I enjoy keeping an eye on who the fashion bloggers in Canada are, and one question that comes up from time to time is whether there are any menswear focused blogs in Canada. I always recommend Thom Wong’s site The Sunday Best – based out of Vancouver. Thom’s site celebrates his taste in all things, but especially clothing and music. He occasionally illustrates little story blog posts, something very rare and charming.  He also produces podcasts from time to time and kindly gave me a few tips when I started my own podcast adventures. I asked Thom a few questions about niche blogging and the connection between music and style.

When I think of great fashion blogs in Canada that focus on menswear, I think of you… and then my mind goes blank. Are there any other members of your niche I should be aware of?

That’s very flattering, but I’d hardly call my blog great if only for the simple reason that I don’t put nearly enough time into it. (Wendy Brandes has a great article on this at IFB). I don’t link to any men’s style blogs written by Canadians, but that hardly means great ones aren’t out there. I just don’t tend to read style blogs.

I just Googled “men’s style blog Canada” and the first hit is my friends at Style Salvage out of England. So maybe part of the problem is Google.

Here’s one I found at random: Blame it on Vancouver

Do you agree that there is a lack of great men’s fashion blogs out there, or is supply more or less equal to demand?

I’ve thought about this more than I should, and my feeling is supply actually exceeds demand – in the sense that any at all might be too much. Men just don’t discuss fashion the same way as women do. By that I don’t mean they simply talk about it less, although they do, but more that they talk about it differently. For example, I read Street Etiquette regularly now, but I can’t imagine reading another men’s style blog dedicated to the writer(s)’ style. Almost no one is writing about men’s style from a critical or theoretical standpoint, but I don’t get any sense that there’s a demand for that. I’d read that site.

You are also an avid follower of music – do you think your taste in clothing complements or contrasts with your taste in music?

There was an article in Radar Magazine about “twee-mo” and I was horrified to find how much I fit into it. Wes Anderson movies. Earl Grey tea. McSweeney’s. But the kicker was the styling of the two models – Moscots and bowties and fitted blazers. Basically they pwn’d me, and I had no response.

I also read somewhere that Vampire Weekend had ruined the way rock stars dress. First of all, VW are not “rock stars.” Pete Doherty, god bless him, is a rock star. Not in the sense of his popularity, but in the sense that he seems hell bent on personal destruction.

All this to say – yes, my taste in music is probably discernible from my style.

Are there any music artists in particular whose sartorial savvy is equal to their ability to rock?

Janelle Monae. Full-stop. I am completely obsessed with her. Ok, and David Byrne.

Can you describe a favourite fashion experience you’ve had?

Every time I go into Blackbird in Seattle. It’s just a nice place to hang out.

When fashion blogging was young, I started to keep an eye on the other Canadian fashion bloggers out there, and I found that Kimberley Jev in Calgary was doing the same thing. Her site, Calgary Fashion, is a lively, city-specific fashion blog which Kim successfully turned into a full-time gig. I first met her when she came to Toronto to cover fashion week here a few seasons ago, and this summer she showed up in Toronto again and decided to stay. We’re lucky to have her! She’s a bright, passionate  blogger with an entrepreneurial streak, and she knows how to have fun, so naturally we’ve hit it off. I asked her a few questions about her fashion blogging experiences and what Hogtown should know about fashion in Cowtown.

You’re the founder of Calgary Fashion, which is really the premier, go-to site for fashion news in that city. Can you describe a bit about the genesis of the site? Why you think it is so remarkably successful in a very narrow niche?

In my first year of Journalism school, we had to pick beats to keep track of and report on. I chose the fashion beat. A challenge at first, I was very adamant there was more to the fashion scene in Calgary than the little tid bits on malls and salons, so with my camera in hand I set out in search of designers and fashion shows in the city. September 2007 was when the blog was created and the Downtown Association of Calgary held a fashion week, there was very little reporting on the event as you would find in other cities online, this sort of sparked everything. My interest in photography was blossoming and there was an obvious lack of fashion reporting through the web with reports on shows, so I made it my business to be everywhere fashion was in Calgary, this is how it all began.

The site is successful because there really isn’t anything like it in Calgary. The aim with the site is to inspire and mainly promote. It’s online to show there are people just as enthusiastic about fashion as any New Yorker or Londoner would be. It’s online for the kid living in the suburbs just dreaming of fashion school and not knowing where to turn, it’s showing that it’s okay to come from Calgary and love fashion, it really is okay!

Calgary Fashion works because every thing that happens with the website is local, the photographers are local, the writers are local, the designers are local, 90% of it is local coverage and reporting. It’s showing Calgary that fashion really can exist anywhere, you don’t have to be based in Paris to experience it. This is why I think it works, there are several people making a difference and it’s specific to Calgary even when we are at shows in other cities, we’re bringing it to Calgary for Calgary.

Lets talk a little bit about blog burnout. How do you deal?

Blogging when it’s a full time gig gets pretty serious, somedays I don’t even want to look at Calgary Fashion…but that is impossible.

