I forgot to post this. What am I like? A big thanks to Johnny (http://yavraamides.wordpress.com/) for doing such an amazing job with this in such little time. It makes me smile and chuckle every time. It’s wonderful.
On the 6th of March, the MACE kids took to the streets, to sell sell sell some products to the fine townspeople of Kingston. Yes, we had our second trade fair. Now, compared to the first one we held in the business school, this was by far a bigger success for Helping Hands. I think that because we weren’t confined by the foyer of a University building, and we were in the centre of town, we could interact with more people and it was a better setting for us to more easily find our target market. The constant flow of the foot traffic and general hustle and bustle of Kingston meant that we were able to make some physical sales! At our first trade fair attempt, we didn’t make any sales because we were still making the finishing touches on our products, but we have a lovely selection of prototypes and our stand looked pretty rad, if I do say so myself.
We set up our stand in the town centre, along with all the other businesses. It was a pretty blustery day, so there was a lot of chasing bits of paper and posters down the street, but we managed to rein in the chaos and keep things under control. We had a little speaker that we hooked up to my phone and I played lots and lots and lots of reggae, which resulted in me dancing about for hours. I can’t not move to reggae. I had to keep swaying and just generally floating about, but I got down to business as well.
I was really impressed with all the stands and how much time and effort everyone had put into the design and layout of them. We brought the free sweets back, we had champagne truffles this time! They seem a lot fancier than they actually were, but they were super tasty and I found it to be a real struggle not the eat them all. We also had the ladder set up again, but we made some slight changes to improve the overall aesthetic appeal as you can see in the photos.
Johnny stood a few feet away from the stand, on the pavement and demonstrated the product to passersby and approached people that way, literally showing them directly, what the product does and allowing them to try it for themselves. After all, the proof is in the pudding. I also think that my dancing reeled in the customers. We all had our elevator pitch down to a tee, so we were able to inform people on what our product is, why it’s not just useful, but unique , and who we are very clearly and concisely. I felt it was an overall success and we made a vast improvement from the first trade fair. Helping Hands has truly evolved and we feel like a little business now, more than ever… and it’s pretty awesome.
A couple of weeks ago I was in a class for a module I am taking called Re-imagining Leadership. It’s one of my favourite classes because it’s just hours of class discussion and creative exercises involving group collaboration, about leadership and I reckon I quite like to participate…I reckon I have quite a lot to say about everything. It definitely gets “the creative juices flowing”, as the saying goes. Dr Miguel Imas is one of my lecturers and he is a pretty cool dude. He introduced the class to this incredible story about two Dutch artists, who took to one of Rio’s most notorious favelas (or shantytown) and began painting parts of it. This was the final outcome:
What this project did was, in my opinion, changed the way we look at and define leadership. Their website’s ‘About’ section says this:
Haas&Hahn
“The Favela Painting project started in 2005 when dutch artists Haas&Hahn (Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn) had the idea of creating public artworks in favelas in Rio de Janeiro. Not just to beautify, but also to create a dialogue with their surroundings. After several successful projects, the image of a square painted in a design of radiating colors yielded worldwide fame and transformed Rio into ‘one of the world’s 10 most colorful places’, according to CNN. Haas&Hahn were invited to show their work at the New York based gallery Storefront for Art & Architecture, followed by an invitation from the Philadelphia Mural Arts program to paint several complete blocks in a dilapidated area in North Philly. The artists get invited worldwide to teach, to speak about their work, consult cities on community art projects and look at possible locations for future projects. They have recently restored their first painting in Rio and are currently planning a grand return to paint an entire favela. Over the years the Favela Painting Project has grown into a professional organization, based in the Netherlands. It’s focus is: mobilizing people to transform their own communities into social art works of monumental size, to beautify and inspire, combat prejudice and attract positive attention, while offering opportunity and economic stimulus.”
