narrative

We always talk. Even when we don't speak. It's a funny thing.

Melanie Kay makes art. Not just any of course, but one made from a "moral narrative". She tells stories by stitching visuals on recycled beer cans. Why does she do this? "The desire for my work to be meaningful influences the things that interest and astound me which in turn influences the way in which I work."

The idea is that she makes her art, it will be visually interesting and then the story will start to be told as people will want to know what it is about. "Using beer cans as a surface for my work has meant that I have had to be innovative in the way in which I transfer imagery onto the cans. I begin my illustrations mostly in pencil and then use various textile techniques to transfer the imagery onto the cans including, printing, heat pressed textile vinyl, hand and machine embroidery." Yes her art works are very much "social objects" which I have written about before, based on artist Hugh MacLeod's lovely stories.

Photos: Melanie Kay

The process of making art is always interesting. At artschool emphasis is put on developing one's "theory" (this seems to be the same on different continents I have discovered). Reality teaches us that most artists simply discover techniques or how to make their art by simply "doing" (aka mucking around, twiddling or fidgeting) not by concocting a pretty laid out "how-to" before hand. How Melanie came up with her "beer can" story board, read more about that here.

That's the first start right there!

The second... transformation in progress...
and:

end result! Certainly not any beer can surface is it?. "You are not in Kansas anymore" as they say. Nope, Melanie Kay went off to many places, including Dublin. Well done!

And it turns out I have come a fellow animal nut. Marvellous! Blog post here.
I hope to see more news come out about Melanie's career which looks promising indeed.

spark of life

Today I faced the cloud of doom I call mediocrity yet again. Great relief to find I'm perfectly happy to make the stance not to fit in that "comfortable" bracket. I have my pride. Hurray! 

So is it worth hanging on to what we believe in? I think so. If we sell out, cop out, lose out, or 'smile out' then what the heck are we doing here anyways? I hadn't planned on becoming a planet drone with a Wallmart sticker across my face. In any case:always a good thing to figure out what we want to define us and if we don't get too excited about what we currently see: to devise an Evil Plan to remedy our situation! We have times when we get discouraged. We look at other people who just pop dazzling electricity like a regular bowel movement. But in all things amazing: we too can share something worthwhile by just finding our own voice. (Read here why we can and why it matters.)

As my friend Ivan Campuzano says: "Doubt is just a word that explains the desire not to participate in life". So: in short: we need to simply do what we need to and want to. This also means doing crazy stuff and stupid stuff which could be embarrassing stuff. It's all part of it. Ivan has written another beautiful post about "sharing your gifts". Read it here and decide to pursue at least 2 of his list today. Sign up for wild water rafting, singing lessons or finally go and knock on the neighbors' door to say hello.

Because changing our perspective and adding onto it with unhampered enthusiasm shapes the world. Literally. What excites you? And then: how can you help other people feel more awesome? Because making other people feel better about themselves always make you feel better too. (I see daily proof of this when tending my goat and cattle herd. Evidence stares you in the face below. I love it when I see them smile. They can you know.)

Yes my friends: we can do it! Hang on to that spark of life before thinking about retirement and settling for something. Today's the day.

socially yours

Cordially yours? Nah. Socially yours!


According to maestro Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook: it's not about being connected, but "what you are going to do once being connected" This means even MORE apps. Personally I think the market will increase to be flooded with apps that there will be a point where we will be "apped" out. This moment will come sooner rather then later. But that's a story for another day. For now we are all still playing.

Google+ has swept the geek world by storm. As Robert Scoble says: "How popular is Google+? Well, in less than a week I will have more followers here than I have on Facebook despite being on Facebook for more than three years."
Or: as another Google+ user tells it (Oliver Reichenstein): "User Interface Design standards have reached the level of graphic design, industry design and architecture, a level, where only user interface design professionals can discern outstanding work (Google+) from good work (Twitter) and average work (facebook)."


We are social animals. No matter how we live: exchange of thoughts and feelings is always going to be paramount. So what is going to be next? Does it matter? Well: does it matter to you?


And that is exactly it: instead of looking upon other people to provide answers as we generally tend to do: I think we will come to understand more and more that we are our own authority. As Hugh Macleod so aptly says:

I translate that to: you need to decide for yourself. At all times. CHOICE is what always matters. In everything.


You're never are going to have as much fun as the moment you know and decide that your life is. your. own. Whether you do something brilliant, stupid or whackadoodle: it's yours! How cool is that! So if you don't enjoy your life as much as you think you should: it's solely your responsibility to do something about it. Ha! Now you can't blame anyone for anything anymore. Liberating isn't it? 

Cartoons all by Gapingvoid.com

us and them

What makes competition what it is? Why does it matter? Some use competition to work harder, others to give up beforehand. There are grim faces, smirks and comments. Here are ways for you to consider something else: 


If you become so totally kick ass good at being the brand, and you know what it is that makes you and your product different, then competition is basically off the cards, because you have literally become a new breed in your own right, a special species. Unless you bang out washing machines that are the same as the ones from up the road, you've got options. 


As Seth Godin puts it: "You don't have to like competition in order to understand that it exists. Your fair share isn't going to be yours unless you give the public a reason to pick you." (the rest of his post here)


The competition mindset is one of fear. I am a huge believer that there are excellent ways of making distinctions in the big pool, or like Seth said: give people a reason to choose you. There is usually work for everyone, depending on how you look at it. Look further then door number 1. It's not about going along with playing the game, but to change the game or to play your own game. Either way, getting too hung up about the whole gig is bad for your health. The most successful people are telling the story right, know the benefits that they offer and have that magic "it" factor that people will remember. They have full confidence and belief in themselves and their product. It is magnetic.


