#so here. and insight into Helena's... work for the last city

[sohelish]

Icy adventures

What a neat business I got myself running here, Helena thought, making her way through the rigid ice planes of Europa.

Who would have thought that so many Guardians needed a “shadier” type of assistance?

Some wanted to learn more about their past. Others needed access to black market dealers and their wares, the Spider, for example.

Hel was happy to oblige and provide her clients with the much-needed reconnaissance or serve as the middle man.

Damn it, she even went as far as putting on a show and introducing people to the chubby Eliksni dealer - and, oh, how he adored the extra attention. How much easier it was to work with her ally after since he became more and more agreeable with each flare of pathos thrown his way.

More surprising, however, was the amount of Guardians that needed--- help... of the cleaning kind.

You’d think that the human population and the Guardians lived happily ever after. After all, the latter had sworn to protect the former and yet. Looked like it took a specific type of person to be forced to play the hero, or the older responsible sibling, if you will, and take it in a stride.

More and more Guardians fought with the mortal fellows. More and more accidents occurred--- or, perhaps, it seemed that way to Helena.

Always the most profitable cases. Often thrilling in the beginning, but when it came to the actual clean-ups...

Tedious and harsh.

She truly liked this side of her work the least. A lot of effort poured in earned her the goods and respect, but in the end, she could never give the Guardians a resolution or the peace of mind they wanted. What they actually needed was to turn back time and not lose their temper.

Hel had just disposed of one such poor outcome - a civilian body, which she’d thrown into the crevasse. Not many people would think to look in there while searching for the Last City resident, that’s for sure.

That took care of one problem for one Guardian.

Another confrontation resulted in a broken nose and hurt feelings - not too bad, it seemed. But were the news to reach Zavala’s ears, things could get ugly.

In the end, after a long negotiation and a lot of lightening the mood with jokes, the wronged side agreed not to voice their concerns and asked for parts. Vex parts.

Thus the trip to the distant moon felt proper - it allowed the fixer to get rid of one issue and deal with another.

There were more than enough Minotaurs on Europa, so Hel could harvest plenty of the specific bits.

The weather proved to be a huge problem, though. It was tough to spot the enemy during the blizzard. Plus, she had underestimated the scale of the windstorm that appeared somewhat out of nowhere. Or so she’d deemed.

Teeth gritted, she struggled to move through the deep snow, focusing on finding any cave where she could hide and wait out the extremes.

The problem was, oddly enough, she couldn’t find any, and it was getting colder and colder...

[sailing-elitsha]

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!

Our first ocean crossing is a fact!!

The last miles were draining. Running with constantly changing winds, crossing waves and without spinnaker is not funny. I was not seasick this time, but caught an ear infection, which I thought will be okay after a while, because I got antibiotic from Doctor Josephine in St Helena for my leg infection. Without consulting a doc in St Helena again, we left. The crossing waves and light wind made me nauseous because my ear was blocked. The night watches drained but the spirit of the crew, Dick and I, maintained unbroken positive and happy. We caught a tuna and a barracuda. The swordfish, when we finally had him close to Elitsha, went back to the sea. The line broke and he is now the coolest fish in the South Atlantic with a hip piercing on his sword nose. The barracuda, I caught on my watch. Dick was sleeping and I got him close, which was not easy, but then I saw his teeth, I knew, this I won’t do on my own. Together we got him in.  Even though I was not feeling well, I baked several breads, cooked tuna curry, and did my watches. Dick took the more difficult watches and let me sleep a little bit longer each night. I rest much more then he did. So, you can imagine, we both looked forward to having a good sleep after arriving in Fernando. Bob the aircraft engineer was close to us, but they wanted to continue their way to the Caribbean straight forward. Going ashore in Fernando de Noronha was not allowed, so all Yachties skip the island. We were hoping on getting water and to be allowed to just sleep 3 nights at the anchorage and continue sailing afterwards.

Immensely proud and happy on Friday the 30th of April at 5 am after having sailed 1812 nautical miles we arrived at Fernando de Noronha, a small Island and Nature Reserve at the Brazilian Coast. Dick and I were both a bit emotional: WE DID IT!!!!!! Its always special to arrive after a long sail. First you hear and see birds, then lights, then the shape of land, then you smell something different……… But this time is was special special. We arrived at the other side of a very very big and deep (4000+ m deep) ocean.

