Village Blog
What is a BB Cream and a CC Cream? Please Explain...
What is a BB Cream and a CC Cream? Please Explain... Say goodbye to the quintessential tinted moisturiser that we all know and love, the dynasty of facial coverages has been passed on to our alphabetical allies’ BB and CC Creams. The question is, what is the difference? Foundations in 2018 despite a number of new releases are on the dramatic decline, with beauty consumers sticking to lightweight formulations and sheer finishing’s, the rise of the barely there look is here to stay. Your face, but better. This is where foundation meets skincare, CC and BB, our graded friends are here to stay along with sunshine drops, glow solutions and D Bonzi peptide creams. This is, however, what these little beauties will do to you, our big beauty-full gang. BB Creams No more playing chemist at home, these potions of skincare goodness come readily packaged. Heavier than a moisturiser, but lighter than a foundation, this is where skincare and makeup are affixed. It may be called a Beauty Balm, but there is absolutely nothing balm like about it. Think moisturiser but with a bonus touch – like mixing a peptide in with your sunscreen, this is the exact same – just with a bit of pigment. The main selling point is that there is an additional SPF inserted in the formulations to prevent ageing, along with some skin -perfecting booster ingredients. It works similarly to stand alone serums – but with pigmentation. Similarly, to a quality moisturiser, it’s a primer, foundation and moisturiser in one – the ultimate triple threat. Smoothing your completion out, evening out the tone and boosting your level of hydration whilst being breathable unlike classical foundations – you can definitely see why these are on the rapid rise. That being said, in Asia they tend to be thicker, with higher levels of zinc oxide for your sun protecting needs, with a foundation like feel in terms of texture. Whereas Western BB Creams are more lightweight, luminous with a sheer appearance for a light layered look for those days you want to quickly throw something on. CC Creams Our Colour Correcting offspring from our BB beautiful SPF meets a new foundation solution. With all of the same benefits as a BB Cream, this guy is a little more concentrated with addressing issues like redness. It is absolutely fantastic for acne due to its light finish, but also conceals dark spots, hides acne, and adds radiance to sallow skin. Further, its boosted with Vitamin C and E goodies! An insider tip: You can use your CC Cream as a colour correcting primer for a flawless finish. Despite the formulation being more pigmented and higher coverage, fixing all tonal mishaps that might be going on your pretty little face – it is a lot lighter than a BB Cream. CC’s have a ‘whipped’ finish – feeling light, breathable, fluffy and easier to work into the skin, unlike BB creams which act have a similar consistency to a moisturiser (sometimes thicker depending on your formulation of choice). It’s light-deflecting components will give a dewy, luminous finish. Lighter coverage than BB but has more hidden goodies, it is incredible for a faux summer glow. Published on 21/04/19 by Leonie Henzell CEO of beauty's got soul
Read moreFrom Adversity to Opportunity
From adversity to opportunity - how two local business have joined forces to meet a crucial need in today’s market… The story of the Puzzle Desk. What happens when you pair the owner of a design savvy construction and shop fitting company, with a couple of design obsessed retailers whose businesses have both been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis? A tonne of ideas and innovation born out of the necessity to survive! When Sarah Ryding, owner of i4 Design & Construction approached Nat Wheeler and Kristy Sadlier from norsu Interiors to share a prototype of a product she had just designed with her clever team, the girls literally squealed with excitement at the knowledge that this was the item every home needs right now. The announcement of Term 2 remote learning in Victoria had just delivered a big reality check for these three families with young children. “Running a business from home while simultaneously home schooling my son was somehow manageable when I believed it would only be for a matter of weeks” says single-Mum and norsu co-founder Kristy Sadlier. “However, when the news hit that remote learning was going to be extended for an entire other term, it completely tipped me over the edge! I was doing ok until this point - despite the general iso challenges and wearing a few more hats than normal, I held the belief that it was only temporary and once my son was back at school (initially scheduled for 