Wednesday 18 June 2014

Sukin, good for your skin



There’s been a lot of talk lately about parabens, sulphates and other harsh petrochemicals that are unhealthy for your skin in cosmetic products.

I’ve tried my own share of organic products to substitute for them in the great pursuit of envious skin elasticity. But the thing that I didn’t like about a majority of these ‘organic’ products is that when you’ve applied them onto your skin they usually failed in three areas: they either failed to absorb properly into the skin, were sticky when and after you’ve applied them or they simply didn’t smell as nicely as one hoped.





I have, however, found a few on store shelves that work magically.

If you’re searching for organic products that smell indulgent without using harsh fragrances, Antipodes is a brand that focuses largely on organic scent and excellence in product experience. 





Their Vanilla Pod Hydrating Day Cream is a light but intensive facial day cream and is currently selling at AUD $48.00 per jar. 



It’s a real treat to use on occasion but may hurt your pocket a bit if you are considering it to be a long-term engagement.

In light of my organic product woes, I also recently discovered Sukin, an Australian organic skincare brand that’s available in most leading pharmacies. 




I was forced into using this product because of my mother’s recent breast cancer. We began to buy products that didn’t use harsh petrochemicals, harsh sulphates, parabens or EDTA (apparently all these go into your bloodstream when you absorb them into your skin, and in our case, increase chances of cancer recurrence later on). 

I am currently using the Rosehip Hydrating Day Cream, which is selling at AUD $23.95 per jar. 





There are additional reasons why I absolutely love to use this day cream: it has the essential oil rosehip in it, which is good for skin rejuvenation; it absorbs surprisingly well into the skin and also has a divine fragrance. For more information on the benefits of rosehip oil, click here.

Sukin also has biodegradable packaging (important for all nature loving organics out there). Also, it’s not tested on animals, which is a real bonus! 





Until next time, cheers! 










Wednesday 4 June 2014

The Fictional Woman, by Tara Moss

I had the great privilege of interviewing Tara Moss at the recent Sydney Writer’s Festival. She is a Canadian-Australian author, television presenter, journalist, former model and UNICEF national ambassador for Child Survival. She is currently a PhD student at the University of Sydney. 

Her latest book The Fictional Woman is now available in major book stores. 




She is a truly inspiring role model for young women everywhere. 

Illustrating with Andrew Joyner, an Interview by Christine Jiwon

I interviewed Andrew Joyner recently at the Sydney Writer’s Festival. He was a political illustrator for the Sydney Morning Herald and today authors children’s picture books which are sold internationally. His latest book The Terrible Plop has received an award from Speech Pathology Australia and has also received an award for the Best Children’s Cover from the APA Book Design Awards.

We spoke about a wide range of topics from Dr. Seuss, childhood education to the future of children’s picture books in the context of a digital age.






Christine Jiwon: Today you’re a successful children’s book illustrator and author and you also contribute illustrations for the Sydney Morning Herald. What were some of your personal childhood dreams when you were growing up?

Andrew Joyner: I think I always wanted to be involved in comics. I loved cartoons in the newspapers, even the political cartoons as a kid. I didn’t understand them but I really liked the drawing style. I probably learned quite a bit of Australian history from political cartoons, like the Whitlam dismissal in the 80’s. I had a weird, limited understanding of political history because it was only through comics and cartoons that I followed it.


CJ: That’s fascinating because now you’re doing that kind of work for the Sydney Morning Herald.

AJ: Most of my work is with children’s books now. I used to do quite a bit for the Sunday Age and I used to do a bit of political stuff then.


CJ: How did you come to initially discover a passion for illustrating? Was drawing pictures much a part of your life during your childhood?


AJ: I always remember drawing... I just remember being told often when I was younger “kid, you’re good at drawing”. At school it was useful because I wasn’t a ‘cool’ kid or anything and everyone seemed to respond well to drawing. It was a good way to fit in. I didn’t study art beyond year 10 at school, but I always drew. When I was at university studying English Literature I drew for the university newspapers.

