So thrilled to wake up this morning in London and find out that my DUCKS have defeated the BEAVERS in the biggest Civil War Football game to-date, and are now on their way to the ROSEBOWL.
37-33 Ducks win.
London Loves the DUCKS!
Who doesn’t love free tickets to see Rihanna, Jay-Z, and Young Jeezy to cheer up a Monday?
First Rihanna…
Then Young Jeezy…
Then Jay-Z
And then before we knew realized, it was over! Awesome concert. And props to Kevin Hastings, the keyboardist for Rihanna, representing Salem, Oregon and rockin hard on stage 
Last week I was lucky and got to take a week off to spend with my boyfriend Jon when he came and visited from America. It was very hard to not diligently be on my email all the time, and feeling a bit disconnected from the agency while I was away, but it didn’t take long to settle in and enjoy myself.
Jon and I got to do some of the sterotypical touristy things: National Portrait gallery, Natural History Museum, Tower of London, Big Ben, etc. but also got to visit Bath & Oxford, neither of which I’ve ever been to before.
It was so funny to visit the two of them back to back. They are both very much what you’d expect a “British” town to be, but looked SO different from each other. Bath has “Georgian” architecture… very clean, beautiful stonework, iconic scenes like the Royal Crescent, and feels very regal. Oxford, the “city of dreaming spires”, is beautiful, antique and cozy. The buildings all look like beautiful ornate cathedrals, and there is stained glass everywhere. Very different from the clean lines in Bath – but equally beautiful and interesting.
Here’s a few photos from the trip, and here’s a link to see the rest of the photos from my week away!
Only in London can you draw a picture of a monkey and get a whole bunch of whiskey goodies.
Yep. That’s right. The first week I got here, I was sitting at the Sunday Up market with Zak, waiting for Katie and there were these little cards sitting on our table that said “Draw the money and win Money Shoulder Whiskey!” I wasn’t really interested in the monkeys, or the whiskey, but moreso just killing some time. So I doodled away, and as we left, Zak and Katie convinced me to drop my submission in the box.
Cut to 3 weeks later. I’ve totally forgotten about it, and get a smam-looking email. But when I saw the words “monkey” and “drawing” in the subject line, it started to come back to me. Turns out, I was a finalist!! After a patient week of waiting, I finally got my goodies today!!
A t-shirt, a monkey moleskine with whiskey mixer recipes inside, a deck of cards, a keychain, some monkey cufflinks (wtf?), and most importantly, some monkey whiskey.
I love London.
This last weekend we went to Brighton, which was wonderful. It was exactly what I expected of a British beach, a bit chilly and mostly wonderful. People thought I was crazy to want to go to the beach, but I wasn’t expecting malibu. And I’m from Oregon for crying out loud, only the crazy people get into the water there because it’s too cold.
We went to the Royal Pavillion which was amazing. From the outside it looks like Taj Mahal, and the interior is entirely Chinese and completely ornate. They wouldn’t let us take photos inside, but visiting their website gives you a bit more of a taste of what it looked like.
We walked along the pier, got some fish and chips, and then spent the rest of the day finding hidden gems and cheesecake. Quite a successful trip. Below are just the highlights, but if you want to see more photos from the trip, you can see them here.
Yesterday we had an opportunity to meet with Paul Colman, a planner here at WK. The subject of the talk was “What is Strategy”. It was really great to listen to him talk about the way he, and Wieden, approach strategy, see how it gets broken down, explain why it’s important and why it’s good when it works, and how much it hurts when it doesn’t. I definitely learned a lot, and I’m sure it was really helpful for those who don’t come from an advertising background, to be given insight into this important part of our creative process. I could go on forever about how interesting strategy is, but instead, I’d like to share a few snippets and soundbites from the meeting:
-With no strategy, it’s just art.
-Don’t count the people you reach, reach the people that count
-Don’t take what people are doing & just reflect it back – lead, inspire, guide them where to go.
-Find the truth, tell it delightfully
-Dig. Talk to real people
-You shouldn’t have to explain why it’s good. You should feel it.
-Don’t obsess over insights
-Strategy IS execution.
This talk just confirmed the importance of having a solid strategy. I think there is a lot of work that looks nice, and a lot of work that has strategy but no aesthetic. But the really great stuff is that middle overlay of the Venn diagram where the two meet, and all the parts together make the work stronger as a whole. It’s pretty with purpose, and aesthetic with intention. I remember back to the days of Visual Communications with Dr. Bill Ryan telling me to make every decision about my work intentionally. Our group is still growing and learning to work together as individuals, remote and London-based. But I think that we have the potential to nail our strategy with so many diverse ways of thinking to help us wrap our minds around it. I’m excited for this.
