted to the selection of their clothes leads one to suppose that this same care went into the selection of their accessories.
Throughout films and literature it is indeed the minor details that often serve to define the character of hero, whether it be a certain history of the item that he recollects or his tendency to describe how and where the piece was made. You may debate the importance of whether an accessory has been consciously or unconsciously selected, and whether the unconscious selection of an accessory makes a much greater statement that a conscious selection does. Allow me to be so very blunt. The total look incorporating an accessory without fail reveals whether it is a consciously planned accent or more of an abrupt coincidence.
To understand men’s rings is to understand it is a different matter with small items. They have stronger associations with our everyday lives, and from time to time express different regional and national preferences of dislikes that have been nurtured by innumerable connections. Remember, that it is the minor details that constitute the genuine attraction of a life well lived and a captivating journey.
Manly Bands started because a lot of people thought that men just don't care. That men don't care about how they look, how they act, or even who they end up marrying. As it turns out, they were wrong. When it comes to buying a symbol of their love, men really do care - especially if they plan on wearing it for the rest of their lives. “When I proposed to my wife, Michelle, I wanted her to be reminded of my love every day, and she (thankfully) wanted the same for me. says founder Johnathan Ruggiero.
The brand sells Manly Bands because every couple knows that what they have together is something special and unique. It started as a simple idea, but now it means so much more. The brand reflects the many paths of life that we walk as men, and the strength that our union gives us. You can be a family man, a businessman, a rock star, or "just" the guy who can always make her smile, because at the end of the day you should be celebrated for being who you really are.
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Today, Manly Bands celebrates every type of man by offering couples the option to choose the ring that suits their man best, and even customize something totally unique! The brand also supports a different charity every month to give back to the communities that need help the most, like any good man should do. Manly Bands is here because they believe that when it comes down to it, men really do care. And they should look damn good doing it.
The brand is proud to offer over 250 styles of Manly Bands, most of them made from over 15 different materials right here in the U.S.A. Couples can choose from materials like meteorite, dinosaur bone, carbon fiber and more to ensure they're as happy with their ring as they are with their partner! With celebrities, athletes, and movie stars choosing more non-traditional wedding bands, they're seeing a lot more exotic choices from their customers. That's why they're always keeping an eye out for the latest trends in men's fashion and trying new designs to keep them satisfied.
In fact, they just launched The Elemental Collection, made from carbon fiber and a light-sensitive glass that allows it to glow in the dark - just like the other light of your life. Choose from The Volt, The Lightning, The Spark and more to find the ring that's just right for you. Or check out the collections made for the Gentlemen, the Founders, and the Adventurers of this world. The brand guarantee’s there's a Manly Band for every man.
I recently had the privilege of speaking with Johnathan Ruggiero, CEO of Manly Bands about why guys should wear rings and where should they wear them, how technology helped in the development of the brand and what consumer's are seeking today in facilitating the purchase of rings!
JRHeadshot Manly
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about the history, and development of your brand?
Johnathan Ruggiero: I was always taught that when it comes to entrepreneurship, to do what you know. Nothing was more true when it comes to how Manly Bands was born. Back in 2016, my then fiancee and I were engaged to be wed. It was about a month before the big move and we knew we had to move quickly because we heard that getting a cool ring could take a few weeks time. We went to a number of local jewelers in Santa Monica and discovered a very common theme - a small selection, boring styles (in my opinion), were high priced and it would take 3-4 weeks for me to get the ring into the store. Most importantly, they didn't have my size. They didn't even have a ring sizer that went UP TO my size. I have big hands (size 16) - and then I had a big problem because I didn't have a ring for my wedding.
We went into overdrive scouring the internet for other options. A quick Google search at the time showed that if I wanted a simple, boring ring, there were a few places I could go online - if I didn't mind risking six or seven hundred dollars. However, I wanted something that excited me as much as my future wife was about her ring. I ended up taking a risk on some random looking store that had a few affordable options in my size. Since I wasn't sure on my size, I ordered two to cover my bases. Two weeks later, they came to me in an unremarkable USPS mailer with no receipt and no ring box. Thankfully, one of them fit. It wasn't the most magical moment, nor was I that excited about my impulsive purchase, but I figured that was what it was like for men buying their wedding bands. C'est la vie.
After we got married, it was time to find a job in our new life in Florida. Michelle and I brainstormed for a while and thought that if we were going to take a risk and start a business, we should solve a problem that we had personally. We discussed our difficulties with me finding a ring and my experience and decided to take a stab at solving that problem. I had a number of years of web design and marketing experience under my belt and understood the product procurement and manufacturing space a bit from previous entrepreneurial endeavors. Michelle was the creative mind and helped design and develop our first 50 rings with our manufacturers.
A week later we launched ManlyBands.com and started driving traffic with Google and Facebook advertising. A few days later we had our first order. We put an emphasis on customer service and the unboxing experience and put all our profits back into creating the type of experience that I had wished I had. A nice box, great packaging, excellent customer service and a high quality product - oh and we definitely had smaller and larger sizes, from size 5 all the way up to size 17. We kept those simple core values as we slowly started to grow and expand our team and I'm proud of what we have accomplished and of where we are today.
The Champion Black Zirconium (charcoal gray color) with a 1mm inlay of 14K solid Rose Gold MANLY
Joseph DeAcetis: In your words, what is your competitive advantage in development of specialized product.
Johnathan Ruggiero: When we survey our customers to see how their experience was with Manly Bands, two comments always come out on the top - customer service and the variety of styles that we have. Our competitive advantage lies in our willingness to put our customers at the top of our priority list. We are not just selling rings, we're serving future grooms (and brides) and helping them find a ring that represents their lifetime commitment. We take that to heart. We also work very hard to design ring styles that are not the same old boring bands you'd find in stores or on other sites. We love to use unique materials such as dinosaur bone or meteorite and other exotic materials. We feel that if your love is truly unique, that your ring should be too. We currently have over 250 styles and 15 different materials. We've found that the interest in alternative materials, such as black zirconium, damascus steel, meteorite and others has really increased the past few years and we're proud to be able to offer it to our customers looking for something as unique as they are.
Joseph DeAcetis: In your words, what are consumer's seeking today in facilitating the purchase of rings
Johnathan Ruggiero: Our customers love their experience with Manly Bands because we make it simple, fast and affordable to get a product that is unique to the customer's personality. In our experience, our customers are telling us that they don't want a boring gold or silver wedding band. They want something that matches their personality. Whether they are an entrepreneur and want something that's traditional on the outside and flashy on the inside - or someone who likes to hunt and be in the outdoors who wants a gold ring with dear antler on the outside, we can make it happen. We remove the middle man to keep things affordable and can get our order shipped out fast, often same day. With easy and fast size exchanges and customer service to guide our customers along the way, we offer a much better and less expensive process than our competitors.
Did you know that the fiancee is supposed to buy the ring for her future husband? I didn't either, but boy do I wish I had known...We find that most of our customers are women (over 60%), which surprised us, but once we learned this new tradition, it started to make sense. Women want their man (or partner) to have something that THEY enjoy.
The Jurassic Black Zirconium (charcoal gray color) with 5mm inlay Genuine Black Dinosaur Bone, Rock ... [+] Polished Finish and Desert Ironwood Sleeve MANLY
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes in detail about the current collection and why it is important for consumers to be aware of this brand?
Johnathan Ruggiero: If you're in the market for a wedding ring, or even a fashion ring - you should definitely check us out before purchasing elsewhere. Chances are really good that we have a unique style or material that not only impresses you and your friends, but also won't break the bank. Our current collection covers all the bases for your style or your budget. In addition to the incredible selection of unique rings I mentioned before, our rings are designed for those who want something unique and affordable or something much more extravagant with diamonds and gemstones. We have a selection that you won't find anywhere else at prices that don't break the bank, unless you want to.
The Spark Carbon Fiber with light sensitive glass (Yes it glows!) MANLY
Joseph DeAcetis: Why should guys wear rings and where would they wear them?
Johnathan Ruggiero: Great question - We always tell our customers that their ring, should they choose to wear one - is only one of the many physical manifestations of your commitment to your spouse. We have a number of customers that have more than one Manly Band for different occasions. One for work, one for casual wear around the house and a third for the gym that they aren't afraid to get beat up or scratched (we also offer silicone rings for the truly active individual). It all comes down to personal preference. And if you don't like wearing jewelry or rings, then don't feel obligated to. We won't judge and chances are that your spouse will love you anyway.
The Intimidator Damascus Steel with 3mm inlay authentic Gibeon Meteorite, 1mm red Cerakote, and 3mm ... [+] Genuine Black Dinosaur Bone with Acid Finish (gunmetal color) MANLY
Joseph DeAcetis: If you could choose one celebrity to wear your brand, who would it be and why?
Johnathan Ruggiero: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - he's the perfect embodiment of Manly Bands. A devoted father and family man who lives life on his own terms while being compassionate and honorable to others while also being able to throw down with the rest of them when he wants to have some fun. In fact, we hear he may be interested in a dinosaur ring as mentioned in this article that highlights Manly Bands as well. Happy to help with that Dwayne!
ElementalWood Whiskey Barrel wood with inlay of Carbon Fiber MANLY
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about how technology helped in the development of your brand?
Johnathan Ruggiero: Technology plays a massive role in any ecommerce brand and we are no exception. Our store is built on the Shopify Plus platform, which has been amazing for us. Facebook Ads and Google Ads have allowed us to find new customers and scale our business rapidly. We've leveraged email marketing and retargeting platforms to reach out and remind folks that they've looked at our rings as well. Everything we do is rooted in incredible ecommerce and marketing technology that are necessities in today's online world.
The Road King Tungsten with Double Groove Plated Black & Laser Car Tire MANLY
Joseph DeAcetis: What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
Johnathan Ruggiero: As co-CEO, I'm responsible for many different aspects of the business, but my main focus is making sure that we're always looking ahead. Whether we're exploring to new technologies such as AR / VR ring apps or partnering with retail partners, my goal is to always keep Manly Bands moving forward while also providing the customer experience and service I wish I had when I bought my wedding band.
Joseph DeAcetis: Where is the product made and why is it made there?
Johnathan Ruggiero: We take pride in the fact that about 80% of the Manly Bands that we sell on our site are made right here in the USA. About 20% are made with our partners overseas or in Canada. I believe that American-made products are the best products and we've been slowly moving everything over to here whenever possible. We take great pride in the craftsmanship of our rings and because of this we offer a lifetime warranty and a 30 day no-questions-asked return policy.
Joseph DeAcetis: You have the floor: Talk to my viewers about why they should try this brand now?
Johnathan Ruggiero: We offer the simplest ordering process, the widest selection and the best prices on rings for men. You have nothing to lose with our 30 day return policy and offer easy exchanges if you get your size wrong. So whether you're looking for a unique and affordable wedding band that represents your personality, visit ManlyBands.com. The most badass wedding rings on earth, seriously.
The Innovator Handcrafted Cobalt Chrome with 3mm of Leopard wood with polished finish MANLY
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6988618f6d76016bd64e2eefb6fe74dc | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/03/02/why-adelante-footwear-steps-in-back-and-forth-intime/?sh=2fd017a66494 | Adelante Shoe Co. Is The Solution To One Of The Most Global Social Challenges | Adelante Shoe Co. Is The Solution To One Of The Most Global Social Challenges
Santiago in black Courtesy of Adelante
Adelante footwear was born from the realization that capitalism can be both the cause of and the solution to our greatest social challenges. But first, let’s take a trip back in time about how fine footwear craftsmanship developed in Antigua, Guatemala.
The first shoes were little more than soles, constructed from leather or wood. At that time, they were roughly shaped sadly (... and many times painfully) without designation to the right or left foot, they were secured by straps or similar types of fastenings that kept them from (you guessed it) from falling off! Even though the early male shoddings were exposed to rigors unknown to all but the most adventurous of modern men, durability is modified footwear is still the key feature that has men across the planet putting their best foot forward.
When it comes to fine footwear, the outer sole should be welted to the rest of the shoe. A small lesson in footwear for you; welt construction dates back to the fifteenth century in Western-Europe and consists of sewing a strip of leather between the edge of the sole and turned in edge of the upper. This process yields an elegantly durable shoe in which the sole can be removed and repaired repeatedly with minimal damage to the shoe’s upper.
Humans are inherently compelled to seek out beauty in a myriad of various incarnations of footwear. This fundamental desire in turn leads us to actively mould the world around us and create beautiful objects with our own two hands. Veritably, Spain is a birthplace of handcrafted footwear, and any discussion of heritage footwear is incomplete without a nod toward these early Spanish progenitors.
Moving forward into Spanish conquests of the America’s, Spain developed in conjunction with Guatemala and increased interest in creating luxury footwear. Back then, luxury footwear in Guatemala had to be the physical manifestation of the quintessential Spanish man in the new world. Yet, emphasis was placed on the shoes structure and overall shape rather than the style or decorative accoutrements. These were shoes built to last.
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Bespoke footwear boasts an architectural silhouette that elevates the wearer’s natural state. Moreover, every part of the construction has its function. While the Italian and French have prided themselves and refined both structural and decorative hand-stitching, the Guatemalans tradition predominantly emphasizes the structural aspects and keeps the wearer walking in comfort and ease. The efficient rationalism is a guiding tenant in today’s contemporary viewpoint of craftsmanship.
While shoes clearly articulate a man’s sense of style, as well as his social status, taste in male footwear rests on a paradox: the more effort and style one brings to the foot, the more dynamic the outcome should be. In his lifetime, a man may walk as many as 115,00 miles hence why I believe that a good shoe is a sure-fire sign of great engineering and architecture. Although men today still regard the aristocratically well-made shoe and its equally fastidious fit a great thing, what has stepped to the forefront is the social change we can create to improve the current status.
Soles of Comfort:
Adelante footwear was born from the realization that capitalism can be both the cause of and the solution to our greatest social challenges.
Peter Sacco, Founder & CEO was a 16-year-old surfer when he visited Latin America for the first time. Expecting paradise, he was shocked to discover poverty and social inequality on a scale previously unimagined. Subsequent trips to the region throughout college solidified his fascination with a history rife with coups, revolution, and injustices. He was struck by the potential of Latin America and its people, and he resolved to become part of the movement that would realize their promise. Subsequently, he worked for a non-profit to build stoves for indigenous women in Guatemala. In addition, he interned for the State Department in Mexico City. But his non-profit work didn’t address the root of poverty, and government was too slow and had competing interests. He was impatient for change with dwindling options, so he turned to the sector I had once shunned as the greatest perpetrator of social injustice: for-profit business. Suddenly, he wasn’t alone. Friends had traveled different paths, only to arrive at the same destination. They formed a team.
Luca in Caramel Courtesy of Adelante
Adelante would do business differently. They would produce shoes in Guatemala and sell them in the United States. But their cost structure would start from a baseline of paying craftsmen enough to live well in their communities. And their objective would be shared value creation rather than profit maximization. The theory was that creating full-time jobs that pay people enough to live well with their families would result in effective and sustainable economic development. Of course, the impact model was only half the equation. You can’t build an influential company without an exceptional product. Their customers said they wanted quality, connection, and individuality.
So they built shoes that are on par with the highest quality footwear in the market at a fraction of the price. They decided on a made-to-order model that would deliver your personalized pair direct from Guatemala within 10 days. And they started experientially connecting each customer with their shoemaker throughout the production process. The Adelante story is one of capitalism retooled. They envision a future in which business is used to reduce poverty and promote inclusive development worldwide. So, Seguimos Adelante.
I recently has the privilege of speaking with Peter Sacco, Founder & CEO at Adelante about how Adelante has the ability to bring new styles to market in a matter of weeks, and at an extremely low development cost, how they brand offers a personal experience that provides meaningful value beyond the physical product is a key differentiator and how The Living Well Line is a social impact methodology that the brand created to define social injustice and how they intend to change up the game while running the company at a great profit!
Peter Sacco, Founder & CEO Courtesy of Adelante
Joseph DeAcetis: In your words, what is your competitive advantage in development and specialized footwear product.
Peter Sacco, Founder & CEO: In-house production ensures full control over our production process, enabling us to develop and iterate on new product extremely quickly. A select group of Adelante craftsmen double as our in-house development team. We have the ability to bring new styles to market in a matter of weeks, and at an extremely low development cost. In-house production also enables Made-to-Order production and a far more personal product and experience.
Adelante shoes are Made-to-Order and delivered direct to our customers in 10 days. Our Made-to-Order production model ensures that each pair of shoes is personal to the respective customer. We offer a much broader spectrum of lengths and widths than any other brand — because we are not constrained by finished product inventory — and the customer is able to personalize the aesthetic of their shoes. Each pair is a vehicle for a personal connection. We connect Cobbler-to-Customer via multimedia while their shoes are being made, building an emotional connection between the customer and our brand. The result is low returns and exchanges and high repeat purchase.
Havana in Desert Courtesy of Adelante
Joseph DeAcetis: In your words, what are consumers seeking today in luxury footwear and how are you addressing these needs?
Peter Sacco, Founder & CEO: A personal experience that provides meaningful value beyond the physical product is a key differentiator. Adelante’s leverages a business model innovation (Made to Order) to pair premium quality with personalization of product, experience, and social impact. We sell a personal 10 day experience that culminates in the highest quality pair of shoes the customer has ever owned.
Luca in Mahogany Courtesy of Adelante
Joseph DeAcetis:Talk to Forbes in detail about the current collection and why it is important for consumers to be aware of this brand?
Peter Sacco, Founder & CEO: Adelante sells connective products and experiences to fund sustainable economic development in Latin America. Adelante is extra relevant at this time of political polarization because we engender empathy between people who would never otherwise understand each other. Regardless of which side of the isle you are on, it’s easy to be values-aligned with Adelante.
Joseph DeAcetis: If you could choose one celebrity to wear your brand, who would it be and why?
Peter Sacco, Founder & CEO: Gisele Bundchen. Latina, Fashion, Socially-minded.
Clasico in Caramel & Denim Blue Courtesy of Adelante
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about your brands social impact structure and how it works?
Peter Sacco, Founder & CEO: Adelante craftsmen earn over the Living Well Line to handmade your shoes. The Living Well Line is a social impact methodology that we created to define the relative cost of living well in Pastores, Guatemala. The methodology works by balancing an econometric analysis of World Bank data with individual interviews to define the goods and services needed to live well in a specific location. The Living Well Line model encompasses the best of both worlds: a daily wage grounded in the legitimacy of the World Bank while ultimately defined by the individual stakeholders on the ground. The model is built on the belief that living well is a relative concept unique to any people in any place.
We created the Living Well Line model because we saw traditional development efforts failing to: (1) be financially sustainable, (2) inspire stakeholder ownership (3) promote stakeholder agency, and (4) understand and account for local contexts.
We measure our impact against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Our theory is that paying craftsmen over the Living Well Line — which amounts to more than double their market rate — will move the needle on a whole host of UNSDGs from inequality to health. Each year, we issue an impact report that measures progress against our theory.
Santiago in Desert Courtesy of Adelante
Joseph DeAcetis: What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
Peter Sacco, Founder & CEO: I set long-term, strategic direction for the company, ensuring we are operationally focused on the right things, and I support team members in achieving company objectives. I am a customer and value proposition-focused CEO.
Joseph DeAcetis: What is your biggest concern with respect to fit?
Peter Sacco, Founder & CEO: We can offer the correct size for any customer (including two different size feet) because the number of standard lengths and widths that we can offer is limitless.
Joseph DeAcetis: Where is the product made and why is it made there? You have the floor: Talk to my viewers about why they should try this brand?
Peter Sacco, Founder & CEO: Our shoes are handcrafted and Made-to-Order at our workshop in Pastores, Guatemala. Pastores is a small town situated 15 minutes north of UNESCO World Heritage site Antigua, and is home to over 1,000 craft shoemakers. The vast majority of shoemakers in Pastores are underemployed and underpaid despite being highly skilled craftsmen. Many are second, third, or fourth generation craftsmen. Adelante is revitalizing a legacy craft in Pastores, Guatemala by connecting Cobbler-to-Customer in the United States.
Joseph DeAcetis: Which retailer would be your retailer of choice and why?
Peter Sacco, Founder & CEO: Pop-up in Nordstrom, which still has brand integrity and notable distribution firepower.
Valparaiso in Denim Blue Courtesy of Adelante
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3477ebddbbb83df74196ef55e8cced1e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/03/18/meet-gld-the-nike-of-mens-jewelry/ | Meet GLD: The Nike Of Men’s Jewelry | Meet GLD: The Nike Of Men’s Jewelry
Christian Johnston and Dan Folger founders of GLD RON00101
Street-life and nightlife culture have definitely transitioned onto a fresh societal platform. At present, the youth of America wishes to dress up and live an affluent lifestyle while displaying distinctive style in circles of youth. Moreover, Americans likes change: especially the change in brands being able to deliver and maintain competitive price-points along with a unique business model- that breaks traditional fashion rules and structures. It’s aspirational style but it’s also a level of confidence. Recently, advances in technology and increased competition has given rise to a fresh style-driven affordable jewelry brand on a super high-speed platform. In a word, developing a challenging new strategy is a clever solution for coping with the rapid changes in the competitive marketplace today.
In short, the new consumer spirit environment calls for different values, behavior and most importantly, style. Choices, creativity, team spirit, a relaxed working atmosphere, refined work schedules and cool affordable well-made jewelry and apparel are the new rules of a progressive jewelry brand that I recently observed. To survive today, brands are required to combine accessible with aspirational.The switch from a traditional way of doing business to a futuristic strategy has modeled a new path forward that adheres to the changes in consumer taste levels. A brand today needs to cover a broad space in the market and that should be their own accessible space.
These advances seem to be a great benefit for the consumers who are delighted with having the freedom of wearing their favorites pieces from a brand whose founders are living and breathing their very own lifestyle. It is transparency that is the operative word of the decade. As a business strategy we should all be aware that choices give more opportunity to grow significant sales. I recently met with a young company still stepping into that leadership brand. GLD (pronounced GOLD) has re-engineered the traditional business model and creative strategy thus lending itself to flexible and adaptable changes for their target audience.
Co-founder Dan Folger was “Pittsburgh” connected to Wiz Khalifa. With Wiz opening doors and an early co-sign for GLD; today, he’s still a friend alongside a number of other prominent hip-hop figures. I met with the founders and can wholeheartedly convey to you that these guys are ready to take on the changes of the inevitable fashion and jewelry marketplace. The brand who revealed to Forbes sell tens of millions, dominates against any direct competitors, outpaces anyone in their lane with respect to marketing spends, proudly boast 1M+ real fans on social media; asserting dominance in their category while creating dope trends and building strong partnerships!
Wiz Khalifa wearing GLD photo courtesy of Dan Folger
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Their story starts in Pittsburgh with childhood friends Christian Johnston and Dan Folger. They started as street savvy guys and childhood friends who were still in school. They were intrigued by fashion and set forth to create their very own brand. They hadn’t gone to business or fashion school but rather aimed to create a brand that people could relate to and catch the vibe. The entrepreneurs influenced by art and urban culture of their city had a dream to create a lifestyle by designing and producing jewelry, while inspiring others. Henceforth, GLD was born.
What started in a basement in Pittsburgh PA has become an international brand with millions of stylish customers and Instagram followers. Currently, headquartered in Miami, FL, GLD is poised to launch its flagship retail location while continuing to expand the brand challenging everyone to work hard, play hard and give back.
GLD's Chicago Bulls Logo'ed Cuban Chain debuted at All Star Weekend 2020 photo courtesy of GLD
What I found especially intriguing is that each month the brand writes out 5 checks in the amount of 1k each. The aware money goes to the consumer who posted the best image wearing GLD and posting the image of their respective personal instagram-while tagging @shopgld and #gldgang.
GLD has been fortunate to collaborate with A-List celebrities such as ASAP Rocky, Wiz Khalifa, and Trippie Redd as well as the world’s top athletes including Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, and Paul Pogba. The partners believe these celebrities and each and every customer is a testimony to the power of the brand. Additionally, strategic partnerships like the NBA and Marvel Comics provide additional opportunities for GLD to create and inspire on the world stage!
Juice World wearing GLD photo courtesy of GLD
I recently had the privilege of speaking with GLD co-founders Christian Johnston and Dan Folger about how it all began, why their social impact is an interesting way to diversify and why they can confidently say; “we make the entry level jewelry better than anyone in the entire world! “
Cardi B wearing GLD with founders Christian Johnston and Dan Folger photo courtesy of GLD
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk about the history, the brand DNA and your personal backgrounds respectively. How did it all happen?
Christian Johnston: We grew up together as childhood friends. We grew up in Pittsburgh. This culture is something that always fascinated us — the colorful lifestyle, the jewelry, the urban-city kind of feel. It's something we’ve always been involved in. We always had this idea to create a lifestyle brand or just something bigger than ourselves that captured this energy.
Joseph DeAcetis: Why were you fascinated by this?
Dan Folger: When we were kids, we would always ride our bikes down to the center of the city in Pittsburgh. The path we rode on had a ton of graffiti, skateboard shops, street fashion stores, basketball courts, places like that. A lot of stuff that was part of the culture, you know? Art, sports, music. There was always an emerging scene, you would have pop ups of local hip hop artists, local designers, events. So we were just being young and exposed to this rise in culture among us and it was impossible not to become fascinated by this.
Joseph DeAcetis: What age are you talking about?
Dan Folger: 15, maybe 14, we were teenagers. We would film everything we did, we would carry on this little camera, it was called a flip kit, like a flip camcorder. We would bike around the city, we would film each other, we would film these artists painting a wall, recording musicians, catching skateboarders at the park, this and that… I feel like that's when we started getting into the art, the music, the fashion, the documenting of everything and releasing it. It’s really interesting how the culture and photography intertwines with each other.
Christian Johnston: That brought us into the culture and from there we always had the idea of starting a brand. We dabbled a little bit into fashion, we made some graphic tees and hoodies, things like that. And then that's when we transferred over and started focusing primarily on jewelry, which we still do the graphic tees and the clothing as well, but jewelry became GLD.
Joseph DeAcetis: What was that pivotal point when you went over to jewelry?
Christian Johnston: It was a trip to New York. One trip to New York and meeting one person there who was able to introduce us to the right people.
Dan Folger: He actually had a connection in jewelry and he was like,’guys, like you need to check this out’. We went over to see it and we're like, yeah, this is cool, this fits us like we feel like we can love it. We saw ourselves wearing it. We started our Instagram and just started selling it here and there. We started small, we each put $1,000 in to start with.
Joseph DeAcetis: Did you incorporate the business?
Christian Johnston: We had an LLC, we started GLD LLC and we started selling off instantly just off Instagram.
Dan Folger: Seriously we were selling right off Instagram. We would take really cool photos of the jewelry. What was really cool about it, it was literally just Christian and I just taking photos of each other wearing the jewelry. It was like every photo that we take, we're just like I take a photo of you, you take a photo of me, or say we're biking through the city or whatever we do. We would have the bracelet, hold it up in the sky to take a photo with Pittsburgh in the background. Everything was just, you know, him and I. Just doing it together. We would just focus 24/7 on GLD.
Christian Johnston: Yeah, it was just a cardboard USPS box with all our jewelry.
Dan Folger: We would just go back and forth to each other’s house with this box and drink like 20 cups of coffee and just grind it out, taking good photos, putting them on GLD’s instagram that night.
Joseph DeAcetis: And where would you make the jewelry? Would you make it yourself?
Christian Johnston: Basically we had this guy who had the jewelry in New York, we would buy some and sell it at first. We would make a little bit of money, build up a little bit of a bank — it was still not a lot — but we had a little bit of money and we took that. In that year or so, selling the jewelry like that was also us researching the industry and trying to innovate. We were very focused on a way to make this entry level of jewelry, but we wanted it to be the highest quality that had basically ever existed. After we found a few sources, we took that bank of money and created our fully custom line and that's when GLD really started. We came up with our first line of around 12 pendants, chains, and things that were totally custom. Everything went up on a website we custom designed.
ASAP Rocky wears GLD photo courtesy of GLD
Joseph DeAcetis: Beautiful. Why the name GLD?
Dan Folger: It fit us the best in terms of what we were going for. We liked that it was three short letters. From hearing it you would get the point of what we were doing. When I said ‘GLD’ to someone, it was simple: everyone gets it is “Gold'' without fully saying it. Right from the beginning when we said it, when we got the name, we said to each other, this is us, this is GLD.
Joseph DeAcetis: You're obviously achieving great success here, as entrepreneurs, both being in your 20’s. In your estimation, what is your competitive advantage in the marketplace today?
Christian Johnston:
To me it starts with the quality and our versatility across different levels of product. We are able to offer the entry level in this space and do that better than anyone. We can confidently say we make the entry level jewelry better than anyone in the entire world. We also have the ability to make a full custom piece for $150,000 for whoever can afford that, like a celebrity like an ASAP Rocky or Trippie Redd. We’ve made crazy pieces. Trippie Redd had one where the eyes light up and it's waterproof and fits to his neck perfectly — and it can compete with any piece that’s ever really been made. So we kind of have that versatility across the different price points and then we also deal with the NBA. You put that all together and combine it with the lifestyle that we have makes us extremely different and successful.
Joseph DeAcetis: Focus more on the lifestyle that you have wit respect to competitive advantage?
Dan Folger : The lifestyle. When you think of some of these other companies, they are just brick and mortar stores. They're not like us or our customer. We’re out there, grinding it out. As business owners, we are out in the field, meeting with our people, meeting with celebrities, and we are personally doing events like Rolling Loud. People see this through our Instagram. We're in the field really working with our team building the brand. They want to support that.
Christian Johnston: The brand is basically a reflection of our lifestyle, even back from the days we were biking where it was all taking photos of us going through the city or wherever we are those photos are our actual life. Our lifestyle has kind of transcended into the brand, whether it was then or now it's still the same. It's still us in our everyday lives. Our story is still our everyday life.
Dan Folger: Even if you look through our IG feed or stories, it's literally like it's either myself posting or Christian posting every single day.
Joseph DeAcetis: You have interconnectivity. Is that part of your competitive advantage?
Dan Folger: For sure. Personally, I don’t see anyone doing it like us. It’s real and people see that.
GLD's Diamond Prong Link Choker and Clustered Tennis Necklace photo courtesy of GLD
Joseph DeAcetis: In your estimation why do you have 1 million followers on Instagram?
Dan Folger: Again, I think it’s because of the quality that we bring. It’s also the exclusive partnerships and products like with the NBA. Major moments like that that we worked hard for. And it’s the people and celebrities who back us up.
GLD x NBA Lakers Pendant photo courtesy of GLD
Joseph DeAcetis: But, you’ve had a million followers before the NBA.
Dan Folger: True. We have been building a lifestyle brand through posting very relevant and interesting content. When someone looks at GLD’s Instagram, they say ‘Wow, it's the American Dream.’ Our people have watched us from our parents’ basement with a box of jewelry to where we are now. People see it, they're like…. ‘man you need to check out GLD. It's real, they are cool and we respect what they're doing.’ They’ve been watching us and now we are in Los Angeles shooting our new ad campaign. It’s been big moves for our brand in 5 short years.
Joseph DeAcetis: But it's also you. You're cool. Both of you are cool.
Christian Johnston: Yeah, we are basically GLD.
Dan Folger: I really think people look at us and are like... “Dude, these guys are just two suburb kids, I can be like this!” We get so many DMs, saying ‘I'm going to start a brand because of you guys….I'm going to do this, because you guys did.’ People have seen us, literally, come from our parents’ house, to where we are now. Our people have followed our entrepreneur story and now they follow us personally and the brand. They see us as the people behind the brand and can relate to it. We are also really transparent, we post about our challenges and say, ‘Man, if you fail, it's not over, keep going.’ We failed 100 times over, we're always about not looking backwards and keep going forward. Like we're very big on, ‘Hey, man, if we can do this, so can you.’ we're very motivational and inspirational. Everything is by us, it’s shot in-house, customers are seeing right now, in real life.
Christian Johnston and Dan Folger founders of GLD Courtesy of GLD
Joseph DeAcetis: Speaking about in house right now, talk to me and my readers about your social impact internally and, and your strategy for social impact
Christian Johnston: I think it's really important to us not only to try to give back but inspire people motivationally to give back in their own ways. With our employees and our own team, we empower them to give back. Every month we have two employees that get to choose a charity of their choice, and we donate money to both of those charities. Every month we help two different charities and focus on what matters to our people.
GLD's Alpha Era Gold - Half Iced Watch photo courtesy of GLD
Joseph DeAcetis: Two different charities every single month. Interesting way to diversify your social impact. Do you promote this externally?
Christian Johnston: Now just internally it's more of an employee thing for right now. We may expand it.
Dan Folger: We should also talk about the “GLD Gang” too. We encourage our customers to post images of their jewelry and share on social media. As a team, we pick 5 winners a month to win $1,000 from us.
GLD's Alpha Era collection photo courtesy of GLD
Joseph DeAcetis: Since when were you doing this?
Christian Johnston: We started it in 2019.
Joseph DeAcetis: In your estimation, who was the best customer that posted a visual wearing? Narrow it down to one.
Dan Folger:We’ve got some really good ones, where’s my phone? Let's look at some winners. It's hard but personally, I love the skiing one - he did crazy amazing stuff beyond what we could achieve. There's also people who are videographers, who have put a lot of time into getting models or friends, and they're shooting them and making / editing all these crazy videos. There's a few that are really really good in their own genre.
Joseph DeAcetis: Tell me off the top of your head, which one comes up.
Dan Folger: I personally love the skiing one, because I love that he’s wearing a “Built from the Ground Up” hoodie and then he goes and does like 540 backflips. It's just so amazing. Once that guy posted it, like a week after, a bunch of other skiers were posting videos in their GLD hoodies doing the same stuff.
Joseph DeAcetis: And then how soon does that recipient receive the $1,000?
Christian Johnston: Every month, so basically at the end of the month we send it out to each one that wins.
Joseph DeAcetis: Who chooses the one that wins?
Christian Johnston: We do, we pick all 5.
Dan Folger: We go to Instagram and type in the hashtag #GLDGANG. And Christian and I scroll through, and screenshot ones we like, the ones we think are best. As owners, we personally look through and pick the winners.
GLD's Skull Key Chain photo courtesy of GLD
Joseph DeAcetis: 5 per month? Wow! Let me ask you this before we move on to the next question, how many people enter?
Christian Johnston: IG stops counting after 1000, but since we started last year I would say we've had probably 5,000 posts using the hashtag.
Joseph DeAcetis: Who’s idea was it to do this?
Dan Folger: Us as a team. On our core team - we have a group chat that's called “GLD Final” and we talk 24/7 - more than I talk to my girlfriend or anybody in my family.
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about the move from Pittsburgh to Miami and Los Angeles, respectively.
Dan Folger: I think that was one of the biggest highlights of our lives honestly. Coming from Pittsburgh, it's cold and it's a work-hard city. You're constantly grinding. Our childhood dream was to at least grind somewhere warm, so we can look out of our office every day and see the ocean or the beach. I think when we got out of Pittsburg, that was an amazing achievement for us. And plus, when we got to Miami was when GLD expanded big.