20 April), life would return to ‘normal’.” With the news also came the panic that dedicated at-home work stations were suddenly a necessity. “I couldn’t handle the takeover of my dining room table any longer. Fighting for space to eat meals between my computer and paper work and my son’s half completed puzzles, drawings and board games, it became very apparent that a desk was needed for both of us to keep some of our sanity in check” claims Sadlier. After jumping on line to find several major retailers were virtually sold out of desks, with lengthy restock delays, the panic set in even more… This story seemed to be all too familiar amongst other households. Enter Ryding and her brilliant idea for the Puzzle Desk! After Coronavirus shut down her booming shopfitting business i4 Design & Construction, leaving her 100 shop fitting and factory employees out of work, she was at a true loss. After a period of grieving, she turned to the one thing she does best - designing fit for purpose and practical furniture! "The creativity still flows. We've got a full manufacturing facility here in Melbourne and we've got skilled staff that were eager to continue working," Ryding says. She saw the need for affordable desks that can be used at home along with the spike in popularity of puzzles. She then rallied together with her talented team, harnessing their combined skills to design a desk that slots together like a puzzle. "Kids can use the desks for home schooling or adults if they are working from home. It slides together with no need for tools or screws. And when you are done, it pulls apart and can be stored under a bed." Enter to WIN your very own Puzzle Desk. This gorgeous desk is valued at $299. You will also win 2 Soul Baby Suitcases valued at $95 and a beauty's got soul gift valued at $100. Total prize pool is $514. Sign up to our newsletter for your chance to win. The winner will be drawn randomly on Friday 8th May at 5pm AEST and the winner will be notified by email & posted on Instagram. After a meeting through the Business Chicks, Ryding approached the ladies at norsu believing they would be a good fit to sell the product. norsu, who have also been hit by COVID-19 after closing the doors to their Malvern East concept store several weeks ago, instantly jumped at the opportunity. "I've partnered with norsu to exclusively sell our desks. I'm harnessing their skills to complement my own. It's no longer about end-to-end production, it's about working together," she says. Within 24 hours, the team had tested, styled and photographed the desks, and pushed the product to market on social media and www.norsu.com.au - all while still remaining isolated in their own homes. “This is the beauty of small business in a crisis. We have the ability to think and act fast! We were in overdrive, spending every moment of that 24 hour period brainstorming and strategising over What’s app and late night calls once the kiddies were in bed” states norsu co-founder Nat Wheeler. The trio had a strong belief in the product, but nothing could have prepared them for the response they received. “We launched on Friday evening with an affordable price tag of $299, and had sold out of our first production run by Saturday morning! The manner in which our community has embraced this product has been truly overwhelming. There’s such a strong desire to support local business right now, which has certainly helped, along with our ability to supply stock quickly thanks to local manufacturing” claims Wheeler. After smashing their initial target in only 12 hours, the team kicked into gear to secure more materials over the Easter weekend to manufacture at scale. They are now poised to deliver hundreds of units by Friday this week. “We are so proud to partner with our friend to meet an immediate need in the market, but the sweetest thing of all is knowing we are helping provide an opportunity to keep her factory staff employed during this challenging time” Wheeler and Sadlier both admit. About the product:Cut from sheet MDF using CNC machinery in the Thomastown factory of i4 Design & Construction, the Puzzle Desk consists of seven individual pieces that fit together like a puzzle in just two minutes without the use of tools. It can be easily assembled and packed away as required for effortless storage under a bed. Its sturdy, yet lightweight design means it can be moved around the house as needed, and enjoyed by all members of the home. It’s available in two finishes, white laminate MDF and raw MDF (to customise with your own DIY painting project), and above all, it looks great! Visit www.norsu.com.au for more information on the Puzzle Desk. Published by Leonie Henzell CEO of Soul Baby Gifts on 25/04/2020.
