Demure September 2014

DEMUR DEMURE SEPTEMBER 2014

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Photographer: Emma Holness Photographer’s Assistant : Doug Bridge

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Model: Eni Maj

With love from the Editor So it is very much that time of the year, almost as if something new is about to be born being the 9th month and all. Exciting as it maybe, it will soon dawn on us that another year is about to pass us by, but I say eyyy up, we shan’t worry about that now… Fashion Week is upon us.

Indeed it is. This also happens to be our official first print issue and of course that is more reason to celebrate this month. This issue has taken years of trials and tribulations to come by and it seems like the final piece to the puzzle. Should you see blotches of blood, sweat and tears in your print issue please do not be alarmed, they are indeed the ingredients that have brought you this delicacy, much like our editorial shoot which depicts Frankenstein’s bride coming to life.

I quite like food and I mean good quality food which is why we had to hunt down James Wells owner of Brew Café, the only place in London to go for breakfast, brunch and brinner… yes brinner. As we are a fashion publication it only felt right that this issue was distributed at all four fashion weeks, so see you in New York, London, Paris, & Milan.

Dive in Noreen Chada, Editor

You can find the Demure September 2014 issue in London, New York, Paris, Milan, Liverpool, Manchester & Birmingham.

You can also download Demur for FREE from demur.co

Contributors: Editor: Noreen Chada  Fashion Editor: Yemi Babas  Features Editor: Kaywana Samuels Photography: Emma Holness  Graphic Designer: Kyaw Thiha  Interns: Nicole Samoto, Stella Dzingai, Lawrence Hoyte.

Contents -

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Jason Wells, Brew Café -

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Fashion Hawks The Chronicles of a well dressed man

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Kerry Bannigan, Nolcha Fashion Week

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Art Collective, The Krah Artist - 27 Ellie Bennett, Truffle Social

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Fashion Hawks We let you in on the trends before they become trendy, these designers are just some of the ones to watch this year. As fashion is an ever evolving world, there are plenty of new designers emerging from left, right and centre.

These designers are some of our favourites at the moment and in no particular order they are…

1. Agi & Sam They have been said to make clothes that men actually want to wear. They seem to have support from the fashion industry as they have already collaborated with TopShop. Bold Prints and colour speak volumes in Agi & Sam’s collection you can’t even tell they use recycled bottles in some of their materials. We will definitely be keeping a close eye on Agi & Sam as we now hear there are more collaboration projects in the pipeline including one with music producer and singer Labrinth.

3. Nellie Partow

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Nellie Partrow, an ex competitive boxer hit the fashion scene about four years ago and she certainly is the definition of organic. Nellie makes everything from start to finish, from sourcing the materials herself, stitching to hand knitting the clothes herself. Nellie has previously worked with the likes of Donna Karan & Calvin Klein we can be sure she has a wealth of experience to bring to the table. Nellie cites her mother as her inspiration.

2. Astrid Andersen She states her work is influenced by male confidence and she is certainly using that muse to her advantage. Astrid Andersen is fairly new to the fashion scene but she is already causing havoc in a good sense of course. As Astrid prefers to show here in London, because of our somewhat accepting nature we can be sure to see more from her. Astrid’s designs are constructed around mens sportswear which is something new and moves aside from the tailored suits we constantly see on the runaway each season. Her fan base includes Chris Brown and A$AP Rocky and these young men surely ooze with confidence.

4. Diego Vanassibara “Give men the opportunity to dream too” that is the motto behind Diego Vanassibara’s brand and these shoes are certainly dreamy. A Brazilian native, Vanassibara knows how to dress the modern man, it may have a little to do with the fact that he has a degree in footwear design and product development or that he is just naturally creative.

His shoes speak volume of individuality and you are surely to be noticed in a pair of Vanassibaras, there is a pair for every type of man from brogues, loafers to boots. It’s the detail in the shoe that gets us going.

5. Lee Roach A Central Saint Martins graduate, Lee is a designer who believes simplicity is key. Lee has fans such as Tinie Tempah who has graced the front row at some of his shows; you certainly can’t go wrong following in the fashionable footsteps of Tinie Tempah.

6. Adam Selman Also known as Rihanna’s main fashion man, Adam Selman has been by Rihanna’s fashionable side for a few years now. He is one to watch because not only does he work with Rihanna as a co-designer on her River Island collection, Selman also released his debut collection this year. On working with Rihanna he says, “I love working with her, but I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve”.

His debut collection has Rihanna written all over it although she was not involved in any way. We will be keeping our eyes open out here for Selman, however it seems he has his sights on Asia, we do hope he will catch up with us here fairly soon.

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Musical Hawks If you are thinking about updating that i-Pod or you just happen to be some big shot talent agent, we have some artist for you that you just have to hear about. These artists have already done big things this year and we are certain they will not be one hit wonders. Here’s list of our artist to hear…

FKA Twigs Musician, actress and dancer FKA Twigs is a triple threat. Who calls themselves FKA Twigs you may say, Tahlila Barnett a young lass born and raised in Gloucestershire. She is known as Twigs because of the way her bones crack and the FKA just stands for Formerly Known As, long story short, there happens to be another artist named Twigs hence the FKA. You may have spotted FKA Twigs in two of Jessie J’s videos “Price Tag” and “Do It Like A Dude” as a dancer. As for her musical skills she has two EP’s under her belt and of course her recent album “LP1”. Twigs also produces her own music, we will certainly be keeping our eye on this talented lady.

Holychild We are ever so excited about this duo who class their music as brat pop.

Louie Diller and Liz Nistico met in a dance class at George Washington University. They are a resourceful pair this lot. They happen to produce their own music videos and they are so well done that they caught the attention of a few record labels including Glassnote who signed them on last year.

Holychild released their debut EP in March this year and a video trilogy to go along with it. They also have an album due out later on this year and many festival appearances lined up throughout the year.

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Lo-Fang A classically trained musician, LoFang played every instrument that helped produce his mixtape “Blue Film” which he later turned into an album. His music is influenced by his many travels to places like Bali and Cambodia. Lo-Fang toured with Lorde back in June this year and it is his simplistic and the eclectic music style that we are so infatuated by.

Sza Another Top Dawg Entertainment production!. They brought us Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q and now Sza. Sza is a young singer from New Jersey already making waves with her three EPs one of which peaked at number 9 in the US R&B charts. She also happens to be the only singer signed to this label so obviously many eyes are going to be on her for various reasons.

She grew up listening to the likes of Miles Davis, Jay – Z and Lauryn Hill who lived down the road from her.

We can’t however help but notice her sense of style, but she insists she hardly has an interest in fashion.

