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Each month I give my verdict on who has shown the world an interesting and distinctive brand. This month, for Halloween, I’ve decided to feature a Brand Legend:

Frankenstein

While Brand Legends come in all shapes and sizes, they tend to have the same ingredients; they are highly differentiated, unique, compelling, relevant, and certainly memorable. It just so happens that one of our most famous classic monsters, Frankenstein, fits the Brand Legend bill. He has worldwide, trans-cultural appeal, not to mention one of the most recognisable faces in history! Given it’s Halloween, I thought I’d ask a real-life Frankenstein enthusiast to shed some light on this Monster Mega Brand. Here, I interview Comedian, Musician, and Radio Personality Scott Douglas, AKA Scott Ian Von Frankenstein, to help us “dissect” Brand Frankenstein.

What, in your opinion, makes Frankenstein such a Brand Legend?

I would say the larger half of it is due to the Universal Studios horror films and Jack Pierce’s monster design. It was a huge departure from previous looks the monster had on stage, screen, and in art: boxy, lanky and gaunt, but still very human, ill-fitting jacket, flat head, neck bolts and everything.  And that is still the basic design everyone would recognize at nearly every store this time of year. I would also have to put a large amount of his appeal into the empathy James Whale added to the monster in Frankenstein (1931) and maybe even more so Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Those films really speak to feelings of alienation, sadness, and really show the monster’s depth of feeling. The Doctor and the villagers are the real villains of the films. Many of the other classic monsters have similar circumstances that make them far from evil. The Gillman has his natural habitat infringed upon. The Wolfman was a victim of a curse that caused his change, he had no control or memory of what he did during the full moon. Dracula, not so much. Maybe iron deficiency?

At the core, do you think the Frankenstein we know today is the same character that Mary Shelley created, or has pop culture shaped his brand into something very different?

I think it is drastically different. His physical appearance is wildly more bizarre and disturbing in the novel, he speaks eloquently as the novel goes on, and so forth. I think the biggest change took place in the 50’s and 60’s (which effectively came with a name change, from Frankenstein’s Monster to simply calling him Frankenstein). The 50’s and 60’s really started the craze of “Monster Kids”. At the time television was showing the old films more and more often. Theaters were dusting off the old prints to show horror marathons for the new enthusiasts with costumed creatures as the special guests. Then magazines, toys, and all sorts of collectables pushing the needle closer to where we are now.  “Monster Mash” is still a Halloween radio standard and Frankenberry cereal has made up a least 15% of my Instagram feed all month.

How did you get hooked on him? Is there a story?

My grandmother’s bookshelf had these fantastic Crestwood House Monster Series books. Just simple children’s books with each volume being based on a different movie monster, add to those a few of my uncle’s remaining monster magazines, and daily Munsters re-runs I was basically hooked for life.  My mother and grandmother would always come up with fantastic costumes, but for reasons beyond my control, that simple boxed Collegeville or Ben Cooper Frankenstein mask and smock was always more alluring. Why wouldn’t Frankenstein wear a smock with his face and name on it? Made sense at the time.

In what ways in particular do you find him compelling?

Even from the earliest age my family constantly moved, leaving me feeling like an outsider wherever I had to restart. That lonely sadness, no feeling of belonging anywhere, is something that definitely attracted me as I got older. Even the wild take in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) had a wonderful effect on changing my life and view of the world, yet still ends tragically for the Doctor and his Creation.

How has he inspired you over the years? How do you use that inspiration in your own personal brand?

Frankenstein always comes back. Even the Monster Squad (1987) where things seem to be leaning towards a happy ending for Frankenstein, he ends up being pulled into an endless void. It’s a constant cycle of life and loss, defeat and reinvention. To me, that’s about as inspirational as it gets.

Your Facebook name is Scott Ian Von Frankenstein. Using his name is some pretty serious co-branding! How else do you co-brand with him?

I’ve been dressing like the classic Frankenstein solidly since 9th grade. Boots, jacket, tee. My first set of tattoos were asymmetrical stitches on both my wrists and a lightning bolt. In high school I had my first two stage names. As a solo musician I was The War of the Frankensteins, in bands I was Scott Prometheus Jones. It just continued from there.

Compared to other classic horror movie characters, what makes him so likeable/relatable, compared to, say, Dracula (is it his human or gentle side that we know is in there somewhere?)?  

I would say it’s about his child-like confusion and vulnerability.  Dracula was a human at one point, too, if you follow most vampire lore. So I’d put it more on the fact that he’s considered a monster without any nefarious plan or intentional harm.  He just reacts to the way people react to and treat him.

Is there a favourite Frankenstein tag line?

I’m going to go with two of my favorites to show the difference in dialog between the novel and early films.

“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.” Frankenstein by Mary Shelly (1818)

“Mmm… Smoke… Good…” Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Do you have a favourite or little-known Frankenstein fact that you’d like to leave us with? 

In the novel, the reanimation was simply glossed over and left to the imagination with the Doctor working in secret in his closet. When James Whale was preparing for his film, he gave the lab design duties to studio electrician Kenneth Strickfaden. Strickfaden’s work was so impressive it became one of the film’s most unforgettable scenes. Pieces were used for years in dozens of films. The machinery was given its final starring role in Young Frankenstein (1974).

Fascinating stuff, thanks Scott!

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To find out more about Scott Douglas, check him out here
on Facebook and Instagram.

 

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Everyone has their own approach to social media, but Eddy O’Shaughnessy has a very personal approach to LinkedIn, in which he initiates a one-to-one call with everyone he connects with. In today’s fast-moving world of gathering connections this is quite rare, and definitely part of his personal brand. We asked Eddy why he uses this approach and how it has worked for him.

Here’s Eddy:
Like a lot of people I began to use Social Media a while back, first using Facebook to connect with friends, family, etc., and keep in touch. Then I read that for business contacts LinkedIn was the place to be, so I joined up and began to build my contacts there. However, I began to notice that unlike Facebook where I personally knew almost everyone, LinkedIn contacts, most of the time, were strangers to me.