Joseph DeAcetis: But do you bow down to Pittsburgh? Because that's where you creatively developed?
Dan Folger: Yeah, for sure. We’re both happy and proud to be born in Pittsburgh, it definitely showed us how to grind.
Joseph DeAcetis: Do you give back to Pittsburgh? Is that on your agenda?
Christian Johnston: Last year we had a pop-up shop in Pittsburgh. We brought Wiz Khalifa out, who's also from Pittsburgh, and we had a week-long shop and at the end of the week, we threw a big hometown party where Wiz Khalifa performed and released a song there with a local artist. It was a very personal moment for us.
Joseph DeAcetis: It was heartfelt to both of you?
Dan Folger: Exactly, yes.
Christian Johnston: It was cool too because everyone who was there still reaches out to us to this day and says that was the best night of their life.
Dan Folger: It was like more than a concert. There's a place in Pittsburgh, it's called Southside, and it has a ton of bars and storefronts - it's cool, it's the spot to be. And we had our little shop in the front, and in the back was like an empty room - just picture a house party but with Wiz Khalifa. There were no barriers between him and our people.
Christian Johnston: Everyone was on the same level.
Dan Folger: Like, you could be a normal college kid and you're just like [to Wiz Khalifa]: what’s up, man? We're all hanging out together. It was fun.
Christian Johnston: It was perfect. Wiz Khalifa was there and he stayed for like three and a half hours. He loved the vibe because it was small, very personal.
Joseph DeAcetis: What's your best compliment that you could give your partner:
Christian Johnston: Dan is very creative. He’s a great photographer - but I don't want to put that as the only thing he’s talented at….I mean he's amazing with a camera but he has a great social awareness with Instagram. He just finds things that interact really well through his images and videos. With his videos, he does a lot of speaking on our jewellery almost educational or instructional. People relate and appreciate him. He’s great being a face of our brand. He's also very good with creative direction on our visuals. He handles a lot of the visuals, whether it's photo, video, or any creative assets. He has a natural eye for. He's very skilled in a lot of different creative ways.
Dan Folger: I would say, Christian’s a hard worker. He's one of the hardest working people that I know. As kids, when GLD was very in the early stages, we were still pretty young. When we wanted to go out, Chris was always the one to hang back and grind this out. When they say the “Mamba mentality” of ‘work hard or go home’ - that's Christian for sure. It's a good balance, like he [Christian] was saying, I can go out, meet people socially at night, and I'll come back to the office, and he’ll have things for me to get done. I don't know how to do certain things that he does, so it's a good balance in our partnership.
Joseph DeAcetis:What’s the greatest challenge or problems that you have with one another as a partner for so long? What's the greatest challenge that you face?
Christian Johnston: Honestly, I would say, we fit together really well. We’re opposites, but we’re similar in a lot of ways also. We complete each other in this business.
Dan Folger: But if we have differences, we'll speak about it. We're very open with each other. So we run a lot of stuff with each other. For example, if I ask him “what do you think about this pendant? I think we should change it.” He wouldn't take that negatively.
Joseph DeAcetis: So, the solution to your greatest challenges is that you have communication.
Dan Folger: Yes, we talk everyday.
Joseph DeAcetis: Let me ask you this - what's been your greatest achievement? Both of you, individually, since launching the brand.
Dan Folger: Honestly, I would say, when you walk into our headquarters here in Miami. When you walk in this large office, when you look around, I’m like wow...there’s 10 people who do our customer service. We have almost 50 employees. I still get butterflies. When I say we built this from the ground up, it's true. I wish I had photos of us in my parent’s basement or in his basement, with a USPS box that we just have our stuff in. We built it from the start. So when you walk in and you see how many people are here [in the office] and again, we're 26 and 27 years old, you see people who are even older in their 30’s, 40’s working here, it's just crazy. We built this. That's my greatest achievement, looking around at the brand and just seeing where it's at and just seeing people in an office all together and being proud to work for GLD is probably my greatest achievement.
Christian Johnston: And now being able to provide them with benefits. It's really important to us.
G Herbo wears GLD photo courtesy of GLD
Christian Johnston: Building off what Dan said, my answer is going to be our new office that we're about to move into. But I mean, each office - from our first office ever in Pittsburgh for GLD, we went from literally that box in our parents’ basement to being able to have our own office, and that was a place we basically lived. We would eat there, sleep there, wake up there.
Joseph DeAcetis: So you feel that's your greatest achievement, going now to the new digs in Wynwood. Can you talk about those?
Christian Johnston: Our new office, it's three times the size of this office. It's about 11,000 square feet. Its two floors in the heart of the new arts and culture district of Miami. It really fits our vibe. This we know, we love this office. We have great memories here. But we're really, really excited about the move to Wynwood. We feel like just the overall vibe, the culture of Wynwood plus, the actual office itself, it is a perfect fit.
Joseph DeAcetis: I wanted to talk about your market determination. It ‘s been said that GLD’ has drawn comparisons to Nike. Many suggesting that you are the Nike of Men’s Jewelry? Thoughts?
Christian Johnston: For sure. Obviously, Nike is an amazing company and we’re all humbled by the comparison. Nike is at the top of their industry with product and popularity, but really their value is innovation. And I think from the beginning to the present moment, we have also continued to innovate to rise in our market.
GLD innovated on our products, that’s what established our dominance in the marketplace.
There's really no one that can compare to us in any way, whether it be product design, quality or lifestyle.
The versatility and product popularity we have, we can break it down by numbers - site visits, monthly sales, anything along those lines — there's just no comparison of anyone in the industry next to us. Plus we're growing at a faster rate than anyone within our space and becoming a household name. We are establishing ourselves as the leaders to follow.
Joseph DeAcetis: I wanted to talk about the watch and your new watch launch. So there's so many watches in the market right now, what makes your watch different and wantable by the consumers in a sea flooded with watches.
Christian Johnston: The first thing that differentiates GLD from anyone else on the market is the hand setting of the stone in the watches. We have all custom settings, it's very close together, all the stones touch, it's something you'd see comparatively on like a $40,000 watch. There's really no other way to attain this other than by getting that from an Audemars Piguet or Rolex or something like that where it's super, super high end. Which we also offer that price point but give you a comparable quality for $899.00. With GLD you're getting the best quality timepiece with this level of setting. Normally labor on a piece like this would even be 10x that price.
Dan Folger: See in this watch how it’s handset. You can see the diamonds are touching, when you buy jewelry a lot of people want the diamonds to be as close together as possible, which is called a ‘flower setting’. A lot of watches have a machine setting which gives an appearance of rows and it looks bad.
Joseph DeAcetis: So if there’s one thing that stands out in the watch market for the consumer of this watch, what do you think it is? What’s going to make it separate from the pack?
Christian Johnston: I would say the continuous movement without the tick tick tick (on the watch’s clock). So it would be the movement, the setting, then the overall aesthetic and quality of the watch.
GLD's NBA Pendants photo courtesy of GLD
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to me in general about your license deals that you currently have at GLD?
Christian Johnston: Thank you. I guess we can speak on the license of the NBA. We have Marvel now as well. So Marvel Comics and the NBA. It is great, it was a dream come true for us. Number one, this is a huge accomplishment for the entire GLD team. It’s something we're really proud of and we think it’s just getting started for us. Just recently we released our NBA x GLD logo pendants with all 30 teams and we gave you a little preview of the Chicago Bulls Cuban chain we launched on All-Star Weekend. We have a lot more things in store that are not just based on the logos, but incorporating design elements of the teams into a fully new creative piece no one's ever seen before.
Dan Folger: When you go to our site, it calls us an official partner and has the NBA logo and GLD logo - just to see that like, again, you get chills. You're like, come on man - this is amazing. We work with the NBA and Marvel.
Joseph DeAcetis: Let me ask you this, one of the last questions is what is your strategy? Marketing, Creative, what is your strategy for the future? We're entering into a global market now; What is your strategy? Where do intend on taking the brand?
Dan Folger: To keep innovating with our products. Always having constant new product drops to always keep our collections fresh and customers coming back for new pieces. To expand globally. Again with just even the NBA and Marvel license, like that brings a ton of new eyes to the brand. Our street marketing, being at music festivals, doing these pop ups, like the one we just did at NBA All Star weekend. We are actually in the field being with these people. I think that's good, it’s word of mouth.
Joseph DeAcetis: They take pictures with you?
Christian Johnston: Oh yeah, of course. I was going to say to you for one of the best accomplishments I didn't say but one of the things is just walking down the street wherever I am, and to see someone in our pendants and they walk over and say - “you're Christian right from GLD?” They pull a piece out and say “I have this and I love you guys, appreciate you guys.” That just means so much, it makes me so happy. It's genuinely, like I see how happy they are wearing our stuff and it makes me happy.
Joseph DeAcetis: Quickly tell me about the segue into apparel. And why are you producing it in the USA?
Christian Johnston: So apparel, we do make it all in America, it's all LA made, designed, and created.
Joseph DeAcetis: 100% made in the USA?
Dan Folger: Yep, right in Los Angeles
Joseph DeAcetis: And why is that?
Christian Johnston: I mean, we try to keep everything local and in the USA as possible. It’s our country. It also makes sense for us. Maybe it's a little more expensive but the quality is really good. I think consumers appreciate that you're trying to put that effort into making it here. We use the apparel for our core customers, we'll do limited drops where it sells out and we want to keep it really exclusive. So the quality needs to be really high. So we don't want to sacrifice quality just to save any bucks. It's our design. They are always GLD incorporated, the logo is always Incorporated.
Joseph DeAcetis: On a sustainable level, sustainability making in the USA. Because there's less, less overseas. Do you have sustainable efforts in your company?
Christian Johnston: Yes, I mean it's very early on, but it is something that we're mindful of. We're trying our best to keep up.
Joseph DeAcetis: Give me adjectives that describe your brand.
GLD: Organic, innovating, and badass!
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429d560ba5e3702e1a55b1ba771e57d0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/06/13/the-best-lightweight-sunglasses-for-summer-2020/ | Trend Watch: Mens Lightweight Sunglasses For Summer 2020 | Trend Watch: Mens Lightweight Sunglasses For Summer 2020
Perhaps inevitably, after 3 months of quarantine, it’s time to go all out and explore the recent influence on popular culture at the beach as well as all other summer activities. A central component of luxury menswear summer style will be empowerment platforms.
At present, an enlightening change of scene immerses us in cultures and invites us to engage in fresh style. Design is steadily changing as young generations are increasingly searching for product to fulfill modified needs.
Sunglasses are the most ubiquitous men’s accessory. However, the also play a very important role in protecting our eyes from harmful UV rays. One of the reasons for the increase in lightweight sunglasses this season is the cultural clout that menswear style holds on the global stage.
The most important takeaway from this feature is the great lightweight sunglasses can truly bring great powerful change to your overall presentation this summer 2020 season.
Barton Perreira
Barton Perreira Marquee Courtesy of Barton Perreira
Barton Perreira is the best gift for Father’s Day because each style outlasts the latest trend by focusing on classic, flattering shapes and adding new, modern twists in a variety of colorways. Known for unparalleled design and impeccable craftsmanship, Barton Perreira’s handcrafted frames are chic, timeless and make a unique gift that will last a lifetime. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for dad, look no further because Barton Perreira is the perfect way to say thank you this Father’s Day! The price in US dollars: $615
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STEFANO RICCI – Legend Sunglasses
STEFANO RICCI – Legend Sunglasses RICCI S.p.A. SG20P_MEACET_N999 Photo credit: © STEFANO RICCI S.p.A.
Infused with classic appeal, these SR Legend Sunglasses display the iconic pilot silhouette. The lightweight acetate frames, based on natural cotton fibre, are elegantly finished with signature galvanised palladium decorative hardware on the arms where the brand's logo and the iconic eagle head are embossed. Perfect for a sleek summer look. $1,250. Available for purchase at stefanoricci.com
Silhouette SILHOUETTE POLARIZED SUNGLASSES
Silhouette Titan Accent Shades Collection (Model 8178) Courtesy of Silhouette
Celebrate dad this year with polarized frames that truly are out of this world! Silhouette frames are so lightweight that they have even been worn during space missions by astronauts due to the brand’s hingeless, technologically-advanced frames.Additionally, Silhouette is also one of the few eyewear brands whose products are hand crafted custom-fitted to each wearer’s face making them a truly personalized gift for Dad. The price in US dollars: $470
The Voyage Sunglass,
The Voyage Sunglass by AETHER Apparel and SALT. available at AETHERApparel.com Courtesy of AETHERApparel.com
A collaboration between AETHER and SALT., is a great Father's Day gift for the stylish and adventure-oriented person. This is because adventurous lifestyles often lead to broken sunglasses. With that in mind, AETHER sourced innovative materials that would address that issue. For the bridge and top bar, the brand used “memory metal”—a material rarely used in premium eyewear—which bends and flexes, always returning to its original shape. Additionally, it sourced a brand-new type of silicone from the medical industry for the side shields, helping to create a frame both flexible and durable. Constructed with Japanese titanium front frames and beta-titanium temples, the Voyage features polarized and photochromic lenses that change shade when exposed to light. The result of those thoughtful decisions is the Voyage Sunglass, a meticulously crafted piece of eyewear, ideal for those who subscribe to an active lifestyle while also caring about great design. $650
Maui Jim
Dragon’s Teeth has all the comfort needed for your next adventure. Courtesy of Maui Jim
As the summer months heat up, it is important to shield your eyes from UV rays with sunglasses that are protective yet also sleek. The Dragon’s Teeth sun style from Maui Jim is both lightweight and versatile, built to withstand the test of time. The oversized frame is made with carbon fiber, the ideal material for sunglasses, as it is durable and hypoallergenic. The lens material is made with Maui Jim’s SuperThin glass providing the crispest optics, ans are 20% to 30% thinner and lighter than standard glass, for every summer activity you partake in like hiking, running, or even just relaxing. Price $249.00
CROONER sunglasses:
crooner vintandyork.com photo credit - vintandyork.com
This pair of sunnies is the best gift for Father’s Day because dad will not have the slightest clue on how stylish his summer just got. These Vint and York frames are not the typical style dad might expect. Surprise him with this out of the box octagonal-shaped sunglasses, the perfect gift for the dad that needs a major update in the style department. Upgrade his look with this sleek pair of sunnies that come in a classic shade of black, a dapper silver-hued frame and navy lenses, or a whimsical yellow tortoise style. Once he gets over how cool they look on him, he’ll love the lightweight frame that features the highest quality Italian acetate crafted for elegant and casual outings. Make him ditch his boring sunglasses for a unique pair of flattering shades that he can pop on every time he steps out and about! Price $129.00
JITTERBUG sunglasses:
jitterbug vintandyork.com photo credit - vintandyork.com
This pair of vintage sunglasses is the best gift for Father’s Day because your dad’s artsy looks will finally have that extra jij when out and about. He’ll definitely be glad to open his Father’s Day gift to find these round, vintage frames that will perfectly complete his vintage-inspired outfits. The range of colors includes fancy ones like “stormy sky” and “honey tortoise” making these fashionable frames give dad a quick jump into the 21st century. Check out this retro wireframe sunnies and gift your father a collection piece that will immediately put a smile on his face and make him wear it 24/7! Price $199.00
RIO sunglasses:
rio vintandyork.com photo credit - vintandyork.com
This pair of timeless aviators is the best gift for Father’s Day because.. well, you can never go wrong with a pair of aviators! Looking for a great way to compliment your father’s quirky, old-school sense of style but give it a contemporary twist? These 70s inspired shades will make the perfect gift, and will surely take dad on a trip down memory lane. These lightweight aviators are handcrafted in Italy and offer ultimate comfort, functionality and style. They will surely become your pops new go-to pair of sunnies. Surprise dad and break a style rut with these funky aviator shades! Price $299.00
QUINN hipster sunglasses:
quinn - vintandyork.com photo credit - vintandyork.com
This pair of statement sunnies is the best gift for Father’s Day because they are the fashion makeover shades your dad desperately needs. We’ve found you a new pair of statement sunglasses that will clearly do the job and give your dad some street cred. Done in a classic geek-chic silhouette — complete with the square rims and signature top bar — these ‘80s-inspired frames channel funky, hipster vibes. They combine eye-catching green celluloid acetate with sleek, silver titanium for the perfect fusion of retro and modern. Mark this Father’s Day and gift your dad this pair of sunglasses that have street stardom written all over them! Price $169.00
BRYANT classic sunglasses:
bryant - vintandyork.com Photo Credit: vintandyork.com
This pair of classic shades is the best gift for Father’s Day because dad will be in for a treat. Gift your pops the Bryant frames and you will definitely score you some major points with him. These navigator rectangular sunglasses are as iconic as their namesake - the famous must-see park in Manhattan. Part of a Limited Edition City Collection, this big and polished frame, yet slightly casual and sporty will fit any look, making sure dad will never be underdressed or overdressed when wearing it. Update your dad's sunnies with this pair of durable lightweight glasses he will proudly style on his business and leisure trips! Price $169.00
Eyevan 7285
Eyevan 7285 SS20 329 334 from 180 the Store photo credit: Eyevan 7285 SS20 329 334 from 180 the Store
"This model has the 3 dots hinges inspired by MA-1 (Military wear) zipper part manufactured in the 1960s which is an iconic part of EYEVAN 7285. There is no better gift for those looking for trendy and classic sunglasses for Father’s Day."Our retail space, 180 the Store, carries luxury eyewear brand Eyevan7285 from Japan. The products of EYEVAN 7285 are made by the combination of craftsmen’s handwork and the state-of the art machine tools in Sabae, Fukui prefecture which stands first in production of eyewear in the world. The price: $635.00
Persol:
Persol PO2466S Image courtesy of Luxottica
The retro inspiration in these frames are modernized by a sophisticated mix of elements making these lightweight, polarized sunnies the perfect gift for all dads. $367.00 Persol.com
Ray-Ban Frank
Ray-Ban_8056597178433 tk
When in doubt, go for gold! Even amidst uncertainty, one thing is for sure: gold sunnies will add a pop of color to any style this summer. Adding a metallic accent to Ray-Ban’s endlessly versatile and must-have sunglasses, the season’s gold logo illuminates an exclusive edit of new and noteworthy frames for men this season. Price: $123.20 (on sale from $154)
Mott:
Mott is handcrafted in Northern Italy with double dot rivets, 5 barrel hinges, Italian hand-dyed ... [+] acetate and completely hypo-allergenic components. The shape is sized 47 - 21 - 145. Photo Courtesy of Mott
The Mott sunglasses from Article One are the best Father's Day gift this year because they are high-quality sunglasses that Dad will love and are a serious style upgrade. Article One frames are handmade in a small village in Northern Italy at the base of the Dolomites. The attention to quality and detail by the 12 craftsmen in this family-owned factory results in a level of quality you can feel. They are sure to pair perfectly with BBQ and beach apparel and even look great with a pair of croakies. Price: $255.00
JINS Eyewear:
Magnetic clip-on sunglasses over prescription glasses Courtesy of JINS
JINS Switch sunglasses use Airframe material, which makes it very lightweight and makes your eyewear experience more comfortable and pleasant. Airframe is also very durable and flexible so it’s easy to adjust the temples to your ears and face. Find more details here on Airframe: It’s perfect for dads who wear prescription glasses regularly but also want to wear sunglasses occasionally. All you have to do is put the magnetic clip-on sunglasses. Price: $150
BOLD DOTS
The Madison in Island Havana by BOLD DOTS Image courtesy of BOLD DOTS.
The Madison sunglasses from BOLD DOTS is the perfect accessory for the summer season. The silhouette is a classic, rounded frame made from Italian acetate, but includes a nose bridge inspired by the brand's creative director's travels to India and the architecture found there. While most people are at home this summer, the Madison sunglasses appeal to your sense of wanderlust while unable to travel. Price: ($187)
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8b8a8fe3164d3bcf96ed4bffa8d822f8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/06/30/dolce-gabbana-takes-a-fresh-platform-of-identity-with-a-steady-flow-of-style-influencers/ | Dolce Gabbana Takes A Fresh Platform Of Identity With A Steady Flow Of Style Influencer’s As Rudy Bundini | Dolce Gabbana Takes A Fresh Platform Of Identity With A Steady Flow Of Style Influencer’s As Rudy Bundini
Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2020 Collection Jade Young- Courtesy of Dolce & Gabbana
Since it was founded in 1985, Italian fashion powerhouse Dolce & Gabbana established a trendsetting appeal. From the inception, the apparel brand made it clear that producing the highest quality would be an essential part of its philosophy. This spring/summer 2020 season, the superlative gathering of fine craftsmanship and sleek modification offers persuasive proof of how well the brand has lived up to that intent.
I don’t have to tell you that this season has been a daunting task for fashion brands —due to the global pandemic. Consumers now live in a diversified atmosphere and scenery. For better or worse, the fashion business sector has been catapulted onto a fresh new platform of identity. This newly founded identity is about to squeeze out the limitations of yesteryears time and space and lead us forward into the new decade and beyond.
On a separate note, Dolce & Gabbana and Humanitas worked together for Corona ( COVID-19) research. An important donation to Humanitas University in support of a study coordinated by Prof. Mantovani, aiming to clarify the responses of the immune system to Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, in cooperation with virologists Elisa Vicenzi and Massimo Clementi of San Raffaele Vita-Salute University.
The aim is to lay the basis for developing diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, contributing to the solution of a global problem.February 17, 2020 - Do innate immunity molecules with antibody-like functions recognise the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and play a protective, defensive role against infection? Can they be indicators of the progress and severity of the disease in patients? Clarifying these questions can form the basis for developing diagnostic tools, such as biomarkers of the severity of the pathology, and therapeutic tools. This is the goal of the study funded by Dolce & Gabbana and coordinated by Prof. Alberto Mantovani, Scientific Director of Humanitas and Emeritus Professor of Humanitas University. The study, at the service of global health, brings together the skills of the team led by Prof. Mantovani and Prof. Cecilia Garlanda of Humanitas University, related to the immune system, with those of Prof. Elisa Vicenzi and Massimo Clementi concerning viruses, at the San Raffaele Vita-Salute University, who were the first in Italy to isolate the pathogen responsible for SARS.
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“We felt we had to do something to fight this devastating virus, which started from China but is threatening all mankind. In these cases, it is important to make the right choice. This is why we thought Humanitas University would be the ideal partner, whose excellence and humanity make it a special entity, with which we have already cooperated on a scholarship project.“In the face of these tragedies of such a vast scale, each action may seem insignificant. But Prof. Mantovani told us the African fable about a hummingbird: while all the other animals were fleeing from a fire in the forest, it flew in the opposite direction, continuing to bring water in the attempt to put out the fire. We understood that in any case it was worth doing something. Even a very small gesture can have enormous significance. Supporting scientific research is a moral duty for us, we hope our contribution will help to solve this dramatic problem”, explain Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.
Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2020 Collection Jade Young
Over the years, Dolce & Gabbana has found and developed talent and continues to do so in the 2020’s— as it strategically veers from famous actors and singers to suspenseful fashion influencers, by crossing the line and looking to the future. Although most of them are not household names yet, they quite often have millions of followers. Take for instance the 1.9 million Instagram followers of male model and fitness guru Rudy Bundini, or American celebrity Cameron Dallas who proudly boasts 21.5 million followers. These sought after style influencers have become a prize seduction for savvy luxury apparel and fragrance brands. To avoid any confusion during these trying times, let it be known that a handful of these influencers are using their popularity and support for some of the most important fundraisers to date.
This season, the main source of inspiration for Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana is presented alongside the city where everything began. Seen through a monochrome lens, the history and traditions of Sicily contrast with the brightness and vibrancy of these images, realized in Milan.
Sicily, recalls the island’s atmosphere, symbols and traditions. Enhanced by the depth of its frames and saturation of the two-tone, Dolce&Gabbana’s DNA emerges from these with all the history and values that they recall. Everyday life scenarios are associated through style with traditional moments becoming the suggestive background to the collection. The bright and brilliant colors of the collection emphasize the smiles on the models’ faces, whose joy and light-heartedness become contagious to those who pass by.
I recently had the change to sit and chat with Male Model of the year by IMTA/former boxing heavy weight champion and Dolce & Gabbana style influencer Rudy Bundini about what makes the Dolce & Gabbana menswear collection so appealing.
Rudy Bundini Style Influencer Photography by Jade Young
Joseph DeAcetis: In your words, what makes Dolce & Gabbana a brand you like to wear?
Rudy Bundini: The reason I love Dolce & Gabbana is the vibrant colors, fine craftsmanship and quality fabrications. The construction of the their suits makes me feel confident and strong while looking sophisticated. Having a tall athletic built makes most apparel items hard to fit; the sleeves and inseams are usually too short for models. In addition, my V-shaped body while having a smaller waist is hard to fit. Nevertheless, Dolce & Gabbana suits are perfectly made for a model with long arms and legs. I really feel good when I try them on.
JD: What is your favorite piece of the current spring/summer Dolce & Gabbana collection and why?
RB: The silver suit is my favorite piece of the spring/summer 2020 menswear collection because it’s not only edgy, masculine and stylish, but also has a perfect fit and cut. The outstanding color makes it suitable for both day and evening events and it’s soft material makes it a perfect suit for wearing all evening long.
JD: What makes Forbes magazine stand-out or what makes it unique from other publications?
RB The variety and richness of the content. I value its social focus and visionary perspectives and at the same time the intelligent observation, imagination and consistency in articulating the views on all matters of business, entreprenuership, fashion and fitness.
JD: Describe how you defied your limits and exuded confidence in your career and what did you do to push those boundaries?
RB: The human spirit is like an elastic band. The more you stretch, the greater your capacity. I am a man with thick skin and an elastic heart.
JD: Being assertive and attentive is required in your profession. How do you manage difficult decisions?
RB: I trust my instincts, and make judgements on what my heart tells me. It's not about making the right choice. It's about making a choice and making it right.
JD: Describe the epitome of confidence and sexiness?
RB: Based on my experience in the fashion world, walking in Milan, Paris and New York fashion week.
JD: In your words, how does someone standout in an industry that’s fast-paced and high in competition?
RB: Male modeling is a unique career choice in that there is no specific path to success. Representing your true self is the master key to unlocking many of the difficulties in modeling and also the modern world. People become afraid of revealing their true selves and eventually forget who they really are. Trying to copy someone’s style can’t bring the success they have gained because it doesn’t come natural.
JD: What does it take to become an influencer and game-changer?
RB: Stop waiting for somebody to elevate your game. You are already equipped with everything you need to manifest your own greatness.
JD: What advice can you give to people who’ll venture this kind of work?
RB:
1: Match your talents and abilities with the job requirements.
2: Don’t start it unless you love your work, if you love what you do, you’ll enjoy the journey regardless of the destination your work brings you, you most likely not only find success down the road but also enjoy your daily work not as an obligation but as a pleasure.
Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2020 menswear collection Photographer: Jade Young
ON FITNESS TRAINING AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE:
JD: How do you keep up with the latest fads in healthy living?
RB: I try to use the science and other’s experience to find the best diet and lifestyle, but at the same time customizing it based on my personal interest, metabolism and body type.
JD: How important is food and nutrition to you as a model, athlete or as an individual?
RB: Definitely food selection and nutrition has a big influence on our athletic build and also health. Based on your fitness goal you should be able to manage your protein, fat and carbohydrates intake.
JD: What are your fitness goals that you are aiming now?
RB: With the COVID-19 pandemic and current quarantine situation I am striving to make the most of home workouts with focus on body-weight exercises/calisthenics.
JD: What are the essential exercises you have to do as a fitness enthusiast?
RB: Weight lifting is essential for me. I alternate leg, chest, shoulders, arms and back routines.
JD: Fact or myth? Working out improves one’s sexual stamina or prowess during sexual activity? Why do you say so?
RB: I believe working out certainly improves sexual stamina. Exercise increases “feel good” endorphins that improve mood, help to reduce stress, and improve sex drive and overall sexual function.
JD: Fact or myth? Living a healthy lifestyle keeps you happy and young? Why is that?
RB: I whole-heartedly believe that living a healthy lifestyle can help to keep you happy and youthful. I know that if I lose sight of my workout routine and healthy lifestyle goals my mood is negatively impacted as well as my overall appearance. When I am working towards my fitness and healthy lifestyle goals I feel dramatically better both mentally and physically and my outside appearance is significantly improved. I feel a healthy diet, routine exercise, proper rest, and hydration are vital to reducing depression, feeling happy, and maintaining a youthful appearance.
JD: Any advice to those who are struggling in losing and gaining weight?
RB: For those looking to lose weight I recommend strength training, cardio, and a high protein diet with fewer refined carbohydrates and increased healthy fats. For those looking to gain weight I recommend eating more frequently, increasing your carbohydrate intake, and reducing cardio to focus more on muscle building exercises.
Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2020 menswear collection Photography by Jade Young
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92cd223a22a442b92e5fbe1d445a34d1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/08/02/the-new-direction-of-streetwear-swivels-to-a-surreal-future/ | The New Direction Of Streetwear Swivels To A Surreal Future | The New Direction Of Streetwear Swivels To A Surreal Future
The future of streetwear:
The next generation of streetwear designers will pave the future street with functional apparel surpassing the old regime as too suggest an inspiration from the gods. Literally. The global pandemic of COVID-19 has set trend analysts and menswear experts alike to shout from the rooftops about how the spread of the coronavirus has given rise to a fresh list of consumer demands. In a word, to survive in the post-covid world, is to implement change. The wheels are in motion as consumers insist on elements of protection made with advancements in comfort. This has become more and more prevalent in the future of streetwear design.
Sustainable environment:
Overall, the fashion business has been implementing better ways to develop apparel with the lowest carbon footprint economically possible. In fact, next level streetwear designers and brands have been developing eco activist and (obligatory) sustainable statements through grassroots advertising and marketing strategies— that both inspire and evoke action. Even though the environment has been a constant key consideration for the last decade or so, it has now become the greatest voice with respect to the winds of change and the future of streetwear. Honestly, after having been told to quarantine at home, wear masks in public and wash our hands over and over again, consumers are longing for peace and serenity of nature in lieu of what is coming down the virtual runway in Paris or Milan.
Buried treasures :
In the past, fashion creatives have taken elements of heritage and redefined them to adhere to modern standards. The new guard of streetwear designers now flash us a touch of nostalgia as a bow-down of sorts to our treasure past. But, more importantly, the next wave is setting the foundation for what is to come. On the world timeline, I believe we are at a pivotal point. If you don’t believe me just ask the person next to you about their thoughts on current affairs and future dreams.
The new guard:
In my streetwear analyst, I clearly see a whole new life of energy that is keen on playing with hyperreal finishes such as reflective elements or high shine product offerings that lend credence to a fresh modified look. These new arrivals have finer lines than streetwear of the past — leading the charge of a seriousness in this fashion segmentation. The takeaway here is less aggressive styles, return to environment and maintaining function.
Welcome to the new guard in men’s streetwear!
RIOT HILL:
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RIOT HILL HOODIE Courtesy of RIOT HILL
RIOT HILL returns with their latest online release, this time calling on one of their classic graphic motifs. Utilizing a signature boxed fit, the menswear label's latest hooded sweatshirt sports an unmistakable back and front screen printed logo providing a stylistic narrative to the garment in its role as a staple centerpiece. Making it the perfect addition to any modern wardrobe. A piece of RIOT HILL is as durable as the message it exists to perpetuate.This hoodie will release this Thursday at 4 PM PST only at riot-hill.store $195.00
Balmain.com
Black suede B-Glove high-top sneakers with silver-tone Balmain logo Courtesy of Balmain
Black suede B-Glove high-top sneakers with silver-tone Balmain logo $750
Sneakersnstuff
SNS x Gramicci Tee and Paisley G-Shorts, available in three colorways is a colorful, electric ... [+] injection into any summer wardrobe Photo Credit: Courtesy of Sneakersnstuff
The SNS x Gramicci Collaboration is a six-piece capsule release for Summer 2020. One of the OG brands in the outdoor market, known for its climbing apparel and SNS created a functional and comfortable capsule pack with three pairs of shorts and three tee's.
SNS x Gramicci Tee ($39): The white tee with SNS and Gramicci Running Man logo meshed up matches perfectly with the designated short.
Paisley G-Shorts ($88): The classic Gramicci G-shorts has been dressed in an exclusive SNS paisley print on a chino-beige background. The multi-colored SNS paisley pattern (yes, it reads ”SNS” if you look closely) sits comfortably on double-ringspun cotton twill, paired with a signature gusseted crotch, these summer shorts by SNS and Gramicci let you enjoy every movement in style.
NAHMIAS
This is separate from the paragraph and should just be a few words describing the product within the ... [+] selected image. Courtesy of NAHMIAS
Introducing the Dawn 70 - made in collaboration with TSS x Nahmias, featuring silk jacquard paisley tongues, platform soles, laser engraved details and silk shoelaces available in both high and low top styles. These ultra-limited shoes are a must-have summer purchase that can be worn all year round, and retail for $1250,00 USD.
Burton Mine77 x NEIGHBORHOOD
The Burton Mine77 x NEIGHBORHOOD 8-Pocket Cargo Jeans – 100% Premium Cotton Flannel; Upper and Lower ... [+] Leg Cargo Pockets; Magnetic Fly Opening; Distressed Denim Effect Courtesy of Burton Snowboards
The Burton Mine77 x NEIGHBORHOOD 8-Pocket Cargo Jeans are based off original BDU pants that have been modified from MIL specs. They feature two additional cargo pockets and are made of 10oz military denim. Each pair has selvedge fabrication that emphasizes the look with fades and drips. These are part of the Burton Mine77 x NEIGHBORHOOD collection, a limited five-piece capsule featuring military-inspired, functional denim and velvet pieces. The final installment from Jake Burton Carpenter, the collection combines Jake's drive and passion for product development and innovation with Shinsuke Takizawa's NEIGHBORHOOD known for its iconic military inspired, premium apparel. Pricing: $299
TOMBOGO
The Bubble Wrap Utility Vest by TOMBOGO™ in Matte Black Courtesy of TOMBOGO™
The Bubble Wrap Utility Vest utilizes recycled bubble wrap and durable PVC to reinterpret the familiar silhouette of a classic utility vest into an unconventional, eye-catching, and sustainable garment. In today’s age of non-stop deliveries from Amazon, USPS, UPS, Fedex, DHL, etc. one cannot go a day without seeing packaging materials littered throughout the streets. Frustrated by this monotonous cycle, yet guilty of being apart of it, designer Tommy Bogo set out to create garments that utilize packaging material in order to encourage others to re-purpose, re-use, and at least recycle these otherwise wasted materials that are arriving at our doorstep on a daily basis. Price: $350
John Geiger
John Geiger - 'Black Marble' 002 Courtesy of John Geiger
$350.00 USD - Designer John Geiger continues his stride of highly coveted releases. His eponymous brand is excited to unveil an iconic ‘Black Marble’ color-way in his 002 sneaker model. Slated as one of the brand’s most anticipated releases of 2020, the ‘Black Marble’ 002 starts from the ground up with a white outsole that features John Geiger branding and is capped off with a Neoprene upper that offers a striking exclusive design of black marble alongside hints of blue hues and accents throughout the sneaker to assist in creating a truly unique pattern, giving each pair a one-of-one look and making no two pairs the same. Succeeding the ‘White Marble’ 002 Low, the ‘Black Marble’ 002 High gives footwear lovers another beautiful selection to add to their closets and rotations. Eager supporters and fans will be able to purchase the 'Black Marble' 002 sneaker at johngeigerco.com on August 7th, 2020 at 12pm EDT
HUF
HUF x AKILA Legacy Sunglasses Image courtesy of HUF
This summer, HUF joined forces with fellow Los Angeles-based modern eyewear brand, AKILA, to bring you the ‘Legacy,’ a limited-edition sunglasses collaboration in 3 new colorways. Featuring the signature HUF Green in an acetate frame, a Leopard Tortoise motif, and a classic black frame accented with rose tinted lenses, the HUF x AKILA ‘Legacy’ is limited to less than 150 pairs per color, and combines handcrafted tradition and modern materials for a new and improved, timeless classic. Each pair is handmade to maintain precision and quality that will last for years, uses environmentally-conscious plant-based cellulose acetate, and retails at $100 USD.