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Jason Wells is the charismatic owner of Brew Café and as a Master Butcher he knows a thing or two about carving up the perfect steak. We caught up with Jason and this is what he had to share with us…

Starting up Brew Café and turning that dream into reality…

“Most people know I am originally from Melbourne Australia and it was here that I began the dream. I owned several large cafes in Melbourne however; it wasn’t until I came to the UK that I saw the need for a similar type of dining and food experience. I started the mission to find a perfect demographic in which mirrored that of the ones I had already traded in. In London this location was to be an affluent area with young families, in which we found in Northcote Road, ironically known as Nappy Valley. Brew has continued to grow in and around SW London strangely, when I now return to Australia I see Northcote and Torrak as the same demographic.”

The menu is inspired by…

“Our team spends a great deal of time seeking the best ingredients and however cliché that may sound, we genuinely do. For example all of our eggs come only from one breed of chicken, we do not compromise on any one ingredient. There is a culture in Australia and I’m sure other parts of the world that is etching its way into the UK, honest dishes where you can taste the beef of a burger, the tomato as a tomato, where there is no masking of flavors and you aren’t intimidated by the service you are receiving. We love the idea that when sitting in one of our restaurants you could very well be in the annex of your own home, without the price tag of a Michelin star menu. Brew is very much about the food without a huge emphasis on the chef.”

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The dish that gets Jason’s taste bud going…

“My favorite dish is one of our most simple, the brew melt. The reason for this, is it’s so fresh, after I have eaten it I feel as though I have just walked off the beach in Santorini. We make our own pesto from fresh basil, the ham is from a rare bread farm and the gruyere cheese is lovely and sweet, this on top of an amazing fermented Turkish pita bread. (I love it!).”

An avid fan says “the food is so good I want to cry” and Jason says…

“I see food as the meaning of life, food, love and family. I believe we celebrate life when we are eating and I think sometimes in the hectic life we live in, we forget that food is about passion rather than just fuel, essentially it’s an experience. As my best friend would attest I can’t tell you how many times I have stopped and not wanted a meal to finish, I have actually cried – no outbursts, to which he is not exactly sure why. For this reason I can completely understand the customers comments, perhaps she understands like me, the meaning of food, perhaps my friend is still finding this out.”

If you told Jason you wanted to start up your own restaurant, he would say…

“I am inspired and love entrepreneurs, if I could tell them anything it would be to be passionate, be honest, embrace and empower your staff and to cherish your customers, work in all parts of the business and last but not least, perform a stock take every week and watch those numbers!”

Brew Café’s unique selling point is…

“Our customers, they are our community and the community owns the business.”

The ever changing menu will keep you coming back because…

“Contrary to that, our core menu actually stays the same however, we make seasonal changes 4 times a year to a large portion of our menus. On top of this we have a kind of free-lance situation where each of our restaurants come up with a little bit of their own menu.

Inspiration from dishes comes largely from my travels, much to my wife’s discontent we are continually eating and talking about food and the adaptations that can be made to the things we have eaten. I have an extensive selection of over 600 cookbooks that I am constantly flicking through. As well as lots of inspiration from Australia Gourmet Traveller. A great deal of inspiration also comes from my passion of food shared with my 14 year old son who spends hours with me experimenting with ingredients to which we then communicate to Scott our executive chef who begins to interpret our wild dreams.”

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The chronicles of A well dressed man Here lads… When you step on to streets do they stop and stare or do they turn away in mortification? They say your clothes say a lot about you and you must always dress to impress. We say dress as if you are going to meet your enemy and some people just make enemies just by the way they dress (sorry but it’s true). In the ever changing world of fashion, fashion is what you make it; it is a way of expressing yourself. So what are the signs of a well dressed man?

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Straighten up that tie

From your high school days you will know a tie can certainly enhance an outfit. Do you remember your shorts, blazer and that all important elastic tie? Without it your uniform was not complete.

A tie makes you look presentable and highly esteemed in many cases. Your tie must be of good quality. A good silk tie makes all the difference, we have moved on from cotton ties at school, where a fat and chunky tie was cool.

The real world appreciates a tasteful tie. As you got out in search of all important tie, a good tip to see if the tie is of good quality is to pick up the tie and lightly pull on both ends, the tie should spring back into shape.

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Pick on something your own size

If it doesn’t fit PLEASE DO NOT FORCE IT! No seriously, just by wearing clothes that fit, you can transform your whole look. When you look good it improves your posture and increases your confidence. Not only that, but if you happen to be hanging around the Florida town Ocala with your baggy pants, you could be committing a crime. Having said that you don’t want something that fits too tightly.

In fact clothes can certainly be a pain when it comes to fitting. Different clothes have different fittings, so your size will be flexible depending on the design. Different styles also fit different body shapes. You need something that complements your shape. Unfortunately this doesn’t only apply to women; men have to watch their shape as well.

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Invest in yourself

There is nothing wrong with spending a bit of Wonga on your wardrobe as long as it doesn’t break the bank or involve you having to visit wonga.com. There is absolutely nothing wrong in having pride in the way you look, in fact you should. After all you don’t go out to meet people naked (hopefully not) the first thing they see from afar is your clothes, so first impressions count, people are already judging you. Quality clothes last longer and you will not have to keep switching your clothes because your clothes are ripped or ruined in the wash. Your clothes do not have to be designer, they just have to be of good quality and good quality clothes are made with care meaning they last longer. Spending more money on clothes is like an investment, they will last longer, if you buy cheap you end up spending more. Perhaps pick out a brand or designer that you like and then go searching on eBay and charity shops for that quality clothing. The test for a good quality garment is to look for the seams and gently pull the garment, if the seams come out, put it down and walk away. Also check the material, how does it feel against your skin? If it doesn’t feel right it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is not of good quality, it could just be it doesn’t agree with your skin and obviously you don’t want something that is uncomfortable and irritates your skin. Also look out for loose buttons and test out the zip before taking it to the till.

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Become a celebrity

Look to the stars – we always look at the stars out there and admire their style, but if you were a star yourself how would you dress? How would you inspire others with your style? You may not have the budget for it but you should aim to dress as if you were a star, set your own trends for others to follow. Maybe wear something that you haven’t seen worn before.

Be inventive, maybe borrow from your other half’s wardrobe or even your grandma. A scarf can also make a nice pocket handkerchief or tie.

Do you remember the year of the skirt?

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Bring some colour into it

They say colour reflects your mood- there is nothing wrong with a bright pair of trousers.

Don’t be so dull working with dark colours all the time. Having colourful clothes will mean you have to keep your clothes clean and clean clothes always look nice anyway. You can mix and match colours but make sure the colours complement each other not just one boring colour on one human being. For some it takes a lot to step out of their comfort zone and wear bright clothes. You will stand out more and people will notice you. This is in turn can boost your confidence, you are able to walk out there and influence others who may be shy of wearing the bright colours. You can even start with your accessories, a bright belt, watch or sunglasses can ultimately change an outfit.

