Think Small

Paris' Spring and Retail as a Cultural Entity

One of the many special experiences living in Paris was getting to know, and in a way grow up with, the team at the restaurant Spring.  A small kitchen putting out a simple dinner nightly.  Suddenly they are one of the most heralded and internationally acclaimed restaurants in Paris.  While becoming the NYT's Paris poster-children is great for them what I really loved how they became part of the culture of their little nighbourhood as told by this video.  

 

Lots of little shops I frequented to and from the Spring boutique or waiting for someone to join for a glass of wine.  The ancient presse guy mostly. Stirs my nostalgia for his nostalgia.  I'd explore this neighbourhood often with the uninhibited spirit of curiosity an expat in Paris becomes endlessly adicted to.

One of the reasons I loved living in Paris was studying first hand the fabrics of rich and deep communities.  Understand what makes a real community from people that have loved and hated each other for centuries.  Living myself as part of a small multi block neighbourhood where inhabitants, businesses, local government (even for my sub, sub, micro, sub region of Paris), community organizations, unions, busybodies, the three homeless people, my barber, the team of youths who hanging out late night at the local Place St. Lazarre, prefecture police, the weekend CRS riot police visits and our street cleaners served a inter-related and mutually respected (with continuous paradoxical distrusted) community.  

Mostly, I loved seeing how an individual business seeped into the fabric of the immediate neighbourhood.   Most businesses in the developed world have become little more than the immediate square footage of their retail outlet and maybe a bit of a contrived "community" activities department to help "strengthen bonds" with local community through a few activities outlined in the binder from head office.

One day I will open a retail entity but I am not too sure exactly what it will sell.  I'm actually not too worried about "what" just yet.  What I observed, noted and lived in Paris was individual businesses as cultural entities - that is much more interesting.  Proprietors whose existence seeps beyond the walls of a lease and deep into the pores of the local neighbourhood and more deeply into the fields, factories and workshops of the producers.

A great business strengthens the community every day through what it does as a mainline pursuit driven by the humans behind it.  

I learned a lot about this by getting to know the team at the restaurant Spring.  Though they suddenly have become THE restaurant in town it is actually a very simple place.  You just come, sit down and have dinner.  No menu, no fuss, just brilliantly aligned to the seasons and what intrigues the chef Daniel at any given moment or a surprise dropped off by a local supplier.  Better, go the the wine boutique for a great recommendation from 8€ to a modest mortgage.  It's all very real without being REALtm - without the obligatory chalkboard and heritage furniture, vintage tea spoons, typwriter in the window or irnonic anything.  

Marcus, Bloggers Drinks and Bubble Bobble

Last Friday an internet worm hole opened up landing me in Shoreditch of East London.  A "Bloggers Drinks" event instigated by the presence of The Kaiser himself - Marcus Brown.  

I have internet known Marcus for about 5 - ish years - amidst all his extensive commenting, conspiring and publishing enable by the power of the internet.

It was about time our paths crossed in the analogue world.  Partially to snuff my curiosity whether he really exists or is an elaborate post-digital trans-media ARG narrative invented and curated by an idiot savant holed up somewhere deep in the axis of evil.

In fact, Marcus exists, and refreshingly was just as one would exist.  There were discussions of Bubble Bobble, meta-media, trans-gender-media,  jukebox functionality and WAM respectfully.  The Truman's Beer at Ten Bells was brillaint.

It is always fun meeting folks you know from the internet, like chatting with someone you grew up with for a period in life.  You have mutual reference points and a shared interest. It only gets weird when someone inevitably mentions how weird it is - which was Marcus' one obvious fault.

See you again Marcus.  

Multi-Plane Camera - Retro Craft Week Redux

Back in the halcyon days of blogging and the fraternity of the web I did a series called retro craft week when going on vacation or feeling lazy.  It celebrated the great craftspeople who make great things - and have for a long time before the world of 11's and 00's.

In that spirit here is a video of Walt Disney introducing the multi-plan camera and how it gives cartoons three dimensions.

 

Truth, Lies and Rioting

Walking through London streets this week a plywood magnate must cautiously smile.  Though certainly not with pleasure. Jogging the 6 miles from Fitzrovia to our temporary home in Chiswick Tuesday, the night after wide-spread violence, streets were vacant but for police officers and crews boarding up shops with fresh plywood. 

From the small independent shops who form social fabric to the corporate behemoth Universal records who form culture - scale and ownership structures didn't matter for rioters looking to steal and destroy.  Up went the defensive plywood on shops big and small.

The pundits, academics and politicians are promptly stating grand theories and reasoning while jockeying for air time and headlines.  Sensational videos aside, the stories from average people in the wrong place at the wrong time are compelling for the insightful balance of terror and calm.  Mixed with the odd voice of reason from surprising places, such as Russell Brand in The Guardian, enlighten the truth and complexity behind what the riots are symptomatic of.

As with most things increasingly are these days, the causes and fixes are too complex for a snappy headline, overly crafted slogan or simplistic reductionistic PowerPoint slide.    And while theories are of necessity one must recognise we are in an age of learning new social behaviours.  Hundreds of kids filmed knowingly by CCTV camera, hovering police helicopters, roving news helicopters and their friend's Facebook Feeds partake in criminal behaviour leaving a trail of unprecedented evidence.

While every nation has its ills, England in all truth is on a relative basis a comfortable place to live.  As the rioters wearing 100£ trainers transmitted photos and plans to each other on their smart phones the layers of cognitive dissonance stack high.

  It is a great time to park theorisation of the events and observe evolving behaviours at a broader level. 

• When friend's iPhone photos become evidence in court leading to a conviction does it induce more law abiding behaviour or make image capturing events socially unacceptable? 
• Does the public shaming of 'thieves' on the front pages form a more effective deterrence and form of justice or an enticement for fame? 
• As social media becomes an easy pariah for governments to attack, what ways of communication will inevitably fill the void if restrictions are put in place?
• Does the mix of class and race rioting shoulder to shoulder (and today line up one after another in courts) reinfice and tear apart multi-cultural unity?

Brands, who love to talk about how much they are loved must wonder what they have done. Are the really loved?  Is it love if someone goes to the extent of breaking the law to get their hands on a product for free or the greatest disrespect when one will go to great length to not part with their own money in exchange for it?

Well, it will take a while to figure it all out.

 

Heads Down In London

 

After three and a half weeks in London, it is clear it is a great time to be in advertising.

Not for all the reasons well paid agency executives like to plod out as a facade of optomism.  You know, the 'never been so much creativity and innovation about, we can do anything...' line.

No, what is great is that walking around SOHO, talking to people at agencies here and abroad, heads are down working.

Not conferencing, parading as gurus, whinging or penning another article claiming the death of something.

Nope, the smart people are just getting on with it.  Taking the brilliant principles of creativity mastered by Mr. Bernbach & Co. and matching it with the robust body of knowledge of digital (couple decades worth of info now) and social (a very productive 10 years) along with all the other theories and stuff to make smart stuff that is interesting and works.

Yes, a lovely time to be in our business. Right, time to get on with it.