Dim Mak Collection
Dust of Gods x Aoki 1of1 UNBREAKABLE Hoodie Image courtesy of Dim Mak
Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak Collection and Dust of Gods by Antonio Tadrissi have teamed up to create a limited-edition capsule collection of hoodies to benefit Covid-19 relief. Each hoodie highlights its own city map including New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Milan, and Beijing. A portion of the proceeds from each hoodie sold from the Un•break•able campaign will be donated to the Steve Aoki Foundation and allocated to a powerful cause that responds to the impacts of Covid-19, with the assistance of the Red Cross.
Renowned:
100% 6.2oz Ringspun Cotton with Large Graphic Screenprints Photographer Tsasia Mercado of Tsasiamercado.com
Renowned LA has teamed up with UNKNWN, Lebron James Concept Store, in Miami, Florida. The shirt features our "Hands to The Sky" graphic with text reading "Embrace The UNKNWN" by Muntasir Mohamed. On the back, large text reads " Move Towards Your Fears. This Shirt is a great addition to any summertime wardrobe! Not only is the shirt amazing, part of the proceeds go towards Know Your Rights, Dream Defenders and the Miami Foundation. This shirt will be released end of August at UNKNWN in-store and online. $55.00
TAAKK
TAAKK Sheered Jungle Shirt Courtesy of TAAKK
The Sheered Jungle Shirt from TAAKK is the quintessential piece for the season as it expertly walks the line between heritage and trend. Designer Takuya Morikawa, who worked on famed Japanese designer Issei Miyake's design team for eight years before launching TAAKK in 2013, melds eye popping color and pattern with the ever popular camp collar reminiscent of the classic 50's style, reimagined here for the modern man. - Price in USD: $353.55
PROBLEM CHILD
The Manteca Flare Pant by Problem Child PHOTOGRAPHER:Jonathan Schkolnick
Problem Child’s smart street approach blends 2 different walks of life into tangible products. The new kids on the block have been worn by the likes of pioneer ASAP Rocky and supermodel Alton Mason. Featured here; the “Manteca” flare trouser which translates to butter complementing the palette and silky smooth fabrication of these Japanese poplin trousers. Modernizing classics with a unique twist these are a perfect transition piece from day to night. With all of their products being ethically manufactured in the heart of Los Angeles, be sure to keep an eye out for this underdog company. They have proven to be well ahead of their time. Retail($ 220)
DRx Romanelli and LeRoy Neiman
DRx Romanelli x LeRoy Neiman Limited Edition Cap, $65 USD. Available for pre-order at ... [+] leroyneiman.com. Courtesy Darren Romanelli and the LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation.
This limited edition DRx Romanelli LeRoy Neiman cap is a versatile summer accessory you can feel good about buying: all proceeds will go to Artist Relief, a national coalition to support artists impacted by COVID-19. Streetwear designer Darren Romanelli —known for deconstructing and upcycling vintage items under the moniker DRx or Dr. Romanelli— remixes the paintings of LeRoy Neiman, an artist who captured sports and life in bold, expressionistic strokes. Each order will also include a mystery vintage poster randomly selected from the Neiman Foundation archives, for the nostalgist in us all. Price: $65, now available for pre-order (ships in mid-August)
Champion.com
Champion’s ultra-modern sneaker with a heritage feel and script logo. Courtesy of Champion Athleticwear
A streetwear-lover’s dream juxtaposition of an ultra-modern silhouette but with breathable, light materials for a sock-like fit. The shoe pairs Champion’s heritage branding and script logo with sleek lines and classic summer colors for a look that can be worn from day to night and that pair easily with your existing summer wardrobe staples for a bold look.
BTFL
Model Olan Prenatt wears a print was designed after reading about the history of the Aloha shirt and ... [+] it’s popularization on the “mainland” after WWII. The Tropical flowers are the main focal point but scattered throughout are lipstick motifs representing the kisses Women placed on letters that they sent to their men stationed in the Pacific. It is cut from 100% rayon and sewn in Los Angeles in a small family owned specialized shirting factory Photographer Allen Park
Aloha shirts are iconically American. They are a part of our history of style just as much as the surf and skate cultures that embraced them on the West Coast. While we tend to stay away from trends it just so happens that this shirt fits with the overall theme of tropical motifs and colors, and “artsy prints” for the Mens 2020 season but with a more classic approach. Whats even cooler is you wont see this print licensed out to mass market brands. We designed it and it’s exclusive to us and made in limited quantities here in LA. $285.00 USD
Kuon
The Japanese techniques boro and sashiko play an important role throughout the KUON collection. ... [+] KUON’s work jacket features thick black Sashiko overstitch throughout the garment, which reinforces the jacket and provides a distinct texture. Photo Credit: No Man Walks Alone
The word KUON means eternity, that which is everlasting, as well as the remembrance of the past as experienced in the present. The choice of this word is relevant to designer and founder, Shinichiro Ishibashi, as the two pivotal techniques often used in the collection are boro patchwork and sashiko stitching, as well as modern developments of traditional Japanese techniques and materials. KUON continues to collaborate with local manufacturing and craftsmen to make clothing that combines design with their unique set of skills. As a result, Ishibashi is able to share his knowledge about fashion, while learning the history and expertise of his counterparts. This exchange has provided an edge for KUON, enabling the brand to rapidly gain recognition. $437.50.
NYC LUXURY:
Black Lives Matter Pendant Piece By Big Mike Courtesy of JP - Jaiel.Perez
Big Mike's Black Lives Matter Pendant is a summer 2020 essential piece. Not only is the custom black & 14K white gold and diamonds pendant stylish and sleek, but it's symbolic. The custom piece is designed to celebrate Black lives and the fight for racial equality. The Black Panther fist-shaped pendant is more than a piece of jewelry, it's a statement. All of the proceeds from sales of this timeless piece will go to charity. Big Mike has teamed up with 'The North Star Funds - Let Us Breathe Fund' to donate all profits. Price: $1500
DARRYL BROWN
Jade work shirt is a classic piece with vintage quality. Photograph courtesy of Jeremy Taylor
The Jade work shirt is a classic piece with vintage quality. It’s crisp in structure with the intention of being “worn in” over time. The color is based off the symbolism of Jade stone, promoting, harmony, protection, and good fortune.The Jade work shirt also takes inspiration from Darryl Brown SR. who often wore a similar version while working. 100% Cotton, Relaxed fit.
Loha Vete
Bord tee by Loha Vete, from the Summer 20 online collection. Courtesy of Loha Vete
Designer tees are perfect for the current summer season. For one, every guy needs a basic tee for summer. For another, it's more than just a basic tee because the graphic is more than relevant as we're all experiencing lockdowns, isolatations, and closures. The shirt is made in Italy from 100% cotton, and the design is protected under section 107 of the Copyright Act, parody is fair use. LOHA VETE ©$195.00
The Kid With The Boombox
Murphy (wearing hat) wears a shirt model RENÉ in Java African fabric The Chino pant named JOSEPH : ... [+] all made with old cotton wax fabric Keziah (right) wears a bomber jacket called MAURICE and Joseph pant. All in cotton wax fabric. Photographer: Melanie Elbaz for Atelier Beaurepaire
We got you. Ditch the neutral colors and have some fun with your ‘fit with Atelier Beaurepaire’s stand-out streetwear. Traditional wax print meets modern, breathable, and utilitarian designs so you can look your best all summer. Maurice Jacket (bomber jacket in blue on the right model) is $270, Joseph pants (slim cut chino on both models) is $145, and the Rene (button down shirt on the left model) generally are $125. "Wax print sourced from Holland to Senegal for the ultimate flex— designed in Paris, and now avaialble in NYC/USA" Humble Hustler
Humble Hustler's Making the Cut Hoodie, constructed from organic fabrics, is the perfect summer ... [+] staple. Photographer: Joshua Michael Shelton
Founded by Parminder Gyani and Paola Estefania Linares, Humble Hustler is created and constructed in Los Angeles. Creative Director Linares designed Humble Hustler's exclusive streetwear brand to reflect the rhythms, moods, and tones of the style revolution. It's more than a brand - it's a lifestyle and a movement for a new generation. Humble Hustler is worn by those with a shared passion for hard work, independence, success, and philanthropy, as 15% of all proceeds support the Your Guardian Angel Foundation. When you step out in Humble Hustler this summer, your style reflects your tenacious mentality, because you embody a Humble Hustler yourself. (Featured item: $69.00 USD)
Storied Hats
Storied Hats Courtesy of Storied Hats
This summer Storied Hats has you covered with the best men’s caps to beat the heat. Designed with the highest quality of sustainable lightweight fabrics including breathable durable linen, recycled polyester, organic cotton, and hemp, and come in a variety of colors, fun prints, and sizes ranging in price $32-$40. Storied Hats, based in San Francisco and designed by Zach Maurin and Cameron Blossom, brings you a bright 90s summertime collection featuring Saved by the Bill, The Fresh Print, and New Kid on the (Color) Block. Added bonus? Storied Hats is a member of 1% for the Planet. No buyer’s remorse here.
Alife®
The Alife® Sandal comes in Mars Black and Ceil Blue Photo Credit: Courtesy of Alife
The Alife® Sandal features a mixed-material upper composed of textile “hook and loop” closure straps with a silver reflective synthetic/PU base, bound together with exposed white zigzag stitching. The synthetic base provides comfortability and cushioning for the feet, while the straps ensure stability and a true-to-size fit for all. Alife Sandal ($70):
Noon Goons
The Noon Goons FW20 Fly By Leather Jacket features faux leather self fabric with a velvet leopard ... [+] lining Courtesy of Noon Goons
The Fly By Leather Jacket is a faux leather self fabric with a velvet leopard lining. The jacket features tonal PVC embroidery appliqué across the chest and a hidden nickel YKK zipper closure at center front w/ snap closure flap to cover. The Fly By Leather Jacket is part of the FW20 collection, which debuted on the brand’s revamped shopping site that includes on-model video previews and 360 degree interior/exterior product views. Pricing: $489
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6e023448337e9875835e10038149a341 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/11/19/goodlife-loop-is-a-new-initiative-designed-through-responsible-recycling/ | Goodlife Loop Is A New Initiative Designed Through Responsible Recycling | Goodlife Loop Is A New Initiative Designed Through Responsible Recycling
Courtesy of Goodlife Courtesy of Goodlife
As the economy has become increasingly global, American apparel manufacturing is making a strong and steady comeback. Today, many brands are sourcing fabric from American mills that are durable and versatile enough to wear for almost any occasion.
Everyone wants to support their home team and Americans are no different. The in-house approach makes it easier to maintain sustainable practices and cater to individual customers with unique size and fit options. In fact, the steady stream of homegrown apparel manufacturing now serves as the very fabric of small businesses across the nation. For many consumers, "Made in USA" has seen a resurgence in recent years.
Goodlife Courtesy of Goodlife
Driven out of an extensive environmental concern and in response to outsourcing jobs, more and more customers are embracing born and sewn in the USA! More to my point, purchasing apparel made in the USA is more worthwhile than one might think. In a recent survey, more than 6 in 10 respondents said they preferred to buy products made in America.
Goodlife Courtesy of Goodlife
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Gone are the days of fancy designer names. Today, consumers have a voice in the manufacturing process that is rooted in American tradition and made in the U.S.A. Every step of the manufacturing and supply process is what the New York apparel brand Goodlife is all about. Goodlife proudly boasts to be a domestic clothing brand known for high-quality, lightweight tee shirts and essentials for men and women. Let’s face it, innovation and sustainability play an important role in the creative commitment. Americans are less interested off-shoring and subcontracting and more interested in ideas. We are a nation of ideas. It is the vital competitive advantage that American business embodies.
A unique approach Goodlife Clothing, a premium essentials clothing brand for men and women, has taken on reducing its carbon footprint through a program names Goodlife Loop. Goodlife Loop is a new initiative designed to extend the lifetime of Goodlife’s products through responsible recycling.
Goodlife Loop was created in response to the epidemic currently facing the disposal of excess clothing and footwear. Currently it is estimated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that 70% of all disposed clothing and footwear ends up in landfills while 17% is incinerated.
Beginning this Fall, Goodlife has taken steps to ensure that its products do not end up as such; instead the brand promotes the return of worn Goodlife products to be given a longer life. During the beta phase of Goodlife Loop, the service will be available through its two New York City locations in the West Village as well as its new store at Hudson Yards.
Goodlife has partnered with NY based Green Tree Textiles, that will shred the returned garments to be transformed into insulation for housing. While the brand continues to stand by the quality and durability of its products, the intention is to highlight a more conscious and thoughtful way of consuming and discarding worn clothing. Together with Green Tree Textiles, the brand shares the mission of providing a circular business model that will extend the life of discarded textiles, and ultimately convert waste into value.
I recently had the privilege to speak with Chris Molnar, Founder & Co-CEO, Goodlife Clothing about why he likes supporting American manufacturing jobs, how the Loop program has pushed him to look at all parts of the business and why he believes that Goodlife’s demographic is more comfortable speaking about of global warming, sustainability and carbon footprints!
Joseph DeAcetis: How do you see sustainability changing shaping the industry in the future?
Chris Molnar: The topic of sustainability in the apparel industry has become a common theme and you're seeing both small and large brands make concerted efforts to have the conversation. We are certainly not a pioneer here so I think that alone speaks to increase in the number of brands looking inward to contribute for the greater good. We think this will put more pressure on larger box, fast fashion retailers who have not made similar efforts as it will become more evident who puts a value on sustainability.
Goodlife Courtesy of Goodlife
Joseph DeAcetis: How has COVID affected your business during these trying times and how were you able to stay successful?
Chris Molnar: While we saw very healthy growth with our e-comm business, our wholesale business took a huge hit during the initial lockdowns. Our biggest partner is Nordstrom and when you're in every Nordstrom and they all close, it's sure to hurt and it did. Luckily we were able to divert and repurpose a lot of core inventory into Summer product because of our shorter lead times on domestic manufacturing. We had to get creative to move through other inventory, shore up cash and make a lot of sacrifices as a result of losing such a large channel. We have a very senior team with a lot of experience. We have been through tough times and it truly makes you stronger and also more able to handle adversity. We have an incredible group of employees and we got through it together.
Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about your retail expansion plans?
Chris Molnar: We do believe the survivors will be thrivers when this pandemic subsides. There are a lot of opportunities at retail that we are being strategically optimistic with. In addition to online data, we also have our performance at Nordstrom stores to help guide where the best next locations will be to open a store. In March we will open at Fashion Square in Scottsdale and The Domain in Austin. Our second biggest market, Los Angeles, will not be far behind, but we want to get retail right and not only use it to effectively market our brand but also add real value to the company. With that being said, we plan on getting those new locations right in addition to our 2 NYC stores and then will look to expand from there.
Goodlife Courtesy of Goodlife
Joseph DeAcetis: How important is it for the Generation Z to endorse the sustainability movement in the fashion industry and how to you get them on board?
Chris Molnar: We think it's hugely important as that generation is already wielding its spending power. From what we have seen, that demographic actually seems to be more comfortable with the conversation as the topic of global warming, sustainability, carbon footprints are more familiar to them. They have a more open mind to brands and companies that are talking about these things.
Goodlife Courtesy of Goodlife
Joseph DeAcetis: What is the brands goal and incentive moving forward with the looping program you have developed?
Chris Molnar: Right now it's a small step forward for us but we plan to make it a part of our messaging going forward that we offer a responsible method to discarding worn clothing. Into late Spring 2021 we will also be launching a capsule of t-shirts and fleece that will be made from 100% post-consumer materials. It will be the next step in offering more sustainable products. Additionally the Loop program has pushed us to look at all parts of our business and ask ourselves how we can do things with less impact.
Joseph DeAcetis: Do you believe more companies should be manufacturing in the country to create less carbon footprint?
Chris Molnar: While we don’t manufacturer all of our products domestically, we made a concerted effort from day one to try and go that route first. One hundred percent of our core jersey and terry essentials are made in the USA. We like supporting American manufacturing jobs and we’re proud of that, however, we are realistic about the fact that there is a lot of things you just can’t make domestically for a variety of reasons. To ignore some of the efficiencies of a global supply chain would have to be naive on our part. We do think if a brand has the opportunity to make product in the US they certainly should explore it!
Goodlife Courtesy of
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c3189eba982d16265a2c4f4b196a88d8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/12/01/the-best-sunglasses-for-all-year-round/ | The Best Sunglasses For 2021 | The Best Sunglasses For 2021
Let’s face it, sunglasses can truly transform a man into the ultimate status of “cool.” In fact, there aren’t too many men’s accessories that can elevate appearance like a killer pair of shades!
More to the point, not only will a top-tier pair of shades have you exuding confidence. but rather, will prepare you to tackle the trials and tribulations of the day - with a whole lot of self-confidence.
In the past, sunglasses were commonly revealed as a summertime accessory, now however, they are proudly a year round staple that can be worn during throughout the year.
This winter, nothing says “I’m a boss” more than throwing a sick pair of shades with your turtleneck and overcoat! The brands listed below take great pleasure in creating handsome and stylish sunglasses to help you glide right into the positive vibe of 2021.
Take a look here at these next level sunglasses that will have you feeling like you have all the power in the world!
Alexander McQueen:
Shiny black acetate sunglasses in a visor shape fitted with gradient lenses, featuring white rubber ... [+] nose pads and tips. Courtesy of Alexander McQueen
Alexander McQueen—4. Alexander McQueen Court Visor Sunglasses $315
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BALMAIN EYEWEAR BY AKONI:
The O.R. sunglasses, with mesh metal sidepieces referencing the steampunk silhouette, underline ... [+] Akoni and Balmain’s determination to rely on tradition and classic design to fashion bold, sophisticated and modern pieces for those who never pass by unnoticed. JOHN JUNIPER
BALMAIN—Rejecting today’s fast-fashion formula, Akoni sets itself apart with an unwavering commitment to the highest-level of Japanese craftsmanship, as well as a reliance on nothing but the finest of materials. This singular engagement to the most rigorous of quality controls is reflected in the collection’s exceptional design, engineering and perfect fit. The O.R frame differentiates itself for the eye rim and bold side shields, unique eye-catchers. A detailed frame whose luxurious components are a callback to the Balmain logo. $1,100
BERLUTTI:
Berluti sunglasses 2021 Image Credit: Berluti
BERLUTI—Sunglasses Name: Meteor Acetate Sunglasses. Sunglasses Price: 500 USD
Bottega Veneta:
Bottega Veneta Wraparound Sunglasses Courtesy of Bottega Veneta
Bottega Veneta—Bottega Veneta Wraparound Sunglasses. The latest style from Bottega Veneta emulates the house’s tension between tradition and modernity. The bold color, mirrored lenses, and wraparound style are perfect for those seeking a bold look. $525
Brioni:
Brioni Courtesy of Brioni
Brioni—-Brioni Havana Pilot Sunglasses. A wardrobe staple designed to be both timeless and contemporary at once, these frames feature a slim profile and nylon lenses in solid blue for a pop of color. $580
Cartier:
Santos de Cartier Sunglasses Courtesy of Cartier Sunglasses
Cartier—Santos de Cartier Sunglasses. The Cartier Santos collection pays tribute to aviator Santos-Dumont. The famous screws adorned on the temples are borrowed from the iconic Santos watch. This version features brushed golden-finish metal and green lenses for a classic look. $1,045
Dior Men:
Crystal Pantos Dior Disappear1 Sunglasses Courtesy of Dior
Crystal Pantos DiorDisappear1 Sunglasses. $425. Available on Dior.com and select Dior boutiques nationwide 1 800 929 Dior
Dolce&Gabbana:
The metal pilot shape is characterized by the iconic 45° diagonal cut on the front. The design ... [+] acquires a contemporary charm with its innovative open-wire detail: an agreeable balance between filled and empty spaces. The new nylon fiber temples present a slim geometric design and the refined Dolce&Gabbana logo. This modern, sophisticated model is available in gold, with camel or black lenses, and in matt black with black lenses. "Courtesy of Dolce&Gabbana"
Dolce&Gabbana—Dolce&Gabba's latest pilot shape is perfect for men looking for a modern, sophisticated style inspired by the brand's Italian heritage. $269
Gucci:
Gucci Square-frame sunglasses. Courtesy of Gucci
Gucci—Gucci Square-frame sunglasses.Square-shaped grey lenses are framed by thin gold-toned metal with an engraved design that adds texture. Slim temples are further enhanced by black enamel stripes and the House logo, for a classic, streamlined design. $505
LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S:
With a fashionably low, square shape, the Twister sunglasses offer a quirky eyewear option for the ... [+] new season. Its acetate frame is embellished with the LV Initials on the temples for a modern effect. This fresh look coordinates with other items in the Fall-Winter 2020 Precollection. Image Courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S —Twister Sunglasses in Camel. Approx Price: $475.00Available at Select Louis Vuitton Stores. 866.VUITTON. www.LouisVuitton.com
Moncler:
Shield Sunglasses Courtesy of Moncler
The AW20 shield sunglasses from Moncler are a tribute to Moncler’s unique and unmistakable style. The style is characterized by the engraved Moncler logo on the temples and tasered logo on the lenses. $365
Montblanc:
Montblanc Rectangular Black Metal Frame Sunglasses Montblanc
Montblanc—-Montblanc Rectangular Black Metal Frame Sunglasses. These rectangular sunglasses with gray lenses and black frame provide a sporty look and feel. The rubberized end tip is embellished by a racing-inspired pattern, while the straight temple enhances the functionality for a comfortable fit to wear all day long. $405.
Ralph Lauren:
Polo Striped Pilot Sunglasses Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
Polo Ralph Lauren—These metal-frame pilot sunglasses are designed with tortoiseshell acetate temples topped with sporty stripes. $169
STEFANO RICCI:
Available for purchase at stefanoricci.com Photo credit: © STEFANO RICCI S.p.A.
Stefano Ricci —Brave Sunglasses. A unique aviator silhouette, these BRAVE polarised sunglasses from Stefano Ricci offer sophisticated style suitable for all seasons. SR sunglasses are crafted with the utmost care and utilizing the finest materials, here including a pure titanium and water buffalo horn frame and signature SR galvanized gold finishing to enhance the design. $1.850,00
YSL:
YSL 402 in Havana Courtesy of Saint Laurent
Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello— Saint Laurent SL 402 Squared Sunglasses with Tortoiseshell Acetate Frames, Nylon Lenses and Saint Laurent Engraved Temples. $405.00
ZEGNA:
The gunmetal double metal bridge of these softly squared sunglasses is enhanced with an acetate ... [+] insert on the top bar to accentuate the sleek design and make the warm Vicuna lenses pop. Semi-shiny gunmetal temples add contrast and flair, finished off with Vicuna brown details on the end pieces and black tips Courtesy of Ermenegildo Zegna
Ermenegildo Zegna— Zegna’s newest rimless sunglasses were designed to represent Zegna’s purist of utilizing only the best materials. The frames have mutinously picked details to subtly nod to the brands identifiable style with the chevron detailed nose pads and vicuna temple tips $415
Amavii:
Amavii's TOM sunglasses are not only ultra-light and comfortable, they are also helping combat ... [+] climate change by planting a tree for every pair sold. Courtesy of Amavii
AMAVII—Amavii challenges the eyewear industry's one-size fits-all approach by offering 3 sizing options for each style to ensure perfect fit. Like all Amavii sunglasses, TOM is handcrafted in small batches using aerospace titanium, the lightest and strongest material. Its luxurious Italian acetate mid-bar design is not only stylish but also extremely comfortable. For each pair of glasses sold, a tree is planted through the brand's partnership with trees.org (they have planted 20K trees to date). $195
Barton Perreira:
Barton Perreira’s Cecil style is the perfect unisex gift for anyone on your list and is available in ... [+] optical and sun. Courtesy of Barton Perreira
Barton Perreira—Cecil represents the enigmatic balance of intuitive style and powerful simplicity. The style is built in Barton Perreira’s polished acetate and adorned with the brand’s signature hinge metal plaques. It is available in optical and sun and comes with a cleaning cloth made out of recyclable water bottles. $430
Ben Sherman:
Ben Sherman “James” sunglasses in dark tortoise Courtesy of Ben Sherman
Ben Sherman—Ben Sherman’s vintage-inspired “James” sunglasses are made with eco-green materials, including bio-degradable cellulose acetate made from renewable resources, 60% recycled stainless steel, and polarized, optical-quality sun lenses made from a natural bio-material that derives from wood and cotton. They're good for the planet and good for your look. $100 USD
Etnia Barcelona:
Please submit images on models (no flats). - The Ignasi Monreal x Etnia Barcelona collection is ... [+] filled with details that make each pair of glasses into a jewel fit for a collector. Courtesy of Etnia Barcelona
Etnia Barcelona—The limited-edition capsule from Spanish artist Ignasi Monreal and luxury Spanish eyewear brand Etnia Barcelona is a collection of truly unique pieces of wearable art. Perfect for every art collecting man in your life! The eyewear combines classicism with contemporaneity and draws inspiration from John Berger’s ‘Ways of Seeing’. The eyewear is crafted from natural Mazzuqueli acetate and Barberini mineral glass lenses. $525
Garrett Leight:
A Hollywood favorite and best-selling frame, the Calabar Sun, from Garrett Leight California Optical ... [+] is finally back and available exclusively online. The retro wayfarer silhouette features a new temple design inspired by 50s car fins, with prominent plaques and semi-flat lenses. Courtesy of Garrett Leight California Optical
Garrett Leight California Optical—Taking inspiration from Muhammad Ali’s ride of choice and GLCO’s California surf lineage, the Calabar is a sturdy, retro wayfarer silhouette that comes kitted out with prominent plaques, semi-flat lenses, and a temple design inspired by 1950s car fins. It’s the sort of masculine, slightly oversized frame that Ali wore to pre-fight press conferences, power lunches, and rallies during the height of his career in the 1960s and 1970s, and has been sported by modern male icons like Brad Pitt and Idris Elba. The Calabar Sun is a classic, everyday style that every man should have in their eyewear rotation. $360
LensDirect:
Hyannis sunglasses in Dark Tortoise with mineral glass polarized lenses, 100% UVA + UVB protection, ... [+] scratch resistance, anti-reflective coatings and superior clarity. Erica Mengouchian Photography
LensDirect is proud to announce its first limited edition collection. Kennedy’s mid-century tortoiseshell Hyannis® sunglasses were an item he considered essential to both his vision and his image. They followed Kennedy everywhere he went - from open water to the White House. The distinctive slender arms with diamond-shaped rivets create a look of understated luxury. Available in 3 colors including Blonde Tortoise, Dark Tortoise and Shiny Black. Only 300 available. $149
Persol:
Craftsmanship and quality, Persol 649 sunglasses are the original jewel in the brand's crown. Dating ... [+] back to 1957, this legendary Persol model is the perfect synthesis of unique design and state-of-the-art technology. Courtesy of Persol.
Persol— Persol's 649 shape is the perfect mix of classic style and a modern design for those looking for a timeless look. $340
Ray-Ban:
Straight from the ‘90s vault, Frank adds edge to any look. And now this coveted metal style has ... [+] joined the Everglasses collection with anti-reflective, photochromic lenses and blue light filter. That means dual coverage all day – indoors, outdoors and for your digital world. Courtesy of Ray-Ban.
Ray-Ban—Ray-Ban’s new EVERGLASSES category is comprised of a wide selection of styles for every individual and any situation including evolve photochromic lenses, blue light filter and clear lenses. Evolve Photochromic Lenses are light-sensitive, automatically adapting to shifting light conditions. With UV400 protection for almost complete sun coverage, you never need to take them off. $184
Serengeti Eyewear:
Serengeti- The perfect everyday sunglasses for any man who wants a fashionable, high-end pair of ... [+] sunglasses with unbelievable lenses that are the best on the market. Serengeti
Serengeti These sunglasses are a must-have for men because not only are the frames fashionable, they also paired with Serengeti’s exclusive 3-1 lens technology. All Serengeti lenses feature Photochromic lenses that adapt to all light conditions, naturally color-enhancing Spectral Control filters, and the option of glare-reducing Polarization. These lenses are perfect for all-year-round and will make a great gift for the man who appreciates quality and originality. $320
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0f410109a8acbb07c77f4d32e9b73f3f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2020/12/20/how-lifestyle-and-luxury-brands-can-leverage-technology-in-2021/?sh=1b74227b708d | How Luxury Fashion And Lifestyle Brands Can Leverage Technology In 2021 | How Luxury Fashion And Lifestyle Brands Can Leverage Technology In 2021
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 17: A model walks the runway at the Burberry Ready to Wear Fall/Winter ... [+] 2020-2021 fashion show during London Fashion Week on February 17, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images) Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
As time goes by, it’s becoming more evident than ever before, that any brand not leveraging technology will be left behind. In a word, the aesthetic universal codes in business strategy have drastically transformed. For instance, in 2020, with the onset of COVID-19; the need for businesses to reach consumers from home- without an in-person experience, is a testament to the luxury fashion (metamorphosis) period the industry is experiencing first hand.
This year, the first ever remote fashion week, was not only relevant but rather a strong indicator of how the consumer has now been elevated to an editor-by filtering their own taste and curiosity— by streaming fashion shows. This innovation proves one thing: If you can’t leverage technology, your business may not last the test of time. More to the point, technology is a constant reassessment of how the fashion business has operated over the last few decades.
In a word, consumers have witnessed first hand that technology can simplify the shopping experience. Therefore, if you’re taking significant measures for your customers, you may wish to wander into new territory. This new territory in technology can play a large role in marketing, customer service/satisfaction, and product delivery. The luxury space thrives because advertisers have been able to reach costumes on an emotional level. Buyers of luxurious products believe that these luxury products give them a particular image, and to maintain that image, they have to stay up to date.
Nevertheless, in 2020, the luxury industry had to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic —with the closure of brick and mortar stores. In addition, day-to-day activities for the general public came to a halt; globally. Ironically, the demand for luxury products surged at this time. Consumers who still patronized luxury brands took to online shopping, which will soon be the norm in a post-COVID world. In an article by Bain & Company, it stated: “Approximately half of all luxury purchases will be digitally enabled thanks to new technologies along the value chain, and online interactions will influence nearly all luxury purchases.”
Now more than ever, consumers are demanding an offline experience in addition to the comfort from buying online. Morphing the two together can only be obtained through Artificial Intelligence. And this is where high-end luxury fashion brands are aiming for in the modern age of fashion apparel and accessories.
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General view of atmosphere at the Estee Lauder celebration of Women and Beauty at Center 548 on ... [+] March 16, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage for Estee Lauder) WireImage for Estee Lauder
Throughout my career, my research has always focused on men’s and women’s luxury fashion. To my point, fashion is not conventional. Today, artificial intelligence brings that needed personalization and customers back to the brand. Luxury brands such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Estée Lauder, Tommy Hilfiger and even Levis have leveraged chatbots to add that human touch, needed for today’s customers. From the exclusive access, previews, and style tips, it is a strategy that heightens the customer experience by allowing consumers to feel like a VIP.
For example, Burberry understands that by using chatbots to send push notifications to each consumers who had previously interacted with the technology. According to Luxury society, as of November 2016, they allowed their users to preview the Burberry movie. The following year, they invited their customers through the chatbot to view their runway show live on Facebook while shopping the newly featured collection.
Going further, brands leverage AI to monitor their browsing history to provide better-targeted emails that show users’ content based on their choices. This trend moves far beyond the fashion and luxury e-commerce platform and segues into the entertainment space with rapid flow. Although music streaming companies already use AI for music recommendations, there are possibilities that AI will be used to do more than recommend music to you. Imagine reading your body vitals like heart rate, stress levels, breathing rate, and possibly even neurological signals through wearable technology and recommending music to you by understanding the mood that you are in? Well, the same can be said for fashion and beauty.
“Today’s consumers want ease and an exceptional buying experience. Brands that offer the least stress around their product/service delivery own the future,” says Business Development expert Paul Iwenofu.
The Apple Watch lock screen is seen in Warsaw, Poland on April, 24, 2020. (Photo Illustration by ... [+] Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images
Although I do not report on this topic, the rise of wearable technology is segueing into mass-marketed fashion brands that most of the consumer population wears. The fashion industry has embraced wearable technology on two points. These points go beyond smartwatches. Today, shirts, blouses, jackets, and pants can respond to the mood and the environment. Since over a decade, there has been technology that keeps the body temperature balanced used by brands such as Under Armour. And this is just the beginning.
LONDON - NOVEMBER 10: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER ... [+] CREATE DATE AND TIME. MANDATORY CREDIT PHOTO BY DAVE M. BENETT/GETTY IMAGES REQUIRED) Ralph Lauren shows off its new 3D digital technology projected onto their Flagship store in Bond Street on November 10, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images) Getty Images
Recently, Ralph Lauren introduced a PoloTech T-shirt with sensors that track live metrics like breathing, heart rates, and steps straight to your Apple Watch or iPhone.
My dear friend and fellow colleague Salvatore Giardina, an adjunct professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, commented on the PoloTech and said, "People are just information addicts today. My gut feeling is it will do well because it's not just something that looks nice; it gives you information."
"What seems science fiction now may be the norm in 10 years," Giardina points out.
Cyrus Christie of Nottingham Forest participates in a one to one training session with coach Luke ... [+] Jones at Eastwood CFC, Nottinghamshire on Thursday 17th December 2020. (Photo by James Holyoak/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images
Another area where lifestyle brands are heading to is Augmented Reality (AR). Gucci is doing impressive work in this area with their virtual try-on feature. They added an AR feature on the IOS app that allows shoppers to try on their sneakers. All you need to do is point your phone on your feet, and shoppers can see a digital image of the sneakers from different angles. This helps shoppers make an informed decision when trying to make purchases. And other luxury fashion brands have followed suit as well. Nike lets its customers scan their feet with a smartphone camera to get customized recommendations on their correct shoe size.