My days are made up of phone calls from the early morning to the evening, meeting with various members of the fashion industry, publicists, promoters, consulting, answering e-mails, keeping up to speed of fashion locally and internationally, editing and making sure content is up to par as well as making sure i’m on top of things for weekly meetings with the editorial team…week after week, it really does take a toll. I usually just leave things for a bit, this is the really wonderful thing about niche blogging as well as saying what goes and what doesn’t, we don’t really have a set schedule for blogging. We go with the flow. So when I feel a burnout coming, we slow down on posting, we slow down on trying to be everywhere all the time, this usually coincides with down times in fashion events in the city as well.

To get away from things, I drive, far away and when I can’t drive I fly. I’m a hula hooper and a big music fan so I hoop, catch shows and generally try to see as much as possible outside fashion.

If you can’t drive or fly or don’t like dancing or hooping, it also helps to offer your services to something of a total different category from fashion or blogging even, doing work for something else really helps you take your mind off things and teaches you about how to do other things as well. Basically intern or volunteer your time to something else. You’ll be surprised to see how the things you learn come back to you and your blog.

You’ve recently moved from Calgary to Toronto. Will you continue to oversee Calgary Fashion? Would you consider starting another city-specific fashion blog or are you after something completely different?

Ha! No way! A lot of work has gone into Calgary Fashion, creating another city specific blog would be way too much work to be honest. I’m really happy with the site, Calgary Fashion is my baby and as mother of the blog I can’t really throw that responsibility of nurturing it out the window. It has so much growing to do, it hasn’t even scratched the surface of it’s full potential, i’m quite positive on that.

There are already so many other blogs that do the job just fine for other cities especially Toronto. There is no lack of fashion news in this city. I’m not here to step on any ones toes or to claim we know more about it than what the bloggers and fashion journalists here already know.

The aim with the move is to be able to bring fashion event coverage from other fashion weeks really, this has been the goal from the very beginning. I want to see more coverage on Toronto Fashion Week and Montreal Fashion Week and then who knows other weeks from different parts of the world all on the Calgary Fashion site.

To me, this is the next fun and logical step. However, you just never know really, tomorrow I could shut everything down and become a full time hula hooper, watch the space I guess, see what happens!

Do you have any advice for all the city-specific fashion bloggers out there?

Really pay attention to the flow of fashion in your city, if it’s not happening, it’s not happening, don’t beat yourself up about it. There is a time for everything. Embrace the slow times, use it to go over your content, edit, edit, edit, it’s never enough, especially on a blog or if you are publishing through the blog format. Refine, look over it, throw out what didn’t work, embrace what did work and keep it moving.

It’s also okay to just stop and not worry about things. You will come across some really bizarre demands from people in your city and the industry,stay strong, you won’t be able to please everyone. Do your best for yourself as well as your team, that is if you have a team. Remember the blog itself is a separate entity from who you are, unless your blog is centered around you as a personality but for those that aren’t, you are not your blog, so live a little.

Stay focused on your blog mission. Never forget a blog gives you the freedom to do and post whatever you want, so don’t worry too much about what other blogs are doing, do what feels right for you and your blog and your readership as well, most important.

What fashion designers from Calgary should the rest of the country and the world know about?

Haithem Elkadiki is an established Calgary designer whom I think more people need to know about, he is a very talented menswear designer with clients all over the world. Two up and coming designers I am also a fan of are Caitlin Power and Nonie Rahal of House Of Nonie whom I believe constantly exceed expectations and although very young on the scene compared to other established designers in Calgary, possess a much necessary understanding of what it means to be a fashion designer, paying attention not only to the quality and craftsmanship of their designs but also to the tenets of the business of fashion.

Eastern Phoebe by clucxkow on Flickr

How about a little interlude of gratitude… I had the most amazing May Two Four weekend and it inspired me to compile a new list of lovely things I love (a la Gala).

• Wearing summer dresses and sandals, every day.
• Birds! Phoebes (like the one above), robins, wild turkeys, bluebirds, all of them.
• Flowers! Especially sweet smelling apple blossoms and lilac trees on old farmsteads, and little strawberry blossoms in the sand.
• My mom and dad, who make being easygoing seem so effortless.
• Puns! I saw SATC2 last night and laughed out loud – see writer/director Michael Patrick King on The Daily Show to see why.
• Amazing, supportive, encouraging clients who keep me in business and give me challenges that make me grow. Words cannot express my gratitude.
• My long-suffering, tiny, ancient window AC unit, for making working in my studio tolerable.
• Ray, who shows me how to be on my own trip.
• Hot Tim Hortons coffee in the morning and cold beer in the afternoon.
• Doonesbury cartoons by Garry Trudeau, who taught me everything I know about modern American politics.
• The “At Issue” panel on CBC TV’s The National – best 10 minute brief on Canadian politics every week, from a panel of intelligent pundits that actually respect and enjoy each other.
• Rage Against the Machine, and Leonard Cohen as sung by Jennifer Warne, contrasting on the top of my iTunes.
• Saving money and dreaming up the most meaningful ways I can use it.
• Playing like children with dear childhood friends, just frolicking in the sun for the fun of it.

What are you loving lately?

While attending the Spring 2010 shows at LG Fashion Week in Toronto last fall, I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of a fellow fifth-row denizen, Kimberly Lyn.  She has a fresh shoe and shopping blog called The Souls of My Shoes.  I love meeting new bloggers and it is always so nice to see a friendly face when you take your seat at a fashion show.  Since then I’ve had the great luck to hang out with Kimberly at many fashion events. She’s generous and beautiful and even commissioned me to do a figure illustration of her.  I asked her a few questions about shoes and the fashion blogging scene.