I saw that there seemed to be two types of people on LinkedIn, those who never posted, and those who never stopped posting!

A lot of the content looked very serious/professional which I suppose fitted with the platform ideal of business owners promoting themselves and their business. As my business is very much about building long term relationships, I thought that I needed to do something a bit different.

My idea to contact people for a chat came from the realisation that even though I am connected to lots of people on LinkedIn, I don’t actually know very many of them, so I feel that there’s something missing. I think it’s close to impossible to refer people, connect people, or introduce people, which I believe is the objective, unless I have at least had a short chat, it would not be fair on my own contacts, or the new ones.

Many years ago, I was involved with Business Network International (BNI), which was one of the first business referral groups to set up in Ireland. I did a bit of consultancy work with them and helped them set up the first batch of groups around Ireland. The principal behind BNI was, and still is I imagine, to learn as much as possible about your fellow members, and vice versa, so that you could help them with business referrals, contacts etc. The key element was to get a feel for the person.

I decided to adopt the same approach with my LinkedIn connections. I think it’s even more relevant as most of us tend to hide behind our keyboard and post how great we all are. I have even stopped looking at Profiles as sometimes the person I get to chat to can be very different from their profile.

My experience is that a lot of people never reply to my message. Perhaps they may not read their messages regularly. Some do reply with a refusal, which is fine. I get the impression that they may find it a bit strange that someone would actually want to chat. They may prefer to hide behind the keyboard, which I can understand, but it’s why I do what I do in asking them to open up a bit on a call.

But I have had many great chats with the most interesting people, doing some amazing things. One was the lady who quit the corporate world to follow her passion for yoga. There was also the guy who lost a leg on a building site due to his own neglect and now gives presentations to groups on safety in the workplace, a very positive guy who refused to stay down; the fellow who decided to do a few online interviews during lockdown, which he thought was going to be short lived, but went on to do over 100. He invited me to tell my story on one of them. The lady who left her role as a TV presenter in Ireland and went to India to run a hotel, and so many more. My favourite was the retired American lady who used to be a Bounty Hunter, she had some amazing stories, of course there has been the odd, sometimes very odd ones as well!

I always try to help them if I can with a contact, an introduction. With most of them I would watch out for their posts, like and comment if I can, and keep building the relationship.

From a business point of view this is what I have been doing for years, and this has helped me change from working as a stressed Accountant to have a global business which has given me time freedom.

I believe that making the effort to connect properly with people, in this case by speaking to them, pays off not only in business terms but also in the human element of life, which today tends to be more and more an online experience.

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Eddie mentors people in developing their own business, part-time or full-time, so they can spend more time with their families, travel more, stress less, and work when they want, where they want, if they want.

You can find him on LinkedIn, of course!

 

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In lieu of our “Brand of the Month”, I felt compelled to jump on the bandwagon and pay tribute to the passing of a feminist judicial icon:

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Regardless of your political leanings, there’s little debate that she was a powerhouse with one incredibly strong personal brand. There is so much I could say about this icon it’s a little daunting, however here are three things that I instantly associate with her legendary brand.

She was a trailblazer…who followed her passion, purpose and vision

Through her distinguished career as Supreme Court Justice and co-founder of the Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU, Ginsburg was a true champion for gender equality. She was only the second woman to sit on the US Supreme Court.

Despite her diminutive stature, Ginsburg gained a strong reputation as a towering force to be reckoned with. She was passionate about giving a voice to the voiceless; fighting to protect the marginalised and speaking up for women, minorities and the LGBTQ community.

Even after her death, Ginsburg continues to make American history as she became the first woman to lie in state in the US Capitol, 168 years after the first man did so.

She’s celebrated as a pop-culture icon

Ginsburg was fondly nicknamed the ‘Notorious RBG’, a play on the rapper Notorious Big’s name, to celebrate her liberal values and landmark Shelby County v Holder dissent. Mourners have flooded social media with various memes to celebrate this feminist hero, often with the popular hashtag #NotoriousRGB. Her image can be found on Notorious RBG. T-shirts, figurines, art, as well as fabric designs.

 

“Women’s rights are an essential part of the overall human rights agenda, trained on the equal dignity and ability to live in freedom all people should enjoy.” –  Ruth Bader Ginsberg

Her simple yet evocative trademark

Tributes to Ginsburg have been dominated by a simple yet powerful trademark: a white lace collar on a black background. Ginsburg often wore a collar over her black robes, to incorporate “something typical of a woman” into a uniform which had been designed for men. The collar became a meme around the same time that Ginsburg became a pop culture icon.

During a 2014 interview, Ginsburg described one particular collar decorated with dark shimmering rhinestones as her “dissenting collar” because “it looks fitting for dissents.” She wore it the day after Donald Trump was elected in what was perceived to be silent protest, prompting a flurry of “dissent collar” merchandise.

Ginsburg died at the age of 87 on September 18^th of metastatic pancreatic cancer at her home in Washington D.C. surrounded by family.

Rest in Power, Notorious RBG.

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Redundancy is hitting millions of people right now; people who this time last year would not have imagined they would ever be in this position. It’s natural that to feel confused, lost, scared and unsure at this time. However, it’s also the moment when we need our personal brands more than ever. Our brand – what differentiates us, makes us unique and compelling — is what is going to get us through to that interview and sign that contract.

Having a strong personal brand can also help us through the difficult times; it can help us feel grounded, remind us of our path and what we want for the future. Let’s have a look at how we can do this.

Step One: Reconnect with your values

If you’ve been made redundant it can be tempting to rush into getting a job, any job, but this could potentially leave us feeling unfulfilled and in the wrong place if we end up with a role that isn’t aligned to our values.

Values exploration is an important part of personal branding. Values bring purpose and meaning into our lives. They represent our fundamental beliefs – what’s most important to us. They embody what we want to be in this world, what we want to stand for, and how we want to relate to others.

