D.E.A.R. time

The last few days have been good for me.

I have realized that every single day brings some sort of progress.

Since I formalized the settlement with the tenant, I now have been assured of my store keys by October 15th. That was good news.

So the busy-ness starts now.

I started of Monday with a bit more swagger. I realized that every little thing I was working for that day would mean I was getting that much closer to store opening. With that in mind, I paid off the lawyer and worked towards getting the store concept brief all sorted. I've also been trying to look for a living space near the store so as to be able to walk to work or take the subway. My cousin's going to be helping me out with that. I have decided that I want a studio so that I can easily dodge people asking me if they can stay over my place when in Singapore. "Sorry son, there's only room for 1 + a lucky lady. Go away!"

I'm going to practice those words religiously. I might also just get a dog to scare away the non-dog people.

I'm planning to head down to Singapore on Friday to look at the two apartments my cousin has organized for me to see. Hopefully things work out there.

I spent the last two days working on the store concept brief. The concept brief is basically a sort of brief statement outlining things like your clientele, strategic direction, brands, location, overall vibe, etc. That stuff usually goes into the about section in your website. The idea is to keep it simple, direct, but well written. Kinda like the style you see in Avi's blog. The brief usually says a whole lot about a store and it's the first impression that you give off to potential vendors. Basically, it's crucial and I've spent a great deal of time on it. It's been edited to shit. The brief also includes pictures and moods as well as the logo of the store. Corporate identity is key. It is basically created using a combo of photoshop and illustrator and requires the expertise of professional graphic designers. This is why I went to see a buddy of mine to help me create it. It's also so that it can be sent via email to vendors for store approval.

I went to see Jason. This guy is talented and ambitious. Not only does he own and operate two cafes, he is a graphic designer by trade, he also revamps vintage cars and sells them, runs a creative company, etc. If my visit to his office did not serve as inspiration, I don't know what will. I sometimes think that I want to be in his shoes in 5 years. Running 5 different businesses I love with the similar creative direction I have gained throughout those years. I realized that whatever I learnt in school was not just about design; it was thinking out of the box in circumstances where creativity was necessary. That can be applied to so many things. If people understand what you're trying to communicate, you've made it Jack!

So me and Jason sat down and threw out random ideas and came up with some decent stuff for the brief. Out of nowhere I came up with the idea that he should help me with the store project. I'm a firm believer in keeping things consistent. Consistency is key and by no means should it be overlooked. I would rather communicate the idea to one person, get him to understand it so that he can then translate it into a language that interior designers, contractors, architects and everyone else involved can easily understand to ensure absolute consistency. Based on his experience, knowledge, creative vision and accessability, I feel that he would be perfect for the job. I threw out the idea his way. Sarcastic laughs aside, he said he would "Sleep on it".

I read a book at school once. The best quote in the book was it's title.

"It's not how good you are, It's how good you want to be".