JACK HAS ARRIVED |
He is now on display at Susan's office. |   |
VISIT OUR WALL OF FAME |
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O'KEEFFE SHOES |
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| This spring, a new shoe brand will land on the streets of London and New York: O'Keeffe. The brand Director is Maud O'Keeffe, who has worked with (among others) Helmut Lang and Alexander McQueen. This first collection, which will contain 15 styles, inspired by the ruggedness of Ireland with the finesse of Italian handmade shoes. The brand uses the O'Keeffe family Latin motto, translated as: "To the brave and faithful - nothing is difficult." | The first half - "Forti e Fideli" is printed under the tongue of the left foot and "Nihil Difficile", under the tongue of the right foot. "We wanted each new owner to carry a strong, motivational message with him as he wears the shoes - the motto seemed an obvious choice" says Maud, who is (coincidentally) Susan's 'little sister'. Creativity seems to run in the family... | |
INTERVIEW WITH SUSAN BLAIR |
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"I wanted transparency in all fields'' Susan Blair is founder of Marl Point. We interviewed her to mark the fifth anniversary of the agency. Five years Marl Point. What does that mean for you, personally? ‘In certain advertising agencies I had seen that their activities are not necessarily always focused on supplying their clients with high quality solutions. I knew exactly what I wanted, how I could arrange things in my agency in such a way that made it possible to be there for my clients all the time, to really help them with their brands, products, services. And, at the same time, how I could build a strong foundation for my agency that could withstand possible economic storms. And very important: I wanted transparency in all fields. It touches me that this idea, this vision has materialized. Marl Point is strong, charming and transparent’. Which were the highlights in those five years? I had only just started, when I won the Silver Esprix Award Non Profit and the Silver PMC Europe for my work for Oxfam Novib. Obviously, that was an enormous highlight right away! After that, seeing that, step by step, you get the team that you wanted, you get the clients you wanted, make the beautiful things you wanted to make – those are all highlights!’ Why the Adorable Factor? ‘I have thought long and hard about how to broaden Marl Point. How I would be able to offer my clients -besides the existing services (design, DTP, web design, concept & copy and one-off communication solutions- even more creativity. How I could be of even more service. Following the developments in marketing communication, I saw that there’s a lot of focus on channels and technical possibilities, but not so much focus on what people really want to hear, see or receive from brands. ‘The’ consumer changed and is still changing, that won’t probably stop very soon. With the Adorable Factor method, we can precisely find out how to respond to the real desires of people. Surely, I can’t do this on my own. The base has to be broad and strong. I have a heavyweight from the advertising industry, Wim van der Oest, for copy & concept and Tosca Driessen is, with her background, the perfect Adorable Factor analyst. The Adorable Factor method is built on a strong foundation too. Marl Point, five years from now? Vision is everything for me. I can tell you exactly what Marl Point will look like five years from now. I said something about the foundation we’ve built during the past years. Five years from now, that foundation will support three floors. All of them as solid as the foundation itself, with the charm and flexibility of the original Marl Point. We’ll continue to follow the developments in society and will anticipate on them. You want to know what those three floors will contain? I know exactly what. And if you want to know as well, you’re invited to come back in five years time!’ |