As I Blog Part II

I'm putting together a playlist post that will become a regular feature of my blog. Ten top tracks you have to play this summer! 

I still haven't mastered how to put music up in my posts even though I have the "Add enclosure link" thing up? 

Anyway... this is what I have been blogging to this past week, Pretty Wings by Maxwell.

I still have the Now album, one of the best Neo-Soul Album's ever! This song is so beautiful and a great number to propel Maxwell back onto the scene.

Maxwell's voice doesn't need no introduction and the horns are beyond perfect. 

Your relaxing track for this summer. Listen and enjoy. 

Maxwell - Pretty Wings from Pop Along Kids on Vimeo.

What We Do Is......

Hypebeast+New Era from HypebeastTV on Vimeo.

Everything is starting to fit. This is what I want to do! 

Yesterday I was really down on my whole dream. I sat at my desk sketching over and over again and it just didn't look right and for a second I gave up hope.

But the minute I fell off, two great people put me back on and things are moving in the right direction for me. I got something up my sleeve, and if it comes to fruition I will be sure to let you know.

I realise I can't draw... well I can... but that's not the ability I need to be a Footwear Designer. I didn't really consider the fact that I wouldn't need to specifically draw to be a Footwear Designer. At the end of the day, who am I to argue with a person who's actually job that is! Just give me the shoe and let my mind go crazy! Let me be your Designer! 

I can create and develop ideas. I can get information from consumers, do market research, bring my personal knowledge of Basketball, Street Culture and Fashion, to the table. I can bring my passion and knowledge of shoes. I can be a part of the production, I can see the colourway, I can envisage the shoe. 

Give me a blank shoe and let me go! 

I'm going to start putting up some of my NikeID shoes soon. It's something... I want you to see what I can create!

While I can still be a Footwear Designer there are so many other departments I can fit into such as Brand and Consumer Marketing, Product Creation, Development and Engineering and Product Merchandising.

This video breaks down that whole process which I attempted to define. 

I've finally found my path. 

Advice

" Take what you want but you gotta share it with the world " Share,  Drake

Where did I leave off...? 

First off I would like to "shout out" and throw some thank you's in certain peoples way. In no order what so ever, HD, BF, and Pictom! HD came up to me on campus today and was like "Where is Part Two ? ! ? " HA ! That just made me laugh so much. Pictom aka Tom Lambert was the first one to read the post and hit me up on twitter with appreciation. And the BF is constantly encouraging me. Today I was feeling like I couldn't blog but I have "fan base" now people who are checking the blog and seeing what I do. Everything I do ... Is for you all.

So lets GO! 

Part Two: 

Since I developed this dream to be a Footwear Designer I have been trying to learn as much as I can from the best people in the business. 

I randomly contacted Jason Mayden and he has been so helpful to me. I told you how advises me, not just with design but life advice, true words of motivation and inspiration. Yet, even though I have this connection which I do not take for granted, I'm still searching for more advice, more leadership and more direction. I realised fairly quickly that every designer doesn't posses a a Facebook account but although I can't get at them directly, I can Google their name and read past articles they have done. 

I came across this article today and it really has blown me away!

I know I've said "read this", or "check this out"and I probably will continue to do in the future, but if you were to EVER read an interview this would be it! 

I check the blogs daily through my Google Reader and a couple months ago I saw a post on KixandtheCity.Com advertising the Future Sole Design Competition, run by Nike and Jordan Brand in order to find a new young and talented Footwear Designer. You can just imagine how happy I was that this was finally my chance, but imagine how sad I was when I found out that you had to be 14-19 to enter..... I really enjoyed being 20 up until that particular moment!

I was going to e-mail Future Sole and say how disheartened I was that my once chance to show my skills could now not be because of my age blah blah blah. But I didn't.

However, if I did send that email it would have probably gone to the inbox of this guy - D'Wayne Edwards, Design Director of Footwear for Jordan Brand, whose interview I was so moved by as I read it today. What's really weird though, is how at the bottom of his post is a picture of Jason, PursueThePassion.com has an article on him too. 