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The magic potion

If you look good and walk well but your odour is not very well fixated you may well have just ruined your outfit. It doesn’t matter how good you look or how good you feel about yourself you will need to smell good. Invest in a signature scent which you can spray on as you leave the house and as you walk down the road accompanied by oozing confidence you will be a Demur certified well dressed man. Based on fragrance notes, some scents are not usually released until after 30 minutes, so maybe when you try out a new fragrance take some samples home to test it out before you decide on a scent. They say when you apply your perfume you should apply it where you want to be embraced, so the neck, the back of your ear and your wrists. If you keep your perfume out of light in a cool dry and place and preferably in its original packaging it could last you 2-3 years.

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Artsy Calendar For the art freak in you, come out and be at one with yourself at one of these events below...

Kazmir Malevich at the Tate Modern Kazmir Malevich was a Russian designer and painter, one of the founding fathers of abstract art. He was first introduced to the world of art at the age of twelve and there he started painting in peasant style. His fascination with aviation inspired him to create abstract paintings derived from arial landscapes. After travelling to Warsaw for an exhibition, Malevich had his work banned when the country turned away from abstract art claiming it did not express the reality of society. Avant-garde – was inspired by the same aesthetic ideals and spiritual quest that exemplified Malevich’s art.

Now you can see his exhibition display at Tate Modern until 26th October 2014 Venue: Bankside, London SE1 9TG Prices: Adult £14.50 (without donation £13.10) Concession £12.50 (without donation £11.30) Under 12s go free (up to four per parent or guardian) Times: 10.00–18.00, Sunday – Thursday 10.00–22.00, Friday – Saturday

Frieze Art Fair The annual contemporary art fair is back. Held in the spectacular Regents Park, the fair will feature 170 art galleries from commissioned artists and various programmes throughout the three day affair.

Gel among the other 68,000+ visitors in supporting new artist as you browse the stalls. You can also enjoy guided tours, talks, films and live performances.

16 October 2014 to 19 October 2014 Venue: Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill London, NW1 4NR Tickets: From £15 Time: 12:00 - 19:00

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Abstract America We go across the pond to look at some abstract art from the U S of A. This exhibition brings you diverse methods of art from nine different artists displaying pieces influenced by folk art and post-war expressionism to digitised computer motifs and pop culture.

These artists really do push the boundaries of contemporary art and aides the Saatchi Gallery’s 25 year long tradition of supporting up and coming artist. The nine artists displaying their work will be: Lisa Anne Auerbach, Trudy Benson, Paul Bloodgood, Keltie Ferris, Wyatt Kahn, Ivan Morley, Jackie Saccoccio, Brent Wadden and Cullen Washington Jr.

Until 28 September 2014 Venue: The Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s Building, Kings Road, London, SW3 4SQ Tickets: FREE Times: 10am-6pm, 7 days a week, last entry 5:30pm

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Musical Calendar They say music is the key to the soul. If there ever was a time to open up your soul this would be it with these artists.

Ed Sheeran Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum selling singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran will be taking his UK tour to the O2 Arena in London. He has already sold out arenas stateside including Madison Square Gardens, so when we heard the news about his UK tour, we were screaming at the top of our lungs. We are some serious Ed Sheeran groupies.

12th -14th October 2014 Venue: The O2 Arena, Peninsula Square, London, SE10 0DX Prices: Ticket from £39.50

Lady Gaga: The ARTPOP Ball The ever so colour full and pleasant Lady Gaga will be blessing us with her presence at the O2 Arena in London next month. Lady Gaga will perform some of the songs from another one of her recent multi platinum selling albums, ART POP. The ARTPOP Ball is a European marathon tour which sees Gaga pushing boundaries again across the continent.

23rd – 26th October 2014 Venue: The, Peninsula Square, London, SE10 0DX Price: Tickets from £42.00

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Lauryn Hill The songstress/rapper will be bringing The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill to the O2 Academy in Brixton. This will be her second appearance in the UK in five years so definitely something we are looking forward to.

20th & 21st September 2014 Venue: O2 Academy Brixton, 211 Stockwell Road, Stockwell, London, SW9 9SL Price: Tickets from £42.50

Pharrell Williams Everyone’s favourite guy, he sure does make everyone “Happy”! Pharrell Williams brings his Dear GIRL tour to the UK and you can catch him at the O2 Arena as well.

Pharrell really is a connoisseur of music; he has collaborated with many artist and has created many of our favourite hits such as “Blurred Lines” and of course “Happy”.

Not forgetting N.E.R.D and The Neptunes, Pharrell will bring us some their old hits including “Lapdance” and “She wants to move” 9th to 10th October 2014 Venue:The O2 Arena, Peninsula Square,London, SE10 0DX Price:Tickets from £41.00

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Fashionista Calendar We keep you abreast of the all the fashionable events happening across the world this season.

Chocolate Fashion Show The show is taken around different European cities throughout this year and next month it lands in the City of London.

Salon du Chocolat is the brand behind the show and they came up with the idea of mixing chocolate and fashion. And why not… two ways to a woman’s heart (and some men). The show will bring us couture garments made from…of course chocolate. Aside from the couture displays, you can also grab yourself some chocolaty delicacies from the exhibition stands. Sounds like the perfect guilt free day out.

17th October 2014- 19th October 2014.

Venue: Olympia West, Hammersmith Road, Kensington, London W14 8UX Price: Adult - Full price: £15 on the door / £12.50 in advance

Liverpool Fashion Week This may well give London Fashion Week a run for its money. The event is broadcasted to 120 countries and showcases independent boutique designers to International designers. Liverpool Fashion Week will be hosted at Liverpool Football Ground and Brian Chan from Britain’s Got Talent will be on hand to showcase his debut collection. For the upcoming fashionista, there will be workshops and various talks hosted by fashion agency Model 101.

13th October -17th October 2014 Venue: Liverpool Football Club, Anfield Road,L4 0 TH Price: £10

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Vendome Luxury Art Trade Show Spring/Summer 2015 Collections Carole de Bona and Arnaud Laporte are the two brains behind this trade show.

The event takes place during Paris Fashion Week. Vendome brings you young, fresh, raw and upcoming talent at the lavish Palace Le Meurice and in the courtyard of the superb Evreux Hotel, Place Vendôme.

23rd September 2014 - 1st October 2014 Venue: 6, Rue de Castiglione 75001 Paris

London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015 Collections Considered one of the most important events on the fashion calendar, but each to their own hey ho. Of course London Fashion Week is only one of the four fashion weeks across the world. With over £150m in revenue and approximately 5,000 guests in attendances, this is the one to be seen at with 60 catwalk shows during the course of the event.

12th September -16th September 2014 Venue: Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA Prices: Tickets from £20

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NOLCHA

Fashion Week Nolcha Fashion Week is New York’s Leading Showcase for independent fashion designers and it is partly brought together by our very own British born and bred Kerry Bannigan. Nolcha Fashion Week is held during New York Fashion Week for independent fashion designers to showcase their collections to a global audience of press, retailers, stylists and industry influencers. Over the past six years Nolcha Fashion Week: New York has established itself as a platform of discovery promoting innovative fashion designers through runway shows and exhibition.

