My mother is a great shopper.

Of course, she has many other qualities I appreciate, qualities that are more important in this life. But, over the years I have been a close observer and sometimes benefactress of this particular expertise and I can tell you with confidence: she’s got a gift.

So it was jarring when I received this email from her the other day:

SUBJECT: CHRISTMAS GIFTS
I’ve been thinking that perhaps we should exchange names among ourselves this year…I’m trying to pay attention to my consumption and cut down on unnecessary purchases, reuse bags and save the earth. (Dad says maybe I’m just cheap). I’d like to commit to buying nothing new for a year, except for food and hygiene, but I’m not there mentally yet! Santa would still have stockings for everyone…but there would only be one present for each of us. How do you feel about it???

What’s most striking to me about this email is that it is proof positive that the change in consumerism we have been talking about in marketing meetings and in the media is at hand. Possibly, it’s even bigger than we imagined. Continue Reading »

Who says you can’t go green and be glam? Thanks to the eco-chic phenomenon infiltrating fashion, it looks like we won’t have to run off to greener pastures to find our organic threads this season.

Numerous designers and sponsors jumped on the green bandwagon for this fall/winter 2008/09 fashion week in New York. This eco-chic fashion trend may have been jump-started with LA’s Mercedes-Benz Los Angeles Fashion Week for Spring 2008. Their eco-friendly initiatives included everything from recycled tents and carpeting to biodegradable shipping and staging. Several eco-conscious designers were featured on their catwalks. By teaming up with the CarbonNeutral Company to measure, reduce and offset the entire fashion event, for a rare moment, the LA fashion scene may have taken a fashionable lead! Continue Reading »

 An interview with pop rocker, Jarvis Cocker, in Tokion magazine got me thinking about the dark side. In describing his latest album he says, “There’s some kind of recognition of the darker side of human nature––a recognition that without that dark side, life would be pretty dull. It’s the destructive urge within people, but that struggle between the two sides of yourself is what creates things. I think you give yourself over completely to one side or the other, you become fairly creatively inert. The interest is in the struggle, I think. That’s life, isn’t it?”

It struck me how few brands embrace their dark side. And I thought, “What a shame.” Continue Reading »

Dreams can change the world…and a business overnight.

I had a dream last night that will change the direction of my business altogether.

In the dream, a man who had previously been a good-for-nothing Romeo appeared after a number of years to make amends with a former girlfriend. The change in him was remarkable to the woman and all of her friends. Where he had previously been obsessed with shallow good times and empty living, he was now grounded, calm, genuinely happy, and sure of his intentions. They marveled. They speculated about the catalyst. It was clear that his path was different. Continue Reading »