Last weekend I went to Portobello Road for the first time, and it was a TREASURE HUNTERS DREAM. There are so many interesting stalls with antique telephones, old cameras, sets of china, typecases and wood type, and everything in between. It’s probably one of my favorite markets to walk around in. They also have AMAZING crepes. I recommend strawberries with nutella on a cold day. AMAZING.
Here’s just a glimpse below of the beautiful colored houses as you enter the road, but click here if you want to see more photos from the trip.
My flatmate Chantalle and I, enjoying the trip!!
Yep. That’s right. There was hula-hoop class at WK last night. SO much fun.
This weekend I went to the South Bank of London with Yuki and Teemu. I was thrilled to go outside on a beautiful day, and to do some cliche, but very exciting tourist things. It’s funny. You see iconic images of the world like Big Ben and the Parliament Building your whole life. But actually standing in front of those things is very surreal, and a bit overwhelming! London is just one of many cities in Europe that have this beautiful juxtaposition of the old and new right all mixed together. You’ll have something as modern looking as the Millennium Bridge, and then not far away is the famous Tower Bridge.
I absolutely LOVE London. It seems very much a perfect fit for me, something I don’t know I expected. I think in large part it has to do with the area I’m living in. Shoreditch in particular is FULL of vintage shops and markets where you can find everything from old photographs and matchboxes, to more wooden letterpress type than you could ever have a need for. Being the “treasure hunter” that I am, this is a DREAM.
Not to mention that, by the way, I am seriously at my dream agency. Even in the few short weeks I’ve been here, it’s been overwhelming in the most wonderful way. Every single person I’ve met has been so friendly and welcoming. Especially considering the serious rock-star status of some of the people in the agency, I don’t feel intimidated asking questions, or that anyone here is unapproachable. It is a culture where I truly feel encouraged to learn and grow, and where they recognize that creating an environment that fosters those things will ultimately help us create better work.
Working with the Platformers has also been extremely instructional and a big learning process. It’s an interesting challenge trying to establish a creative process with 12 people, where the language barrier is the easiest thing to overcome. We come from 12 different cultures, ways of understanding, areas of study, and creative disciplines. The majority of us actually come from a non-advertising specific background…everything from Urban Planners to Product Designers. And while these fields may all seem like they fit under the same “creative” umbrella, when we share ideas it’s obvious that each of our processes and ways of approaching the brief is very different.
We’re also battling the fact that some of us must work remotely due to visa issues. We’ve encountered a myriad of issues trying to Skype people into our meetings. The biggest issue is the time difference. The advertising industry is fairly chaotic, and I think it takes someone who can be extremely organized and flexible to survive in a world of constantly changing deadlines, timelines, meetings and briefs. But this isn’t as easy when you’re scheduling a meeting in London, and trying to include people literally on opposite ends of the globe…. right now, from San Francisco and Venezuela, to Turkey and Asia. We’re trying to share as much of our ideas & post our sketches on the virtual site, so that those who are remote can be as much a part of the process as those of us in London in the meeting room. I think this is the best compromise we can think of at the moment to satisfy the needs of everyone, but I do think that it is in fact, a compromise.
The ideal situation for me would always be for all of us to be in the same room, not dealing with technology, not having to repeat ourselves by uploading everything online after already explaining it in the meeting. I also think that unless a task warrants a 12 person crew, it can be almost counter productive to have that many minds trying to find a compromise that pleases everyone. At this stage in the game, I think we’re still learning to detach our egos and emotions from our ideas, and look at the idea objectively in order to analyze whether or not it fits the pitch. It feels like we should already have it figured out, but as Donna pointed out yesterday, it’s only been two weeks! We’re still experiencing growing pains and haven’t yet figured out the logistical/technical obstacles, let alone learning how to get the group to find their groove among personality and cultural differences. Overall, I think the entire group of Platformers is on board, ready to tough it out and find solutions, and maybe we need to be less harsh on ourselves and take a step back and be a little patient : )
Things I hope we can figure out:
-A better solution for meetings with virtual platformers (internet connections, time zones, sharing the content of the meeting if they can’t be present)
-How to establish an effective creative process for a group of 12 people (less tedious sharing of up to 48 ideas between the 12 of us each meeting, and a decision making process that will enable us to be straight forward and direct about why things work/don’t work. At the end of the day, we have to come to a decision.)
-Flexibility & Structure. (It’s hard to find a balance between these two things. Both are necessary, and finding that happy medium is a challenge.)
In the meantime though, here are some pictures from this weekend:
It has been a whirlwind the last month and a half. It’s all the crazy details that make my story so unbelievable, but it would take years to write, and at the end of the day the story is simple: I GOT THE JOB.