D'Wayne's interview is more in depth in comparison to Jason's but it is still worth reading just to know how he started, from designing shoe lace tips to working at Jordan Brand, he is the epitome of true passion and drive. 

The connection between the two guys and how it reflected back on me was so resounding when I read this. When asked what's the best piece of advice you can give he replied, 

"Try and find a mentor. Seriously. Try and find a mentor because mentors can help you. They did it already. So whatever you trying to do they did it already [...] The biggest thing is to find someone who you can talk to. If you're trying to do anything, any career opportunity, try and find a mentor or someone that, if they're not a mentor, at least is someone who can try to help you and guide you in the right direction. Because like I've said, they've done everything you want to do already. They can help save you a lot of time, and probably a lot of money, if you can find the right person to help you on your way ."

I immediately thought of Jason but also someone else I had contacted recently, Marcus Troy.

I thought back to all those times I had tried to pursue something, how someone had always been there to guide me. I've done promotion, street teams, hosting, retail, you name it and I have always been fortunate enough to be under the wing of someone who would help.

What D'wayne said and the connection it has to me gets weirder, " You never know who is sitting next to you. Just be aware of what your surroundings are"

This post is turning into a trilogy. I don't want to put reams and reams of text up on here. I like breaking my stories down and giving you all something to look forward to. 

Just remember that though, you never know who your sitting next to.

Part Three Coming Soon. 

Anonymous

'I wanna know your name, why you gotta be anonymous' Anonymous,  Bobby Valentino 

I hadn't enabled the comments notification on my blogger but as I was scrolling through my posts I noticed I had 2 comments for my Internship post. One was from my cousin Kimo, always supporting me endlessly. This guy is my brother from another mother for real. 

But more so I was taken aback by this comment left by Anonymous.

"When people close doors on you, build your own path. Just say * em and try develop a brand of your own. If you believe you have the talent, try it. You'll never know until you try - who knows, maybe one day you'll be running your own company and make a living doing what YOU want to do."

Thank you! Who ever you are thank you! Those are some very real and direct words but ultimately they are truthful. Every sentence you can take, apply to your life and follow. 

"You will never know until you try"

In January of this year I tried. 

After reading the Complex Magazine article Designer Jason Mayden Breaks Down The Jordan 2009  I was really inspired I read the story I would want to tell if ever I was to be interviewed. 

Jason broke down the design of the Jordan 2009 as well as how he got into the design industry. 

I done a little post way back on him but I feel I never gave you the true essence of his story and with my new blog approach it's only right. Trust me this is going somewhere. 

The first questions that Complex asked grabbed me because after this, 

"Complex: So Jason. Where do we start? Why you? How do you get to be the next guy that designs the Jordan sneaker?"

The most compelling story followed and it follows all the advice given in the Anonymous comment. So that night inspired, wanting to know more and as always taking a chance because if you don't try, you will never know. I typed in Jason Mayden on Facebook and low and behold 1 person came up. A picture of the infamous Chicago Bull's bull stared back at me. He did say he was from Chicago right....? 

" I grew up on Chicago on the South Side "

Send Jason Mayden message. Click. Type. 

To say Facebook is informal is an understatement! I loose every concept of grammar and syntax on there but with this I had to come correct! Because I couldn't be there to introduce myself, shake his hand, give him eye contact I had to do all this in a Facebook Message. 

So I started with " Dear Mr Mayden "

I went on for a good while, constantly looking back, backspacing rubbish. Reading it aloud! Basically proof reading it like I would an essay. I told him who I was, how much I liked his piece in Complex, what I was currently doing and how it is my dream to one day be a Jordan Brand or Nike designer like himself. The most important thing.. and here's the link. I asked him for his advice. Well first I asked him if I could intern for him and then I asked for his advice. 

" If not possible to intern for you specifically, any information about how to go about the process and any advice you could give me would be gratefully appreciated "

Click Send. 

Four days later January 19th and Hotmail told me Jason Mayden has sent you a message. I was stunned at the screen. Quite literally didn't know what to do, well read obviously but think for a second. If you saw a famous person walking down the street like an actual famous person, world known. Wouldn't you stop and stare? This was my famous moment.