40 meters of anchor chain and we lay in front of a beautiful beach in a beautiful bay. This Island is a Nature Reserve and so so beautiful. We were the only yachties. Nobody is allowed to enter the island from sea. we could smell the cocktails, but were nut allowed to grab them.....made our owns though....Due to humanitarian reasons they have to allow us to buy fresh supplies and water, which we needed to continue the rest of our voyage. After we arrived, our yellow Checkers cloth and the Brazilian flag went up the mast. Nothing happened. Dick was swimming with zebrafish and sharks in the meantime. After half a day waiting and asking harbour control again and again on the radio we finally got an answer. At 3 o clock we got picked up and the harbour master welcomed us together with the police. The police would escort us to the shops and the next day we have to leave. Zora pictured out a scenario of Dick and I in handcuffs in de shops grabbing 5 l canisters of water and apples under supervision of the police officers, when we told her. (There is a photo of Alex, the police officer, faking to arrest Dick. That photo was especially taken for Zora.)

But it went differently. We were very fortunate to meet Alex, a Brazilian federal policeman from Brasilia, the only English-speaking person on this island. They all try google translate, but internet is a crime here. So Alex was the solution. He told us that the extra days of sleep could only been allowed if I would get a doctor’s attest and then he drove with us to the hospital, translated, then to the Pharmacia, then to the harbour again to explain that I was even sicker than I thought, and the doctor wants to see me every day till Monday. He and his colleagues wrote reports, spoke to their boss, to make it happen for us to stay longer. This way we not only were allowed to stay 3 nights, but we were also allowed to explore the island. The police brought our 60 l water and fresh supplies to the boat and gave us very valuable tips for sightseeing, bus routes, the best bars and best meals of the islands: platter federale ( a seafood food platter the chef  always creates for the federal police men and Caipirinha pinto. They gave us a branche with well 12 coconuts on it. Uii, lekker.  We ate a special bean soup with quail eggs…….. Alex was and still is our hero and became a friend. We had a very special time at Fernando de Noronha. Again, everybody knew us, helped and was friendly. 

Traveling during Corona is not easy, but at the same time very special. People are happy with every single tourist; it is not full and overcrowded. Covid in Brazil is hectic. In Fernando they have not one case. Its so normal to sanitize and wear masks. Fortunately, we will not get a Brazilian stamp in our passport, which is good. This stamp could close some borders for us. So, we visited a little piece of Brazil, met a lot of Brazilians from Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Recife and other Brazilian Cities, and got information and a little bit of insights in the culture.

 We ate delicious Brazilian food, but officially we have never been in Brazil. How is that?Traveling in the Caribbean with a South African flag is a problem we were told, because of the racist history. That was one of the reasons why we choose a German registration. But sailing with a German flag in Brazil was also a thingy: 7:1, the water taxi captain said when he saw the black/red/gold. I apologized and promised, that we (the Germans) would never beat them (soccer WC 2014) again in a semi-final in their own country with 7:1. That was good, then.

Even though it was great and relaxing. It was quite expensive to stay on an Eco Island. For 3 days we paid 200 dollars. When we wanted to go to a beach at the other end of the island today, they wanted us to pay another 100 dollars (a 9 day valid ticket for three beaches). We rather went back to the for-free-harbour-beach with the bus again and saw turtles, lemon sharks and a lot of other beautiful fish. Wrong!!! Dick saw them. I am not allowed to snorkel. Grrrrrr. My ears!!!! So, we didn’t need a 100-dollar beach. From here we could even see Elitsha waving towards us. 

 From Elitsha we see dolphins around us spinning in the morning, zebra fish all around and the trumpet fish from St. Helena followed us to Fernando. 

Our last water taxi was a luxe motor yacht with fancy leather seating. Dick and I felt like Crockett and Tubbs in Miami Vice. So funny. 

Last evening at Fernando. Tomorrow we lift our anchor and off we go again. The doldrums are waiting for us and then the north east trades to lift us to Suriname. Can’t wait to explore the rainbow forest that side. 

A big thank you to our shore captains, Anneke, Zora and Holger, who make harbour arrangements for us, inform us about the weather and much more; to Wiek, our fishing coach, for telling us afterwards what we caught and have eaten, hahaha and to all our friends and supporters who react and encourage us all the way of our journey. Its fantastic to be in touch with you. 

Believe us, we enjoy every single second and moment of our journey with each other and are so so glad and happy that we are doing this with the two of us. Don’t forget to donate for the nautical miles we are sailing. 

