Will you have a blue (iris) 2008?

It’s time for the lists that herald “The (fill in the blank) of the year.” Some look back on 2007 and others look forward into 2008. Pantone Color Institute is a New Jersey-based company that makes predictions of which colors will dominate design markets. The color news for 2008: No. 18-3943, blue iris.

In the Fashion & Style section of the New York Times this past week, Leatrice Eiseman, the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said: “Blue Iris brings together the dependable aspects of blue, underscored by a strong, soul-searching purple cast. Emotionally, it is anchoring and meditative with a touch of magic.”

Can 5 people predict what colors will be hot. Maybe. Though if there’s any prediction that’s always accurate – fashionistas and designers will make their own way through 2008, regardless of what’s “in”.

For the full article and photo above seee the Fashion & Style section's post http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/fashion/20COLOR.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

No one needs to pay you

From my earliest memories about what profession I'd like to have, I wanted to write. And the troublesome thing to me was always that I may never get anyone to pay me for doing what I love. I'm 31 so when I was growing up, blogs and the like didn't exist. We were still living in the days of big blue chip companies dominating the globe. "New media" as it's known today was just a dream inside the imaginations of a handful of people.

Today, I can confidently say that I am a writer. I don't have a magazine gig. I don't write for television of film. You can't see my work in a theatre. I never signed a contract and I don't have an agent. No one gives me assignments. And it's no longer just tucked away in some old journal that even I'll never go back and review, much less have anyone else read. It's out in the world, in this wonderful thing called the blogosphere and I write whatever I'd like to write about. I do what I want, when I want, which is really the only way I am capable of living my life. I have a disdain for authority or anything that hampers personal freedom and creativity and I am largely a contrarian at the mere mention of phrases like "well, you HAVE to do it this way." I actually don't HAVE to do anything, and I won't.

I used to be weird for feeling this way. Now, it's become the way of the world. With user-generated content growing by leaps and bounds by the minute, the limits that have been placed on our lives are being ripped down in the blink of an eye. Agents, creative unions, casting directors, TV networks, producers, and film studios used to rule the roost. And while they still wield some power, it is largely dwindling to a modicum of what it used to be. We are very quickly becoming the "take charge of our lives" generation. Contrarians rejoice, we have worked our own way out of the job of being contrarians. (And not a moment too soon. Being a contrarian is exhausting work and I have other things I'd like to be doing!)

Last night I attended the Mustaches for Kids event at the Montauck Club in Park Slope. A hilarious and worthwhile event. The only nosh available was pickles by Bob from McClure's pickles. (http://www.mcclurespickles.com/) When not in the kitchen whipping up his grandmother's recipes, he's acting and writing. He was telling my friend, Monika, and I about a new webtv show he's on - http://www.theburg.tv/. It's entirely created by his friends from college who live in Williamsburg. They didn't create it to make money, they did it for the love of creating. And here's the good news: they have 4 million people who have watched the show on-line, the audience is global, SAG is contacting, and Michael Eisner's company is interested in investing in the project. The paradigm of entertainment is being torn down and built up by the talent rather than being dictated to them.

These kinds of success stories by the underdog brighten my day. It is indeed a brand new world. Focus on being great and creating your life, and the money will follow.

Words on the street

I am fascinated by language. My dad spoke six of them. While I didn’t inherit his ability to learn language, as is evidenced by my sad attempts at French, I did inherit a love of hearing different languages and dialects. I particularly enjoy studying how a language truly shapes a culture and national behavior patterns. And the dynamism of language allows it to reflect societal trends.

It’s no wonder that my recent discovery of Urban Dictionary, http://www.urbandictionary.com/ , brought a smile to my face. The more tech-saavy readers of this blog will think that I just now have emerged from the dark ages. I fear that this is proof that my long, slow slide from hip, urban chick to crusty old broad may have finally begun. Nevertheless, I think this may also be a new find for some of you, or a refresher of knowledge gained long ago, so it is worthwhile to post the link.

Those out of the know may be asking, “So what is this urban dictionary all about?” It is a slang dictionary that is based on user-generated definitions. Literally, it is helping to define this quickly evolving world around us. And then there is a feature that allows the community members to vote on the definitions added. For example, "wOOt" is top of mind on Urban Dictionary today. It means “an expression of joy”. 3106 people give this definition a thumbs up. 565 shot it down.