If you know your values, you’ll be instinctively drawn towards the right job for you in the right organisation. If being respectful of the environment is one of your core values, you’ll be able to spot those organisations that cross this line and avoid applying for them, as an obvious example. If your own learning and education is one of your values, then enquiring about opportunities for training and development is something that would be important an interview, for instance.

When evaluating personal values, here are a few important questions to consider:

What do you want to stand for?

What sort of person do you want to be?

What really matters to you, deep in your heart?

What types of initiatives or causes do you want to align yourself with?

How do you ideally want to behave?

It’s really helpful to look at a list of values and narrow them down to your top ten.  Here’s one example of a values list.

Of course, values exploration requires putting aside some time for personal reflection. However, what it will bring to your personal brand — and your life — will be well worth it.

Step Two: Work on your confidence

Confidence is something that may well have taken a hit as the result of redundancy. We can get stuck in thoughts of why me, especially if we were one of a small few that were let go. Here are my top strategies for how to build that confidence back up.

• Take action anyway

Oftentimes, people ascribe to a “rule” that says that they need to feel confident before doing something important to them, e.g., “I need to be confident before I can apply to this job that feels a bit out of my league at the moment”.

This very rule is often what keeps people stuck and prohibits them from developing confidence. However, you don’t need to be confident in order to achieve your goals. In The Confidence Gap,  Russ Harris shares the golden rule of confidence building: “The actions of confidence come first; the feelings of confidence come second.”

Harris makes an important differentiation between these actions of confidence and “fake it ‘til you make it”: a big part of confidence building is about being true to yourself (as opposed to faking it), while taking effective action in the direction of your personal values and goals, regardless of your self-doubt. You can still behave like the person you want to be in the situation and take action even while feeling fear and uncertainty.

There’s a great exercise in the book that asks us to imagine ourselves in a world with unlimited confidence. In my private practice, I usually use this exercise as a visualization with clients. By imagining a confident version of ourselves, we can start to take steps in that direction. If you had unlimited confidence, what jobs would you consider, what companies would you approach, what career change could you envisage?

This of course is easier said than done. It takes practice, time, and a lot of effort to work through negative self-talk and effectively handle feelings of fear and discomfort. But the idea here is that by practicing confident behaviours and stepping out of our comfort zones, genuine confidence will follow. But first, it has to be earned.

• Get back to the moment

When our heads are filled with negative chatter, and/or we become more preoccupied with what others think of us or how we “should” act, we become disconnected from the present moment, which can set us up for a big confidence wobble.

As a first step, try identifying the content of this chatter. Are these worry thoughts about what might happen? Do they start with “what if”?

Are these self-sabotaging beliefs or self-criticisms? If so, you can put these thoughts in the “unhelpful category”, as they are most likely of no use and costing you confidence.

Try to shift focus to what you can control while building acceptance around what you cannot. Is there a skill you can improve upon or practice more (be careful of the perfectionist trap here)? Is there additional preparation or other measures you can reasonably put in place? Can you get more familiar with tech for instance, to allay your fears that you won’t be able to compete with someone younger and more tech friendly?

A confident person is one who is engaged…in the moment, with the audience, in the conversation.  One effective technique for this is mindfulness. Mindfulness, in a nutshell, is the practice of engaging in the moment with attention, openness, flexibility and curiosity. The ability to be present, in the moment (and not constantly distracted by negative chatter), also opens up space for positivity and self-belief.

There are so many great resources out there to cultivate mindfulness: Apps, YouTube, books and countless websites.

• Be authentic and own it

 Finally, the ability to “own it” – who you are – resides at the core of a confident brand. What I mean by this is that when you own it, you have accepted and are comfortable with who you are in your present experience, not who you “should” be or who others want you to be. You are just you, unapologetically.  In other words, this is about owning what makes you authentically you…your thoughts, opinions, quirks, and feelings, both positive or negative.

By “outing” the feelings that sabotage your confidence and owning them, you allow them to have less power over you (which paradoxically has an empowering effect).

People who own it tend to exude a certain charisma and magnetism. They don’t try to be something they are not. Instead of being people pleasers or trying to fit in, they create and follow their own path in life. There is something extremely liberating about owning it, as you are genuinely at peace with yourself and the present moment.

Needless to say, there are many more variables that factor into confidence — one’s personality, ability level, mental health, etc. — however the actions listed here can be practised by anyone to move towards building a more confident personal brand (with the key word being practise), you need to put in the work.

Step 3: Do a little work on your outer-brand

Your market will be the companies that you want to work for, and this is where we will turn to your outer brand. Your outer brand is what you portray to the world, and this can include everything from how you appear in your Zoom interview to your digital footprint.

While it’s important that you are authentic and true to your values, your potential employer needs to feel that you will fit in – that your personal brand complements their company brand and values. Steps to help promote this include looking at their values and incorporating them into the covering letter, or a personal style that fits the industry or company (you may need to do some research here of course).

Your outer brand also includes how you come across during your interviews. You might want to record yourself on Zoom to see how you come over on camera (it’s highly likely that many of your interviews will be online at the moment), and get a second opinion from a trusted friend, coach or someone who knows the industry. Don’t forget to take an objective look at what’s in the camera frame. You want people to be looking at you, not drawn to the kitchen cupboards, knickknacks and what’s bubbling away on the stove behind you.

Finally, any recruiter will be taking a look at how you portray yourself to the world. You may want to ensure your Facebook profile is private, update your LinkedIn content and profile photo, and edit out those Instagram posts you made when you were hurting from your breakup. A definite no no is anything you’ve publicly said against your previous employer, however unfair you think they have been. Delete and move on.

