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princessanneftw · 4 years

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Livestream the summer solstice: my big survival plan for English Heritage

The charity is set to lose as much as £70 million this year, but its chairman, Princess Anne’s husband, Tim Laurence, won’t be beaten, he tells Richard Morrison of The Times.

Watching the sun rise at Stonehenge on the summer solstice, seeing those ancient stones perfectly aligned to the first rays of dawn; that has to be one of the world’s most magical heritage experiences. In any normal year more than 20,000 people, not all of them card-carrying druids, would gather to see it.

There’s nothing normal, though, about this year. On June 21 the 4,500-year-old monument will be deserted — by government decree. Instead, English Heritage (EH) will live-stream sunrise at Stonehenge. In the words of Tim Laurence, EH’s chairman, it will be a “self-isolating solstice”. And he’s doing his best to put a brave face on it. “For once the stones will be totally peaceful,” he says. “And nobody has to get up at 3am and get very cold.”

True, but if any one event symbolised how much coronavirus has wrecked Britain’s cultural calendar, this “self-isolating solstice” is surely it. That must be particularly painful for Laurence. Just turned 65, he had a highly successful career in the Royal Navy, where he ended up as a vice-admiral. And by the royal family’s eventful standards he enjoys a remarkably untroubled private life as Princess Anne’s husband. He took on EH in 2015 with instructions from government to wean it off public subsidy (which is being tapered down from £15.6 million a year in 2016 to nothing by 2023) and turn it into a self-supporting charity. And until two months ago he seemed to be steering his sprawling new ship very well.

“We’d had five terrific years,” he says. “We now have over a million members. Last year we had 6.4 million visits to our 420-odd sites. And from starting off in a negative financial position when we took the charity on, we had built up a financial reserve. So we were able to invest in some brilliant projects. We spent £3.6 million restoring Iron Bridge in Shropshire, which now looks fantastic and is secure for another century — despite all the terrible flooding on the Severn — and £5 million to build the new bridge to Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, which provides a much better visitor experience.”

Then the pandemic struck. Along with every other heritage organisation, EH closed all its staffed properties on March 19 (though 200 free-to-roam landscapes remained open). “We have to put this into perspective,” Laurence says. “Our problems are very significant, but as nothing compared to the challenge facing the health and care sectors.” Nevertheless, the result of what Laurence calls “putting everything into mothballs” has been, he admits, “a very serious loss of income”. He won’t put a figure on it, claiming with reason that the situation is too fluid, but even if all of EH’s recovery plans go well the charity seems set to lose between £50 million and £70 million this year. And if coronavirus refuses to be subdued, the outcome could be far worse.

In the context of the £200 million loss apparently run up by the National Trust in the past two months, EH’s problems might seem minor. Unlike the National Trust, however, EH doesn’t have £1.3 billion of reserves stashed away for a rainy day.

It didn’t help that lockdown started just before Easter, the precise moment when many heritage attractions traditionally open for the summer. EH has lost not only millions of paying visitors, but also the revenue they generate in its shops and tearooms. Laurence also decided to offer a three-month extension of subscriptions to the million-plus supporters, who are paying £63 a year for individual membership, or £109 a year for a family. “We wanted to thank them for staying with us,” he explains, “and to recognise that they aren’t getting as much value as normal out of their membership.” Probably a necessary public-relations move, especially in view of the reported mass exodus of members from the National Trust, but it put another big dent in EH’s revenues.

Those members haven’t been entirely deprived of EH’s services. Like many cultural organisations, EH has had a big surge in online visitors during lockdown. “Things like Victorian cookery lessons from Audley End [near Saffron Walden in Essex] or dance lessons for VE Day are getting massive attention this year,” Laurence says. So, he hopes, will an 80th-anniversary online commemoration of Dunkirk, designed to retell the story of the evacuation via a daily Twitter feed. That will provide a virtual experience for the thousands who would otherwise have visited Dover Castle, one of EH’s most popular sites, from where D-Day was masterminded.

Yet even the most vivid online experience can’t compensate for the visceral excitement of a physical visit to a dramatic historic site such as ghostly Witley Court in Worcestershire or the gaunt remains of Whitby Abbey. What if EH couldn’t reopen this year? Will there be another extension of membership? “I’d like to think that won’t happen,” Laurence replies. “We have a tentative date for reopening from government, and all our focus now is on getting things going again, rather than fearing the worst.”

That tentative date is July 4, but EH will take things slowly. “Our plan is to open a relatively small number of our staffed sites then, focusing on those that have lots of outdoor space,” Laurence says. “Stonehenge, for instance. The key is making sure that people feel safe, and we are putting in a huge amount of work — in close conjunction with other heritage bodies — to devise procedures to keep staff and visitors totally protected.”

One-way systems for visitors and PPE for staff? “Yes, and limiting visitor numbers, probably by having pre-booked time slots,” Laurence says. “I know it’s a bit of a bore for people, but I think visitors will appreciate the certainty of knowing they can get in. Then it’s about enabling social distancing to be maintained, and very high standards of hygiene wherever people have to touch things.”

Laurence won’t put a date on when a second wave of reopenings might happen. “The thing about the government’s guidance that I am most in tune with is the step-by-step approach,” he says. “We have to see what works and change it if it doesn’t.”

Is he convinced, though, that the public is ready to come back? Recent research suggests a high degree of fear about returning to any cultural activity. “Not everyone thinks the same way,” Laurence says. “What’s clear is that visiting places where there’s a degree of freedom and open air will be much more attractive than enclosed spaces at first. Of course we have a lot of enclosed spaces as well, so we have to find ways of overturning people’s reluctance to enter them.”

Even if people do flock back, however, EH is still left with an enormous black hole in its finances. The government is advancing funds that EH would be due to receive later this year, and there are discussions about bringing forward next year’s grant as well. These, however, are small sums (£8.8 million next year) compared with a possible £70 million loss. Will Laurence be asking for an additional bailout?

“It seems likely that we will be operating under [social distancing] limitations through the whole of this year and possibly next,” he says. “In that case, inevitably, our visitor income will be reduced. If we can’t get the income, we won’t be able to do all the conservation work and projects we’ve put on hold for the moment. Therefore we will have to ask government for more support.”

And an extra two or three years to be added on to EH’s planned transition from quango to independent trust? “That is also a discussion we need to have,” he says.

Could philanthropy help EH through its troubles? In the past five years Laurence has had some success at attracting private money, notably bagging a £2.5 million donation from Julia and Hans Rausing to help to build the Tintagel bridge. The trouble is that, as Laurence points out, “almost everyone who has got money to spare at the moment is thinking first about supporting health charities and care homes”. The Rausings’ recent decision to give nearly £20 million to charities tackling the pandemic is an obvious case in point. Nevertheless, if EH is to get back on track as an independent charity, it needs those big donors on board as well as the subscriptions of its million members.

Laurence spent his final navy years in charge of the Defence Estate, responsible for nearly 2,000 historically important buildings and monuments, so he was well aware of the challenges of conserving old buildings before joining EH. Even so, he admits he was a “slightly strange choice” to be its chairman. “I’m not an academic, not a historian, not an archaeologist,” he says. “Yet in some ways I represent a lot of our members. I’m a fascinated amateur. I absolutely love the history of this country. I love the sites we look after, and the story each tells.”

Tells to whom, though? The biggest challenge facing the whole heritage sector is arguably an urgent need to widen its demographic appeal. Can Laurence, in many ways the ultimate establishment insider, relate to that? Can he recognise that EH, like the National Trust, has an image problem? The perception that it’s a club for white middle-class people?

“There’s an element of truth in that,” he admits. “We are putting a great deal of effort into appealing more to — I hate using these categories — BAME [black and minority ethnic] people, who represent something like 14 per cent of the UK’s population. We have made a very strong statement by recruiting two outstanding representatives of those communities to our trustee board: David Olusoga [the historian] and Kunle Olulode [director of Voice4Change England]. They are helping our gradual transition towards being more appealing to non-white people. The important point is that we reflect not just the bricks-and-mortar history of England, but waves of immigration into this country over thousands of years. We have a story to tell to everybody.”

EH’s online output can be accessed through english-heritage.org.uk

#tim laurence #timothy laurence #dunkirk #english heritage #british royal family #brf

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dippedanddripped · 4 years

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At the start of the 2010s, the two opposite camps of luxury fashion and streetwear rarely crossed-over. Luxury was exclusively for the elite older generation — it was preppy, expensive, serious. Streetwear and sportswear, on the other hand, were for everyone else. This generation of creators — who during this time, started becoming the most influential consumer segment in the luxury market, and whose definition of “luxury” itself shifted from price point to cultural credibility — had other ideas.

And then came New Guards Group, the Milanese mystery holding company that disrupted the entire industry and commercialized what would famously become known as “luxury streetwear.” The company — co-founded in 2015 and run by Davide De Giglio and Andrea Grilli — has birthed some of luxury streetwear’s most successful brands, including Off-White™, Palm Angels, Heron Preston, Kirin (by Peggy Gou), and Marcelo Burlon County of Milan. (Virgil Abloh still owns the trademark to Off-White™.)

More than just creating classic streetwear staples in luxury fabrications with artisanal techniques, the company adopted streetwear’s way of marketing itself, releasing products and communicating directly with consumers through digital channels that allowed for quicker feedback. Add fast-paced production and distribution capabilities to the equation — its production company works on 24/7 shifts to annually create over 200 collections for the group — and you have what co-founder Davide De Giglio calls “luxury fast-fashion,” catered to a young affluent generation that expects luxury at the speed of Instagram (the company says it’s able to go from design to delivery within three weeks). Its model paid off. In the year ending April 30, 2019, New Guards Group generated revenues of $345 million, up 59 percent year-on-year.

New Guards Group’s sharp ability to identify credible talent who already have big, loyal followings, paired with its internal infrastructure to launch, scale, and foster independent brands fast (from design and production to distribution and management) has enabled the company to grow its brand portfolio — it owns majority stakes in all its brands, with the exception of knitwear label Alanui — at an unprecedented pace, ultimately creating streetwear’s new paradigm.

Farfetch, the London-based online retailer and owner of Stadium Goods and Browns, purchased New Guards Group in August 2019, in a cash-and-stock transaction worth a staggering $675 million. The acquisition would enable New Guards Group’s brands to expand their direct-to-consumer sales via the platform. At the time of sale, 95 percent of New Guards Group’s total sales came from wholesale and franchise partners.

And this is only the beginning. With all eyes on New Guards Group’s next move, it’s evolving its strategy — most noticeably with the appointment of its first ever Chief Marketing Officer, Cristiano Fagnani, a Nike veteran of 20 years who was in charge of Nike’s influencer marketing, brand experience initiatives, and led some of the most defining fashion collaborations for the sportswear giant in recent years, including those with Virgil Abloh and Yoon Ahn.

In an exclusive interview with Highsnobiety, Fagnani lays out his plans for what’s next at New Guards Group, from new drop schedules to the expansion of the group itself.