Lots of loveDick, Sylke and Elitsha     

Questions for the Elitsha competition:

1.       What is the capital of Brazil?

2.       Where is Fernando de Noronha?

3.       What is a sea mountain?

4.       What kind of shark, did my husband dive with?

5.       How does a trumpet fish look like? (and don’t tell me: like a trumpet, hahaha. I want to see a photo.) 

All participants will receive a price!!!!!!! 

For the ones who want to take part in our sponsor sail: We have sailed 1812 nautical miles. You can donate a cent, a Rand, a Euro or whatever per nautical mile. We are sailing for these amazing schools: every nautical mile and each Rand counts. To UBUNTU for Africa, German NGO.                                                                                                                                                                          The money will go to the UBUNTU for Africa projects: after care at Hout Bay Primary School and the music project at Silikamva High School. This organisation I started 12 years ago (www.ubuntuforafrica.com) Of course, you will receive a tax certificate. 

Ubuntu for Africa-Kinder-, Jugend und Familienhilfe in Südafrika                          Volksbank Boenen e G                                                                                            IBAN: DE91 4106 2215 0054 5799 01                                                                  

For South Africans and others, who want to donate directly to South Africa (also with tax certificate): please donate to Kronendal Primary School (www.kronendalprimary.com). I worked for 10 years at Kronendal Primary as a school counsellor. This school struggles financially due to the consequences of the Covid Pandemic and deserves our support.                                                    KRONENDAL PRIMARY SCHOOL trading as CUIM (“the account holder”) holds the following account with                                                                                        First National Bank, a division of FirstRand Bank Limited (“FNB”): Account Type BUSINESS ACCOUNT Account Number 53452884035                                           Branch Code 204009                                                                                         Branch Name HOUT BAY 345                                                                               Swift Code FIRNZAJJ                                                                                                                                                             WE DID IT

[a-bottomless-curse]

My Dearest Helena,

I believe it has been far too long since we last corresponded. I have much that I wish to talk about, though I can’t say all of it will be succinct or useful.

But, before I get ahead of myself, I wish to know. How are you doing friend? Have you made any progress on finding a cure for your illness? I myself have found little, only occasionally brief reliefs from pain. I would share what has helped me on the off chance it will help you. However...they require a bit of travel, unless you find medics of similar skill closer to you.

Acupuncture, as I have learned from my time in Kyoto, actually can do wonders for the nerves in order to keep from loosing feeling in your limbs. I have also come across different ointments, some of which you may even be able to create on your own. Butter balms and a type of mint and ashwagandha oil has helped in some ways, but it is tiring in it’s own right to apply it. I have also found that mixtures including ginkgo biloba can help. Whether or not these will be an aid to you, I do not know for certain, but I can only hope that they might offer respite from your own illness or lead to some sort of discovery for a cure.

I have also heard a rumor. It’s... well, it’s an odd on, and it pulls at me almost as if it is connected to my memory. I do not put much stake in the rumor as of yet, but if I continue to find naught for a cure, then perhaps I will pursue it. Supposedly the city of Yharnam has a miracle cure. It can cure and heal any ailments and illness, but, it is difficult to find or travel to the city. I have been to the city once before, when was I a child before I started my studies, but even I can not remember the way to get there, nor do I remember this cure existing, but perhaps it simply did not matter to me at the time. Should my own illness progress faster and cause further degeneration, I think I will see about making my way there.

If you should choose to follow this rumor, I hope it provides something for you to work with, some insight perhaps.

While I have enjoyed the chance to travel, the circumstances that put me here have not been pleasant. I have also missed having dry ground beneath my feet. As much as traveling via boat is interesting and exciting in it’s own right, I believe I will walking as a drunkard once I reach dry land again and become able to send this letter. But, more than missing dry land, I have missed our school days Helena. I have truly missed your company. I miss the late nights of discussing the topics that were quieted in the class room, philosophy, theology, and all of the many theories that our stricter professors did not want to hear. Those days didn’t weigh so heavy on my shoulders.

It is my fondest hope that one day, ideally soon should the laws of everything align, that we are able to simply sit together as we once did. To talk about the nature of everything, to eat, and to drink, and to simply exist in a similar vein to how we once did. I hope this letter finds you in a better state than my last, and that your search for a cure does not go unanswered.