Other articles that can help:

Five ways your video calls are tarnishing your image

Bringing your personal brand into your CV 

Top expert tips for regaining control over your personal post-lockdown style

Journaling to help your discover your values 

 

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For many of us, lockdown has played a hand in shaping our personal brands, for better or for worse. During our Big Pause, we discussed in previous posts how we might be able to use the time to revisit and reflect on our inner brands, including our values, passion, purpose, strengths and vision. But how has lockdown impacted our outer brands, in other words, how we convey ourselves to the outside world? Outer branding involves things like our personal style, communication style, personal impact and personal presence. And it matters because our outer brands often affect how others interact with us, the opportunities that come our way, and how we feel about ourselves.

For some of us, lockdown may have been an opportunity to learn to cook healthy meals, start a new exercise routine running in the park or with Zoom workouts, and experiment with outfit creations on Instagram. But for many of us, months of lockdown comfort eating, sporadic exercise, and not needing to give a toss about wardrobe seem to have derailed our outer brands. Facebook abounds with memes talking about Covid weight gain, extolling workout leggings or the humble PJ as all-day workwear. Even when we have a virtual meeting, we’ve embraced the fact that we only have to half dress for a Zoom meeting, and it’s a rare diamond who has freshy pressed dress trousers on! Not to mention the lack of face-to-face socialization that may have caused things like our communication style and social graces to go a bit rusty.

A dear friend of mine recently sent me an article that I thought highlighted the potential consequences this post-lockdown outer brand dilemma of ours. In the article, the author jests that coming out of lockdown feels as if she has forgotten how to dress, speak, or function as a socialised adult. Lockdown has “stripped away her outer trappings” and revealed a more “feral” self. Perhaps many of us can identify with that sentiment to an extent, and it’s probably not a bad thing to feel a bit more carefree after lockdown. Of course, losing control of your outer brand to the point of feeling like a hot mess (unless that’s what you’re going for) or a chimpanzee in a social experiment, probably isn’t a good thing for anyone’s brand. And if authenticity is always somewhere at the core of your brand, revitalizing it post-lockdown may take a little effort but probably won’t really feel very much like “work”.

Even if you haven’t hit the feral red zone yet, perhaps it’s still time to have a good post-lockdown stare in the mirror. What did we discover during lockdown about our outer brands, and what parts of #lockdownlazy can we incorporate into the post-lockdown outer brand to make it work for us?

I’ve interviewed two award-winning experts in outer branding, image coach and author Sue Donnelly and personal stylist Chantelle Znideric, about how to gain back control and revitalise our outer brands. Their advice can be applied to all genders.

What’s your advice on revisiting and revitalising your outer brand post lockdown?

Sue: Your brand, ideally, embodies four things: Personality, Passion, Principles and Purpose. The most important of these, when it comes to getting dressed, is the first – who you are, your essential self. This never changes, despite what goes on around you. When looking to outwardly represent your brand, you should think about innate values and beliefs. Embrace, accept and honour who you are and let your clothes reflect that.

Your clothes talk. They tell a story to those who see you. They also talk to the you, the wearer.

Choose clothes in fabrics, textures, colours, patterns that empower you to feel good, not just look good. Your outfit impacts on how you feel about yourself. That, in turn, can have a real impact on performance. If you are uncomfortable in what you wear, it will show up in other ways. Think about wearing new shoes and resulting blisters, or a skirt riding up your thighs when you sit, and you’ll see what I mean! If you dress to be someone else, it never works. Create an Identity Statement that describes who you are and what you represent. Ask for feedback. Do others see you as you see yourself? Is there a disconnect? What do you want to project? Is this in alignment with who you are, and what you are passionate about? Whatever you choose to wear, your mood will sink or rise to match it. Finding clothes that make you feel like you are ‘coming home’, whatever the occasion, is the key.

Chantelle: The first job is to try on everything in your wardrobe and check what fits! Sounds labour intensive and a bit of a faff but there’s no point revitalising your fave items if there is more work to be done to get back in pre-lockdown shape.

I guarantee this process will spark loving memories of life before lockdown, remembering where you wore these outfits, how you styled them and how they made you feel.

Start with the bottoms and begin curating adoring pieces that you can build upon. Consider how your work and social life has changed and assess how to style these pieces appropriately for your new norm, your personal brand priorities may have changed somewhat, which means a slight style pivot is required.

How would you integrate your favourite lockdown casual into this?

Sue: The word ‘casual’ means different things to different people. Some may see a shirt worn without a tie as casual, while others are thinking ‘sweats’. The key is to hone in on how wearing lockdown casual makes you feel. If it enables you to work well, then embrace it. It’s simple to upgrade to work appropriate for both women and men. A track pant in a luxurious fabric with a T-shirt and a blazer, teaming draw string trousers with a soft blouse, a midi dress with sneakers, a shirt and sweater with dark well-cut jeans, are just some ideas. If lockdown casual doesn’t fit with your work ethic, then don’t pursue it.

We are all different. Respect and honour that.

Chantelle: To be honest, I’m done with lockdown casual and I’ll be glad to see the back of it. The new norm brings an exciting change, yet still uncertain times and your new style should reflect this. Look to incorporate unique pieces with pizazz, that are agile and offer flexibility with that certain level of comfort you’ve been used to at home. Up your game in terms of quality, integrating luxe fabrics and sumptuous colours.

It may also be the right time to invest in those classic and timeless staple items, knowing they will last you a lifetime and you can wear them forever.

Is there now a place for thought-out casual instead of “lockdown lazy” casual?

Sue: This is subject to Personal Brand and the industry type. Many have strict dress codes, and must be adhered to. Creative industries embrace a more casual approach, and wearing a ‘power’ suit may not work in your favour. As home working increases, there may well be a shift towards casual wear.

The main point is that clothes are mood altering. When working, we need garments that elevate and lift, and that will be different for everyone.

Choose clothes with the intention of what you need to achieve on any given day. Take a few minutes to consider what that looks like before you get dressed. How you ultimately feel, will most certainly affect whether or not you succeed. The questions worth asking:
How am I feeling today? 

What am I thinking?