When did you discover you were into shoes? What is it about a pair of shoes that captivates you?

There’s no specific moment when I discovered my love for shoes, it has always been an item I naturally gravitated towards. When I go into a store I make a beeline to the shoe department – it helps when I’m out shopping with friends because they know exactly where to find me if we’re separated.

Since starting my blog I’ve taken a more invested and keen interest into shoes. My taste in footwear varies from the simple to the extravagant, from flats to high heels. I’m captivated by interesting shoe designs, such as those which have sculptural elements, use interesting colour combinations and materials, and footwear made of good quality.

I’m not a shoe person, so I’ve always wanted to know – why do so many ladies put up with the pain – financial and foot wise – to wear “killer” shoes?

I think it’s purely for aesthetic reasons. Historically, shoes/heels marked things such as a person’s social status or served as a sign of fertility and over time this concept has transformed into people’s obsessions with footwear today. High heels are equated with enhancing a woman’s sex appeal and can instill increased confidence, and owning a pair of Louboutin or Manolo Blahnik shoes is associated with affluence. The same also applies to men but less of a spectacle is made of their footwear.

When it comes to the pain financially or foot wise, to wear “killer” shoes, sometimes I (and I’m sure other people) just grin and bear it for aesthetics. There are times when I’ve exceeded my shoe budget and there are times when you have to say “No” to purchasing more footwear. I love shoes but have to be realistic and responsible – I sound like my mother. However, don’t be surprised if you see me quietly slip off my shoes when sitting down. Like everyone else I too feel the pain shoes can bring and have the track record of blistered heels to prove it.

You’re a relatively new fashion blogger. What were your intentions and ambitions when you started your fashion blog?

I started The Souls of My Shoes after being was laid off from my full-time job last year. Going through an array of emotions I needed to keep busy, channel myself intellectually and creatively, and found comfort through blogging. Like my interest in shoes, fashion has always been something I’ve gravitated towards and it wasn’t until I lost my job that I rediscovered my love for it. In addition, I’ve always wanted to blog but didn’t know what to write about and one day it just dawned on me to focus my thoughts and energy on fashion.

I didn’t have high expectations when I started my blog but knew I wanted to provide content that was interesting, thoughtful and engaging straddling the commercial and editorial spheres. I followed a lot of fashion blogs such as yours (Final Fashion) and I Want – I Got, and read a lot of fashion news media which provided me with a template of the content, style and voice I wanted to portray online – something that is personal, honest, fair and professional.

Now that you have been blogging for a while, how does it compare to your expectations?

Fashion blogging has greatly exceeded my expectations; I went into it with none but have gained so much knowledge and insights as a result. First, it has helped to improve my writing skills which I think is key to good blogging. Secondly, I’ve learned so much more about fashion when researching content for entries, conducting interviews or when looking at clothing designs. Third, I’ve met so many amazing and talented people at various events around the city; other bloggers, designers and artists have all become part of my network both as friends and colleagues.

Can you tell me about a favourite fashion experience you’ve had?

My favourite fashion experience was attending the North American premiere of Valentino: The Last Emperor during the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). I recall saying to myself there are so many celebrities in town promoting their movies during TIFF, but I highly doubt Valentino would come to Toronto.

By the end of the movie, when the spotlight shone on Valentino Garavani (who attended the premiere) I was proven wrong. Everyone in attendance immediately took to their feet and gave him a standing ovation lasting for several minutes. My hands hurt from clapping and I was filled with emotion, because we were just taken on a cinematic journey through his life, the ups and downs, and now the fashion legend himself was standing before us proud and tanned as can be – it was a once in a life time opportunity to be near, let alone in the same building as Valentino.

It was internet serendipity – Joanna Goodman found Final Fashion, and invited me to come up to visit her gorgeous boutique and meet her.  We chatted for a bit and, quickly and intuitively, LIV by Au Lit became a sponsor on Final Fashion and we planned a festive social event to introduce Joanna to some of my favourite stylists, writers and bloggers.  It was a great success – everyone hit it off exactly as I expected, because Joanna is a fascinating woman with a beautiful shop full of lovely things.

Joanna generously gave me a copy of her novel that night – You Made Me Love You.  Once I picked it up I was drawn right into the story, set in a familiar city, and didn’t put it down, connecting to the vulnerability and honesty of the characters.

I am forever grateful that Final Fashion connects me to  entrepreneurial, creative people like Joanna – and I asked her a few questions about those qualities.

What is it about a particular designer or garment that makes you say “that’s so LIV!” – what is it that essential quality you look for when you are selecting merchandise for the store?

There are a few key qualities in a line that truly embody the LIV style. We are always striving in both home decor and fashion for products that manage to be both casual and sophisticated at the same time. We call it ‘livable luxury.’ Whether it’s the softest cotton loungewear from James Perse or American Vintage, or the gauzy, washed linen dresses in a palette of neutral colours from France’s La Fee Maraboutée, there is definitely a distinctly LIV style.

The neighborhood that LIV by Au Lit is in is a lovely one, its easy to get to from downtown and yet offers an utterly different feeling. For those who have never been, what makes Avenue and Eglinton a destination?

