I am a consultant thinker & creative strategist with track record as an entrepreneur and brand builder. Over the years I have done a great deal of thinking about experiences, brands and what it takes to engage and create desire. People like what I do.
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It’s that time of year again … the first Sunday in May: the start of the winter swimming season at the Bondi Icebergs. Salty and iconic. I think it might be the only Club I belong to that I haven’t started myself ;) My first year as an Iceberg was 1987. That’s 25 years ago. I joined with my friend Dare Jennings (Mambo, Deus ex Machina) … who was also (and still is) a Bondi local. In 1991 I chose to abandon the winter Sunday morning ritual in exchange for wedded bliss with Melanie. I seem to recall something that resembled an ultimatum. Then some years later we left to live in the US. Soon after our return in 2001 (living back in Bondi) I got down on bended knee before “the committee” and was readmitted as a Berg to completed what I had started many years before … although they did dock me 2 of my previously completed years. Anyway, I have long since done my “5 years and 75 swims” and am now free to come and go as I please as a “full swimming member.” Mostly I go, as it is actually a very nice thing to bask in the winter sun and swim a lap before getting on with the rest of the day.
Spent most of yesterday at the store in Bondi helping Tina sell everything that wasn’t nailed down. There’s still a bit of merchandise left if you live local and want to try your luck. About half of the perspex plinth units have gone. Also (and this is the news today) we’ve decided to sell our remaining corner posters … big vinyl banners (1.9m x 2.3m) that will guarantee your bit of REMO History at $120 each. There are 15 left … all one offs. Also for sale: various plinths, dexion shelving, random desks & chairs. Bondi opens today from 11am. Cheers, Remo
General Thinking Network | Since 2001
The General Thinking Network is a network of Thinkers & doers: creative, wise & engaged; thoughtful people doing good work.
I co-founded the General Thinking “Global Thinkers Network” in New York in 2001. I did this to further demonstrate the utility and power of the network model that I had developed in conjunction with my work for REMO. Version 1.0 of General Thinking was one of the very first social networks, coming long before services like Friendster, MySpace, LinkedIn and Facebook. It was a really good idea … but somewhat ahead of its time.
If and when a new online version of the General Thinking network is relaunched, I’ll let you know about it here :)
Melanie and a dear girlfriend are heading north on a road trip to Byron Bay … with our 13 year old son Roman in tow. Friends have offered us their house in Byron Bay as a place to stay for a week. Thelma & Louise … plus a Bondi boardriding teen. “How was the trip? What were Mummy and Dee talking about?” I asked Roman over the phone just now. His answer: “Leonard Cohen and childbirth.” Somehow, that didn’t surprise me; and I have a feeling that Roman will be learning A LOT about both of those subjects over the coming days. You gotta love us socially liberal baby boomers. Cheers, Remo
Tibor Kalman | 1991
“He’s got the best store in the world. By far. His are ventures that screw up preconceived notions about what a store should be or what a catalog should be. They are being watched very carefully by all the retail and catalog giants around the world. His reputation precedes him. People are very much aware of him here in New York. I mean, big people are very much aware of what he’s doing. A New York REMO would blow everybody out of the water.”
Tibor Kalman (New York): Quoted in Australian HQ Magazine (1991)
REMO Catalogues | 1989 to 2005
REMO Catalogues won many international awards for design and creativity.
The copywriting for the 1991 Catalogue was nominated as the “Best in the World” by US Catalog Age magazine.
General Store Logo | 1991
In 1991 I had the idea to replace the segments of a Seven Deadly Sins T Shirt design with these REMO departmental words … designed to create an enduring symbol for our General Store.
Merchandise Iceberg | 1990
A traditional retail merchant will typically present merchandise as an end in and of itself. My feeling has always been that the collection of molecules are just the tip of a very large and very interesting contextual iceberg.
This metaphor served us well in the early days of the REMO General Store as we attempted to distinguish ourselves from the traditional molecule-selling merchants.
Eternity at REMO | 1990
In 1990 I commissioned Sydney artist Martin Sharp to create an Eternity design for REMO in tribute to Mr Eternity Arthur Stace.
The story of Eternity dovetailed perfectly with one of REMO’s primary philosophies: the “Buy it once and own it forever.” theme, and our belief in the universal importance and value of commitment, perseverence and (most of all) … passion.
One of our CustOMERs Ric Birch was the creative director for the Sydney 2000 Olympics Opening Ceremony. I’d like to think that the appearance of a large illuminated Eternity on the Sydney Harbour Bridge had something to do with our celebration of the story in 1990 :)
