photo by LHDumes

It’s Tuesday and here is a Style Note for you.

Maybe its true that you can really know all about a person by looking in their medicine cabinet, or kitchen junk drawer. The inside of a pocketbook. The basement.

I am much more interested in what people choose to take with them as they venture into the world every day. For me, a lot of thought goes into what goes into my toolkit.

Tools I will need to make every part of my day work are different depending on the day. Some things are always with me – phone, wallet, keys – and I wonder if one day they will be all one neat, elegant package. That would save me from my daily ritual of tearing through the house looking for all of them.

Here are a few things I always have:

Business cards at the ready – often interspersed with other people’s cards that I simply do not have the time to take out, enter into my contact list, blah blah, blah so I eventually forget who the person was to begin with.

Pandora on my Blackberry and earplugs in ears to tune in and to tune out.

Make up bag. Big time warpaint with impressive names like “Power Lash” and “Lip Plumper”. We women need to check in with the pit crew periodically.

A bill to mail, a telephone number with no name.

But wait, there’s more

I also carry:

a Flip camera to capture sounds and music of the city for this blog.

a slim sketchbook for sudden inspirations of shoe designs

a Ziploc bag with something to knit

All these things make my day realizable. They also give me the ability to reinvent my experiences creatively.

What are you carrying in your bag?

Can’t Wait to Get Hooked?

Grab your needles and click here!

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

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	Mosaic Monday (Pool)
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Flickr Social Club (Pool)

Margaret Cousins:

Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.

Here is my first Getting to Wow! video with style notes for people who change the world.  It was shot with my fabulous little Flip camera and edited over a weekend.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, tell me what a video is worth!

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world,  please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

photo by mediman30

Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result.
Oscar Wilde

I think science is for the smart kids.

I got through school by figuring out who I needed to listen to so I could do what I needed to do.  Like pass science.

Today I was given an intriguing request for information by a funder.  A list of dance artists, a few questions about Queens.  I could have beamed up a list from our artist database at the speed of light and dashed off some answers.

But no!

Remembering how effortlessly I delivered wrong answers in class has now taken form as a reflex that stops me every time I am put to task.  It actually looks like I am twitching or doing a disco imitation of a robot – damn high school science!

OK, back to my tried and true scientific methodology:  Who do I need to know to do what I need to do?

I needed to know ten dance artists who would be inspired, eager and ready to build a dance community in Queens.  I needed to take more time in responding and give myself more time to listen to the artists one at a time.  Of course, what usually happens is that everyone has great ideas and the eventually the common vision of this community and the conditions for its success became a vivid reality with each conversation, each artist.

I have no doubt this project will be an inspired success.  It will be the inevitable result of a science that I call knowing who to listen to.

How do you make things happen?

I am listening.

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world,  please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

photo by Cheng l

Eight meetings on the Hill.

A blitz of cab rides between the House and Senate.

Way too much coffee.

What was my goal?

To deliver a spot-on perfect pitch to the Queens Delegation for my Artful Business proposal.

Katherine DeFoyd of Growth for Good and I introduced this project to them in October seeking their advice and suggestions.

We are back for a second visit – she wolves in Washington.

How do you make your project stand out?

All politics is local politics.
Legislators want to know how your work benefits their districts. Just as smart job seekers will craft a well written cover letter that demonstrates an understanding of the company, a nonprofit will immediately improve their funding appeal by citing how many people they serve in a politician’s voter base. How can you be helpful to them?

Presenting yourself as a valuable partner in doing good work increases your chances of consideration.

Give before you get

I know this sounds counterintuitive when you are asking for money. Some people call this focused generosity. You can also look at this as creating a web of indebtedness. The best relationships are those grounded in a culture of inspired giving. Be the first giver, generous of spirit and sincere in being helpful to others. The return to you will be all that a growing and giving relationship can bestow.

When I pitch, Katherine will watch, listen and wait for them to tell us what they need. Without missing a beat, this she wolf will pick up my lead and speak to how we, project aside, can be a resource, a helpful partner to them.

Rinse and repeat.

Managing expectations is good practice. Managing perceptions is a great skill.

Never underestimate good karma.

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world,? please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

You’re in good hands with Allstate

1,000 songs in your pocket

A smile on every child’s face

These are taglines from three instantly recognizable big businesses.   Complex businesses with many products and services and are able to impress us with a distinct image of what they do in seven words or less.  Why are these taglines so powerful?

1.  It’s all about you

Don’t you want to be taken care of?  You buy insurance so that you, your family, your life will be safe and secure in unexpected situations.  Someone will make sure you are OK.  You will be in good hands.  What a powerful and comforting image Allstate that is.

2.  It’s an experience you want

You want your music whenever you want it and where ever you  want it.  Here you go!  1,000 songs in your pocket.  Apple is offering you the experience of immediacy, flexibility and access to anything you want to hear in a sleekly designed, must-have, cool gadget.

3.  It’s a relationship

Who would not want to make the child in their life happy?  Disney wants to be part of your desire to do so by creating an empire of movies and themeparks for you to choose from.

Your tagline

Think of everything you are and everything you do.  I have no doubt you are as complex and multifaceted as these businesses.  Is there one thing you can extract, one thing you are especially good at that you can build an image around?  What is your favorite version of yourself?  And most importantly, what can you for others?  In a recent post on Copyblogger, Lisa Barone writes,

Think niche. You can’t be known for everything. Pick what’s most important to what you do, break it down to its simplest core, and be it.