Avenue and Eglinton is primarily an amazing fashion destination. LIV is surrounded by TNT, Bella, Honey, Sense of Independence and numerous other incredible clothing boutiques. And when you’re done shopping, you can have a fresh-baked treat at Phipps Bakery.

The LIV blog is one of the liveliest shop blogs I’ve ever seen – you’ve recruited an established local outfit blogger, the lovely Marta from With Love… to model the wares at LIV, as well as contributing your own updates. What are your thoughts on the fashion blogging experience so far?

I am loving our blog…I love contributing to it with my random spiritual quotes or my weekly videos (on anything from pillows + duvets, to my favourite fashion trends of the season), but I also love following my other bloggers, Marta and Julie. They each bring their own personalities and interests to the LIV blog, and yet somehow, we all manage to maintain a cohesive LIV-esque tone.

You’re a novelist – and I’ve heard that retail is like theatre – do you agree with this? How is storytelling and shopkeeping alike – or not?

My experience in retail and writing are only alike in the sense that both allow me to be creative. My role at LIV (and Au Lit) is Creative Director, so I get to be involved in designing new collections, merchandising the stores, and buying…all creative endeavours, like writing fiction. I would say however that my experiences at the store definitely give me inspiration (read: great material) for my novels!

Your novel, You Made Me Love You is a truly candid, heartfelt story about family. How has your family influenced your life as an entrepreneur and a creative person?

My mother is the most creative person I know, and she is also a formidable entrepreneur. She started Au lit almost 30 years ago, when she was 39 years old, and has inspired me in my own career as both a writer and retailer. Her passion is being creative – in any forum. And that’s what she has passed on to me. I will never limit myself to just one or even two creative pursuits. The more the merrier I am.

As often happens in fashion blog land, some of my favourite bloggers discover me. When Gilda of Queen Gilda commented on my site and my drawings, I followed the link back and discovered an awesome fashion student blog, candid and enthusiastic, full of feeling and colour.  I even had the opportunity to meet her when I went to NYC and she gave me a short clandestine tour of Parsons, where she goes to school.  Gilda, like all fashion students, is super busy with her school work so her posts are infrequent – but when she does post, its well worth the wait – her posts are long and full of stories and pictures, honesty and humour.

I asked her about her projects, her school, and her favourite fashion inspirations.

You just finished an amazing project for LVMH, can you tell me a bit about the design and construction process of it?

this project was basically a collaboration with LVMH and parsons, called “the art of craftsmanship revisited: new york”. it was a group project where students of different disciplines within the new school university can take part in. the project is two-fold: we have to create a 5 minute mini-documentary based on the artisan we were assigned to, and we also had to draw inspiration from their craft to create an ensemble.

the artists we were assigned to were metal artists from a french company called les metalliers champenois. we went to visit their shoppe a few times and were so blown away. “amazing” really isn’t a way to put it. because we had to bear in mind that the garment had to reflect our artist, it was a lot more difficult than just sitting down and designing something as we were used to.

more than anything, what really inspired us when we were at LMC was their work ethics and the way they thought and went through their work process. we wanted to make sure we respected this and so we tried to put ourselves into their shoes and become fashion designers who could inject our own sense of aesthetic to the work, but also employ their thinking and mindset to the garments.

the resulting ensemble was a half-jacket, that represents strength and “protects” the most important thing to any artist – their arms and hands. in particular the “stronger” arm that they work with. under it was a very fitted dress with only 1 straight seam; the rest were all curved. it was a reflection of the movements the artists took as captured in our videos. we also included ideas that spoke about the amazing latticework that they do inside of statues and restoration work that they do.

lastly, on top of the dress is a delicate 3-tiered cowled piece which is made of 2 layers of light chiffon fused together. it is a direct homage to the amazing repousse work that LMC does.

construction was a huge craze. i did the patterns for the dress and the dart manipulations took me a day and a half of mathematical calculations to get right. i’m glad i took my time with it because there wasn’t any major fit issues. phew!! we draped the jacket and cowls together. cowls seem so easy but it also took us about 3 days to finally get the exact shape that all 3 of us were happy with!

What is the Parsons fashion design program like? The best part, the worst part? Would you recommend it?

i know i sound so biased about this topic. it’s hard to talk about it because i had attended another world-class fashion college before parsons, bunka fashion college in tokyo, so after coming here from there, i think i was very angry as i felt i was wasting my parents’ hard-earned money and giving myself a lot of unnecessary stress. the best part are the teachers. some of them, not all. i have been lucky to have been blessed with a handful of extremely talented and really nice teachers whom i have learned a lot from. the worst part is the school itself. i would rather pay my teachers $40,000 a year and just learn from their studios. in other words, even if i could come back to this school for free, i would not. i had to say i am biased also because i have already received my basic education in sewing and design before coming to parsons, so the comparison makes me sick to my bones and sometimes i feel like i haven’t learned anything new. in america though, it is supposed to be the best school available. perhaps it is? i really don’t know.