Even the luxury automotive industry has been co-branding with luxury fashion brands. When it comes to co-branding and modified technology, luxury automotive brands are not taking the backseat (pun-intended). For instance, BMW has also brought AR into their services. Their AR tech allows users to operate real-life virtual care with their phone’s camera and sensor. It feels like a video game because you can change the interiors or lights. Ultimately, it is useful for helping customers make their purchases.
Finally, the use of influence marketing, especially in the luxury niche, is becoming more and more important as mankind moves into the future. At first, luxury brands didn’t believe in social media —for fear that it would have made their products appear less luxurious. Nowadays, new luxury fashion influencers are popping-up every day due to the demand in the marketplace.
Studies present that 66%+ of luxury brands are actively using influencer marketing to promote their brand. The benefits of influencer marketing are grand in scope. Most of all, the ROI studies show that businesses earn $6.50 for each dollar spent on influencers, with the top 13% making $20 or even more.
It seems to me that the never-ending search for change is racing to keep up with consumer buying habits and overall lifestyle. The world is changing, and so is the market. Today’s customers demand more. They want personalization, ease of service, and a great buying experience. Although fashion retail has evolved, forthright fashion and beauty brands are well aware of the importance of a retail physical locations for various reasons in today’s consumer marketplace.
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3f2613aa99a7f67ccb7ad6c08a436166 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2021/01/18/the-future-of-fashion-apparel-and-luxury-brand-marketing-in-post-corona-times/?sh=742b4e294a86 | The Future Of Fashion: Apparel And Luxury Brand Marketing In Post-Corona Times | The Future Of Fashion: Apparel And Luxury Brand Marketing In Post-Corona Times
A model presents a creation by Givenchy during the Women's Fall-Winter 2020-2021 Ready-to-Wear ... [+] collection fashion show at the ParisLongchamp Racecourse in Paris, on March 1, 2020. (Photo by Lucas BARIOULET / AFP) (Photo by LUCAS BARIOULET/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images
Let’s face it, the fashion industry has been hit hard by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic; since there was a shift in consumer sentiment, people now tend to focus on buying necessary items. According to Boston Consulting Group, revenue generated by the fashion industry dropped by more than one-third in 2020, which is equivalent to around $640 billion in lost sales. This is tremendous.
Additionally, many fashion brands had to close down retail stores. In fact, the world's second-biggest fashion retailer, H&M, plans to close 250 of its 5,000 stores globally, and the Zara owner Inditex SA already closed over 1,000 retail shops earlier this year.
More to the point, apparel is a necessity, but the fashion industry is very fast-lived, and customers are not as willing to buy the latest product offerings if they have to contend with monetary uncertainty. Not to mention, that today, due to the pandemic, consumers can barely wear the clothing out on the town.
In short, very few people are willing to spend money on new clothes only to wear them at home. Especially not during a global crisis!
As a response to the coronavirus pandemic and its effects, many fashion brands are moving toward digital solutions. For example, Inditex SA invested $3 billion to boost the e-commerce operations of chains like Zara and Bershka. Moreover, this trend toward digitization is also mirrored in fashion marketing. I was recently reviewing data at FIT ( where I teach fashion digital strategies) and charted some vital changes happening in the fashion market today and beyond.
How fashion marketing will change in 2021
With in-store shopping being heavily restricted, fashion brands will have to make their online stores and the shopping experience they offer customers as approachable as possible. A 2018 Gartner survey showed that 46 percent of retailers already planned to deploy either AR or VR solutions by 2020.
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With the coronavirus pandemic leading to the closure of many retail stores, this number is expected to grow even more in 2021. According to Gartner Senior Director and Analyst Brian Manusama, about 25 percent of companies are planning to deploy AI technology like chatbots in the next 12 months.
MILAN, ITALY - JANUARY 11: A model walks the runway at the Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2020-2021 ... [+] fashion show on January 11, 2020 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images) Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Chatbots and other digital solutions are an easy way to offer a more personalized shopping experience, which translates to higher customer satisfaction and more sales. In fact, some brands are also offering virtual stores to mimic the retail shopping experience. For example, Dior launched a 360-degree view virtual store where customers can walk through the whole store and look at items, just like in a regular retail store. Recently, I have also reported in virtual retail developments with Dolce & Gabbana and Ralph Lauren respectively.
In addition, social media will also play a tremendous role in the fashion marketing sector. Many brands have already successfully made use of paid advertising for their marketing campaigns. Native social media ads are a great way to create authentic online marketing campaigns. “In this day and age, social media marketing is hands down the best way to drive sales revenue,” said Jason Modemann, Managing Director at Mawave Marketing.
Mawave founders Jason Modemann and Patrick Brueck. Courtesy of Mawave FOTOSTUDIO "ALL EYES ON YOU"
Jason and Patrick, founders of Mawave, are leading experts in this field. Together with their team of performance marketing specialists they are helping young apparel and lifestyle brands thrive by employing state-of-the-art social media marketing strategies. Some of their previous clients include the popular socks brand SNOCKS, known for inventing invisible sneaker socks, DRYKORN, About You and Holy Fashion Group, a holding company for various clothing brands such as JOOP!, Strellson, and Windsor.
Another important factor is the optimization with respect to mobile shopping. Nowadays, most customers are browsing stores or social media apps on their phones, and it is essential to make mobile shopping as smooth as possible to ensure that customers who are willing to buy something are able to do so without a hassle. I always explain to people that if you just take a glance at an airport, you will notice that almost all people are using mobile- all the time.
But there are also other aspects that need to be taken into account. Not only do fashion brands rely heavily on retail stores but they also usually made use of offline events to showcase new clothing. In 2021, live streaming events and online advertisements will be the way to go.
Fashion brands need to set themselves apart from their competition
This global pandemic has also kickstarted a trend for more sustainable and affordable clothing. While this trend was already on the rise in recent years, the coronavirus pandemic is a major driving factor since people are wary of spending money during a crisis. In particular, the jewelry and luxury fashion industries have been hit hard by the ongoing quarantine measures.
“COVID-19 certainly had an effect on the jewellery business with less large scale events, parties, and get togethers. There is simply less need for jewelleries when there is less going out,” says Joyce Lin, a native Canadian entrepreneur and founder of the jewelry brand Noor Jouels. The company has been working on its brand image throughout the pandemic and was even able to grow its business despite the significant reduction of physical events.
Sun of Africa” by Noor Jouel, a 12 carat fancy vivid yellow emerald cut ring. Available for ... [+] $1,280.00. Courtesy of Noor Jouel,
“I definitely think simulated diamonds is a trend that will stay and expand. It just gives the consumers a diamond alternative where it can be affordable, have less environmental impact, and still serve the same purposes,” she says. In this day and age, offering a sustainable alternative combined with a unique style has proven as an effective method to cut through the noise of the fashion industry.
In 2021, fashion is an identity statement more than ever before. This means that customers are more likely to spend their money on clothes or fashion accessories if the brand they want to buy them from is concerned with sustainability. Another company that has made this experience is Concrete Jungle. This German brand produces jewelry out of concrete and recycled metals, and has reported significant growth as a result of its unique offer.
“This year clearly showed that people would rather spend the money they have on sustainable products that are made to last,” said Madlen Thorwarth, founder and CEO of Concrete Jungle. Certainly, the unique approach of making jewelry out of concrete, a material that is typically seen as the exact opposite of fashion, seems to work out very well for the brand too.
Of course, there are many ways for a fashion brand to set itself apart from its competition, and most of these ways don’t directly relate to COVID-19. Nevertheless, in 2021, it will be more important than ever for fashion brands to tell a story that entices customers to buy from them. Focusing on sustainability and corporate social responsibility is a good way to make people relate to a brand, which will result in them being more willing to buy from this brand.
Another good way to gain consumer trust during this global pandemic is to make retail shopping feel safe. While the focus is definitely going to shift toward online shopping, retail stores will still be a huge part of the fashion industry, so it’s important to make retail customers feel comfortable while they are out shopping.
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2fe40ce57f24f834f4fe8152488a9d72 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2021/02/16/the-reigning-kings-of-menswear-aim-to-take-back-control-in-2021/ | How Armani, Ralph Lauren And Other Kings Of Menswear Aim To Redesign The Fashion Industry In 2021 | How Armani, Ralph Lauren And Other Kings Of Menswear Aim To Redesign The Fashion Industry In 2021
In 2021, as consumers seemingly wish to decode the established rules of menswear (by challenging the underlying assumptions of traditional menswear), they aim to define luxury for themselves. In fact, the next generation’s consumers will have a fresh perspective on what menswear apparel means to them. Or will they?
All too often and over and over again, experts in the luxury menswear market segmentation focus on highlighting craftsmanship, heritage, quality and style not only as defining characteristics but rather a badge of honor of impeccably well-made apparel. But given the circumstances of the world today, competing distinctions have thrown a wrench into the modified menswear equation. Perhaps it is time to highlight fresh new ideas when presenting a collection to buyers and consumers alike. For example, comfort and stretch crafted for broader and more casual use, pairing soft and fresh shirts with easy denim or even stain-and crease-resistant fabric that offers a high level of breathability. This is what consumers need to hear. The craftsmanship and quality appeal goes without saying. And although it is important, you will lose consumer interest unless you focus on not only the importance of technical advancements but rather by using your voice to sound the alarms that enough is enough. Designers are not only showcasing men parading down the runway while wearing dresses, skirts and heels, but rather celebrating the artistic directors for doing so. I say, hang it up.
It is a time to take charge of your expertise and convey that message to the buyers and to American men. Truthfully, without a shadow of a doubt, menswear is on the horizon of great change. But great change should not be defined nor presented as a free for all for American men to wear whatever they feel like; especially when it comes to office attire. Honestly, what I see being presented on the runways is an insult to the fortitude of the American businessman. Moreover, proper attire is a confirmation of respect; not only to ones-self but rather to the company (or organization) that you are representing- even if that company is your own.
Now more than ever before, the time is ripe for revolution. The Kings of Menswear featured here are ready to go into battle, reclaim lost territory and build upon the new generation of power style in luxury menswear.
So then, how is menswear going to evolve from this point on? Well, many fashion insiders (including myself) feel that luxury has been watered-down to appeal to pop-culture celebrities and mass (fashionista) consumers alike. I find it all so insulting to real talent that exists in the marketplace.
More to the point, luxury is about exclusivity; that will not change. Ever. Perhaps the term luxury has reached its peak in use, but exclusivity is a special men’s club that has more to do with cultural values than a mere price tag. In fact, luxury brands are among the fastest growing business sectors worldwide and should be taken seriously to increase sales revenue.
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To me, the younger generation is desperately striving to challenge the experts in the luxury sector. And in doing so they have been creating some of the most heinous designs and silhouettes that I have ever seen in the history of menswear. In hindsight, I feel the term streetwear has reached its peak as well. Change is good. But going into the office looking like a clown from a three-ring circus in streetwear suits will never be taken seriously. I mean, I guess it’s great if you’re under 30 and jobless - and have unlimited cash flow. Honestly, I have never seen any of these new creations worn at the office nor for leisure. Verily, I find most of it to be tasteless to the point of tacky.
I say to the young menswear fashion designers; if your aim is to challenge the menswear leaders and the establishment, then do so with knowledge, expertise and taste rather than talentless absurdity and vulgarity. Sadly, throughout the last two decades, I have witnessed firsthand top-tier menswear brands pandering to pop-culture artists —in hopes of obtaining a larger social media presence with Generation Z. Seriously, if you are a young professional man seeking to take advice from a menswear brand, are you really going to care which pop-star will be wearing it? Where is all this going? I suggest, that the industry dial back on the hype. If you are over 21 years of age and wish to dress like a pop-icon, then my expert advice is not for you.
On the contrary, I believe that structure and uniformity help make a man appear more serious and professional— while en-route to corporate ascension. I stand firmly by menswear rules of fit, balance and proportion.
Thankfully, in spring/summer 2021, a breakthrough in menswear is forging underlying assumptions of what constitutes menswear today. Current product offerings display abbreviated contours that lend virility and utility to corporate apparel. In addition, these looks can see you through the weekend with equal confidence.
It is in fact the much-needed fine-tuning of menswear fit for the modern era. Clean effortless design softens-the-bite by conveying a double-duty garment, especially when reinforced with a tinge of sobriety —thus allowing the wearer to transition from a remote office online all the way to the corporate corridors where high-powered American businessmen get the job done!
This is dressing for corporate ascension culture. This is dressing for success! And featured here below, are seven reigning Kings of Menswear confidently giving their professional commentary on spring/summer 2021 menswear. Starting off with the reigning King of Menswear ( for over 50 years) in the USA and around the globe; Ralph Lauren.
Ralph Lauren:
“When I design I’m not thinking about the marketplace, I am only thinking about the man and how he might live in this particular moment. I have always believed in a timeless kind of fashion, in quality and craftsmanship—in things that endure. That’s how I design my clothes. Trends come and go, but I aspire to design collections that are for today and tomorrow.” Ralph Lauren
Shantung Shawl Tuxedo Jacket in Taupe -Solid Poplin Aston Pleated Dress Shirt in White -Wool Gab ... [+] Flat Front Trouser in Mocha -Satin Bow Tie in Brown - Linen Pocket Square in White - Photo: Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren —Why this is a must-have: Ralph Lauren Purple Label is the ultimate expression of luxury for the modern gentleman. Refined suitings are hand-tailored from an exclusive selection of the world’s finest fabrics, including custom made-to-measure suits crafted in the time-honored traditions of Savile Row. Purple Label's sophisticated sportswear is designed with a meticulous attention to detail, capturing the elegance and ease of Ralph Lauren's signature, timeless style. Silk Shantung Shawl Tuxedo Jacket in Taupe - $5,995,Solid Poplin Aston Pleated Dress Shirt in White - $695, Wool Gab Flat Front Trouser in Mocha - $695, Satin Bow Tie in Brown - $175 and Linen Pocket Square in White - $135. Ralph Lauren Purple Label is available in Ralph Lauren stores around the world, in an exclusive selection of the finest specialty stores, and online at RalphLauren.com.
Giorgio Armani
“Luxury cannot and must not be fast. […] I have always believed in an idea of timeless elegance, which is not only a precise aesthetic code, but also an approach to the design and making of garments that suggests a way of buying them: to make them last.” — Giorgio Armani
Unstructured single-breasted jacket in dusty grey silk blend with V-neck. Trousers in dusty grey ... [+] with two darts and button adjusters at the leg bottoms. Courtesy of Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani-This strong monochromatic look was originally featured in the Giorgio Armani Spring/Summer 2021 collection runway presentation and is now available in Giorgio Armani boutiques across the country. While the jacket is made of a luxurious silk blend, the trousers are made of 100% sustainable Cupro. The combination of these two fabrics in one suit results not only in an impressive ensemble for any occasion, but also a comfortable, breathable one as well.
Brioni
“One of my favorite looks from the spring summer 2021 season is this blouson and trousers.Both are made in garment dyed silk twill. The blouson features applied chest pockets, a button closure in the front, side entry pockets and waist adjuster tabs. The trousers are double pleated with a loose silhouette.I like the outfit because it conveys a relaxed elegance which is part of the new Brioni vocabulary. An outfit one can wear on weekends around town, bringing the dog out for a walk and taking in the sun.” — Norbert Stumpfl, Brioni
Silk trousers and blouson from Brioni Spring Summer ‘21 Courtesy of Brioni
Brioni—“Paving the way for a new day, Brioni’s new collections are a narrative journey from darkness to light. As a reaction to the current times, the wardrobe follows a softening of codes, where classic tailoring meets function and reveals an impeccable silhouette on garments crafted for broader and more casual use. Norbert Stumpfl’s emblematic point of view for the House, the design is essential and intentionally understated, almost absent. The Roman nonchalance, integral to the ethos of Brioni, is heralded through garments that let both fabric and construction trace the body lightly.” —Norbert Stumpfl, Brioni
Brunello Cucinelli
I think we feel a powerful yearning for physicality right now, we crave getting back together, and for dressing up for the occasion. Since 9 November 2020, we have had the vaccine and we know that the days of this pandemic are numbered. So we will go back to attending events, we will post pictures on our social media, we will need to be ready.
It seems to me that this time is very similar to the 1920s, when Edward VII, Prince of Wales, immediately after the First World War and the Spanish flu pandemic, was the first to come up with this idea of dressing well for all occasions; similarly, we will soon return to a chic, luxurious, young and contemporary taste, in which we will pay particular attention to the combination of colours and opt for slightly softer volumes. I also believe that we will be very concerned about the quality of products, and above all about where and how they were made, if any harm has been done to humanity along the process. We will rediscover the value of restoring and repairing, of leaving these items as a legacy.
I am sure we are moving towards a new time.—Brunello Cucinelli
Brunello Cucinelli SS21 Men’s Collection: Essential Values bring understated refinement to classic ... [+] sartorial style. Courtesy of ALISTAIR TAYLOR-YOUNG
BRUNELLO CUCINELLI—Following the desire to dress well whatever the occasion, the blazer embodies a style imbued with Italian craftsmanship, tradition, and luxurious simplicity. From the classic houndstooth pattern, which shows off the season’s relaxed and neutral hues, to the fresh and summery blend of natural linen, wool and silk fibers. Its iconic shape leaves room for layering without foregoing comfort. The blazer becomes the ideal item for any event. The pairing with a soft and fresh shirt and the easy volumes of denim trousers creates a relaxed and comfortable contrast.
Canali
“The year 2020 has accelerated and emphasized trends that were already underway such as the search for soft, comfortable clothing and the desire to mix and match formal with informal, in which boundaries have become increasingly blurred. Hybrid products, shapes, and materials will become ever more prominent options of a well-equipped wardrobe. After months of working remotely, I strongly believe the restart will bring a renewed desire for a closet refresh.” —Stefano Canali
Anthracite And Burgundy 'Impeccabile' Wool Suit, made in Italy The Courtesy of Canali
Canali —The Canali Impeccabile suits are designed with modern life in mind. This suit is created using Impeccabile wool, a stain- and crease-resistant fabric that offers a high level of breathability. Made up of a comfortable regular fit single-breasted jacket and flat front trousers, this high-performance multi-season piece is inspired by the timeless style of classic men's fashion. Ideal for businessmen in search of practical and elegant pieces to stand the test of time. $2,350
5.Cesare Attolini:
“As always, but today more than ever, in a context of uncertainty and lack of absolute value pillars, words such as timeless represent us in a meaningful way. Timeless is our sartorial know-how, a heritage of sartorial artisanship since the 1930’s our grandfather, Vincenzo Attolini has perfected with our father Cesare to this day through the work of our 130 master tailors.
Timeless are our garments created by the craftsmanship of our master tailors manually working with exclusive fabrics of the foremost quality. Timeless is our idea of elegance, which transcends the trends of the moment, materializing in our unique style, a blend of English rigor and the verve and lightness typically Neapolitan. However, this is not all, because beyond our unique idea of elegance, timeless indeed, ethics guides our daily work. The ethos of authentic, deliberate, manual work. An ethic that only true craftsmanship has and can claim. We have a wealth of unique and exclusive patterns: it was in fact our grandfather Vincenzo Attolini who created at the beginning of the 1930’s the first unconstructed jacket in history and it was then our father Cesare who updated and perfected over the decades that initial creation with the expertise that had been passed on to him” — Massimiliano Attolini
“It is now possible to talk about trends even in the context of tailor made. However, we prefer to update our concept of elegance in a continuum (without distorting it). On the other hand, the style of our jacket was so revolutionary from the 1930’s to the 1960’s that today, the Neapolitan unconstructed (unlined) jacket is an indisputable must. Today our clients, that we can say without hesitation represent a world elite who has a profound sense of authentic sartorial elegance, are demanding uniqueness, real tailor made (“Su misura”) without compromise. Ethics and aesthetics at the same time. That is what our clients demand, to feel a part of a symbolic exclusive universe but at the same time be ambassadors at large of a sartorial history unique in the world, whose values are significant and not merely definitions on a strategic level, but authentic expression of a vision: artisanal excellence and timeless elegance.” - Giuseppe Attolini
Navy double breasted chalk stripe, patch pocket suit. Soft unconstructed wool/linen blend. Blue ... [+] stripe cotton/linen shirt. Light blue knit silk tie. White hand-rolled cotton/linen pocket square. Courtesy of Cesare Attolini.
An expression of sartorial authenticity reflecting timeless elegance and artisanal craftsmanship while maintaining truly modern aesthetics and fit. Thanks to the skillful hands of our master tailors, this look is a blend of formal attire and soft construction. A garment of extraordinary versatility to be worn indistinctly for special occasions or simple daily use. It very much represents the essence of the Attolini philosophy and family legacy.
Stefano Ricci:
"The world has changed in recent months. When designing the new collections, Stefano Ricci has thought about the needs of male clients who buy for personal pleasure and also buy to satisfy their own requirements when it comes to dressing for business meetings, even if they are informal. The lines are softer, the quality of the fabrics ensures comfort with less structured jackets, and the cashmere is used even in the formal cut. I believe this style will mark a trend over the next few months more than it has in recent years. This also includes more traditional clothing, such as jackets and ties, and there is a growing demand for top-quality knitwear. Our production capabilities are at the forefront of meeting these needs, and even with the Luxury Tech solutions, the man who wears STEFANO RICCI can experience everyday life outdoors with the lightness of the garments.
Together with the directors of the boutiques, our tailors have prepared bespoke proposals that are also linked to the combinations of the garments, according to the client's primary needs. I believe, and I say this with a smile, that the customer is a bit tired of a look which we can define as "loungewear." He now wants to assert himself with refined elegance, even in a video call, waiting to return to the normality of interpersonal relationships, elegant dinners, and meetings in person. Luxury lives in shirts with tailored details, easy-fit coulisse trousers that express dynamism, and jackets that are tighter but softer." —Niccolò Ricci, CEO of Stefano Ricci
STEFANO RICCI Spring/Summer 2021: Two button deconstructed jacket, exclusive SR cashmere and silk ... [+] blend Reference code: M1RMGD200I-HC563-5635 Photo credit: © STEFANO RICCI S.p.A.
stefanoricci.com—SR portrays exceptional sartorial style with this two button deconstructed jacket crafted from an exclusive cashmere and silk blend. The smart aesthetic is augmented by the total comfort of the material and construction; this jacket will surely brighten your spring wardrobe. *This product will be available in stores for the SS21 season.
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5f2641c5e666b20ba28c5ad67b5095a1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2021/03/14/how-precious-gemstones-bring-spirituality-to-a-new-generation-of-consumers/ | How Precious Gemstones And Fashion Bring Spirituality To A New Generation Of Consumers | How Precious Gemstones And Fashion Bring Spirituality To A New Generation Of Consumers
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 10: In this photo released on February 23, 2021 A model poses at the ... [+] Tolu Coker DiscoveryLab during London Fashion Week February 2021 at Poplar Works on February 10, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Joe Maher/BFC/Getty Images) Getty Images
The significance of Gemstones for spring/summer 2021 is indisputable. In fact, gemstones are now available from manufacturers of all types, in all shapes and sizes and at all price points. But it is important to understand that the success of gemstones today is not only a sign of a women’s desire to shine bright, but a reflection of their interest in spirituality as well. This spirituality coincides with a movement in modified apparel towards a more elegant, sophisticated look.
Today, gemstones and fashion seemingly reflect a revolt not only against dull looks but rather against the uncertain times we have been experiencing due to the global pandemic and uncertain economy. Let’s face it, a new generation of consumers is changing the definition of luxury at rapid speed. Today, luxury is not only how you wear it, but what is the significance behind it. In this case, strength in spirituality.
"Gemstones are far more than just pretty stones. Ancient cultures had a strong belief in the power that gemstones hold" says Guruji Shrii Arnav, acclaimed Spiritual Guru, Astro Gemologist, Thought Leader and Mentor of GemstoneUniverse.
Natural and Unheated Ceylon Yellow Sapphire with Diamonds from the Gemstoneuniverse collection of ... [+] fine Jyotish Gemstones. | courtesy of GemstoneUniverse Courtesy of GemstoneUniverse
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In short, gemstones fill a new need in the expanded wardrobe requirements of modern women. If the growth of fashion and jewelry activity can be measured in terms of its financial rewards, then let the data speak for itself. Thanks to a Marta Nowakowski, VP/DMM of Jewelry at Saks, that foundational knowledge that resonates with the modern discerning luxury shopper had given me concrete evidence in developing my feature.
Piranesi Masterpiece Platinum, 18K White Gold, Sapphire & Diamond Drop Earrings Caption: Piranesi ... [+] Masterpiece Platinum, 18K White Gold, Sapphire & Diamond Drop Earrings, $242,000 *Courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue
Piranesi Masterpiece Platinum, 18K White Gold, Sapphire & Diamond Drop Earrings, $242,000
Joseph DeAcetis: Which gemstones are currently the most popular?
Marta Nowakowski, VP/DMM of Jewelry at Saks: We’ve seen a surge in colored gemstones over the past year since the pandemic began. Emeralds, rubies, sapphires and colored diamonds are more popular than ever. At Saks, colored gemstones from Boucheron, Bulgari and Robert Procop have been particularly sought-after by our customers.
Stefere Butterfly 18K Rose Gold, Amethyst, Pink Sapphire & White Diamond Open RingCaption: Stefere ... [+] Butterfly 18K Rose Gold, Amethyst, Pink Sapphire & White Diamond Open Ring, $5,890 *Courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue
Stefere Butterfly 18K Rose Gold, Amethyst, Pink Sapphire & White Diamond Open Ring, $5,890
Joseph DeAcetis: Why do you think gemstones are on the rise with consumers?
Marta Nowakowski, VP/DMM of Jewelry at Saks: This heightened interest in gemstones can be interpreted in two ways. First and foremost, our customers are purchasing more investment pieces that they can wear forever. Secondly, many people have been at home for a long time and are simply looking for a mood boost. Colored gemstones have the ability to make people happy, so it makes sense that they are so popular right now. Plus, there is nothing better than looking at a fabulous ring on your finger when you are working from home.
The recent viewing of runway collections have presented strong evidence of a fresh dramatic fashion direction where inspiration still abounds among fashion and jewelry designers. More importantly, an abundant number of luxury brands have focused their talents on power styling—with a sense of renewed vigor.
Whether dressed-up or dressed-down, with casual nonchalance, today’s apparel and gemstone product offerings with its many varied interpretations—power statement pieces and otherwise— were very much in evidence in many of the designers collections albeit authentic or costume.
Chanel SS 21 Bejeweled Collection Courtesy of Chanel
Despite its status as exalted symbol of a luxury style statement, it’s often forgotten that gemstones are believed to have great spiritual significance. This season, while viewing the shows remotely, I couldn’t help but notice the bold return of gemstones in abundance.
A fine Colombian Emerald set in Talismanic with the ash of Achyranthes Aspera plant sealed in the ... [+] tubes | courtesy of GemstoneUniverse Courtesy of
If you've caught yourself admiring gemstones that people are wearing these days, then you’re not alone. It is no secret today that the instinctual allure has very little to do with price-points and more to do with being part of meaningful contribution to spiritual culture. Today, the cultural energy of gemstones has stimulated the celebrity audience around the globe. I can’t wait to see how gemstones and apparel will play out this 2021 Oscar season. One thing is for sure, gems have grown to be key elements in luxury fashion, as they beautify accessories such as earrings, rings, necklaces and bracelets.
In recent years there has been a surge in the demand for gemstones and crystals. And it won’t be surprising that celebrity endorsements could be one of the factors that has contributed to the resurgence of these precious stones. But as crystals and gemstones continue to be a mounting trend, so has the knowledge in their much talked about hidden powers. The entrance of spiritual concepts in fashion speaks exactly to the tension brought on by the pandemic. In a sense I believe that gemstones break the mold by challenging the underlying assumptions of what constitutes value today.
In both designer collections as well as gemstones, consumer interest is seeking to tap into the powers of gemstones for healing, fortune, cleansing of energies, therapies, amongst other uses. To continuously draw from these powers, consumers prefer to keep their gemstones close to their bodies —in form of jewelry such as rings, necklaces, and bracelets.
Unfortunately, it has become a challenge to find credible sources of high-quality gemstones and authentic truths in their usefulness. GemstoneUniverse aims to make it their mission to connect customers to the right gems for both fashion and spiritual reasons. As a retailer of high-quality gems, their drive for excellence extends to the layer of culture found in the spiritual phenomenon of these stones.
“I can proudly say that GemstoneUniverse is one of the most authentic websites for gemstones and astrology readings. All types of gemstones are available on our website. You can read your online horoscope to determine which is the most suitable gemstone for you” adds Guruji Shrii Arnav.
The earliest history of gemstone jewelry goes as far as back 25,000 years ago. Back then, gemstones had been treasured for many other reasons than other types of jewelry. But even as these elements will always remain part of the equation, they’re merely one facet of the many competing distinctions for today’s consumers. But remember, there is a new way to sport modified apparel when you desire a less conservative or stuffy look. In hindsight, gems were used as a tool to facilitate a free flow of energy where a blockage was found. These blockages came in the form of various illness and maladies. Even mental and spiritual blockages such as anxiety or depression are believed to be released through gemstones. After a year of being locked down, you can bet your bottom dollar that consumers will be drawn to releasing the bad energy and absorbing the positive energy.
Chanel: SS 21 collection Courtesy of Chanel
In today’s increasingly voyeuristic society that values experience as much as material use, the cultural references and experiences seemingly draw parallels to cultures of the past. Ancient Egyptians are said to have used turquoise, quartz, lapis lazuli and topaz to wear as jewelry and amulets. And Greek soldiers carried with them hematite as protection during battles as well as amethyst to prevent hangovers.
“Such gemstones of the highest quality and purity, and lacking specific flaws, are called Jyotish Gemstones”, said Guruji Shrii Arnav
The ancient practices associated with gemstones can enhance your spirituality. Today, there is a trend in consumers seeking to use it as a tool to restore energy fields, gain peace, and promote love and safety. It is believed that when the gems are kept in certain parts of the body, you can align your chakras and promote healing. The increasing popularity of gemstones has piqued the interest of young and old alike. It goes without mention that as more people experience the magic powers of gemstones it’ll soon turn gemstone jewelry as a common item in everyone’s jewelry box.
As people form a deeper connection with their gemstones, it’s only a matter of time before they embark on a more spiritual experience with gemstones.
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1c662fe50901bb8f8e3a86a619ec022e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2021/04/18/mothers-day-gift-guide-the-most-stylish-accessories/?sh=6f2c26f47755 | Mother’s Day Gift Guide: The Most Stylish Accessories | Mother’s Day Gift Guide: The Most Stylish Accessories
The old adage If you can’t beat them .....join them, seems to be more relevant today than ever before. The codes of fashion and accessories have diverted in a slew of wonderful variations that represent a certain type of personal style- for the modern day American woman.
This isn’t one of those Mother’s Day gift guides that will make you feel guilty for not being able to make a selection. On the contrary, my intention of curating this feature is to stir-up curiosity and excitement for one of the most treasures days of the year. In short, it is an appreciation guide of finding her the right gift— to show her how much you love her.
In the USA, confident decisions are now in place as consumers prepare to return to the office. In short, Wearing clothes and footwear that fit is the foundation of dressing for success. But in a world of luxury conglomerates, many consumers are seeking fashion's personal touch. Thankfully, there are a few independent forces in luxury listening to modified consumer needs and tastes.
It’s been a tough year. So if your striving to find the perfect gift to warm her heart, go for it. I’ve rounded up a list of gift ideas that are sure to delight this Mother’s Day, May 9th 2021
Happy Shopping!
Ring Concierge:
14k solid gold - Diamond Heart Ring Courtesy of Ring Concierge
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Ring Concierge2. Diamond Heart Ring. $5284.
Aaron Basha:
Aaron Basha’s 18K White Gold & Black Saddle Shoes Courtesy of Aaron Basha
Aaron Basha’s iconic baby shoe charms are synonymous with motherhood, offering a whimsical way for moms to wear their love. Handcrafted with 18 karat white or yellow gold in a variety of accent colors, patterns and diamond options, the Baby Shoe’s timeless design lends itself to longevity, making for a valuable family keepsake that can be passed from generation to generation. Personalize your piece by engraving a name, birthdate, or a sweet message to mom. The charms can be added to a symbolic charm bracelet or worn on a simple chain. From $1,950
Adina's Jewels:
The Adina’s Jewels Diamond Mini Mama Double Chain Bracelet is crafted with 14K gold and 60 round ... [+] brilliant-cut diamonds at 0.13 carats, with a length of 6” plus a 1” extender. Courtesy of Adina’s Jewels
Adina’s Jewels Make Mom's sparkle effect really shine bright this holiday with Adina's Jewels Diamond Mini Mama Double Chain Bracelet. Featuring a petite diamond-adorned "Mama" lettering design set in between two dainty 14K gold chains, this piece pairs perfectly with a 14k gold bracelet stack or looks effortlessly chic worn on its own. $798.00 USD
Aliita:
Aliita’s iconic Casita Necklace brings home to wherever you are. Courtesy of Aliita
Aliita- Casita is Aliita’s original and most iconic piece designed by Founder Cynthia Castiglioni. Inspired by her move from her home country of Venezuela to her now home in Milan, Italy, the Casita design is intended to make home feel like wherever you are. Founded by Cynthia Castiglioni, Aliita means “important objects” in Wayuu, the native language of Guajiros, whose ancestral lands are located in Zulia, Venezuela where Cynthia grew up. Italian made jewelry, each piece is made with a rare selection of natural stones and cuts reflective of an effortless lifestyle and timeless beauty.$365
ALTR Created Diamonds:
Charming open heart necklace Courtesy of ALTR Created Diamonds
ALTR Created Diamonds’ charming open-heart necklace is a stunning gift for moms that can be cherished and worn daily. Fashioned in 14K white gold, bedecked with .23 carat in round lab grown diamonds and suspended on an 18" chain. The Lab-grown diamonds featured in the necklace have the same beauty, as well as optical, and physical properties as their mined counterparts. From: $580.00
Amanda Lindroth:
Amanda Lindroth's signature Palm Beach Tote was designed intentionally to not accommodate a laptop, ... [+] but it does fit up to three bottles of rose quite nicely! Courtesy of Amanda Lindroth
Amanda Lindroth- Amanda Lindroth’s Palm Beach tote is made from one of her favorite materials – rattan – and beautifully finished in fine leather. The bag is the perfect addition to an island-inspired lifestyle. The bag is handwoven of rattan and high-quality leather with waxed edges and white stitching. The Palm Beach Tote Liner is sold separately and made of soft 100% cotton. It has a structured bottom for a snug fit, and features a drawstring closure to keep everything in the bag. Palm Beach Tote $150, Tote Liner $35, $185 total
Anabella:
This elegant pointe mule is hand-knitted by artisans in Alicante with great trajectory and ... [+] dedication to their creations.The Mustique mule is made of high-quality lambskin, making it the perfect accessory that will elevate your look by irradiating elegance,versatility, and comfort. Kike San Martin Photography Inc/6. Courtesy of Anabella by Rossy Sanchez.
