Apple recently unveiled its latest product - the iPad. It's a lot more than just an over-sized iPhone, its
arguably the most important mobile computing product of the year. The iPad is being pitched as an e-book reader (among other things) and is backed by the brand spanking new iBookstore for purchasing digital books. This puts the iPad in competition with the likes of the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook.
Check out the Keynote.
I popped along to see our fine work in action at the launch of the new Comptoir Libanais Flagship store at the O2 in Finchley Last night. I was happily tucking into my Kebab and Hommos when several scantily clad ladies started writhing around me turning me a colour of crimson only reserved for such occasions! Tony, the founder and owner of Comptoir, had organised a special authentic belly dance for us all to enjoy.
What a great night had by all and lovely to see the space we have created full to the brim.
There's nothing we like more as the female contingent of i-am then a bit of female Glamour! Lipstick Queen seems to be trying to bring back a touch of 40's Glamour, decadence and ageless beauty all in the most delectable 40's style packaging fit to grace any be-jewelled purse. One of the most lovely elements of the brand is the story behind it - started by an Aussie Lass who couldn't get the colours she wanted many years ago Lipstick Queen is not your average brand.... Everything you see, feel, touch and experience with it comes directly from Poppy - the founder, to you. We just love it!
"I am just like you... I am a customer and as a customer I want something truly special... So that is what I put into every shade, texture and finish. A very special eye and a very committed soul"
Poppy, Lipstick Queen
These guys have taken Tights to the next level by creating a beautiful leg-wear designs that go beyond stockings and fishnets and turn your pins into living walking, running works of art!
As the tradeshow season arrives, one of the premier contemporary shows in the industry, (capsule) has teamed up with legendary notebook design company Moleskine on a special edition book set. The set features a planner, as well as a sketchbook, both wrapped in a belly band featuring artwork by German artist Tina Berning, who is the featured (capsule) artist this season. The books are debossed with the following: “A useful (capsule) Moleskine book for notes, contacts, flight times, asterisks, business cards, sketches, parentheses, good and bad ideas, poems, forecasts, quotes, first drafts, zigzags, lyrics, storyboards, swatches, equations, web addresses, exclamation points, photos, secrets and plans.”
MSF is currently installing an inflatable hospital of 100 beds in the Delmas neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. More than 700 MSF staff are working to provide emergency medical assistance to survivors of the earthquake in and outside of the city.
In the spirit of all things cold and wintry, a friend and I decided to catch a bit of last chance ice-skating at Somerset House. Turns out this was the worst decision of my year so far! The experience was wonderful, the setting incredible, the atmosphere fun and friendly, and even the staff were smiling, chatty and helpful. However the ice was far too hard, as I found out to my detriment. And thus, I am now following the "i-am" contingency in the latest fashion trend of a broken bone and a cast. Apparently it's catching on in the "i-am" studio! And as for ice-skating....I think next time i'll suggest swimming.
Our latest creation for Tony over at Comptoir Libanais has just gone Live at the O2 Centre in Finchley and we love it it - go and take a look and grab yourself some Hommos & Pitta or Baba Ghanuj!
I did it, i did it! I only went and got one...
I'm a sucker for a beautiful little boutque Hotel - I have been a big fan of the Hoxton Hotel and Grille since it opened in 2006 filling a vital gap in the shoreditch accomodation market back then. I have had the pleasure of staying once before and the rooms are impressive, brilliantly designed with every little detail though about and personal touches abound (if a little touch compact). As you can imagine i have become a great fan of their £1 room sales. What an ingenious idea as a viral campaign! At least a couple of times a year - across their quietest periods - the brains behind the Hoxton Hotel offer 500 rooms for a £1 and then additional rooms at £29 a pop for the night!
Around 5000 people log on (inclusive of most people i know!) to watch the yellow and grey countdown clock and then click for all their worth to get one of these bargain rooms! The press go mental for it and i see it announced everywhere online and the Hoxton fill all of their rooms over a period when most hotels lay dormant. What a great investment into building awareness, databases and smiley faces.