What inspired you to choose the life of a fashion designer? Is your experience so far anything like what you expected?

i’ve always loved fashion, although when i was probably 15 i thought i was really cool and stuff, but looking back at pictures i would love to slap myself. i’d always devoured magazines and went shopping all the time. by myself, especially. shopping alone is best for me. (ha!) when i was about 15 or 16 i started remaking a lot of my clothes; i had no idea how to use a sewing machine so everything was done by hand with a thread and needle. i tore up so many tshirts and sewed some together, made new shapes etc. i also made accessories. and i had so much fun. i never gave it much thought until i was about 17 when i had to think about what was going to happen to me after high school. that was when i set my hearts on doing something in fashion, and i never really looked back.

the experience has been amazing and fulfilling. it is a lot of work. a lot more work than 90% of the people think it is. sometimes i watch those reality shows of people who think they are “fashion designers” but really they are just rich b*tches with silver spoons in their mouths, who have no sense of personal style and think they are amazing. i could line them all up and shoot them, really. they give fashion a bad name. nothing is glamourous, everything is work, nonstop, all the time. being able to create something from 2D on paper and fabric, into something in 3D that is going to be worn by someone… the work in between takes a long time, and yet, the sense of fulfillment of seeing a finished garment is just something that cannot be explained. i imagined this is how it must feel to have a child when it finally pops out of the belly. heh.

to some people, fashion is nonsense. ridiculous. it is just clothes. and in many ways, that is true. it doesn’t matter what sort of collection a designer puts out there every season; in the end, it’s just clothes. when i tell people i am a fashion designer, sometimes i get scoffed at for having such a trivial occupation. so i tell them that fashion is part of their lives, everyone needs it even if they refuse to think so. they need to eat. sleep. be protected by the elements under a roof, and to do so they also need clothes. i’d like to see them run their lives while in the nude.

What fashion professionals do you admire? How have they influenced you?

my biggest influences are rei kawakubo, junya watanabe and tao from comme des garcons, as well as jun takahashi from undercover, takahiro miyashita from number (n)ine. i love japanese designers. they design in a very different way as compared to american or italian designers. i love the avant garde look, the undone, asymmetry look… basically i want to be adopted by them. please.

Can you describe your proudest fashion moment?

the biggest one so far would definitely have to be my recent participation in the LVMH x parsons event. the launch was during nyfw at milk studios. we were right there having a show after proenza schouler. i mean, to be still a student and to have this opportunity to show some of my work during an event like nyfw, that is not some chance that hops around at every corner of the street. meeting so many people from the industry and having people compliment us on our ensemble was just a feeling i hope i never forget. it really spurred me on to thinking more about business plans and how i can one day, on my own two feet, return to fashion week. new york? tokyo? somewhere, one day.

Tatiana Read is a curator of connections, social, ambitious and organized. In other words, she’s a total PR pro.  Words can’t describe how grateful I am to her for introducing me to so many new clients and working her network to make cool projects happen.  In 2009 she started her own firm, Knot PR. Tat has mad momentum and it seems like she gets busier all the time – so I really appreciate that she took a moment to answer my questions.

Can you describe a typical day as PR entrepreneur?

This is a great question and something that I’m sure aspiring PR practitioners are curious about. I’ve done my best to outline the daily happenings of yours truly.

7:30AM Check the blackberry for any must-respond-to emails – European inquiries/contacts are a few hours ahead.

8:00AM Starbucks. Americano w/ cream + yogurt parfait. To go.

8:15AM In-office: sending previous night’s drafted emails ‘first-thing.’ I receive/send up to 200 individual emails daily (I prefer sending emails in the morning when people are fresh vs. late at night or EOD (end of day).

Media monitoring: review google alerts in detail, read dailies (online and in print) and get scans / obtain copies. Review bit.ly links and google analytics for websites.

8:15-30AM Review meetings and day’s task list, confirm day’s appointments (I sometimes have up to four a day).

Log-in to HootSuite; check activity on twitter accounts, review twitter fashion lists for the day’s buzz, review general news/trending/favourite twitter people (some examples: @lisatant @OscarPRGirl @dkny @raymondgirard @mashable @scobleizer)

8:30-9:00AM Touch base with clients by phone if needed, follow-up with email and deliver action items as appropriate. Liaise with any vendors (e.g. for upcoming client event, designers, web guys, etc) on special client projects first-thing.

9:00-11:15AM If a Knot press release is going out we aim to have it out by 10:30 – at this point we’re uploading finalized documents, finalizing hi-res drops and flickr galleries, reviewing media lists. (By ‘we’ I mean me and my new coordinator, the amazing Ryan Cheung)

All same-day couriers must be filed by noon – so we’re usually putting a sample request or two together by this time.

Mail! Who doesn’t like receiving mail? Review new magazines, invitations, bills!

11:15-12:00PM Late-morning coffee with friend/industry colleague/media/fellow entrepreneur

Skype UK-based Knot Market Consultant Sarah Joynt

Call Knot advisory team member to discuss a percolating business idea / strategy (I regularly call up professionals from non-fashion or pr backgrounds to get their point of view and learn from their experiences, business practice)

12:00-12:30PM Lunch! I eat at my desk usually – I prefer booking meetings around lunch (but do enjoy a nice lunch meeting) as it makes you focus on task at hand vs. dining experience distractions.

Catch up on twitter chatter.

12:30-6:00PM Get lots of work done – copywriting, researching, knowledge management, brainstorming, media relations, strategic planning.