The Company Will Grow, Fast

“There’s [always] a moment, and this is the moment for New Guards to shift gears,” says Fagnani. “After five incredible years, we’re now starting to consolidate the business and build the infrastructure to grow in a healthy way for the next five or 10 years.”

We’ve entered a new decade, new beginnings. So too for streetwear, which must evolve. Now, with Farfetch on board, New Guards Group is gearing up for this progression. Fagnani knows this — it’s why, since his appointment in January, he’s put new processes in place and gone on a hiring spree.

“One of my jobs is to structure the fundamentals, and open up the culture of the company. There are several brands in our portfolio that are at different stages of growth. Some of them, like Off-White™, are ready to become [bigger] companies on their own, rather than just one piece of the portfolio,” he says. “Others that are still small require some sort of organization to keep moving.”

But how does this manifest in practice? “For a company who was pretty much wholesale driven, now is the opportunity to add layers [by] building new stores, shift gears on .com, and establish and grow our presence on different channels and market places, geographically speaking,” says Fagnani, hinting at a bigger planned growth in Asia.

Between big luxury powerhouses like Chanel and Louis Vuitton, Off-White™ is opening its first standalone store on London’s lux Sloane Street later this month, followed by stores in Milan the following week and in Paris next year. However, New Guards Group is better known for opening up new stores in places like Manila, Melbourne, or Kuala Lumpur — locations where it sees traction online, yet where almost no luxury brands have a physical presence. It’s something the company will continue, Fagnani says.

Their teams are evolving, too. Key hires have been made across digital marketing, merchandising, e-commerce, communications, product collaborations, and strategy. For the bigger companies like Off-White™, where teams from New Guards Group would earlier work across brands, independent teams are now being built to get to a point where it can independently function to grow faster.

“We’re at a moment of maturity where [we’re going] from being an entrepreneurial collective to a company with an aligned infrastructure,” he says. “You need to be consistent and committed. This is where new people will have a role to be able to focus on the consumer 24/7, 365.”

New Brands Will Be Acquired

Last January, New Guards Group bought the trademark and intellectual property of Opening Ceremony, closing all four of its multi-brand stores by the end of the year in order to develop and expand its ready-to-wear line from Milan, relaunch Opening Ceremony’s website on Farfetch, and create a showroom in Paris. The line will continue to be designed by co-founders Carol Lim and Humberto Leon, with Fall/Winter 2020 being their first season; however, it’s Opening Ceremony’s pioneering expertise in concept retail and local community building that New Guards is truly interested in.

The same month, New Guards took a majority stake in Japanese jewelry and apparel label Ambush, founded by Yoon Ahn and Verbal. At the time of purchase, Ambush roughly made $22 million in annual sales, with jewelry representing 30 percent of sales and half of all sales hailing from Japan. The goal with Ambush is now to expand more internationally, add new product categories, and open physical stores outside of Japan.

It’s just the latest example of New Guards’ ambition to become an even bigger international luxury player. Fagnani will be key in that mission. “Even brands who have reached a certain level can benefit from a burst that comes from an organization that’s able to accelerate growth through a network, skills, and expertise that we’ve built,” says Fagnani. “So, in that sense you can expect New Guards to be looking around for companies or brands that have the opportunity to shift gears at some point in their life. It’s what we’ll be focusing on consistently.”

So, what makes a good candidate? “We don’t really have a checklist. We’re new to the game, and the way we see the game is that it’s very open, so we aren’t just looking vertically to one part of the industry,” he says, adding that one thing that’s certain is that it will be looking at companies in other areas of the industry beyond ready-to-wear, as well as more businesses (like Opening Ceremony and AMBUSH) that don’t have to be created from scratch, like the brands it started with. “It’s not a formula you can repeat forever. I don’t see the next few years being as we had years ago. Now that the company has five years’ experience, we can embrace businesses that are already developed and help them get to the next level.”

He also hints at the platform evolving in its direction. “We’re definitely moving towards, let’s say, fashion luxury and premium. I’m saying this with big respect, but people otherwise will expect us to do T-shirts and hoodies every day,” he says. “This is what we’re very good at doing, by the way, [but] that’s not what [gets us] to the next level.

It Will Change Fashion’s Calendar

“[In the past], we’ve been covered because of our presence in the classic fashion system with its [seasonal] show cycles, look books, etc., and I think that was great. It helped all our brands to be seen and accepted in the industry, but, without disrespecting that lifecycle, we’re ready for the next step and see an opportunity to get closer to consumers,” says Fagnani. “We have to travel instead of them traveling to us.”

For decades, the seasonal model has remained the same — what’s changed in the past decade (and what the industry has been slow to react to) is that shows are no longer behind closed doors. “It’s a little bit nonsense. In the era where everything is public, I don’t think it’s really efficient to have your biggest moment of excitement [a runway show] attached to a collection that doesn’t come to the market for the next six months. It’s day-to-day engagement through storytelling; it’s no switch on, switch off [mentality] anymore.”

Those that aren’t changing now risk losing relevance. “That’s when the markdowns start in department stores,” he says. “We don’t want to see markdowns. We want a synergy that will allow us to have fresh products constantly and put our wholesale [stockists] in a position where they can sell out a lot of our product before the next delivery comes in.”

And so, the CMO has a plan. Over the last couple of months, Fagnani and his team have been working on a seasonal “editorial calendar” for each of the brands, that sets out a clear schedule of product and bigger collection releases, aimed to align different teams inside the individual brands a lot better by specifying what drops where and when.

“[Currently] it’s a find-and-seek exercise for consumers, where once in a while there will be a drop or collaboration, and the goal is to be in a place where, at the beginning of the season, we [share] an agenda of the season,” Fagnani explains, adding that the calendar will include the planning of everything from specific product drops to the marketing activations and campaigns that surround them and put the product in front of the consumer. “It might sound obvious, but to build a cohesive approach for the season by aligning the pipes between brick-and-mortar retail, digital, our social platforms, storytelling, and events [is difficult].

It’s a big shift, Fagnani admits, saying the benefits aren’t just a novelty for the consumer, but also prevent too much cross-over between seasons, which until now has proven inefficient. So, what’s the plan for brands like Off-White™? “I think especially for Off-White™, we’ll go into this new cycle of seasons. The show or presentation will become the highlight of what you will be seeing, product- and story-wise, for the following months to come. And we’ll reverse the energy that comes from the [show] into the market place immediately,” he says.

This means that, where there are currently eight seasons a year per brand (four for each gender), there will now be just two in total — Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter, men and women combined. For each season, however, there will be three to four deliveries, each with individual storytelling and marketing around it. It’s a way to lower the amount of product at any given time on its channels, creating more scarcity and, ultimately, urgency to purchase for you, the shopper. It will also allow the brands within New Guards Group’s portfolio to be more reactionary to what’s happening in youth culture in real time with its product and communication.

Its Global Brands Will Become More Localized

This new schedule is part of New Guards Group’s mission to include the consumer a lot more in the building of the future of its brands, in what Fagnani calls “being more culturally [and locally] communicative.”

“I think it’s now important to offer the brand to the consumer in different places with slightly different glances. And if a brand or a company wants to expand and be globally relevant, it needs to find a way to connect geographically, everywhere,” says Fagnani. “Brands have the responsibility of picturing the future, driving consumers emotionally and physically to places that they haven’t seen before, to chart the uncharted.”

And so, the shift to become more locally communicative will include everything from the e-commerce websites from its owned brands soon becoming available in multiple languages to entering and growing both its physical and digital presence in key markets like Asia, Latin, and South America for all its brands, where it will be looking to create more local experiences and activations with those communities. Unlike many other luxury stores, New Guards Group will take a different approach where, as often seen with Starbucks, individual stores will adapt to the mood of the cities where they’re located.

The way in which it communicates with local audiences will equally be important. Growing on Chinese platforms like WeChat will be a starting point. “We’re going to put some effort into it to be in charge of the content and acknowledge what is needed for this platform, not just as an afterthought after we’ve managed Western [platforms]. That’s a big shift,” he says. “I think it’s a matter of respect and it also builds some efficiency, [but] we have to learn to speak that language so we’ll have to make an effort to fill the gap.”

The CMO, however, is highly aware that products themselves will always be at the centre of any brand-consumer relationship. “At the end of the day, the transfer of product is a testament of this relationship, because that’s what they want from you,” he reflects. “There’s also an element of honesty from brands in aligning the storytelling of the brand with the commercial outlet and making them organically connected in a way so there are no lies or other intentions other than being transparent, connected, and available.”

That might sound too transactional at first, however, Fagnani understands it’s this directness that both the consumer and the business need. “It puts the company and the brands in the closest position in the conversation to consumers. And being closer to consumers allows you to then listen to them better, service them with their needs, and engage with them in a conference that isn’t just attached to a single transaction, but creates an ongoing relationship in the long term.”

“It’s why we call consumers members. Members of the bigger organization that have the brands at its centre,” he says, referencing the participation of a brand’s fans in the upcoming storytelling and activations created around products. “Part of it resides in the product’s craft, quality, and excellent manufacturing. Part of it resides on the storytelling that comes with it. All these things need to come together, and when the product is put in front of the consumer, you can’t lie about it, so why not connect all the dots and make it more linear, more transparent?”

#off-white c/o virgil abloh #new guards group #HERON PRESTON X CAT #marcelo burlon #high end luxury streetwear brands #palm angels #streetwear blog

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bangkokjacknews · 4 years

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Genocide tourism Cambodian 'Killing Fields'

The number of tourists visiting #Cambodia’s #genocide sites has more than tripled during the last 10 years, raising concerns that commercialism is compromising efforts to preserve memorials for 2 million people who perished here under Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge.

Chhour Sokty, director at Choeung Ek, the best known of the sites commonly called The Killing Fields, said visitor numbers had leaped to as many as 800 a day since he began working here 11 years ago, with media promotions leading to increased numbers of tourists, who are helped by vastly improved roads and amenities like public toilets. “I was in charge here in 2005 when there were only about 100 to 200, or a maximum 300 visitors per day. But now it is about 700 to 800 per day during high season,” he said. Genocide tourism Each day at Choeung Ek, 17 kilometers south of Phnom Penh, tourists arrive by tuk-tuk (three-wheeled taxi), motorbike and air-conditioned coaches. The attraction is macabre; skulls stacked neatly in a stupa (dome-shaped monument) surrounded by mass graves where, story first shared by Bangkok Jack, come over and join us, thousands were bludgeoned to death, usually with an ox-cart axle, and buried — all victims of the 1975-1979 mass killings by Pol Pot’s henchmen.

Foreign tourists walk through Choeung Ek stupa, which stores thousands of human bones and skulls of the Khmer Rouge's victims in the outskirt of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, June 25, 2011. “Most people from around the world have heard about that black period in Cambodia, which killed almost 2 million people,” said Kob Kalyaney who works for a private tour agency. “Tourists want to learn if the history is real and they want to witness it,” she said. There are hundreds of sites across Cambodia like Choeung Ek. The difference is that here, and at the S-21 extermination camp in Phnom Penh, admission is charged, bringing in a tidy income. Booksellers, street vendors, tuk-tuk drivers, tour companies and beggars all do a brisk trade. Leaving a mark And too many tourists have left their mark. Some scribble graffiti on prison walls at S-21, site of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum where Pol Pot’s victims were processed before being, story first shared by Bangkok Jack, come over and join us, sent to the Killing Fields. Buildings, prison cells and grisly displays of paintings and photographs, along with instruments of torture, have been displayed for daily crowds.