Read morebeauty's got soul X Cacao - Interview with Tim Clark
Tim Clark represented Australia in the World Chocolate Masters in Paris in 2005, was the youngest ever Executive Pastry Chef at Crown Melbourne, and in his twenties travelled the world on a luxury European cruise liner creating decadent desserts for international travellers. Now, his energy is focussed on Cacao – bringing a slice of traditional French pastry to Melbourne with a modernistic twist. Currently working alongside premium brands such as Mercedes Benz, Viktoria and Woods and Jackalope Hotel; Clark understands that you can achieve your goals by consistently refining your skills and not skipping on quality ingredients… Before your journey with Cacao, what were you doing with yourself? I was Executive Pastry Chef at Crown in Melbourne for six years. I was looking after a lot of major events such as the Brownlow, the Logies and the Formula One launch party. I was in charge of a team of twenty-six pastry chefs and was overseeing the creation of desserts across all events and catering venues. Prior to Crown, I worked abroad for a number of years. First in Germany in a one Michelin star restaurant and then travelling the world on a six-star European cruise liner, Silversea Cruises. This was a fantastic experience not only from a professional perspective but also on a personal level. I not only had the opportunity to meet some great chefs and mentors but also had the chance to see the world and experience different culinary cultures. How does a critical eye and attention to detail feed into the creative side of the business? Attention to detail is very important in elevating the Cacao brand to a premium status. Producing continuously high-quality products comes from hard work and determination. It’s a combination of a lot of things from the ingredients that go into making our products, to the level of experience of our team, and the uniqueness of what we make. We’re not creating products that can be replicated at home. We’re creating special experiences for our customers that are not readily available around town. We want to bring European quality and tradition to local audiences with our unique take and understanding of the Australian palate. This is what our creative process is based on with every product that we develop. First, we decide what we want to create and for what purpose, then we work out how we are actually going to make it. We then pick the right ingredients which is a key part of the process. Consumers today are very engaged and interested in what goes into the food they eat. They want to know the origin of the ingredients and this pushes us to be very selective with our choices. It’s not enough that our macarons and chocolates look nice and taste good, they also have to be made using consciously selected ingredients. Knowing the origin and supply chain of what goes into our products matters to our customers. What era in art do you feel influences your work for most – not just in terms of the making of the food but the brand’s vision? That’s a tough question to answer. Personally, I’ve always taken a real liking to surrealism as what you see is not always what you get. This mystery in some way also applies to great food. There’s always excitement about beautifully presented food which really heightens the customer experience. I don’t think Cacao represents or is aligned with any one particular era of art. As creative people we get influenced by many things: ingredients, nature, colours, design, fashion, the seasons; and the list goes on. A lot of what we do depends on our customers and food trends as well. In terms of our packaging, our aim was to create a sense of elegance and simplicity. We wanted the design and the finishes to provide a sensory experience to our customers even before they see what’s inside. Our brand colours – inspired by the transformation of the cocoa pod – reveal themselves in the inside of our chocolate boxes and used as a splash of colour on our macaron packaging. Ultimately, we want our products to take the centre stage, but it is also important for us that they are beautifully presented. We wanted the excitement to start from the moment you come across our packaging. The whole experience should be a sensory journey. “The new look and feel of Cacao represents our desire to create a timeless brand that is based on craftsmanship, skill and quality. I am very proud of our journey and the hard work that got us where we are today." How does the constant changing of trends, whether that be in popular culture, art, or fashion, affect your process in creative duration of a certain product and future flavour combinations? I think you’ve always got to stay relevant and aware of trends inside and outside food. There is always something that can tie in really well with what you’re doing without compromising who you are. All outside influences play an important role in how our brand and range evolves. Some of it may come through in the presentation of our packaging, style of photography or storytelling. We may incorporate some new flavours in our products based on trends. Gin for example is very popular at the moment so our team may think about how we could incorporate this into a new chocolate product. In terms of trends and direction, it’s also key for us to work with customers who make us want to challenge ourselves. Customers such as Mercedes Benz, Viktoria and Woods and the Jackalope Hotel help us keep evolving and moving forward. Is there any related trend within the culinary field that you wish would disappear? Probably the raw chocolate trend. I don’t want it to disappear; I just