He replied.

" I actually don't have a budget for an intern this year but that doesn't mean I can't give you advice. Let me know what questions you have and we can go from there "

And we have... Back and forth messages on Facebook from then till now and for the future.

He always comes through with supportive, inspiring statements and first hand advice on how to break into the design industry. I am more than grateful and so glad I risked and tried. 

Jason has that same hope in me like Anonymous does. Always telling me I can and that I will make it. Not just as Footwear Designer but in everything I do. 

Advice is so crucial. When people advise you it's not to come at you. It's to guide you, show you.

Thank you anonymous, thank you Jason Mayden. 

Part Two coming soon.

Originality

"Is anything I'm doing brand new" Brand New, Drake 

Conversations with The Cool Kid soon turned to conversations with The BF! It really seemed like everyone was getting at me that day. But you know it always takes those close around you to show you whats real and they do it out of love not malice. 

That night we talked over Belgian Monk. The number one place to eat in Norwich and drink! And everything got clearer, its when it all dawned on me that I need to be original in what I do with this.

Google define is the one, trust me.  

define: originality - the quality of being new and original (not derived from something else) 

The BF basically asked me what separates my blogs from all the others out there. Of all the blogs I mainly read, is mine something new or is it simply a regurgitation? If I look back at the majority of my blog posts I mainly cite a lot from the big blogs. 

However, I personally believe my best work has been my own words..... Let me know if you disagree with me but Air Yeezy Part One and The Big Issue they are all my own words, drawn from my experiences. And this is the path I now want to take. 

I want this blog to fully reflect me. I don't want it to be something you can click on to the other blogs and get. While I will still scroll through my Google Reader and tell you hey, check these kicks out or this item of clothing, I want to tell you about me mainly and mostly. 

My Lifestyle with the kicks, music and fun times included.

In about three months time I will be moving (fingers crossed all this hard work got me through) to the Illadelph as D-Wight calls it but known in the world as Philadelphia. I want you to live that experience with me and my blog will be bringing you all that good stuff. But right now I live in Norwich and then I am a native of London City. 

Pretty soon I will be buying a domain name and bringing you My Life. 

Three new sections My Life Norwich / London / Philly as well as the blog - A.D.I.B.A.S - All Day I Blog About Stuff. 

Things are gonna get BIG!

Got the Lucky Mother Tom Lambert designing the logo for me. 

I love how professional that sounds! This guy is young, talented and extremely creative. Please check him out! I definitely look forward to working him in the future. When creative heads bump together only greatness can be the outcome. How I met him, well.. that's another story I have to tell you Air Yeezy Part Two coming soon. 

Two conversations and a lot of thinking later I am a lot clearer with what I want this blog to be about.

Read at your own leisure but this is something I enjoy doing. It started off as a thing to do but is slowly turning to my dream to write and tell everything how it really is. 

No catch, no gimmicks, no fee just lemelp. lemelp.blogspot.com that is! 

Be a blogger not a blogger-eeeurrrghhh! 

Font Formatting Frustration

Apparently I have OCD... I say apparently because it hasn't actually been diagnosed yet by a professional doctor, just my friends who think I am a bit of a neat freak! 

I believe things should just be kept orderly. I have a tendency to loose things so if I place it somewhere specifically, that doesn't mean I have OCD I'm just not trying to loose it. 

Anyway... things should be kept orderly and in the case of this blog the same. So imagine my frustration when the font for my last post looks completely different to the last one and the one before that. 

Check these posts: Conversations with the Cool Kid  and Internships. 

They are completely different and it is semi-annoying! I want the font to be like it is in Internships but blogger is being weird and calling it Georgia when it isn't. Especially when I add hyperlinks in or copy or paste it radically changes.

Can anyone help me? 

I'm pretty sure the last 20 profile views are all by me going view blog then checking shouting Doh then going back to edit mode over and over again. 

Any help would be gratefully recieved! 

Edited: Ummm ignore the above as it automatically done it. However, is this font Georgia? 

Conversation With The Cool Kid

I've backspaced too many times, I need to write something. I need to tell this story.

