Ambition, Adorning & Amy.
Amy Lawrence / Photography by Holly Booth
prototype magazine spoke to Amy, of Amy Lawrence Designs
to help promote you, or to drink coffee to.
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Ambition, Adorning & Amy.
Amy Lawrence / Photography by Holly Booth
prototype magazine spoke to Amy, of Amy Lawrence Designs -
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Ambition, Adorning & Amy.
Amy Lawrence / Photography by Holly Booth
prototype magazine spoke to Amy, of Amy Lawrence Designs -
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Ambition, Adorning & Amy.
Amy Lawrence / Photography by Holly Booth
prototype magazine spoke to Amy, of Amy Lawrence Designs -
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Gallery 116
Written by Carrie Reynolds
A new gallery has opened in Stoke-on-Trent, Gallery 116. It’s a new…
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written by krissy eliot
photography courtesy of cwtalent
Talent manager, Caleb White, adjusts his ball cap and leans back in a chair in his office - the office that happens to also function as the back bedroom of his beach front home in VA. His desk is strewn with half-full lemonade containers and old issues of Vogue. Two surf boards hang from the ceiling and his feet rest on a skateboard that he keeps underneath his desk. He looks like the kind of guy you’d find shuffling around a “Dazed and Confused” inspired blow out in the woods, rather than the guy you’d hire for talent representation… and then he pulls out his 24 inch stack of notebooks - filled with to-dos and tasks.
“I’m at my desk no later than 8:00 every morning. I don’t leave my desk any earlier than 8:00 at night,” White says.” I don’t eat lunch. If I do, I’m at my desk.”White takes on the world from his bedroom every day. He starts by contacting Europe in the morning, then he bumps the calls over to Asia in the early afternoon, and finally moves on to NY in the early evening; he does it all with the intention of getting his talent signed with agencies that will undoubtedly further their careers… and he gets them signed everywhere from Paris to Istanbul.
And one could expect nothing less from the mastermind behind CW Management - a major company that’s represented such faces as sports star Chad Hedrick, actress and model, Kim Smith, and musician, Tone Loc. So how does White know who is destined for stardom?
“I look for connectivity,” White says. “I look for somebody that I’m gonna click with and enjoy pushing because I’ve learned that’s what makes careers.”
White has a golden eye for discovering talent, and he doesn’t stick to the conventional methods of finding stars on the street, either. For White, the Internet is an eye-glass that enhances his already 20/20 talent-vision - and he never stops looking.
In late 2012, White discovered Beau Buckley, a male model who rocketed to fame, nabbing a campaign with Yves Saint Laurent. White spotted him in the corner of some girl’s Facebook photo; Buckley was riding in the car with his girlfriend. White knew instantly that he should be a model, he contacted him, and signed him immediately. Similar stories can be told for most of the models and actors on his current talent board.
Some agents give White flak about finding talent via the Internet, but White makes a compelling retort: “Why shouldn’t I be able to scout online when girls are allowed to scout ME online?” According to White, all the modeling agencies use the Internet to find talent too, it’s just not something they advertise.
White doesn’t live by industry standards and he doesn’t sign “cookie cutter” actors and models. If he sees something in someone, he will fight to make them famous; his management method involves breaking barriers and showing the world someone totally original - and his method WORKS. “I’m [a manager] because I’m lucky to be in a creative business. [Finding talent] is an art form,” White says. “And I set my own rules.”
You can contact White through his email:
caleb@cwtalent.com
Or check out his website:
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written by carrie reynolds
One of the best pieces of advice given to Jessica Willis was to do something she enjoyed as a career, to turn a hobby into a business.
Flossy Jewellery started when Jessica was studying a Foundation Degree at Staffordshire Uni; part of her criteria was to create a start-up business plan. And as she had previous jewellery making experience, she decided to take it a step further and created actual items to display at the end of year show. After a really positive response, Jessica gained the confidence to put items for sale online after graduation. Her first collection sold quicker than she anticipated, reaching a global audience through the handmade onine store Etsy.
Although Flossy is only in its first year of business, Jessica has worked through the huge learning curve, expanding her network online. At the moment she is working on connecting with her customers through Instagram; Jessica wants to have a good relationship with her customers, and thinks Instagram is a fun way to connect. Not only has she been building relationships with customers, but suppliers too. This has enabled her to order new crystals for her upcoming pieces. At first she began with Swarovski and vintage crystals, which makes each piece unique. During the year she has also figured out what works well and what doesn’t, and now is selling more rings with a wide variation of colour and size.
Jessica believes that high street jewellery can become repetitive and doesn’t always offer the best quality, so she wanted to create unique pieces at a good price that people can treasure. By using vintage items and making pieces in limited numbers she maintains an exclusive collection. This is also an important factor for the brand ethos of Flossy.