Above can also apply to you as a person. I explained to my husband the other day that he should remember that he is valuable as a professional and a rare commodity on the market, so to speak (which he is). It's good to realize your own market value, don't sell yourself short, and also, dare to ASK for what you want and know you can. Nicely. It is different approaching your target audience with confidence -knowing what you got- opposed to from a place of 'what if', desperation or neediness. Most people can smell your underlying thought pattern by reading your behavior in a flash. Examine your attitudes.


Another reason to look at - and work with competition differently is that I have found it far more worthwhile to work with them. It's not a matter of "keeping your friends close but keep your enemies closer"; but to see the competition not as an opponent at all, rather someone to work with to create mutual benefit. This makes sense, and it's a lot more positive and fun then the other way round. Why repel or ignore them? Have a chat and see how you can help one another. Some may be very suspicious, others wary, or even very surprised. It doesn't hurt to try. Consider it.


Competition definitely has it's place and function: it does work as the benchmark of any given topic, because of the competition's existence you can re-evaluate where you stand yourself and how you think and feel about the process. You should almost be thankful that they are obliging to just exist in this fashion so you can learn from them.


And finally: how about the discussions that you have to be where the action is (so others are not going to out-do you)? Naturally if you are a retailer or a local dairy this makes sense. But what if you can take that retailing online? What I find so captivating is that more and more entrepreneurs seems to be able to work from anywhere and be creative and resourceful in how they earn a living. Products can be send from many locations. The key is being flexible and adapting to your market. (Check out how Ponoko does things here. I use them for my jewelery and they are a very clever bunch. Also ice cream manufacturer Giapo in Auckland, New Zealand has absolutely aced at marketing their product, using social media -very impressive- they have a compelling organic story to boot.)


"the Global Micro brand is sustainable. With it you are not beholden to one boss, one company, one customer, one local economy or even one industry. Your brand develops relationships in enough different places to where your permanent address becomes almost irrelevant".
Hugh Macleod
(the rest of his post here)


Now I have to say: I like that idea very much indeed. 

re invention

Do we continue to re-invent the same wheel? Yes and no.
Yes we do go in circles and no, we discover a new way by spiraling out of the box we were in.

The good news is that there are always ways around something or to just take a left and get off that busy highway of 'destined life'. We can choose not to churn out another 2 years at the same job or to finally decide to take fate in our own hands and design our website ourselves, learning WordPress and figuring out how to earn a revenue online. It just takes a bit of time to get our head around learning something new. The decision to change, is made more quickly.

I've decided to turn a leaf in my book. Not because I don't like the book, but because I think it's time to redevelop my abilities. Adding on to my experience seems to be a more interesting pursuit opposed to accepting the status quo and putting myself in parking mode. By more then one person it was suggested to stay with a certain action plan just because it would be easier. This I do not understand because of the reason stated above. I wouldn't learn anything new. To me, no progress equals no life.

I keep having very interesting conversations online and offline. They give me ideas; I find information which takes me further. You see, there are always going to be people who do what they do better then you. That, however, is not the point. If you have the predicament like me, to find yourself unable to cram yourself in a box so others can understand and label you, then it's time to assess the box and see whether it's necessary to establish any parameters for such a box. Do we want the box? Is the box useful? Do we really need one?

The problem with being an outsidethebox-er, is that it will also be more challenging to identify the 'target' audience, and therefore it will be harder to market to them. A consistent story gives a clear image and result. People are getting smarter though. They may find what they are looking for, but in this day and age the trend develops of your interests finding you. As a consumer, we need a more proactive approach to regulating what we let into our lives unless we are happy to let a stampede of media in.

The more complex the technicalities of our modern world get, the more interesting the conversation becomes, and the easier it is to connect. The contradiction is that there is so much on the market, yet it also becomes easier to pinpoint who shares your interests. The downside is that it's challenging to disconnect yourself from it.

As Chris, a commenter on Gapingvoid's blog said: "For me, the BlackBerry has become much more of an intru­sion than a pro­duc­ti­vity tool. I know plenty of peo­ple swear by their BB’s and ipho­nes. If that’s what they need to get their job/life mana­ged, so be it. I still have my Mac Book, etc, but I need SOME space/time when I am not wired in, and igno­ring the BB when it chirps and buz­zes isn’t wor­king. Plus, about $75/month savings!"

Hugh Macleod is a great example of a Creative who is knotting out his Niche. He is a business card cartoonist, a CEO of a South African winery, he's written a book on (social media) marketing and has -very successfully- build a Tribe of followers: the Crazy Deranged Fools. What he has nailed is combining his talents and uniting his activities under one banner. Basically he is now selling Stormhoek's wine in Texas through promotion (conversation) which shows his famous cartoons on the bottles and through both his website as well as his promotional work he sells Art prints of the cartoons, and selling his book on Marketing. I find this fascinating, as he successfully blends all his talents, which is not an easy thing to do.

These Renaissance people are on the rise: they blend their multiple talents into one brand. And the interesting thing is that the brand is personified: it's about the story, the unique product and the person behind the work. We will see more and more of this Niche type brand building then ever before. I'm also trying to knot out how to fit my interests and abilities in a format that makes sense to others, and how to present that.

And I know this: Business has become personal. Is there any other way?