Also work on Knot admin/management tasks: pay bills, invoicing (freshbooks!), website (launching March 2010), communications industry trends/research

6:00PM Committee meetings – I am personally involved in a few extra-curriculars, including the upcoming Reel Artist Film Festival, The Canadian Art Foundation’s Young Patron Group (New Contemporaries), The Textile Museum’s Style Advisory Council, Hope House Fundraiser

OR

Attend event – launches, cultural / networking events – all opportunities to touch base with colleagues and make new friends.

7:30PM Occasionally I go back to work post-event or have a secondary event.

9:00PM Draft event follow-up emails to new contacts (always, always get their business cards!). Review night-time emails and draft important responses/follow-up for next morning. Remotely review/draft important files via Dropbox.

10:00PM Touch-base with friends over phone, read a book (currently reading Corked) watch mind-numbingly bad tv (rarely)

How did your life change when you went from being an employee at a PR firm to owner of your own business?

The joy of PR (to me) has always been rooted in helping businesses grow. I am a natural entrepreneur (a competitive middle child) and running my own business has better equipped me to understand the challenges and goals of my clients.

To answer your question: my life changed overnight. As an entrepreneur, every second of every day counts – there’s no end to what you can do for your business and nobody cares more about your business than you do. Whereas client targets are more tacit and quantifiable, my business goals are lofty and seem endless. I am used to working long hours (I have had up to 3 jobs at a time and remember a stretch of 8 months with but a single day off) but being a PR entrepreneur is a lifestyle choice, truly. I have always been attracted to knowledge management and the ‘bigger picture’ as it’s energizing, motivating and highly rewarding to see ideas come to life.

You were one of the first PR professionals in Toronto to make a real effort to reach out to fashion bloggers. How do you think fashion PR has to adapt to the growing influence of online voices?

I grew up amidst ‘online voices’ and I think my first experiences on the web (think: gopher and Eliza) resonate with what’s happening today (and make me apt to understand the ‘blogosphere’ and web 2.0). At 15, in 1996 and pre-Style.com, I had a website which I programmed myself (it’s still out there on Web Archive – I may admit to a Prada mention, shoes specifically). It was my first foray into an exotic and alluring community of talented early-adopters. In particular I remember Jeffrey Zeldman being an influence – he’s now spearheading designing with web standards (I think I even got him to critique my site! *Embarrassing* but part of the allure of the online community: access).

As soon as I got started in fashion PR I recognized that fashion bloggers were important voices (the notion that it’s a passing fad strikes me as misinformed). Now we have twitter (micro-blogging!) and facebook to contend with. What does this mean to PR practitioners and specifically, the fashion PR people? It means engaging these voices/platforms and starting your own conversations, being responsive and open to new technologies. It also means lots of learning.

What advice would you offer to those who have an ambition to start their own fashion PR firm?

I’m new at this but here are some highlights of what I’ve learned so far: you must want to work hard, keep learning everyday, be organized (personally and professionally), meet people and learn from them. It’s not for everyone.

Can you describe the proudest moment in your career so far?

Validation is important to me as I work in a service-based industry. I take pride in doing the job well; whether it’s running my business and getting an office within 6 months or having a client tell me “job well done.” Also seeing a good idea come to life is thrilling.

Photo Credit: Raymund Galsim

Tricia Campbell Hall is a stylist, I can’t remember when I met her because I often see her when I go out to events, and she’s always friendly and fun to talk to.  Later I became aware of her blog, and found out more about what she does, including this lovely reveal of the design and development of her wedding dress. Tricia loves to find unknown designers and support them in the early stages of their career.

Tricia is having a busy month – she’s jetting her way to fashion week in NYC in a few days to check out Rad Hourani‘s show among others… looking forward to reading what she posts about the trip.

In the meantime, she kindly answered a few of my questions about her career.

You’re a stylist who-blogs – why did you decide to start a blog, and how does the blog complement your career?

i decided to start a blog as a way to share with people the work that i do and it gives me the opportunity to share the behind the scenes process, pictures and stories of the end result.

blogging provides an additional platform to support canadian designers who i love wholeheartedly.

it also helps to put a personality to my name because i type like how i talk. i take my work very seriously but i don’t take myself too seriously and i think my writing style shows it. it allows me to give additional exposure to the designers, clients, photographers, models and hair/makeup artists that i get to work with because i provide credits from each shoot. posting in a manner that allows the reader to feel like they were present, be it for a shoot or even an event i attended, along with providing pictures i took myself or that the event photographer took makes my blog approachable and easier to read (at least i hope so).

You’ve applied your skills to many different types of styling – off-figure, photography, styling celebrity clients for shoots, and fashion shows. What type of styling is the most challenging? What type is your favourite?

the most challenging type of styling i think is off-figure, mainly because it’s the most misunderstood and underrated. those carefree and loosely stacked polos shots that you see in a j.crew catalogue actually took a lot of time to be pressed and steamed just right, folded a specific way, organized in a particular colour order and lit to perfection for that end result. each one of those shots can take a couple of hours to produce and not all clients are aware of the time it requires to achieve that look they request. an editorial fashion shoot for five looks (hair + makeup included) will easily go by much faster than a high end off-figure shoot for five product shots.

as much as i enjoy off-figure my favourite type of styling would have to be fashion, be it for a creative shoot that i do on my own time or for a magazine. i really love creating beautiful images with clothing and accessories, a great model, a great photographer and a great hair + makeup artist on board. i was very much a visual arts geek back in high school and i still love visual arts to this day. to me (fashion) styling is an art form.

