Pink Diamante encrusted mice and 3D Glasses

Christmas - how my ambitions in setting up my own label have affected my view and realization of yuletide festivities..

Prioritizing
Most Christmas's for our family are spent in Cape Town with relatives. However due to the imminent launch of the label this was never going to be a possibility. The carnage was therefore brought to the Isle of Wight so little old me could work in between gatherings, a decision which I feel my brother may struggle to forgive. If only he wore girl clothes then I could bribe him...hm hang on a mo...?


Present appreciation society
As setting up a business costs an arm and a leg all present requests to Santa this year primarily revolved around anything that could be used within the label to cut my costs. Computer aids, drawing equipment, fabric etc... My favorite was a pink diamante encrusted mouse for my computer (photographed here with my 3D glasses from Avatar....awesome, if only to watch 200 people sat in the dark in sunglasses). It changes colour from pink to blue and is probably one of the most grotesque yet wonderful things I have ever seen.

Perspective
I have more recently begun finding myself looking at products with a new perspective. What sells, who is the buyer, are they cornering a niche market and if so how...?
Marc Jacobs I feel is the perfect example of a designer who is making his product accessible to a huge percentage of the market, primarily through spin off lines and products. From Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton to Marc by Marc by Marc by Marc by Marc by Marc etc..
Spin off products is definitely something I want to get into and am constantly thinking of new ideas. Christmas is a great time to look out for quirky new products hitting our shelves.


I find ideas from all over the place. I have begun to develop a bit of a thing for spooky figurine type things. The one above is a favorite who belonged to my Grandpa. His eyes and mouth move, it's so weird and a little scary but I love him. I consider him my modern day Gargoyle when i'm alone in the house.


This has also progressed onto a "thang" for robots. This started when one Valentines day I couldn't figure out what to get my current boyfriend, who was a teacher at the time. I'm not really a fan of the day and have always refused to buy Chocolates etc so popped into the local shop and decided that a pencil sharpener in the shape of a robot would be perfect...eh?!?! I even cut out a little photo of myself and stuck it on said robot to add to the romance...good one. The relationship surprisingly didn't last but my love of robots did.


I also love Cosplay (photo above) - an activity in which competitors dress as their favourite anime or manga characters and enact favourite scenes.


Check out these little Salt and Pepper robots too. Amazing.

All I can say is that if I can bring another individual as much joy from my products as I get from my Pink Diamante encrusted mouse every time I look at it I will be a happy girl.