would like better understanding and transparency around what ‘raw’ chocolate really is. There’s this thought that eating raw chocolate has all these health benefits. There is no denial that ‘raw’ chocolate for example has higher level of antioxidants than ‘normal’ chocolate, but the truth is that nobody can categorically claim that their chocolate is raw. For chocolate to be raw, the cocoa bean should not be roasted. The moment it is treated over 45 degrees it is no longer raw; the same applies to nuts. In case of the cocoa bean, generally there is a fermentation process during which the membrane around the bean - a lychee type, fleshy texture - breaks down leaving you with the bean. The bean is then roasted under normal circumstances. What raw chocolate producers are saying is that ‘we don’t roast the bean, we just ferment it, then we smash the bean and make a paste out of it’. Because it hasn’t been roasted, they claim that it has greater properties, but there’s a lot of risk in doing that as not all bacteria is killed. Unless you’re controlling the whole process from the sourcing of the beans to fermentation and the creation of the paste without roasting, you don’t know for fact that the chocolate you are eating is indeed raw. As I said, I don’t have a problem with the trend. In fact, we ourselves have recently introduced a product that we believe to be raw based on what we know. But until there is proper regulation in Australia around what ‘raw’ actually is, it will remain a grey area. Do creative constraints concern you? Or, do you enjoy the limitations in both of the patisserie processes of both recipe building as well as building it structurally in terms of the more visual elements? I don’t think there’s too many creative constraints on us. We work with products and ingredients that are very diverse and flexible. It’s up to one’s imagination, experience and skill to be able to create what they want. As individuals we learn and experience new things every day. These in turn help us become better pastry chefs. I’m certainly keeping an eye on what other chefs are making, in particular with chocolate. But in terms of inspiration, I also get a lot of stimulus from outside of our industry. I am always interested in seeing what people are doing in fashion and architecture. For all those at home that are wanting to improve on their culinary skills, what advice would you have for them? There’s always a lot of satisfaction in creating something. When I say satisfaction, I mean achieving something that you are proud of. My advice is to cook within your means and make sure that you enjoy the process. It is just as important as the result. Also, use good ingredients and follow the recipe. Published on 26/07/2019 by Leonie Henzell CEO beauty's got soul.
Read moreAnnie Abbott - CEO of habbot.
These shoes were made for walking… and Annie Abbott, Founder and CEO of habbot knows how to have some fun without compromising our treasured comfort. It shouldn’t be that hard… highly functional shoes, built for women that are on the move without compromise. The aesthetic pieces that make us go ‘yes – I’ll take them’. After working at netaporter.com as a business analyst as well as Australia's own Sass and Bide; Annie Abbot understands what it takes to have THE shoe... Merging European craftsmanship with Australian flair, this is the concoction of Italian leather that you can trot around with season after season – without the blisters. But there is nothing ambivalent about them. Leather goods are a coveted item and are automatically deemed as an investment, no matter by whom you can never go wrong with an Italian leather bootie set. The thing that sets habbot. apart from other shoe brands is sense of duality, approach and that the greatest shoe has the highest attention to detail, and appreciation of finer things. habbot. shoes are clean, sculptural shoes that although have fine minimalist shapes, they’re adorned with interesting add-ons and bright colour – functionality and playfulness are blended to create the functional footwear. The ergonomically designed shoes don’t compromise on comfort – with pretty colours, daring design and minimalist shapes they’re truly built for women on the move. Who hasn’t been in the position where they’ve stubbed a toe, ended up with a swollen foot, or a sore ankle has come in between their day and a task that needs to be done (even if it’s changing from flats to heels in the car!)? Sometimes it truly does “just slows me down in life too much." Although having little previous experience in the shoemaking process, Annie knows what a good shoe takes. With a background in business analytics at Net a Porter, her sense of duality allowed the business to grow to what it is today. With statistics and percentages of who purchases what, the creativity is firmly supported by numbers. However, when it came to production “I need to learn about how shoes are made, and I had no idea so that’s where I kind of worked for the next five years with the shoes with a company here and that was really my footwear grounding. But in terms of needing to go to the next step, I don’t think I would've got there if I had not worked at Sass and Bide and learnt about the production process which I couldn’t have applied as you would imagine to most things that get made like the different stages involved, manufacturing, how to plan a range and sort of lots of those things that are applicable to all disciplines of production” Each shoe is made with care, by hand, by skilled shoemakers in Italy. Annie flying over yearly to ensure the highest of quality leathers are used and perfecting the finest of