Tourists view portraits of victims executed by the Khmer Rouge regime at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, formerly a notorious Khmer Rouge prison, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, April 9, 2015. At Choeung Ek, some innocently tie ribbons and notes to the mass graves, but others collect bone fragments, smoke and eat on the steps of the bone-filled stupa and ignore rules regarding the use of cameras and silence. Youk Chhang, executive director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), said Western tourists arrived here with an abstract mindset that avoids unnecessary displays of violence while Asian visitors expect to see blood and graphic evidence of what happened. He said it was a mix that needed to be catered to, but stressed that neither Choeung Ek nor the S-21 site in Phnom Penh, a former school, were businesses run for profit. “We should preserve for our children not for the tourists. But tourists are welcome if they want to visit, if they want to see it, they want to understand it, they’re welcome. That’s the whole purpose of the preservation of the site,” he said. He said a lack of information was partly to blame for inappropriate behavior and that tourists were not aware of the rules, story first shared by Bangkok Jack, come over and join us, and recently introduced regulations. But he added that photos of Khmer Rouge leaders on the exhibition walls of Choeung Ek were often replaced because of graffiti. “People get so upset when they see the photograph of the Khmer Rouge leaders so they write on it. ... I think that it can be bad, it can be good,” he said. “You cannot stop people from being, feeling upset.” Evidence and a sanctuary The bones at Choeung Ek and the remnants of S-21, like all the other Killing Fields sites, are evidence and crime sites for the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, which has spent the last decade prosecuting Pol Pot’s surviving lieutenants, securing three convictions for crimes against humanity.

Cambodian villagers line up to enter a courtroom before the first appeal hearings against two former Khmer Rouge senior leaders, Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea, at the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, July 2, 2015. Currently two former leaders, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, are on trial for genocide, while further cases involving lower ranking cadre are pending and could last another five years. A quiet debate over what to do with the remains of so many people once the tribunal is finished persists. Many people believe the bones should be cremated according to Buddhist tradition, while others say the sites should be kept as they are. “It’s our memory, it should be preserved the way it is; historically and with respect to our culture, rather than try to create something to attract tourists that’s leading to commercializing the memory, which is something that you do not want to do,” Youk Chhang said. New and improved DC-Cam has backed a proposed genocide center, the Sleuk Rith Institute, a $40 million construction of five towers in Phnom Penh, rising out of a surrounding forest and designed by London-based Zaha Hadid Architects. It will become the permanent home of the largest collection of genocide-related material in Southeast Asia, archived by DC-Cam. That would complement the original sites where atrocities were committed. Youk Chhang said the raw, original state of the prison, when it boasted a large wall map of Cambodia made of human skulls, was far more profound than the current day experience. “You know in the ’80s or in the ’90s it is as it is, it’s extremely powerful, very effective. And that itself also creates a feeling … it forces people to show some respect, because it is so original,” he said. S-21 and Choeung Ek have been rebranded as museums, but Youk Chhang said facilities need to be improved further, and that might include a guest book in each room at S-21, or a white board and a space where people can think and write about their experiences. But any change would be limited and any major work delayed until after the Khmer Rouge Tribunal has finished its work. Youk Chhang’s sentiments were echoed by Khoeun Somrach, a middle-aged tuk-tuk driver who works from S-21 and first came here, story first shared by Bangkok Jack, come over and join us, in 1980 when the floors were still covered in blood and the remains of those tortured to death inside the camp were scattered between class rooms. “Before, it was really quiet, we only had nationals coming to visit but now there are many foreigners,” he said, adding the grounds around S-21 need an upgrade. “We should preserve the evidence but the place needs to be cleaned.” – You can follow BangkokJack on Instagram, Twitter & Reddit. Or join the free mailing list (top right) Please help us continue to bring the REAL NEWS - PayPal Read the full article

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pinksweatergettingbetter · 7 years

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“at least the jury is still out on that one, so to speak”

so to speak is right, phoenix :T

“I WANTED TO KILL YOU. WAAHHHH”

ok rayfa. easy there.

aw. the dad is so strong that he cant even bear to see the murder brat sad.

hdgdhfgh im gonna die he’s trying to cheer her up by acting like the bad guy

at the risk of sounding tumblry, phoenix wright is a cinnamon roll, to pure or whatever

...is this kooraheen’s ‘happy people’?

.....i don't like it

ahlbi doesn’t get to be an assistant but he does get to carry all my unwanted crap!

“first the high priest, and then his disciple! maya fey will pay for this!”

ah yes, she’ll pay for killing off people we recently proved to be dangerous insurgents.

WHOA OK GRAPHIC

well ok there’s no possible way Maya could have killed him that night.

“they think she came down the stairs and stabbed him” yes in front of 200 praying people. no, they weren't looking up but probably the sound of a knife being driven into flesh and also footsteps may have alerted them???

rayfa wants to know how a time of death is determined, not for real... but because she wants to know what the idiot groundlings believe ?

either she’s an idiot and she doesn’t realize its completely legitimate, or the writers are still trying to make fun of religion via the “science and religion don't mix” joke which quite frankly is getting REALLY TIRESOME

ok... well I'm not scientific expert but doesn’t the body eventually reach a steady temperature? how could you determine how long the body took to cool down if it was cooled down for a long enough period of time? also, it was really cold on that mountain.

something tells me this will be useful later.

again capcom, pointing out how unlikely your plot is doesnt make it better. it makes it worse.

“I will curse you and your disciples for eight generations!”

I'm pretty sure apollo and the series has already been cursed, mrs. inmee.

every time she kisses his picture i cry

Zehlot arrived at the same time as Maya, but Mrs. Inmee is more inclined to believe that Maya is a murderer? I mean yes she supposedly killed off the other two, but jeez. Talk about favouritism.

they let us check out the trash again... simply for a joke about phoenix digging through trash. I'm not sure how to feel about this.

katchu-dehmal, eh? Pokémon gonna sue

hey um mrs. inmee

you've got a little something on your wrist...............

“Puhray always prayed a lot”

the terrible naming convention just makes that sound incredibly stupid

“She may say these terrible things, but it was just the way she was raised, I guess”

um... a lesson in tolerance i guess

“I didn’t know him very well”

you didnt know the guy you stayed with for two years?? man i guess Puhray really did pray the most.

i love that theyre mentioning ramen and burgers

and also that phoenix is offering to buy for maya

its the little things that make this game liveable

everybody loves steel samurai!!!

“Whooops... its coming undone... WHOA!”

yes, it is indeed a very sexy picture. nice legs.

“tentacled hag frog”

what is this, last airbender??

“a spirit’s memory is cut off at the moment of death”

well of course. that’s how Mia was able to come to court knowing what was going on and being able to set phoenix on the right direction!

genius retcon there, guys. I guess that’s why Mia doesn’t make a comeback in this game :/

“helped neighbouring countries seek counsel”

actually thats an interesting callback to the original games where they state that before DL-6, Misty and Kurain village were famous for helping out people in high places. this i do not mind so much.

... though i doubt this would prevent you being invaded, Kooraheen. Also considering she mentions ‘keeping their unique culture’ as an aside to that fact, and the fact that a lot of this fictional country is based off of Tibet... Ouch.

“ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS!!!”

hey, there’s that ol’ Khumerican spirit!

“so the queen can perform the dance of devotion? that’d be a sight to see”

Phoenix stop imaging the queen in a mini skirt.

“theres no reason to panic, the police are on his trail”

the police that let him run on foot out of a crowded courtroom.

id say you can panic now.

in exchange for his visual youthfulness, phoenix has physically aged considerably.

meanwhile, Gregory Edgeworth was rocking major wrinkles at 35 and he was fit as a fiddle.

Oh Capcom, when will your beauty-based cruelty end??

are we legit going to search for Datz

ok now i rly wanna hear what a Warb’aad sounds like.

further proof that phoenix is a huge carnivore. i am pleased.

boy kooraheen isn't very accessible is it. stairs everywhere

i love that no matter where he is, phoenix is always buying food for children.

alright enough fun stuff. into the absurdly spacious sewer we go!

I'm legitimately laughing my ass off why is it so funny that Ahlbi didn’t know his dog could track scents????

AAA WE’RE IN

WE’RE IN A FUCKIN SEWER

IM YELLIN

...oh my god no... i stg... dont you dare

OH GOD

OHHH GOD

fuck....

i dont know who’s stupider: the rebels or the police

he... can eat... an entire apple... that is half the size of his face... in one bite.

this, truly, is a man to be feared

ranger hobo, your new nickname is Potential Vore Machine

>phoenix likes apples

further proof he is a good boy

wow thats even worse

i thought they’d just put their base in the sewers, but no; their base is an OLD LAW OFFICE AKA THE FIRST PLACE YOU’D LOOK FOR LAWYER REBELS

again, not sure who’s stupider: the rebels, or the police?

“public enemy #1 is a lawyer? didnt see that coming”

clearly you expect more from this game, phoenix

“Im gonna sell out my best friend!”

>doubt

OH OK NEVER LOOK SURPRISED AGAIN CLOSE YOUR VORE MOUTH JESUS CHRIST

if he wasnt a rebel anymore he'd have kicked your ass since youre a lawyer, phoenix. its not that hard to put together that he’s lying. ...for some reason.

LAME. YOU cant show him your badge??? bullshit.

fucking christ even when he whistles his mouth is larger than it should be.

he really is rebel!larry isn’t he

so Dhurke has a power glare, huh?

GLARE OFF WITH EDGEWORTH, GLARE OFF WITH EDGEWORTH, GLARE OFF WITH EDGEWORTH

“is this a law book? the dragon’s mark has been branded onto the cover...”

pfffttt edgy

hmm. must be a new law-book if the defence culpability act is in it, since if i remember correctly that law was only recently introduced.

i love that Dhurke’s shit is just everywhere in this stupid house

...no way is he actually doing to

i...

i can’t even say punk’d. Phoenix, why would you try on a jacket that once belonged to a rebel leader while inside a rebel base that you’re not even sure is friendly to you?

like i

sense of preservation just goes out the window at the idea of looking cool?? actually to be fair that kind of makes sense for Phoenix so

phoenix you should take it home and get it dry-cleaned.

“hmm this is an old photo...” says phoenix looking at a photo that’s as bright and shiny as the day it was taken. also he correctly guesses that it was taken 20 years ago based on... what evidence??

actually if he actually acknowledged that thats OBVIOUSLY APOLLO THERE then he’d have an actual metric to go by but NOPE! just bullshit magic deductions!

yeah or Nahyuta’s pulling a long game and you assholes are too impatient

i cant believe I'm defending sadmad :/

WAIT A SECOND. ARE YOU TELLING ME....... THAT KID WHO LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE APOLLO....... IS APOLLO?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?

somehow Datz carried Phoenix through a tiny trapdoor and into this room huh

yay psyche locks!