Although Flossy currently only sells on Etsy, Jessica is looking into having craft stalls and fashion fairs starting from March. Even further into the future, Jessica aims to have a presence at craft fairs and galleries where she can have the opportunity to meet customers face to face. This will help her establish which direction to take Flossy, directly from customer feedback. Jessica thinks that it’d be amazing to have Flossy jewellery stocked in independent boutiques and like-minded retailers, but her biggest ambition is to have a stall at Brookyln Flea Market in New York. She had the opportunity to visit there last summer, and has since been in love with the place.
Currently the Spring/Summer 2013 Flossy collection has just been released, which coincides with the launches of the website and Instagram. She has also ordered some interesting, large druzy crystals which she intends on making into statement rings.
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Enter for a chance to win here: http://bit.ly/XVg4jB
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(Photography Jordan Reece Williams)
Do you have a story or anecdote to share about your graduation day? With our Transformation issue upcoming, we’d love to know about the day that is supposed to not only transform your education, your career but also your life.
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If you’d like to have your words feature in #5, please complete the questions below (or send your anecdote of under 300 words) to prototypemag@gmail.com before 13/02/13
- First things first - did you make it to Graduation?
- Cap and gown in toe, what was the best part of Graduation day for you?
- What did you Graduation in, and what did you get?
- Did graduation meet your expectations?
- Any embarrassing tales to tell about Graduation day?
- Did graduating transform anything (career, life, etc.) for you? If so, what and how?
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Nana’s Vintage Fair is an official stockist of prototype magazine, you can currently hunt down issues #3 and #4 at each fair, and soon we will be adding #5 (our most recent issue) to the mix.
Not only can you find our magazine but also beautiful vintage items, but there is cake, eclectic jewellery. Holding fairs throughout Staffordshire, for the general public and students, it is the perfect day out. Check out their website, or follow them on Facebook to find out what dates the fairs are set to be held.
If you pick up a copy of our zine there, why not send us a picture or a message to let us know.
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To transform; metamorphose. Something which happens so naturally in the creative world. And there is one group whose continual transformation is to the benefit of all us. Bad Edit are a creative networking team who hold weekly events in their new location of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. Not only for artists, they have events for poetry, creative writing, and musicians too.
Bad Edit Presents is for the artists, giving them plenty of space to exhibit their work and exposure to the public. Lineup Fridays are for the musicians, sharing local music every Friday. Their free SPAM (Some Poetry And Music) night is open to performance also, providing a range of local talents. And if craft is more your thing, the Bad Edit Student Tour at the LRV in Staffs Uni has stalls to sell merchandise.
Bad Edit gives everyone a chance at becoming involved in some way, and are welcome to new ideas. Their growth is transforming what we, the creative people of Staffordshire, can achieve locally. Blossoming from their beginnings in 2011, Bad Edit is a key to network and make contacts, and above all share with other like-minded people.
Written by Carrie Reynolds
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Images Above: Blitz, London
Independant Shops
Written by Sharlene Gandhi
Post-Christmas sale shopping is a ritual that, especially to the female population, needs neither an explanation nor a justification. After days of preparation for the grand festival of Noël, errand upon errand, task after task, finding yourself a real diamond in the rough (that just happens to be your size) houses an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. The annual bustle of the sales is a festivity of its own, without which the festive period would simply be left incomplete.
This year, however, I found myself labeling the experience of sale shopping a ‘nuisance’ rather than the familiar ‘unexpected pleasure’. I have always believed that there are multiple types of shoppers: the Excitable, the Patient, the Hoarder and the Organised, amongst others. I, myself, belong to the final group, the Organised- that is to say, that I know precisely what I want, down to the very last design detail, and where to get it from.
Having travelled to my second home, London’s Oxford Street, wish list freshly encoded into my mind, I was saddened by the sight of similar displays in every high-street store I entered. Studded slippers here and sleeveless shirts there, the repetition was reminiscent of the pre-Christmas errands from which I was craving escape. The fashion industry, to me, signifies wearable art. High street stores, in an attempt to fiercely compete, had abandoned two basic business principles which should remain at the heart of any venture. The first is to always keep the unique selling point in sight, and the second, arguably the most crucial, is to put the customer first.
Image: Oxford Street, London
Disheartened by the plague of a lack of originality that seemed to have simultaneously struck all high-street designers, I then headed to London’s East End, where, on a typical day, one can witness an innovative blending of vintage and current trends, the result of which is homage to all the styles represented on the streets of London. Brick Lane houses multiple independent stores, including London’s first vintage department store, Blitz London. Along with a mouth-wateringly unique clothing selection, adorned with equally beautiful prices, Blitz keeps the customer experience at the core of the business, offering coffee shop delicacies and photobooth memories.
This is an anecdotal experience of mine through which I can deduce that independent shops, although in the shadow of global brands, still flourish in a way that plays on the weaknesses of high-street chains. As I said before, fashion for me is an art form, and the foundation of any art form is creativity. Not having a brand identity to ease marketing works advantageously in this case, as these small shops do all that is in their power to be imaginative and to redefine the shopping experience, thus keeping the biggest far, far away from being the best.