Kerry’s leading expertise in fashion show production, event management, strategic marketing and business development combined with her extensive professional network and passion for supporting entrepreneurship has made her a force in the world of business.

We were lucky enough she had a few minutes to spare to discuss her work with us:

What made you move all your talents to NYC and how did you find the move?

I had the opportunity to move to New York City after graduating from Sheffield Hallam University. I have had a love affair with NYC since my first trip at sixteen. The vibrancy and diversity is fascinating to me; I find the energy somewhat addictive. You never get over being homesick. People were so welcoming and friendly that this helped the transition.

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Adweek described the show as “one of New York’s leading platforms for independent global fashion designers.” What can we expect this season at Nolcha Fashion Week?

The Spring/Summer 15 collections at Nolcha Fashion Week: New York September 2014 continue to showcase independent fashion talent from across the globe. I am thrilled to welcome the return of Portugese brand Katty Ximora for a third season.

Xiomara, who is known for her geometric patterns, has taken the art form of a “chocolatier” as her inspiration this season by melting geometric shapes and creating more organic forms.

Ximora has partnered with our sponsor Otterbox to integrate their phone covers into a select outfit; this will debut on the runway this season. German brands Alberto, Haupt and Carl Gross will be showcasing their menswear designs, in addition to the Italian label Codice.

Some of the designers/brands to this season include: Charles & Ron – Malta, Monstruosite - USA, B’Venaj - Ghana, Gregory Apparel - USA, Oiselle - USA, JBurgos - USA. AOFM, London based, will be our Official Makeup team supporting us for many seasons.

How far in advance do you start preparing for the show? I presume it takes blood, sweat and tears to put it all together?

We work up to a year in advance to discuss opportunities with brands for upcoming seasons. The logistical planning for the runway shows begins 4 – 6 months prior and ramps up closer to the time varying from model castings, sponsor activations, hair/makeup tests, invitations and the list continues. We have an experienced team of industry professionals who aim to make the event as seamless and supportive as possible for our brands; we leave the blood, sweat and tears to the designers for their latest collections.

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What can Nolcha Fashion Week do for independent designers and do you have some designers who come back for another season to showcase their collections?

Nolcha Fashion Week: New York is a cost effective platform for independent fashion designers to showcase their collections to media, stylists, retailers and industry influencers during New York Fashion Week. It is a professional event offering a 360 solution to fashion designers allowing them to focus on the success of the creation of their collection whilst we deliver the runway show, industry attendees and expertise.

Every season we have returning fashion designers. The SS15 collections welcome Mariana Valentina, Oiselle and Katty Ximora back to our runway.

What are some of the challenges you face when putting together such a huge show and how do you overcome them?

Our team consists of industry veterans who have been involved in runway production, fashion show creation, marketing, sales and PR for years. Combined this creates a strong team force that works together to effortlessly tackle any challenges. Events have many moving parts and the challenges that usually arise are to do with handling guests schedules, models, international designers shipments and arrivals and most of all calming the nerves of designers pre show.

How do you promote the show & take away the limelight from Mercedes Benz Fashion Week?

We do not aim to take the limelight away from Mercedes Benz Fashion Week; we are an alternative showcase for the industry to preview independent fashion designers.

We work with the industry calendars to best position our runway shows. Many fashion houses host events throughout the city during New York Fashion Week.

Is there a criteria for the designers you choose to showcase at Nolcha? What do you look for personally in a designer?

We seek to showcase and introduce innovative, cutting edge fashion designers to the industry. Additionally to this it is crucial that the brand has a business foundation; ready for sales and industry interest. Personally I am intrigued by brands led by visionaries that also understand or accept the importance of the business of fashion.

Creativity and business is a powerful combination in a brand.

How would you describe your personal fashion style?

I prefer simplistic, classic cuts with black, red and blue as my colour palette. I find brands such as Betty Jackson draping fitted dresses complimentary for my figure.

Jeans and heels are my daily go to. Heels and red lipstick are my signature must haves.

What are some of your other roles within the fashion industry?

As the Co-Founder of Nolcha Fashion Week I am surrounded by an ever growing interesting network and community. I advise independent fashion brands on the events, media and marketing sectors. I am the Co-Founder of Fashion Advance; which has recently launched. Fashion Advance is a platform providing direct access to industry experts, which have recently launched.

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Editors Picks Whenever I get a bit of spare change in my pocket I am always itching to spend it. This month this is what I will be spending my residual pennies on:

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As I get older I am becoming more and more fascinated by art, I have no idea what it is. I have been eying this piece by Louisa Cookson titled Brick Lane Print. It’s £80 from www.notonthehighstreet.com

2 I saw these Vans last year in the Christmas Sales and ever since I have been everywhere and they don’t seem to have my size. I found them in Office for £30 and they still don’t have my size.

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The sun is still out (sort of) and I need to cover my eyes. Also they just happen to look really cool because of the wooden frames.

Finaly & Co will supply you with a pair for £120.

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4 Summer may come and go or sometimes not come at all. These sandals are to die for. I am not too much of a high heel fan but these I will be wearing and limping in confidence. You can pick up a pair from Zara for £39.99.

5 peaker This Bluetooth Jarre speaker n Jarre

by Michael Jean o even looks cool just to display around your home. hem in You can also get them ours at various different colours 29.99.

Selfridges for £129.99.

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Shopping Guide We all know that London is a great place to shop, with many different styles and cultures. It is just hard to pick the one shop as your favourite. We bring you just a handful of some of our favourite shops in London.

SCP

www.scp.co.uk SCP is brilliant at blending contemporary exhibition and retail space. After being redesigned, the store is more spacious and furnished with Matthew Hilton and Terrence Woodgate art displays on the ground floor beside a bijou coffee bar. The fresh white basement space showcases jewellery, accessories and homeware including stylish and cheeky alphabet mugs from Mark. Don’t miss SCP’s own-brand products.

Where: 135 Curtain Road EC2A 3BX Nearest station: Old Street Tube

Whistles, Dover Street www.whistles.co.uk

Since Jane Shepherdson took over as CEO in 2008, this shop has grown bigger and bigger. The Dover Street branch is the only Whistles store to be stocking the high-end Limited Editition range and its monogram bags (where you can get initials inscribed on your chosen bag).

The unique selling point is the superior customer service, amazing changing rooms and luxury surroundings. This place is great to go and upgrade your wardrobe at anytime.

Where: 30 Dover Street W1S 4NB Nearest station: Green Park Tube

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The Hackney Shop

www.theshackneyshop.com The Hackney Shop is a small shop close to a large Tesco, so you will not miss it. This shop is different because every week its handed to a local fashion designer rent-free. At the end of the week its handed over to the next tenants. Each time you go you’ll find a different shop. With Hackney being London’s capital of fashion design, you’re likely to find incredible trendy clothes and always for a discount. You may also find a local newbie’s who’s been given floor space for the first time, which would mean your garments are more exclusive.