This project has definitely enlightened me. These two men had an idea and they turned it into a huge campaign that has redefined how people look at favelas, and poorer areas and turned them into a work of art, full of life, energy and colour. This project has received such wide speculation, that they have gone on to do similar projects. They have shown the world that it’s possible to make a change and do it in a creative way. What they have managed to do is truly unique and involved the community, bringing them closer together through working together. I think this is a wonderful example of what re-imagining leadership is. It is now a dream of mine to be able to go and see the painted favela in Rio.
If this has sparked any interest whatsoever, and I like to think it has, then you should watch this short (almost 40 minutes long) documentary Hub Footwear created called, ‘Challenging the obvious episode one: A day in the life of Haas & Hahn’.
Here is the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce5FMuH02LE
What is leadership?
It’s something we are all capable of showing.
On the 5th of this month, the grand final of the Bright Ideas competition was held at the Kingston Hill Business school. As part of the WestFocus group, it had quite the mixture of students, from undergrad to postgrad, from a variety of universities in the country.
The first part of the event consisted of a ‘pitching’ workshop with the vibrant Dwain Reed who’s twitter bio says, “Self proclaimed Twitter Celeb for Business & Enterprise. I help start up businesses grow. Run two businesses.” He set the ball rolling with energy and spirit. To get us all talking and to ensure not a moment of silence was had, he had us form two lines, so that we were each stood opposite someone… a stranger! Crazy stuff. Then, he asked a question that went something like, “If you could have any superpower, what would you choose and why?” We discussed this with the person opposite for a minute and then the lines would move and we would be faced with a new partner and a new question. It was quite a neat way of eradicating any potential for awkward silences. We expressed our thoughts on the weird and wonderful subject matter provided by Dwain and the ice was broken. Nice… Yeah, I threw in a dad joke, I did. Dwain later had us work on our pitching skills for our businesses and business concepts. At the very beginning of my MACE experience, in the induction, Eewei Chen took us through the art of pitching, if you will. He properly introduced me to the elevator pitch.
The structure should go a little something like this….
Fill in the blanks with what your product is and…BOOM, you’re on the right track to cohesive, structured and short pitch.
I will give an example of it all filled in using Helping Hands as the product, so it makes a bit more sense:
For people struggling with the weight of carrying shopping bags who need relief and comfort for their journey. Helping Hands is a compact, stylish grip that evenly distributes the weight of bags, protecting hands from strain caused by handles, unlike our competitors plastic and unstylish designs. The product is ergonomically designed to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand and forearm. It’s unique as it is handmade from mahogany, meaning no two are quite alike.
The key is to try and sell who you are, what your product is and does, why it’s unique and better than the competition, in no more than about a minute. I actually really enjoyed this task because 1) The Helping Hands team (Work in Progress is our company name by the way… I realise I should have mentioned that waaaay back, but you know, oh well, this is a blog and here I am…making up for my mistakes. Forgive me?) already came up with our elevator pitch, many moons ago. 2) We then refined it when applying to the Bright Ideas competition… aaaand 3) I did Journalism as part of my undergrad, so trying to sell a story in no more than 25 words, is something I can do, making selling a product in under a minute, also something I can do! Once the pitches were somewhat ready to be presented, the masses began mingling once again and pitching to one another. The point was to receive feedback and constructive criticism from (and for) your peers. Nothing like a bit of networking… I personally prefer when there is wine involved, but the free highland spring was DELIGHTFUL.
At 1700 hours (5pm for those who don’t do 24 hour clocks… shame on you though), the competition began and it had a glorious array of speakers, previous winners and special guests. It was all quite exciting waiting for this year’s winners to be announced. Sadly, we did not win the competition, but, you know, we’re all winners and all that stuff that people say to you when you don’t win something. I jest, the competition was pretty fierce and all of the winners were more than deserving. Some of the ideas blew my mind a bit! However, what made it such an event, or highlight for me was hearing Shed Simove speak about entrepreneurship in relation to his career and his success. He was wearing this suave silk-looking black suit, that I’m pretty sure I heard him say was made in China or Dubai… or possibly both, the latter being quite likely. He looked like a white (and quirkier) Kat Williams
With less pimp swag and a strong hint of 007, just maybe swap the hi-tech gadgets for something more whimsical… and you get SHED!:
I knew before he began speaking that I was down to listen to anything he had to say. His journey to success is definitely a story worth hearing and his ideas are genius. After working for Hawkin’s Bazaar for over a year, I was familiar with (and very fond of) many of his novelty toys and gifts.