I had a friend who was an illustrator who encouraged me to pursue illustrating. By the time I started to, my wife worked full time. I worked in a record shop.
 



CJ: Yeah, I read that in your comic!

AJ: Yeah, so I had time to pursue it. It was a lucky time, really.

CJ: Was that a real incident? Where a customer left their father’s ashes at your store?

AJ: Oh yeah, that is a real incident, although I did leave out the real ending (a bit of artistic license)… he came back the next day. The guy did come back the next day to pick it up. I had to leave a note that said, “that bag apparently contains a customer’s father’s ashes”. It wasn’t an abnormal type of note, really, to leave in a record store. It’s a pretty unusual place to work. 

CJ: That was absolutely hilarious!

AJ: Yeah, it was fun.

CJ:
Lots of people recognize your illustrations for their bold lines, bright colours and the liveliness embodied in your artworks. Were there any significant artists or authors who influenced you over the years that helped forge the development of your unique artistic style?

AJ: It comes probably from my love of comics as a kid. I also really liked Punch, a UK comic magazine a bit like the New Yorker but more humorous and less sophisticated.






 AJ: We couldn’t get a copy of the New Yorker in Mannan, where I grew up, but my grandfather had a copy of the history of the New Yorker and I loved all the single-panel comics. I also loved Steinberg. He does lots of pen and ink but is sort of really adventurous with the lines. I also really loved Dr. Seuss. I really like the immediacy of using a line when I draw. It’s just sort of what I’m comfortable with.





AJ: Some of the liveliness, I think, comes from using a brush rather than a pen because when you use a brush, the width of the lines change and makes it very lively and expressive.

CJ: Do you have a favourite pen or a favourite brush?

AJ: Yeah I always use the same type of brush. I usually have cheapish brush. You talk to any illustrator, they’re usually very passionate about one type of brush. When they go out of stock they get very nervous…




CJ: Not only are your illustrations beautiful to look at, but they are also renowned for their incredible wit and humour. They are extremely clever and they reminded me a lot of Dr. Seuss.  I actually thought of you as the Modern Day Dr. Seuss.

AJ: Thank you!

CJ: What is it about Dr. Seuss’ style that you particularly loved?


AJ: What I liked about his stuff – and I’d like to have more of it in my work – is that they are simple compositions, but they are really adventurous. He sort of bends a landscape to suit a page, the figures and what he wants the drawings to say. So they’re very bold and immediate. The way he positions things on a page I think is really striking.

Also, his simple use of colour: I respond much better to his work with just black and white and maybe one or two colours.  The simple colours he used had much more impact. That could do with the printing techniques then, but I still think it has a real impact.


CJ: You have a very diverse audience, but in particular, a lot of your readers are children around the ages of 8 to 12 years old. That’s particularly a time when they are learning how to read and write.
I feel that the contribution your works make to learning for children with learning difficulties in particular is enormous, simply because your books are fun to read. How important to you is the element of ‘fun’ when children read your stories?

AJ: That is important. I probably had a lot of guidance from Ursula, the author of The Terrible Plop. What she loved about the drawings in that book is their happiness. I do try and make something feel like it’s got a happy, joyful energy.

Even with the ‘Boris’ ones [a series authored by Andrew Joyner], I tried to concentrate on trying to get the pictures not to say exactly what the text was saying but to sort of tell a story themselves.

I feel happiest about a drawing when it has a fun energy to it.






CJ: What’s special to you about illustrating for children as opposed to adults?