Where: 99 Morning Lane E9 6ND Nearest station: Hackney Central Rail

YMC

www.youmustcreate.com YMC (a.k.a You Must Create) was created by Fraser Moss and Jimmy Collins in 1995. This, men’s and women’s clothing brand is a London classic. The brand has been going for about 20 years now. It’s packed with abstract designs, wooden mannequins and mortuary slab, which serve just as a backdrop to the offbeat designs, full of hidden details. YMC remain daring than their counterparts and there is always something new in the store.

Where: 11 Poland Street W1F 8QA Nearest station: Oxford Circus Tube

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Poste Mistress This Covent Garden boutique opened in 2001 disguised as a boudoir. It is covered with floral wallpaper, velvet curtains and a gilt framed mirror to create appealing surroundings so women can treat themselves to the designs in the store.

Where: 61-63 Monmouth Street WC2H 9EP Nearest station: Covent Garden Tube

Design Museum Shop www.designmuseumshop.com

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Where: Design Museum, 28 Shad Thames, London SE1 2YD Nearest station: Tower Hill Tube

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Art Collective

The Krah Artist Demitri, The Krah is an artist/illustrator who was born in England and raised in Athens Greece. I have worked as an Artist, illustrator, Graphic Designer, Fashion Designer and Art curator freelance and in-house in the Creative industry for more than 15 years.

He describes his work as hieroglyphics, “when people see my images they can read them like an illustrated book without text, it might be because I am Dyslexic and I feel like every image is more than a hundred words�

We caught up with The Krah artist and we learnt a thing or two about street art.

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1. What is the subject of your art?

I have been painting on the streets for more than 17 years now. As I have been evolving my skills and style I feel like my work is tending towards pop-surrealism, a movement otherwise known as Lowbrow Art. I am interested in the weird and the bizarre, creating a visual freak show to entertain the viewer, hypnotising them as they become the explorers of my subconscious imaginarium.

2. Do you sketch out your work beforehand or do you just breathe and let go?

Sometimes I brainstorm ideas and prepare before I create, but most of the time I just I lose myself in my drawings by free-styling.

When I put pen to paper or can to wall it just comes out. I love experimenting with my work, it’s the fun of making it that I like and then seeing it finished.

3. Being raised in Greece, does that influence some of your work in any way and do you still go back to spread some of your art there?

I go back to Greece once a year and always do some street painting in Athens with my mates, it’s hot so you can paint all night. I use a lot of characters from Greek mythology in my work, Greece has such a rich history from creating democracy, philosophy, theatre, physics and most of the sciences. Greece was the grates ancient civilisation it’s a shame how it’s all just history now .

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4. How do you stay true to your art?

The perpes of art to reflect the times.

I guess being untrue would be not expressing your thoughts about humanity and the world around you.

5. Out of all your projects which one has been your favourite and why?

I have been lucky enough to have done lots of big projects for clients and galleries, but I think that the personal projects are the ones I enjoy the most.

Recently I created a massive painting of a city labyrinth on the top of the maze it’s the Minotaur watching down, the labyrinth is full of thousands of characters showing all sides of society. All around the labyrinth there is an electric fence with watch towers, the city is full of CCTV cameras and police helicopters patrolling. The Minotaur symbolises the system, big brother watching and underneath the chaos of our human society. It has taken me months and months to finish and I will be making signed limited edition prints of it and that will be on sale from my website. http://www.thekrah.com

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6. How has street art evolved over the last few years in your view?

I started graffiti in 1997, back then it was still very underground. Over the years the public started to see our work as an art form until then anything related to spray paint was labelled as vandalism, to be honest most of it was illegal vandalism that’s how most artist got into doing graffiti, but we saw it as an art crime, making a dull city more colourful, the adrenalin of it was the addiction. Most graffiti artist where developing letter styles but I took a different root focusing more in character design. The evolution was finding new ways to get our work seen in the streets by not only the traditional spray painting walls.

There was a new wave that got known as street art. The concept was the same using the streets as a gallery but with quicker methods such as stencilling, posters, installations and then even using paint brushes. When I started I had never heard about Bansky when his work started to appear on the streets most graffiti artist didn’t approve as they thought that using stencils was cheating and wasn’t as skill full as traditional graffiti, but it was a lot quicker and an easier method to create conceptual graffiti in the streets. The more Bansksy was getting successful the more interest galleries and collectors had in street artists so it helped the sub-culture thrive.

7. Are there any turf wars between street artist?

If so how do you usually handle them?

The negative nature of graffiti is that it is territorial and as it has history gang culture so it will always have a dark side to it.

We have to expect that whatever we paint in the streets will not last for ever. There will always be haters out there and idiots that don’t respect other artists. we just have to live with it, it’s all part of the game. In graffiti we have some unwritten rules: no biting (no copying) and no going over artists that is better than you but then we live in a lawless world…

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8. How do you pick a location for your art?

I usually look for a central spot that will be seen by the most people and just do it.

9. Something that people may not know or understand about street art?

Most graffiti artists have their alter ego when they are painting but in their normal lives they just have normal jobs, like to play underwater golf, have pet insects and masturbate a lot.

Recent clients include: Nokia, Marvel comics, Arctic Monkeys, V&A Museum, Ransom Publishing, Barrington Stoke Publishing, Global Interactive Marketing Online and many more.

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Art gallery’s (worldwide) include: Brooklynite (New York), ATM Gallery (Berlin), Art Basel (Miami Beach), Mutate Britain (London), Black rat Press (London), the Pure Evil Gallery (London), Design Festa Gallery (Tokyo Japan), Art-Republic (London), Whinos Gallery (Washington), Banksy´s Cans Festival (London), WestBank gallery (London), Lava gallery (London), Ship of fools Gallery (Netherlands) Nice/ Nice gallery (Germany), Brick Lane Gallery (London), Underdog Gallery (London), Jibbering Art (Birmingham), Co-Lab (Bristol), weapon of choice Gallery (Bristol), King of Paint (Bristol), ArtAZ (Athens), Art Athina (Art fair in Athens), THE HUB Gallery (Athens), Stigma Gallery (Athens)

Editorial illustration work for magazines such as: LIFO (Newspaper Greece), Virtual Studio (electronic music magazine), Advanced PhotoShop magazine, +design (design magazine), Grafistas (graphic design magazine), Digit magazine, (graphic design magazine) ATHENS VOICE (Newspaper Greece).

On-line Press: Juxtapoz Magazine, Wooster Collective, Vandalog, Hooked blog, Traveling-Yeti, CreativeBoom, Design-Wars, Clutter Magazine, Globalstreetart, Fatcap and many more.