Here are some of his products:
They are all available on his website: http://shedsimove.com/
I think what struck me as most interesting and poignant, what made me really think of him as a genius though, was when he explained a creative way for finding ideas or inspiration. He takes an encyclopaedia and the yellow pages and opens them both on random pages, looks at whatever his finger lands on and then he tries to combine them to create something fresh and innovative. Obviously this won’t always work, but it’s an exciting way to try and create or invent something. Using this technique, Shed came up with this:
As soon as he explained this, I immediately thought, “HANNAH! Why haven’t you tried something like this?!” and that’s when I realised that Shed is a genius, because he thinks of and creates his products in fun and simple ways, but the point is that he is daring enough to do it in the first place. He is very inspirational and very real, in the sense that he has had massive success, but he talks to an audience as one of them, not as a speaker or a guest. He knows how to make you laugh, think and believe in yourself, instilling this motivational spirit in you.
I actually got a chance to speak to Shed at the networking/FREE WINE PARTY. I was itching to talk with him… along with everyone else there, so I patiently waited with my white wine to keep me company. When I finally got my chance, I confidently said to him something along the lines of, “You owe me some thanks for your success”, which he followed with a look of momentary bewilderment that shortly turned into a confused smile and then I explained that if it weren’t for my excellent sales techniques at Hawkin’s Bazaar, he might not have sold as many products. My weak attempt at a joke was actually well received and he laughed… he could also be really good at fake laughter, but a laugh is a laugh my friends, and that is good enough for me! He asked about my course and a bit about me and he gave me some solid advice and possibly the most interesting and ridiculous business card I have ever been given.
To summarise, the Bright Ideas event as a whole, was awesome and the free wine was (unexpectedly) pretty fantastic. I feel like I gained a whole lotta knowledge and most of all, I feel motivated and hungrier for success than ever before!
It gives me much pleasure and joy to be bringing this semester to a close. I feel extremely proud of myself for making it this far and I’m excited for what the next semester has in store. I have drunk from a plentiful fountain of knowledge and my brain is bursting, full of new insights all thanks to this exciting course. With this being said, I am more than ready for a well deserved break back home in Bermuda and several servings of Christmas dinner, not to mention all the booze. You have to love the festive season!
The last friday was another day full of nerves and anxious laughter as we had to give our branding presentations to two groups of entrepreneurs from all areas of the Creative Industries. We only made a few necessary tweaks to the presentation and we were feeling quite confident this time round thanks to the previous week at Wolff Olins. We had practiced it enough times! The structure of the presentations and how they were ‘judged’ was very similar to the BBC’s Dragon’s Den. We were already prepared for heavy criticism and we’ve had quite a dose of it thus far, but it’s what we need to make the most of our businesses and once the slight sting wears off, you realise it’s so helpful. Both presentations went extremely well and the Dragons seemed very interested and impressed with our idea. The four of us gave it our all and although we weren’t considered as the best group of the day by the dragons, in my heart, we were the best. I think that self-belief and belief in our product and business as a whole is crucial to our future success.
It was a great opportunity to have real business moguls, if you will, giving us great advice and insight into working within the Creative Industries and how to be successful in them. It definitely boosted my confidence in myself and in my group and we left the class with our heads held high. In just a couple of months, we have developed ideas that originated from scribbles on scraps of paper, into something real, into something tangible. It has motivated me even more to keep working hard and to keep pushing myself forward because I’ve learnt that I am more than capable of greatness and it doesn’t just apply to me. It applies to all my fellow MACErs, past and present.