details. “But, there’s nothing better than being in person and talking through things like the fit of the shoe or making an adjustment to a pattern or explaining a different idea that I might have. How some part of the shoe might function or how a strap on the shoe might work.It’s much much easier to do that in person and it leaves much less room for interpretation. It then means we really only have to make one prototype of a new design and kind of work through that otherwise” Annie is a hands-on kind of designer, hand-picking leathers and formulating designs with “Lots of people don’t do the stocking and they get their makers to find the materials for them which is a great and really efficient way of doing it, but I wouldn’t find the real hidden gems if I didn’t do it myself. That’s the main real reason.” Creative constraints are no hassle and are in fact thoroughly enjoyed… “I actually like them!” With Annie, inspiration strikes from old magazines, past collections and always Italian and leather component fairs when she’s strolling through the Italian streets. “I like to go back to what we did a few years ago and if it was popular and why it was popular and not re-doing it but just taking some of the feedback and some of the praise we received at the time because I’ve always been pretty close to the customer and I can always remember what was good about a shoe or a certain material or colour and that might spark off a new idea” “If I’m overseas and if I’m in Italy then I'll just arrive at this amazing leather fair. It’s a leather and components fair that I go to and that’s just like a candy store […] within a few hours there’s a whole heap of ideas” Acting as a source of inspiration seeing new things changing the environment, this can be juxtaposed against the Australian market where the repetitious nature of trend-driven clothing, apparel and footwear can be translated in each store is not on Annie’s agenda. Although acknowledging it is something that occurs on a global scale, “most of the ideas kind of come from higher up the tree and design or brand and things like that and they kind of all filter down […] again there’s a market for that and a lot of people like the guidance and like it that way but that’s not what I set out to do." Further, Annie is here to design for like-minded women, and what their concerns are. Hence, customisation at habbot. was born two years ago. Originally created for a short-term bit of fun for consumers, it is now a permanent part of their collection. Now with habbot.'s most popular shoes, they can be personally customised into whichever brilliant colour selections you choose. Shown on the website or in-store and delivered to you one month after purchase. It’s practical, its classical, but then we can also have fun with it. Annie’s graciously given the role of colour -coordinator to her users to create something unique now with your customisation element. After the trial and a little bit of extra web tech, here we are today. “The reason why we did it I think was because the customer – well she does have her own sense of style, she has quite definite ideas about things and while she loves buying from our collection that I design – we were just always getting feedback about how she might do it or how she might get it if we did it in this and that sort of thing so this was an opportunity for her to do that herself. And it’s been really successful but equally it’s been interesting to see that the women I thought would’ve really gone for it have actually said no um I kind of like you to bring it to life for me. So that’s good in a way because I didn’t really want it to take over the business, I still see myself as a shoe designer and I design a collection that has a strong theme throughout out. I didn’t want it to turn into us just being shoemakers, but it sort of worked and it’s been a really interesting experience to see how different kind of women have handled it. Some have loved it” Although one day it is still a goal for Annie to design men’s footwear (you can do it, Annie!) one of her first four shoes in her initial collection back in 2009 was an oxford…… One may suggest that the Oxford is a solid presentation of habbot. Classical, functional, here to get the job done but on their terms. It’s brightly coloured with contrasting colours, metallic leathers and adornments. The power and meaning behind the oxford in Annie’s words are… “Lace ups have always been such a big part of the brand and to me. It’s kind of a strong looking object if you like. It's strong, it's polished but it has kind of an independence to it. It’s not like a really sexy shoe sort of trying to be something for someone else and it’s certainly a shoe that you can put a lot of character into. There’s a lot that you can do with that much leather or that much textile that you might be using. But to me the strength and character that I put into that first shoe and hopefully continue to put into the rest of them is really what the rest of the brand is about, so I’ve always loved men’s shoes […] it definitely is that pared back classic men’s styling that I go for now.” You may be wondering what’s in store for habbot this year? They’ve teamed up with our friends Kinnon and us for a beauty-full collaboration! . The competition ends on the 8th of May 2019. Sign up to our beauty-full gang to stay in the loop on all the going-ons at beauty's got soul HQ. What’s refreshing about Annie Abbot’s approach to design is her ability to take feedback and act upon it, serving the luscious leather that we all crave on silver trays with the feedback placed right in the sole. Although Annie may not have a whole habbot gallery in glass cases, she sure makes me want to start one. Published on 28/04/2019 by Leonie Henzell CEO of beauty's got soul