YES!!!! YEEEEES!!! I GOT TO PRESENT MY BADGE

Soj... you may not be... completely horrible.

yeah phoenix, he was going to stab you if he thought you were on the side of the Queen

feel even stupider about that jacket now?

“Keera was working with the government the whole time?!”

well i mean what other motivation would they have? even if they were doing it for religious reasons that still lines up with the government’s intentions.

this whole thing has a blacklisting smell on it too.

“a lawyer killed the queen, so the public turned against lawyers”

if that was how things worked, America would loath actors.

“why does he have to jump like that before running off”

cause he’s a cartoon character

“Well I guess we’re friends now”

oh phoenix

my lonely baby

also where the fuck is Shah’do? That dog is a better policeman than every official in Kooraheen.

and i love that nobody notices people entering and exiting a sewer in broad daylight.

well that was exactly where i thought it was

WOW GOOD GOING PHOENIX YOU DUMBFUCK

“HURRRHH I THINK ILL GO FIDN TH SOOPER SECRET REBEL BASE WITH THE FUCKING PRINCESS IN-TOW. GENIUS!!!!”

OH YES, AND THEN TELL HER EXACTLY WHAT IT IS. AND THEN LET HER COME INSIDE WITH YOU WITHOUT THE INTENT TO SHUT HER UP

BRILLIANT!!

PHOENIX WRIGHT, TRULY THE REBEL’S GREATEST ALLY.

ohhhhHHHHHhhhh

well well well well well well

this is interesting

“I think I’ll take a picture of this super secret rebel base”

hhhnnngghhhh

search every nook and cranny eh

“if the rebellion ever happens, i hope its bloodless”

while that’s sweet of you phoenix, you can count on it now, sincE YOU’VE REVEALED THE SOURCE OF THEIR WEAPONRY TO THE ENEMY

“What’s this? A bloodstain?”

Hope it is not Chris’ bloodstain...

CURSED NOISE

TURN IT OFF!!!

this is where capcom hides characters they don’t like

Klavier is somehwere in this room....... festering

well we’ve come to the end of another investigation

tbh I'm starting to get into the storyline, though it still doesn’t feel like an Ace Attorney game

it’s more like... it’s like someone took their Ace Attorney AU and made an entire game about it. It’s got some cool points to it, but all in all, it just doesn’t... fit, I guess?

Oh well. onto trial #2 and saving Maya’s butt once again

#ooc #sulking over SOJ #not too bad this time apart from a few choice bits :T]

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bonniejstarks · 4 years

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LUNAR NEW YEAR 2020 BEAUTY AND A FEW QUESTIONS

I know the lunar new year started on January 25th, but it doesn’t end until February 8th, so I figured we could still talk about the beauty stuff. Frankly, just looking through the limited editions are a bit of a bright spot right now, at least for me. It’s been kind of a rough beginning to 2020 for a lot of people, I think, including a whole country that celebrates the occasion. Lovely things in lucky-colours packaging can’t fix a damn thing, but they’re at least a momentary pick-me up, every time you pull them out.

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What, you don’t spread your beauty stuff out and lay jewelry across it? *grin*

And see this pretty beaded necklace featuring the Chinese character Fu, for luck/ happiness/ fortune/ blessing? My Mum made it, so popping it into a bunch of photos is another reason to post.

lunar new year 2020 beauty

Every year seems to bring several more limited editions, most clad in red or red and gold. This year, some took on the challenge of making the Rat look covetable (key when you’re aiming at a North American crowd. too), and one or two brands opted for something different…

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Charlotte Tilbury Lunar New Year limited-edition Magic Cream and Matte Revolution Magic Red

Charlotte Tilbury created a new, limited edition Matte Revolution Lipstick shade called Magic Red, a deliciously deep, vampy shade, and popped a vivid red lid on a limited-edition Magic Cream. $39 and $125 CAD / $34 and $100 USD at charlottetilbury.com.

Clinique Lunar New Year 2020 Cheek Pop Highlighter Gold Celebration Pop

Clinique made the cutest Year of the Rat Cheek Pop Highlighter Gold Celebration Pop, a sheer, fragrance-free golden glow powder. First glance might make you thing it’s see-it-from-space shimmer-tastic, but keep in mind that Clinique’s aesthetic is enhanced natural – think luminous rather than blinding, especially when applied with a brush rather than heavily swatched with a fingertip. $30 CAD at thebay.com (I think it’s sold out in the US?)

Elizabeth Arden Advanced Ceramide Capsules in limited-edition Lunar New Year packaging + bonus

Elizabeth Arden Advanced Ceramide Capsules in a limited-edition red container comes with a sweet bonus: two mini tubes of ceramide capsules (great for travel), a pocket-size Elizabeth Arden Red Door mirror, and a red Chinese New Year pouch. (This one’s especially lovely for anyone with dry and/or mature skin that needs help retaining moisture.) $98 CAD at thebay.com and Shoppers Drug Mart* stores.

Estee Lauder Year of the Rat Pressed Powder Compact (refillable)

Estee Lauder has the most beautiful, collectable, refillable Year of the Rat Pressed Powder Compact to commemorate the first sign of the Chinese Zodiac. The powder is a “natural matte” finish in a light/medium shade, and the twinkly compact makes the rat look sweet and elegant. $220 CAD and $200 USD at esteelauder.com.

Fresh Lunar New Year Black Tea Age-Delay Firming Serum

Fresh is in the red for the first time with a limited-edition bottle of Black Tea Age-Delay Firming Serum. $212 CAD and $160 USD at sephora.com. The recently-launched Fresh Sugar Tinted Lip Treatment in Icon, although not specifically a lunar-new-year edition, is appropriate too, given its classic red shade and tube. (Coincidence? Hmmm.) $32 CAD and $24 USD at sephora.com.

Givenchy Lunar New Year Le Rouge Luminous Matte Lipstick in Orange Absolu; Le Rouge Deep Velvet Lipstick

Givenchy has gone for a more graphic limited-edition pattern this time around, and a glorious orange-coral Le Rouge Luminous Matte High Coverage lipstick in shade 316 Orange Absolu. $49 CAD and $38 USD at sephora.com. Also on point for the season is Givenchy’s newish core collection of Le Rouge Deep Velvet Lipstick, a six-shade matte formula glamorously attired in red suede. $49 CAD and $38 USD at sephora.com.

L’Occitane en Provence limited-edition Lunar New Year Shea Butter Hand Cream for Dry Skin

L’Occitane en Provence has Shea Butter Hand Cream for Dry Skin in a limited-edition lunar-new-year red tube, did you know? Well, okay, now you do. $32 at loccitane.com.

MAC Lunar Illusions Lunar New Year 2020 lipsticks

MAC went down a different colour path from lucky red and gold with the Lunar Illusions collection. I haven’t covered the brand in a while, partly because it seems to launch a limited-edition set every day that ends in “y,” but this design decision deserves props. From $23 CAD and $19 USD at maccosmetics.com.

Rodial Chinese New Year Kit 2020

Rodial has entered the lunar-new-year limited-editions arena for the first time with a Chinese New Year Kit that consists of three full-sized hydrating and plumping bestsellers: Dragon’s Blood Cleansing Water, Eye Gel and Velvet Cream. $110 CAD at shoppersdrugmart.com*.

Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate in Lunar New Year 2020 packaging

Shiseido has again done a beautiful, gold-splashed limited-edition 75mL bottle of Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate. I wonder if it’s refillable? I confess, I haven’t checked to see if the top comes off, and the bottle I shot isn’t where I am right now. $165 CAD at thebay.com and sephora.com.

Vichy Lunar New Year 2020 limited-edition Mineral 89

Vichy released a dreamy gold-accented limited-edition version of the Mineral 89 bottle as part of a Lunar New Year 2020 kit that includes Pureté Thermal 3-in-1 Micellar Cleanser, Aqualia Thermal Light gel-cream moisturizer and Mineral 89 Eyes. The brand very kindly sent a bottle to me; I picked it up from my lovely Superintendent a day or two ago. It’s okay if I keep refilling it every time I purchase a new bottle of Mineral 89, right? (I’ve bought most of the many bottles I’ve finished – can’t live without it.) $39.95 CAD at londondrugs.com*.

traditions, colour schemes and – rarity tactics?

I had a few questions about Lunar New Year and how the related merchandise is received by celebrants (quite well, I expect, given that there are more and more on offer each year). Is red-and-gold the preferred colour palette, or are other options just as popular? Are items that feature the year’s zodiac sign more covetable in general, or only for people born in the year of that sign? And do people who celebrate the lunar new year appreciate the marketing?

For input, I turned to my friend Wendy Lee, lead wedding designer/planner of Asian Fusion Weddings and my go-to expert on the subject.

While Lunar New Year isn’t quite the gift-giving insanity Christmas is, in addition to new clothes, shoes and accessories to herald a start to a prosperous year, people do buy gifts for loved ones. “We could just give lucky money, but that seems so impersonal,” says Wendy. “Lucky money is usually given to younger folks by older, married people. I see makeup as friend-to-friend gifts, or something special for a sister. A nice lipstick like the Givenchy, I might give to my mom because of the special packaging.”

Red, or red-and-gold isn’t necessary, but “Chinese New Year is traditionally associated with red and gold, the way Easter is associated with pastels,” Wendy points out. “Shoppers are more likely to pause and appreciate a red-and-gold palette during the celebrations, and it makes gift-giving easier. Items packaged in black and white aren’t as desirable because they won’t convey the happy feelings you’re supposed to enjoy at this time of year.”

Something adorned with the zodiac sign “is a rarity tactic,” she says. “Each sign only comes around every 12 years, which appeals to collectors. The zodiac symbols are special for people born under that sign, but if you’re a collector, having it on something is a must.”

The season has become “a money-making thing for retailers,” she acknowledges. “I was at Marshall’s and saw a fortune god statue for sale, and pillows with Chinese-lantern prints. I never saw that when I was growing up.” (Wendy grew up in Toronto.)

“Other cultures celebrate the lunar new year, too,” she notes. “But the market all seems aimed toward the Chinese. Maybe it’s because the wealth and population size here make it worthwhile? That said, I love browsing through all the wonderful gifts available. But given that we live in a multicultural society, I’d like to see other cultures celebrated the same way.”

over to you

From our chats here, I know the limited-edition packaging appeals to a broader audience than just those who celebrate Chinese New Year traditions. I mean, of course they do. Obviously, they make me look twice, three times and more (in part because I’m half Chinese), and besides, who can resist such pretty things?

Would love your input if you have anything to share!

shoppity shop-shop

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from Trends Dress https://trendsdress.com/lunar-new-year-2020-beauty-and-a-few-questions/ from Trends Dress https://trendsdresscom.tumblr.com/post/613780009973366784

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eliaandponto1 · 5 years

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Women of Legal Tech: Kim Craig

The Legal Technology Resource Center’s Women of Legal Tech initiative is intended to encourage diversity and celebrate women in legal technology. This initiative launched in 2015 with a list of innovators and leaders in legal technology and with this year’s additions, that list now includes 100 talented and influential women leaders. Every Monday, we will be featuring a woman from our class of 2019. This week we have Kim Craig!

