1. Can you tell me a little about your background?

- Born and bread in the heartland of America, (Columbus Ohio) I grew up with a healthy curiosity for the outlandish, a profound love of soccer, and an endless devotion to independent film. Post High School, I attended a university in NY to further my interests in Film, and art, etc….

Post college I relocated to the Lower East Side and was recruited by a very close childhood friend & fellow New York City dweller, to take an open position along side him as a viral marketing agent with a start up fashion brand, called  Z-Brand.

Initially it was only as part time work. The more i participated in it, the more I wanted to take part in production. The creative process was similar to that in film. and the whole process of creating something tangible, was very intriguing to me. That begun my career. I worked at several different brands before eventually / finally starting my own this year.

2. Did you always know you wanted to be in fashion?

- I genuinely had no idea I would ever end up in fashion.. Although, a career in fashion never really sounded that bad

3. What is the philosophy behind the The Fortunate Sun label?

- A year ago I finally made the decision to leave NY behind and make Los Angeles my home. I now live in California, with the girl that I love, and I work doing something I am incredibly passionate about… That, is what I find to be fortunate. Ultimately I am making the best of the situation at all times. Truly, living the dream.

4. Where did the name come from?

- Spend a day out of the eastern winter, in the Los Angeles Sun. Look upwards…

5. Where do you get your inspiration from?

- Cultural Curiosity. I want to make all the eclectic shit that I want to wear, no boundaries.

6. What is your goal for the brand?

- Find people and stores that are interested in Living the Dream… Continue to Live the Dream.

7. What’s the mood for your next collection?

- Happy. Actually, internationally happiness.

8. Is there anyone you would love to see snapped in one of your creations?

- Roger Federer… I truly love that guy.

Are you living the dream?

thefortunatesun.com

TELL US YOUR INTERPRETATION OF A PICAHOLIC….

We are pleased to announce our newly developed and very much anticipated SIDEBAR.  Its main role is to contain anything that is considered “Secondary Navigation” such as Footer Information, Copyright, Audio controls and Image Navigation.

  With the popularity of Social Sites, it also acts as the home for custom links to your blog, social media sites.

In the near future you will have the ability to load your own custom icons and set its own behavior.

SIDEBAR FEATURES:

1. Support up to 7 icons: Each icon can be either simple text, link to an external site, or have its own HTML code that (for now) will show up as a pop-up.
2. Clean new Icons: Icon sets will be added regularly giving you the ability to interchange them with a simple click of a button.
3. Animated Slide-Out on Rollover: When a user rolls over a button with their mouse, the button will slide out and will display the buttons name.
4. Color: Control both the idle and rollover color of the side bar.
5. Custom Links: Create up to 7 custom footer links.  These links can have:
  a. Simple Text on rollover
 b. Link to external sites such as Facebook or sponsors sites  
c. Its own Flash or HTML file that plays on rollover. Eg PAYPAL show cart.
6. Audio Tab: The new audio tab will soon act as a multiple track player.  Place up to 4 tracks in the background giving your site visitors to select tracks and link back to the original artists site

ACCESSING AND CONTROLLING THE SIDEBAR:
CONFIGURE > SIDEBAR tab.

How do you reach a worldwide audience without spending a fortune? The answer is online video.  It is the most popular way to reach your target audience and create brand awareness with a small amount of effort.  Communicate your values and vision directly to your audience so that it gives more depth about who you are.  Add this to your marketing strategy and watch the results come pouring in!

Videos create an instant rapport with your audience.  To do this successfully, you should give as much valuable information as you possibly can.  Anything that will help your audience is going to invoke trust and we all know that we buy something from someone we like.  The main thing to remember is what message are you trying to get across to your audience and in which way.  Is it meant to be light hearted or serious?  It’s always best to be yourself and keep it real as if you are talking to your clients face to face.

So you must create trust and rapport in order to capture qualified individuals who want more of the same content and can spread the word about your business virally for you.  Other highlights that can make your video more compelling are, studio tours, client testimonials, and videos and images from an actual shoot.

So how do you get started?
This question depends on how you want to present your image and your brand.  A more effective video will need to have a professional approach.  Some of you are tech savvy and can use your webcam and video editing tools to create a professional video.  However, if you are not technical and not sure how to produce a video yourself, it’s best to talk to someone who does such as a video producer.

Where do I post my video once created?
Once you have produced your video you should add it to your website.  Then proceed to post your video on top social sites such as You Tube and Digg.  Don’t forget that you will need to spend a lot of time building a friend base and networking with people who are interested in your content as much as you are theirs.

Take a look at what Kenneth Dolin used video on his website:

http://www.kennethdolin.com/about

So what are you waiting for?
Whether it is through your webcam or a professional video producer, get out there and create a video that will connect you to your clients.  This can ultimately result in more bookings and sales and who knows a long lasting relationship!

Are you using video to market yourself?  Tell us how it has helped you.

Last night I was invited to speak at Creative Sydney - a festival celebrating the wealth and diversity of the city’s creative talents.  It was at the beautiful Museum of Contemporary Art where I used to spend my days admiring the art.

When I arrived to an empty room of 350 seats, the nerves started to settle in.

Empty room at the Museum of Contemporary Art

I was then introduced to the other speakers and we had drink to calm the nerves.

Talking to other speakers before the discussion began

Crowd quickly arrives.

Crowd arrives

It was finally my turn to speak and as the spotlight turned to me, it was all systems go.  I explained my role and what Picaholic is all about.

Introduction slide for Picaholic

Then discussed 6 main factors that are vital to your website - which we at Picaholic adhere to.

1. Compelling – The first thing your site needs to be is compelling.  If your site does not leave an impression, your audience will not be interested in hearing from you in person.

Make your website compelling

2. Easy to use - Many creatives fall into the trap that their site needs to be complicated in order to make it engaging.  In reality, users hate guessing, they’re there to see your work - so let them get to it quickly and easily.

Websites should be easy to use

3. Search Engine Friendly - A site that cannot be indexed by major search engines such as Google and Yahoo is simply not a site.  A good site will allow you to index more than just your domain.  It should allow you to index every page as well as all the content within it.

Search engine friendly websites

4. Browser and Screen Compatible - With so many browsers and screen sizes on the market, its important that your site is designed to be optimized on all browsers and different screen sizes.  This is were Flash is an ideal platform as it is compatible with all browsers and its functionality can allow to resize for each screen size.

Websites should all be browser & screen compatible

5. Mobile Enabled - With the popularity of phones such as the iPhone and Blackberry, many of your visitors could potentially visit your site on their mobile, so its vital that your site is mobile enabled.

Websites viewed on mobile phones

6. Integration with live feeds and social media sites - Social Media sites offer powerful marketing opportunities, but most creative people find it difficult to figure out an entrance point from a professional perspective.  Therefore, integration with Social Media sites offers an easy way to let your fans know what you do for money and lets them engage with your content either on your site or on your social page.

Integration with live feeds and social media

It got to the end of the discussion and it was amazing to see the response from the crowd.  I left some flyers behind which went like hotcakes!

A big thank you to everyone at Creative Sydney, it was an amazing experience to be a part of.  If anyone wants to know more information about the event, click here.

Join Picaholic on their new Facebook & Twitter Groups. If you don’t already have an account, sign up and support everything picaholicness:

Picaholic on Facebook

Picaholic on Twitter

Much love from the Picaholic Team.