Can you describe a typical day as a freelance stylist?

because it’s not a monday to friday 9-5 type of career your days can be really inconsistent and unpredictable. one day i’m chillin at home watching oprah and the next day i’m running around the city pulling clothing for a magazine shoot all because of a phone call from my agent.

there are different levels of crazy depending on the job. the more laid back sort of days (in regards to preparation) would be ones in a production studio for a commercial catalogue client-often times all styling materials are provided and you just have to show up, no full styling kit required (i’ll just roll with a downsized version). because it’s catalogue the product (clothing, shoes, accessories, etc) is provided for you and with it being in a production studio there’s usually a set time as to when your day is done.

the most crazy would be a call for a magazine shoot, some in as little as 2 days. you have to always make sure your contact list is up to date because at the 11th hour you have no time to waste. calling and emailing designers, showrooms and stores, making appointments to pick up the clothing and even have some itemscouriered to you because you don’t always have time to pick up the items yourself. though there is a specific call time for you to begin on the day of the shoot, it doesn’t end until you get all the desired shots and that can sometimes mean that your day can run late.

What fashion professionals do you admire, and how do they inspire you?

i really admire nicola formichetti‘s work, where he’s at in his career and what he’s accomplished. he’s fashion editor, creative director, contributing fashion editor, he styles ad campaigns, videos and celebrities; having all that on his plate and doing all jobs well reminds me that there’s nothing that can’t be done, that you don’t have to be one “type” of stylist only.

Can you describe the proudest moment in your career so far?

a satisfied client is something that i’m always proud of, but i will tell you about the happiest moment of my career: being hired as an in-house off-figure stylist back in july of 2004 after being let go from a sucky retail job at the end of 2003; that’s where my career as a stylist began.

The first time I saw Joelle Litt was when she was walking the runway, modeling for Ula Zukowska, with a swatch of black lace embellishing her gorgeous jaw.  Joelle is a stunning example of a human being, with long limbs and longer neck – but what makes her stand out as a model to me is a certain quality of awareness and maturity. She is a model that I have an ambition to draw, and if my dreams come true she will be posing in my studio very soon.

Besides being a model, Joelle is a writer – I used to be a regular reader of her old blog, Mad Glam (RIP), and now she writes for Women’s Post and is also building a portfolio as a stylist.  I asked her a few questions about having multiple careers in the fashion industry.

How has your modeling experience helped you as a fashion writer and stylist?

Being a model allowed me to become a part of the industry at a very young age. You get the opportunity to work with people in every single aspect of the fashion industry; working with designers, stylists, photographers, hair & make-up artists, show producers, and the list continues. A smart model will take from that experience and grow…and make contacts. As a fashion writer, I see things from a different perspective…and as a stylist…I have basically been assisting stylists for years (as a model) and was always learning tips and tricks. So there was no need for me to assist anyone when I woke up one day in October and thought, ‘I am going to be a stylist.”

You have visibly and vocally contributed your talents to the fashion community in Toronto. Why does local fashion matter to you?

Local fashion is important, not just in Toronto. Wherever I am I try to get involved in the local fashion scene. I like to be able to meet and talk to people face to face. If I have the opportunity to understand someone’s character on a personal level than I will take it, especially someone who’s work I adore. And the sense that there is a ‘community,’ is a great thing. The more that the fashion community of Toronto comes together in a combined effort, with all of its talents, the greater the fashion community of Toronto is.

Having been both a participant and an observer of the fashion scene in Toronto, what is your sense of how fashion in the city is evolving?

It’s evolving. The fashion scene is much more than just fashion week….but I need to talk about that for just a minute. When I first started doing fashion week in Toronto, back in the days of Matinee, my taxi driver would always ask, “What exactly is going on here?” And now, all I have to say is ‘to the tent!’ and they know exactly where to go…(most of the time).

The fashion scene in Toronto is much more accessible to the public. People know more and more about it, and people are in to it.

The industry is a little bit more accessible now too for people starting out…which is why alot more talent is developing, from what I can see.

What are your favourite blogs and fashion publications?

Should I lie or be honest? I don’t have any regulars that I follow…I pick up what catches my eye, and I am constantly looking for what is out there that I haven’t yet come across.

But I must say, Final Fashion just keeps getting better and better

What fashion professionals do you admire, and how have they inspired you?

I think I meet new people everyday that inspire me. This industry allows me to meet so many new people all the time – -and I love that.

But there are a few people that I have admired from the very beginning; like Pat McDonagh. I find her so inspiring because she has been a part of the industry for so long and shows no signs of stopping. She lives fashion. I hope that my career will be as long-lived. I can’t really see myself ever retiring a career as a writer.

I find the way fashion illustrator, Frederick Watson, sees the world to be so very inspiring. The world is so pretty through his eyes.