Read moreAlex McBride - Founder of The 5TH
The 5th watches may have ticked over your Instagram homepage from time to time, dotting elegant, clean watches for the millennial generation. Alex McBride is the brain behind the buzz of the limited release watches and sophisticated staples. Everyone’s checking the time to see when the next drop is out from the5th... The 5th launched back in 2014 with a unique business edge. Could you tell us a little bit about how the5th works for people that may not know? When we launched The 5th we had 1000 watches. What happened was we sold basically all of those watches on day one of the business. But for us, production is three and a half months. We then had a problem of not having anything to sell for all this time. We had this amazing day one, but we won’t have any cash flow in the business for three and a half months. We said, “hey listen everybody, thanks. We sold out on day one, we are going to re-release on the 5th of next month but it’s going to be a pre-sale”. We released on the 5th of the next month the same amount of units but we said your product won’t arrive for three months. We released them on our site, and they sold out again. Then we upped the quantity for the next month and did 2000 units, and sold out again. We had built up this demand for the watches that we couldn’t fulfil because we hadn’t planned for it. My plan was to sell at least fourteen watches a week because I could live off that amount of money. It just kind of spiralled. Then we ordered more and doubled our quantity again and again and again. They just all sold out all on the one day. For our first year we had only ever sold for a total of thirteen days. That’s how it kind of started and we ran with that for the first two and a half years. What we do now – it is similar in a way. We have our core products that sell all the time, but our new products are limited to 500 and are only available on the 5th. When we release things, they do sell out really fast. We only release them in limited quantities. Now you can shop with us all the time because we have a lot of other styles that are available. When you think about releasing limited runs of products, you think of high-end, luxury designers. What does exclusivity mean for you and your brand and what kind of power does that hold? I think exclusivity for the brand is about making the customer feel special. I don’t think that has to be through price. I think it’s more of you’ve got something that is hard to get and not everybody else has it. That’s what we try to provide those special models. We provide our customers with something special. Something that is one of a kind; so that they can be proud of the purchase they’ve made. With the models that we sell everyday and are available all the time – those models are more everyday pieces. They’ll go with your outfit or they’re everyday pieces you know and love. Did you ever think you’d be involved in fashion and accessories? To be honest, no. It just kind of happened. What were you doing previously to the 5th? I worked in property development. I was a Development Manager at a company in Melbourne that does a lot of high-rise developments in Docklands. When I was there, my domain was working with a lot of artists on a lot of artist-based projects. I managed small art installations from $50,000 to $1million. Then, I managed big developments that were up to $130 million. What was the dream job in your younger days? I’ve always been passionate about design, the power of design and the positive impact it can have on our lives. Both of my parents are architects, so I’ve always grown up around design. My brother is an architect and my sister is an artist. For me, I saw myself as the voice for designers. I wanted to bring to life their work. That’s what led me to property development. I’m going to create amazing developments with a number of artists and a number of architects. Then, do some really incredible projects. That’s where I thought my path would go in property development. Really, just doing some ground breaking projects that really pushed the barriers of design. That’s where I saw my path going in a way. What does a watch signify to you? A watch does a few things. It connects you with an emotion and it always says something about you. It depends on which watch I’m actually wearing, what the watch actually means to me. For instance, I guess that’s how the 5th came about. My Grandfather came from nothing and built a really successful business. At the height of that business, he passed away and he left me his watch. I guess when I wore that watch I felt like I could achieve what he achieved. That’s what kind of gave me this drive. Every time I looked at that watch, it connected me with an emotion to drive me forward. That’s where I think the power of watches can connect you to really powerful emotions. If it’s say a partner giving their partner a watch – it can connect them to that. It has the power that can connect you to emotion’s unlike digital watches. That it’s more for connecting myself to my friends- I’m going to get my notifications. That connects you in a different way. It connects you to notifications, but it doesn’t connect you to a value or an emotion which can be powerful. Or, actually drive more of your internal engine in a way. In terms of your clientele I think you’ve covered all bases. You’ve got the business chic-feel and then your outdoor watch range for the activate adventurers. There’s a real sense of duality. Why