Where am I going?

Who am I seeing? 

What do I need?

What do I hope to achieve?

Chantelle: Thought-out casual is definitely my bag and ticks a lot of boxes. With less formal occasions and face to face meet ups in the diary, it is a great style challenge to have.

Making an effort to play up your casual look effortlessly, with ease and elegance, will soothe you into post-lockdown life.

My ‘go-to’ pieces to help me achieve this will be blazers and leather jackets teamed with joggers, maxi skirts and sneakers. Recently, I bought a fabulous leather jacket from Uterqüe and I can’t wait to style this one out!

Any thoughts around creating a wardrobe that is effortless (creating “ready to wear” outfits, etc)?

Sue: To have a capsule wardrobe, that mixes different pieces to create a variety of outfits, is most people’s dream. There are people who like to plan outfits in advance. There are others who are mood dressers, and will select on how they feel that day. Either way, having too many clothes can drive us into overwhelm. A wardrobe built around a couple of neutral colours, mainly plain fabrics, a couple of patterns using pops of different accent colours, more tops or shirts than bottoms and, for women, a couple of dresses is probably all you need. Ring the changes with accessories and shoes.

It takes the stress out of getting dressed each day, and that adds to our general sense of well-being.

Chantelle: We all have way too much stuff, and this has only been highlighted during lockdown – so many clothes, you literally can’t get round to wearing them all. Yup, I’m talking from experience. Create mini capsules within your wardrobe. Carefully select three very different bottoms and style them with six contrasting tops including t-shirts, shirts, sweatshirts and knitwear to create a number of new and exciting outfits.

Work out the key staples that fit you perfectly, whilst thinking about your brand qualities, and play to them every time, without fail. And repeat… 

Finally, how would you go about integrating your zoom style (i.e., the upper half on camera) with your overall style in “the real world”? 

Sue: Zoom dictates that we concentrate on the upper part of the body and face. It’s where the attention is drawn. This can be enhanced with great jewellery, necklines/collars, colours and patterns and of course, great grooming (regardless of gender). Whatever is going on underneath the desk needs to match this level of professionalism when away from the screen. There is no reason why attention shouldn’t remain focused upwards.

After all, we spend most of our time looking at someone’s face, but PJ bottoms aren’t really going to do us any favours!

Chantelle: I’ve been playing up those small, but important, and noticeable details on Zoom. For example, I’m not a lippy wearer, however I have bought a new lip colour to boost my skin tone and overall style on camera. I have also invested in accessories, earrings mostly, to compliment plainer tops and to add interest to my upper half.

It’s a fine balance of not looking like you’re trying too hard, however accentuating you and your individuality at the same time.

 

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About Sue Donnelley

Sue has a passion for fashion and style and is one of the most qualified consultants working in the image industry. She is known for pushing traditional boundaries to explore what really makes us feel ‘at home’ in our clothes. She combines mind, heart and intuition in her image training so facts are intertwined with emotional content. Her mantras are ‘Life evolves, style evolves’ and ‘One size does not fit al

You can find out more about Sue on her website www.suedonnelly.com, Facebook or Instagram.

 

About Chantelle Znideric

Chantelle helps clients feel both incredible and confident whilst achieving an effortlessly stylish wardrobe that works for their lifestyles.  Her sole objective is to enhance her clients’ individuality and increase confidence by advising on flattering styles, wearable trends and exciting colour, texture and print combinations. Keeping an eye on minimising clothing waste is hugely important to Chantelle as well as ultimately achieving an exceptional outcome beyond her clients’ expectations.

You can find out more about Chantelle on her website personal-stylist.co.uk or follow her on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram.

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The lotus is a flower that grows in the mud
The deeper and thicker the mud
The more beautiful the lotus blooms

This was the Buddhist proverb we used in our recent Survive to Thrive Toolkit. For me, it captures the spirit of thriving, of something beautiful arising from times of difficulty.

While lockdown has certainly come with plenty of adversity, for some, it has also unleashed a deeper, freer creativity. Here, we share the inspirational stories of creatives from the world of art, photography and writing, to hear how the challenges of lockdown have liberated or shaped their creativity in some significant way.

JENNY SHEPHERD and her husband Bob have been pouring their creative energies into recreating famous works of art. Here’s Jenny talking us through their experiences via a series of posts, originally on Facebook. This is particularly impressive as Bob works long hours in their shop Second Nature.

“I showed Bob an article about people recreating famous works of art and it was him that got excited. I have no idea why, as he is quite shy, really! Maybe because he thought it would distract us both, and give us something besides work/the virus to focus on?

A different perspective…

I think there’s something about doing this, which is a bit about problem solving or lateral thinking. We enjoy cryptic crosswords, and I think there’s something similar going on. You have to look at things from a different perspective, and with the recreations, you are having to look at the objects in your house, and think “how can I make this look like x?” Hence, knotted, black socks to make hair.

Grant Wood
Our version of American Gothic took a few attempts, using the timer, but on the whole, we thought it wasn’t too bad!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caravaggio
Is this becoming addictive?! Probably not, as this took over 4 hours yesterday, and we gave up before we were totally satisfied with the result after 22 attempts, involving the wreath falling off, both of us cursing, and Bob’s heavy- wineglass-holding hand getting tired. Bob did shave (half of) his chest, such was his dedication to authenticity. And, no, that is not red wine. It’s home-made, raspberry vinegar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frida Kahlo
Not being able to get my eyebrows threaded during lockdown has taken its toll. No, it’s just our 3rd attempt at recreating a work of art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The artist is well-known. We chose it because it didn’t involve any live animals, as we didn’t feel Theo, our cat, would be a compliant model.

We thought it looked much easier than last week’s, but it actually took five hours and 69 shots, and again, I still wasn’t happy, but we had to give up, because I was in agony!

