> DEFINING DIRECTION

Skyped with the graphic guy from HK and brainstorm and discuss about few possible directions of the communication. esp focusing on name card now.

my idea is:
1. have a major name card for personl - shop - pr, etc
2. have a name card size, plastic, for distribution
major direction / execution narrowed down:
using photos, my own travel photos, that deliever idea of "time", "place", or a bit random things saw.
no product shot
no quotes/slogan ?? (TBC)
no models
not directly obvious that it's a jewelry brand, and not pretentious

ANALYSIS

--> risk: will mislead target customers / too much effort to know what this is / doesnt seems like a jewelry brand/ not luxurious / TOO open to intepretation
--> great: open to intepretion, so own what you saw, how you feel/emotionally connected with the right audience / Time, travel is luxury / open up curiousity about what is it about / keep it in pocket / less conventional

> DINNER WITH COPYWRITER

went dinner with my friend while he is a freelance copywriter in france.
had a great night!! nice food and wine and great catchup!!

told him my idea on my buisnes card idea. he loves it.
and gave some suggestion.

but most importantly, he will help me to think of a sloagan for my brand.
will wait for feedback.

> LAYOUT NOT WORKING

graphic guy got back to me but am not happy with the layout.
was proposing thick paper (1mm) black, with gold printing words.
prob brief is too loose (which supposed to give more creative space) and so now we brainstorm
and came out with idea using plastic card (like those credit card thing) as name card
so now, get back to new layout and I will have to check quotation to see if this is feasible.

still nice. keep it moving!!

> TRENDWATCHING

researching again on branding and new trend in consumer's belief and aspiration.
people are more into digital / virtual world indeed!
however, for me, it wont be applied for now i hope. keep it real, keep it simple for now.

found a website
TRENDWATCHING.COM

alot of info... and will keep reading everyday from now on.

> MY MOST CONCRETE BELIEVES

MEN DESERVE TO CARRY OTHER LUXURIOUS ACCESSORIES THAN JUST WATCHES AND CUFFLINKS.
MEN SHOULD BE ABLE TO ENJOY DIAMOND AND GOLD NECKLACES IN A STYLISH AND CHIC WAY WHICH IS NOT AVAILABLE IN THE MARKET TODAY.

EACH ACQUISITION OF MEN, SHOULD BRING PLEASURE TO ITS OWNER, SHOULD BE USED AND ENJOYED DAILY, AND SHOULD REFLECT SOMETHING OF HIS UNIQUE SENSIBILITY, EXPERIENCE AND ASPIRATION. STYLE MORE THAN ANYTHING, IS AN EXPRESSION OF PERSONAL CHOICES MADE MANY TIMES OVER. IT IS A STORY OF CONSISTENCY AND CONVICTION. AND IT IS A LIFE LONG EMOTIONAL COLLECTION RATHER THAN EPHEMERAL POSSESSION. IT GIVES HIGHER VALUE, AND A MEAN TO ASPIRATION THAN JUST STOP AT THE PRODUCT ITSELF.

THERE ARE WAYS TO CHANGE ONE'S TASTE / HABITUAL MINDSET. BY EXPLORING WHAT IS LUXURY AND INJECT INTO THE PRODUCT OTHER THAN JUST USING THE MATERIAL CAN CREATE OR CONNECT TO THEIR SECRET DESIRE, AND BRING FULL PLEASURE.


STYLE IS MOST POTENT WHEN ITS LEAST COMPLICATED
CREATION OF A SET OF DIAMOND AND GOLD NECKLACES STAND OUT FOR ITS UNIQUENESS AND MASCULINITY MODERNITY. THE NECKLACE INTEGRATES WITH THE OWNER THAT ADD A DASH OF EDGE AND SUBTLE GLAMOR TO ANY MEN'S WEAR

> TRANSUMER MAGAZINE

Tyler Brule’s new magazine Monocle, launching early 2007. The mag's mission is “to appeal to successful professionals who travel widely and divide their time between several cities.”

> GETTING MY GRAPHIC GUY

getting help from an art director, Fung, who works in ad agency in HK.
talked to him over net, and he is happy to help as contributor for my name card and brochure (if i decide to have one) under my direction. so its great new. gave him a brief and waiting for creative feedback in 2 days

> REMINISCING BIARRITZ - LUXURY?

After spending 2 months in Biarritz, living at a beach house with host family, meeting new people, going to nature, almost dissolved into the ocean everyday. My mind got clear, my train of thoughts landed on better ground, my body felt right and my soul was peaceful.

Talked to those I met, we agreed on it.

It doesn't have to be Biarritz I believe, but it is an example of places to recover our energies as well as return to our objectives. to be in touch with our being, and having definition of life.

Such experience is a total experience that can't be borrowed, be found on internet (at least not for now) nor be replaced by drugs probably. One has to "experience" it, to acquire such status. Even the richest, without being immense into such experience, they won't be able to own it.

I wonder. such a causal down to earth spot. such a simple lifestyle, no posh car, no constant chasing of produce, it brings so much to our aspiration. It is indeed such a luxury of a scenery that fascinates. It brings back values, and dimensions of ourselves. bring back the simple basic feeling of being alive. It felt like everything right outside, as it's right inside. it let us go a step closer to our dream of living in flames with consciousness.