was it important to create multi-functional pieces? We have always discussed this idea of being a lifetime brand. That is providing our customers with something they can grow with and that they can wear on different occasions. We listen to our audience as best we can and work out what we want. It’s just providing people with more choice. We have a lot of customers saying they want more waterproof watches because they want to swim and surf with it. We made a watch that is 100 metres water resistant, even though that’s a little bit outside of our traditional watch. We are traditionally known for doing quite elegant and classic watches. It was something that we did because we had that feedback from our customers. There is a variety of collections that pay homage to different places around the world like Tokyo, Melbourne and London. How does travel influence your design process? I think that inspiration is all around. As a business, we are very open to new ideas, new ways of doing things and new ways of pushing things. We are very global in a sense where we work with lots of different people in a lot of different backgrounds. It’s very diverse. Containing [the concept] to a city allows us to delve into the inspiration that the city brings. It allows us to get to know [the city] and tell those stories. It’s very cool. It’s trying to provide a diverse array of stories about design and inspiration. That’s really why the cities are so important to us. They help us contain so many ideas we might have and provides that inspiration. There is a variety of collections that pay homage to different places around the world like Tokyo, Melbourne and London. How does travel influence your design process? I think that inspiration is all around. As a business, we are very open to new ideas, new ways of doing things and new ways of pushing things. We are very global in a sense where we work with lots of different people in a lot of different backgrounds. It’s very diverse. Containing [the concept] to a city allows us to delve into the inspiration that the city brings. It allows us to get to know [the city] and tell those stories. It’s very cool. It’s trying to provide a diverse array of stories about design and inspiration. That’s really why the cities are so important to us. They help us contain so many ideas we might have and provides that inspiration. In this day and age, as consumers, we all have such high standards. When you’re getting a product from the 5th it definitely is quality over quantity. How does fast fashion and seasonal trends effect your designs and your design process? It’s an interesting one. To start a brand these days is quite easy. To start a product, I should say. You can jump on Ali Baba and find a manufacturer. You put up a website and it’s all pretty easy. A lot of brands just chase the next trend – what’s coming, what’s coming. For us and for successful businesses I think, it’s about sticking true to yourself and not departing from that. It’s about being disciplined. There are pressures to chase a seasonal trend or a colour or something like that, but in terms of our identity and our product range we have to keep that consistent with our brand. If it feels like it’s kind of outside of that then we’ve got to stop it. We don’t want to be a fast fashion brand; we want to be more meaningful. We say, we create watches worth waiting for. They’re hard to get, they’re exclusive, they make you feel special and that’s what we’re trying to create. Having something that’s worth waiting for and worth keeping and looking after. It kind of plays against the seasonal trend and that’s a challenge in itself - to stick with what you do best. Try and get that seasonal influence in there if you can, but the number one, most important thing, is to be true to yourself. Where do you see the 5th in three years’ time? I think that we are on the brink of releasing some really exciting things in the watch industry. I think if our plans come to fruition, we will revolutionise the watch industry a little bit. Where do I think it could be? I think a very big global player of a brand that is challenging the traditional old-school Swiss watch brands. Further with a new way of marketing and connecting watches with the millennial generation. Published on 4/07/2019 by Leonie Henzell CEO of beauty's got soul
Read moreBeth Richards
Favourite holiday? Egypt. Bucketlist destination? Coast of Italy. Beth Richards, Founder and CEO of Hallow Brands channels travel inspiration into everyday necessities for all of your luxe-leather needs and smart accessories. Understanding that if something wants to be really good, it’s got to be functional - without compromising on those aesthetic features we all love. She gets what makes us say ‘yes’. Here to curb our overpacking tendencies and at times unglamorous packing woes, this can be juxtaposed against a never-ending supply of Italian leather compendiums and laptop bags for that true workwear chic feel. Beth truly has all the answers for all, and the products to back it... You currently have two brand babies under Hallow brands – could you please give me some insight into how it all started? I previously had a marketing agency called Press Play for eight years and I was travelling a lot for work and I saw the need for something a bit more exciting, a bit more functional but also with a real design focus. Pieces for work and travel such as the overnight bags and compendiums and just beautiful pieces to take into meetings. So the idea for Kinnon was born and Lapoche actually started as a client of mine at Press Play and then I eventually bought into the business. There