Photo credit: Richard Dubois

I became aware of Ryan Taylor through the magic of Twitter – besides being an incredibly active philanthropist and organizer of successful fundraisers such as HoHoTo, he is an entrepreneur who is transforming a storefront in Toronto’s Cabbagetown neighborhood.  His company, the Fair Trade Jewellery Company, is dedicated to creating customized jewellery using materials that are sourced fairly. Ryan is an enthusiastic and passionate individual who is keen on sharing ideas, space, and galvanizing the community around him.  You can learn more in this video. I asked him some questions about his vision for a jewellery company with a difference.

You use a CNC machine and software to design and prototype your customized jewellery. How does your equipment affect the way you design?

I have two answers .

1. For our collections and my personal design process it doesn’t affect me at all. Computers and rapid prototyping are no different than a hammer, torch, or file, each a tool in my bench.

What it does do is affect the way clients engage the design process. Traditionally water colours are/were used to illustrate a concept, then wax models produced by hand. People still employ this process today, the challenge is who pays for this time? Visually translating from paper to physical model is difficult for some people which means the process is often repeated (at a considerable cost) until the client is happy. For our clients we don’t charge for the custom work because these tools help me reduce both time and labour. The entire process can be completed during a single consultation, or over a few emails. The wax model is an exact replica of the photo realistic renderings which significantly reduces any confusion, and even if there is a change remaking it isn’t a problem.

It’s worth noting that there are a lot of faux-cad suites on counters in Jewellery stores, these are generally fool proof stock computer models sales people are trained on to give the illusion of ‘custom design’ and improve margins. Others may offer CAD but it’s simply a process of emailing a doodle to China, which can become expensive if multiple changes are needed. True custom (CAD/CAM) allows for infinite design possibilities and the ability to add special details like a finger print, illustrations or complex architectural detail – the options are endless. It’s my job to guide people through this exiting process, and resolve any technical restrictions.

Despite using a machine for much of the modelling process, jewellery is still finished by hand. Here the new world tools meets the old, it’s one of the reasons I love what I do.

2. A common goal amongst designers who use CAD/CAM

This would depend entirely on the mandate of the company or the project. The ‘holy grail’ for most designers, in any field, is to really create something so perfect a human hand couldn’t reproduce it. But the most common goals would be: improving production capabilities, and cost.

Building the point of difference of your business on the notion of a higher standard of ethics is certainly admirable. Is building a truly “fair” for-profit business achievable or just aspirational?

Totally achievable. Because we’re already doing it. The biggest risk we face isn’t consumer demand, or the supply chain but the Jewellery industry itself. Getting up the nose, and facing off with the PR agencyies of multinational corporations is not a matter of if but when. The industry itself needs new thought leaders, they (will) see us as a threat to the status quo. What they should understand is; we don’t want to take the establishment down we want to reform it, preserve it, save it from itself, and by doing so also change the communities and regions affected by it.

Have you ever encountered a moral grey area where two ethical priorities (say, labour versus environment) compete? What would you do in such a situation?

Not yet. If I can’t deliver I’m honest with the client. This type of conversation often happens around coloured stones because there isn’t a body that independently certifies the supply chain(s). And there may never be, but clients are always receptive to education about the product, and bit of transparency.

Another question clients ask that I’ve always been reluctant to accept is the idea of ‘recycled metal’. How this idea could be marketed without question really illustrates how desperate the industry is to preserve their commodity model and how lazy the green movement has become. Jewellers, Goldsmiths, Manufacturers have been recycling fine metal for centuries, there isn’t a landfill for old jewellery. Branding it and selling back to consumers as some sort of ‘green strategy’ is quite brilliant in some ways. When I began searching for ‘recycled’ options I called one refinery because they advertised ‘eco metal’: I asked “Are you 3rd party certified”, answer: “Yes”, “Great who certifies you?”, reply “We do”. This interaction sums up the current industry pretty well, another case of foxes guarding the hen house.

That’s not to say a solution didn’t exist, we found one. To fulfill requests for Platinum (currently limited supply from our partners in Colombia) and Palladium (not available) we found found a parter who is certified by: SCS http://www.scscertified.com/ this allows us to offer a post consumer 3rd party verified product with a minimum of 88% (18% post-consumer 70% pre-consumer) recycled content without any moral dilemma.

You’ve alluded to a change of direction for FTJCo in 2010. How has your vision for the business changed since you began?

The vision remains the same. We’ve responded to feedback already by getting sample product in showcases, scaling our production ability, improving availability, and did a bit of a flip-flop on how we offer custom. These are all boring operational refinements though.

My greatest disappointment was not being able to offer the 10-15% of retail as an investment back into the communities of the Choco. I believe this to be temporary set back, as we generate more business and refine our financial model I hope 2010 is the year we achieve this goal.

What have you learned from the process of “soft-launching” a business?

1. People entering a “jewellery store” are always on the defensive. And understandably so. I despise going into Jewellery stores.
2. No one knows what an atelier is.
3. Education not sales.
4. Honestly above profits.
5. Admit you were wrong.
6. At whatever the cost “Make it Right”
7. Love your community(s)

What designers and entrepreneurs do you admire, and how do they inspire you?

For a designer I only have one answer. Goldschmiedemeister Karl Vigelius. My mentor and friend. His work is elegant, technically brilliant, and he has shared the world with me. 50+ years experience, formally trained in Germany – he is a rare find. We spend every Tuesday together it is the highlight of every week.

Entrepreneur. Steve Jobs. I can identify with him on so many levels, I even haz a Woz :)