Kim Craig is the Co-Founder and Experience Designer at Bold Duck Studio. Find her on Twitter @kim_craig.

How did you become involved in legal tech?

I have to blame it on being deeply involved in my firm’s Word Perfect to Word conversion project; that was the tipping point and probably gives away my age! But it truly brought out some problem-solving skills I didn’t even know I had. This was at a time when roundtripping of Word documents became so corrupt they were blowing up on clients and causing huge frustration and embarrassment for the firm. I loooooved the challenge of stabilizing Word documents. The more corrupt, the better!

Eventually, I found myself standing at the front of a classroom filled with our lawyers trying to convince them why Word, doc automation, and other Word add ons would change their lives. Very challenging to say the least. Fast forward a few years and I found myself geeking out in the world of records management and conflicts. Seriously? Yes. My job was to modernize and centralize these paper-laden areas. It taught me early on the challenges of change management. Not everyone was thrilled to step away from their typewriters and put a mouse in their hand. But it wasn’t just about implementing shiny new tech. It required meeting them where they were, developing a sense of trust, and showing them the bigger picture so that I could bring them along on the journey. It was one of my earliest forays in leading organizational change and I loved it!

What projects have you been focused on recently?

Bold Duck Studio just completed a very cool project for a massive global firm. It entailed the creation of a digital maturity model for legal. Outside of legal, these types of efforts may not be so novel, but inside legal, wow, so many people get digital transformation and maturity wrong. It’s not just a “tech thing.” It’s not exclusively about upgrading your platforms for seamless integration. It requires a holistic analysis of not only digital but also analog interactions across your entire ecosystem and their interplay. Evolving an organization’s digital fluency requires analysis of the culture, people/talent, processes/workflow, and technology which creates the overall digital experience for both your clients and within the organization itself. I’m enthralled with these efforts and am still uncovering how emerging tech, process reengineering, designing thinking, and change management all play a significant role in digital transformation.

Is there a legal tech resource of any kind that you find yourself returning to or that was particularly formative for you?

While at Seyfarth, I led what was then the world’s largest and most mature legal project management team. We had an extranet like many other BigLaw firms, and on my early LPM projects I tested out the flexibility and nuances of its functionality. Eventually, my LPM team stretched our off-the-shelf product as far as was possible and found it constraining for our needs. Thus, almost a decade ago, we built our own proprietary client collaboration platform called SeyfarthLink. The LPMs, along with a team of legal solutions architects and developers, led by my former partner Andrew Baker, designed our new platform and it was unlike any other in the industry at that time. Through our efforts, this client-facing team increased adoption and use of technology by the legal practitioners, making it more practical and accessible to them. This effort and this team changed how legal extranets were imagined and utilized within the legal industry. But more importantly, it elevated the “business of law” professionals’ hierarchy, not only within our firm but as a recognized game changer and competitive advantage for our competitors as well.

Our expertise with the platform and understanding of business needs earned us a seat at the table side-by-side with partners at client pitches and meetings. Clients readily accepted and welcomed us into those discussions. It forever changed the dialogue between a service provider and consumer. We were able to shift the conversation away from “legal expertise” (which is table stakes) to how we were going to do the work—not just the substantive legal work but also how our LPMs and LSAs were going to help solve client challenges and needs. While some challenged us (internally and externally) saying, “It’s just an extranet and nothing more; get over it,” they weren’t in the room to see the impact on the profession and how client relationships were transformed. But I knew because I sat at that table hundreds of times. When I left Seyfarth in 2018, we had client portfolio sites for most of our client base with hundreds of unique client interactions per day. It was our way of doing business and engaging clients who expressed great delight at having access to such a platform and team.

Today there are similar platforms like SeyfarthLink, such as HighQ, that many law firms have licensed. But, many have not invested in the client-facing business talent to help bring forward these platforms, thus many sit on the shelf behind the walls of IT. I see many firms’ investment in these platforms barely being utilized for anything more than a document sharing repository. It’s maddening, but they don’t know what they don’t know, and we are trying to close the gap between the necessary talent that firms need to invest in to fully utilize the platform along with integrated features to meet client needs such as doc auto, data visualization, workflow, and so on. There’s a long way to go but for those firms that make the necessary people and tech investments, it can be a game changer.

What technology do you think lawyers could look at in a different way that would benefit society?

I have a bit of a spin on this response: process mapping! If lawyers would accept the fact that legal work is a process, albeit sometimes a very complex process with high variability, they would have the ability to reimagine their services. It can start by dissecting their work to make it more efficient; looking for waste to remove and efficiencies to be gained by making sure the right people are doing the right work—which can also mean replacing manual steps with technology solutions. It is also a great opportunity to improve quality and minimize risk by embedding templates, checklists, and guidelines into the process. But it’s not just about efficiency and streamlining. It’s about the effectiveness and ensuring that the outcomes and the client experience are what you intended.

I’ve led over 200 process mapping sessions in the legal arena and pulling together the people responsible for providing common services to a client has so many benefits. It becomes a knowledge sharing forum to develop best practices; it creates a common understanding of the interplay between the team; it reveals the friction points and negative experiences for the client and the service provider, and at the end of the day, if done expertly, it is a forum for authentic introspection, unfettered ideation, and immense pride in creating something together which drives adoption of the new approach and improvements. I’ve seen these process reengineering sessions break down legacy hierarchical systems and accelerate the adoption of technology solutions because we were singularly focused on improving the human experience of the client and the team.

What’s really cool is that I’ve led these types of sessions with several groups from legal aid organizations who don’t have unlimited resources (both people or tech), but by using what they had at their disposal, they tackled very emotionally challenging days to serve even more clients in need of their services. I’ve also had the privilege of teaching law school students the power of approaching legal services as a process to be scrutinized and improved upon. Exposing our future lawyers to this thinking and making them comfortable with this tool provides them with a mindset and skill that they can bring forward as they enter the workforce. Of course, we also taught them how to be a strong facilitator and overcome barriers which will be vital as they are met with confusion and resistance from the rank and file they join, but I am thrilled that we have empowered them and believe they will persevere and be the much-needed change.

What advice would you give to other women who want to get involved in legal tech?

Know your sh*t! There hasn’t been a tech class I taught, or a methodology that I preached, where I didn’t have the battle scars of wrestling with the application or core tenets of the methodology and techniques to show. I always make sure I have dealt with as many trials and tribulations of testing and applying how these approaches will work in the legal space before I stand up in front of anyone to lead or preach—whether it is project management, lean six sigma, scrum, and so on. Before adapting any of these for the legal industry, I made sure I learned, achieved certification, and then practiced them so that I could then translate and adopt what would resonate in legal. I think that has been extremely important because you will get challenged. And while there are going to be people that are more experienced and smarter, I know that I have invested the hard hours to develop the use cases and expertise that allow me to take these approaches and tools to drive adoption of technology or methods and lead change.

Plus, remember to always display confidence while also being humble and never ever lose your passion and curiosity.

Give a shout-out to another woman in legal tech who you admire or have learned something from!

So I’m going to go off-script on this response, too. As we’ve seen, there are more and more women planting flags in legal tech innovation and leadership. It is impressive to hear about all of the legal tech startups led by women. There really is a movement that is a force to be reckoned with. But I want to take this opportunity and give a shout out to a couple of individuals who I have seen firsthand have a direct impact on women in legal—my current business partner, Josh Kubicki, and former colleague, Andrew Baker. These two have worked tirelessly to introduce new ideas and concepts to the legal industry and through their efforts, they have encouraged and supported many women.

When Andrew and I led the Client Solutions Group at Seyfarth, we identified many women who we believed would provide immense value to the team and the firm. Andrew was quick to provide every opportunity for their professional development, nurturing and positioning them directly with clients and firm leadership as hardcore application developers, data analysts, legal project managers, or legal solution architects. He was vocal and active in helping break down barriers and perceptions regarding their abilities. While I don’t have the tech chops that he does, he was also a huge advocate for me as a partner and leader within the firm regarding my role and involvement in the design and adoption of our technology solutions. He ensured that I received recognition for my efforts and contributions when he could have solely reaped accolades bestowed on him by leadership who were sometimes oblivious to my behind the scenes efforts on these fronts. Andrew also spent countless hours exposing me to knowledge areas and best practices like good UI/UX, Tufte, A/B testing, and other topics that enriched my own understanding and capabilities in tech. Little did he know that he had created a worthy opponent. We would debate for hours, sometimes heatedly and with much passion, over the design, priorities, and strategy of our initiatives but never with malice, as we designed and drove our firm’s brand differentiation, leading some of the industry’s most progressive undertakings at that time. The legal arena should join me in applauding Andrew’s investment in his female colleagues and the talent that he inspires. I know he made me a better version of myself and what I bring to the table.

Second, I want to recognize my partner, Josh Kubicki for his ability and willingness to maintain an unbiased and pragmatic perspective when he engages with colleagues, peers, and direct reports of any gender. But, to the point of this response, I have seen firsthand the impact Josh has had on women in legal—tech and otherwise. His patience and selfless investment in the women of a large team we were both on was remarkable. Although he is a licensed lawyer, his demeanor and actions completely obliterate stereotypes of arrogance and egotism. As women, we so often let our insecurities and self-doubt get the best of us in this male-dominated industry, but Josh is able to see past that and instill certainty and conviction when others would perceive our behavior as weak and frail. He truly brings out the best in everyone he works with but has especially provided both professional and personal growth opportunities to the women he has mentored and partnered with throughout his career. Josh has some of the strongest core values that I have witnessed. His vast and successful experiences from working in law departments, law firms, advising legal startups, and being his own entrepreneur have provided opportunities so many and I am always impressed by the statements made when I encounter another woman on which he has made his impact. They never fail to expound his virtues and the deep impression he made on them which helped to foster their continuous growth and successes. I am extremely fortunate that Josh recognized my talents and skills and chose me as a business partner on this journey. He believes in me even when I sometimes doubt myself. His strength and confidence in my expertise and capabilities have given me a new level of self-assuredness that I would not otherwise possess. For that, I will always be grateful.

So I want to close by applauding Andrew and Josh for what they have done to encourage and promote women in legal tech and generally in their professions. We need more men like them who don’t judge, who don’t bend the rules and make it easier just because we’re women, and who will defend and sponsor our efforts because we have earned them. They have made a significant impact and difference to this humbled and proud 2019 Women of Legal Tech Honoree and for that, I thank them from the bottom of my heart, as I wouldn’t be where I am without them and I eagerly look forward to their continued efforts as allies to women in the legal profession.

The post Women of Legal Tech: Kim Craig appeared first on Law Technology Today.

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taleshalance4 · 5 years

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Women of Legal Tech: Kim Craig

Kim Craig is the Co-Founder and Experience Designer at Bold Duck Studio. Find her on Twitter @kim_craig.

How did you become involved in legal tech?