AJ:
I thought about it a bit. Nearly all of my illustrations are for children now. In terms of drawing for adults, especially with selling yourself as an illustrator, you have to have a style that’s sort of recognizable. Almost like a ‘hip’ style or a ‘cool’ style – something that will have an impact on say, advertising, or something like that, which I think could be a bit of a dead end – just focusing on style and trying to get something that appeals stylistically. With children, you’re focused more on the content of an image rather than a particular style. You’re sort of trying to draw for an audience – and you know the audience. It’s kind of like giving them a gift. It has a nicer feel to it. Visiting schools helps. You get a very immediate response to your drawing.

CJ: Do they cheer or clap?

AJ: Yeah, they are very nice. One thing that’s weird is that as an illustrator, it’s not really a public job. You’re drawing in a studio, then you go out and suddenly you’re drawing in front of them. It’s different from drawing at home. You can’t be too fussy when you’re drawing in front of kids – there’s more freedom.


CJ: I read somewhere in a different interview that you did that if you could resurrect one person from the dead it would be William Steig (the original writer of Shrek
, now a major motion picture). What is it about Steig that  intrigues you?

AJ: I do love him. He’s a New Yorker cartoonist as well. I really love his work. He has a lot of joy and life in his stories. He’s a really interesting guy. By the time he was doing Shrek he wouldn’t do many roughs – he would just get ink and draw straight onto the paper. You just either got it right or re-did it.  His son was a jazz musician who was very spontaneous. He would watch his son and decide to do it himself.

I think his illustrations have a real sense of joy in them. His illustrations are very childlike and often it’s really hard to replicate that – drawing in the style of a child – it’s hard to get it right. There’s a kind of ‘play’ energy to it, and the way children draw in a way to tell a story. I think that’s something that changes as you get older.


CJ: Do you think there’s an exciting future for the children’s book industry as we move more onto digital platforms? For example, apps, etc.

AJ:
I think so. Although, a lot of illustrators and authors say ‘It’s hard to beat the book’. There are lots of things you can do with a book, like turning the page. It’s sort of like ‘unveiling’ each time you turn a page; sort of like unveiling a new image. You begin a joke on one page and it ends on the next, and that has a real impact.

CJ: …
and the time it takes to actually turn the page creates impact with the joke.

AJ: 
Yeah it’s like timing, in comedy, and it’s hard to replicate that kind of timing in an app. It is very hard to beat a picture book, unless you can get an app to emulate a book. There’s something very natural about it. In an app, you would probably have to ‘scroll’, which is just not the same…


CJ: I collect children’s picture books, so hopefully I can come up with a collection of really nostalgic ones eventually, but one thing I really appreciate about children’s books is the thickness of the paper. Especially when a book has very thick paper, it’s like having a mini art gallery in the palm of your hands.

AJ: That’s good to hear because a lot of illustrators argue a lot about the thickness of paper. Illustrators always love the best quality paper, and we’re very impractical too! We don’t have to worry about how much it costs to print it. There is something to be said about the thickness of the paper though – I agree – it has a real impact. The Terrible Plop has got quite thick paper. And when you’re reading out to a group [of children] it stops the paper from falling over and it prevents what they call ‘show through’ where you can see the reverse side of the image you are looking at. You can sort of see through the image you are looking at and that effects the image.

I think what initially attracted me to picture books is mainly that I found the art so inventive.





For more on Andrew Joyner, visit his website www.andrewjoyner.com.au.









(All illustrations for this blog post were obtained from http://jackywinter.com/artists/andrew-joyner/


Thursday 15 May 2014

Blue and Black, an Elegant Paradise

I designed this scarf recently for a close friend of mine. It was a good-bye present that I’ve been planning to make for her for some time. She is an aspiring lawyer who has moved overseas in the pursuit of a career in law.

I met this friend of mine in high school and have shared many wonderful experiences with her, so it was important to me that I did a good job.

 






























One particular feature that
’s flattering about this friend of mine is that she has beautifully white porcelain skin. When designing scarves for people, one major consideration that needs to be made is the skin tone of the person that you are designing for. 

I also consider the lifestyle of the person, their beliefs, values and loves amongst many other things that contribute to their personal expression of style.

