beansandcroydon

[beansandcroydon]

Becoming a Creative Director, in a series of tweets by Geoffrey Nguyen

When I was 23, I didn’t know what I wanted to be. I just knew I wanted to do cool, creative, shit.

The traditional university route wasn’t working out. I wanted to learn, just not what they were teaching.

I was lost. I quit school to dedicate my life to something I didn’t even know how to do.

I had an interest in luxury products and technology. Particularly, I was really into French luxury goods and Japanese street culture.

It was never the products itself that interested me, It was the art and mood behind these brands.

Unfortunately, training in Japan or France wasn’t an option.

All these brands had Creative Directors, and I decided I want to be a Creative Director.

I’m a huge fan of Nigo (formerly of A Bathing Ape) and Hedi Slimane(formerly of Dior Homme, currently head of Saint Laurent Paris).

(What do Creative Directors Do? Read about it here)

I wanted to do what they do, create worlds.

I tried the fashion industry route for a few years, but very quickly, the idea of working on brands that only so few have access to no longer interested me.

I still wanted to be a Creative Director, but now I wanted to apply luxury branding to everyday things.

In 2009, I, along with a few creative friends, started Beans & Croydon, a marketing and design group.

(The name didn’t even mean anything, it was just meant to sound fancy ;))

A lot of my friends were photographers, designers, film makers, etc. It excited me to get them together and work on something bigger than all of us individually.

We decided that I’d be Creative Director. I didn’t have true technical training, but I always see the bigger picture.

We had to frame our services as marketing, because no one was interested in hiring a Creative Director. No one even knew what a Creative Director did or was.

I wasn’t really sure either.

Luckily, I was surrounded by lots of creative and supportive people, and so I took this leap of faith.

Beans started taking on marketing jobs, with no real plans or structure. This forced me to learn how to sell, do my job, and make enough to live.

We were helping small businesses focus their vision and improve their look and feel through media, e.g., photos, videos, and whatever else we could create. 

We gave brand facelifts.

We used social media to spread their new voice and image.

The first 5 years of Beans were the hardest, but most fun part of my life so far.

I wanted to be so good at what I do, it would be seen as an art form.

I want to make everyday luxuries. Things that most people can afford.

So, in Summer 2015, I co-founded /Paradox/ with some of our former clients.

Our first product offering is /Paradox/ barbershop in San Jose, CA.

As Creative Director, my goal is to build the barbershop of our generation.

A Shop that is known for cutting all types of hair.

The flower photos you’ve been seeing are from our first ad campaign. Creatively directed by me and photographed by Chris Lovos of Beans.

I chose flowers because I wanted something natural that could be shown in a futuristic way.

I want a campaign that feels modern now, and will continue to in 2035. These were my exact directions to Chris.

Its easy to make high-brow things that only a few can understand. Its harder to make things everyone can appreciate.

The shop was designed to be both functionally sound aesthetically beautiful.

The whole shop is white because white reflects the most light, making it easiest to cut hair.

Because everything is white, you can calways tell if something is out of place.

Each barber station was designed by the barbers for maximum efficiency.

What Aspiring Creatives Should Know

First, figure out what you’re truly trying to say, then, figure out the most creative way to do it.

Personal and professional growth goes hand in hand for creatives.

Expand your worldview. If you can’t afford to travel, read and watch as many documentaries on YouTube.

Study the classics, but don’t be held down by them.

Timing is everything. You’ll understand this when you understand it.

Take care of yourself. Really, before its too late.

Create a world for future generations to live in.

[beansandcroydon]

Flowers in Space (2015)

[beansandcroydon]

WEKFEST IS COMING!! WFSJ is our hometown show, and it's the event of the year. So, here's to everyone who preps, not only their car, for the show.

Haircut, check. Carwash, check. New clothes, check. Next up, meet Elissa Alva at WEKFEST!

WEKFEST San Jose is 07.12.2015 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. The hometown show is the car event of the year. How will you prepare?