Anabella by Rossy Sanchez-The Mustique mule was launched along with Anabella's new collection during the pandemic. Despite the difficulties, Rossy Sanchez kept the artisans working to produce more of the beautiful mules, and turned out to be the best-seller of the collection. With this achievement, the artisans were able to keep working at the usual pace and feed their families during these difficult times. Rossy's message behind this event was to never give up your dreams despite the difficulties and to always help others during difficult times or whenever is needed. $430
Apede Mod:
#Summer glow with a shell bag from Apede Mod 2019 David Luo All RIGHTS RESERVED/David Luo
Apede Mod It is a special summer edition in the collection. The Deco line has incorporated Art deco elements with a twist. This bag has been made with multi-color textured-shell and deluxe silk in a structured silhouette, creating a summer look and adding special details. $650
Bruno Magli:
Bruno Magli Chiseled M Center-Zip Satchel Courtesy of Bruno Magli
Bruno Magli-The Bruno Magli Chiseled M Center Zip Satchel features a face pocket finished off with the brand's signature magnetic closure, providing a sleek focal point to an everyday silhouette packed with function. Crafted in Italy of durable Italian pressed pebble leather, it also includes triple-compartment construction, rolled leather handles and a detachable adjustable long strap. A versatile, easy handbag for mom to love and switch up her day-to-day look. $1,095.00
Caraa:
A hyper-functional, convertible carryall with luxe detailing. Courtesy of Caraa
Caraa-The Studio Bag is Caraa’s original and best-selling style, encompassing the ethos of the brand: thoughtfully-designed luxury bags that support the modern woman through her day. This style converts from crossbody, to duffel, to backpack; is lined with antimicrobial material; and has smart pockets and compartments for everything she may need throughout her day. $425
Del Toro:
Del Toro Women's Off White Suede Sardegna Sneaker II Courtesy of Del Toro
Del Toro-The Sardegna Sneaker II from Del Toro is an innovative take on their original iconic Sardegna sneakers. The new version has a sleeker look and additional comfort in the sole. This sneaker is handmade by the Del Toro team in Milan, Italy and is made of beautiful calf suede with a calf skin lined interior. The rubber sole can be engraved with any message for Mother's Day, all within 3 business days. $245 for the sneaker, and $40 for the customization
Double Bone:
Double FEC PHOTO/Photo Credit: Double Bone
Double Bone is a leading online specialty retailer of lifestyle bracelets and accessories for men and women that are created using only the finest materials. It’s all about the details and these stunning combinations of textured beads, made of 925 solid Sterling Silver, plated with 18kt (3 microns) Rose, Yellow, White Gold or Black PVD are the perfect complement to any of Double Bones stingray bracelets and Polyester pieces! Made in Italy and known for their elasticity and impressive resistance! Available in 4 sizes and in a variety of different vibrant color combinations to be the ultimate add-on item to your look! Available at www.DoubleBone.com $155
Dooney & Bourke:
Dooney & Bourke Hydrangea Monogram Domed Crossbody Courtesy of Dooney & Bourke
Dooney & Bourke—The Dooney & Bourke Hydrangea Monogram Domed Crossbody is lightweight and effortless. It's crafted with coated Italian cotton with a satin-like feel and builds on the brand's iconic oversized logo with a multicolored floral print designed to celebrate spring and summer landscapes. The Domed Crossbody is a perfect everyday handbag for mom that is sure to brighten her day. $198.00
Fabergé:
Fabergé Colours of Love Sasha Egg Stud Earrings featuring 18kt rose gold sapphires, garnets and ... [+] tsavorites, with Gemfields Zambian emeralds and Gemfields Mozambican rubies. Courtesy of Fabergé
Fabergé- These striking Colours of Love Sasha Rose Gold Rainbow Multicoloured Gemstone Egg Stud Earrings feature an array of emeralds, sapphires, garnets, rubies and tsavorites, featuring Gemfields Zambian emeralds and Mozambican rubies. The Colours of Love Collection exemplifies ‘A Life in Colour’, seamlessly fusing extraordinary coloured gemstones, artistic ingenuity and exceptional craftsmanship. $3,300
Filienna:
Filienna Leaf Cascade Earrings and Leaf Convertible Choker Necklace David Swajeski / Location 8
Whimsical, bohemian fashion jewelry brand Filienna presents the Leaf Collection for Mother’s Day gifting. The Filienna Leaf collection was inspired by sculptural plant forms found in the natural world, each curling blush silver frond an ode to the ancient arts of filigree jewelry making and henna body adornment. The Leaf Convertible Choker Necklace ($395) is chic and versatile, able to be worn as at varying lengths, while the Leaf Cascade Earrings ($195) maximize movement like leaves swaying in a breeze. Despite their designer look, these jewelry pieces are attainably priced, making the collection perfectly suited for collecting, mixing, and matching with other Filienna jewelry pieces over time. Filienna is available in West Hollywood at GBK Brand Bar at Kimpton La Peer Hotel, in Miami Beach at CURIO at Faena Bazaar, and online at Filienna.com.Leaf Convertible Choker Necklace: collections/necklaces/products/leaf-necklaceLeaf Cascade Earrings: collections/leaf/products/leaf-drop-earrings
Fossil:
Fossil Kier Sustainable Cactus Leather Tote in Green Courtesy of Fossil
Fossil-Fossil is proud to be one of the first retailers to introduce vegan cactus leather, an innovative material new to the industry, through the collection of Kier Cactus Leather Totes. Each bag is designed with material made from organically grown cactus leaves developed by Desserto®, a Mexico-based company with a focus on sustainable materials. The launch follows commitments that Fossil announced in 2019 as part of our ongoing Make Time For Good initiative, dedicated to making change through pro-planet materials, products and packaging, as well as reducing our footprint in water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. $298
51 E JOHN:
51 E JOHN Constraint Collection Inclined Gem Ring Image Courtesy of 51 E JOHN
51 E JOHN-This 51 E John Constraint Collection ring is perfect for adding a subtle pop of color with the green-toned gem set to exude a different kind of light. $280
George The Jeweler:
The Diamond ‘MAMA’ Nameplate necklace in 14K gold and diamonds with chain length options of 14, 16, ... [+] 18 and 20 inches. Price varies accordingly. Courtesy of George The Jeweler
George The Jeweler—The Diamond ‘MAMA’ Nameplate necklace is an elevated design of George The Jeweler’s 14K gold nameplate necklaces. George, who is best known for his custom 14K gold pieces, brings a new level of sophistication through this luxurious design. This necklace is important because every mother deserves to have something to make them feel special. George The Jeweler is all about making people feel special and beautiful through jewelry and this diamond and gold nameplate aligns with that vision perfectly.$1050.00
Gift Me Chic x Respoke AZURE:
Respoke Azure mule espadrille with vintage Hermès scarf Courtesy of Respoke
GMC x Respoke AZURE Espadrilles— From GiftMeChic founder, Elisabeth Jones-Hennessy “I love how Respoke re-purposes & breathes new life into vintage silk scarves from some of our favorite brands including Gucci, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Pucci and more. These espadrilles are a happy shoe and always bring a smile to my face. During the pandemic, I would often slip them on in my apartment and fantasize that I was back in Marbella enjoying the sun. And although we can now travel and life is getting back to the “norm", these will be my go-to slip-on and, hopefully, my beach shoes for wherever I find myself this summer. They truly are the perfect gift in every way!” $395
Gola:
Gola Classics Women’s Bullet Floral Sneakers Courtesy of Gola
Gola—Taking a heritage classic, Bullet Floral for women takes the legendary Bullet in a new direction this season with a hand painted effect floral side panel and understated translucent Gola wingflash. Giving a beautiful refresh of the low profile, sleek Gola style, the fabulous bouquet application offers a cheery finishing touch to take you on a journey of floral splendour—making it a perfect Mother’s Day gift! $85
Hairbrella:
The Hairbrella Classic Bundle Courtesy of Hairbrella
The Hairbrella Classic Bundle—The Hairbrella Classic is the world’s first satin-lined rain hat combining fashion and function to protect various hair styles, lengths, and textures from rain and humidity. With the use of their 100% microfiber exterior, the luxurious satin interior protects hair from friction-causing breakage and prevents moisture getting to your hair. $64.99
Hermes:
Courtesy of Saks.com Hermès Cape Cod 29MM Stainless Steel & Leather Double-Wrap Strap Watch Courtesy of Saks.com
Hermes-A product from the Cape Cod Collection, Swiss quartz movement. Features include: sapphire crystal, stainless steel bezel, opaline silvered dial, pin buckle in steel, arabic numerals, interchangeable double wrap-around etoupe calf strap (19mm x 17mm), rectangular stainless steel case (29mm x 29mm-1.25" x 1.25"), & water resistant to 3 ATM. Hermès 2 year International warranty, made in Switzerland.$3,125
J/Slides:
The Becky sandal is sexy boho in a leather thong platform and ankle strap. Nathaniel Taylor/Courtesy of Michael Siergiej
J/Slides—The Becky sandal personifies what J/Slides is all about: cool, sexy, on-trend designs for modern women on the go. Rubber bottoms, platform, and a lot of attitude, the Becky sandal works all day into night. $150
Jean Dousset:
Fey Engravable Band Courtesy of Jean Dousset
Jean Dousset -Fey Engravable Band. Available in a pavé or solid band and 18k gold or platinum setting, this band features a custom engraving that’s visible as a design element, to wear your heart on your sleeve. The ring can be engraved in Jean Dousset’s signature font or your own handwriting. $900. Available for purchase at jeandousset.com.
Judith Leiber Couture:
The Star Wars x Judith Leiber Couture collaboration reimagines the iconic R2-D2 droid in two ... [+] colorways, Classic and Gold. Courtesy of Judith Leiber Couture
Judith Leiber Couture “I have always loved R2-D2’s endearing personality. There is so much joy and nostalgia attached to the character,” said Jana Matheson, Chief Creative Officer of Judith Leiber Couture. “Judith Leiber Couture and Star Warsare a perfect match; R2-D2 is timeless, whimsical and charming, similar attributes to that of our minaudieres.” $5,495
Koio:
The Retro Runner—a seamless fusion of style and sustainability. This ‘Cloud’ pair features LWG ... [+] Gold-certified leather with tonal LWG Gold-certified suede details. It’s set on a recycled midsole and outsole to ensure comfort and stability with every step. Whether you’re gallery-hopping, window shopping, or meeting friends for brunch, the Retro Runner will keep you looking and feeling great. Image Courtesy of Koio
Koio-Designed to achieve maximal comfort and minimal environmental impact, the Retro Runner is Koio’s most sustainable sneaker yet. Featuring all LWG Gold certified leather and partially recycled synthetics, this brand new style features a Koio ReCycled™ [68 TPU] outsole, made up of 68% pre-consumer recycled materials, scraps/production waste from factories that usually end up in landfills. Additionally, the thick midsole not only provides a cushioned walk but is made up of Koio Recycled™ [30 EVA], using 30% pre-consumer recycled EVA. $278
LANDA:
LANDA’s Teca bag, the ultimate chic and functional bag. Courtesy of Daniela Reyna
LANDA- The Teca bag is the iconic design for LANDA. This bag embodies the brand’s DNA to perfection: Design, Quality and Functionality. We created this bag with direct feedback from customers, because we always feel that our community brings us on a journey, not the other way around. This bag can be adapted from day to night in 2 seconds by simply removing the straps, offering the possibility to carry it with just the top handle. We added lots of details to this design thinking of all the busy, trendy and organized women in the world. The eucalyptus green colour means so much to us. After the year that we’ve all had, we wanted to offer a bit of nature, a calming yet uplifting colour that would turn into a wardrobe staple to be worn season after season. $440
Lifestride:
With convenience in mind, the Esme 2 Slip On Sneaker is easy to wear, easy to wash, and easy to ... [+] love. Courtesy of Lifestride
Lifestride—Easy to wear, easy to love. This cool, machine-washable sneaker is the ultimate in elevated sporty. Engineered knit upper with a round toe, slip-on fit, faux stretch laces, and ribbed collar. These revolutionary, machine-washable slip-ons are engineered and designed with the highest quality materials. Created with convenience in mind, this washer-friendly collection is easy to wear, easy to wash, and easy to love. Simply wash your favorite pair on a cold gentle cycle and air dry to keep your shoes clean and germ-free! $79.99
Marrow Fine:
The Pearl & Diamond Pavé Hoops feature seed pearls in the front of the hoop, with small white ... [+] diamonds pavé set on the inside of the hoop. Courtesy of Marrow Fine
Marrow Fine-The Pearl and Diamond Pavé earring reimagines the classic pearl with small white diamonds that encompass what Marrow Fine holds true, taking a timeless silhouette and redefining it for a modern woman. A mix of classic and glam, this style hoop earring is an easy goto piece for any occasion or the perfect gift for any woman. $1,950
Messika Paris:
Baby Move white gold diamond bracelet, 0,30 carat Image Courtesy of Messika
Messika Paris—This 18 carat white gold pavé diamond bracelet, part of the luxury Move jewelry collection, is the perfect gift to express eternal love with each diamond representing the past, present and future – “I love you yesterday, today, and forevermore.” $2,800
Messika:
Messika Pink Mother-Of-Pearl Lucky Move Necklace Image Courtesy of Messika
Messika-Want to bring out your irresistible charm? Choose this Lucky Move pink gold diamond necklace and pink mother-of-pearl. An organic material, the rose-coloured softness of mother-of-pearl resonates with the radiance of the diamond. $5,640
MICHELE:
Deco Sport Stainless Topaz Quilted Leather Watch in White MICHELE PDP Photography
MICHELE—This collection focuses on the reinvention of MICHELE core product with attention-getting details that make our designs unique and a transeasonal palette that adds a rich, timeless quality. The stainless steel Deco Sport watch features a sunray dial with white semi-precious topaz indexes, signature red crown and a white sheen-finished quilted leather strap for an altogether chic and sporty look. $495
Miansai:
Miansai Horizon Signet Ring in 14k Polished Gold and Ruby Photo Courtesy of Miansai
Miansai-Miansai expands their traditional Horizon Signet Ring to include rubies, for a vibrant touch of color to it’s timeless aesthetic. $1,250
Minnetonka:
Pamela espadrille from Minnetonka Courtesy of Minnetonka
Minnetonka—Introducing a comfy, casual new style perfect for lounging, but ready to hit the streets to explore when the time is right. Originating in Spain as a warm-weather footwear staple for centuries, Minnetonka introduces their first espadrille, Pamela. With textiles inspired by the destinations of daydreams, the brand has updated the traditional construction with signature Minnetonka comfort in each pair. The style features a microfoam insole that adds a thin layer of cushion comfort for endless exploring. Microsuede lining wraps your foot in silky smooth comfort and a MinnFLEX rubber outsole is ultra-lightweight and flexible to match your every step.$39.95
Mojave Desert Skin Shield:
Totem Bag in Cement color with Dark Nickel Hardware Courtesy of Rosselinni Rogel
Mojave Desert Skin Shield—Desert Totem Bucket - Featuring a laptop/iPad pocket, makeup pouch, two zipper pouches, as well as an external phone pocket for easy access. The Desert Totem Bucket Mini is 8” x 4” x10” and comes with two attachments - small zipper and makeup pouch with straps, keys pocket and a phone pocket inside. The Desert Totem Bucket Original measures 14.5” x 6” x 14.5” and comes with three attachments ( small zipper pouch , large zipper pouch and makeup pouch , external phone pocket , laptop / iPad middle pocket and high pocket for keys and misc. items. The bag comes with an adjustable shoulder strap which may be removed, and beautiful dark nickel or classic brass hardware. $760.00
Nada Sawaya:
This bag is the essence of modern luxury. Each one is delicately handcrafted slowly by high-end ... [+] ateliers in Florence, Italy, who pay close attention to each signature detail. The result is a glamorous and highly functional accessory that will last a lifetime. Photographer: Rocio Segura
Nada Sawaya-A compact bag in 100% Italian tanned leather with contrasted hand-painted color edge and thread color. It has an unusually wide opening that opens and closes with a powerful magnetic opening. Scratch-free, stain-free and water-resistant lining, 68% polyester 32% polyurethane, with one zip and one slip pocket. The handle has ...Je te Veux hot-stamped. The signature ‚"A" studs, in 18k gold plated with a tumbled antique effect, allows you to adjust the strap and the handle for flexibility, they are both removable. Store your bag in its branded dust bag. Your bag will be wrapped in our signature reusable packaging. $750 USD
Outdoor Products:
The Outdoor Products Clear Sport Beach Tote Bag The Outdoor Recreation Group
Outdoor Products— The Outdoor Products Clear Sport Beach Tote Bag is perfect for sporting events, festivals and for catching rays on the beach. The Tote is a simple yet reliable day pack for all your Spring and Summer outdoor recreation. With this tote, moms will always know what they packed. $22.00
RACHELMENT THE LABEL:
Make a statement with our "Luxe" Band, exclusively from RACHELMENT. Photo courtesy of Pike + Kettner
RACHELMENT THE LABEL—Jewelry has a unique way of making us feel seen- when it's gifted, when it's worn, and even when it's admired. Jewelry has always been more than just an accessory and at RACHELMENT, it's a statement. The "Luxe" Band makes it's statement by featuring multiple shaped stones on the illusion of several bands while maintaining comfort and wearability. As with the entire demi-fine line, this band is safe for sensitive skin, made with genuine gold, water and tarnish resistant, and lead and nickel free. This unique style is sure to impress a special mother in your life, and let her know she is seen. $98.00
RIMOWA:
RIMOWA Personal Case Courtesy of RIMWOA
RIMOWA—RIMOWA released its new collection of personal cases in 2020, timed to the 20th anniversary of the brands launch of its Essential polycarbonate suitcase collection – the first ever polycarbonate suitcases in 2000. Expanding beyond travel to more lifestyle products, this collection marks the next step in the product's evolution and its incorporation into the brand's core range travel and daily accessories. $1,260
Sandy Leong x Gemfields:
Sandy Leong x Gemfields Emerald and Diamond Sol Cuff, featuring Gemfields Zambian Emeralds Image Courtesy of Sandy Leong x Gemfields
Sandy Leong x Gemfields—Sustainable and stylish! Stand out with the Sandy Leong x Gemfields Emerald and Diamond Sol Cuff, crafted with 18k recycled yellow gold and Gemfields Zambian emeralds. Designed and devolved under the sun in Amagansett, the collection is aptly named for the surprising fact that most of the light that comes from the sun is a miraculous shade of green. $22,200
Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry:
Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry mint tourmaline halo ring and mint tourmaline bracelet Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry / Petro Onysko Photography
Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry - Silicon Valley’s premier jeweler − Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry − believes every mother deserves to be celebrated on Mother’s Day with gifts that are as rare and treasured as she is. Add some color to her jewelry box on her special day with the gift of a vibrant right hand ring or colored gemstone bracelet, designed and crafted in-house by the Silvers’ master artisans. Their mint tourmaline bracelet was years in the making, each cushion-cut mint green stone painstakingly sourced, matched, graduated, and set – altogether weighing 57.59 total carats. The magnificent bracelet perfectly pairs with the Silvers’ mint tourmaline yellow gold halo ring, featuring a 1.93 carat mint green cushion-cut center stone, a halo of round brilliant cut diamonds, and a diamond-set band (totaling 0.72 carats). Mint tourmaline yellow gold halo ring: collections/all/products/mint-tourmaline-yellow-gold-halo-ring, Mint tourmaline bracelet:collections/all/products/mint-tourmaline-bracelet
Stone and Strand:
These solid yellow gold and conflict-free diamond necklaces can be personalized with a special ... [+] engraving, just for her. Courtesy of Stone and Strand
STONE AND STRAND—A complete collection of fine jewelry hand-picked for mom, because she deserves more than just *any* gift this Mother's Day. Choose from a variety of diamond, pearl, and gemstone jewelry, all made with 14k solid gold and available on our Mother's Day Collection page April 18th through May 4th. The Love of A Mother Necklace: $425, The I Heart Mama Necklace: $325, The Save The Date Necklace: $375
TIEM:
The Slipstream is a performance cycling shoe that doesn't sacrifice the style and comfort of your ... [+] favorite pair of sneakers. Courtesy of TIEM
TIEM—TIEM brings quality products to the boutique fitness market that marries form and function and speaks directly to the consumer's needs. The signature Slipstream is a performance cycling shoe that doesn't sacrifice the style and comfort of your favorite pair of sneakers. With its breathable mesh toe box, slip-on construction, and single-strap closure system, it's the most comfortable shoe to ever wear to cycling class. There are a variety of classic and statement colorways available. $130
Valani Atelier x Gemfields:
Valani Atelier x Gemfields x Walk for Giants, Rive Ruby Long Earrings with Gemfields Mozambican ... [+] Rubies Image Courtesy of Valani Atelier x Gemfields
Valani Atelier x Gemfields-The pieces in the fine jewellery capsule collection were inspired by the carina nebula constellation visible in the safari sky above Africa. The intergalactic design of the Rive Ruby Long Earrings is carved in recycled 18kt yellow gold and studded with the finest Mozambican rubies from Gemfields. Valani Atelier x Gemfields x Walk for Giants, Rive Ruby Long Earrings $1,800
V THE LABEL:
The styling essentials : Classic mini tag pendant necklace Violet Tan
V THE LABEL-Make it extra meaningful this Mother's Day with our personalised tag necklace. Our engravables pieces are the perfect pieces to give or take. $119 USD
V.BELLAN
The Diamond Initial Band by V.Bellan. Courtesy of V.Bellan
V.BELLAN—This gorgeous initial band offers customization in white diamonds for a luxe look that is unique to every wearer. Available in solid 14K yellow, rose or white gold, this ring makes for a truly elegant gift this year. From $1,450 USD
Waldan Watches:
A luxe addition to mom’s accessory collection that is built to last for years to come Courtesy of Waldan Watches
Waldan Watches— Waldan Watches’ handcrafted timepieces boast quality without sacrificing style; each watch can be worn as a professional accessory or a casual compliment to a nice outfit. This thoughtful, yet affordable gift is offered at the perfect price point for the loved one that you are shopping for. $299.99
With Love Darling:
With Love Darling’s Mia Bracelet, for the woman who defines "Love Links.” Courtesy of With Love Darling
With Love Darling -The Mia Collection is built around the idea of 'Love Links', they link us to what's important in our life and reminds us of the strong connections we have. As with all of our products, they are 100% sustainably made through recycled sterling silver and 14K gold-plating. $99.00
YUN YUN SUN:
Yun Yun Sun Sagitta Bracelet - 14K gold Plated Brass with Cubic Zirconia Image Courtesy of Yao Shi.
YUN YUN SUN— “We designed this bracelet to compliment the overall aesthetic and direction of the collection. It's simple and elegant, can be worn solo or stacked for more of a statement look. We wanted to make sure every item in the collection can complement each other when worn together and won't overpower the individual, so it can easily be worn with matching earrings and necklace for an elegant evening out or be itself for a daytime look.” $488
Zoë Chicco:
14K LARGE PAVE DIAMOND "I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON & BACK" MANTRA BRACELET ON EXTRA LARGE OVAL CHAIN Courtesy of Zoë Chicco
Zoë Chicco-"Back in 2018, when designing the next iteration of my personal collection, I knew I wanted to create pieces that went beyond a single initial, word or date. I wanted pendants and medallions that incorporated meaningful sayings and my signature symbols that we could customize and engrave in-house. The very first phrase that came to mind was “I love you to the moon and back”. Since my son was a baby, I have read him the book, “Guess how much I love you?” by Sam McBratney at bedtime. Even now, he is 6 and we still say it to each other daily. I knew I had to emblazon those words on a piece of jewelry that would remind me of him and all those sweet baby snuggles….and thus the idea for my mantra collection was born." $2,465.00
1stDibs:
Sapphire Diamond Pendant Necklace available on 1stDibs Courtesy of 1stDibs
1stDibs-This 'ORA Rainbow Pendant' features a circular pendant where the concept of time is emphasized by the sequence and rhythm of the multicolored sapphires. The hours of the day are marked by multicolored sapphires and diamond star at 8 o'clock. This is a perfect gift to thank the special mother in your life for being there for you 24/7 $5,880
Adriana FJ:
Heart Lovers choker/Necklace 14K Yellow gold and diamonds Courtesy of Adriana FJ
Adriana FJ—Adriana FJ is the gift that every mother will appreciate and cherish. Adriana believes each piece of her jewelry is more than beautiful gold and precious stones; she believes each piece tells a story and creates a memory. Every time she wears this stunning diamond heart and gold necklace she will remember how much she is loved and appreciated. $4,860
Alaïa:
The Angèle bag Courtesy of Alaïa
ALAÏA-This bag is named after a Tunisian seamstress who introduced Monsieur Alaïa to couture know-how. The Angèle bag, with its soft and generous curves, is an elegant everyday bag. Crafted from tumbled calfskin, this mini model is subtly embellished with a laser-cut frieze, inspired by the signature "Vienne" motif. Its ogive closure emphasizes its functionality and refinement. $ 2,290
Alpina:
Comtesse Sport Quartz Courtesy of Alpina
Alpina-The Alpiner Comtesse combines the worlds of Alpine sport and the elegant timepieces of yesteryear. The Comtesse Sport Quartz brings this bold union up to date with a decidedly contemporary take, fusing strong, elegant lines with the latest in Quartz technology to provide absolute precision – an important detail for every mom. It evokes the Alpine glaciers with a steel bracelet and silver dial, index and hands, and the markings on the dial studded with 8 diamonds. Whether chic or covertly sporty, each woman can decide for herself. $795
Balmain:
Small bicolor pink and white jacquard 1945 bag Courtesy of Balmain
Balmain- The Balmain 1945 bag is the perfect gift to show your love and appreciation for any mother figure in your life. The striking jacquard pattern design covering four silhouettes revives and modernizes a distinctive house pattern that covered several Balmain men’s and women’s ready-to-wear and a host of accessories designs in the early seventies. $ 1,650
Bernardo1946:
Bernardo1946’s Miami Pearl Sandal Courtesy of Bernardo1946
Bernardo1946- The Miami sandal has been among our most recognized and best-selling styles for years. As we celebrate the brands 75th year anniversary, the Miami Pearl is a special edition item, featuring pearl embellishment for a fresh infusion of classic and modern trends. This sandal can be worn for everyday wear, or on the most special and memorable of occasions. Recognized as a brand icon, the Miami Pearl is soft, elegant, chic and ageless. $148.00
Bybba:
The BALOS tote Courtesy of BYBBA
Bybba-The BALOS tote is the first product from BYBBA. The 100% recyclable + 100% sustainable market tote + beyond carries up to 40 pounds. Multi functional and high quality complete with pockets, closures and expandability. $45
Catherine Weitzman:
This handmade necklace contains gorgeous pressed Forget-Me-Not flowers. Courtesy of Catherine Weitzman
Catherine Weitzman-Inspired by nature and handmade in paradise, Catherine Weitzman Jewelry is an eco-conscious collection that combines the beauty of nature with timeless jewelry designs. Like all of Catherine’s pieces, this necklace brings the allure of the designer’s own backyard in to the lives of her customers.$225
CHARLES & COLVARD:
Charles & Colvard 7/8 CTW Caydia Lab Grown Diamond Signature Pave Heart Necklace 18K White gold Photo Courtesy of Charles & Colvard
Charles & Colvard—This heart pendant necklace, featuring CaydiaTM lab grown diamonds, is a beautiful expression of your love. This signature pave heart necklace is lined with round, pave stones and hangs on a delicate 18K white gold cable chain. Exclusive to the Signature collection, this necklace is sure to warm her heart for Mother’s Day. $2,019
Dauphinette:
Dauphinette's Wisteria Bouquet Earrings Courtesy of Fivestory
Dauphinette- Dauphinette is a fun whimsical brand that showcases Fivestory's commitment to carrying new and exciting designers. Wisteria bouquet coated in eco-friendly resin and made from real flowers. $72
Delaroq:
The Grand Concierge carryall, as suggested by the name, considers women’s habits, rituals, and ... [+] lifestyles evaluating what would serve them reliably and consistently. Image Courtesy of Skye Tan @skyetan
Delaroq- Crafted from high-endurance, durable recycled nylon, the Grand Concierge carryall is designed for ease of wear and abundant functionality. The adjustable strap length affords an extra long drop, to comfortably wear over the shoulder and suits all season wear. The multiple interior pocket system offers myriad organizing possibilities; large gusseted space to hold refillable water bottles or a spare pair of shoes, tech pockets for two phones, and a secure zip pocket for other daily essentials such as, keys, wallets, and sanitizers. The exterior leather back pocket provides a system to securely slide into a wheeled luggage handle when we are ready to travel! This uber functional carryall maintains generous proportion to house gym clothes, make-up kit, and a 13” laptop. A drop zip collar provides additional flexibility for bags security. $378 USD
Double Bone:
Double Bone is a leading online specialty retailer of lifestyle bracelets and accessories for men and women that are created using only the finest materials. It’s all about the details and these stunning combinations of textured beads, made of 925 solid Sterling Silver, plated with 18kt (3 microns) Rose, Yellow, White Gold or Black PVD are the perfect complement to any of Double Bones stingray bracelets and Polyester pieces! Made in Italy and known for their elasticity and impressive resistance! Available in 4 sizes and in a variety of different vibrant color combinations to be the ultimate add-on item to your look! Comes in an elegant black lacquer wooden box, authenticity card, and a travel pouch to protect from scratches.$155
6. Courtesy of Double Bone
7. Double Bone bracelets are made in Italy and available in a variety of colors, materials and styles
Frances Valentine:
Frances Valentine handwoven Haley Bucket Bag Courtesy of Frances Valentine
Frances Valentine-Frances Valentine is a modern American lifestyle brand with a well-crafted, design-driven ethos and devoted customer following. Known for their colorful, joyful pieces that are easy to wear, playful yet polished, feminine, but grown up, the Haley Bucket Bag is no exception. Make a statement with the unique Frances Valentine Haley Bucket bag, handwoven by local artisans in Guatemala. Perfect for your next beach day or everyday use. The Haley Bucket bag features handwoven cotton, braided shoulder strap and long tasseled drawstring closure with a contrast pom pom adornment. $148
Freedom Moses:
Freedom Moses x Jonathan Simkhai Retro Rose Slides Courtesy of Mel Mo
Freedom Moses-Freedom Moses and Jonathan Simkhai partnered this spring to create beautiful slides with ethereal prints that the designer is so famous for. Lightweight, comfortable and waterproof, Freedom Moses slides are perfect for the fast-moving mom and totally kid-proof. 100% recyclable and vegan, the brand also aims to create fun style without harming Mother Earth. $65
Hat Attack:
Hat Attack’s Gemma Bag- Classic Courtsey of Hat Attack
Hat Attack -Hat Attack’s Gemma Classic handbag is the cutest jeweled summer bag with a drawstring bag detail and woven handles! Gemma is sweet and functional and chooses from a clear or multicolored beat detail. $156
Hublot:
Spirit of Big Bang Ceramic Beige Courtesy of Hublot
Hublot-Hublot’s ceramics have a captivating softness to the touch and are comfortable to wear, making it feel one with the skin. The Spirit of Big Bang Ceramic Beige plays with the layering of its greige alligator strap on white rubber and its sand-colored sunray dial, with its bezel in King Gold set with 50 diamonds. Emphasizing its emblematic barrel case, the beige highlights the softness of the style in ceramic with a velvety touch. Both uninhibited and neutral, the piece asserts its timeless spirit. It goes with all outfits and is at home anywhere, from the office to the catwalk, from the sea to the mountains. In formal or sportswear mode, its 39mm diameter elegantly slides onto your wrist and its 50-hour power reserve is like an invitation to forget to wind it up for a whole weekend. $24,100
Kay Jewelers:
Kay Jewelers Diamond Paperclip Necklace ⅛ ct tw Round-cut Sterling Silver Courtesy of Kay Jewelers
Kay Jewelers- With two interlocking pieces, this stunning necklace by Kay Jewelers represents the connection and love between a mother and her family. For this Mother’s Day, give her a gift with sentimental meaning so she can remember your special and inseparable bond year-round. $199.99
Kendra Scott:
This golden heart by Kendra Scott is perfect for celebrating any mom's heart of gold. Courtesy of Kendra Scott
Kendra Scott-A meaningful symbol dressed in diamonds, the Heart 14k Yellow Gold Pendant Necklace in White Diamonds brings new life to a classic. This 14k Yellow Gold pendant necklace is designed to bring maximum sparkle to a petite piece that you can wear every day both layered and alone. Personalize your style with the Heart 14k Yellow Gold Pendant Necklace, a forever accessory with modern timelessness. $450
Leatherology:
Leatherology Belmont Tote Courtesy of Leatherology
Leatherology-The newly launched Belmont Canvas Tote refreshes everyday luxury with a new lightweight, 100% organic material while still remaining timeless and classic. Personalization is at the core of the brand, and this “blank canvas” is the perfect space to create a personal expression for the mother in your life, from their traditional hand-pressed monograms using heated brass dies, to bold hand-painted lettering.$150 USD
Linjer:
Linjer’s Mama Necklace Courtesy of Linjer
Linjer-The Asian-owned, sustainable accessories brand Linjer launched a new collection of necklaces in honor of Mother’s Day! The collection features the “Mama Necklace” - the perfect way to show appreciation for mothers around the world. All styles are made of 100% recycled gold and the sustainable brand offsets carbon emissions for every shipment made online.$95
Louis Vuitton:
Available at select Louis Vuitton stores - 866.VUITTON - www.louisvuitton.com Courtesy of Louis Viutton
Louis Vuitton- COLOR BLOSSOM BB MULTI-MOTIFS BRACELET, PINK GOLD, WHITE MOTHER-OF-PEARL AND DIAMONDS. Approx Price: $6,700
Mansur Gavriel:
Mansur Gavriel Tulipano Bag Courtesy of Mansur Gavriel
Mansur Gavriel- Introducing the Tulipano, Mansur Gavriel’s newest carryall for wallets, keys, and good moods, made of luxurious soft-grained calf leather. Like its namesake flower, the Tulipano is simple yet distinctive with a unique folded bottom, Italian canvas lining, and interior pocket. The shoulder strap is both adjustable and removable, making it easy to carry the best part of spring with you year-round. $695
Montserrat:
Freshwater pearls make each pair of our Girona Hoops one of a kind for you!14k gold plated hoop ... [+] featuring a freshwater pearl. Each pearl is unique and one of a kind. Made by hand in our Greenwich Village Studio Courtesy of Montserrat
Montserrat—The Girona Earrings were one of my first designs that led me to fall in love with the beauty of freshwater pearls. These earrings are made of 14k gold plating and feature unique pearls that make each pair one of a kind to you and only you. Named after the city of Girona in Catalonia, Spain, these earrings were designed to evoke a timeless style that pulls from the nature and architecture of the Mediterranean. $72
Markarian:
Olympia Pearl Gold Droplet Anklet Courtesy of Montserrat
Markarian-Gold anklet with glass pearl and gold drops, Composition: 18k gold plated brass, pewter, Czech bohemian glass pearls, Every piece is carefully made to order in New York City's Garment District. $295
Nina Runsdorf:
Nina Runsdorf 14kt Rose Gold and Chrome Diopside Bead ‘Tree Of Life’ Bracelet Courtesy of Nina Runsdorf
Nina Runsdorf-Back in January 2020, Nina Runsdorf started working on a new collection called ‘Tree Of Life’, which consisted of a beautiful range of jewellery pieces created from Tree Opals. During the creative process, fires were raging in California and similar devastating climate events were occurring around the world. Nina felt she couldn’t work on a collection celebrating trees without considering the environment, and decided to create one piece to sit among the collection which would be in collaboration with the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF). EJF’s vision is for a world where natural ecosystems and wildlife are sustained by those who live within them, committed to environmental justice to protect our planet. All proceeds from each sale of Nina’s ‘Tree Of Life’ bracelet will be donated to the EJF. $395
Prada:
Available at select Prada boutiques, www.Prada.com Courtesy of Prada
Prada- Prada Cleo brushed leather shoulder bag. $2,250
Primo Luxe:
Our Vesper Leather Envelope clutch is crafted from striking snakeskin-embossed leather and a velvety ... [+] suede interior to cushion your after-hours essentials, from lipstick to mints. Photographer's Name: Giuseppe Attanasio
Primo Luxe-Designed to be the ultimate conversation piece and a handy, sublime companion for summer soireés ahead. $160
Ralph Lauren:
Ralph Lauren Collection Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren- Ralph Lauren Collection - Mini Stirrup Steel Watch. $2,350.00
RELLERY:
RELLERY Checker Heart Initial Bracelet Courtesy of RELLERY
RELLERY-The small heart charm is engravable to showcase the favorite people in Mom’s life. Mom has a heart of gold and these charms are the perfect pair. $155
Renna Jewels:
The Alepel x Renna slides feature delicate hand-painted seashells and coral on the genuine leather ... [+] upper strap. Photo courtesy of Alepel, photographed by Gabriela Epelboim
Renna Jewels- Fashion is integral to the way I express myself and Alepel's intricately hand-painted pieces have always resonated with my creativity. These slides feature beautiful hand-painted renditions of my classic shell jewelry pieces. My creative connection with the natural world began one summer morning as a child after discovering two coffee bean shells with my mother at Salt Creek Beach in Laguna. A decade later, I thought back to this moment as I began to design a line that celebrates these treasures and joyful moments. It's a beautiful experience to collaborate with Alepel and see my shells come to life in this way.$187.00
Rosantica:
Rosantica's Taco crystal - embellished rattan clutch bag Courtesy of Rosantica
Rosantica-Rosantica’s yellow woven taco bag captures the label’s maximalist glamour with sparkling crystal embellishments – an ideal counterpart to a modern summer look. $568
Sequin X Pretty Connected:
Pretty Connected X Sequin Custom Charm Set Courtesy of Sequin Jewelry
Sequin X Pretty Connected Charm & Mask Chain Set- The Sequin X Pretty Connected charm set was inspired by ancient symbols and designed as an important reminder of our potential to dream, heal and thrive. Each charm represents something meaningful, including the Night Sky charm inspiring infinite possibility. This set is customizable based on the person who purchases. Once clipped to any part of Pretty Connected's Nikki Mini Gold chain, you can wear as a necklace, bracelet, mask chain and more! Sequin’s bestselling Talisman line features charm designs created from original illustrations, cast in brass and finished in their exclusive 22K gold antique finish, with Swarovski® crystal accents. $58.00
Starling Jewelry:
Mother & Daughter Bracelet Set Courtesy of Starling Jewelry
Starling-Matching heirloom diamond bracelet set for mother and daughter or best friends of any age. A small token for a lifetime of love. Not recommended for unsupervised children under 3 years old. Diamond is the hardest naturally occurring substance on earth and has been formed over a billion years. Diamonds symbolize love and prosperity. $610
The Last Line:
Personalized Ruby Tennis Bracelet Courtesy of The Last Line
The Last Line-A classic style, with a twist and endless ways to say whatever you want; however you want. Sentimental shine at it's finest. Designed to keep your loved ones close at hand, our take on the classic tennis bracelet, with a twist. Available in all birthstones, say whatever you want, however you want with plain or pavé diamond block letters and numbers to spell out those you love, sentimental dates, or find a phrase that turns yours into a personal piece. Letters are available in yellow gold, white gold and rose gold. Starting at $1,645. Each gold letter is: $255, Each diamond letter is: $510
Van Der Hout Jewelry:
Van Der Hout Jewelry - Mom necklace Courtesy of Van Der Hout Jewelry
Van Der Hout Jewelry A sentimental yet stylish 'MOM' necklace for your favorite woman. Made to last with 14k solid gold. $275
Max Mara:
Max Mara Sunglasses Courtesy of Marcolin
Max Mara -A contemporary take on a classic shape, this full acetate sunglass features gradient lenses and dual-tone acetate along with subtle logos lasered on the lens and temples. $185.00
Brunette the Label:
Brunette the Label Kindness Culture Hat Courtesy of Brunette the Label
Brunette the Label -Brunette the Label Kindness Culture Dad Cap in Summer Sky. The cap reads “kindness culture” on the front in white promoting being nice to others.This sorbet-colored dad hat is the best accessory for gifting to complete a casual look or hide a bad hair day.$36
Dolce & Gabbana:
Dolce&Gabbana medium Sicily bag in patchwork denim and calfskin Courtesy of Dolce&Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana- The brand’s iconic shape par excellence, this medium Sicily bag comes in patchwork denim with plain calfskin details. Versatile and feminine, it combines practicality and elegance. $2145
Fabergé:
Fabergé Essence Rose Gold, Diamond & Pink Sapphire Heart Surprise Locket with Pink Lacquer Photo Courtesy of Fabergé
Fabergé-The Fabergé Essence Rose Gold, Diamond & Pink Sapphire Heart Surprise Locket with Pink Lacquer comes set in 18k rose gold and hand-painted in a bright pink lacquer. Finished with a diamond bail and a striking heart shaped pink sapphire, this feminine design is the perfect gift to celebrate love, friendship or special life moments. The locket is 18mm in size. $7,200
Generation Collection:
Gen 1: Satin Twist Ring in 24K Gold Image Courtesy of Generation Collection
Generation Collection—Generation Collection is on a mission to create sustainable and investment grade jewelry, made to celebrate life's most meaningful accomplishments. Handcrafted in the US from recycled and upcycled metals, you can wear this Twist ring knowing that you are wearing the ultimate design sophistication. Generation items are 100% circular, your Generation gold can be used and reused, in perpetuity making it the gift that continues to give. From $1,700
Judith Ripka:
Judith Ripka Shima Bypass Cuff with Freshwater Pearls and Diamonds in 18K Photo Courtesy of Judith Ripka
Judith Ripka—From the Madame Vice President to the leading ladies of legend, pearls are a mark of sophistication and class. Inspired by the pearl hunting heritage of Japan’s Ago Bay, the Judith Ripka Shima collection is a striking expression of nature’s creations in 18K gold with pearls and diamonds. This stunning cuff bracelet adorned with freshwater pearls is the perfect accessory to wear alone or stacked with other bracelets and/or a beautiful timepiece. It’s the perfect gift for the fashionable lady in your life to show your appreciation for everything she does. $3,950
Lisa Von Tang:
LISA VON TANG SISTERS BLOOD 18K ROSE GOLD MALACHITE NECKLACE Photo Courtesy of Lisa Von Tang
Lisa Von Tang-This Sisters Blood Necklace in Solid 18K Rose Gold represents Mother Earth, Divine Nurturing, and Connection to the One Whole. She is grounding, she is lush, she is effortlessly tantric in each breath. The Malachite stone has long been known to heal earth energies and is a protection stone. The colour also brings to mind Gaia - the ancestral mother of all life in Greek mythology. $750
Local Eclectic:
Local Eclectic’s Solid Gold Solo Diamond Necklace Courtesy of Local Eclectic
Local Eclectic -Local Eclectic’s Solid Gold Solo Diamond Necklace is something special to gift that extra special someone. It is a classic staple that can complete any outfit. It features a silky delicate gold chain with a single bezel set diamond at its center. Minimal, sparkly and perfect, the timeless memento you’ll have for a lifetime. $180
MantraBand:
I love you to the moon and back,farther than the stars above,deeper than the oceans, taller than the ... [+] mountains that touch the blue skies. Truly, deeply, infinitely.I love you to the moon and back. Courtesy of MantraBand
MantraBand MantraBand is the original inspirational jewelry brand whose timeless bracelets, necklaces and rings feature empowering messages to promote a lifestyle of optimism, positivity, and mindfulness. $55
Sandy Leong x Gemfields:
Sandy Leong x Gemfields 18 karat recycled yellow gold necklace with a Zambian emerald and an ... [+] ethically sourced white diamond Image Courtesy of Sandy Leong x Gemfields
Sandy Leong x Gemfields—Gemfields, the world's leading supplier of sustainable coloured gemstone, has recently partnered with New York-based jewelry designer, Sandy Leong for the Sol Collection, featuring Gemfields’ responsibly sourced Zambian emeralds, 18 karat recycled yellow gold and conflict-free white diamonds. 10% of all sales on the Gemfields x Sandy Leong Sol collection will be donated to the Gemfields Foundation, benefiting community projects in Africa centered around children and education. $9,500
ST. JOHN:
St. John loop bag is 100% leather with front flap, metal loop detail, and removable chain strap Courtesy of St. John Knits
ST. JOHN -The small leather handbag will be the perfect gift for Mom to complete her day – to – night looks. $1,295 US
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98e2a3ee9fb3fb3a56d8188a09f4c244 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2021/04/19/mothers-day-gift-guide-the-sweetest-perfumes/ | Mother’s Day Gift Guide: The Sweetest Perfumes Are The Greatest Force | Mother’s Day Gift Guide: The Sweetest Perfumes Are The Greatest Force
Every mom deserves to shine this Mother’s Day. In short, perfume should be effortless and optimistic. More to the point, fragrance can be both a romantic gift as it is fun.
