On The Town: World-Renowned Accessories and Shoe Designer Speaks at CCS

If you missed last night’s Toyota Lecture Series on Design at CCS, we have a recap for you today, but make sure to get on the mailing list so you can plan ahead for the next FREE lecture. Yes, that’s right, the lectures are free courtesy of Toyota, so we’ve successfully gotten rid of your expense excuse. You’re welcome.

Anyway, shoe designer, consultant and teacher Aki Choklat flew into Detroit from Florence to speak about his life. He started the presentation talking about his early childhood. Interestingly enough, he was born in Finland but left the country to come to the United States and study politics. He had a good job, nice place and didn’t have to worry about bills, but he wasn’t happy.

“There is no such thing as a wrong career choice because you can always apply those skills to something later in life,” said Aki. A series of events led him into the design world, and he has embraced it and used his other skills to help him with his eponymous label, his work as a consultant and lecturer at a number of international design schools.

His presentation was extremely thoughtful, with great imagery and a few short and sweet videos sprinkled in between. It really kept the audience engaged – I know we were hanging on every word he said. He spoke about different areas of design, including voids, shadows, conceptual thinking, fantasy, craft, spectacles and research. “I always encourage thinking conceptually because if we didn’t think conceptually, we wouldn’t be using computers, driving cars, etc.,” said Aki.

Once his presentation was over, he took a few questions from the crowd. Some people asked about his line with Finnish footwear brand Lahtiset, which is a line of shoes made of felt. We learned that felt shoes are great for winter, and take 8 days to make one pair of shoes. And then someone asked why he decided to come to Detroit to speak. He said that he had been reading a lot about Detroit lately. A couple of articles were written about Detroit in The Guardian Magazine and Modern Utopia, an Italian magazine, and he said he was interested to see the city, and remembered living in Williamsburg, New York when he was a young artist, and thinks Detroit is now the place to go for young creatives. “Detroit is the new New York,” said Aki.

To learn more about Aki Choklat, you can find him on Facebook, Instagram and, of course, his website. And don’t forget to check out the next design lecture at CCS!

Yes, he's a big fan of Detroit's own Veronika Scott!

A Letter From DGG’s President: Want To Become a Household Name? Start With This Simple Plan

By Karen Buscemi

If you are a serious fashion designer (or fashion photographer, wardrobe stylist, etc.) with intentions to one day have a well-known brand, yet the only people currently aware you have a product or service are your parents and close circle of friends, you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you.

While Rome wasn’t built in a day – and neither is your fashion brand – you can build your audience daily by applying these four simple strategies:

1. Get a Professional Business Card
Even in this digital world, business cards are still exchanged all day every day. If you want to be viewed as a professional, if you want to be remembered, if you want people to have easy access to your phone number, email and website (because you have a functioning, easy to view website, right?) you need a business card. A professional business card. Not one you printed out on perforated card stock from Office Depot. Business cards are quite inexpensive and there are tons of graphic designers/firms to whip up a beauty of a business card, plus online options that provide hard to mess up templates for the DIY-er. Make sure the font is large enough to be read by all the aging eyes out there (I may be a little sensitive about that one), the design is simple and clean, and you have proofread EVERYTHING. No typos are ever allowed on your marketing materials.

2. Create a Social Media Presence
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are all crucial to building your brand. But just creating a Facebook page or Twitter handle or Instagram account isn’t enough. You have to populate it. With stuff. Good stuff. Stuff that makes readers want to read your stuff. And it shouldn’t be all about your dog. Or your daily meal. People want to see what you are creating. And your creative process. And what inspires you. And what’s important to you (keep your political views and anything else controversial off your professional pages, please). You must update regularly. That doesn’t have to mean every day. But at least three times a week. It takes a long time to grow your social media presence, but if you stick with it, it will indeed grow. Be sure to follow others, and like and comment positively on their posts (but not in a stalker-ish way). One personal gripe here: List clearly what it is that you do/make and how to reach you on your social media pages. A cutesy or vague statement that leaves editors, buyers and customers confused is a very bad idea.

3. Network, Network, Network
I don’t particularly love networking, but I can tell you this: Every time I go to an event, I ALWAYS meet at least one person who can help my organization in some way. Every. Single. Time. So I mingle, talk and share. And I don’t make it one-sided, either. I listen to what others have to say and actively try to help them, too, if I am able. Take your schmancy new business cards, clean yourself up nice and get out there. If you don’t have an elevator pitch about your company, now is the time to create one. All you need is one to two sentences that clearly and easily defines what you are doing and why. Memorize it and share it with everyone you meet.

4. Volunteer or Join a Committee
It’s easy to stay within the confines of our comfort zones (Game of Thrones marathon, anyone?), but if you want people to learn about what you do and potentially become your next customers, you’ve got to spread your wings outside your job, friends, family and smart phone and insert yourself into groups and events that align with your talents and abilities. In addition to giving back to your community – which is just a darn good feeling – you’ll also get your brand out there. You can get your company name on programs, websites, signage, social media and more. There are all sorts of opportunities that nonprofits will provide in return for your time and energy. And of course the group you are working with will become familiar with your brand during the course of your time working together. It’s a win-win.