Berlin, Germany-- this week 360Fashion Network highly refractive clothing makes its debute at a special conference called Future Thinking with CEO of Paishouba, a company I just redesigned their app for music, will be speaking. We built also NFC into his cuffs to quickly network with people by shaking hands, literally!
Beijing, China -- I"m having the time of my life--I got the best roommate in the world: Paulina! She is indeed so sweet, a fashion model, and a business woman! She so smart and gives me great advice about handelling things. She does both modelling and consulting with her boyfriend. We get along so well, and I couldnt wish for someone better. Thanks to Michael Kuntz for finding her!
Its so funny though how our styles clash: I"m black black black and a bit rocky, and she's miss pink! We spend hours on Taobao though when we are supposed to be working combing through clothing and shoes. I generally ask her opinion--and she asks me for tech stuff. We make a great pair. I'm thinking to start the AninaPaulina or PaulinaAnina show where we pick through Taobao and then link to the stuff we think is HOT.
What do you think about this latest picks of pink from the princess of P?
Beijing, China -- This year started off in a traditional way with a technology twist.
I learned that by respecting the traditions of China, and hiving efforts to be a part of them can open doors. The 360Fashion Network team and I made a really cool Chinese New Year card with augmented reality. It made a big impression on our clients and partners.
For the festivities I was invited into the home of one of our local partner, Miss Yan, and made a western salad for dinner, and watched them cook Chinese veggies for me.
At midnight, the blitzkreig started with fireworks that I'm sure you can see from Saturn. We started making dumplings that we ate together after midnight. I asked what was the meaning of making them together. Miss Yan told me that it is so we will know that we will never be alone. We make them together and eat them together so we know that no matter what happens we have a family to back you up.
You can tell which dumplings I made because they look more like ravioli than little bonbon packages.
At the table we all took turns giving speeches and toasting to each other. Many of the people toasted to me saying they greatly admired that I was a woman alone, in a foreign country, where I did not speak the language, and doing business successfully. They said they would never do that, pick up and leave their homeland alone. The key word being "alone". Funny, how what seems strange and slightly uncomfortable to me, is being "together". Its a concept that I can't get my head around but that my dear friend Joanna Weidenmiller has spent a great deal of time teaching me to better interact with humans than computers. Mostly, I have found, if you want to make your dream come true exactly as you see it in your head, you have to go it alone. You rarely find some people who want yo do the same thing, especially if it involves risk. At the same time my yogi says that there is not one single thing we can do on this planet that is not without the help of another. Go on, try it, I dare you. I am sure that someone along the way had to be involved to make it possible. So this illusion that we are alone is so great its a mass hallucination.
So making dumplings is a good way to give thanks to all the parts of the puzzle that come together to make us eat.
Happy Chinese New Year 2013.
Beijing, China -- So no one thought that we could survive the Mayan calendar end, but who anticipated surviving the Chinese AIR...
You really have to keep an eye on things. I started to question why I am in China and how much damage I'm doing to myself and is it worth it? I look at my friends in NYC and I think of those 4th Avenue Days & 14th, fresh juice bars every block, yoga every 5 minutes. I dont have to stop to think about my friends in Los Angeles, how they wake up every day with the SUN and just stepping outside their door is pure heaven of nature within 1 hour in every direction, rock climbing in Yosemite. I understand why people choose to work in a grocery store instead of a skyscraper, and instead scrape by because they can then dedicate their weekends to camping, hiking, rock climbing. So what am I doing this for? For getting rich? For protecting myself in my old age? I have seen some people who did that then get sick and they had nothing to fall back on except their friends and asking them for money because they could not pay for that operation etc. That somehow doesnt seem right. I dont want to be like that.
At the same time, I wonder what I'm doing here in China. Joanna got out with her husband Ryan and went to Silicon Valley. I thought they would be here forever--especially since he has a big fund here that he has to run. How can he do it from overseas? And Joanna jetting back and forth across the ocean also must wear on her body. I cant figure out what is worse--pollution or planes? How does it all balance out? And how do the carbon miles add into the equasion? I guess when she and her husband go for a walk along the water and dip their toes in, the salt wipes it all away. I see the lovely photos on facebook of all the nature they enjoy. I cant remember the last time I saw pure nature.
Maybe, I should want for less. Opa Art always says "Less is more."
My friend Thomas Reemer, his wife, and I went out to Ying Ying's birthday party and afterwards I showed them the private club. We had a great time talking and Thomas said there was a book that was pretty short that summed it up that most likely the Earth will be hit by a commet so you'd better enjoy it all now. We talked about his two children and the type of life they are being born into--what is that going to be like in 2030 when they are older (they are 12 and 15 now but looking more like 15 and 17!). Thomas says that the world will be full of people and that we had better come up with synthetic food to subdue the masses. That there will be a war of food soon. Funny, there was exactly that being developed and won the technology award in France was the synthetic protein being developed from mushrooms and insects to feed animals instead of feeding the animals what we feed them: their own bodies. Makes me glad to not eat meat that thought. Mushrooms are a great solution though. I wonder if it can be one day for humans. The whole conversation with Thomas reminded me of the movie Daybreakers--and how the movie showed me what would happen if the world ever got into food problems. I recommend it, one of my favorite movies.