What projects have you been focused on recently?

Is there a legal tech resource of any kind that you find yourself returning to or that was particularly formative for you?

What technology do you think lawyers could look at in a different way that would benefit society?

What advice would you give to other women who want to get involved in legal tech?

Plus, remember to always display confidence while also being humble and never ever lose your passion and curiosity.

Give a shout-out to another woman in legal tech who you admire or have learned something from!

The post Women of Legal Tech: Kim Craig appeared first on Law Technology Today.

from http://bit.ly/2Dqtbqt from https://eliaandponto1.tumblr.com/post/184388865727

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ramialkarmi · 6 years

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Taylor's radical new acoustic guitar design proves that a centuries-old musical instrument can be high-tech

Taylor Guitars has been in business since the early 1970s.

It has always defined itself by a culture of innovation in a world where acoustic guitars are based on very old designs.

It recently pushed the envelope with a new bracing system that's a big departure from what guitar makes have been doing for a century.

Electronic music is all the rage these days, but the most high-tech of America's Big Three guitar makers is proving that the acoustic guitar can keep up.

That's no small feat: the basic idea of a soundbox joined to a fretboard with plucked strings providing musical notes has been around since the 1500s. In the US, the premium acoustic-guitar market is ruled by three companies, each with its own approach to the instrument.

Pennsylvania-based C.F. Martin & Co. has been in business since the late 1800s. Nashville's Gibson, Martin's chief 20th-century rival, got started in 1902. And California's Taylor Guitars is the new kid on the block, founded in 1974.

Martin has long been beloved for the sheer exquisiteness of its acoustics and created the most popular acoustic shape, the dreadnought. Gibson's guitars have often been flashier and are often favored by rock, blues, and country players for their earthy, grittier tone and eye-catching looks (Keith Richards was a fan of the Hummingbird, and Pete Townshend likes the J-200 jumbo).

Taylor — named for co-founder Bob Taylor — has a reputation for a sparkling high-end and unrelenting innovation in the context of a 500-year-old instrument. I really like Gibsons and can't argue with Martins, but many times when I strum a Taylor, especially upscale, made-in-US versions, I'm blown away by the power of their guitars. Taylors are also popular with guitarists who often plug in and play amplified: the company's proprietary "Expression" system is stupendous.

The creation of "V-Class" bracing

This year, Taylor shook up the acoustic world with the introduction of a new internal-bracing system for its pricier acoustics. Called "V-Class" bracing, it was devised by Andy Powers, a master guitar maker who joined Taylor in 2011 and has been talked about as an heir to Bob Taylor's leadership.

I both sampled a V-Class guitar for a month and discussed the innovation with Taylor.

First, the axe: Taylor loaned me a 914ce guitar to review, a $5,000 instrument that reminded me how much better a crummy player such as myself can sound with a truly great guitar in hand. Clearly, this isn't a purchase that any player will take lightly — a guitar of this caliber is a lifetime investment.

The 914ce is a cutaway grand auditorium shape, which means that the instrument is a bit smaller than a traditional dreadnought; I increasingly favor this design, which is easier to play standing with a strap than a dread, as well as when sitting.

Taylor is using the V-Class bracing in a range of guitars, with the least expensive coming in a $3,000 and the most costly weighing in at $9,000. All are made in El Cajon, California, near San Diego.

The 914ce I checked out has a Sitka Spruce top, Indian rosewood back and sides, and a West African ebony fretboard. The details are glorious, with a graphite nut, Micarta saddle, very solid Gotoh 510 tuners in a sort of mellow brass, and the onboard Expression amp system, complete with a jack in the strap button. You can get lost studying the inlays on the headstock and the fretboard.

What does the design sound like?

Unplugged, playing the 914ce is like holding a piano in your lap: the dynamic range is miraculous. Plugged in (I ran the guitar through a Fender Pro Junior IV because I don't have an acoustic amp), the 914ce is bold and balanced.

There's a reason why musicians who play in churches and a lot of electric-centric folks adore Taylors: the amplified characteristics are stunning, replicating the natural sound of an acoustic even at higher volumes.

But most players are going to become addicted to the unplugged virtues of the 914ce. I certainly did, and I threw everything I had in standard tuning at it, with forays into my preferred alternative tunings, DADGAD and open-G.

At this level, acoustics don't have flaws — they simply have varying degrees of magnificent virtues. But the V-Class bracing lives up to its billing and then some. By nature of their legacy design, acoustic guitars are never really perfect, and almost everybody fights a bit to achieve what they want, no matter how skilled they are.

How V-Class works

In coming up with V-Class, Powers sought to solve an age-old problem with the so-called "flat top" design — what most players recognize as the steel-stringed acoustic guitar. (Watch him talk about it here.)

With flat tops, there are some limits on what a traditional guitar will allow," Powers said when we chatted on the phone. "There's a balance point between volume and sustain."

Volume is self-explanatory and is a function of how flexible a guitar's top is: More flexible equals more air moved equals louder, and if you have a bigger top, you have more volume. You can also make it louder with a super-flexible top, such as the drumhead on a banjo.

Sustain, however, is governed by stiffness. That's why notes last longer when played on a stiffer instrument. To return to the banjo example, those sharp, loud notes decay very rapidly.

Powers was certainly familiar with the industry standard X-bracing, given his pre-Taylor career as a custom builder and musician. But the constraints of the old ways frustrated him.

An unlikely insight came from his second home (outside the guitar workshop) — the Pacific Ocean, where he regularly surfs. Wave patterns in water suggested a new idea to him, and V-Class entered the experimental stage.

The results were quickly successful, but also intimidating.

"Oh my gosh, I've opened a Pandora's Box!" Powers recalled. "This guitar is actually gonna do what I want it do do. I was excited and scared at the same time."

A neverending learning experience for the guitar maker

Several years of development followed, during which Powers would concoct a design, test it, figure out if something was a fluke, and then get control of a feature so that it could be replicated.

Powers also had to contend with his own "Eureka!" feelings, not to mention feedback from his luthier compatriots.

"I thought, 'I'm an idiot for not seeing this sooner,'" he said. But the world of guitar makers is not large, and when Powers revealed his concept, they scratched their heads.

They didn't treat him quite as if he'd rolled out a square wheel. "We don't know all that much about the instrument," he said. "The more we learn, the less we know."

My time with the 914ce reminded me that if you're a casual guitarist and deeply amateur musician, you can certainly enjoy a fine instrument. But it also highlighted how much a good guitar can help a great player better express him or herself. In my experience, even some famous guitars, such as the Gibson J-45, don't much like to be played all over the neck.

Not so with the new Taylors — where the V-Class bracing, combined with the company's neck-to-body joining for which its already renowned, means that you can hit every single available note and savor the sustain and volume that Powers focused on while remaining deliciously in tune. And even if you don't like single-note playing and prefer strumming chords, the difference between a three- and four-finger G chord on the 914ce is a revelation.

My acid test for a guitar, when you get right down to it, is can I write a song on the instrument. The reason why is that there's no correlation between cost and results: I've written numerous songs on a $5 Yamaha that I bought at a yard sale.

The 914ce yielded a slightly fast-playing number with a little riff at the beginning, a benefit of the neck, which is slick and swift.

The pros were stunned

According to Powers, more talented musicians see larger vistas when they first sample a V-Class guitar.

"Some of them get really quiet," he said. "Quite a few start swearing. And few chords in, it's almost as if the guitar has turned into their voice."

The V-Class innovation comes along at a good time or the acoustic guitar. Musicians such as Taylor Swift— a Taylor player, naturally — have spurred interest among new, female customers to pick up a humble thing made of wood and string to see if they can make it sound cool.

With Gibson's recent bankruptcy declaration and the general shift in pop away from anything that resembles guitar heroes, there's been no shortage of eulogies for an instrument that's defined music since the 1950s. But Powers isn't buying it.

"I've heard all kinds of gloom and doom about the future of the guitar," he said. "But I don't think it's going to disappear. We have an inherent need to tell stories and make music. We might just not have the exactly same instrument that we had decades ago."

SEE ALSO: Fender has unveiled a lineup of acoustic guitars that electric players will love

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: An Oxford Professor Has Unlocked The Mysterious Science Of The Guitar

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robertkstone · 7 years

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Roger Penske: The Interview

Roger Penske is one of America’s most respected captains of industry, a name uttered with reverence from corporate boardrooms to racetrack RV parks. Whether it’s leasing and distributing medium- and heavy-duty trucks, retailing new and used automobiles, or running wildly successful teams in NASCAR, IndyCar, and other racing series, Roger Penske is a household name. His driven, entrepreneurial sense in creating his business empire has proven unerring, though he will admit to disappointments. At Acura’s unveiling of its new IMSA race car—for a two-car team that Penske will campaign in 2018—Motor Trend sat with the 80-year-old Penske for a lengthy discussion of past, present, and future.

It’s been a few years (2012) since you won your first NASCAR championship—something you’ve said was a lifelong goal. But now that there’s been time to reflect, would you say that’s still the most personally satisfying racing victory for you?

Winning that was something we hadn’t achieved as a team. We were close. We were in the running last year. The competitive challenge of NASCAR, over 38 races, with format changes … you gotta be on your game. Certainly with teams like [Rick] Hendrick, [Joe] Gibbs, [Richard] Childress—they are obviously in the same boat we are. There are eight, 10, 12 cars that can win any race. We have good drivers and good sponsors. We are well supported by Ford.

Obviously, IndyCar is where my heart is because that’s where we got started. We have four great guys who are competing for us. We can see the championship, but we have to execute.

We also are competing in the Supercars series in Australia. That’s been our latest real challenge. I was going to Australia on business, for MAN and Western Star distribution and Detroit Diesel engines, and I wanted to have a way to build the brand there. The Supercars series would be something that could give us some notoriety and the brand-building capability. So we bought a small partnership, and we struggled in the first year because Marcos Ambrose decided after a couple races he wanted to do something else. Then we got Fabian Coulthard, and as part of building the team, we contracted with Scott McLaughlin, who is the hottest young driver with 11 pole positions and six victories. So we’re not only leading the driver championship, but we’re leading the team championship.

Our latest challenge is in IMSA with Acura. We go back to 1966 when the first race we entered was at Daytona with the Corvette. So this is a great step for us because we have the driver talent in-house to a certain extent. The Honda powertrain is well developed and reliable. The chassis almost won Le Mans with Porsche. Along with Honda Performance Development and our people, from a technical standpoint we can put together a competitive package. I have moderate expectations because we can’t walk into these partnerships and think we can have success overnight. But we’ve raced with Honda before and had success. We have six Acura stores across the country, so it’s nice to tie together the business and performance. I’m pretty excited about the opportunity.

You mentioned your car-retail holdings. Where do you see the U.S. auto market headed?

The market has a lot of push, primarily in the premium luxury sector. Land Rover and Porsche have their inventories under control, but the mix-shift from sedans to SUVs has caught some premium guys short, in terms of not having the product lines they need. Sedan residuals are off, and that’s had an impact on leasing. I see a flatter year for the next 12 to 24 months. We do see pressure on margins from the internet, TrueCar and other disruptors in the retail business, so we are looking at how do we take cost out. We probably have a little more work to do because premium luxury has been a 50, 55, 60 percent lease market. Those residuals are being impacted because of all the sedans coming back.