This is Luxury with no effort. a sense of being, a sense of deserving, a sense of spirit.

Is having a luxurious possession in contradict to all these, no! i must say. Perhaps not everyone can stop and have the luxury to experience such. I believe it is possible designs to act as a mean that remind us of such atmosphere. the way expressing designs that make us be in touch with "being" and regain our full pleasure of life energy. and as well, since it's so hard to get such experience, people without experiencing it, find it rare, and love to have it, chase it

> PROTOTYPE DESIGN DRAFTII

Another design to be made into prototype

INSPIRED BY TAO and my way of thinking,

CROSS:
not necessarily Christianity as it's always being perceived as. to me, cross is:

horizontal - linear traveling, i.e. from A-B, B-C, C-A, like taking a tube, a bus, that's how we think, we live our life on a mostly 2 dimensional ground
vertical - enlightenment
diamond in middle - point of enlightenment, cross road of the vertical & horizontal. the point where we stop and go beyond the linearity

II - 2nd piece

> BIARRITZ - SO WHAT'S IT ABOUT?

young ones, rich ones (which is the new trendy place after St. Tropez as heard) all gathered. for similar reasons. "TO EXPERIENCE = TO ACQUIRE HAPPINESS"

Is not about five star luxury hotels, protected, secluded, not about having a ferrari or Austin martin, not about having your own jet. maybe it's just about "experiencing" the sense of life which we lost without realizing it. Maybe it's the aroma of French bread, the saltiness of the crystal clear water, the sound of waves.

so is this luxury? to alot of people, yes, it is.

> BIARRITZ - AUG

Biarritz has been a surprise and fascination.
the trees, the beaches, the surf and the sky.
people there are very happy, hardly find a sad one. most of them are tourist like me, for a short stay and some a longer stay like few months. to students, it's normal, to adult, it's mostly extravagant taking such a time out to live away from work and responsibilities. despite most people I know going to the same beach (e.g. cote de basque) and same bar (Ventilo) everyday as its such a small town, we are all very satisfied, happy, and what is not satisfying will only be if we have to leave such routine tomorrow.

Everyone has their own reasons to go there. surely because is a nice beautiful spots, no doubt. however, the ultimate reasons are quite common one. "to experience" "to live", "to feel" and "TO BE HAPPY"

> PROTOTYPE DESIGN DRAFT

circle - circle of life
"I" - one, 1st piece, everything is together
750 - 18k

> SMALL MARKET

my target market is actually quite narrow, especially most of them are risk adverse (typical professionals) and spending habit are pretty much formalized. breaking through their spending habit - big brand & silverwear at most, is definitely a challenge.

at which point men will STOP and THINK and break their usual habit? or is there any chance of getting into that?

my analysis is, marketing, styling to be :
1 of those premium luxury well known brand - EASY, BUT WHY PEOPLE BUY INTO IT? ONLY IS BECAUSE IT MAY BE CHEAPER
to be quite different where others in the market is not offering - DIAMOND/GOLD jewelry with style but not a big brand, DIFFICULT, BUT VY MUCH INTERESTING.!

> DESIGNING STAGE III

creating design draft and hand it in to jeweler to make mould and create prototype.
target is 2 pieces

> INSPIRED BY TAO

read Orso, (introduced by my dear friend sandy) writing about Tao
inspired.

talked about
time - not the past nor the future but NOW
enlightenment
happiness
emotions
values
etc

come out with ideas that may apply on shape of pendant (personally)
circle and cross

> COMPETITOR STUDIES

did such studies again.
checking out other luxurious brand's necklaces on:
styles, prices, material, length and thickness of chain, symbolism, packaging (briefly)

> DESIGNING STAGE -II

quirkiness is cool but since men tend to not take off necklace daily, I prefer my style to be less complicated
also, style is most potent when it's less complicated
CONFIRMATION of most prefered style - chic and stylish, timeless
2 dimension
theme is towards circle of life, karma, tao etc in a very personal and subtle way
engraving, yes, brandname be one everypieces
thickness of chain, will be not towards alpha male/hiphoppy style, rather - thinner but elegant

> DESIGNING STAGE - MATERIAL

DRAFT of different style of designs are out.
trying to take on few different directions in terms of style : quirky/chic/agressive/complicated
purpose of necklaces should be wearable daily, enjoy daily
usage of material will be WHITE GOLD /PLATINUM AND DIAMONDS

> CAROLE FORET

CAROLE FORET - a brand name for men's line using my own name.
decided not to use any idea/words creative despite it deliever direct meaning/brand quality
own name is just my personal preference reflecting designers experience and style
FORET = FOREST, where i like to stress my family name, LAM which means forest in chinese
10 29 51, ever since this date, things are different

> BIARRITZ

am going to spend 2 months in south of france. taking time off to learn French, surfing, chilling, reading of how every much I can read and working on this project.

sticking to a city is a good way to get closer to resources for my project, however, from intuition - getting away to a spot where I have no idea what it is, who there is, how it is and what it will bring me is an adventure and inspiration in alot of ways that will spike my thoughts and give new input. so there, despite more effort has to be put in in making my prototypes still worth the try.