You know, it just goes to show, you should never be afraid of your dreams. Last year, I made my newest dreamboard. One of the goals I put on it was to get my first official job. Initially, I wanted to put “work at WK”, but I was hesitant. It was SUCH a big goal, and with the economy being so bad, I was worried it might not be realistic. But every time I looked at that goal on my dreamboard, I knew in my heart what I had meant it to say. And here I am! If anyone had EVER told me I’d be working at WK at ANY point in my life, let alone almost immediately after graduating, and in LONDON at that, I would have told them they’re crazy.
It’s the first time in my life I wasn’t nervous for the interview, not nervous for the results. Maybe it’s because I genuinely trusted that if this was the right place for me, things would come together. But I also felt like I was really meant to be here. And after this first week, I really feel like I’ve found my perfect fit. The people at the agency, the mentality here and the way people work…. I think I was at the agency until about 9pm every night last week and it felt great.
The first week was amazing. We all came together from 8 different countries and worked together to create our PLATFORM logo like we’d known each other for a year. Here’s my two letters:
For our project, we had to create the logo of our program, PLATFORM. Each of us were given a different piece of the letters to create representing ourselves. This is my first shape, part of the letter ‘P’, representing my love of being a treasure hunter and collector of little inspirational items… similar to the Magpie, which collects shiny objects to put in its nest. So here I am, the little magpie, with all my little treasures perched atop my nest : )
For the second letter, I created a kaleidoscope. I had all 12 platformers pick one one of my little ‘collected inspiration’ items to put in the lens of the kaleidoscope…. I thought was a great metaphor for our group. After working together we’ll all see things differently than we did before the program, and together, we can make something more amazing than we’d ever be able to do just by ourselves.
We had an amazing launch party, and met incredible WK folks, patrons, clients, friends and family. We were shown our desks, new computers, phones, and toured the amazing office. Here’s a link to the photos I’ve taken so far, so you can take a look and see for yourself.
I am learning so much beyond career relevant lessons here. I am finally pushing myself the way I should have been for so long, doing things that are so far beyond my normal comfort zone, and I am so proud of myself for finally letting go of my need to control & plan so that I can enjoy and embrace the amazing opportunity that’s been given to me. I hopped on a one-way flight to a different country, with just a suitcase full of clothing, no idea where I was living, never having been here before (unless you count the day layover I had two years ago). I’ve found a flat – moved in with complete strangers (who thankfully, are very nice and only 8 minute walk away from the agency) opened a bank account, figured out the subway, found my way to an IKEA (first time ever by the way- that place is crazy) and then some. Most of that stuff would have sent me crawling back into my comfort zone, and I really haven’t thought twice about it. I think it just goes to show that when it comes down to it, you can do so much more than you think you’re capable of, but you have to take that jump and push yourself to the limit.
I know for a fact, that there are 4 people who are directly responsible for me getting this job and living my dreams:
1. My phenomenal parents are my inspiration, my heroes, everything. They are the epitome of the American dream, and are amazing examples of how you can have all your dreams if you’re willing to work hard and make sacrifices. I have more than I will ever need, emotionally, tangibly, and otherwise because of them. I am completely spoiled with the life I’ve been given, and any success I have is a direct result of my parents and the way they brought me up.
2. My sister is amazing. I am so proud to be related to her, and in awe of her work ethic and dedication, even in the most impossible exhausting situations. She is always there to help me out when I need it, show me a resource, and just listen for hours on end when I need someone to vent to. She is such a hard worker, socially aware, and is already making a difference in our world. She is going to do amazing things.
3. My boyfriend Jon is my silent and sensational supporter. Even after 5 1/2 years, he still stands by my side and supports me through all my wild ordeals. He lets me be myself, and entertains all my crazy ideas and little peculiarities despite how exhausting I probably am at times. When I told him I wanted to go to London for this opportunity, he never once said a word in opposition, knowing it would be a once-in-a-lifetime chance… even though it would be a hardship for us to be apart for 9 months. I’d easily have experienced a nervous break down by now if he hadn’t taught me how to stop sweating the small stuff, and become more laid back. There is still so much more he can teach me, and I’m thankful more every day to have him in my life.
4. My professor Deb Morrison… I have never been given so little specific direction from a teacher, and learned so much as a result. She really had a unique talent, and knows exactly how to push people in order to help them reach their full potential. Even though I graduated what seems like eons ago, she has continued to support me, answer frantic emails with every new crisis I encounter, and help point me in the right direction and provide invaluable advice without fail.
I will keep everyone posted, and will be much better about blogging in a timely manner and keeping on top of the daily craziness.
TO THE ADVENTURE!
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