I’ve been concentrating on my used car superstores, and we’ve had success with CarSense (the used car superstores Penske recently acquired).

We’re also making a tremendous investment in facilities. But if we can sell cars over the internet, that will affect our parts and service business. Are we going to have to have a new franchise that is doing service remotely and have 25 bays that are empty? We have to talk to the OEMs about that. We’re not just looking at what’s happening today. We’re looking at two, three, four, five years from now, whether it’s car sharing or maintenance.

Which automaker is doing things right today?

Every one of them is looking across the bow of being more efficient and taking cost out. We’re seeing the electrification of the business where everyone has the same kilowatts and torque and fuel mileage, so now it’s about the customer experience, styling, technology. That’s what they are locking onto. We represent all the great brands, so I never say one is ahead of the other. One might have a different approach. We’re seeing a new relationship with Acura. [Brand General Manager] Jon Ikeda is focusing on performance, and that’s another way to connect with customers.

What is your feeling about the overall business climate, given the actions of the Trump administration?

The administration was very positive, as far as what was going to happen. With health care and taxes and smaller things he can sign himself, these haven’t affected the auto industry yet. The EPA is revisiting rules on gliders in the truck industry. But I’m not in Wall Street, so I don’t know the impact of [repealing] Dodd-Frank [Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act]. Washington today certainly is an important part of the face of the U.S., and that’s my biggest concern. I go around the world, and our reputation is somewhat tarnished by our inability to get things done, and the M.O. that Trump has. [Politically] I’m straight down the middle. I want to support the administrations, whether they are Republican or Democrat. I have never relied on government to make my business better, and I’m not counting on them to make it worse. You put the effort in, and whether you are 15 or 60 you have the opportunity. That’s what keeps me active. You look at Uber and the amazing things that have taken place. Ten years from now, we’ll see which had sustainability and which were pop-ups that lost their momentum. Amazon has a tremendous market cap but needs a big return.

Speaking of sustainability, what do you think of Tesla?

Tesla has done a really good car, but I wonder about their distribution model. They want to go direct, so my concern is about captive financing because when business goes bad, the banks go away. Ford Credit kept Ford in business during the financial crisis. As Tesla goes to next level, the Model 3 will have less margin, and selling more models means more customers to be handled properly. When you look at the bottom line, there seems to be an equity infusion going into debt. There has to be a point where the business makes money, where it’s more than things people want to have. You have to ask what are their residuals and battery technology, when companies like Porsche and Land Rover are coming with similar products.

There was talk during the Recession about you becoming chairman or CEO of bankrupt General Motors. Was there any truth to that?

No. You know how stories get started. [Former Chrysler CEO Lee] Iacocca talked to me, but it was not in the cards. That was many years ago. I had my own business. I wouldn’t be a good big-company CEO. I want to go do things.

You’ve talked about human capital as the most essential piece of your business. But with 60,000-plus employees to navigate, how do you determine who would be a good fit in your organization?

We have a robust recruiting process. Look at the people who work for us, most come up through the organization. Our culture gets instilled early on. We stretch people. No one is ever ready, but nobody fails. We move them on to find what works well for them. When we look at employee surveys, one question we get is that we don’t move fast enough. For every 200 employees, we have probably one or two people who are specifically focused on human resources. That way, you can connect with someone if you have a concern. At big organizations, you can have nowhere to go. It’s hard to get in our business, and we want it to be hard to leave.

What business decision would you want to do over—either a decision you went ahead with or one you decided not to take?

We were never able to execute the purchase of Saturn from GM. I felt we had a good purchase there. Samsung would have built the cars. But at the end of the day, it was a disappointment. My biggest failure was the Kmart auto centers, when Kmart went bankrupt, and we went from 1,400 (Penske Auto) centers to 900, and we had to shut it down.

You are known as a boots-on-the-ground CEO. You’ll go out to your operations and talk to those who are interacting with customers every day. How do you interact with the one who’s running the local operation?

In the morning, I do a site walk around with the people, and I encourage our managers. I don’t go to the conference room. I walk around the facilities. In Belfast, we have a big complex with Mercedes, Audi, BMW, and Porsche, and at 7:30, I meet those managers, walk all the sites, and get up to speed.

One of the things that came from a site walk was when we bought Detroit Diesel in the ’80s. I shut down the management cafeteria and instead had management meet with the people we do business with. We put air conditioning and TVs in the employee break areas rather than have the chairs chained down like they were. We had over 3,000 grievances at the time, and we were able to bring those down and develop a very important relationship with the union. When (President Bill) Clinton came to Detroit, he came to Detroit Diesel because of the partnership we had developed with the union.

The post Roger Penske: The Interview appeared first on Motor Trend.

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dippedanddripped · 4 years

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With few exceptions, selling reports on 2019 tailored clothing business have not been great. While the sky’s not falling, both department and independent specialty stores are struggling to maintain volume. At department stores, clothing business has been increasingly promotional (if that’s even possible) while many independent stores trying to sell suits at ticket price are finding themselves with excess inventory. In most upscale stores, luxury brands have fared better than most.

Says Steve Pruitt, retail analyst at Blacks Consulting, who advises top luxury stores across the country, “Clothing is soft across the markets, but not as bad as we sometimes hear. Overall clothing is running down (January-September) three percent. While sportscoats are up two percent, suits are down five percent and special order (now 30 percent of clothing volume in upscale stores) is down four percent.”

Pruitt maintains that the bigger issue for both retailers and manufacturers is the lack of newness in suits and sportscoats. “Weddings seem to be the biggest driver for demand in suits, so it’s become purely an event-driven business. Of course, there are isolated markets that still require suits for business but this is declining as the customer ages.”

Dan Farrington from Mitchells stores acknowledges that sportswear and footwear are driving menswear sales but tries to give it a positive spin. “The fact that we’re not in a tailored cycle presents us with an opportunity to gain market share. Clothing is such an important part of our business, we can’t resign ourselves to doing less. We’d like to think that as a suit becomes more an occasion purchase, customers will spend more for higher quality.”

Retail analyst Danny Paul is also somewhat optimistic. Although in the stores that he counsels, suits have been down for 10 consecutive months and 17 out of the past 18 months, he’s encouraged by some growth in sportcoats. “Sportcoat sales in October were the strongest we’ve seen so far this year; they appear to be the one bright spot in tailored clothing. Made-to-measure posted its fourth consecutive monthly increase, although some of those months were small gains. Dress trousers sales have been down for eight of the last 10 months, no doubt affected by the strength in casual pants and five pockets. It’s apparent that something new and exciting needs to be added to all tailored classifications, especially suits, to pique customer interest and give clothing the lift it needs for 2020.”

Pruitt agrees. “Moving forward, retailers need to have upfront conversations about the kinds of events that can drive clothing business. Most importantly, the modeling needs to change. We’ve seen fashion presentations with a new focus on pleats, something that could drive a new coat silhouette. But most retailers are slow to adapt, reluctant to introduce this change to their clients.”

Farrington admits some reluctance. “We’re seeing a few looser pant models and some single pleats, but in general, we have no indication that our customers are ready for this since guys seem comfortable with today’s slim (but not tight) fit.” Like most upscale retailers, Farrington says his clothing business is best at the very high end: Kiton, Brunello Cucinelli, Brioni. Made-to-measure (averaging 20 percent to clothing sales but ranging dramatically by store) is also holding its own. “I love made-to-measure: no inventory, no markdowns, no returns… We need to further nurture this business.”

Johnell Garmany at Garmany in Red Bank, New Jersey also reports strong business at the luxury level. “We sell Kiton jackets that are $7,500-$9,000; I just sold one for $12,000. Other key brands are Canali, Ravazzolo, and Isaia. Made-to-measure is also growing, especially our own label: from $700 to Italian-made suits for $4,000-$5,000.”

At 25-30 percent of Garmany’s menswear, tailored clothing remains healthy. “Even guys who no longer wear suits every day are noticing that the ones they own are looking dated. So, they’re shopping, especially at special events that we do monthly. What’s driving sales is suits that can be worn as separates. The suit jacket worn with jeans. The trousers on their own. Or they buy a 3-piece suit and wear the vest with jeans. We’re selling more patch pockets and softer shoulders so that the suit coat can also be worn casually.”

At Andrisen Morton in Denver, Craig Andrisen remains optimistic about tailored clothing, which generates 55 percent of his menswear sales (40 percent fashion, 30 percent in-stock, 30 percent made-to-measure). “If you look up and down the street, you’ll see that most men have no idea how to put together a business casual look, so the potential for growth is there.”

At the more moderate level, Macy’s VP Mark Stocker (who is contemplating adding made-to-measure to his mix but does not currently offer it) admits his reluctance to jump on the loose oversized fits shown on designer runways. “Our customer is not there yet. Single pleat models and cuffs could reemerge; we’re touching on those now. But as for the exaggerated runway styles, not yet. Our customer is finally getting comfortable with color and pattern; new fashion has to be digested gradually.”

SELF-FULFILLING PROPHESY?

Peerless president John Tighe has a reasonable explanation for declining suit business at retail: too many retailers have stopped believing in it. “Business has been tough, mostly because stores that have given up on tailored clothing are not presenting it as they believe in it so their sales are down. Those merchants who are investing in their business are doing well: specialty stores like Miltons and The Garage, and I have to say Macy’s, where tailored clothing is called out on virtually every earnings call. They believe in it: they’ve invested in floor space, inventory, fixturing, sales associates. I give tremendous credit to Jeff and his team.”

According to Tighe, whose company is the largest producer of tailored clothing for the U.S. and Canada with labels ranging from Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger to Hart Schaffner Marx, Tallia, and Shaq, customers are looking for newness and innovation. “There’s so much excitement out there,” he maintains, “especially fabric innovation: new blends, stretch, recyclable, sustainable. Five years ago, our suit business was pure wools; today, the majority of what we sell features stretch.”

Clearly, stretch and tech fabrics are driving sales for many clothing brands. At Lanier, Matt Silverman sings the praises of their new performance fabrics in Cole Haan, Kenneth Cole, and Strong Suit. He points to a jacket with mesh inserts and a cool-max lining and demonstrates how the wrinkles roll out of a new bi-stretch fabric using 290s high-twist yarns. He matches a knit jacket with a drawstring, jogger-type pants. Brent Kestin at Q by Flynt (a division of Trybus) touts the “empty” tailoring they’re putting into their sportscoats (all patch pockets and made with Italian piece goods), confiding that last year’s fit was a bit too trim so they’ve sized up slightly for American bodies. At Paisley & Gray, whose major accounts include Macy’s and Men’s Wearhouse, the focus is clothing combined with sportswear: softly tailored jackets and pants anchoring a mix of knits, wovens, and outerwear. Says Vince Marrone, “Our fall 2020 clothing features an array of fabrics from bold vibrant patterns to rich velvets to classic vintage-inspired tweeds.”