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Business makes sense with consistency The steadfast adherence to the same principles that indeed drive you. Success is beating at your craft every single day and not being complacent in life. This lesson applies everywhere in life including in your business. Consistency means delivering results each time you are called to. It consists of being reliable, imagine walking into Tesco for bread and one week they have bread the next week they don’t have bread. You would stop going there because you don’t want to take the chance of being disappointed.

In business you cannot afford to fail yourself or others, otherwise you yourself will lose interest. When you continue to deliver results, not only is your business growing but you are learning and building a reputation for yourself. The next time someone enquires about your business you have a track record to prove the amount of times you have delivered something that your business is supposed to be delivering. Consistency brings you repeat business/customers because people will recall that time you delivered when they needed you. You got to KFC for chicken, if they suddenly stop delivering chicken when you want it or in some cases need it, you no longer have a need to go there.

Consistency will keep them coming back, but the first visit is the important one that sets the benchmark, it will be the cause of the second visit. The quality has to be consistent because for what may be the 100th encounter for one of your customers may well be the first for one of them. In the 20 something years I have been alive I had never been to Harrods until this year. This year was first my visit but for someone else it could be their 10th. You never know who or what your business is going to encounter, you maintain the high standards you started off with. Harrods could choose to let their standards slip because they have been around for 180 years, but they know they need to stay ahead of their competition and draw in new crowds so they remain consistent with their service. Your business should do exactly what it says on the tin. “Burger King – Home of the Whooper”, I expect a whooper when I walk in, nothing more, nothing less.

It is about maintaining the level of service you give. If you were polite and helpful the first time there is no need to be rude and obnoxious just because you have already gained that customer. What keeps your customers coming back? Is it the fabric you use on your designs? Is it the way you interact with them when they walk in? What is your business known and liked for? Whatever it is maintain it, that is what’s going to help build that important relationship between you and your customer.

Your identity, your branding plays a big part in consistency. If one day your logo is blue, the next is red or your business name changes every week, I am not going to remember you and most of all I will not trust you deliver because the next week you might be a different business altogether. How do people identify your business? What does your logo and your branding say about you?

In life we have many choices, be grateful that your customers have chosen you over other another business. Keep your promise to deliver and look after your customers as you remain consistent.

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4. Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes - Denise Grover Swank For Rose Gardner, working at the DMV on a Friday afternoon is bad even especially as she sees a vision of herself dead. She’s had plenty of visions before, usually boring ones like someone’s toilet’s overflowing, but she’s never seen one of herself before. When her overbearing momma winds up murdered on her sofa , two things are certain: there isn’t enough hydrogen peroxide in the state of Arkansas to get that stain out, and Rose is the prime suspect. Rose realizes she’s wasted twenty-four years of living and makes a list on the back of a Wal-Mart receipt: twenty-eight things she wants to accomplish before her vision comes true. She’s well on her way with the help of her next door neighbour Joe, who has no trouble teaching Rose the rules of drinking, but won’t help with number fifteen-- do more with a man. Joe’s new to town, but it doesn’t take a vision for Rose to realize he’s got plenty secrets of his own. Somebody thinks Rose has something they want and they’ll do anything to get it. Her house is broken into, someone else she knows is murdered, and suddenly, dying in the Fenton County jail isn’t her biggest worry after all. want to miss this read.

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r £50 o f r e h t e g o t t fi Get a fine out an! m k n a b e h t k Don’t brea This outfit would be perfect for a casual day out with the lads. I chose these colours because they contrast well with summer sunny theme, bright and clean.All for just under £50 is that a bargain or what. This will set you back £41.99

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ak the e r b ’t n o d y d Hey la

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Truffle Social “Social Media is a load of rubbish right? But one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

– Truffle Social ©That’s one way to describe @TruffleSocial who happen to be the UK’s leading social media agency. #TeamTruffle consists of quirky, innovative and fun social media experts, all led by ingenious Director Ellie Bennett. We caught up with Ellie for a brief chat that turned into a soulful touching conversation about social media.

D: What is Truffle Social about?

D: Who are some of your clients?

E: Truffle Social was first set up as a PR agency and

E: My background is in food and drink so we work mainly with a lot of food and drink companies but we are kind of moving more into lifestyle and even a bit of fashion. For example we look after Yog (@ YogYogurt) a frozen yoghurt company that’s all very healthy. We can have a lot of fun with it because they are quite funky, upbeat and light hearted. So for them we would post a lot about who they are and what they stand for, we will post things about the product. We will also reach out to people from each of their stores in the local area using various software programmes which we use to determine who is nearby. It does get technical sometimes it’s a lot to do with using your common sense and understanding the psychology of how to influence people.

then we rebranded as a social media agency. We manage the social community for various clients mainly around London and a couple of international brands as well. What we do is put together the social media content on behalf of our clients and make sure that its going out across all the social media platforms that they have we also interact and engage with people using social media to feel like there is a relationship between the brand and the consumers whilst trying to inspire loyalty to the brand. Whether it’s putting together a month’s worth of tweets for the client or photoshopping an image so that it’s in line with everything that the company stands for we will put all of that together for our clients.

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D: How do you make sure that whatever message you send out people actually receive it and act upon it?

E: I think the key to what we do is to try think about how we will engage with the target audience. We look after coconut water brand called Unoco (@Unocodrinks) .There has been a huge increase in the health industry recently and people’s interest in eating and drinking healthy. So we will look at all the benefits that Unoco’s coconut water has and post information that will be useful to their followers. It doesn’t necessarily have to be directly about coconut water it can be maybe Nike are doing a big run and people might want to get involved. We can then also talk about another sports brand and all sorts of different things related to healthy eating and drinking. It’s about making sure that the content that we put together is useful and interesting to their consumers. We’ve got this kind of silly formula that we use which is called the “EIEIO” approach. It’s an acronym, so we’ve got to Educate Inform, Entertain, Inspire but above all always be Open. So as long as the work we do ticks one or more “EIEIO” boxes then we are on the right track.

D: What’s your approach to social media now that it’s heavily cluttered with junk and lots of spam?

E: So many media agencies these days continue to stay quite stagnant in their approach but we always make sure that we are looking up all of the latest technology and all of the new developments across

the platforms. If there is a new platform that is growing quite quickly we want to know about it as soon as it becomes available. For example Instagram has been around for a while but as soon as the likes of Kim Kardashian started using it suddenly got a lot of success and growth and now it’s the fastest growing platform on social media. We were always there at the very beginning and we just made sure that we were on top of that on behalf of our clients, so it’s lot a to do with knowing what’s going on now and being ahead of the curve. The other thing that sets us apart from other agencies is our proactive and very personal approach. For example you might tweet “I’m off to the gym” we might reply by giving you some words of encouragement from one of the relevant brands, it could be the frozen yoghurt company or another protein kind cereal bar that we will use to encourage you and engage with you. What we will also do is that in a couple of week’s time we will touch base with you again , perhaps talking about something completely different but we might mention what happened before i.e your trip to the gym. It is all about remembering who your loyal customers are and even having a bit of banter sometimes if it is appropriate. It is about listening as much as it is about broadcasting something. You’ve got to respond to people and obviously you’ve got to be time sensitive with social media, it is all about living in the moment. If you can reply to someone whilst they are still online who has just tweeted “it’s raining outside” and if you are an umbrella company it is the perfect time to get in there and interact with them about your brand.