While Copyblogger has established itself as one of the Web’s top resources on content, Brian Clark has branded himself the master of headlines. It’s a tiny microcosm of the whole content creation space that he owns. It’s where he’s untouchable.

These are a few examples of taglines I have been working on for myself.  They are intended to be used at cocktail parties, in elevators, to open budget testimonies, and to help me think harder about what I should be doing.

Be alive and kicking, mostly kicking

Live life @ the speed of art

How to change the world in style

Stylenotes for people who change the world

Who are you?

Can you tell me in seven words or less?

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world,  please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

Seth and I trekked into Jackson Heights to spend some time with friends over samosas from the Jackson Diner.  At the end of a long snowy week it was a bright fiery highlight on my calendar.

Good company, good conversation, good times – I highly recommend this as a great way to warm up for spring.

Have you gathered with your friends lately?

Get ready for spring

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world,  please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

photo by maczter

I could be home on the weekend, on vacation or just taking a break  -  it doesn’t mean that my daily demons or Seth’s  are.

God forbid I should have a day that doesn’t begin with a daily litany of:

“Honey, where’s my wallet?”

“Wheremykeyswheremykeyswheremykeys?”

“Can you call my phone?”

“OK, now where did I put my glasses?”

“Where’s everything???!!”

The Law of Five Things is very clear.

You cannot hold more than five things in your hands without losing one of them.

And, you cannot misplace five things without losing your mind.

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world,  please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

Share this]]> http://hoongyee.com/2010/02/27/the-law-of-five-things/feed/ 0 http://hoongyee.com/2010/02/26/the-whisper-wrap/ http://hoongyee.com/2010/02/26/the-whisper-wrap/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:06:24 +0000 hoongyee http://hoongyee.com/?p=637 As dusk fell, my eyes followed the last boat from Ibiza disappearing into the distance with, at the time, all of my worldly possessions.  Thankfully, that was the only inconvenience of the day.  I considered my situation and the Cap Ferrar sent over from the mysterious gentleman at the bar.

Things could be worse.

Well, what do I need to survive, to live, really?  Or, to really live?  I wondered.

Being much more intrigued with living, I knew the answer immediately.

*

My Whisper Wrap.

Inspired by an elegant lady from Shanghai who told me, “You were born to wear beautiful things,  custom silk dresses.  Revel in your destiny and find something fabulous to wrap around your shoulders.”

Something like a breathless summer stole, perfect for cool evenings in the casino, buying pomegranate tea in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, and sipping my second Cap Ferrar in a seaplane to the mainland.

This wrap was mean to be hand knit on large needles, preferably bamboo or some dark exotic wood, in a lace mohair using a simple open stitch that offers a glimpse of a tanned bare shoulder.  Long enough to skim the hem of my silk cheongsam, it is pure romance, pure rapture to wear.  Sensuous, and simply gorgeous.

Take your time and knit something that enchants the eye and caresses the skin like a lover’s eye – The Whisper Wrap.

Everything else, like my luggage, can wait.

*

*

How to Knit the Whisper Wrap

What you need: 500 yards lace mohair in a startling color.  One pair of size 15 bamboo/wood knitting needles

Pattern: Garter stitch Knit every row.

Directions: Cast on 70 stitches.  Knit first row.  Continue to knit all rows (garter stitch) until you have reached      the desired length.  Cast off loosely.  Weave in loose ends.  Fling magnificently around your shoulders.  Follow with a smile.

Need help?

For those of you who are beginners, I have included a link to a video of basic knitting stitches.

Get more hooked

If you want more style notes for people who change the world,  please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

I stopped in Century Twenty One down in the financial district, my artspy source to get insolently styled T shirts, LaCoste sneakers, and winter white cashmere sweaters marked down to prices that can only be described as The Big Deal of the Day.

Not this time.

Nada Prada for me.

Nothing looked good on me today.  (Note:  I have decided to let go of being responsible for the world and not looking like Wow! in that horrible fitting room mirror, as if anyone could with all of that nakedly nonflattering flourescent lighting.  What are you kidding?)

“Do you have anything less formal, more fundable looking in a medium?”

The sales associate sprinted along side of me, clearly impressed by my speed-racking skills.   She pointed to a rack on the wall with marked down items.

“Oh, and I’m not interested if its not 70% off.” I smiled at my command of the situation.

But deep down, I knew I was not feeling good, doing good or looking good.  Nowhere near Wow! as I needed to be.

Write

What do you do when you are not feeling Wow?

I find it helps me to write down what I am feeling as I am feeling it, as if I could coax all of that out of me through my moving pen.

First

To start writing, I start with:

a list

any list

just to start writing

and thinking.

Then

I start a story by:

writing a list of things that annoy me

things that can screw up my day

and faults, mine and everyone else’s, but mostly everyone else’s.

Then what?

Getting this far will make you feel better.  It always works best when you end with:

a list of things you are thankful for.  Especially if you are asking for a million dollars.

Get more Wow!

If you want more style notes  for people who change the world,  please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

Oh, but what shoes?

Trick question for all of you who know that I am furiously at work sketching shoes to be ready by April when I will be on my way to Mastering the Art of Shoemaking: Beginning Class by Llorraine Neithardt.

To create a look for a speakeasy moment that brings a second look and a whispered, “Wow!” as I slip inside the door is what I am going for.   Great looks, just like great lives, are made up of singular moments.

How are you supposed to make a difference if you don’t make an impression?

Make no mistake, this is not one of those noli me tangerine occasions.

But then, when is it not the right time to look untouchably fabulous?

Get more Wow!

Here’s to changing the world, one moment at a time, with

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee