Photo courtesy of theo: view from the top floor of theo office to the patio

As I was walking through the windy Antwerp streets yesterday, I quickly gave in to the overpowering atmosphere of design, fashion and great interiors typical of this great city. I was on a mission to meet one of the important players on the Antwerp fashion and style scene, as well as internationally, Wim Somers, founder of a funky eyewear brand, theo. At the end of my journey through Antwerp’s most fashionable streets that are host of great shops and funky cafés, I reached theo’s office building. As I entered it, the exuberance of colors struck me with a good dose of positive energy, that I especially appreciated on a cold and grey day. My funky journey began, and here’s an account of what I discovered by talking with Wim Somers, who had founded theo back in 1988.

SCHMOOZY FOX: Wim, the main reason I am here is that a couple of weeks ago I went to my favorite optician’s store in Brussels, Capelle Opticien, to get a new pair of glasses. After having a little chat with the shop owner, I was recommended this great pair of theo glasses. Its design, a big edgy and unusual, and yet extremely elegant, prompted me to find out more about your company. (more…)

Portrait of Tekin Tatar with the "inkify" effect applied

Since SCHMOOZY FOX helps companies with business development and brand building projects aimed at helping them create funky brands, no wonder the site called befunky.com attracted my attention when I was surfing the web.

Befunky.com is a web application that allows create great effects for your photos – in a funky way. Today, SCHMOOZY FOX is happy to publish the first interview of the new year with the founder of befunky.com from Istanbul Tekin Tatar and learn about his plans for this project. (more…)

Celebrity endorsement: Kim Cattrall for Baileys

As part of the Funky Brand Interviews series, I am happy to talk to James Payne, Global Communications Manager at Baileys Irish Cream. Baileys is one of the best-selling liqueur brands globally and originated in 1974 in Ireland.  R&A Bailey & Co. who created Baileys became part of Grand Metropolitan, which merged with Guinness to form Diageo in 1997.

Today SCHMOOZY FOX talks with James about the recent celebrity endorsement of the Baileys festive bottle by actress Kim Cattrall, as well as the activities undertaken by the Baileys team in order to connect to fans of this drink through online channels. (more…)

Boticca.com is a new online marketplace that sells hand-crafted unique accessories made by independent designers. It was launched at the end of September 2009 by two young entrepreneurs, Kiyan Foroughi and Niloufar Sassani, who are managing their new business between Paris and London. Before talking with Kiyan Foroughi, Boticca’s CEO, I checked his profile on LinkedIn, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that he had also graduated from Tufts University in Boston, where yours truly went to graduate school. Needless to say, I am very happy to talk to a fellow Tufts alum about (more…)

Artist Thaneeya McArdle

My dialog with Thaneeya McArdle, a  young artist who lives in Florida, USA, started when I typed “funky abstract art” into Google Search. I was looking for images that would give me inspiration for my company presentation about funky brands. One of the images I liked very much led to the sites of Thaneeya McArdle: www.thaneeya.com and www.art-is-fun.com. I liked the way Thaneeya spoke about herself and her passion for art, as well as how she used the power of the Internet and social media to connect to those who appreciate her work. As a follow-up to yesterday’s blog post about branding for artists, I am happy to publish my funky brand interview with Thaneeya (more…)

Photo courtesy of marlies|dekkers

Today, SCHMOOZY FOX is happy to publish the second interview in the series of funky brand interviews. As you may remember from the first piece that launched this series, funky brand interviews are meant to give you some insights into the real people behind some of the funkiest brands out there. My interviewee today is Marlies Dekkers, an astonishingly talented fashion designer and accomplished entrepreneur from the Netherlands, whose luxury lingerie brand marlies|dekkers has won the hearts of many women (and men) around the world. Last year, I published a review of the marlies|dekkers brand, and have been watching its growing success ever since. (more…)

With today’s post, I am happy to announce the launch of a new series of funky brand interviews. Whilst I will continue to post reviews and analyses of brands and different aspects of brand strategy, funky brand interviews will bring a bit of a more personal and informal perspective into some of the most innovative and original brands out there. Importantly, they will give you a chance to discover the passionate and entrepreneurial people behind these brands. (more…)