When I first started out…
I was a real ‘virgin’ artist. I was living in New York and I walked around in paint splattered clothes so that people would know what I did. It’s a learning curve to realise you don’t have to play a part, but rather have the confidence to live your brand.
The first big lesson I learnt was…
To never make assumptions about people. I bought an Iranian carpet for my loft and it was too big to carry by myself. A truck driver recommended by the store helped me out. He drove me home and came up to the loft. He really liked my work. A few days later he called me up and said he’d arranged for me to meet the president of the National Arts Club. It turns out he was comedian Chris Rock’s uncle, and he was the reason for my first big break.
My main rule is that…
You should always surround yourself with passionate people. Find people who share your values and you’ll slowly grow an incredible network of like-minded individuals.
I live by the notion that…
You should think inside the box. Thinking outside the box has been done. In today’s fast-paced environment you need to be sharp, short and focused. Twitter is a great example of this. There’s no time for waffle. We need to get to the point. For me, that’s inside the box thinking.
My personal mantra is that…
It’s not about perfection, it’s about progress. It’s easy to make something perfect (although this might be its own sign of imperfection), but progress allows you to keep improving. You need to be changing and moving to keep improving yourself and what you produce. Resting on your laurels gets you nowhere.
I’m currently passionate about…
Our new PAL (protectingafricanlions.org) campaign. Lianne Landman has designed an exclusive bracelet in MccreedyBlue. They’re $21 each, and made locally. All proceeds go to the grass roots manufacturers, the non-profit organisation PAL, as well as a few other organisations we’ve earmarked. Our aim is to sell one million bracelets within the first year.
[box style=”grey map rounded shadow”]
We Tell You How to Unlock Some Branding Secrets. Find Out More Here
[/box]