                                                                                                                                                        Forever Your Friend,                                                                                                             Kayden ~

( @derjaegermond​ )

[dippedanddripped]

As retailers are finding it increasingly difficult to get shoppers (particularly new, young ones) into their brick-and-mortar stores, a slew of luxury brands seem to have a strategy for engaging consumers: Get them to go somewhere else — not to shop, but to hang out.

This summer, Dolce & Gabbana opened a "cultural hub," as it's calling it, on Mercer St. in Soho, New York. While one can shop there during the day, the space is first and foremost a luxurious, Instagrammable clubhouse for the youths. It hosts monthly events, like a concert featuring up-and-coming bands, or a "drink and draw" night.

Also this summer, Coach debuted Life Coach, an experiential pop-up in New York meant to "lead guests on a journey of self-discovery." It contained exactly zero products for sale; instead, it housed immersive and photogenic rooms. Perhaps you saw one made to look like a New York City subway station, where guests could graffiti the walls, on your social media feeds; there was also a Coney Island-inspired room with games and a mystical forest with tarot card readings.

Over the past few months, Hermès, the most exclusive and luxurious of all exclusive, luxurious brands, opened "Carré Club" (carré means "scarf") pop-ups in New York, Toronto, Singapore, Los Angeles and Milan. With free public admission, guests could get photos taken, sing karaoke (sorry, Carré-Ok), enjoy complimentary refreshments from a café and watch artists and designers work in an on-set atelier. Scarves were available to purchase, but they were in no way the main focus of the event.

A guest at Dolce & Gabbana Mercer St. Photo: Courtesy of Dolce & Gabbana

In September in London, Matchesfashion.com opened 5 Carlos Place, a Mayfair townhouse with a retail component that most notably serves as a community space where all sorts of event programming has and will take place, as well as live streaming and podcasts for those who can't visit it in person — think high-level events like book signings, panel discussions, supper clubs, luxury brand installations and intimate musical performances. The opening follows a series of temporary residencies the retailer held in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Hong Kong for its 30th anniversary featuring similar types of engaging, often-educational events.

Chances are, you've seen at least one of these activations on Instagram, but aside from their photogenic designs, they all have one major (and initially surprising) thing in common: Unlike the many ephemeral retail concepts that came before them, the main goal here is not to sell you stuff. These brands are investing in physical spaces and events without any expectation that they will see a return on that investment — at least not a return that can be measured in dollars.

This concept didn't exactly come out of nowhere. There was February’s Chanel Beauty House in LA featuring room after room of Instagrammable moments. Tiffany & Co.opened its Blue Box Cafe last fall, resulting in a robin's-egg-blue flood of "breakfast at Tiffany" Instagram posts, and it's still tough to get a reservation there. Nordstrom debuted its Local concept in 2018, where service is prioritized over inventory. All the way back in 2016, Burberry opened Makers House in London, a pop-up featuring activities and installations meant to showcase the work of British artisans, which it revived in 2017.

The Carré Cafe at Carré Club. Photo: Courtesy of Hermès

Brands and retailers have also started to create Instagrammable moments and/or host workouts, Q&As and panel discussions in their existing stores with increasing frequency, some going so far as to host their own festivals and conferences (see: the In Goop Health wellness summit, Beautycon and Sephoria). Outside of the luxury fashion and beauty markets, Instagram-fueled experiential spaces have reached a fever pitch in cities like New York and LA, from Refinery29's 29Rooms to the Museum of Ice Cream to the Rosé Mansion that draw lines of people simply hoping to get some good content out of their outing.

"Lululemon really started this shift a number of years ago when it started offering yoga classes in-store," explains Petah Marian, senior editor for WGSN Insight. "It's evolved as other brands saw how consumers bought into this strategy, and then evolved it for their brands."

Today, we're seeing more instances of brands creating these experiences outside of their stores, simply because people don't need to go to stores anymore. "There is a shift taking place where people aren't as keen to spend Saturday afternoons wandering around the mall looking at stuff, because they're largely doing that on their phones," says Marian. "Experiences give them a reason to come into a retailer's space and have an interaction with a brand."

For luxury labels, which tend to be especially precious about their messaging and often shy away from inclusivity and accessibility for fear of brand dilution, the goal should be to convey the value of their brand and product to people who aren't going to visit their store to find that out. "Consumers are increasingly discerning, and simply placing an expensive item on a rail is not going to convince the customer of its worth," says Marian. "These events help create the perception of a product or retailer as a purveyor of valuable goods." Take the Hermès Carré Club, which was clearly about educating attendees about the brand's heritage in an accessible, entertaining way.