This Mother’s Day 2021 scents infused with exotic floral notes and natural essences- some even packed with a concentration of perfume oil that activates various notes throughout the day due to their complexity, will surely transport her to sweet place. Current offerings even have warm, woody gourmand fragrance featuring notes of palo santo, almond, tonka bean and vanilla.
Consumers today make conscious decisions based on sustainably as well as fragrances made with natural ingredients. Eco-conscious mothers will be pleased to know that an abundant number of fragrances now are free of synthetics parabens phthalates and sulfate. A handful of brands are even vegan and cruelty free.
Bright citrus and fruit embellishments delight Mothers on their special day. It is important to remember the first notes usually subside to make way for exquisite expressions and nuances that make up the lasting scent. These modified selections evoke a sense of playfulness and curiosity through sweet scents from natures aromatic cherry blossoms and saccharine scents of the warm summer breeze. Today, the lineups embody an intoxicating blend of fresh florals, fruity flavors and even breezy marine notes to capture the scents she feels beautiful wearing.
It’s been a tough year. So if your striving to find the perfect gift to warm her heart, go for it A gift card is a nice thought but not a heartfelt gift. I’ve rounded up a list of the sweetest fragrances that are sure to delight this Mother’s Day, May 9th 2021
Happy Shopping!
Tom Ford:
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Tom Ford Soleil Brûlant Eau de Parfum Courtesy of Saks.com
Tom Ford—SOLEIL BRÛLANT captures the high-shine brilliance of the golden sun beaming on a private oasis. Sun-kissed citrus mingles with spices — giving way to an ornate and regal floral heart — while orange flower absolute and black honey release a seductive vapor, melting into the burnished warmth of amber. 1.7 oz. Made in USA $350-$895
Hermès:
Hermès 24, Faubourg Eau de parfum Courtesy of Hermès
Hermès - The fragrance of 24, Faubourg Eau de parfum is a patch of light, a swathe of white flowers opening out into the sunlight, an invitation to explore, with the mystery of vanilla and sandalwood. The raw materials of orange blossom, jasmine and vanilla evoke feelings of warmness and femininity. A timeless fragrance, yet never less than contemporary. $195. Available at Hermes.com for $195
Atelier Cologne:
A colorful artistic collaboration celebrating love Courtesy of Atelier Cologne
Atelier Cologne- Atelier Cologne x Tiffany Lusteg - Mother’s Day Limited Edition Collector Travel Cases: Atelier Cologne partners with California-based artist Tiffany Lusteg (@tiffanylusteg) to create Mother’s Day limited edition matching collector travel cases. Atelier Cologne believes that love is the greatest force and should always be celebrated. This new Mother’s Day limited edition, co-created with artist Tiffany Lusteg, celebrates love in all its forms. The love that binds us together. The love that inspires us. A collaboration paying tribute to love in the most colorful and dreamy way. Tiffany Lusteg imagined two collector travel cases echoing each other. Combining colorful shapes with delicate illustrations, her special edition is an homage to the power of love in the most vibrant and stimulating way. Her limited edition is an invitation to get creative and compose your personalized invigorating duo with your perfect match. From delicate sweet Vanille Insenseé to sophisticated Rose Anonyme or delicate Jasmine Angeliqué, the combinations are endless. An arty and delightful gift to keep for yourself or share with your loved-ones. Available on AtelierCologne.com from April 23 until May 9 while supplies last
Bond No. 9:
Bond No. 9 TriBeCa Swarovski. A sexy, floriental that’s sophisticated and young, much like the ... [+] residents of TriBeCa. Notes: Cacao, Green Hazelnut, Jasmine Sambac Absolute, Cedarwood, Ambroxan, Moss and Caramel. Courtesy of Bond No.
Bond No. 9—In honor of Mother’s Day, Bond No. 9 is proud to present TriBeCa Swarovski Limited Edition, a sublime, chic rendering of one of New York’s most sophisticated areas in bottled-form. Every mom deserves to sparkle this Mother’s Day. TriBeCa Swarovski’s Limited Edition bottle is encrusted with over 200 gleaming Swarovski sunflower and white crystal stones tracing the outlines of the iconic Bond No. 9 token, and presented in a box that features 486 Swarovski crystal stones. Call it an objet d’art, TriBeCa Swarovski Limited Edition is a gift that will become a cherished collectible. TriBeCa Swarovski Limited Edition Eau de parfum, 100 ml, $495
Celui Fragrance:
Celui’s Signature Fragrance Image Courtesy of Sam Dameshek
Celui Fragrance- The signature Fragrance for the Celui brand, so all aspects of the collection are intertwined with this beautiful floral and uplifting aroma. Celuí’s signature scent is infused with exotic floral notes and natural essences to enhance each moment of your day. An intoxicating blend of fresh florals, fruity flavors and breezy marine notes including Jasmine, Gardenia, Orange Blossom and Cedar-wood. $220 (50 ml)
Clive Christian:
Matsukita is Clive Christian’s newest unisex fragrance from the Crown Collection. Courtesy of Clive Christian
Clive Christian-Treat Mom like royalty with Clive Christian’s newest unisex fragrance from the Crown Collection: Matsukita. Inspired by a fabled Japanese princess who awed the Victorian royal court with her elegance and grace, Matsukia features 252 ingredients with a 25% concentration of perfume oil and activates various notes throughout the day due to its complexity. Captured in a beautiful red bottle with Queen Victoria's crown, key notes include Green Bergamot and Mate Tea with a hint of amber for a fresh olfactory experience. 450
Coach:
Coach Floral Blush 2-Piece Set - Juicy goji berries meet vibrant peony florals and creamy white ... [+] woods in this bold, lively scent. Courtesy of Interparfums
Coach —Coach Floral Blush is inspired by the Tea Rose, a Coach code and a symbol of the Coach Girl’s wild, feminine spirit. A celebration of Americana, the iconic flowers also speak to the romance of adventure and a sense of possibility. Coach Floral Blush 2-Piece Set includes 3.0 fl. Oz and 1.0 fl. oz Eau de Parfum Spray. $110 (value $164).
Dolce & Gabbana:
Dolce Rose Eau de Toilette Courtesy of Dolce & Gabanna
Dolce & Gabbana Dolce&Gabbana Beauty introduces Dolce Rose, the exquisite new flower joining the Dolce bouquet. The first Eau de Toilette in the Dolce collection, Dolce Rose celebrates the most iconic of flowers – a symbol of love, beauty and femininity that is one of Dolce&Gabbana’s iconic patterns. The fragrance, crafted by perfumer Violaine Collas, is an addictive fruity floral, combining delicate rose absolute and crisp rose centifolia with soft musks and tangy redcur- rants. Joyful and full of energy, Dolce Rose is a rose of exquisite allure. $105, 2.5 fl oz. Macys.com
Issey Miyake:
A Drop d’Issey Eau de Parfum Courtesy of Issey Miyake
Issey Miyake-Nearly 30 years after Issey Miyake Parfums released L’Eau d’Issey, the brand is opening a new chapter in its story with a new fragrance for women: A Drop d’Issey. Nature has always played a part in Issey Miyake’s work – it is a common theme, inspiring and inhabiting every creation. Designed to respect the environment, A Drop D’Issey examines the beauty of silent flowers and invites you to discover the magic of nature and the beauty of our planet. The fragrance is musky, cozy, and reassuring, with lilac as its characteristic aroma, with supporting notes including almond milk, orange blossom, and rose.
American designer Todd Bracher designed A Drop d’Issey Eau de Parfum drop-shaped bottle by combining the simplicity of a perfect, poetic shape with the deliberately tactile facet of the bottle. His vision was to create a drop of water in a single piece — the clear, limpid bottle is made with just enough glass (nothing is wasted), including 5% post-consumer recycled glass. The built-in soft-touch cap releases scent with no more than a gentle press, making for an all-in-one bottle where everything serves a purpose. The bottle is symbolic, reflecting the effect of a magnifying glass — through the prism of the bottle, you can see in a whole new way. $91 (50ml) and $111 (100ml)
Salvatore Ferragamo:
Storie di Seta Eau de Parfum Collection – features Giardini Di Seta Eau de Parfum as well as Giungle ... [+] Di Seta, Savane Di Seta, and Oceani Di Seta. Courtesy of Salvatore Ferragamo
Salvatore Ferragamo GIARDINI DI SETA - a floral fruity essence with juicy vibrations of crunchy red fruits diving into the floral transparency of bright musk. Like an artistic bouquet, the fragrance opens with the sweet and sour freshness of Rhubarb to then unveil a red and pink heart of Sakura Flower enriched by the warm, woody notes of Madagascar Vetiver. Storie di Seta Collection features four Eau de Parfum fragrances, defined by four distinctive colors, with each bottle featuring an embellishing motif that draws inspiration from a Salvatore Ferragamo silk masterpiece. The four ready-to-wear perfumes are designed to be worn alone or layered with one or more scents from the collection for a unique bespoke experience, unveiling as yet unexplored emotions that appeal to every sense. The collection has been crafted with a particular attention to the environment, thanks to renewable materials and biodegradable formulation. $112 (100ml)4.
Hope Fragrances:
Fragrances that inspire your entire day and night Courtesy of Hope Fragrances
Hope Fragrances- Hope Fragrances brand founder Audrey Gruss, was inspired by her mother, Hope, to create the new Lifestyle Collection for Mother's Day! The set features their signature Hope, invigorating Hope Sport, and sensuous Hope Night scents that were created for the multi-faceted woman. Audrey created these beautiful and unique fragrances in memory of her mother who struggled with depression. To honor her mother and to help others who are suffering from depression, all net profits from the set go directly to the Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF). $200
House of Sillage:
House of Sillage Cherry Garden Signature Parfum, 2.5 fl. oz. Courtesy of House of Sillage
House of Sillage- Cherry Garden evokes a sense of playfulness and curiosity through sweet traces of almond, vanilla and Sicilian bergamot oil. This fragrance transports the senses to a heavenly, glowing field of aromatic cherry blossoms, where floating butterflies and gentle rays of sun envelop the tantalizing and saccharine scent of the warm breeze. Top notes: Almond Oil, Aniseed Oil, Heart Notes: Rose, Jasmine and Bass Notes: Heliotrope, Musk. $360
Jimmy Choo:
Jimmy Choo Fever 3-Piece Set Courtesy of Interparfums
Jimmy Choo—Effortlessly glamorous, the Fever woman has a mysterious side, yet always has the ability to shine. A hypnotic floral and gourmand fragrance, Jimmy Choo Fever is a luxurious scent that carries its wearer into the night, leaving an addictive sensual trail behind her. Jimmy Choo Fever 3-Piece Set includes 3.3 fl. oz EDP, 1.3 fl. oz EDP, 3.3 fl. oz. Perfumed Body Lotion. $124 ($215 Value)
Lake & Skye:
Lake & Skye's Côte du Paradis Eau de Parfum Courtesy of Lake & Skye
Lake & Skye- Côte du Paradis is Lake & Skye's newest fragrance, launched in April 2021. Reminiscent of the French Riviera’s endless summers, Côte du Paradis Eau de Parfum is effortless and optimistic. A warm, woody gourmand fragrance featuring notes of palo santo, almond, tonka bean and vanilla. 100% synthetic free including no parabens, phthalates and sulfates. Vegan and cruelty free. Blended in organic sugar cane alcohol. $98
Louis Vuitton:
ON THE BEACH Fragrance Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton- Louis Vuitton’s latest cologne perfume, On the Beach, was created by in-house Master Perfumer Jacques Belletrud to evoke the emotions of a sunny day on the beach. Featuring notes of yuzu, neroli, and aromatic herbs, On the Beach balances the lightness of a citrus with the depth of florals. At the same time, it connects to the ambiance of the West Coast – a territory that is free, passionate, and wildly creative – containing all the spontaneity of colognes, combined with the sophistication of perfumes. The bottle, packaging, and accessories - a surfboard and new fragrance trunk - were all designed by contemporary artist Alex Israel. One of Israel’s famous “Untitled (Flat)” gradient paintings, inspired by the oceanfront facades of his home city of Los Angeles in dialogue with the sun and sea, blazes across all the pieces. Approx Price: $265 (100ml) $390 (200ml)
MCM Worldwide:
MCM Eau de Parfum Courtesy of MCM Worldwide
MCM Worldwide German luxury fashion house, MCM, announces the launch of its new signature fragrance accompanied by a global communications campaign entitled Travel Beyond. It is the first-ever beauty commercial leveraging virtual production and filmmaking using technology from the gaming world namely Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, the same technology that powers Fortnite™ The campaign and fragrance capture the essence of the brand’s DNA of travel, introducing a transcending journey inspired by the ingredients. Vibrant raspberry and hand-picked jasmine are refined with clean woods and sheer Ambrox° Super, presenting a spirited floral woody aroma which remixes classic perfumery with novel blending technology. Travel Beyond nods to the fragrance’s artisanal composition by seamlessly blending virtual and natural worlds into a metaverse where emotion meets the elements. 75ML EDP: $95 / 50ML EDP: $80 / 30ML EDP: $65.
Narciso Rodriguez:
For Her Musc Noir Eau de Parfum Courtesy of Narciso Rodriguez
Narciso Rodriguez The newest chapter in Narciso Rodriguez's iconic For Her fragrance collection, For Her MUSC NOIR, is a statement about the endlessly mysterious nature of a woman's sensuality. For Her MUSC NOIR heightens the addictive nature of the original For Her with an exploration of the darker, more intense aspects of Narciso Rodriguez's signature muse. Narciso Rodriguez chose a rare musc oil to be at the heart of the original For Her, which is not only addictive and timeless, but also surprisingly feminine and enduring in its earthly, warm powers of seduction. Musc Noir captures and celebrates a woman's core femininity and self-expression like no other scent, with a darker musc for rich olfactory depth, as well as notes of leathery suede, white cedar, rose, and a hint of luscious plum for light and harmony.
This time, for the first time ever, the iconic For Her bottle appears in its purest form. For Her Musc Noir is presented in a completely translucent bottle, revealing the mystery within. Only a delicate pink juice, echoing the original for her, adorns the signature bottle while a black cap alludes to scent's darker facets. The bottle is an object of pure artistry, radiating with a weightless intensity and a bold luminosity that celebrates the sublime fragrance within. $65 (30ml), $100 (50ml), $128 (100ml)
Pamella Roland:
The perfect finishing touch for moms that are glamming up in a post-COVID world. Courtesy of Pamella Roland
Pamella Roland- Fashion designer, Pamella Roland, recently launched her eponymous fragrance: a dazzling, modern rose as breathtaking as her delicate designs. A swirl of bright citrus and fruit embellishments delights then effortlessly subsides, revealing three exquisite expressions of the rose at the heart: an ode to the infinite nuances of femininity. It then evaporates to an elegant, earthy essence, a sophisticated note tailor-made for standing out. When developing the scent alongside her two daughters, Pamella’s primary source of inspiration was her family’s rose garden in Michigan that was passed from her grandmother to her mother and now to one of her daughters. $165
Ralph Lauren:
Ralph Lauren: Romance Fragrance Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren ROMANCE – Ralph Lauren ROMANCE is a floral Eau de Parfum that evokes the timeless essence of falling in love. It blooms with a romantic heart of Rose Damascena, coupled with a delicate veil of Jasmine Absolute, Sensual Musk and Velvety Soft Woods. This Mother’s Day, celebrate your first love, your mom, with the timeless scent of ROMANCE. The bestselling scent will be available in an exclusive Mother’s Day gift set featuring a 100ML Eau de Parfum, 75ML Body Lotion and 15ML Body Mist. $102
ST. ROSE:
Juliet in White, Courtesy of ST. ROSE>
Australian born and New York based luxury fragrance brand ST. ROSE has an ethos that is rooted in the art of nature, putting sustainability and transparency at the heart of its creation process and ensuring traceability throughout the supply chain. Founded by Belinda Smith in 2019, the ST. ROSE Fragrance House is named after the Patron Saint of Gardeners.
For the perfect Spring Floral scent, Juliet in White has an irresistibly addictive composition of sweet florals and spiced woods with top notes of White Tea, Pepper and Tangerine; Middle notes of Sambac Jasmine, Rose and Bergamot and Base notes of Sandalwood and Ambrette.
ST. ROSE Fragrances are vegan, cruelty-free and Leaping Bunny Certified, making them safe for all humankind and equally gentle to skin and to the planet. A perfect way to spoil all of the moms and moms-to be in your life. Juliet in White, 50ml $165.00
Snif:
Collection 2 Bundle Kit by Snif Courtesy of Snif
Snif— Collection Two, includes 3 scents including Honorable Mention, Poppy Issues & Sweet Ash - alongside their debut campaign “The New Scent Standard” meant to tackle unhealthy stereotypes, fluffy descriptors, and other outdated standards that run rampant in the fragrance industry. Snif believes fragrance should be simple, comfortable, accessible, and fun. The Collection 2 Bundle Kit lets you try out three different fragrances without the pressure or commitment to make the right decision - customers can keep what they love and send back what they don't. More on the fragrances, below. - Honorable Mention: Families: Floral, Woody, Green, Notes: Peach, Timur Pepper, Jasmine Tea, Lily of the Valley, Orange Blossom, Cypress, Vetiver. Poppy Issues: Families: Floral, Fruity, Spicy Notes: Plum, Saffron, Red Poppy, French Marigold, Mimosa Flower, Amber Woods, Musk. Sweet Ash: Families: Woody, Oriental, Aromatic. Notes: Juniper, Bergamot, Fir Balsam, Tonka, Vanilla Bean, White Moss, Patchouli. $65 per bottle, $150 for all 3
Cosabella:
Cosabella launches first fragrance Courtesy of Cosabella
Cosabella- Cosabella, the Italian luxury lingerie brand world-famous for its exceptional quality, is excited to launch their first fragrance. Each season, they will debut a new scent paired with Cosabella’s iconic Never Say Never Bralette and Never Say Never Thong color matched to the notes of each hand-blended fragrance. $120
Cultus Artem:
A gentle citrus rounded by hay and beeswax with a finale of opulent jonquille. Courtesy of Cultus Artem
CULTUS ARTEM- “The intoxicatingly joyous lemon-floral scent of magnolias is the heart of Alba, a fragrance borne in Spring. After living in South East Asia for many years, moving to San Antonio, Texas, was a jarring experience. There is fragility associated with arriving in a new environment and having to become re- established in life and work. Happily, our arrival was smoothed by a beautiful Spring, and our neighborhood was exploding with new life. Blooming magnolia trees, planted back in the 1920s and '30s when the area was being developed, were scenting every street with magic. Thinking about the Chinese origin of the Magnolia species made a comforting bridge between what had been left behind and what would be a new beginning” $225
Parfums de Marly:
Cassili by Parfums de Marly, a perfect summer fragrance for mom. Courtesy of Parfums de Marly
Parfums de Marly- Launched in 2019, Cassili is one of the most loved fragrances from luxury brand Parfums de Marly. Infused with a delicious blend of velvety fruits and pastel flowers, including mimosa, Bulgarian rose and vanilla, Cassili is sophisticated yet playful, making it ideal for summertime. $320
The Harmonist:
Moon Glory combines ingredients that reflect incredible Yin energy: Hawaiian Jasmine, ylang-ylang, ... [+] Lychee, Queen of the Night, Passionflower, Organic Honey Hinoki Wood, Peru Balsam, Australian Sandalwood Courtesy of The Harmonist
The Harmonist-Inspired by the intoxicating aroma of flowers at dusk in Hawaii, Moon Glory is an amber floral that captures the in-between moment after the sun has set and before night falls. This is a fleeting time when the changing light intensifies the scent in the air. The scent is addicting, memorable and completely unique. House in the most beautiful, custom Pochet sustainable glass bottle, it is as much a work of art as the juice in the bottle. $336
Jessica Simpson:
FIEND by Jessica Simpson Courtesy of HSN
Jessica Simpson-HSN-Jessica Simpson’s new signature fragrance, Fiend, has just launched at HSN. Made up of cozy skin musk and sensual woods combined with addictive amber and topped with touches of smoked sage, tiger lily, and velvet orris. $60.00
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847d65c3f5b930c3dbd08661b4623ed7 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2021/04/20/old-spice-barbershop-has-celebrity-barbers-in-2021/ | Old Spice Barbershop Launches With Celebrity Barbers And Content Studio | Old Spice Barbershop Launches With Celebrity Barbers And Content Studio
The first-ever Old Spice Barbershop opened in Columbus, Ohio and features a content studio, a ... [+] celebrity barber residency program and more Courtesy Of Old Spice
Reinvention is the action which something is changed; so much so that it many times appears entirely new. There are innumerable ways to transform a business that impacts the bigger picture. Transformation requires taking an honest look at what you want and what is the brand culture today. Sometimes reinventions are turning 180 degrees and sometimes they come in the form of naturally forward extensions.
Related to this, American brand of male grooming products Old Spice has unveiled its first-ever brick-and-mortar barbershop since the launching on June 19th, 1937 —by William Lightfoot Schultz’s soap and toiletries company. Since the beginning, Old Spice was marketed with a nautical theme of sailing ships. Fast Forward, in 1990, Procter & Gamble purchased Old Spice fragrances, antiperspirant, deodorant and even skin-care from the Shulton company. Soon thereafter, the all-powerful engine of Procter & Gamble had gone to work on brand identity and product offerings. And the rest is history.
VimeoMatt Johnston - Old Spice - 3 Easy Hacks - 4.8.21
Believe it or not, barber shops were once known as barber surgeons as they performed surgery and dentistry. In fact, the first barber services were performed by Egyptians who used sharpened oyster shells and flint to get a close shave and cut. During that time, barbers were highly respected individuals - and for good reason— I am sure.
The Old Spice barbershop offers an innovative experience. For example: high and spacious ceilings, a content studio and even a celebrity barber residency. With a classic yet modified look featuring iconic Old Spice images lining the walls as well as a rotating head display- more on that later. The Old Spice experience has never been seen before in Barbershops in the USA.
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The first-of-its-kind barbershop represents the future of content marketing with a fully-functioning content studio and weekly visits by celebrity barbers as part of the brands exclusive barbershop residency program.
“Old Spice is turning the traditional barbershop on its head by welcoming guys into the Old Spice universe for a real-life experience with the brand they know and love,” said Leif Edgar, Old Spice Brand Director at Procter & Gamble.
Matt Johnston: Celebrity Barber and Old Spice Barbershop Resident Courtesy of Old Spice
What I find exciting is the Barber Residency Program where Old Spice welcomes the world’s most influential barbers to their flagship barber shop. In a word, celebrity barbers will bring their talents to Columbus Ohio for a weekend residency to shoot content and style hair, Celebrity barbers include Matt Johnston Benjamin Thigpen, Pat Regan, among others!
"The Old Spice Barbershop takes the barber culture I love and injects it with the Old Spice character we've all grown up with. Working with such an iconic brand as one of the first barber residents is a true honor, and I am thrilled to share their new hair products with guys everywhere." - Matt Johnston, Celebrity Barber and Old Spice Barbershop Resident
I recently had a chat with Old Spice marketing director Chris Talbott about how Old Spice aims to bring a deeper understanding to the barber shop industry, how men in America are becoming more involved in grooming and the importance of good hair —with respect to dressing for success!
Chris Talbott Courtesy of Old Spice
Joseph DeAcetis: Tell us a little bit about the history and the heritage of old spice and how that correlates to today?
Chris Talbott: Old Spice has been around for many years. In started in heritage of cologne for men back in the 50’s and 60’s and it grew a strong following among adult men, even men my age and others will say they remember their fathers wearing old spice cologne, the scent of it, some of the products in it will bring back nostalgia. In 2008 the brand went through a restage. Everyone remembers the super bowl commercial ‘look at your man look at me’ where the voice maintained its heritage staying within sense the equity but it tried to take on this new sense of modern humor staying core to the brand and didn’t chase trying to be the sex appeal brand. It was more about the modern masculinity that was more accepted to this younger generation. Old Spice is rooted in deodorants and body wash, but now it's coming into other aspects of grooming.
JD: Who are your competitors?
CT: Axe and dove are brands rooted in antiperspirants, deodorants and body wash and they’ve tried to have hair products as well. Today with the evolution of masculinity and younger men getting more involved in beauty, competition has evolved beyond Axe and Dove.
JD: What makes Old Spice the best for hair?
CT: It is the number one male brand and it became the number one brand over the last course of the year. At Old Spice, we stay rooted into consumer understanding and insights and we went and learned with consumers about what they really want in hair and we didn’t just take what a great scent and re-apply it to hair. We have shampoos, conditioners, stylers and we deliver benefits. A lot of the competition stay rooted just in scents and we created and innovated within our hair care formulas to appeal to more than just what’s the next scent.
JD: Why is it important for American men to take care of their hair with respect to dressing for success in corporate ascension?