Henry Wallis
I think it is quite a well-known painting, but I’m not sure the artist, Henry Wallis, or the subject, Thomas Chatterton (an amazing story!), are particularly famous! I certainly had never heard of either, till I studied the play “Chatterton” by Alfred de Vigny at university.

The importance of detail…

Naturally, I am bothered by the fact our sofa was too short for Bob to lie in the proper position, but may I draw your attention to the smoke from the extinguished candle to the right? A completely invisible, but important (to us!) touch, is that the crumpled paper in Bob’s hand is, appropriately, torn from Poetry News!”

 

CLAIRE BREWSTER is an artist who discovered the value of mentoring… and letting go.

Finding Inspiration…

“As the pandemic caused the world to close down, everything was stripped back to the essentials. I began to work with a mentor, Anne Seims. I’d been a fan of her work for a long time and knew immediately that she would be an amazing mentor. I had been feeling stuck. working on the same few paintings for months and could never finish them. Anne encouraged me to strip back my work, to let go of the crutches and shortcuts I’d been relying on and was confronted by an empty page.

I let go…

I let go of the collage, leaves and images that I had been working with for the past few years, which felt very scary as I had always seen myself as a collage artist. I didn’t know what I was without that. I directed my process inwards. What I found was these faces waiting to be revealed, to be set free.

 

 

 

My work has changed a lot. It has been a revolutionary, challenging, anxiety inducing and amazing experience.  If you ask any artist what they fear the most and they will probably say their work going badly, but sometimes you have to put yourself in that place to make the leap you need to make.

I’m very grateful that during the COVID-19 pandemic I was able to have such a surge of creativity and coaching.

I haven’t shared them much yet as I’ve been enjoying making them for myself, but am now ready to start sharing them with the world.”

 

 

You can find out more about Claire and her work at clairebrewster.com and on Instagram at @Claire_brewster.

 

MATTHEW SWIFT is an abstract painter who has tuned into life’s details during lockdown,  bringing a different awareness of the everyday into his studio practice.

“When lockdown occurred, I thought I had been handed an amazing opportunity to get on with painting and be productive; suddenly finding extra time in the studio with no more commuting. However, initially it was difficult to focus on creating new artwork. The cause of this seismic shift in my routine, Covid 19, was unsettling and scary and my nuanced preoccupations with colour, form and surface seemed trivial and disconnected from the bigger picture of what was going on beyond my workspace.

I began to notice…

As the shock wore off and the new normal became routine, I began to notice details around me more poignantly. I am lucky to live on the North Kent Coast which allows me to take daily walks or cycles by the sea. I have become attuned to the changes in weather, particularly the wind, which has an impact on how my cycling experience goes. The wind’s elemental nature has crept into aspects of my artwork in the form of short videos recording plastic bags flailing around or feathers, caught on a leaf bending to the force of a breeze. The routine of repeated routes and journeys through changing elements has sharpened my awareness and senses; it has enriched my engagement with my immediate environment and through a strange process of internal psychological osmosis resulted in a new sense of purpose in my studio practice.

Technology has become a friend…

Having previously been very conflicted by Instagram and its endless rolling images, in lockdown it has become my friend. In particular it has spurred me on to make smaller prototypes of my sewn together painted canvases. This was born out of the #artistsupportpledge, inventively set up by @matthewburrowsstudio as a way of helping Visual Creatives remain financially afloat whilst galleries are closed. I no longer see scrolling through Instagram as a mindless distraction, instead it has become a helpful way of staying in touch with talented and inspiring artists. Over the last few weeks I have been discovering work by people from all over the world that is engaging and resonates with similar creative concerns as my own.

The week after lockdown an artist friend of mine asked me to join a crit group with her and a sculptor who I did not previously know. Remotely we have been meeting up every four weeks from our studios. It has been hugely productive and it has opened up dialogues and ideas in a very direct and beneficial way. Firstly, we do not have to spend time travelling but more importantly there is an equality of presentation, as we can take it in turns to address live issues in our work individually.

Feeling more connected…

The lockdown has pushed me to access technology that I would not have dreamt of engaging with previously, this is now a platform and format I will continue to use and explore. Since lockdown I feel, strangely, not only more connected to my own practice, but also much more connected to the wider artistic community beyond more studio walls.

I am currently curating Ground Work, an exhibition of work by seven artists and a writer, that will open this October at APT Gallery in London. It will be one of the first exhibitions the gallery is planning as it opens up into a new socially distanced public realm. It was planned pre-lockdown with a specific agenda of public engagement. We won’t be able to run the original workshops we were planning, but we are all excited by how we can overcome this challenge and be at the vanguard of how Visual Creatives surmount these obstacles to make a new viable art and gallery scene.”

To find out more about Matthew and his work, check out www.matthewswift.co.uk and find him on Instagram at @mrswiftyart.

Both Claire Brewster and Matthew Swift have participated in #artistssupportpledge, an Instagram movement where artists selling pieces for £200 pounds or less use a percentage of earnings to buy work by another participating artist. It has helped foster a thriving and diverse creative community.

MELANIE CHARLES wrote and published a book of poetry during this time. Love, Me s a collection of Coronavirus inspired stories.

It felt relevant…

“I’m not new to writing, having already written a novel which I finished editing it during lockdown and sent off to the editor. However, I haven’t felt inspired to start a new book, it has felt too much at the moment. But a poetry book felt relevant. A number of the poems represent how I feel about lockdown and Covid. I think about a future where someone else is wanting to be seen and reads a poem of mine and has that moment when they realise they aren’t alone. I wanted that for this book.

Time for rediscovering…

Poetry is my first writing love. It’s the place I always go back to when I need to express myself or work through something. I wrote my first poem at the age of eight. I love reading poetry too. I love the classics, but there is an Australian poet who I discovered her at a time I needed to be seen and her poetry gave me that. She wrote under the pen name Nanushka. But my favourite poem is The Highway Man. I still have this memory of standing my Nanna’s house when I was maybe 7 or 8. She wanted to read her favourite poem. I didn’t really understand the poem or really like it, but I loved the rhythm, which is why I still love it to this day.