I think the Helping Hands team deserves a special mention. I couldn’t have done it without Megha, Johnny and Lucas. We are a culturally diverse group. Megha is Indian, I am from Bermuda with very deep Scottish roots, Johnny is a Greek Cypriot and Lucas is from Spain. Johnny is very musical and did his undergrad in Business. Megha is a product designer and an extremely talented one at that. Lucas is our resident psychologist who also does advertising, and then there is me, with my Creative Writing and Journalism degree and I also study music along with Johnny. This diversity makes us a strong team full of vision and creativity and we compliment one another extremely well. I know it might seem a bit soppy, but I couldn’t be happier with this team. They’ve taught me a lot about myself and I’ll be forever grateful for them.
Also, you should check out Johnny’s band. They are amazing and deserve a listen:
Fine them on their Facebook page: TRIPLEJAM
If you don’t know anything about Wolff Olins, fear not, I will introduce you:
“We help ambitious leaders invent the future by reinventing their business or category”
“Wolff Olins helps ambitious leaders to change their game, for positive impact, both commercial and social.”
For our ‘Designing a Business’ module, we set off into London, to Wolff Olins to give them a 4 minute branding presentation on our businesses. Trying to squeeze a whole branding strategy and pitch into 4 minutes without waffling at lightening speed, is actually pretty tough, but with a bit of practice and a pinch of finesse, we managed to get ours to the 4 minute time mark… or near enough! Before meeting up with the rest of the class, the Helping Hands crew headed to Megha’s flat to go over our parts. After about an hour, we headed to platform 9 3/4 for a group photo just because… why not? When in rome! To be honest, I found it really disappointing. It’s just a bit of brick wall, with a sign on it and half a trolley stuck to the wall with a large queue of eager tourists, waiting to get a photo. A bit too cheesy for me. The only cheese I like, is on a plate, with some crackers and quince. However, it helped to settle the nerves a bit and everyone forgot about their presentations if only for a brief moment.
We walked to Wolff Olins in our large group. I felt like I was in school and I should have been holding someone’s hand! We got a little lost at one point, but thanks to good ol’ technology, the smart phones came to the rescue with the map services at the ready and we got there in the end, a little later than planned. We were quickly brought upstairs and seated for a brief presentation about Wolff Olins and about branding. Melissa Andrada, a leading strategist, talked to us about what branding is – “A platform for action” and what branding incorporates from logos, tag lines, advertising and marketing. It gave us a good bit of insight into how to sell your brand and what makes a good brand. She managed to squeeze a 45 minute lecture into no more than 20 minutes due to timing and still managed to say all she needed to say. I can safely say, we were all pretty impressed.
The presentations came next and I must admit, I was blown away with the efforts that were put into each presentation. There were 3 judges, including Melissa and they gave about 4/5 minutes of feedback to each group. It wasn’t focussing on the positive aspects, but rather on constructive criticism, which albeit was intimidating, but definitely what we needed to improve and strengthen our branding strategies. It was possibly the most intense moment so far on this course, but it went well for everyone and we seemed to really impress the ‘judges’ or ‘dragons’ as we like to call them.
Megha’s wonderful drawing of our beloved Mrs. Plum
I came up with a little story to attract consumers through building an emotional connection with them, making them feel empathetic to the characters in the brand stories I came up with. I told the story of Mrs. Plum, a 65-year-old mother and grandmother who struggles to carry her shopping bags home from her local shops due to the strain on her hands caused by the bag handles. a 15 minute walk takes her half an hour because she has to make stops to rest and alleviate discomfort. I then went on to explain what her hands have done, for example, her hands grew weary after she had to remove nail polish from in between the bathroom tiles for the fifth time!! And it continues on in that joking, but relatable motherly tone. I then explained what our product is exactly and what is does to help the wonderful Mrs. Plum.
The day was ultimately a great success and I think we all left feeling pretty tired, but there was a sense of achievement in the cool evening air and I was more than ready for a desperado and the comfort of my sofa. HOWEVER, I got on the tube to Vauxhall and missed my stop. Perhaps I was too caught up in the whirlwind of music on my phone and I was listening harder than I was paying attention to my surroundings. I eventually made it to Vauxhall and got on a train back to Kingston, only I never made it because I missed my stop… AGAIN! I KNOW! After a small fit of rage and some strange looks from passers by I realised I was in Worcester Park, called my housemate Alice to explain just how much of a cotton-headed ninny muggins I was, and then made it onto a train that took me home. All that travel stress made my sofa all the more desirable and there I stayed for the entirety of my Friday night. I’m wild.