CT: When you talk to a man and you ask them about their hair a lot of times what we get back is it’s not that important to me it’s just hair. There are other things that are important to me like how do I come across, what do I do in life. We’ve spent thousands of hours with thousands of men to really understand at a deeper level. What we're finding out with men is hair is so important to them because they realize subconsciously it's a first impression, not to other people but how they view themselves in the world. When they wake up in the morning, we have so many men tell us the second they look in the mirror they can tell if they are going to have a good day or a bad day. It's rooted back into confidence. We’ve learned a lot from the Old Spice guy, if he feels confident, he can go off and attack the world and he can conquer.
JD: Do you recommend American men in business to bring hair product with them to work or have hair product on hand at work in the office?
CT: We do. As men get more involved beyond just traditional shampoo and conditioner in the morning when they wake up, it’s taking things like styler with them throughout the day so they can quickly just regroup and continue the day.
JD: Why are your moldings and hair gels the best?
CT: It goes back to the male space. A lot of competitors will start and just find whatever a great scent is and that’s it. They’ll find the cheapest formula, add a scent to it and call it a day. Men are much more complex and are seeking much more in the beauty space, so our formulas start without a scent. If you want to deliver the end look that he’s wanting you first have to innovate for all hair types. We make sure we deliver on the innovation and then add in our scents to deliver on that Old Spice equity.
JD: Talk to Forbes about Old Spice, an American brand, the product being made in America including the package?
CT: We pride ourselves in the American based supply chain and we deliver to all of North America. All of our formulas are made in the united states and our packaging is flown and shipped to wherever the formulas are, at which point then it gets reintegrated into our supply chain system, out to the different retailers, distribution centers and vendors.
JD: How did the idea come about for old spice, an 80-year-old brand to now develop into the retail center and of course what does one encounter when they come into the Barbour shop?
CT: Two and a half years ago when I took over the old spice hair business, we were not the number one brand and I needed men to know that Old Spice had hair care. We decided we need to do something completely destructive in the industry about how can we go to market and capture guy's attention, so we had the idea to open barber shops. What we learned is if a guy is going to change anything about his hair it has to come from the barber shop. We decided we would create a store that became an immersive brand experience that would invite celebrity barbers to become a resident. We have our own content studio where we can film commercials at any moment within our own control and it would start conversations between content creators, retailers and our own brand about what we need and what did we see from our competitors and in the beauty space, that immediately we could go act and innovate verses waiting 6 months and filming in LA and waiting for it to edit then 9 months later we were able to go to market - the world is much faster than that now
Old Spice Barber shop Courtesy of Old Spice
JD: Talk to us about what you have planned for the productions here?
CT: We will have celebrity barbers that will come to the shop where they will give haircuts to our guess and film their own content and put the content on their own social media pages. Subsequently, it will drive education and awareness, but it also is the authentic voice of a barber to talk to American men. We have our production studio creating commercials where we can go through and bring a big idea to life in our own content studio.
JD: Are these content studios for social media platforms only or will they be for advertising perhaps during the Super Bowl?
CT: We will start with digital and social media and it can certainly be adapted to TV. It is most relevant to our audience that is 13–21-year old’s where we will start digital and you can use a content studio like this and use celebrity barbers and local talent too.
JD: What do you think other barber shops around America don’t have that the Old Spice barber shop has that the male consumer is looking for?
CT: The thing that we can bring to the barber shop industry is a deeper understanding about how men in America are becoming more beauty involved. We have an entire beauty sector from shaving to body care to hair care to face care. We are a full grooming brand; any time we have a guest here we will be able to talk to them and educate them about their total beauty experience. That’s what we think we can do better than other barber shops.
JD: Do you think that the male consumer is aware of who these celebrity barbers are or is it a process that they will be taught and will that be a draw for Gen Z?
CT: We started doing tests with celebrity barbers on Instagram and one of the insights which did inspire us to create this idea was that we really started to see engagement with Gen Z. They would share with each other and it far succeeded anything we could produce in a tv commercial. The way to reach them is through a credited authentic barber.
JD: Why would athletes want to come to the Old Spice barber shop?
CT: For the experience and they know they are going to receive a quality haircut and they want to be immersed with the brand. We’ve had interest from athletes saying that’s where I want my next hair cut because I have an event coming up. They love the brand what it stands for and the benefits of it.
Old Spice recently launched newly formulated hair products, including the shampoos, conditioners and ... [+] styling products Courtesy of Old Spice
JD: What is your expansion strategy for the barber shops throughout America?
CT: We have to get the first one right, that’s where my focus is right now. We’ve already had a lot of interest from Toronto and New York reach out to be shop number 2. What’s important is we have to stay true to why this barber shop has a chance to succeed and we have storytelling and nostalgia. The immersive brand experience must stay consistent, the quality far exceeds what anyone wants and continue innovative brand building disruption creating content within the barber shop. We want the whole ecosystem in our expansion strategy.
JD: How are you finding barbers across the nation to work at the Old Spice barber shop and what are the credentials?
CT: We partnered with a sister business called the Art of Shaving to adopt their training system and meet the high standards that they have and we have flown our barbers to Disney World to The Art of Shaving flagship store where they have gotten shaved from the best in the business. We also have 'technicals' where we have multiple people watch haircuts and shaving techniques; so, we have high standards on the hiring and staffing at the barber shop.
JD: Talk to Forbes about the hair packmen products that you have and how they work?
CT: In early 2020 we launched our newest hair care innovation called the Old Spice thickening system; it has a shampoo, conditioner and a treatment. Hair thickening is a massive space in the haircare world for men as they want to get ahead of their hair thinning. We’ve gone and looked at the protective layers of each hair follicles and it has created a thicker density to each strand.
JD: Tell me why your grooming is so important on the path for dress for success and dressing for corporate ascension and keeping it groomed and maintained when you are the CEO. BEARD?
CT: Beard care has been fascinating with a growing trend that we saw with more men adopting beards. There was a massive education gap with men not knowing how to take care of their beard unless you have been doing it for years. In the pandemic a lot of guys started growing beards and experimented with it, learning how to take care of them and shape them. It has become very important to them to be able to grow a beard and its more important that they know how to take care of it because they don’t become confident if they are not educated.
JD: What is your opinion on digital meetings and how does this relate to the intention on haircut?
CT: It was a slow adoption to be on camera though quickly people realized facial recognition was important on meetings. There is a point of difference in those that show up like they don’t care and those that show that they do care. Stylers started coming back and our sales on a weekly basis jumped back up from where that had fallen in the early pandemic.
JD: What about the guy who doesn’t want to come in and says his hair doesn’t matter for work or for a date, and how do you talk to this customer about the importance of coming in and keeping yourself groomed and having a different attitude towards your hair and your beard?
CT: That is exactly why we created the barber shop as there is certainly a group of men that say they simply do not care about their hair. Men don’t start getting educated on haircare until a much higher age and they are more hesitant to ask for help, so the barber shop was created to alleviate and bridge that gap. We find guys reach a trigger point in their lives where they realize I have to care and I have to take action
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ef20c543eb1660e9f770ee2c5b9d0206 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2021/04/27/warm-weather-leather-trends-big-this-spring-and-summer-2021/ | Warm Weather Leather Trends Big This Spring And Summer 2021 | Warm Weather Leather Trends Big This Spring And Summer 2021
Skin Is In:
There’s nothing more enjoyable than watching a good fashion myth meet its demise. Whoever said “Don’t wear socks with sandals” obviously was not sitting front-row at the Spring 2020 runway shows (think Anna Sui, Fendi, Salvatore Ferragamo and Simone Rocha!) and the same person probably said “Don’t mix prints” much to the chagrin of the beautifully rendered patchwork Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2021 runway offerings. We will ignore whatever “they” say when it comes to wearing white after Labor Day and most importantly, the big no-no about keeping away from leather between April and October. Well, we say there’s no better time for myth-busting than right now!
Wearing leather in the warm-weather months is not only chic, but gives you options to level-up your personal style. Pair a well-tailored pair of leather shorts with a tank beneath a lightweight blazer with sleeves rolled up for a casual look, but make it monochromatic for a more sophisticated presentation. Or create a more classic styling by wearing the shorts with a crisp cotton blouse with puff sleeves for a more feminine look. A cropped leather shirt-jacket or a leather bustier are warm weather staples that will heighten any outfit and give you options for mixing and matching with denim skirts, shorts and jeans. Add a great pair of strappy summer heels to pull off the perfect out-on-the-town ensemble.
“Now that more opportunities are opening up to get dressed up, I think film festivals will be the most perfect places to wear summer leather. Whether taking a turn on the red carpet or attending an open-air film screening on a fancy rooftop or a balmy nighttime screening on the beach, leather attire is not only appropriate for such occasions - your outfit will be the scene-stealing envy of all!”—Lacy Barnes COO of Coffee Bluff Pictures.
While it may not come naturally to consider leather and suede when it’s time to rotate the closet in preparation for spring and summer, don’t overlook these pieces by thinking you may not be on trend. Deliberate styling techniques will ensure that you make the right choices when it comes to wardrobe planning for the rising temperatures.
Leather, considered the oldest material used for clothing, is not a fabric as it's commonly thought, but derives, rather, from animal or reptile skins. The origin of leather has played a crucial role in societal evolution. The human ingenuity required of prehistoric (wo)man to clothe her/himself has threaded its way through every era of design and fashion. The earliest recorded forms of leather items of archaeological interest created by primitive societies date back to 1300 BC when man saw the value of animal skins as more than a post-nourishment bonus, and used the skins for both clothing and shelter. A century later, Ancient Greeks were using leather to craft sandals and clothing during the Homeric period. Egyptian pharaohs prized leather goods, and eventually the Romans put leather to common use to manufacture protective gear for their armies, fashioning breastplates from leather and even covering their wooden shields with leather on the front and back.
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Today's leather apparel and accessories market shows hints of inspiration from the ancient past by emphasizing true craftsmanship. Contemporary fashion designers understand the importance of studying the past to predict future fashion trends. It's hard to imagine a world where leather will cease to remain a fashion staple, for both style and function.
To make leather fashions seasonless, curate your leather pieces in weather-friendly garments. Cut down on the sweat-factor by making them sleeveless, or express the spring and summer seasons in the form of shorts, dresses, miniskirts and cropped trousers, in sunny bright colors or pastel hues to reflect heat rather than absorb the sun’s rays. Bright white is the most heat-friendly. Baring the arms and legs serves to increase your comfort. Look for perforated leather pieces to get extra ventilation when the thermometer goes over 75 degrees fahrenheit. To further look as if you’re dressed for the right season, follow these three important guidelines:
Carefully choose leather garments that are made from lightweight leather, such as lambskin. Make sure your leather garment has a lining - the thinner the better - for sweat prevention. Wear your leather statement piece with soft, silky fabrics for balance.
Choose from these “super cool” designer leather selections to enhance your warm-weather wardrobe, and discover exciting new ways to wear leather in the sunny months ahead!
Alexander McQueen:
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Alexander McQueen-A dress with a pieced skirt in black foulard leather with contrast white corsetry topstitch detailing. $4,580. Available at Alexander McQueen Soho, (332) 214-7080
Bottega Veneta:
Coat in waterproof calf leather Courtesy of Bottega Veneta
Bottega Veneta-100% calfskin coat has a nylon hood, with drawstring through waist, cuffs and hood. Pockets at sides. Designed for an oversized fit, this Coat in waterproof Calf leather is perfect for protection against the occasional light spring showers. $9,450
Brunello Cucinelli:
Refined Brunello Cucinelli materials enrich the sporty inspiration of these City Shorts with an ... [+] elegant note. Courtesy of Brunello Cucinelli
Brunello Cucinelli—The soft nappa is a very supple and lightweight leather, characterized by an ultra fine grain and a semi-polished look making them the perfect warm weather leather short. The high-waist and the double pleats details add a classic touch to this garment’s modern style suitable for any summer occasion.$3,095
Chanel:
Lambskin Skirt and Jacket, Organdi Blouse Photo: Lucioni - Oberraouch / Gorunway.com
Chanel—CHANEL Lambskin Skirt, Jacket and Organdi Blouse – Spring/Summer 2021, $6,550 USD Skirt, $10,650 USD Jacket $2,000 USD Blouse. Available at select CHANEL Boutiques Nationwide. For more information, please call (800) 550 0005.
CHLOÉ:
Kiss small purse Courtesy of CHLOÉ
CHLOÉ—Revealing a sophisticated attitude and clean, feminine lines, this Kiss small purse is a versatile accessory crafted from small grain calfskin. The compact volume and hidden magnet closure complement the minimalist aesthetic, while hanging leather details add a decorative touch. The sculptural metal handle is the Kiss signature, shaped to denote the outlines of a feminine mouth. Bold yet lightweight, it elevates the rounded handbag with a modern jewelry allure. The removable and adjustable long strap means Kiss can be slung over the shoulder or worn cross-body, in addition to the elegant hand carry. $ 1,490
Dior:
Dior Summer 2021 Look 42 Blue Cotton Poplin Plastron Shirt - $1,900 Blue Cotton Poplin Long Blouse ... [+] - $1,700 Suede Skirt -$3,600 Yellow Multicolor Dior Paisley Embroidery D-Bubble Bucket Bag - $3,600 Black Mesh Embroidery Dior Poème Laced Ballerina Flat - $1,150 Multicolor Silk and Cotton Dior Patchwork Oeillets Square Scarf - $520 Courtesy of Dior
Dior-One of Maria Grazia Chiuri’s essentials, the men’s shirt, is reinvented in this look. By turns, it becomes a tunic or a dress, echoing Dior’s emblematic shirtdress, paired with wide, striped trousers or shorts. It is also worn under ample coats in heathered fabrics. Patchworks of scarves with paisley and floral motifs, embellished with pieces of lace for a romantic collage effect. Dior Summer 2021 Look 42 Blue Cotton Poplin Plastron Shirt - $1,900, Blue Cotton Poplin Long Blouse - $1,700, Suede Skirt -$3,600, Yellow Multicolor Dior Paisley Embroidery D-Bubble Bucket Bag - $3,600, Black Mesh Embroidery Dior Poème Laced Ballerina Flat - $1,150, Multicolor Silk and Cotton Dior Patchwork Oeillets Square Scarf - $520. Available at select Dior boutiques nationwide 1 800 929 Dior and Similar Styles on Dior.com
Dolce & Gabbana:
Dolce & Gabbana darted plongé lambskin shorts Courtesy of Dolce&Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana-An exploration of traditions with a clear vision for the future reveals itself in the creative and original interpretation of leather. Be daring with these soft plongé nappa leather shorts for your looks. They are sure to be a garment that turns heads when worn as part of contemporary looks. $1695
Giorgio Armani:
Giorgio Armani Belt Courtesy of Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani-100% Lambskin Leather Self Tie Wrap Closure Belt. $1895
GUCCI:
Light cuir all-over pleated shiny nappa midi skirt (not available on Gucci.com yet) Courtesy of Gucci
GUCCI—The Gucci Ouverture skirt evokes a stream of tiny accidental events and delicate relations that challenge the sense-making and give shape to our being. A constellation of details where the infinitely small, the shy eyes that lower, the unsaid word and the swish of a dress dance together to be saved. $5,500
Hermès:
A zipped coat, in double-face cashmere, in coastal blue, with swivel clasp zip pulls, in ... [+] palladium-finish metal. A vest bodysuit, in stretch silk knit, in Poros white. A micro skirt, in glossy lambskin, in Poros white. A pair of clogs in calfskin, in beech brown, with sole in beechwood, and stud details, in palladium-finish metal. Photographer: Filippo For
Hermes -The perfect transitional look to take you from Winter to Spring. The cashmere coat adds a layer of warmth that can be taken off on the hotter days. The lighter colors also exude happiness and springtime. No Spring look is complete without a clog either! Price available upon request
LBV:
Patchwork patent and nappa leather cropped bomber jacket bring the rock-glam energy of the 70’s into ... [+] present day Photo Courtesy of Mark Grgurich
LBV—LBV’s patchworked high-gloss patent and supple nappa ready-to-wear lend perfectly for Spring and Summer. Natural skins have superb breathability which make them suitable for transition-wear between seasons and in different climates. The Patchwork Leather Bomber Jacket features a lightweight synthetic lining which will expel moisture, similar to the leather outer. Retail $8,695
Louis Vuitton:
Louis Vuitton Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton-BOXY SHORT-SLEEVED LEATHER TOP. Approx Price: $7,450 Available at select Louis Vuitton stores. 866.VUITTON
Marni:
SHINY LAMBSKIN DRESS WITH BOAT NECK Courtesy of Marni
Marni—Shiny lambskin leather dress with boat neckline and decorative zip feature has asymmetrical dropped shoulder feature is part of Marni’s collection about making things: stapling, scribbling, clashing bits and pieces all together in the studio. Cropping a coat, slashing a bathing suit to turn it into a tank top, gluing a thick sole to a pair of shoes, adding an extra long zip to a bag to make it look like a torpedo, cutting a tutu in two. Long, short, lean, roomy, frayed, patent, cotton, leather, gauze, and then flowers, stripes and words: it’s a complete deconstruction of shapes, textures and patterns. Beauty makes a pair with rebellion, celebrating the openness of the unfinished. $2,190
Prada:
Nappa Leather Bomber Jacket Courtesy of Prada
Prada—This soft nappa leather biker jacket with a timeless, sleek design is defined by its regular fit and is decorated with a reinterpretation of the triangle logo that appears as a delicate leather detail on the back. $5,500 USD
St. John:
Escargot Knit Sweater and Leather Bonded 5-Pocket Jean Courtesy of St. John
St. John—This traditional 5-pocket style pant is impeccably crafted in leather for a bold take on white jeans. Paired with an asymmetric sweater designed to wrap around redefining modern knitwear for the Spring season. $995 Sweater, $3995 Pant
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5582d0edd96d84178dd0a7ecaa6ec84c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephhargett/2011/10/24/betting-against-netflix-bears-ahead-of-earnings/?feed=rss_home | Betting Against Netflix Bears Ahead of Earnings | Betting Against Netflix Bears Ahead of Earnings
Profit/loss chart for NFLX Nov. 110/130 bull call spread Disclaimer: I hold no open positions on any stocks, securities, or options mentioned above. 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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136a2502724f9f526e12f1394c292169 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephliu/2018/07/30/people-connect-changing-careers/?utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1697102847&utm_campaign=sprinklrForbesLeaders | 3 People You Should Connect With When Changing Careers | 3 People You Should Connect With When Changing Careers
People in cafe Photo: Helena Lopes
As much as I don’t prefer my emotions, motivations or outlook to be driven by others, the people around me do have an impact on how I’m feeling about my circumstances and what I believe is possible for my future. Whenever I’ve gone through a major career change or life transition, I’ve found certain types of people to be especially helpful during these times of change.
When you’re under pressure to quickly land a new job or manage a whole new set of responsibilities once you land that job, being around the right people during this transition can make the difference between you feeling energized or deflated. The difference between you feeling empowered to explore something new or being content with the status quo. The difference between staying motivated when you feel like giving up or just throwing in the towel.
Here are the three people I’ve found to be especially indispensable during times of major career change.
1. Someone who’s doing the work you hope to do
Woman with coffee Photo: Rawpixel
The entrepreneur Jim Rohn famously said, “You're the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” I’ve found this to be true across all domains of my career—not only my actual work, but also my ways of working, my career lifestyle, and my approach to work-life balance. So I always try to surround myself with the people whom I admire, professionals deeply satisfied with their work, and individuals who are further along in their careers than I.
During every single successful career change I’ve made, I started my journey by connecting with people doing the work I had hoped to eventually do myself. For example, when I shifted from consulting to brand management during business school, I grabbed every opportunity to speak with brand managers working in a range of industries to see what resonated with me. When I moved from San Francisco to London, I first reached out to alumni, fellow marketers, and friends of friends living in London to understand how to make the move. These conversations not only provided me with a better sense of what I was getting into but also a realistic roadmap of what it would take to break into my target industry.
Mentors also offer a useful reality check on your aspirations. For example, when I was first thinking about pursuing a career in professional coaching, one successful career coach I connected with recommended I first invest significant time gaining some additional professional experience in the corporate world before leaping into coaching. That turned out to be one of the best pieces of advice I received, and the experience I eventually gained as a corporate marketer has both informed my current work as a career change consultant and also reinforced my credibility.
2. A professional you admire with an unconventional career path
Man at desk Photo: Rawpixel
Your beliefs drive your actions. Most people I know who decide to make a career change do so because they believe their situation isn’t as good as it gets. They believe there must be a better way to make use of their talents and skills. They believe there’s still room to feel more fulfilled by their work.
However, one of the biggest challenges in making a career change is wondering whether these beliefs are normal. Whether a job should simply just be a job. Whether following a more linear, conventional career path would be smoother and more realistic. Whether you should just appreciate what you have already, especially when your colleagues seem to be satisfied with what they have—at least on the surface.
Everyone’s career path is unique. There’s no one “right” way to go about your career. With that said, the reality is that business and hiring conventions tend to favor candidates who have a more straightforward narrative that doesn’t take a lot of extra explaining. So if you’ve decided to step off the beaten path, connecting with people who have also taken unconventional steps in their careers can help remind you that what you’re seeking is possible. They can remind you that the difficulties you’re running into are completely normal because career change by its very nature is difficult.
Fellow career changers can provide you with the reassurance that you’re not alone, that what you’re doing is actually acceptable. And reassurance is sometimes all you need to help you get through the more challenging times during a transition when you feel like giving up.
3. A good friend who doesn’t work in your industry
Bartender Photo: Crew on Unsplash
Whenever I’ve made decisions to walk away from one career to pursue another, there always seem to be a lot of people within the industry I’m leaving behind who simply don’t understand what I’m doing.
For example, when I resigned from medical school to pursue business, I remember having conversations with fellow students and faculty explaining my motivations to leave medicine behind. Instead of receiving much-needed affirmations, I instead heard criticism after criticism of my decision that made me feel like I was crazy to walk away. When I thought about walking away from a successful career in marketing to start my own career consultancy, the vast majority of my industry colleagues seemed completely confused by my move.
Working in any environment for a significant period of time inevitably molds you to think a certain way, often in ways you don’t fully realize at the time. During the many years I worked as a brand marketer in the corporate world, I began to measure my success by the success of our marketing campaigns. I started to define my personal performance based on my annual performance reviews. I gauged my professional potential by how senior stakeholders saw my potential within the company.
We can all fall into the trap of being singularly focused on landing that next promotion, having a certain word in our job title, or achieving a certain salary we’ve defined as the threshold for success. I certainly have.
That’s why reconnecting with a good friend outside your industry who plays by a different set of rules can help you gain a fresh perspective on whether you’re focused on what truly matters to you.
I can think back to many conversations with good friends that helped reground me in my true aspirations. A college buddy reminded me I’d always been interested in human behavior when I was thinking about going into marketing, which is basically an industry focused on human behavior in the marketplace. A lifelong friend reminded me that I’ve always gravitated toward activities focused on helping people 1-on-1 when I was considering professional coaching.
A good friend can give you a fresh outside perspective, remind you of who you used to be when you were happier and more energized, and help you sense-check whether the move you’re considering is in line with the person you’ve always talked about becoming.
The right people can catalyze your change
Friends Photo: Rawpixel on Unsplash
Navigating a career change is a very personal journey, and as someone who’s not always great at putting my pride aside, I sometimes feel like I have to figure it all out on my own. I’m not someone who’s especially driven by other’s opinions anyway, so I have this tendency to look inward instead of outward during times of career confusion.
With that said, during transitional, confusing times in my career, when I’ve made a point to reach out to a few select individuals like those mentioned here, clarity often comes more quickly to me.
You have to be selective about whom you choose to involve though. More often than not, people with more conventional careers may critique you and make you question whether you’re doing the right thing. Even people like well-meaning family members who care a lot about you may influence you in ways that don’t serve your desired career agenda.
However, just one conversation with the right person can really help you become more confident in your path you’re considering. And this confidence can help you gain the courage needed to make a brave leap that sends your career in a much more rewarding direction when you need it most.
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af585d710695425fcc55837e4aa582a5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephliu/2019/04/02/successfully-change-careers/?sh=6e7958cd525c | How To Change Careers, According To 50 People Who Made A Pivot | How To Change Careers, According To 50 People Who Made A Pivot
Reflection Denys Nevozhai
The most unsettling periods of my own life have been when I made a major career change, whether that involved quitting medical school to pursue a career in business, relocating from San Francisco to London, or leaving the corporate world to start my own career consultancy.
Make no mistake, career pivots involve more friction, disruption, and risk than simply staying on a more linear, traditional career path. Having experienced the emotional ups and downs of navigating career changes myself during the past two decades of my professional life, I’m now focused on understanding what it takes to successfully reinvent yourself.
During the past few years as a career change consultant, I’ve spoken with hundreds of people navigating career changes, and I’ve personally interviewed over 50 individuals from 10 countries and five continents who have shared their personal stories of reinvention on my Career Relaunch podcast. Although they span a wide range of ages, backgrounds, industries, and roles, I discovered many common actions and beliefs that seem to separate individuals who manage pull off radical career changes from those who don’t.
Here are 10 lessons I’ve learned from a few of them about what it takes to successfully relaunch your career.
1. Accept That No Shortcuts Exist
Every time I’ve tried to take my career in a new direction, it’s taken me longer than expected. Figuring out what I wanted to do after I dropped out of medical school took me a solid three years of confusion, reflection, and exploration followed by another two years of additional schooling in business school honing in on my new career direction.
Stephen Satterfield, restaurant manager turned founder of the Whetstone food magazine, says overnight successes simply don’t have very often. “Any successful business venture is the product of hard work, day after day, month after month, year after year, until there’s a significant breakthrough.” His journey to become a food writer and editor has come with setbacks and challenges, but he’s stuck with it and continued to gain steady progress and traction.
Prepare yourself to run a marathon rather than a sprint, because although shortcuts are handy, in reality, few exist when you’re trying to create a meaningful career change.
2. Commit To A Steady March
Whenever I used to rush through things as a child, my father used to remind me of an old Chinese proverb, “The more haste, the less speed.” Most of my career changes have indeed resulted from time-consuming, consistent steps to make the progress I wanted rather than a sudden pivot.
Anne Tumlinson, former Senior Vice President at a health policy consulting firm turned Daughterhood community founder believes difficulty is an inevitable part of any worthwhile change journey. “Just because something’s hard, doesn’t mean you’re failing. Progress is so much less about talent than it is about time, effort, commitment, and consistency.” This attitude has helped her become an independent consultant and steadily build an ever-growing Daughterhood community of engaged women across the country committed toward supporting one another in caring for their aging parents.
Commit to a consistent, steady march to overcome the roadblocks and challenges that inevitably arise when you step off the beaten career path.
3. Take Small Actions, Even Imperfect Ones
I’m a planner. So I take comfort in first having a solid plan mapped out with all contingencies fully in place before I act. This attitude has prevented me from being sloppy in my life but also hindered me from taking action. For that very reason, career transitions have been especially unsettling because I’ve had to make a leap without feeling like I had everything fully figured out.
Chris Donovan, who spent 25 years as a telephone repairman, took small steps to pursue his lifelong interest in shoe design, even though he didn’t know precisely where they would lead him. He first signed up for a 2-day shoe design class in NYC. The instructor, after seeing Chris’s designs, encouraged him to pursue shoe design more seriously. With no design background, he applied for and got into the Polimoda Fashion Institute in Florence, Italy as a complete outlier student. “Most of the other students were in their early 20s while I was 55. I was older than the teachers. I even got mistaken for a janitor a couple times.” After successfully completing the program, and navigating his way through the complicated world of finding a manufacturer, he’s now working on producing his first line of high-end women’s shoes.
Take a manageable, brave leap of faith, which is scary, but often necessary to open new doors in your career.
4. Explore Without Expectation
Sometimes, I hesitate to invest time into something unless I know for certain it will lead to something worthwhile. This gets quite circular because I often don’t know whether something is worthwhile until I actually try it.
Vicky Dain erred on the side of exploration as a way of uncovering where she wanted to take her career. After growing disenchanted with her role as a corporate lawyer, she resigned from her role and stepped away from work, going through a period of time she called a “fertile void” to allow herself to really explore other career ideas. “I’m only going to give my ideas full respect if I actually go and try them all.” She spent several months dabbling in a range of interests—everything from writing to baking to farming to carpentry as a way of testing the waters. She realized through these explorations that working with people at a really personal level was appealing to her. “Human behaviour, attitudes, and human interactions were really fascinating to me.” She eventually identified clinical psychology as the career she wanted to pursue, and has since begun her clinical training.
Reserve judgment and expectation until after you dip your toe in the waters you’re exploring so you can cast the net widely, dispel your preconceived notions, and understand which realities ultimately resonate with you.
5. Embrace Your Unique Journey
When I attempted to land my first formal role in marketing, I had this tendency of almost apologizing for the fact I didn’t come from a more traditional marketing background. I quickly realised this mindset didn’t exactly serve me well when interviewing for roles, so had to stop self-handicapping.
Initially, teacher turned artist Sandeep Johal constantly critiqued her own work and potential to pursue a career in art, which held her back. “If there’s something you’re passionate about and something that fulfils you, just go for it because I spent so much time not doing what I wanted to do.” Eventually, she adopted a much more empowering perspective. “One day, I just stopped being my own worst critic and became my number one fan.” This strengthened belief inspired more positive actions which drove more positive results, and she’s now working as an independent artist.
To give yourself a decent shot at effectively standing out when breaking into a new industry, you have to believe you’re uniquely qualified precisely because of your unique background, not in spite of your unique background, so you can move forward with confidence.
6. Selectively Craft Your New Narrative
Figuring out how to describe myself during times of career change has always been a tough balancing act. For example, when I tried to shift from healthcare consulting into marketing, I had to highlight my past accomplishments in healthcare on my resume & interviews. However, doing that felt like I was pigeonholing myself as a healthcare professional, even though I wanted to move away from that very industry.
Recrafting your narrative turns out to be a key challenge for many career changers. Krishelle Hardson-Hurley started her career as a teacher, but eventually decided to shift into tech engineering. To pull off this pivot, she invested a tremendous amount of time refining her personal narrative so she could position herself as an attractive candidate in spite of the fact she had no experience in the tech industry. “By the time I was in front of people who could give me an opportunity to pursue engineering, I could tell my story very well because I’d done the work to understand what I was looking for and communicating my ambitions effectively.” A contact she made at DropBox was impressed by her clarity, and Krishelle eventually landed a role there as a site reliability engineer.
As a career changer, invest extra time and effort in crafting your career narrative so others can more easily to connect the dots between what you have done and what you want to do.
7. Avoid Relying Solely On Your Existing Network
Jim Rohn once famously said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” I’ve definitely found this to be the case, although suddenly trying to surround yourself with people outside of my current industry has always felt rather awkward, at least initially. When I left the corporate marketing job to start my own career consultancy, I naturally felt more at ease with fellow marketers. I felt like an imposter around other solopreneurs, but being around those people helped push me toward gaining the clarity, confidence, and courage I needed to launch my own venture.
When Adrian Knight considered leaving his steady recruitment job, many of the people in his professional circles told him he shouldn’t walk away from his steady job, but that actually helped convince him to leave. “I looked around at the lives of the people saying these things, and realized that their lives were not the ones I wanted to live myself.” He ended up ignoring the conventional advice of those in his existing professional circles and took the leap to found his own franchise recruitment firm.
Similarly, former tech marketer Noz Nozawa also decided her immediate professional network was not the best source of inspiration when planning to start her own interior design business. “Through the process of trying to find people to talk to about my ideas, I realized you’re less likely to already know people in your existing professional network who have done what you want to do.”
Although it may feel unnatural, make the effort to surround yourself with people aligned with your desired future rather than only those from your past.
8. Define Your Clear Walk-Away Point
One of the first lessons I was taught about negotiation skills was to define my walkaway point before entering into any negotiation. What’s interesting is that I’ve noticed that I’m constantly in negotiations with myself about what is and is not acceptable in my career and life. For example, although I really valued work-life balance, I’ve gone through plenty of periods in my career where I tolerated long stretches of coming home late and working weekends.
Former professional tennis player Rina Einy spent the first part of her life playing tennis on the world stage, even representing Great Britain in the 1988 Olympics. However, after the Olympics, she decided to draw a line in the sand and pursue a corporate career instead. “I didn’t need to prove anything anymore to anyone else or myself. I just didn’t want to do it anymore.” She called her coach and told him he wasn’t playing anymore. She then went on to study at the London School of Economics, eventually landed a trading role at JP Morgan on Wall Street, and now serves as Managing Director for Textyle International and Founder of Culthread London.
Julian Mather went from being an Australian army sniper to a TV cameraman to a children’s magician. He attributes his ability to make these radical pivots to being able to walk away from his past. “It’s incredibly important to let go. It’s only by letting go that you can start a fresh life and give it your all.”
To start a new chapter in your career, define what your walkaway point will be, commit to that standard, and be willing to move on when that line is crossed.
9. Pursue Energy Instead Of Passion
None of my career changes involved me “pursuing my passion.” In fact, I’ve found that word “passion” to be a somewhat daunting, almost unreachable standard to inform where I should take my career. Instead, I tried to spend more time using my strengths and doing things that interested me, even if they didn’t reach the level of a true passion.
Former software marketer Zai Divecha started to consider making a career change when she realized she was feeling so much more motivated by her side projects than her day job. She had started a fundraising cycling team, and loved the feeling and energy she had when building something of her own. “I wondered if I could create a job for myself where I’m in flow for at least some part of the day. I knew I wanted to work for myself. I knew I wanted to be creative. But I didn’t have an exact plan.”
Thinking about which activities energized her helped her uncover where to take her career. “I’ve always done stuff with my hands in my free time since I was a little kid. That’s when I feel the most engaged and focused.” After spending over a year exploring potential ideas with other craftspeople, she eventually launched her own steel art design studio and now creates paper sculpture installations for her clients.
Identify ways to do more work that energizes you can to guide where to take your career—even if you haven’t identified a strong passion.
10. Trust Your Instincts
I would describe myself as a strongly left-brained, logical individual who types as an extreme planner on the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory survey. None of my career changes has seemed rational or logical. But deep down, I always had a strong gut feeling that the time had come to do something else.
Cosmetics export manager turned nutritionist and naturopath Audrey Lemargue used her own gut feelings as her guiding compass during her career change. “As soon as I realized I wanted to become a naturopath, it didn’t matter what people thought about what I was doing anymore because I knew this was the right thing for me.” Her advice to other people trying to figure out where to take their careers is to respect your intuition. “Trust your gut feeling and follow your instinct. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s because it isn’t. Give yourself the time to figure it out. The answers will come to you if you remain open.”
Trust your inner intuition because it often points your career in a direction that truly honors who you are, even when it flies in the face of logic.
Conclusion: No Magic Wands When Changing Careers, But Some Helpful Steps
One thing I’ve learned after talking to so many people about how they changed careers is that everyone’s journey is unique. While common success patterns do exist amongst those who pull off a major career change, you have to decide which actions will enable your own unique career pivot. The great news is that you’re in the driver’s seat. You get to decide when to act on that tug you’ve been feeling to step away from your current job to pursue something that makes you happier.