I will thoroughly enjoy my stay at the Hoxton in March and love it all the more knowing i paid a princely sum of £1 for the pleasure!...Thanks Hoxton!
Now i know there will be the sinics out there who say this invention is a waste of time and effort and at 30 times the cost of its cheaper rivals a waste of Money but oh how it excites me! Magimix have created a seethrough toaster called Vision. This blessed contraption lets you watch your toast as it toasts no more popping it up and down and inevitably leaving it to burn after you pop it down for the third time only to run backto the kitchen when the smoke alearm starts going off. What a brilliant invention and a clever move by Magimix - what more could a company want than to create an ultimate product that fills a need i now have that i never even knew i had before! This little baby makes it a joy to watch your toast cook - just watch the video...pure toast porn....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzPVeGEmvgE
We have been working with New India Bank for some time now on their new brand creation - everything from their new Identity through to the branch environments. SO as you can imagine we ar like the proud parents as the first branch in Pune goes live...In a market place which seldom champions customer experience New India Bank is breaking all the rules..
A new hotel in Istanbul. As my cab pulled up outside I was greeted by name and given my room. Moments later I received a call from reception. Was I happy with the room? Very. And more so of the service. The next morning the delicious and unusual breakfast in a gorgeously designed restaurant made me feeling I'll be back and recommending. 8/10 for Tunel Residences on the 'i-am' Experience Ladder.
Great service as he found me a veggie meal that through my own mistake had not been ordered. He went well beyond what I would have expected to get me one from Club World. The cabin staff at BA must have had damned good reasons for calling that strike before Xmas. To Fly To Serve. 8/10 for BA on the 'i-am' Experience Ladder.
The word “Cancelled” never appears on the flight information boards in T5 apparently - is this part of a charm offensive? But flights WERE cancelled on Wednesday - all of the European-bound flights after 4pm in fact. Immediately the system went into meltdown: no Public Address system, no clear information, a queue to exit the terminal back to landside. There is a business opportunity here for an “Emergency Travel Agency” to sort out alternatives. There WAS an alternative travel plan for me - from Stansted, which we had to find ourselves with help from the 'i-am' office and CJL our travel agent. 1/10 for BAA on the 'i-am' Experience Ladder for letting chaos rule.
A fabulous experience at T5 on Wednesday. I stepped off the train at 12.47, went past Check-In, through Security (heightened following the Christmas Day near disaster) and found a seat in my favourite T5 restaurant (Giraffe) by 12.54.
There must be lots of hard work behind the scenes at BAA, BA, Immigration that mean they can do everything they need to do and still allow us through in just 7 minutes. Far better than my expectations. (if only they sorted out the escalator/elevator signage!) BAA score 9/10 on the 'i-am' Experience Ladder.
Oh no we should never have shown Bob how to do this blog. Just look what he's been up to. About four years ago 'Naked Bob' first reared his ugly - uh - head during a cross-country treasure hunt (his modesty was spared by a tree trunk; well more of a sapling actually). Now he's back, making snowmen at midnight and training his ducks to eat their food around festive message patterns. I wonder where it will all stop. Plus he we supposed to be up early braving the spot of weather we're having to fly to Istanbul. The man's got even more energy with his clothes off at -7, if that were possible.
I'll stay under the duvet, nurse the seasonal illness that's gripped me and leave the midnight snowmen to all those in -um- rude health.
A Happy New Year to everyone out there looking in.
Make it your New Year's Resolution to pop in for a Cuppa.
The latest Extreme January Experience.... gripping the nation
Only two rules:
1. Must be made at midnight
2. Maker must be naked whilst bringing Midnight Snowman into the World
We recently met with Moroccan Restaurant Owner Khalil to talk about how we could work together and got more than a bit excited when we found out he was going to be featured on The F-Word with old Gordon the Ramsay! Take a look at how the Doukan team faired...here
Our friends over at FX Magazine asked us to put together a concept for an innovative Pop-Up retail experience for their November Issue - we have only just managed to lay our hands ona copy - have a look...