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D: As a social media agency, if for some strange reason social media was to be wiped out, how would you survive and what would you do differently without relying on social media?

E: I don’t think social media will ever die out. I think had I doubted the power of social media or wondered whether it was ever going to stop I would have remained focused on traditional PR. I like to think of myself as an entrepreneur and we like to stay innovative and ahead of the times. If there was another route which meant we would reach consumers directly then we would look at that, perhaps experimental marketing reaching out to people on the ground, for us it is nice to see the reactions of people which we do get on social media and you could get through experiential marketing but not so much through traditional PR.

D: When you market through social Media you don’t get to interact with people face to face, so how do you know if they are happy with the product that you are marketing to them?

E: We can actually judge this from the way people respond and you can measure their sentiment to a certain extent. It is of course very difficult and a lot of our clients say before they work with us, how do you measure the return on our investment or output?

It is a million dollar question and if I had the answer I would be a multi millionaire. We will probably get there one day but you can’t put a price on the value of a conversation and you can’t also tell if someone has gone to buy the product after interacting with them online. We do encourage our clients to see the conversations that we’ve been having and you can see from people’s responses how engaged they are.

The other day someone tweeted “I’m so gutted and annoyed, I just went to the fridge in my office and someone ate my lunch”, we knew this person was based in Soho so we replied from a local bubble tea company called Chatime (@ChatimeUK) who have a store in Soho. We said “we are gutted to hear that, come on down we will give you a free bubble tea on the house just to perk you up” and it’s just a nice incentive to give to their customers. They were so pleased with the fact that someone was listening to them. A lot of people think what happens online stays online and it doesn’t have to and that’s what we try to change. Our ultimate aim is to convert people who may not have otherwise known about a brand into loyal customers who keep coming back.

D: What’s branding for you and how do you create an identity for the brands you work with?

E: Before we start working with any of our clients we sit down with them and find out who their target audience is and find out what kind of messages they want to push forward. We always encourage them to

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think beyond what the actual product or service is.

We work with a fake tan brand called Skinny Tan (@ SkinnyTanHQ), they are all about being super upbeat and they have something for everyone. They’ve got a lot of competitors who are very well established, so we will say to them are you happy for us to be quite colloquial in our language and casual in the way we approach people and does that sit well with your brand? Yes or no? There might be a high end brand where you might have to use a certain tone of voice.

So we will work out all of that beforehand. When it comes to images and logos a lot of brands will have certain guidelines that we have to adhere to so you can’t change any of that just because you want it to fit in with a message because you would be changing the brand’s image. We used to work with le coq sportif and they used to say we want you to speak as the voice of cockrell so it was always in the first person narrative “I am doing this and that”, there was almost an alter ego for the account which is sort of different from some of the brands that we work with when we say “we are doing this and that”. There are all sorts of things you need to think about when setting a target audience and trying to figure out what their interests are. You need to try and tap into their interests as long as they sit well with the brand and what you are trying to achieve and then just the tone of voice and the language that is used and the style of images that we post.

D: What do you do when your ideas and that of the client conflict?

E: We always have to respect what the client says, I think people choose to work with us because we are experienced marketers and we will give good advice, obviously we will never just disregard what the client says and just do things our own way. We’ve got to be respectable with that and we will never do anything that we are told not to do. Some people we work with may not understand why certain things work the way they do, we will try to explain in the simplest way possible our reasoning and in some cases show examples of how it has worked in the past and why it will work out that way.

D: What motivates you to keep doing what you are doing and coming back to the office every morning?

E: We all love our jobs and I love the way consumer psychology is forever changing. Nowadays people are reluctant to be sold anything directly for example with billboards and obvious advertising and it’s almost trying to force it down people’s throats. We have a very different approach around that where we can be just more in just a single tweet. You can surprise people by being a bit more intelligent about things and you can be incredibly personal with social media. It’s just nice to go into the office and see how people are responding to all of the posts that we are sending out and then of course I shouldn’t forget the team that I

have. We just have so much fun together, we don’t take ourselves too seriously and at the same time we are very professional when it comes to doing our work but I think as far as our company is concerned we are as much friends as we are colleagues and we all have each other’s backs. The machine just works so smoothly because of the relationship that we have. We try and make sure that we do some fun things like recently I saw someone not from our team who posted something on Instagram with a spelling mistake, so I did a quick spelling test with the team.

I asked everyone to email me the correct spelling of the word “focusing” and 2 out of 6 people got it wrong which meant they had to come in the next day wearing silly hats with umbrellas on them all day long that was the forfeit. It’s just silly little things like that keep company morale up. No two days are ever the same at Truffle.

D: We noticed on your social networks you seem to have a thing about spelling and grammar what’s that about?

E: I am the most pedantic person about spelling and grammar and I don’t really know why. When I was at school I used to be super anal about it. I probably spent five times longer on my essays than anyone else. I think I might have an O.C.D about it. I do tend to go crazy when I see the smallest mistakes even

though it might be American English instead of English English. It’s about making sure that you are representing the clients well and if we are getting it wrong,then the client turns around to say you spelt something wrong, I would be mortified.There is just no room for error and it is quite nice to maintain a high set of standards at all times.

D : How do you choose the clients you work with?

E: I would always turn down anything that’s overly co-operate because we like to have fun and we like to be able to be creative with our clients. We look after a bakery called Uncle John’s Bakery (@ unclejohnbakery) and they make sweet bread and different other breads from Ghana. We were thinking about how can we push something more exciting from this brand, as you can imagine bread is not that exciting. So we asked ourselves how are we going to engage with their target audience, we thought of different puns that are related to bread and baking.

We wanted to tick the box of being really personal to people, creative and actually quite light hearted and silly because they like to be seen as nurturing the community and all their followers. So we started to ask if anyone had achieved anything in particular so someone replied, “I’ve just passed my exams with flying colours.” We replied by hunting through their profile pictures and found a full body shot of them,

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cropped it and replied with the caption “Well done you are on a roll keep up the good work”, so we placed the picture on a bread roll. It’s very silly and tenuous but this person retweeted their picture to the rest of their followers which meant the rest of their community also got involved. Everyone else wanted to be on a roll so we spent the whole day cropping pictures and putting all these people who had achieved something on a roll and it’s just a bit of fun and this ensures that the brand stays on people’s minds. They are far likely to remember that bakery than another one that just ignores them. It’s just about spending more time on a fewer people and being truly memorable than it is blanket messaging people and hoping for the best which is what advertising does. It’s a lot more targeted. These days society gets annoyed about brands who don’t care about who they are and just want to get their money and go. Consumers think how is this brand going to help me? If a brand reaches out to me and says “I’ve just noticed you’ve just been on a junk food bender all weekend, just to top things off why not have Oreos” and they just remain light hearted about it. I am going to remember that and be grateful for it .

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D: Do you get a negative feedback from your fun and quirky approach to the work you do?

E: It’s difficult. Someone might tweet “I’ve just had a salad and it’s too healthy for my liking really need some chocolate right now.” If we then reply from a chocolate brand and say well you should head on down to the nearest shop and get some then it’s probably going to be too obvious and direct and show that they are trying to get a quick sale. Our theory is it is far better to spend a bit more time and get a customer for life than spending half the amount of time sending something out and hoping for the best and not really engaging with people. It is a lot more effective and a worthwhile investment to make sure that we are investing in customer’s for life not just one off quick sales.

D: Do you spend a lot of time just studying adverts on TV, billboards etc?

E: The team I’ve got I’ve picked because everyone has a general awareness or interest in communication even if it’s subconscious. Some of the guys have got backgrounds in business and others have backgrounds in PR, one has a background in art and it’s nice to have that mix. I do always try and think

how is this shop front communicating to me? How is this celebrity ambassador affecting the way that I see the product that they are presenting? We are always coming up with new ways of trying to communicate with people. We might take an idea that we have seen somewhere else and change it up a little bit so that it fits with our client’s brands.

D: What are some of the challenges that you have faced since starting up?

E: The main challenge is clients want to find out how much money you are generating of the back for the work that you are doing for them. Which means that it is impossible to measure what we have done and also the other thing is it takes time to build relationships with clients. The clients do need to recognise you would never go and speak to someone and all of a sudden become best friends for life, these things take a while. It’s about going back and returning to these conversations and building on them and that’s exactly what we do. Social media for some people is such a new thing and some people are even a bit afraid of it as they are still learning. You can’t measure word of mouth , you don’t know if this person has gone on to the next person and said you need to go and check out this brand, you can’t tell whether the other person has bought into something because of word of mouth. It is difficult to measure that. That’s why we have initial three month trials for our new clients and in that period they should see an increase in revenue.

Sometimes people will say I’m going in to buy this because of you guys but other times it’s very difficult to track.

D: Are all accounts managed 24/7 a day?

E: Yes for some of our clients. We’ve got Unoco, they are now stocked in America which means the challenge is the time difference. We post things throughout the day and then overnight we change the language to American English. We’ve got someone in Australia who looks after the accounts whilst we are all asleep here in the UK because it is important to be able to respond to people very quickly on social media.

It is about customer service and people get a bit of a thrill when they get an immediate response. We just try to nurture other people as well as ourselves.

D: How did you pick the people on your team?

E: Everyone who works with us has always reached out to us through one of the various social media accounts and it’s nice like that. The fact that they are using it means that they understand it and if they have done their research they will know how

to approach us. Some people will tweet something with a link to something that we have posted which might be hidden somewhere on our website. For example there is something that says “If you don’t mind listening to Beyonce all day then go ahead and apply for a job to work with us” because one of my colleagues is obsessed with Beyonce. And people put that down in their cover letters. It shows character and diligence in the research that they have done. For me it’s just about people who will fit in with the fun, young, ambitious and innovative team that we have. As long as they are invested in making sure that they want to be part of the business and even trying to improve the business themselves, I am always open to that and I encourage that and of course they have to be good at their jobs. With us it’s not so much about experience because they might have picked up bad habits from their previous jobs so I try to employ people who might not have worked in social media before because we can teach them from scratch. You don’t have to understand every aspect of the business. I rely on Nick to head up the content to make sure that he is maintaining the quality of the post that people will be sending to him for all our clients for him to disperse.

I’ve got Bella who works down in Brighton she is in charge of looking up all the news stories and checking to see if there is anything relevant that we can post and then there is Kat who runs the engagement side of things so she will reach out proactively and I would say that’s where the most value is for Truffle. Other agencies will just post things up and hope for the best whereas we will make sure that we are constantly looking for people to engage with and then she needs to be communicating with Nick all day. We sit down every Monday and have a quick brief on what each our clients are doing that week, how prepared are we for it do we need to do anything extra and then we’ve got other people who do the photoshoping for us others who run the competitions it does get quite complex at times.

D: What does the name Truffle mean?

E: Because my background is in food and drink, I wanted to make sure the name was still quite high end and not snobby and so I thought Truffle, that’s semi food related but not exclusively. It’s one of those things that might look a bit grubby and it’s within the rest of the dirt but when you dig it up and it’s polished it’s a perfect gem. That’s what Truffle is, we are kind of in the midst of all these so called agencies who are aspiring to be the same thing, we might not have the millions that investors have given other agencies but what we do have is a business model and formula that works.

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D: Where do you want Truffle to be in five years time?

E: Hopefully in a bigger office. I’ve got more ideas on strategy and there are some job roles that I would create. I’ve also got this silly dream of things popping up in front of a screen with exclusive news. Even if someone’s sole job is to find little exclusive gems.

There is a trend going around for no makeup selfie so what we did last time was take the labels of our brands products and did a version of no makeup selfie. It’s just about getting on these trends and we need someone who can sit down and find these trends so that we can get there and be the first to jump on it and get our clients on board. Like the Oreo advert during the Super Bowl black out, they posted a picture of an Oreo with the caption “You can also dunk in the dark” and that was responsive. I want to push even more how responsive we are and the same thing with general creativity. I want to start linking things from the digital world to the physical world. If someone tweets “I’ve lost my salad”, we can then turn up and if we are working with a salad company with a salad on their doorstep. It is about delighting people and amusing them and just working on new ways of making sure that our client’s are seen as caring and memorable because society is becoming more cynical about the

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aggressive side of sales and we never want to be like that. We pride ourselves in being creative, innovative and personable at the same time.

D: Are you like that yourself when you go shopping , do you look out for people who are just trying to get a sale out of you?

E: I am so against it, I can’t deal with it when someone does that, you can see right through them when it’s face to face. If someone wants to come and shove a flyer in my face I am not open to receiving it because they have just seen me as a sale not because I am someone who fits their demographic. I would prefer it if someone was more creative with these things.

It’s like when you are followed around by an assistant in a store and they tell you “everything suits you”, no it doesn’t , it’s a tent I don’t want to wear this, if you wouldn’t mind letting me make my own mind up .

What we do is plant the seed and we will try and leave it with them and if we can continue to push it even more then we will. It takes time I think that’s what a lot of other people don’t realise, relationships take time to build. Time, creativity, being personal and customising everything according to what you do know about someone so there’s psychological and technical skills involved in all of this.

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