If I sit down to write, I can usually write something. It flows very easily. Although some poems are definitely better than others. I have to write in the mornings. Generally, before my day has started, or late at night when my head is churning.

This is my favourite. I wrote it based on a jumble of memories and each time I read it, I have such sweet memories of her and myself at that young age.

Nanna I bang the keys, Singing jingle bells. My voice warbles tunelessly. And yet you smile. As if I’m playing, A sonata by Beethoven. I sing louder. Punching the air with my voice. Puffing my chest out with pride. Smiling wide. Happiness bursting in my chest Feeling like my Sunday best.

This has inspired me to think about publishing a second book as I have books and books of old and new poetry.”

To learn more about Melanie and her work, check out www.melaniecharles.me. Love, Me and other books by Melanie can be found on amazon.

We hope the stories of these creatives might inspire you to nurture a little of your own lotus during these challenging times!

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While restrictions surrounding this pandemic have taken away many of our freedoms and pleasures, there are those individuals who have managed to relish their time in lockdown, and not just because of the extra hours to breathe or take stock either. Some have found themselves busier than ever, uncovering a brand-new passion or indulging in an existing one.

Here are five ideas from individuals whose stories will hopefully inspire you to discover a little more joy of your own during the remaining lockdown.

Get YouTubing, like Hulya.

Chef Hulya Erdal has used lockdown as an opportunity to experiment with filming YouTube videos around her take on life, food and living.

“Lockdown has given me the opportunity to push my business forward by giving me some time I would never have had, and I’ve used it wisely. I’ve completed a rebrand and update to my website. I’ve also been able to develop my YouTube channel and shoot regular videos as part of my business brand.

Getting out there on video has been scary but worth it. I wanted to create a presence online and make known what area I was in now. To be able to put out my message to the world. Plus, it was a way for me to push myself out of my comfort zone. Face my fears. It was a way to speak my truth and build confidence in myself too.

It’s certainly made a difference in terms of exposure – a real kick-start, and it’s been fun.”

You can find Hulya’s YouTube videos here.

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Bang out that book, like Paula.

Paula Gardner has spent much of her time in lockdown writing a career book, The Career Pause and Pivot.

“I was speaking to so many people about how this crisis has changed the way they look at their current career path. There are some who don’t even have a career path at the moment, such as those in the travel industry. I wanted to do something to help them make sense of this, and what comes next and so poured all my careers psychology know-how into a book that addresses just that.

I’ve got a lot out of writing it myself as it has kept me to a routine of writing in the mornings, much of which I’ve been doing out in the garden. Having this uninterrupted time has allowed me the space to really think about what I want to include and the opportunity to put it together. As well as lockdown itself, I’ve been going through a bereavement, and the pure act of writing has a lot of comfort in itself.”

The Career Pause and Pivot is available on Amazon.

Get down and dirty, like Pete.

Pete Maclaine is a news and portrait photographer but during this lockdown, Pete has been doing something he never thought he would: getting his hands dirty, growing vegetables.

“The idea came to me during the food shortages at the beginning of lockdown, it seemed so passive to sit there and rely on other people when we had all this space in the garden. I’d worked in a florist in the past, tending people’s balcony gardens, but nothing on this scale.” Pete has planted potatoes, cauliflowers, leeks, tomatoes, beetroot and carrots amongst others.

It’s brought out a whole new side of my personality. I am now very slug alert, and have a potting shed! I’ve also toned up and lost some weight with all the physical exercise, and I’ve enjoyed asking my Mum who is a keen gardener for her advice. The garden has become a big focus for me, I’ve bought myself an Infrared camera, and we can now see what the foxes get up to in the garden when we are asleep which has been huge fun.”

Sketch away the day, like Sophie.

Sophie Dique is a 17-year-old who has had her A levels cancelled on her. She’s spent her lockdown indulging her passion of art, painting her bedroom, drawing at the living room table and allowing herself to spend slow, lazy days just creating whatever she wants.

Her recent project has been to fill a notebook of artistic creations. Once finished, she has been uploading these onto a newly created Instagram account which you can find at @artbysophied.

This is the time Sophie would have spent studying for exams, stressed and anxious and instead, with an unconditional offer under her belt, she has been able to pour herself into creative work. She has experimented with new styles and materials including Gouache paint, and is quite happy to say that lockdown has been one of the best times of her life so far!

Get your business online, like Rachel.

Rachel McGuinness is a wellbeing consultant who has seen her business explode during this crisis.

“Since it all began, I have launched an online wellbeing hub – workplace wellbeing for small to medium sized businesses. It was already planned to launch on 1 April and it did, however this crisis means that businesses are really realising that they need to look after the mental and physical wellbeing of their staff.

I’ve really enjoyed thinking on my feet, pivoting the business, looking at different opportunities and actioning ideas. Prospects and clients are very amenable at the moment because they want to do the right thing and look after their employees.

I’ve loved being in ‘flow state’ and being really proactive during this time.

It’s also changed the way I work. Whatever the new normal looks, I will certainly be doing fewer face to face meetings in London in the future as I’ve saved so much money and time during lockdown!”

Rachel’s business can be found here

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We hope you found inspiration in the stories  shared by our fab five above. If you’d like to share your own story about a joy discovered during lockdown, please feel free to share it with us in the comments below!

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In lieu of my regular “Brand of the Month”, I’ve decided to feature inspirational individuals during these unprecedented times. This “Inspiration of the Month” goes to…

Alessandro Michele

Here’s why…

The Coronavirus has shaken a lot of industries, but Alessandro Michele, creative director of fashion powerhouse Gucci, is doing the shaking from the inside.

The pandemic has brought the non-stop carousel of the fashion world to a screeching halt. While the industry waits to resume its seamless rotation of spring/summer, autumn/winter, cruise and pre-fall shows, Michele has other plans for Gucci. In a recent virtual press conference, he announced that he will be limiting the number of fashion shows going forward, from five to two per year. Gucci will be stepping off of the carousel.

