> 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.