Coach's Chief Marketing Officer Carlos Becil tells Fashionista how the company chose to promote its signature collection from Spring 2018: "Instead of being more precious with it, we really set out a plan to be much more inclusive." Hosting the pop-up in a separate space from its retail stores and having nothing to sell were both conscious decisions. "We deliberately wanted to create a new environment and not have the limitations of a pre-designed retail space," he says. That way, guests could "roam throughout the spaces and be on a discovery mission and explore." The goal? That "every single person that walked through it had a very unique experience and walked out of there with a sense of what Coach was about."

Matchesfashion Chief Brand Officer Jess Christie explains that it now takes more than offering free champagne in a store to create a community-like experience. After the 30th anniversary residency events, she realized, "People were looking to make more connections, and the storytelling and content aspects were more important." With the residencies and 5 Carlos Place, the goal is to create community and inspire loyalty, acquiring new customers while engaging existing ones with sophisticated events and educational talks. Marian thinks this is the right way to go about things. "The events they host fit in with ideas of modern luxury around intellectual sophistication," he says. The retailer's sales rose 44 percent last year, so whatever it's doing seems to be working.

Another goal of these experiences is, of course, to generate social media content that those who aren't in attendance will see. "A lot of times, you're like, does it make a good picture for Instagram? That wasn't our first thought," Becil claims. "Our first thought was: How does this space make you feel? If it makes you feel a certain way, you're going to want to capture it; you're going to want to share it."

A rep for Dolce & Gabbana who preferred not to be quoted was open about the fact that the Italian house's space was largely meant to generate social media content. As with its entire marketing strategy lately, from runway shows to campaigns, it's designed to engage younger shoppers, namely millennials, who might not otherwise feel inclined to walk into a regular Dolce & Gabbana store.

"It surprised us when we did In Residence in the U.S., the reach we got was just incredible," says Christie. "In New York and LA, a few thousand customers [in attendence] across all events reached over 21 million on social and Facebook Live."

For most of these events, the metric of success is engagement. Becil says that visitors spent an average of an hour inside the Life Coach space and that social media engagement and editorial coverage exceeded the brand's expectations. He confirmed Coach plans to debut different versions of Life Coach in China, Japan and across North America over the next year, starting with Shanghai, where it's staging its Pre-Fall show on Dec. 8, suggesting the first pop-up was a success.

A panel discussion at Matchesfashion.com In Residence. Photo: Courtesy of Matchesfashion.com

Many of these experiential concepts are meant to engage young people and generate social media content, but, increasingly, that's not enough. "We are going to get to a point where consumers tire of 'brand museums,' those that are just backdrops for Instagram shots," says Marian. "They will start to seek more from those experiences — to learn, play, connect (with a brand or likeminded individuals) or feel a sense of wonder."

Indeed, the brands mentioned in this story seem to be getting that. Matchesfashion's programming has expanded beyond fashion to encompass a 360-degree lifestyle, including workouts and panels on wellness, spirituality and how to become an art collector. Culturally, Christie feels luxury shoppers have "moved away from being on the surface and about status; it's about all what makes you an interesting person, and that's the music you listen to, your food, wellness ... it feels very considered."

On Thursday, Anya Hindmarch will begin a four-day series of events at her Sloane Street store in London geared towards helping attendees get more organized, literally. There will be talks led by productivity enhancement experts who train Google employees, as well as Gill Hasson, the author of "Declutter Your Life," and Helena Morrissey, a financier and mother-of-nine, according to WWD.

That's exactly the sort of thing Marian thinks we'll start seeing brands do next: "Experiences that add more value to a consumers' life, stuff around co-creation, learning new skills, and helping people to live their best lives."

It makes sense given that millennials are increasingly prioritizing self-care and self-improvement when it comes to how they spend their money. It's probably why the name Life Coach resonated so well: In the U.S., the self-improvement market is expected to grow 5.6 percent per year, reaching $13.6 billion by 2022. Millennials reportedly spend twice as much as baby boomers on things like exercise, diet plans, therapy and, yes, actual life coaching.

Brands are just starting to reach millennials where their money is, and while these inventory-less experiences might not drive sales immediately, they will put those brands at top of mind for said millennials when they are ready to make a big purchase, which is increasingly important and invaluable in today's crowded landscape