Ok, back to work...it's 0:22 and I have to meet the Chinese government tomorrow to give them a demo of our AR app and MobileMags. They are going to sell it to their clients--that's why I'm here, because who else is in position now to create such massive change to move the fashion industry away from paper? 360Fashion Network MobileMags awesome do-it-yourself flyer app solution and 360AR.
Lets see what the future holds...
I've been working with our 360AR app and I've been doing a lot of 3D AR but I seem to be having some trouble seeing the trigger image...so ignore this post as I cant upload photos to the forum.
I see no trigger image:
I cant get the image to LAY DOWN...is that rotate around x axis, y axis, or z axis...none seem to work:
Here I cannot get it to fit the trigger image correctly. It either jumps too big or too small:
Very difficult to controll in the 3D viewer of Aurasma studio.
Harbin, China -- The third largest city in China just got more
fashionable and is gearing up for the long haul to fashionista-ism.
With 10Million potential customers, the development complex, HONGBO,
which was an old factory converted into a huge shopping complex mall,
plus event halls. This is the second Harbin Fashion Week and I was
invited by the Chinese government to come along with the usual
suspects from Beijing! It was my first trip to Harbin--and it was as
cold as you can imagine being so close to Russia.
I stayed longer than the other guests. I really enjoyed the conference
the next day. It was not only the right place to meet all the top
level people, but also very exciting to hear what the plans for this
place was, listen to many experts, and have the privilege to be one of
the only foreigners. The only other foreigner was the Italian
Commissioner from Beijing.
My estimate is that this could be a great entry point for fashion
brands who specialize in winter coats, winter wear, and anything WARM
that has a Russian appeal. I cant tell you how many high heeled
Russian spangle boots and fur vests I saw being worn. There is a heavy
Russian influence in style in Harbin--clearly. Fur, fur,
fur...everyone had a fur coat who was female. I think that the Harbin
Fashion Week could attract a lot of Russian buyers for sure as Harbin
has a long history of Russian-Chinese trade.
The owner of the HONGBO complex is a mastermind in commercial
business, and she spelled out clearly her vision on how they are going
to develop Harbin into the third largest fashion city, how they are
going to attract the brands, how they are going to entice the
potential customers, how they are going to develop young talent. Very
impressive and totally backed by the Chinese government in every
sense.
They also launched the HAH organization: a cooperation between HONGBO
Development complex, the women's association, and fashion designers.
The HAH organization will support women designers to develop their
businesses. Really impressive the women in Harbin--I met several super
women who were wealthy, powerful, feminine, and successful.
On my way back to Beijing, I was struck by this woman in the 1st class
who was so beautiful--I actually ran up to her and gave her a
compliment and she returned the compliment. She even gave me a ride
home in her car because she was on the way to close a big deal and had
some extra time. It was so nice to talk to her--of course using my
translator. She invited me to come back to Harbin to see the Ice
Festival in January. I may just go back there since I'll be in great
company of fantastic women!
This is China. You go away for 3 weeks and come back to find they built an entire subway line that wasn't there before. Amazing.
Its also rapid pace withso many events, promotional opportunities and ever growing customers who can pick and choose to the point of boredom.
Although the west is winding down, China is full steam ahead rushing to gain capital ground before the Chinese holiday season, New Year.
Off the plane, I'm slowly starting to see my old schedule of every month travel to Europe returning. My team is growing and the potential projects for next year are giant and of course all at the same time.
I truly enjoyed the BeyondBerlin conference, opening my eyes to sustainability and the supply chain was enlightening. The thing is, that due to my activities in China, I'm actually in the position to DO something about it. I actually can raise awareness for it.
The Open-Strategies and New Thinking company also opened my eyes and mind: I liked best the phone recycling workshop. I deal so much with phones, to learn what pollutes, what can be recycled, and what are the components in a phone that cause unrest in Africa.
An enlightening place we live, this planet, and exciting people in it.
Sent from my Windows Phone 8
The hair and makeup were really awesome for the shooting.
The hairstylist had to cut the hair really pinky so he attached hair one by one. It was after a while really tight but bearable. You wouldn't want to wear it every day all day.
The eye makeup was really beautiful but kids, no chance to try this at home alone. You need only professional help. But I wish I could wear it for Le Web like that! It was really dark near the brow and then had white and gold pigments underneath. The really impressive part was how precise was the ability of the makeup artist. She got both sides identical. That's rare as not everyone's face is symmetrical.
Shooting with photographer Jan Andrashko is just so easy. He knows exactly what he wants! I love it.
Sent from my Windows Phone 8
Punk chic seems to be the new black while shooting for Lifestyle Magazine in China it looks like my hair got the chop-never fear it did not! Instead the hairstylist put a cap on me and pinned the hair in loops around my head. He then cut the fake hair to the desired Sid Vicious length. Combined together with soft golds it gave an interesting fresh perspective of a fierce CEO of a major company.
Sent from my Windows Phone 8
Beijing, China -- During the full moon festival I participated in a fashion created by FAMMM for young designers on the rooftops of Beijing under the moon. Four fashion designers showed their collections and sold off their old collections for charity.