I decided that Royal Blue would be the colour of my choice for her.





Fashion is all about creating a statement with the clothes that you wear. Wearing dark colours when you have a dark skin tone, or wearing light colours when you have a light skin tone are both mistakes
that I see people make often. This is particularly important of scarves as they are worn directly underneath one’s beautiful face.

Royal Blue is a wonderful colour. Its vividness is emphasised when people with light-toned skin complexions (like my friend) wear it with other colours like black (I know, ‘black is not a colour’).

Here are some examples of women in the media who have been spotted wearing Royal Blue scarves with dark/black jackets. 

Blake Lively, Actress  





Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge

Royal Blue and Black are both elegant and appropriate colours to wear together to the workplace. Especially if you are going to work in a law firm.


(Additional information for those that consider themselves to be more crafty):
- Thread composition: 60% Wool, 40% Acrylic (The acrylic in the scarf gets rid of the itchiness that usually comes with woollen yarns, making the wool scarf comfortable to wear)
- Yarns were purchased from Lincraft, Town Hall.
- Needle size, 6 US



Images for the post were sourced from the following:
1. Image of Blake Lively.
http://blog-imgs-43.fc2.com/t/o/k/tokyoalleycat/Blake+Lively+Outerwear04.jpg [Accessed 15/5/2014].
2. Image of Kate Middleton. https://www.google.com.au/search?q=kate+middleton+blue+scarf&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=hLZ0U-alBYPzkAXyvIDABQ&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=737#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=mCvQl-yBaSjMFM%253A%3BEAu-Czw8VKzHkM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.blogcdn.com%252Fwww.stylelist.com%252Fmedia%252F2013%252F03%252Fkatepregancystylediane-vonfurstenbergcoat3-1363295803.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.stylelist.ca%252F2013%252F05%252F13%252Fkate-middletons-hair-most-coveted-uk%252F%3B1141%3B1800 [Accessed 15/5/2014]

Tuesday 31 December 2013

Burberry's Global Success and Reinvention



Burberry today is globally recognised as one of the most celebrated luxury brands of the century. Its iconic ‘tartan’ pattern is understood to symbolise the wealth, prestige and refinement of all who wear a Burberry coat, use their perfumes or proudly carry an unmistakeably ‘Burberrian’ bag.

One must understand, however, that Burberry’s journey to reach these heights was not always a straight trajectory towards glory, but rather a process of bold steps on the part of Rose Marie Bravo, the chief executive of Burberry, to resurrect the Burberry brand to its contemporary state (Moon, 2004:1). The journey has been a long and painful one, like a model tripping down the catwalk and getting up again to continue her elegant stride.

Burberry is a perfect example of why re-positioning a brand is sometimes necessary in order for a brand to survive and continue to have the influence that it does in the minds of its loyal consumers as well as consumers of future generations to come.


The Glorious History of Burberry


Burberry was birthed when Thomas Burberry, at age 21, invented ‘gabardine’, a windproof, waterproof fabric that was also very durable and lightweight (Moon 2004, p.1). Its particular qualities lead for it to be utilised in the First World War as coats for officers who served in the trenches.

Consequently, Burberry coats earned the reputation of being ‘robust’ or ‘durable’ as well as being intimately linked with Britain’s proud national history.

Burberry’s coats have also had significant appearances in iconic films such as ‘Torn Curtain (1966), Kramer Versus Kramer (1979), Wall Street (1987), Dick Tracy (1990), The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) and Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) (Watson, 2008:177). 

The Burberry coat worn by Audrey Hepburn in an iconic scene from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Yet by the mid-90s, the company was losing its way: Burberry’s earnings were historically low and the company lacked a cohesive vision (Moon 2004:2).

How had it all come to this…?