The other thing I’ve learned is that making the effort to pursue more meaningful work, the kind of work that energizes, excites, and fulfills you, is one of the most rewarding endeavors you can pursue in your career. Regardless of how challenging or elongated their career change journeys have been, every single person I’ve interviewed has said stepping off the beaten path to do work that matters more to them has been absolutely worth it.
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78ba7796cb2976dd90935fc452f77bdb | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephnardone/2019/12/02/michigan-wolverines-vaulting-up-polls-other-ap-poll-insight/ | Michigan Wolverines, Rising From The Ashes, Reach No. 4 In AP Poll In Historic Jump | Michigan Wolverines, Rising From The Ashes, Reach No. 4 In AP Poll In Historic Jump
ANN ARBOR, MI - NOVEMBER 22: The Michigan Wolverines student section chants during the Michigan ... [+] Wolverines game versus the Houston Baptist Huskies on Friday November 22, 2019 at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI. (Photo by Steven King/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Playing small sample size theater, the Michigan Wolverines made the correct choice by hiring Juwan Howard to lead the program after John Beilein left for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Starting the 2019-20 college basketball season outside top 25 polls, a different song was sung when the latest AP Poll was released on Monday, slotting the 7-0 Wolverines as the No. 4 ranked team in the country.
Obviously, that’s an mind boggling upward trajectory by way of a completely objective power ranking system. Even with that being the case, there’s good reason for the previously unranked Wolverines to find itself in the company of other blue-blood programs.
With the 47th ranked strength of schedule, Michigan has already defeated Creighton, Iowa State, North Carolina and Gonzaga. The latter two, the Tar Heels and Bulldogs, are still top 10 ranked teams in this week’s AP Poll.
According to the AP, Michigan’s jump to No. 4 matches the 1989 Kansas Jayhawks for the biggest unranked jump in the history of the poll.
“I’m sure we’re on the map now,” Howard said. “A lot of teams are looking and seeing Michigan as a name that’s out there. When you beat teams like Creighton and Iowa State as well as North Carolina and Gonzaga, you’re no longer under the radar.”
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A tough road still needs navigation for Howard and company, though. There will be no resting on their laurels, as the No. 1 ranked Louisville Cardinals are next up on Michigan’s docket.
Louisville is actually the fourth team in five weeks to secure the No. 1 overall ranking, receiving all but 17 of the 65 first place votes placed. Others receiving first place votes were the Wolverines (nine), Virginia Cavaliers (five) and Kansas Jayhawks (three).
Despite heading into the season with arguably the most hyped group of freshmen outside of Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers, Louisville coach Chris Mack isn’t looking at the top ranking as some sort of victory or destination.
“There’s no team that’s arrived. No team’s arrived,” Cardinals coach Chris Mack said. “A lot of people are saying that we haven’t played anybody. A lot of people are saying we’re not there. Maybe we aren’t deserving. I don’t care.”
Honestly, it’s the best sentiment to be had with early December polls creating zero impact relative to what will happen come March. As written about previously, not only are preseason polls mostly worthless — highlighted by a young season already featuring a handful of No. 1 ranked teams — but early season polls are closer to a viewers’ guide to college basketball than it is an accurate prediction for what the standings will look like come Selection Sunday.
In other notable moves, the immortal Leonard Hamilton and the Florida State Seminoles earned enough votes to be ranked for the first time this season (17th); Utah State dropped 10 spots to 25; and Dayton (19th) moved into a ranked position for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
Full AP Top 25 Poll
Louisville Kansas Maryland Michigan Virginia Ohio State North Carolina Kentucky Gonzaga Duke Michigan State Arizona Oregon Auburn Memphis Seton Hall Florida State Baylor Dayton Colorado Tennessee Washington Villanova Butler Utah State
Others receiving votes: Florida 111, Xavier 91, San Diego St. 89, Saint Mary's (Cal) 86, Oklahoma St. 85, Texas Tech 43, West Virginia 28, Purdue 24, DePaul 18, Arkansas 17, Indiana 13, Penn St. 9, Stephen F Austin 7, Oklahoma 6, Liberty 5, Notre Dame 2, Richmond 2, VCU 2, SMU 1, Delaware 1.
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afa3a4b588a2080803ddb2d2830a9563 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephsteinberg/2014/06/02/your-privacy-is-now-at-risk-from-search-engines-even-if-the-law-says-otherwise/ | Your Privacy Is Now At Risk From Search Engines -- Even If The Law Says Otherwise | Your Privacy Is Now At Risk From Search Engines -- Even If The Law Says Otherwise
Last week the European Union’s Court of Justice ordered Google to grant people the right to be forgotten, giving people the ability to have themselves removed from search results that are “inadequate, irrelevant, or no longer relevant, or excessive in relation to the purposes for which they were processed.”
People living, or doing business in Europe, are likely the primary beneficiaries of the current ruling; Americans, however, may benefit indirectly as discussion reignites about privacy laws on our side of the Atlantic.
The ruling should also serve as a serious wake up call to everyone about the privacy of his or her information. People should realize that many privacy protections that Americans believe that they enjoy – even some guaranteed by law – have, in fact, been eroded or even obliterated by technological advances. The following are some examples, but in no way form a comprehensive list. Hopefully they will serve as “food for thought” inspiring conversations and discussions, as well as a catalyst for people to consider adjusting their behavior to improve their own privacy:
1 . Many people rely on the protections of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. They understand that if they fail to pay creditors on time that information will appear on their credit reports and their credit scores will drop. But, they also know that, by law, adverse information comes off of reports – and is ignored when calculating scores – after a period of time. So, someone not looking to purchase a home or car for some time may not be terribly scared of being late on a few payments, and someone considering foreclosure or bankruptcy in order to “start over” understands that the law pretty much assures him that after several years of fiscal responsibility (and certainly no more than a decade) he will be able to borrow once again.
These beliefs, however, may not be correct, as Google and other online information providers have changed the game. While adverse information may not appear on credit reports after several years of “improved behavior,” it could exist forever within the context of news articles, blog posts, or other materials. In fact, the incident that spurred the EU ruling was the 1998 auction of a repossessed property on which the owner could not make payments, and which still appeared in search results many years later. Laws regulating how long adverse credit information “hangs around” may be next to meaningless if potential lenders can perpetually obtain negative information in seconds by performing a simple Google search.
2. In the past, many people have benefited from laws that keep minor offenses off of permanent criminal records, or from the sealing of files or the expunging of information from them. But laws and court orders lose their potency if a perspective employer can find the supposedly purged information within seconds of entering a candidate’s name into a Google search. Unless something is changed, minor offenses committed today may, in some cases, cause people more ongoing professional harm than much more serious crimes committed before the advent of Internet-based (and recorded) news.
3. Various emails sent to member-only mailing lists, which were intended to be read only by members of those lists, have, somehow, over time, found their way into search engine databases. People sending emails to closed groups might want to consider that the groups may not, actually, end up being as closed as their sponsors or moderators promise.
4. Codes included in books for purchasers to access “add ons” have been disclosed in Google’s book previews. One example of this problem is the book Stella’s Dance, written in 2007 by Rachel Thill to help her young daughter cope with the sudden loss of her father. The book contains a code on the back cover that allows purchasers to download the audio-book version for free. For years that page was offered as part of the free preview by Google – meaning that Google was providing information to everyone on the Internet how to download the audio book for free – something that the publisher clearly would not want shared in such a fashion. The problem was recently corrected for this specific book (I waited until this information was removed from the preview before running this article so as not to facilitate theft), but, it seems possible, if not likely, that with a large number of books including information about accompanying downloads that this problem may persist for the foreseeable future.
5. Pirated movies, music, and books are indexed by search engines. This impacts a huge number of people in a large number of industries. I have even found a pirated version of one of my own books this way; while it may be flattering that someone actually took the time to scan the book page by page to make it available to others, clearly I am not happy about the piracy, nor about search engines assisting people to steal from me. It should not be difficult for Google and other search engines to block many searches for pirated materials; eliminating from data stores and search results pages that include red-flags such as the combination of the names of works along with file extensions or distribution mechanisms (e.g., “torrent”) commonly used for disseminating pirated versions, but rarely legitimate ones, could be a good start. It is true that search engine providers typically remove links to pirated products if requested to do so by copyright owners, but that process puts the onus on owners, when the providers should probably be doing more proactively.
6. Information related to Social Security Numbers, mothers’ maiden names, and other “ostensibly private” data can appear in search engine results, regardless of any privacy rules. I recently demonstrated for a former colleague how I could pull up social-security-number related information for both him and mutual acquaintances by crafting the right type of searches. While it is bad practice to use the aforementioned types of information for authentication questions, the reality is that many organizations still do; whenever possible, parties that do should change their practices in this regard.
7. It should be obvious that any information that appears in search results is available to government bodies without the need to obtain any form of warrant. This includes confidential information that might have inadvertently been placed on a server crawled by Google or another engine’s spiders. Be careful where you put files – even temporarily.
Some have argued that the “right to be forgotten” undermines the right to free speech, and can destroy the credibility of online information by transforming the Internet into a strictly-positive, censored environment. If the “right” is overextended, they will be correct. But, if this right is implemented properly in order to protect people’s privacy when appropriate, and done in a fashion that does not compromise true public interest, no harm will befall the First Amendment. After all, we already have laws that require the removal of adverse information from credit reports and from criminal records, laws that prohibit piracy, and laws that disallow the disclosure of trade secrets and confidential information. We just need to apply these laws to 21st Century communications media in a fair, organized, and open fashion that preserves liberties and the public interest while respecting all of our rights to privacy.
The current ruling should be a catalyst for us to start that discussion.
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046073b67ca6f2de21f26e8c2fcc0ba8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephsteinberg/2014/07/23/you-are-being-tracked-online-by-a-sneaky-new-technology-heres-what-you-need-to-know/?utm_content=buffer26cde&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer | You Are Being Tracked Online By A Sneaky New Technology -- Here's What You Need To Know | You Are Being Tracked Online By A Sneaky New Technology -- Here's What You Need To Know
You are likely being tracked online by a sneaky, new technology that works without your consent, and can track you even if you use anti-tracking toolbars or strict privacy settings.
How is this possible?
Historically, to track you, a website sent cookies or files to your computer, or examined various properties of your device. Anti-tracking systems, therefore, block these types of activities. The new tracking system, however, does not transmit cookies or files, and does not need to read unique properties; to web browsers – and to anti-tracking tools – its mechanism appears to operate like that of a normal webpage.
So how does it work?
When you visit a website that employs Canvas Fingerprinting, as the new sneaky system is known, the site sends your web browser a request to generate a hidden image consisting of some text. Because individual computers have operating system versions, browsers, fonts, graphics adapters, etc. that vary from one to another, there are slight variations between the way text appears in an image on one computer from the way it does on the next. The images of text, are, therefore, like computers’ fingerprints; by analyzing them and tracking what type of image a particular computer generates, different websites utilizing the same tracking system can track a user from site to site – even if he or she is using Incognito Mode, strict browser privacy settings, or an anti-tracking tool.
Strictly speaking, it’s actually the computers that are being tracked – not the people using them. But that’s still quite scary – especially since many people are the sole users of their computers and mobile devices, and because once other information is added into the mix, the identification and tracking can often be refined down to the actual human user level.
Who is doing the tracking?
Social-bookmarking provider AddThis is believed to have begun using canvas fingerprinting earlier this year. Websites that are believed to have utilized canvas fingerprinting from AddThis range from the White House to YouPorn. (YouPorn claims to have turned off canvas fingerprinting after being made aware of its presence in AddThis; the White House has made no such claim – even though the use of canvas fingerprinting seems, at least to me, to be a violation of its own privacy policy.)
What does this mean? Am I being tracked?
Even if you are using Incognito mode, anti-tracking toolbars, or strict privacy settings in your web browser, you can be tracked, and there is a pretty good chance that you are being tracked. That means that when you visit any particular website the operator of that site could know what other sites you have visited in the past – even if you don’t want them to know.
Is device fingerprinting new?
While canvas fingerprinting gained public awareness in 2012 and became a practical problem recently, device fingerprinting technologies in general go back many years. Authentication systems (such as the one I designed for Green Armor) and anti-fraud solutions have used various forms of fingerprinting for over a decade. But that fingerprinting was, and is, used to prevent unauthorized parties from accessing people’s private accounts or stealing their money and data; it was not used for surreptitiously tracking a user’s actions between websites or to target the user for advertising. Even when such systems were ultimately leveraged by marketers, anti-tracking systems that masked browser properties remained generally effective.
The use of advanced fingerprinting technologies, such as canvas fingerprinting, for purposes of tracking people who wish not to be tracked is a different situation and highly problematic. While research into canvas-like fingerprinting was previously done by cybersecurity product vendors, and others have discussed it in the past, the problem was recently brought to the forefront by a paper written by researchers from Princeton and KU Leuven Universities that documented the magnitude of its current use.
How can I avoid being tracked?
One can argue that you should always assume that you are being tracked; there is no foolproof way to fully anonymize anything on the Internet, and there is no way to know if some new tracking system is tracking you in an, as of yet, undetectable and/or unblockable way (as was the case with canvas fingerprinting until recently). There are some ways to improve your odds, however, if you are willing to sacrifice some convenience; you should be aware, however, that it is possible that your efforts will not actually succeed in stopping the tracking. Here are some possibilities:
Privacy Badger is a new tool that claims to block canvas fingerprinting (it is new – so time will tell…) You can use Tor web browser (which may seem complicated for some people) You can use the Chameleon web browser which is designed to block tracking (although it is not simple to install and use like the major browsers) You can turn off JavaScript in your browser (although that will likely cause various websites not to work properly) You can use a very old web browser (although that may introduce other security risks that may be far worse than being tracked)
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c9f3f5d1200f48463987cc78599b0361 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephsteinberg/2015/04/16/this-new-online-interactive-film-shows-whos-watching-you-online-and-its-downright-scary/ | This New Interactive Film Shows Who's Watching You Online | This New Interactive Film Shows Who's Watching You Online
While many people realize that businesses and governments track their activities online, the vast majority do not realize the extent to which tracking occurs and how much information about them is available to parties whom they do not know.
A new online interactive documentary, premiering today at the Tribeca Film Festival New York, and available for free online, seeks to change that by educating Internet users (i.e., most of humanity) in a clear and fun fashion about the risks that they truly need to understand.
Do Not Track will air in a series of episodes to be released over the next two months; the first two of which are now live, and are well worth watching.
The goal of the work, according to its Creator and Director, Brett Gaylor, who previously worked at the Mozilla foundation (known for advocating for better online privacy), is not to discourage people from using the Internet, but to transform unsuspecting people into informed consumers. Armed with knowledge discussed in the documentary, people can take simple steps to allow tracking when they want it and reduce or prevent it when they don’t.
Most people will likely be nothing short of shocked when they learn how many trackers are watching them, and how much information can be garnered and extrapolated from their Internet activity; when I met with Gaylor in New York I even joked that for some people the documentary might fit in genre of “horror films.” Within the first few minutes of the first episode people are shown visually how many different parties track them as a result of simply reading the news online – potentially tracking not only what stories they choose to read, but also what links on news sites they choose to click and what subsequent sites they visit during present and subsequent web sessions.
As Gaylor pointed out, anyone who says that he/she isn’t concerned about tracking because he/she has “nothing to hide” clearly does not understand the ramifications of tracking. How many people who consistently post about their successes on Facebook don’t mention when they fail at something important or when they are caught doing something that they should not have done? How many people who Tweet regularly tell the world about highly personal issues such as medical problems, marital fights, or embarrassing scenarios? Negative events are part of life and we all experience them – but they are not the aspects of our lives that we like to announce to the world. Allowing businesses and governments to track everything we do often exposes these “secrets” -- often undermining privacy in ways that we have not thought about and whose consequences we have not anticipated.
This is an area in which I have taken a personal interest; it was a similar growing risk that motivated me to form SecureMySocial and develop technology to warn people if they are making social media posts that could later come back to haunt them; businesses have suffered losses from people sharing data without realizing what can be extrapolated from it, and there are stories in the media on a regular basis about inappropriate posts harming people’s professional and personal lives.
So, how does one prevent being tracked?
There are several ideas discussed in Do Not Track. In addition, here are some quick pointers: Most web browsers have an option that one can turn on that helps; it is usually appropriately named "Do Not Track." However, enabling such a feature only instructs the web browser to request that sites not track the user, it does not actually prevent them from doing so. Using a browser's Private Mode delivers some additional protection as well; if it works properly, Private Mode causes various tracking mechanisms (e.g., that rely on cookies) to fail -- but, advanced fingerprinting technologies such as the one I discussed last year may enable some parties to be able to track you even if you use Private Mode. Using the Tor Browser Bundle as a web browser when you want to avoid tracking might help as well; besides anonymizing Internet traffic, this Tor package also blocks various fingerprinting technologies -- making tracking a user far more difficult.
Do Not Track was funded by several parties including public broadcasting commissions in Germany, France, and Canada. In fact, as an interactive documentary, the characters who appear on video, and the languages used when they speak, vary based on the country from which the user is watching. This feature is also a reminder that online tracking – and online privacy issues in general – are a global concern.
I highly encourage people to watch Do Not Track; it takes only a few minutes and it may truly enlighten you as to how much businesses and governments may be learning about you from your online activity. After watching you’ll still, of course, use the Internet, but you may sometimes take simple steps to reduce the amount of tracking.
Follow Joseph Steinberg on Twitter at @JosephSteinberg
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8bf78394da5e9750351f0008022d8b0e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephwolkin/2020/07/01/samantha-busch-discusses-entrepreneurship-new-book-about-infertility/?sh=5288412a12f7 | Samantha Busch Discusses Entrepreneurship, New Book About Infertility | Samantha Busch Discusses Entrepreneurship, New Book About Infertility
Samantha Busch (right) runs the Bundle of Joy Fund with her husband, NASCAR champion Kyle Busch. Getty Images
Samantha Busch is quite the entrepreneur. The 34-year-old wife of two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch is known for being much more than a face on pit road.
Busch is known as the “boss babe,” working in tandem with her husband on a plethora of organizations, including the nonprofit Bundle of Joy Fund, which is a branch of the Kyle Busch Foundation. In addition to charity work, she helps run some of the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s business ventures, such as Rowdy Energy, which launched earlier this year.
“With Kyle and I, when life’s too easy, we just want to start something new,” she said. “Kyle was an energy drink drinker for years. He just turned 35, and he likes to say he’s entering his Tom Brady years. He’s getting up there in age, but he wants to keep going and keep excelling. That starts with what you put into your body. He wanted to create an energy drink that was healthier, smarter and cleaner. We really dove into that, and we partnered with beverage entrepreneur Jeff Church, who started Suja.”
The couple might be the most impactful in the NASCAR garage. Kyle’s influence spreads far and wide, known as one of the most popular drivers in the sport. While Chase Elliott won the Most Popular Driver award last year, Busch is the one who an average Joe can recognize.
But that’s why the Bundle of Joy Fund is such an important project for the couple. On Nov. 29, 2018, as the family was quite vocal about their journey to pregnancy through IVF treatment, Busch announced to the world she lost her baby.
The news was devastating. The couple made the bold decision to share each step of their experience to the world. This wasn’t just another part of this journey.
Coming out and speaking about infertility was something the Busch family did a few years prior, while they were attempting to have their first baby, Brexton. Fortunately, Brexton was born and has been quite healthy.
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“We came out and started discussing our infertility when we launched the Bundle of Joy Fund,” Samantha said. “I was about 18 weeks pregnant with Brexton, and I was nervous. The overwhelming support and love from complete strangers — between the NASCAR community and the IVF infertility community — drove us to want to keep talking about it. We’re helping people, and the Bundle of Joy Fund is growing.”
The experience of losing a baby made the family realize they are indeed not alone. And Busch knows it is time to use their reach across the world to make a difference.
Samantha just finished writing her manuscript, Fighting Infertility, which will be available in the spring of 2021. The book will detail their first-hand experience with infertility, as well as giving advice for those going through IVF treatments.
“It’s everything we went through with infertility, IVF, a miscarriage and now, looking into surrogacy,” she said. “The end of the book has a small advice section, protecting your mental health during the struggles and your relationship. It is very honest and very raw. A lot of couples going through this need to feel loved and supported. This is a great way to show them that they’re not alone and it’s not always easy.
“The end of the book has a lot of practical advice. I interviewed a number of therapists and leaders in the infertility community to give people resources. When we were going through this, about seven or eight years ago, it wasn’t talked about as much. It wasn’t on people’s radars as much. People felt a little more embarrassed to talk about it. We’re trying to take away that stigma. We want to give them the education and empowerment that they need.”
The book is culmination of Samantha’s journey with IVF treatments. She hopes to make an impact for those who read it, and most of all, she opens a door for conversations that might not happen otherwise.
Along with penning a book, Busch has been quite busy throughout the coronavirus pandemic. She continues to manage her boutique, which she’s run for several years. Now, she’s looking to create a brick and mortar shop, and it’s something Kyle is helping her with.
“It lets my creative side out,” Busch said. “A branch of that is I design race tees for the fans. It’s an extra way to connect with the women in our sport. I take a lot of their advice and input into it. Over the years, a lot of the clothing geared toward the males in our sport. Now, we have fun colors and prints.”
While some families might not work well together when it comes to business ventures, this power couple is the opposite.
“It’s interesting because you would think it would cause fights,” she said. “But for us, we function really well with projects. We’re here to support each other, and we’re each other’s sounding boards. When it comes to my stores, I said to him, ‘What do you think about brick and mortars?’ He said, ‘Let’s go look at a few sights and weigh out the pros and cons.’ It’s nice to have somebody to bounce ideas off of. We know what our different talents and how they can complement each other. When it comes to projects, it’s fun and we like working together.”
Throughout the pandemic, NASCAR is implementing a safety protocol, which means families are limited to visiting the tracks. The Busch squad teamed with Walmart Family Mobile to make sure they can communicate well with one another while Kyle continues to compete, with Samantha and Brexton at home. The plan, she said, is available on MyFamilyMobile.com and truly helps them even when they’re all at the track because of its unlimited data.
“With Walmart Family Mobile, especially now, we’re constantly FaceTiming Kyle,” she said. “I’m able to stay connected with Kyle and so is Brexton. We FaceTime him before the race, do our normal pre-race prayer and Kyle calls us after the races. The unlimited data is amazing for me when I was at the track, and we can really stay connected.”
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7520f52ff0c4c01fc954e09a1719689b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephwolkin/2020/11/30/corey-lajoie-joins-spire-motorsports-as-he-aims-to-race-with-the-big-dogs/?fbclid=IwAR3B53GuUmnjdgYhypNVkPplfr_23l7tYNnUSCJP2cUYEUXEmpklDs9ocng&sh=51090ddab472 | Corey LaJoie Joins Spire Motorsports As He Aims To ‘Race With The Big Dogs’ | Corey LaJoie Joins Spire Motorsports As He Aims To ‘Race With The Big Dogs’
Corey LaJoie competed full-time for Go Fas Racing in the Nascar Cup Series, becoming a fan favorite ... [+] while outdriving his equipment. Getty Images
When Spire Motorsports announced it was expanding to a two-car organization in 2021 with its own race shop, only one driver texted team co-owner Jeff Dickerson.
It was Corey LaJoie, a man who announced he was leaving Go Fas Racing in hopes of finding a more competitive ride. Well, LaJoie’s text made him stand out among the competition as Spire Motorsports looked to fill the seat of its lead car.
LaJoie just signed a deal to pilot Spire’s all-new No. 7 car starting in 2021, beginning a fresh journey for both the driver and the team.
“As soon as I saw the news broke that they bought a charter, I sent Jeff a text saying, ‘When can I bring my seat over?’” LaJoie said. “In one of the first meetings we had, Jeff said I was the only guy to text him when it happened. He asked how much I was being serious, and it was probably a 70-30 joke at the time.”
Well, it turned out to be quite serious. LaJoie truly believed in the team’s five-year plan, and he wanted to be part of a growing organization. And Spire has been on the hunt for a driver who is not afraid to get the process started.
“We always talked about doing something together,” Dickerson said. “What makes Corey different from others is he would take just as much pride in building something to a tier one opportunity as he would getting the keys at another team. That’s what makes Corey special as a person, not just as a driver.”
LaJoie is coming off his first two full-time seasons in the Nascar Cup Series, earning three top-10 finishes with his underfunded team in that span. His occasional runs near the front of the pack, along with his growing fan base, made him an attractive driver on the free agent market. While he had other opportunities, including some to compete for a championship in the lower tiers of Nascar, he opted to join Spire.
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The throwback style driver is a casual man. He has a wife, kids and a pickup truck. He works on his own cars, and he loves to joke around with fans. He has a genuine camaraderie with those around him, and Spire wants him to build a culture from within.
Corey LaJoie will pilot the No. 7 Chevrolet in 2021 and beyond for Spire Motorsports. (Photo courtesy of Spire Motorsports)
“As much as I want to prove myself, it’s still a process of positioning yourself to make a career out of it,” he said. “I could have went to drive race-winning trucks or Xfinity cars, but then you pass up the opportunity to stay in the Cup garage and you never know when you can get back.”
Spire is moving over to Leavine Family Racing’s old shop in Concord, N.C. after that team closed its doors following the 2020 Nascar season. Dickerson and co-owner TJ Puchyr were readying for the Next Gen car in 2021, but that is now being pushed to 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This means 2021 will be a year of growth as they get ready to go full force in 2022 with LaJoie as the team leader.
“What I’m most excited about is the vision of making this a multi-year thing to build upon to get the foundation built for a good team with the Next Gen car,” LaJoie said. “It’s really cool to have a team being built around me.”
Spire Motorsports recently secured an alliance with a pair of major Cup Series teams, which it will announce in the coming weeks. It will field Chevrolets once again in 2021.
The expansion of Spire Motorsports did not come easy, though. Puchyr and Dickerson took out a $6 million loan nearly three years ago to get the team started.
For each of the last two Nascar Cup Series seasons, Spire has been operating with help from Premium Motorsports, owned by Jay Robinson. But Robinson sold his team to Rick Ware Racing, and Spire’s No. 77 team circled near the bottom of the pylon.
Spire Motorsports' average finish over the last two years in 31.6, highlighted with a victory by Justin Haley in 2019 at Daytona International Speedway, a race that ended early due to rain.
Now, the team is upping its goals. The selling point for LaJoie was not an alliance with other teams, but the idea that this is an organization that believes in him. LaJoie will be the focal point as Spire looks to become the next major team in Nascar’s premier division.
“I knew from the first five-minute conversation that this is something I want to be part of,” LaJoie said. “I had no idea what the cars would be, what the engines would be or who the people would be.
“We were starting to work on a deal before an alliance or engine deals were even being discussed. I knew the connections that both of those guys had in the garage would help them make something happen.”
Expectations for the No. 7 team are open-ended going into next season. LaJoie believes there will be some stellar runs, with others that might not be so amazing.
“I may not race with the big dogs every week, but it’ll be a lot more than people are used to seeing me up there,” LaJoie said.
LaJoie knew the folks at Spire before they started a team. The team is a branch of Spire Sports + Entertainment, which works with organizations in the sport to enhance their programs.
“I’ve seen how TJ helped build Turner Motorsports, Braun Racing and Jeff was spotting for Jeff Gordon for a while,” LaJoie said. “We all cut our teeth the same way and look at things in the same ways.”
LaJoie would joke around with Dickerson and Puchyr about joining their team in the past, but he knew they were still figuring things out. Spire only had one charter until now, and it was still forming relationships with sponsors.
“I didn’t need to be sold because the other options I had might have been better in the short term, but the idea of building something from the ground-up just resonated with me,” LaJoie said. “I want to get in there and give it my all for them.”
The key was bringing on a driver who would be the focal point. It wasn’t about who would enter the cockpit, but more of what driver can build the team from the ground-up.
“We were essentially done with Corey’s deal before even talking about who his sponsors are,” Dickerson said. “We wanted Corey LaJoie first. We want to do this for the next 20 years, and so does he. We hope to have Corey for the next 10 to 15 years.”
And the relationship between the three actually stems back to when LaJoie was named as part of the Nascar Next classes of 2011 and 2012. He was touted as one of the sport’s top prospects alongside the likes of Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott.
As LaJoie began moving up through the rankings, his ability to take lesser vehicles to the front of the pack showed what he’s capable of. But he’s never had an opportunity to compete for wins at the sport’s most prestigious level.
“Corey is an elite talent,” Dickerson said. “It’s very rare to do this with people you really believe in.”
LaJoie is bringing several partners over to Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 team in 2021, including longtime sponsors Schluter Systems and Drydene, as well as one or two others. Additionally, Spire will announce other primary sponsors and the driver lineup for its second car, which will keep the No. 77, in the near future.
“Everybody on my end is super excited to be on a competitive racecar,” he said.
When speaking about the future of Spire, LaJoie said they’re “married for the foreseeable future.” With a driver growing in popularity and one who races in an efficient, clean way, he believes this team can become a powerhouse sooner rather than later.
“They saw the value and looked at the analytics, knowing the caliber of equipment I was racing, to see how I was able to keep those cars clean and get solid results compared to overall speed,” LaJoie said. “This is a lot of responsibility I’m going to take, and I’m not taking it for granted.”
The new pairing is a culmination of years of relationship building within the Nascar garage. All sides believe in each other, and they want to become race winners with one another.
“I take more pride in the relationship that Corey and I have achieved personally as much as anything we’re doing professionally,” Dickerson said.
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7ce61549b160a407135b928dc89cd416 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephwolkin/2021/04/13/ricky-stenhouse-jr-wants-to-continue-to-build-jtg-daugherty-racing/ | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Off To His Best Start In Nascar, Has Big Plans For JTG Daugherty Racing | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Off To His Best Start In Nascar, Has Big Plans For JTG Daugherty Racing
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is in his second year with JTG Daugherty Racing, and he's on pace to have his ... [+] best season in the Nascar Cup Series. Getty Images
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is at home with JTG Daugherty Racing. The two-car Nascar Cup Series team is a place he feels he can be at long term.
Stenhouse joined JTG Daugherty Racing ahead of the 2020 season after unexpectedly being cut from Roush Fenway Racing’s Cup roster. However, the change over to JTG Daugherty Racing is proving to be worthwhile, with Stenhouse off to his best start in his ninth full Cup Series season.
“I enjoy it here,” Stenhouse, whose contract expires at the end of the 2021 season, said. “I love being here and I love trying to build the team around the people we have. I’m looking forward to continuing the process of getting better and better every week. I want to be here.”
Stenhouse is currently riding a wave of momentum with his No. 47 team, having a career-best average finish of 12.6 after the eighth race of the season. If he can keep up the momentum throughout the course of the 36-race Cup season, he'll easily surpass his best average result of 17.1 from 2017. His worst finish this year is 18th (twice).
But for this small team, led by husband and wife Tad and Jodi Geschickter and former NBA player Brad Daugherty, Stenhouse brings an optimism they haven’t seen in years. The team's first Cup Series venture came in 2009, but they have only won one race in the years since, coming in 2014 with AJ Allmendinger at Watkins Glen International. Stenhouse is determined to change that.
“I’ve got all of my people working on that [my contract],” he said. “I enjoy being here and I think we work really well together. It’s kind of a renewed type of fresh air for me. Last year wasn’t much fun as far as trying to figure out the whole Covid schedule and a new team, me making mistakes and getting caught up in other people’s messes. It was a catastrophic year.”
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The mediocre season aside, Stenhouse believes his small team can continue to compete with Nascar's heavyweights. Last year, he earned three top fives and four top 10s, but had an average finish of 22.6, the second-worst of his career.
Since Stenhouse arrived on the Cup Series scene full time in 2013, he’s been seen running near the middle of the pack. Following back-to-back Xfinity Series championships in 2011 and 2012, he joined Roush Fenway Racing’s Cup team just as they started to decline. He wasn’t given equipment with the capability of competing for wins. That led to years of overdriving his racecars, but it’s something he doesn’t regret.
“Overdriving is definitely one thing that will get you in trouble, and it got me in trouble in the past,” Stenhouse said. “But I’ve also gotten a lot of speed out of racecars that you might not have thought could be capable of that by driving it hard and past its limits. It’s gotten me in trouble a lot of times. This year, from my perspective, things that I’ve done is to just try to take what the car will give you and not try to do more than it’s willing to do.”
Now, one of Nascar’s most aggressive drivers is in the best situation of his career.
“I really, really enjoy it,” Stenhouse said. “It’s laid back, fun, enjoyable, a family and you feel welcomed and wanted there. It’s cool to see them want to build the program up and take another step forward. The last couple of years with [Chris] Buescher, they were making progress and taking steps forward. They took over their chassis manufacturing, and I felt like that really helped build their program up as well a year before I came in.”
With consistent backing from major food retailer Kroger, Stenhouse doesn’t have to worry about bringing in extra sponsorship dollars. The only company that followed him over from Roush Fenway Racing to JTG Daugherty Racing was NOS Energy Drink, which had three primary sponsorships last year.
As part of Kroger’s deal with the Nos. 37 and 47 cars, the retailer allows some of the brands in its stores to be on the cars. Proctor & Gamble products have been associate sponsors on Stenhouse’s car this year, including Crest and Tide, as well as Kimberly-Clark’s Cottonelle. Nevertheless, the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted Stenhouse to find new ways for brand interaction.
“We haven’t had a normal season yet (since joining JTG) where you’re going to event promotions, Kroger stores and headquarters,” he said. “I haven’t had anything normal as far as that really good brand interaction with the brands that are on our car.”
The Geschickters have been part of the Nascar family since 1995, owning an Xfinity Series team. Notably, it's the team that gave Jimmie Johnson his first Nascar start in 1998. It’s the family atmosphere that makes this a place where Stenhouse wants to be for years to come.
“When my dad and I were racing sprint cars, we had a ton of friends and family come to the track to help us on the weekends,” Stenhouse said. “My dad’s been a huge part of my career. When someone feels wanted at their job, you like the people you’re working with and everybody believes in each other — not just them believing in me, but me believing in them — it’s made it a great fit.”
JTG Daugherty Racing will also need to figure out what it will do with its second team. Ryan Preece, a fan favorite on the local short track level, currently doesn’t have sponsorship for 12 races this season, and his No. 37 car is also operating without a charter to lock him into each race. Fortunately for Preece, that hasn’t been a major issue, and his performance is also on the incline.
But if JTG can secure a contract extension with Stenhouse, it will enable the team to focus on the No. 37 car to either bring back Preece or find a new driver, as well as purchase or lease a charter with more owners entering the sport.
“Tad and Jodi have a really good hold on what they do,” Stenhouse said. “This is their livelihood. It’s not a hobby. They’re not pocketing a ton of money. They’re just going to live it up. They take what they make and put it right back into the race team. This is what they get up for every morning and what they think about going to bed at night.”
If Stenhouse can win a race for this team, it will mean more to him than his two Cup victories at Roush.
Stenhouse said, “It would mean a ton to all of our employees and partners. That’s our goal. We want to run well, but we have to run consistently before we can worry about winning a race. That’s been our motto going into this year.”
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