The other cool feature that I love is that community members are recording the history of these words. From many definitions, we can learn where words come from, their original use, and how they’ve been adapted to become more main stream. So not only is this a dictionary, it is an anthropological history book. I’m so excited about this, it’s hard for me to sit still!

"WOOt" was recently voted word of the year for 2007 by the dictionary gurus at Merriam-Webster. Facebook was the runner up. In years past words like “google” and “blog” have received the top word honor – not a bad track record as these words are now commonplace in daily conversations. Is "wOOt" destined for this type of fame and recognition? Unclear. But it’s found its place in the American lexicon and I’m all for anything, or any word for that matter, that spreads joy.

Want to be a hunter of all things cool?

When I tell people that I work in the trend and innovation space, the follow-up question is always "what does that mean and how do you do that?" For a long-time, trend was seen as something that a few far-out people did by peering into a crystal ball. And these people were happy to have the public believe that. No more...

Trends, their tracking, watching, and even creating, are now accessible is everyone, much to the dismay of many fashionistas who prefer to see themselves as the most forward thinking people around. One of my favorite sites that I view regularly is The Cool Hunter - http://www.thecoolhunter.net/. They follow a number of product categories, interior design, as well as track event planning and design from all over the world. There is a weekly e-newsletter you can sign-up for. The visuals are stunning and I promise that no matter what business you are in, these photos will get your creative juices flowing.

Another site that I visit quite often is Faith Popcorn's Brainreserve. http://www.faithpopcorn.com/. I had the great pleasure of meeting Faith at a business meeting a few months ago. She's been in this business of trend for a longtime and she's very honest about how she does her work. She pays attention to what's happening out in the world. Trend is very much a matter of awareness and connecting the dots between seemingly disparate populations.

As with all trends, whether or not they take off in a business has as much to do with brilliant execution as they have to do with the quality of the products or services being offered. The name of the game is still differentiation, effective communication, and helping the guest get the joke through presentation.

The yogurt war is on...

There's an interesting new battle being waged in the world of frozen yogurt. It's been around for a long time - TCBY was always a treat when I was a kid. Now though, frozen yogurt has become high fashion.

Several newcomers to New York City are planning major nationwide roll-outs and garnering PE funding at an alarming rate. And this yogurt has a new twist - no preservatives, additives or excessive sugar. It's a little tart and a little sweet. Most have a groupie group, as well as events and free newsletters they will email to you if you sign up. Here's the skinny on the two front-runners:

Pinkberry - http://www.pinkberry.com/

Fast Company, my favorite business magazine, recently featured the ladies of Pinkberry. As a business model, I would liken them to the Starbucks of frozen yogurt. They seek to be a third place. Their idea is simple - they want to sell people a $5 dessert that they can eat in a $500 chair. Hollywood types are singing its praises, as is Howard Schultz, the Chairman of Starbucks, who has provided the company with a sizable amount of funding. In New York, there are a five locations. In California, there are over two dozen. In short, I think their experience goal is to be a place to be seen.

Red Mango - http://www.redmango.com/

Red Mango is also going for the coffee house feel, yet they seem to be a bit more for the everyday guest. They go for chic and modern but also comfy and relaxing. They really bill their experience as an escape from the pressures of life. They aren't into promotion through Hollywood. They also put much more emphasis on the health benefits of yogurt. Their experience goal is to be a place to escape. They have locations in 7 states.

Get your Vital Juice

One of the great benefits of my job is that it requires me to be tremendously well-read, and allows me time to do that. I spend hours a day trolling around on blogs and on on-line publications, as well as burying my nose into dozens of magazines a week. This is the perfect job for me!

One of my recent fabulous finds is a website called Vital Juice Daily. http://www.vitaljuicedaily.com/ It is a wellness site that is a go-to source for living a happy and healthy life. What I love most about the site is its easy and clean navigation, as well as its holistic view of wellness. They appreciate the fact that we are all busy and want to take care of ourselves and those we love as best we can. Their tips are entertaining as well as practical.

Posts are short and sweet and fall into the following categories:

Nutrition

Fitness
Healing

Beauty

Green Living

Social Responsibility

They also have a free daily newsletter that they will send that is very concise and very helpful. This juice is definitely worth the squeeze! Sign up here: http://www.vitaljuicedaily.com/signup-page/