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In everything we do, we believe in challenging the globalised (homogenised) world/industry – Why
by being diversely culturally inspired and by growing slowly, fairly and fulfillingly – How
with products that are made to order, produced responsibly and offered regeneratively – What
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No matter if we are able to travel to far-flung places or not – the mixing of cultures, nationalities and heritages happens all around us. It has done so for generations, though today it happens on a larger scale and to a wider demographic. Living in a multicultural world provides us the opportunity to see and understand life on earth from different perspectives, from which we can learn and grow. Globalisation has contributed to a faster and easier transfer of goods and thoughts. We have moved away from locality and diversity to a shared global aesthetic. The modern world stimulates homogeneity globally.
[BRAND NAME] wants to stimulate a more diverse understanding of our modern world by creating clothing that takes locality as inspiration for transforming globalised garments into localised expressions of our multicultural world.
Some things can only be found in very specific places in the world. However we have now access to almost anything from anywhere through the convenience of online shopping, international shipping and an interconnected world economy. Almost everything from anywhere is within our reach. The accessibility to such a wide gamma of goods from around the world has made us into greedy and unappreciative consumers. There is value in things being made and sold locally only, as it means the producer and consumer create a stronger connection; in physical contact the meeting of cultures can exist.
[BRAND NAME] wants to stimulate a cultural, personal and emotional exchange between brand, people and product by making certain products only available locally, close to its source of inspiration and/or production.
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Ideas to be more fully formed and formulated:
Direct to consumer. Describe what that means for this brand and for me. Make a diagram in which you can see how currently my income is fully made up of my paid job, and my brand is secondary to that. This means that time spent on the brand is limited but income from it also will be, so product costs can stay relatively low as they mainly need to support production instead of generating a living wage. A projected diagram can show how shifting the time spend and income earned through each channel can affect creative output and pricing, although it doesn’t necessarily have to mean products get more expensive. Maybe it’s more about the profit being used to support different things (at first it’s about stimulating growth and R&D, and once that has been achieved, income can and will support wages).
Think about a business model of funding, where a product will be released/produced once there has been enough backing in place. This can be done with time limits in place; if not reached before so-and-so the fund will be refunded.
Describe why these models are important to the brand’s ethos; forever growth is hurting the planet, our quality of life and our pockets too. There are different ways to undertake a business endeavour and this is one of them. Production in itself doesn’t have to be the problem, over production at the wrong cost can.
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Simon Sinek’s why as described on his website: We are here to inspire people to do the things that inspire them so that, together, each of us can change our world for the better. Why = what is your purpose or cause or believe
Those are the 3 steps on how to sell a product en why a product can be successful or not. […] The Why is about why you begin with selling products and what therein is the end-goal.
Said by Olaf Hussein (said in Dutch) in the Neyenrode Podcast
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Our trip to Australia via Singapore has been incredible relaxing and we made so many beautiful memories as a family. During the past six weeks we have not had to worry about many things other then when we would go for a swim, where we would go to explore and what we would eat. It has been amazing to spend so much time together with the three of us and to spend so much time with Mathilde together. She has grown so much during this trip and has had so many experiences, it’s amazing to have been able to enable her in that way through this trip. And as husband and wife/father and mother, we have been able to focus on the things that are most important to us as a family; each other.
Now being back home after arriving early in a dreary and wet country, coming from sunnier and warmer parts of the world, it’s hard to stay positive and keep that warm and happy feeling we have had all throughout our holiday. After having had a good nights sleep and being together in our own quite and peaceful home again, and by talking about our feelings and experiences of the holiday and return home we start to feel a little better again. We won’t be able to have the sunshine all year round, or the warmt either, while we live in NL. But we will be able to have other things that are unique and special to our life here.
This trip has thought us some important lessons as well about where we want to go in life as a family and what we can do to get there. About how we can make our time in NL be great and what we want to prepare for for life in AUS. Before our trip we were getting bogged down by all the improvements we could and maybe would make to our current house. We treated this house as if it’s would maybe be our forever home, and were thinking of many ways to spend lots of money towards that. However, that was not our intention with buying this house or even by moving to NL. This holiday has been a reality check in that regard and we are happy about that.
There are a few things that we do want to do now we are back, and they are mostly all based on these lessons we learned from our trip. They are roughly the following things listed:
Itinerary for reference (2024)
AMS 10:25 21 Jan (Sun) Amsterdam, Schiphol Intl.
SIN 05:55 22 Jan (Mon) Singapore, Changi
SQ 323 Airbus A350-900 – Flying time: 12hrs 30mins
SIN 21:35 24 Jan (Wed) Singapore, Changi , Terminal 3
BNE 07:15 25 Jan (Thu) Brisbane, Brisbane Intl , Terminal Intl
SQ 235 Airbus A350-900 – Flying time: 7hrs 40mins
BNE 14:45 25 Feb (Sun) Brisbane, Brisbane Intl , Terminal Intl.
SIN 20:35 25 Feb (Sun) Singapore, Changi
SQ 236 Airbus A350-900 – Flying time: 7hrs 50mins
SIN 23:55 28 Feb (Wed) Singapore, Changi , Terminal 3
AMS 06:45 29 Feb (Thu) Amsterdam, Schiphol Intl
SQ 324 Airbus A350-900 – Flying time: 13hrs 50mins
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A brand name idea that had strung a cord with me… further thoughts that came with it were the following:
My brand story is not about China in and of itself. It’s about multiculturalism and anti-globalisation and about making/the maker. That’s the root source of my inspiration and motivation.
Brainwaves from 2023
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A perspective on culture and how you see and perceive the world around you.
Remember
You don’t necessarily have to be able to explain yourself (brand), but it might benefit you if you can when you are asked too.
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Finally (after months of hanging somewhat neglected on my studio wall) I have made the much needed and appropriate effort to digitize this set of post-its. At some point during my parental leave (when I wasn’t a father for all that long yet) I had a very ‘motivated’ morning in which I went up to my studio first thing, coffee in hand. My new role as a father put time and responsibilities into a different perspective for me. The exercise of structuring my thoughts around this subject helped me to understand how I have certain strengths, and how I exercise these strenghts in specific areas (sometimes singularly). Being aware of this has helped me to think clearer about which path I want to take with my career and personal interests and how I can use strengths interchangeably between ‘lanes’. I’m not sure if I have been able to answer the questions at the top as of yet, but they are rather ment as mental prompts then concrete answerable questions or targets.
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In the background I’m slowly working, building on this concept of a clothing brand (and sometimes an online gallery/store). Fleeting thoughts get stored away into a section where they brew until they have formed into a more substantial idea. Soon, I will have to capture some of them, for I can’t risk loosing them. But I have also realised that for me to actually progress towards these concepts of entrepreneurial endeavours, I have to mostly create and action things. It is important to get my thinking straight (and formalised into writing), but it shouldn’t stop me from progressing with intuition. The next steps are therefor not in order, but give a general overview of things to finalise and start semi-simultaneously;
• Write down core business manifesto/principles
• Ideas for business operations (how things are sold)
• Ideas for brand identity
• Start designing (print-out inspiration, create mood-board and draw designs)
• Make outstanding pieces
• Paris sweater
• Mathilde’s pants/overshirt
• London handkerchief
• Shorts (Chinese handloom fabric)
• Educate myself on clothing making
• Pattern drafting course
One big change has been that my almost decade long ‘obsession’ and main focus on China as an inspiration and reference point, has made way for other wider arrays of interests and inspirations. This, to be honest, has been a big step in the right direction for my ideas of starting up the clothing brand that I keep envisioning. To be able to have a broader range of inspirations to work from, gives me a wider scope and that is something I needed right now. It is motivating and I’m looking forward to see what I’ll be looking at for inspiration and will come up with in my designs.
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One of my favourite places in London is Dover Street Market (probably my No.1 favourite place to be honest). I have been going there for many years to soak up the vibe and gain immense inspiration from the store design/layout, clothing designs on display, people that go and work there and Rose bakery. The complete package makes it’s worth visiting with frequency because there is always something new to discover or gain creatively.
The DSM logo has come to represent this experience and memory I have of this place. When I look at their logo, I feel connected to my inspired self. Analysing the logo further;
*Dover Street Market London, which was the first location of all DSM locations, was located originally on Dover Street in Mayfair, London. This is where its name originates from. Although the London store has since moved to Haymarket, its name is still linked to the first store location, rooting it in a place and linking it to a certain time.