 A Stale Brand Perception  

Over the years, Burberry’s strong conservatism as a brand meant that it had done little to reinvent itself. It was only appealing to an older customer base and failing to communicate its brand to younger audiences. It earned the reputation of being a ‘luxury’, ‘traditional’ brand but more significantly, an ‘outdated’ brand. 


Too Much of a Good Thing

Burberry had licensed its brand over a vast category of products from wallpapers to chocolates (Moon 2004:2) as well as umbrellas to silk underwear in Japan by the 1980s (Buttolph, 1998:80). In Asia, the popularity of the brand caused Burberry’s products to be sold to unauthorized distributors in vast amounts. Distribution channels for Burberry products were therefore becoming less exclusive until it had become a very common brand. Stereotypically speaking, it was becoming less recognised for its ties to a proud British history but more for its overt presence in the Asian market.
There was a great need to restore the brand to being the exclusive brand that it was and yet move the brand forwards into a new era. 


The Re-Positioning of Burberry

Bravo’s ambition was to resurrect the outdated and ‘tired’ brand into becoming ‘a luxury lifestyle brand that was aspirational, stylish, and innovative’ (Moon, 2004:2). Her ambition was to ultimately re-position Burberry...

Many of Burberry’s former product lines were culled in order to regain control over their most central products (i.e. coats, handbags and accessories). Items such as Burberry bikinis were introduced to appeal to a younger audience and to communicate that Burberry was not only a luxury brand, but also a very ‘contemporary and sexy’ brand. 




Kate Moss Modelling the memorable Burberry Bikini 



Burberry Today

Today Burberry stands to be a resilient brand after the influence of Bravo’s genius. They are communicating effectively to a younger audience through the utilisation of celebrity endorsers such as Emma Watson and Romeo Beckham. The utilisation of British celebrity icons has revamped the notion of Burberry as a powerful ‘British’ brand. It is no longer understood as being the stagnant brand that it used to be, but a beautiful brand that is highly sought after by many consumers from a variety of age groups. 

Emma Watson, an effective brand endorser for Burberry’s younger target segment


Romeo Beckham (David Beckham’s son) modelling an umbrella and trench coat for Burberry

Burberry’s strategic success lies in the fact that they were willing to re-position themselves when the necessity to do so was identified. Although it was a bold move, Burberry is a perfect example of why bold business moves such as these reap precious dividends. 



References:
1. Buttolph, A. et al. (1998). ‘Burberry, Thomas’ in The Fashion Book (p.80). Phaidon Press
          Limited: London.
2. Meagher, D. (2008). ‘Christopher Bailey – Burberry’ in Fashion Speak (pp.36-55). Random
          House Australia: Sydney.
3. Moon, Y. (2004). Burberry. Harvard Business School (pp. 1-19).
4. Watson, L. (2008). ‘Burberry, Founded by Thomas Burberry in 1856’ in Vogue Fashion, over
          100 years of style by decade and designer, in association with Vogue
(pp. 176-177). Penguin
          Group: Camberwell.
5. Image 1, 
The Spring/Summer Fashion show, 2013. viewed 7 April 2014
< http://www.upscalehype.com/2012/09/burberry-prorsum-springsummer-2013-collection-at-london-fashion-week/>
6. Image 2, 
The Burberry coat worn by Audrey Hepburn in an iconic scene from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’sviewed 7 April 2014
<http://allaboutstyle.blog.com/2010/04/06/the-basics-of-style-trench-coat/>
7. Image 3, Kate Moss Modelling the memorable Burberry Bikini. viewed 22 May 2014 <http://theneotraditionalist.com/2010/09/22/burberry-flashback/> 
8. Image 4, Emma Watson, 
an effective brand endorser for Burberry’s younger target segment. viewed 7 April 2014
<http://www.justjared.com/photo-gallery/2406210/emma-watson-burberry-spring-summer-2010-campaign-10/fullsize/>
9. Image 5, 
Romeo Beckham (David Beckham’s son) modelling an umbrella and trench coat for Burberry. viewed 7 April 2014