Did you know…
I have a real admiration for modern architecture. A friend of mine’s father is a very famous architect that designed three homes in Bridle Path, Toronto and two buildings in New York City. The conversations we and her father have over dinner are very intriguing and enjoyable. More pictures here…
J
One of TFC’s inspirational men, Kobe Bryant has made history once again and I had the pleasure of being in The City of angels for the victory.
Being around all this winning has me in the right mind set each day as I work until the early morning on crafting my first official offering to the world.
Congrats to Black Mamba for showing us that youthful prowess can get you there, but only hard work, diligent practice and the constant quest for betterment will keep you there.
A true inspiration.
The city is on smash right now! I wish y’all were here with me. (Shout out to P Plus & Sean Getti who swung by the studio!)
J.™
For more than 25 years, Joseph Mimran has been an important contributor to the fashion and design industry in Canada. With his sharp eye, impeccable attention to detail and insight into emerging trends, Joe has always been on the forefront of what’s next.
In 1979 he hired designer Alfred Sung and together built Sung’s namesake fashion line into a Canadian mainstay. He then Co-founded Club Monaco in 1984 with his brother and Sung, where he lead the fashion retailer to grow to 141 stores by 1997 (opening 1 per month for 4 years straight). In 1995 Mimran launched the dearly missed home-product and fashion brand Caban for design-conscious consumers and then in 2000 he sold Caban and Club Monaco to Ralph Lauren Polo Corp. in a reported $52-million deal (US).
I first became familiar of the man behind the brands I’ve loved, through my mentor Robin Lewis and his best friend Ian Hylton. Ian was one of Mimran’s key creatives and being so close to their authenticity of approach, lifestyle and execution in their work made my passion for their brands even stronger.
To this day, Caban is one of my favorite retail concepts (both in-store and web presence), and upon launch immediately established itself as an innovative and unique retailer, with a distinctive product mix and presentation philosophy and offered a complete product range for modern living, including furniture, tabletop, home accessories, bed and bath and apparel. The result was a modern, edited collection of product that reflected good design. Unfortunately after the purchase by Ralph Lauren, the Caban brand began to lose focus and Mr. Mimran was ousted. In the summer of 2006, Ralph Lauren Corp. choose to close all of the Caban stores and focus on the Club Monaco in the United States. The last store to close was the flagship store on Queen St. west in Toronto.
With the closing of Caban a void was left in the market segment in which Joeseph himself had created.
Fast forward to his current venture, Joseph Mimran & Associates, where Joe continues to keeps things fresh, providing elegant design, inventive product development and branding expertise as the Head of General Merchandise at Weston owned Loblaw Companies Limited (they also own Holt Renfrew) where Joesph oversees the non-food items, such as books, electronics, home decor and furniture, toys, home furnishings, electronics, sporting goods, books, toys and hardware. He launched Joe Fresh and as Creative Director of Joe Fresh Style, Joe is committed to offering women, men and children stylish and versatile looks for every day that are both well-designed and well-priced. Joe personally oversees the design and development of an extensive clothing range, from chic footwear to the latest in outdoor fashions. In addition to apparel, the Joe Fresh brand recently launched cosmetics and bath collections. Mimran also oversees the President’s Choice Home collection of contemporary home décor and accessories. His venture into the home fashions market resulted in widespread acclaim for this collection of design-driven items, from barbecues to woven storage baskets that offer incredible value, along with a look, feel and functionality that fit with today’s modern lifestyle.
His balance of fiscal and design sensibilities is what I believe truly sets him apart. Recently he had said “I got my Chartered Accountant degree before getting into the business, and that has helped immensely. Today, good design and good business go hand in hand. You cannot design in a vacuum. You have to design with price points, manufacturing processes and end use in mind. I have been fortunate enough to come at it from the business side.” With that balancing act, he has managed to turn Loblaws stores into a cheap and chic clothing destination, drawing suburban families and urban fashion types alike.
Joe Fresh has become the second-largest clothing line in the country and last year added makeup and body products to its repertoire. I long for the days of Caban, but I trust that Joesph has a greater vision to unfold.
S.™
Personally, Im a 90’s baby, in most ways I believe television raised me (please, don’t repeat that around my mother - she would kill me) but I feel most of my morals and lessons were taught to me through shows like Animaniacs, Dexter’s Laboratory, Rugrats, and the 2000s re-runs of Boy Meets World and Fresh Prince…I feel television is responsible for more than half of the pictures that come in my head as I create these character filled, universal, emotion driven stories that I call - ahem - MUSIC…I dont watch as much TV now that my journey has kept me busy but I am thankful for the moments that me and my Sony KV32S40 spent together…I feel I left her it with more inspiration than a broken heart would have given me… This video kinda says other-wise…
This is a video is a interpretation done by Beth Fulton. The inspiration comes from Todd Alcott’s poem, Television.
J.™
BTW…
Recently, design studio Triboro Design has released a limited print of their take on the classic maps for the NYC subway system. Printing only 300 runs of these one-colour maps, the design makes use of a dangerous red-orange tone that draws your attention to the crisp lines and attention to detail in the print. The studio continues to produce some really excellent pieces worthy of display in your residence… most definitely.
Staying clean is one thing, keeping it to one-colour is truly another.
Born Jayson Tyler Brulé in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada some 39 years ago. International style guru, tastemaker and shrewd entrepreneur, Tyler Brulé is the founder of Wallpaper*, one of the world’s most influential style and design magazines, as well as Monocle. He also runs his own design agency and is the author of Fast Lane, the popular weekly travel, trends and style column appearing in London’s Financial Times.
The only child of Canadian footballer Paul Brulé (of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Rough Riders, and Alouettes), and Virge Brule, an artist, he moved to the United Kingdom in 1989 and trained as a journalist with the BBC. His career began on the BBC TV series Reportage. While working as a freelance, he was shot at by a sniper in Afghanistan and lost use of his left hand. It was while recuperating that he came up with the idea for Wallpaper*, a style and fashion magazine which was one of the most influential launches of the 1990s (Known by insiders as the first publication to foster ‘advertorial’). Time Warner bought it in 1997 (the majority stake in which he sold, soon after the magazine’s launch, to Time Warner for a reported £1m), and kept Brûlé on as editorial director. Two spin-off magazines were launched: “Line” addressing sports and “Spruce” covering fashion; both were discontinued after three issues.
In 2001 he became the youngest ever recipient of the British Society of Magazine Editors’ Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2001 he was hired to design the “look and feel” of Swiss International Air Lines at their relaunch, after the collapse of Swissair. In May 2002, Brulé left Wallpaper and concentrated on Winkmedia (now Winkreative), a design agency he founded in 1998. In 2005, Brulé hosted the TV media magazine The Desk on BBC Four. In 2006, he co-produced Counter Culture, a documentary series about cultural aspects of shopping, on the same channel. He was a columnist for the Financial Times, The New York Times, and Neue Zürcher Zeitung am Sonntag. His “Fast Lane” column, which appeared in the weekend supplement of the Financial Times, covered his observations on travel, trends and high-end consumer goods gathered in the course of his travels during the week, which often seemed to involve visits to more than two continents. In October 2006, he announced that he would create a new magazine, to be called Monocle, which launched February 15, 2007.
One of our sources of inspiration, please tag along for the follow to the fan page of the globetrotting endeavours of Mr. Brulé on Twitter by clicking here.
S.™