I think it's important to participate and support these events because they first, get rid of excess clothing at a discount price so everyone can enjoy to buy something new at a great discount. The designers win because they reduce their overstock and the spectators get a deep sense of satisfaction knowing that a percentage of the sales is being donated to charity.
Besides that, the FAMMM event was promoted using our 360Fashion MobileMags technology: http://mobilemags.360fashion.net/em/magp.jsp?mag=FAMMM_Fashion_for_Charity_2012&co=uk
Let me know what YOU think about working for charity!
Beijing, China -- I'm so excited! I'm working again with the
government and I'm doing another exhibition in Beijing, this time
during China Fashion Week. I'm scrambling to get paraphernalia
together to give away to get my branding together. I just made 5000 of
these pins! I'm so happy, they are beautiful. Just 2 milimeeters
bigger the logo and then we go to print. It's incredible how much
things cost in China. You really understand why people manufacture
here. It is insane. Who wants a pin?
Munich, Germany -- I know that everyone must say this, but when you first walk in the door at DLD Women it hits you in the face and you just stand there looking around because there are so many women in one place. Wait! I mean, there are so many high-level women in one place. I only experienced that one other time. The 360 degree column was great and I fast became friends with them and even made some experiments with our videos. Watching and meeting Lisa Ma who has now connected me to a friend of her's here in Beijing where I am at the moment. You could say DLD Women was like a discovery mission: discovery not for the speeches but because I didnt know anyone and every time I met someone it was like uncovering diamonds. Women dont really boast well, but being a trained fashion model and tech entrepreneur, I have no problem with that (laugh). It was about learning what other women did: and I met so many that every time they told me another project they had done; like designing the entire retail strategy and building all the retail chains for Hagen-Daz in China....(MAMOUTH) and then continuing on about other top successes. Meeting the woman from big corporations that were starting their own jewelry business was so exciting to see that for every big front there is a big back. Being introduced to other people that were from fashion industry and then getting invited to a tea to hear about Miss Joo from MCM who shared so openly about her experiences of building the MCM brand and being a woman and building in China. Gasp. I can only give the one criticism of, why there is not a software like the google glasses that will let us look around and know everyone. Or an APP but I think more I'm looking for my Gucci Google AR Glasses. Women in Tech, my favorite subject: great pannel moderator--asking critical questions that really helped me have new ideas for 360Fashion Network. Finding out that same journalist runs 5 magazines about tech and has been in the business for 35 years. I can keep going on: what about the girl from Austria who invented the book scanning robot with 1 finger that scans tons of books all over the world--she said she tried 3 times first two times failed and her investors were bummed to say the least but she got it RIGHT on the 3rd time. WOW. And she could be a model. Let alone spending time with my partner over days which is a rare occasion because we work so hard. Let alone women taking their career and homelife into their own hands and having kids on their own, and also so many women with families and careers. Women, like diamonds waiting to be buffed and uncovered from dust. PS: WOMEN ROCK. WOMEN IN TECH.
Here are my photos: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151031566334936.444484.73391679935&type=3
Shanghai, China--You know when there's a genius in the house because things start getting innovative and interactive. The QR clothing that Aurelien Lecout designed for the Mobile Asia Expo was so popular! Everyone stood quietly there as I took their photos, but every reaction was the same: a double-take look at the camera screen and see how the flash highlights the QR Code design and say "WOW!" Then they start snapping away with their own camera. We had great people come to our exhibition. So proud to see them!
Shanghai, China -- It was thrilling to give a speech at Mobile Asia Expo. The venue was packed with Fashion and IT people! It was thrilling and we had the lucky draw at the end of the event. Here you can find the winners with the CHIC 20 Year History Book.
In my speech, titled "How mobile will revolutionize the fashion industry" I talked about NFC and how it can be used for authenticating clothing as real instead of fake, how QR codes need a re-vamp and when technology people create tech, they should think about the aesthetics, not just the functionality. I explained how fashion mobile customers are, what they want, how they buy. After I went around the room and asked people in the audience what they thought. It was great to share!
Shanghai, China -- Mannequinns! They never know what to do except
stand around and pose all day! My gosh--real models have so much more
LIFE in them. That's ok though because these figures are for our
exhibition about Mobile & Fashion at the MAE on June 20-22nd. If you
are in Shanghai, you dont want to miss it! Contact us for an
invitation!
Sent from Tammy @ iPhone
Shanghai, China -- The building is starting to happen and the day is
drawing closer to the GSMA Mobile Asia Expo where 360Fashion Network
will showcase a portion of the China International Clothing and
Accessories Fair (CHIC) exhibition. Esmod Beijing will participate
showcasing their winning fashion designers with a high-tech edge, then
also Elisabeth de Senneville showcasing her techo-fashion fabrics, and
our great honor to showcase Bas Kosters ss2013 collection of mobile
phone designs! There will be a surprise QR Code experience that I'm
not going to tell about now..but it's really revolutionary with light
and linking.
The building is started and the 360Fashion team will start heading
down to Shanghai tomorrow to build it up.
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