A couple weeks back Asher Roth tweeted a rather controversial subject.
In an attempt to make a joke he refered to the Don Imus incident where he called the Rutgers Women's Basketball Team some, "nappy headed hoes". Not Cool! Not Right!
So why did Asher Roth repeat that?
Now, I'm not about the actual Don Imus incident, thats long and gone and his reputation is no more. It's the power of the message, the power of the internet. How and what Asher Roth said got misconstrude and offended a lot of people.
Asher Roth not Don Imus.

Asher Roth unknowingly touched a nerve, what he thought was a joke did not make a lot of people smile.

I'm trying to make a comparison here between Asher Roth and myself and this will probably be the only time I ever make. How a joke can explode over the internet and recieve so many responses from so many people.
It was Asher Roth's Twitter Status, it was my Facebook Status.

Now, I been doing this blog thing since the end of last year. Took a break and am now back on it! I wanted to tell people, show people that HEY I'm doing this - CHECK IT OUT!
Well... More like this really:

help me achieve my target of 25 new followers by the end of this month... no catch, no gimmicks, no fee! just read the blog: http://lemelp.blogspot.com/ .... or else!

day 2 of the target 0 followers... 525 facebook friends and not 1 of you bastards are following my blog... but you continue to write on my wall, text me, ring me and say hi on campus. WASTE! its not even that bad... 25 by the end of this month its NOT a lot!http://lemelp.blogspot.com/

day 3, 9 followers. THANK YOU LOU WOOD! THEO ROWLEY! KILLA KAM! all the rest of you people are letting me down... 525 friends and all im asking is for 25 followers. how is that a big demand! like i said yesterday: you continue to write on my wall, text me, ring me and say hi on campus. WASTE! its not even that bad... 25 by the end of this month its NOT a lot! http://lemelp.blogspot.com/

DAY 3 - 9 FOLLOWERS THANK YOU LOU WOOD! THEO ROWLEY! KILLA KAM! all the rest of you people are letting me down...... big time! 525 friends and all im asking is for 25 followers. how is that a big demand! http://lemelp.blogspot.com/ thankyou and goodnight!

Right?
Wrong! As I later came to find out that hindsight is truly a brilliant thing.
I explicity said what I wanted to achieve but the way I went about it was so wrong. In barraging people with the link and my demand, calling people out, I forgot those who already read my blog and enjoy it. Those who since day one have expressed an interest in what new and brilliant thing I am doing. And while I am so grateful for the new followers I have, how I got them to follow was.... not the right way.

Now... It takes a lot for me to admit I'm wrong and concede as I am. So I'm going to defend myself while I prosecute myself.
Adverstising is everywhere these days. Every company and brand trying to sell, you the consumer their product. In your face adverts, overt adverts all trying to distract you from the competition and focus you on their product.
Advertising has to be unique has to grab you. When I turn on the TV its more than likely that I will be in the middle of an advert than an actual programme and even more so the advert is SO far off the product that you are drawn to it even more.
Adverts have to grab you! Publicity is key if you want to promote who you are!
Way back when I used to work for JumpOff.Tv in their Street Team I learnt that you have to grab people. Giving out flyers and trying to sign people up is not easy and you have to really be unique and explosive in order to get that name and number for the info sheets and make sure that flyer you gave them won't end up on the floor.
So with my blog I wanted to do the same.
PUT IT OUT THERE! PUT IT IN YOUR FACE! MAKE YOU READ IT!

But "You can't make people read it like that!".
This is what the conversation with the Cool Kid taught me. In wanting to 'make all my goals for the future come tonight' Drake - Where to Now.
For a second I totally forgot why I am doing this....
I realise that my blog is not BIG I'm no Kanye, Highsnobiety, Marcus Troy or Complex Magazine. I would LOVE to be like those guys. But more so, I want this blog to be a great read and I want it to reflect me. I want people to find it on their own accord and with a little help from me.
It needs to speak for itself and it can't really rely on me pushing it out there the wrong way.

Conversations with the Cool Kid soon turned to Conversations with The BF.
If this is really my blog then it needs to be unique, it needs to be original.