you go! What was it like taking that leap of faith? Exciting and scary. When I did it, I had Press Play still and I’d just had my daughter and begun Hallows as well, so it was all a bit crazy at the time. Definitely a little bit mad but definitely was a great decision and since then I sold Press Play and now just focus on my two kids and my two brand babies! So many babies! How do you feel your previous work streams into what you’re doing now? I’m very passionate about branding and brand strategy and brand building, along with product design and development which is essential for the success of really any brand. I think it was a really great background to have going into this but the design side of it was a really big learning curve for me but we now have product designers in house who can really take that and run with it so it’s been a really great way to start! And then on the days where the stress is hitting a bit too hard and maybe the creative energy isn’t quite there – where do you turn to for inspiration? I honestly just try and tune out from work for a little bit. If you get to that point where it’s all a little bit too overwhelming it means that you’ve gotten yourself way too much in it, rather than out of it looking in. So I think the best thing to do, even if you think there’s absolutely no time to do so, just pull back for a little bit, for a day or even just a few hours. And for me, that’s hanging out with my kids, hanging out with my husband or I go out for a drink with the girls because usually nothing is as urgent or stressful as it seems to be. Just going back with what we were talking about with Kinnon, you now have an in-house designer. Your pieces are highly functional and thought out, but you haven’t comprised on those aesthetic features that we love. What’s your design process like at Kinnon? We always start with research and trends and find out what our existing customers want and find out what they love with what we’ve got and what they’d like to see more of. That customer research piece is so important umm and also the need to create products and designs that we all absolutely love. If we don’t think it’s the absolute best, then it certainly doesn’t go out the door. We also show our customers (wholesale) where we are headed and get their feedback and make sure it’s what they want to see as well. We are fortunate to work with factories who are willing to give us shorter runs to start with and quick leave times so we are fortunate to be able to trial out products and see how they go and build from there. Fast fashion, sustainability. They keep popping up again and again. How does fast fashion and trend driven pieces affect both Lapoche and Kinnon? All of our pieces have a two year warranty and will often last a lot longer than that. So we design pieces that are designed to last and you’ll use for years to come and the leathers we use for Kinnon get better with age – the pieces you have will be used for a long time! I met someone the other day who was talking about his vintage Lapoche pieces and we haven’t been around for that long so – but he has been using them for ages and they’re still perfect so that’s really important to us that our product lasts. For Lapoche – it’s not too much of an issue for us, but we might introduce some trend pieces in terms of the colourings or whatever or even some smaller pieces for Kinnon, but generally with both brands you’ll hang on to them for a long time. In terms of the sustainability we are always looking for new avenues to improve on what we do there from the factories that we work with, the products that we’re using and we are looking for Lapoche using some recycled pieces to use at the moment so that’s something that we are always looking to what we can do. And for the life advice she’d give twenty-one-year-old Beth… I thought a bit about this one. You can’t do it all at once. Just do everything to the best of your ability that’s all you can do and that’s the main two things really just that you can only do your best so put less pressure on yourself. Lastly, Beth has been blessed by the travel gods and given us her top three packing tips! Over packers, beware. This is for you. Figure out how many days you’re going for and how many outfits you actually need Work out which pieces / what are your staple pieces that you can wear more than once and be multi-useful and purposeful Make sure you leave a lot of space for lots of shopping (obviously, the most important thing) Lastly, besides a beauty-full collaboration with Habbot and Beauty’s Got Soul, what else can we see from Hallow Brands in 2019? We’ve got so much – so much new product development coming, heaps from Kinnon and some really new beautiful bigger pieces in Italian leathers for our overnight bags. We've also got some more business totes and backpacks and we’ve got a whole lot of smaller pieces within the work and travel space. This is all hot off the press hahah so some jewellery cases, tie rollers, and some things like that. Some really small beautiful gifty pieces that fit within the Kinnon space. For Lapoche our tagline there is ‘pack smarter’ so traditionally Lapoche is pieces for inside your suitcase but we are taking it out of the suitcase for other pieces that help you pack smarter and carry. We’re also have a collaboration with a major Australian artist in the pipeline to do some prints of their pieces on our products. If you’re looking for some serious #travelgoals you can take a look at Lapoche here, throw Kinnon a follow here . Published on 05/05/2019 by Leonie Henzell CEO of beauty's got soul.
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