DOING THEIR OWN THING

To Tighe’s point, tailored clothing is selling well in stores that support it. At Penners in San Antonio, Mitchell Penner (4th generation) explains that tailored clothing had been declining, now it’s back on an upswing. “We believe in it so we carry an extensive inventory of sizes: 36-74 in regulars, shorts, longs, even portly. Most of our sales range from $495-$895 (HSM averages $1,800); our custom averages $2,900. Key brands include Peerless, Jack Victor, HSM, Hugo Boss, H. Cohen, and Eisenberg. We use Baroni for margin: they make beautiful lightweight super 150s suits that cost us $200 and we sell them for $595. We have seven on-site tailors and we don’t take markdowns. We realize that suit business nationwide has been tough but we continue to do our own thing.”

Another independent merchant who’s taken an aggressive stance is David Elkus at Michigan-based Baron’s and Todd’s. Unwilling to sit back and watch his suit sales erode, he launched a major month-long promotion this past September (calling it Suitember), promoting suits for the entire month and donating a portion of proceeds to local charities. Says Elkus, “Our Suitember results were beyond our expectations! Baron’s suit sales were up over 60 percent, Todd’s suit sales were up nearly 50 percent. All other departments benefitted from the increase in traffic. Our charitable partners were happy, our customers were happy, and we were thrilled! A win-win-win! I’m excited for next year!” (Editor’s note, Elkus’ goal for 2020 is to make Suitember a national promotion in independent stores across the country; for more info: 248-865-9960.)

THE NEW SUIT

While there’s no way to instantly transform an entire culture that’s shifted to casual dressing, there are ways to construct suits that are softer, lighter and more comfortable. But it’s not easy!

At Sant’ Andrea, a much-admired Italian luxury brand that’s recently entered the U.S. market, Luciano Moresco explains, “Sant’Andrea customers look to us for the finest hand-craftsmanship and for luxury materials like cashmere and cashmere/silk blends. For fall 2020, a significant portion of our collection has been lighted up, eliminating the padding but keeping a light canvas in the shoulders to give a touch of support to the clean and fluid lines of the garments.”

Says Samuelsohn’s creative director Arnold Silverstone, “We just came out with our lightest full-canvas garment ever. The challenge is how to make a super-soft unconstructed garment look rich and expensive, not like a rag. How we do it: I work very closely with our master patternmaker, back and forth, over and over, until every detail is perfect. We use the lightest canvas, no shoulder pads, no chest piece, but expensive interlinings and a tremendous amount of hand-basting. It’s a lot of work.”

Silverstone maintains that suits are not going away and that business is cyclical. “I think there’s still room for suits but there has to be a new suit. Not a structured garment: soft, unconstructed, with some flow. Still close to the body but using softer materials, richer tailoring, less trim. The customer shouldn’t feel confined by the shoulder pad or chest piece—it should feel more like sweats. And, of course, this new suit needs a lifestyle approach to presentation.”

Confides Dan Farrington, ever the pragmatist: “I’m eagerly awaiting that big sweeping change in tailored clothing. In the meantime, we need to tighten our inventory.”

Larry Rosen from Harry Rosen stores (Canada’s largest luxury menswear retailer with 20 magnificent stores across the country) puts a slightly different spin on the precarious state of tailored clothing. “There’s no doubt men are wearing fewer suits, but I believe it’s our responsibility as retailers to show them other ways of dressing for work. Just because an executive isn’t wearing a suit doesn’t mean he shouldn’t dress with a strong point of view. Instead of convincing men to go back to dressing the old way, we need to educate them on new ways. Most importantly, luxury menswear merchants need to focus on things that will ensure our future, like getting in younger customers. We might have to excite them digitally, which we’re now helping our associates learn how to do. But whatever it takes, our future depends on engaging the next generation.”

#tailored clothing #menswear blog #suits #fashion blog

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restate30201 · 7 years

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Flynn Seeks Sanctuary From Russia Interference Scandal In Hometown Surf

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (AP) — Former national security adviser Michael Flynn, at the center of multiple probes into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, seeks sanctuary from the swirling eddy of news coverage in the beach town where he grew up surfing and skateboarding, one of nine siblings crammed into a 1,200-square foot house.

Middletown is his refuge and the ocean is his therapy, and he’s spent recent weeks here surfing and figuring out his path forward, according to friends and family members. They say the man they have known since his childhood here in the 1960s and 1970s — the student body president who rose from a start in Army ROTC to the rank of lieutenant general — isn’t the same man they see portrayed in news reports.

“Have you seen that in the news? They talk about Mike as a traitor? The thought of that is absolutely insane to me,” said older brother Jack.

Forced from government service into retirement in 2014 by the Obama administration, Flynn went on to set up a company that accepted speaking fees from Russian entities and later did consulting work for a Turkish-owned business. He joined the Trump campaign and then the administration, but the Trump White House ousted him after saying he mischaracterized conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. A wide range of his actions — including foreign contracts and payments, and whether he lied to officials — are under scrutiny by investigators.

Thomas A. Heaney Jr., a retired Army colonel who has known Flynn since they were 9 years old, said Flynn has been doing well and has begun work again as a consultant after shutting down his old firm.

“He knows that most of the allegations in terms of the way they were presented were sensationalized and are not true,” said Heaney, who lives in the area and has seen Flynn several times this summer, most recently at Fourth of July parties. “He’s got his head up. He knows he’s a good servant. He’s a patriot and he didn’t deserve to be treated the way he’s being treated, but he’s not letting that overwhelm him.”

Middletown could even become his permanent base, Heaney said. Flynn and his wife, Lori, who started dating as high school sophomores, grew up here and have deep family ties in the area.

Michael Flynn, the sixth of Helen and Charlie Flynn’s nine children, was born at Fort Meade, in Maryland, where his father was posted with the U.S. Army. Charlie eventually retired as a master sergeant after a 20-year career, then started a banking career in Newport, an island community with a strong military presence and reputation as a rich people’s playground.

They packed the family into the tiny seaside cottage once owned by Michael’s grandmother in blue-collar Middletown. Flynn writes in his book, “The Field of Fight,” of the “never-ending revolving search to nab one of a few fold-up cots or a bunk bed that was open.”

Allen Corcoran grew up as best friends with Flynn’s youngest brother, Charlie, now an Army major general, who’s second-in-command over Army forces in the Pacific. Corcoran recalled one night during a sleepover at the Flynn household when he fell asleep in a bed and woke up on a couch. An older Flynn wanted the bed and moved him.

“It was like a bunkhouse really. That’s how Helen ran it,” Jack Flynn said.

Helen Flynn was deeply involved in Democratic politics, from local to gubernatorial campaigns, even the presidential campaign of George McGovern. She had given up her scholarship spot at Brown University to get married and raise a family, but once the children were older, she taught at a secretarial school, went back to school to get economics and law degrees, and became a real estate agent.

Michael’s younger brother Joe said there was constant discussion in the house of what was going on in the world, and a constant swapping of opinions.

“We were encouraged to speak our mind. We were encouraged to study the world. We were encouraged to be up-to-speed on political affairs going on around the country,” Joe Flynn said. “Clearly, you grow up in that kind of household, you know your life is going to be still involved in that as you get older.”

Growing up so close to the ocean, the Flynns became strong swimmers and surfers. Sid Abbruzzi, a celebrated surfer who ran a surf shop on the beach about 200 yards from the Flynn house, remembers a raucous environment at their house, where siblings would squabble about who took whose wetsuit.

“Those guys had shaggy hair, and rock ‘n’ roll, and riding the waves, and skate boarding and playing sports too. … The family surf-skate connection is blood,” he said. “It is sort of ’70s, loosey-goosey style, and Mike grew up in that culture.”

The cottage had a clear view of Ruggles, a well-known surfing spot that breaks below Newport’s famous Gilded Age mansion, The Breakers.

“People would call us all the time and say, ‘What’s the surf like at Ruggles?'” Joe Flynn said. “My mother would give them the surf check.”

Michael became known for his skateboarding style and boldness in the water.

“He would surf tough spots in the middle of December. He’d go out in circumstances where others wouldn’t do it,” Corcoran said.

Friends remember him as a leader, someone who inspired others. At age 13, Michael made the front page of the local newspaper when he saved two toddlers playing in the path of a runaway car that was rolling downhill.

“He treated everybody the same, no matter what neighborhood you grew up in, you had a shot with Mike,” Corcoran said. “If some kid was being neglected or wasn’t very popular, Mike would take him under his wing and kind of help the kid along. He was kind of one of those guys.”

He was also popular: Flynn was Middletown High School’s student body president, co-captain of the football team and voted “best looking” in his high school yearbook.

There were also hard times. Michael was in elementary school when his oldest sister, Lennie, was in a car crash while driving home from college in Providence. She spent 80 days in a coma before passing away.

“It was just a terrible, terrible time. And it left a big mark on the family for a while, actually forever. Forever, right? It doesn’t really go away,” Joe Flynn said.

Another turning point came when Michael, then a teenager, ran into trouble that landed him in a night of juvenile detention and a year of probation. In his book, Flynn describes himself as “one of those nasty tough kids, hell-bent on breaking rules for the adrenaline rush and hardwired just enough to not care about the consequences.”

Flynn wrote that his “misguided mindset” led to his arrest — he doesn’t say what he did — and that the sentence was “no comparison to the punishment at home.”

“The light switch went on in his head,” Joe Flynn said. “It also helped him be who he is. It humbled him.”

After an academically bad start at the University of Rhode Island, Flynn entered the ROTC program there, something Joe called “the greatest thing that ever happened to him.” He entered the Army as an intelligence officer after graduating.

Flynn had planned to return to the private sector after the presidential campaign, his brothers said. Instead, President Donald Trump asked him to be national security adviser, a job he reluctantly accepted, they said.

“I know for sure that he at first said no. ‘I don’t want to accept that position.’ And he said to me, ‘It’s a tough one to say no to when you’re pressed. When you’ve gone that far. So I said OK.’ Finally, he said OK,” Jack Flynn said.

Jack Flynn said he doesn’t know whether his brother regrets that decision. “I don’t think he expected his life to get blown up like this,” said Joe Flynn.

These days, Michael is in “recuperation mode.” The same week that former FBI Director James Comey testified before the Senate’s intelligence committee, Joe said, Michael was surfing with his sister at a beach near the house he built here years ago, in the same neighborhood where they grew up.

Jack Flynn, who lives in the area, said people come up to his brother all the time to express support. In his view, Michael’s silence is driving people in Washington crazy.

“And I hope he waits till the moment comes for him to talk. I’m so glad he’s doing exactly what he’s doing for himself, which is staying mentally healthy and physically fit and taking care of the things that really matter to him and his life right now,” Jack Flynn said.

Heaney said he’s confident Flynn will be fully exonerated and will move on with his life. Flynn, he said, has a positive outlook, and knows he is welcome in Middletown.

“He feels at home here and he knows he has a base of support here,” Heaney said. “People here, they know the mettle of Mike Flynn.”

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2v9CtkQ

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realestate63141 · 7 years