Follow WEKFEST:

WEKFEST Twitter: https://twitter.com/WEKFEST WEKFEST Instagram: https://instagram.com/wekfest_usa/ WEKFEST Blog: http://www.forthewek.com WEKFEST Site: http://www.wekfest.net

[beansandcroydon]

Episode 2 in our Japanese ramen series takes us down the street from Santouka to Ramen Tenma. A small unassuming restaurant, serving Okinawan style ramen and soba, started by Chef Sena, Ramen Tenma is full of unique personality and tons of heart.  As the saying goes, NO RAMEN, NO LIFE.

Tag along as Chef Sena teaches Richard about the ramen process, from beginning to end. Showing him how San Jose, the city and the people, have influenced his creations. There's even a San Jose ramen on the menu!

Check out Ramen Tenma & say hello to Chef Sena for us! 487 Saratoga Ave. San Jose, CA 95129 http://ramentenma.com https://www.facebook.com/RamenTenma

Follow Beans!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeansandCroydon Instagram: https://instagram.com/beansandcroydon/ Blog: http://www.beansandcroydon.com

[beansandcroydon]

On May 30th, 2015, WEKFEST and Beans went on to the annual WEKFEST LA at the Historic Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA.

In it's 5th year, WFLA has become a huge event, with lots of sun and water, and is one of the most beautiful WEKFEST tour stops all year.

Thank you for watching!

[beansandcroydon]

For the past six months, we’ve been working on a way to show the world the small mom & pop businesses in our community that make up our cultural landscapes. 

Being from the heart of Silicon Valley, innovation and variety are what make up our every day lives. We wanted to start off with FEED ME, a show dedicated to helping tell the stories of the owners, the patrons and of the food itself. 

This is our first series, Japanese Ramen, Episode 1: Santouka, San Jose. 

Santouka is a small Ramen chain inside the food court of Mitsuwa Marketplace, a Japanese market. At lunch, and on the weekends, you can rest assured that there will be a line, but it’s always worth the wait. 

Tag along as Richard introduces us to tip of the iceberg of Ramen, in what he’s calling the “gateway ramen”. 

[beansandcroydon]

FEED ME Trailer is up, which means FEED ME Episode 1 is coming tomorrow! The first episode in this series will all be focused on Japanese Ramen, one of our favorite foods. 

FEED ME aims at sharing the histories, and lessons of small mom & mom businesses in our cities. These last-stands represent the best of our cities, and FEED ME is here to celebrate these businesses and their owners. 

[beansandcroydon]

WEKFEST is a long time client of ours, and we’re always traveling with them on tour. One of our favorite stops is WEKFEST LA at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA. We love the venue and always enjoy being by the water. Plus, this golden hour light is to die for! 

For more of our coverage of WEKFEST Long Beach, please go to www.forthewek.com! 

[beansandcroydon]

Bites N’ Caps - April 2015

[beansandcroydon]

Bites N’ Caps - April 2015 

[beansandcroydon]

Photo recap of our Bites N’ Caps party at Aristocrats in San Jose.

This was a celebration of the youth who have always supported Beans, as well as Tapergang.

Macarons provided by Macaron de Jayne and Boba provided by Vanitea, both from San Jose. 

[beansandcroydon]

[beansandcroydon]

Bartenders & Coffee - 2015 

[beansandcroydon]

Bartenders & Coffee - 2015 

[beansandcroydon]

Bartenders & Coffee - 2015 

[beansandcroydon]

Photos from our Bartenders & Coffee event at 55 South on March 27th. 

Here at Beans, we rely heavily on affordable, every day luxuries like a good cup of coffee or a good, strong drink, and Bartenders & Coffee was a way for us to celebrate the amazing craftsmanship that goes into both. 

We wanted to focus on all the intensive and tedious work that goes into Chromatic’s cold brew and 55 South’s cocktails and show it to the public in a way that everyone could understand, as well as enjoy. 

[beansandcroydon]

Bartenders & Coffee - 2015