What I find interesting (and inspirational) here is the power of pause during the pandemic and its influence in this. In our Survive to Thrive Toolkit, Part II, we recently explored ways in which the pandemic offers us an opportunity to pause and examine our experience, to see what we can learn from these extraordinary times. What comes to the surface might just have the potential to bring about significant change.

We see exactly this in Michele’s “Notes from the Silence” entry, posted on Instagram on 29th March. In the post, he reveals doing a fair amount of reflecting during the lockdown, and this is starting to translate into radical action. Michele has come out in support of moving towards a leaner, more sustainable fashion culture, and his passion and purpose shine through in this post (and I personally love that Michele’s proclivity to flowery maximalism extends beyond his bold creations, what consistent branding!):

View this post on Instagram

1/6 • “We could never have imagined to feel so connected to life through a bond of trembling and heartbreaking tenderness. We could never have thought to reconnect, so deeply, with the fragility of our creatural destiny. Our need for reciprocity. We turned out to be so small. A miracle of nothing,” We Turned Out to be So Small, March 29, 2020. @alessandro_michele wrote a diary in these months, ‘Notes from the Silence’. #AlessandroMichele. Read the diary entries through link in bio.

A post shared by Gucci (@gucci) on May 22, 2020 at 8:28am PDT

 

Michele has declared the fashion week calendar and labels like “Spring/summer” obsolete, stating “I think these are stale and underfed words … clothes should have a longer life than that which these words attribute to them.” Instead, Gucci will have “seasonless” collections twice a year.

The label will therefore be glaringly absent from the September catwalk, where it would have been a crown jewel of fashion week. Similarly, Saint Laurent, also owned by the Kering parent company, recently announced it would sit out Paris fashion week this September, as they are “conscious of the current circumstances and its waves of radical change”. Dries Van Noten has also led a number of independent designers in calling for an “overhaul of the industry”, with less shows and product.

While talk of drastic changes to the fashion industry have been going on for the past month, mega-labels have remained mostly silent…until now. As Gucci is the mightiest brand to come to the table, Michele’s announcement packs quite a punch, with real potential to create a sea change within the industry.

Michele has created a strong name for himself in the fashion world by bringing edgy culture into fashion and embracing gender fluidity (think the Harry Styles in pearl earrings and ruffles and the actor Jared Leto in a floor-length evening gown at the Met Gala). However, influencing sustainable development in the fashion world may just be his greatest contribution yet.

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Dear Reader,

Welcome back to our toolkit, where we offer insights, questions and coping strategies to help us better survive and ultimately thrive during these challenging times.

In Part I (available here), we looked at very real issues that came with the pandemic: Coronavirus anxiety, dealing with change, isolation and other practical problems, and offered personality-specific guidance and coping strategies. A lot of this centred around the survival side of things; how to deal with this abrupt change and this new way of living and working.

In Part II, we are going to try to make sense of what we have all been going through, and see what we can learn about ourselves from these extraordinary times.  By examining our experience, we might discover another way of coping, one that allows us to move our focus past current fears and challenges to our personal growth.

In other words, we can move from survive to thrive.

 

Download the toolkit for free here:

FROM SURVIVE TO THRIVE – PART II 

 

 

Be safe out there everyone!

 

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In lieu of my regular “Brand of the Month”, I’ve decided to feature inspirational individuals who have gone above and beyond to help others during these unprecedented times.
This “Inspiration of the Month” goes to…

Captain Tom Moore

Here’s why…
This World War II veteran, promoted to Honorary Colonel by the Queen to mark his 100th birthday today, has captivated the nation after raising more than £30m for the NHS by completing 100 laps of his garden. He smashed his initial modest £1,000 target in just 24 hours.

But it’s more than that. Moore has become something of a national hero here in the UK. You may wonder, how could something so mundane like walking laps around the garden be considered heroic?

He’s symbolic

Archetypes, which are often used in branding, are “universal symbols” that may be a character, a theme, or even a setting. The Hero archetype represents the act of overcoming obstacles to achieve specific goals. In mythology, the hero’s objective is often to find a treasure or defeat a villain.

The villain today may be invisible, but a uniformed veteran with three medals on his chest serves as a strong visual cue we can attach to: the good guy taking action. Given our nation’s reverence for both the second world war and the NHS, Moore is indeed well co-branded.

A different kind of hero

In times of crises, we search out heroes. But not all heroes wear capes, as they say. Heroes act courageously, and the meaning of that courageous act is often defined by the spirit of the times. In Moore’s walking, we find an action that would ordinarily be considered mundane reflecting our current limitations. The battleground of the hero has changed.

Given the polarity within politics and the potential for reputational damage over social media, politicians unfortunately don’t make great hero material these days. Moore, however, keeps his politics to himself and doesn’t have a social media history.  Moreover, as the elderly are the most common victims of this invisible villain, it’s fitting that a 100-year-old has become the defiant, heroic face of the pandemic.

Passing the torch

Britain is a country in need of inspiration at the moment, and that’s what Moore has provided. His appeal spans generations, and he’s managed to inspire a following more commonly associated with Instagram influencers. He has inspired artistic tributes, from children sending homemade birthday cards to his local post office to street artists creating large scale murals and artists auctioning his portrait for charity.

Moore has inspired others to take the fundraising torch and courageously move past their limitations. Here are just a few remarkable individuals that Moore has personally inspired:

Moore’s birthday today has been marked by a flypast of a Spitfire and Hurricane from the RAF. The Royal Mail are also stamping all letters with a special message: “Happy 100th Birthday Captain Thomas Moore NHS fundraising hero 30th April 2020.” Downing Street has also suggested it will recognise his “heroic efforts” with an honour.

It certainly sounds like our Colonel Tom is well on his way to becoming a National Treasure.