Here are some snippets from our presentation:
A few weeks ago, in my class for ‘Mapping the Creative Economy’ we had the most interesting guest lecture to date, in my most humble opinion. It was on the topic of sustainability, which is something I am very interested in. The lecturer, Paul Micklethwaite from Kingston University’s Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture, linked sustainability to design and also took us through a lot of theories associated with sustainability. I can safely say I was switched on throughout the entirety of the class. Wide awake, like a child after 5 energy drinks, but less chaotic and more engrossed in the subject matter.
He introduced the class to some really interesting books and once my funds are no longer as dry as the Sahara desert, I shall invest in a good few of them to expand my knowledge of this vast subject. Anyway, here are the books he recommended:
Paul talked about how we are living in the ‘Age of Ecocide” and took us through the 6 different reactions to this concept – the concept of the world collapsing. I am copying these 6 points down from my notes, so hopefully I can figure out my scribbles…
Sustainable design was a key topic throughout the lecture and it ties in with our ‘Designing a Business’ module. He asked the question, does sustainable design equal good design? Paul introduced some of us to DIETER RAMS and the ten steps that define good design, which are as follows:
Looking at these 10 points puts good design into a simple and effective perspective. To all the budding designers out there, read into Dieter Rams.
NOW, I really would love to sit here and spend all day writing about this most fascinating lecture, but alas, I cannot. I can only hope that this has sparked enough interest to make anyone reading this hungry for more knowledge and, if this is the case, I suggest you look into Paul Micklethwaite and his work. You won’t regret it!!
These pretty cool cats are my team. Clockwise from the left: Megha, Lucas, Me, Johnny
It’s quite a bit harder to sit down and brainstorm a fabulous idea for a startup – for me anyway – but I sat and I sat, twiddling my thumbs, until I could put pen to paper with some ideas. After I stopped being so overly critical towards my thoughts, I wrote down some ideas, anything that came to mind. I jetted off the Edinburgh for a weekend and when I returned, feeling somewhat refreshed, I met with my group for our ‘Designing a Business’ module and we went over our ideas until we had boiled it down to one we thought might really work. It was a book, not a novel or a poetry collection, but a little business guide. However, we quickly realised this idea was perhaps too large for our project, so we went back to the drawing board. I realise I am not describing much about the book idea and that’s because it’s something I think I might pursue when this course is done and dusted!
What MACE has taught us, as a class and as individuals is how to think critically in these situations; How to apply to Design Thinking. I sat with my group in the foyer of the Knight’s Park campus and we thought about solving problems and a few ideas were shared, but nothing had really clicked.
UNTIL…
Megha’s first prototype!
Megha came up with the brilliant idea of creating an ergonomic grip or handle that helps evenly distributes the weight of sore and annoying shopping bag handles by fitting snuggly in your palm. It almost has a little channel in the middle, so the handles can fit in, without sliding off. A simple idea, but glorious as well. It solves a problem, whilst remaining discreet and stylish because it’s handmade from wood. Rather than my continuous waffle, trying to explain and define what exactly this product is, I will post pictures of our first prototypes. Now, I am not a skilled craftsman/craftswoman(?), but luckily Megha (being a sassy product designer) and Johnny also being good with woodwork, meant we could get some prototypes made really quickly.
SO, over the last few weeks we have been shaping our business into something sustainable, personable and most of all, into something we see success in. The name for this product is Helping Hands, which I proudly say I came up with. It makes perfect sense for the product. It’s cute and represents what we are trying to sell. We’ve come along way since we began and it’s been an amazing personal journey as well as a group one and I couldn’t be happier or more proud of my new friends.
I would like to share more about our product, Helping Hands, but I don’t want to reveal too much at this stage until some of the particulars have been finalised, sooooo… watch this space!
Hannah's Growing Up 