London is a hive of activity at the moment, what with London Fashion Week & the London Design Festival it isn’t hard to find a catwalk show, party or design talk to attend.

 It is a great time of year to live in London and working in Clerkenwell we are surrounded by design showrooms who during the week of 20th-25th of September are celebrating design by holding events, installations, talks & debates and last night Fay and I took ourselves off to Galleria illy.

 ”Coffee and culture have shared an inseparable bond that has lasted for centuries” and after a successful stint in New York, Milan and Istanbul the pop up celebration of all things illy has made its way over to the UK.  Hosted by lighting and furnishing designers FLOS & Moroso the space is a celebration of illy, it’s love of art, culture and science and above all it’s passion for the finest coffee.

 Last night we attended a coffee training session – it only lasted for an hour, but in that time Marco our tutor for the evening taught us the essential skills needed to make the perfect Cappuccino, Latte & Macchiato.  We didn’t use roast and ground beans we used pods something i’ve always thought were a waste of money and bad for the environment, but i’ve since changed my mind and am now putting an illy pod machine on my Christmas list!  Such a quick and
efficient way to make a coffee with limited waste and added experience, I felt like a proper barista; of course an hours class isn’t going to make me a pro, but it has made me think about the coffee I drink.

 The American inspired chains that are swamping our high streets have quickly turned us from instant coffee lovers to coffee connoisseurs (or so we’d like to think), but they are so focused on selling, charging crazy money for products that aren’t even that great, that they have forgotten about the taste experience.   Am I expecting too much from my coffee experience, I don’t think so.

Despite my new found love for the illy pod machine I have started to drink a lot more instant coffee in a bid to save money.  I normally just buy whatever is on offer in my local supermarket, but last week I decided to go for something different, Nescafe Gold Blend, and do you know what I was pleasantly surprised.  In my honest opinion instant coffee all tastes pretty much the same to me so it doesn’t really matter what I buy, but this time I was pleasantly surprised with my brand switch as there was a notable difference, the smell, it smelt great!  It wasn’t until I put the jar back in the cupboard that I noticed a little sticker on the side –  ‘new richer aroma’, the brand got me before the marketing did.

Coffee is so sensorial, from the sound of the grinding machine, the water boiling or the fresh seal popping, to the smell of the beans roasting and the coffee brewing; as an instant existing in this category can be challenging, how can you compete with the out of home experience, or the in home pod machines?

There may be lots of competition but there is also lots of opportunity as Nescafe have identified, to tap in to our senses and to offer consumers a greater experience. In doing so Nescafe have reinforced their quality coffee credentials with me and made me want to buy them again!

Someone stick the kettle on.

I just spotted this on LS:N and searching the net there seems to be quite a bit written about it, ‘The Perfume Diaries’ is an exhibition being held at Harrods, curated by expert ‘nose’ Roja Dove.  It is  all about the perfumes that have been inspired by different world events.   A series of talks and events will be taking place throughout the exhibition which runs from 28th August – 2nd of October, and some of the worlds most famous perfumuers will feature, talking about their famous works.

And when you have filled your nose with the scent of Vanilla and Bergamot you can go and enjoy afternoon tea with an array of cakes inspired by the exhibition.   ‘Cakes will include Grace, a miniature loaf cake inspired by the French town of Grasse, known as the perfume capital of the world. Shot St Honoré is a fruit cream dessert in a shot glass with added lemongrass and coconut. Little Violet is a tiny tartlet scented with violet essence’

Looks like I have my weekend outing planned…. tea anyone?

Yesterday I had a consultation with fragrance specialist Roja Dove in the beautiful Urban Retreat in Harrods.  To be honest I did not really know what to expect from the man described as the world’s sole ‘Professeur de Parfums’.  Would I be intimidated by his flamboyance, his expertise?  Well, just a little…. but  it was a fascinating experience from which I learnt a great deal and by the end of my hour with Roja I did almost part with my hard-earned cash for a piece of perfume heritage.  Thankfully I saw sense however and refrained from the £175 price tag and the recommendation to ‘buy two to store away for a special occasion’.  I’m just grateful that I didn’t end up falling for the most expensive perfume in the world, if I remember right I belive it retails for the small sum of £115,000!  Valentines day gift anyone?

During the consultation Roja took me on a journey starting with a brief history of smell.Now I didn’t realise this, but when we are born the part of the brain that controls our sense of smell is empty.  We are born with the ability to smell, but we are not, of course, born with the ability to name what it is that we are smelling.  What happens instead is that the brain will memorize each new molecule as we encounter it and will store it away in our brains, filed by experience.  One of the first smells we encounter as a newborn is the smell of our mother, and as hungry  babies we learn to associate the note of vanillin in milk with the relief that feeding time brings.  As we age, when we reencounter a scent we often recall the first moment we experienced it, and thinking about it now it all makes sense, when I smell Crayola Crayons or Play Dough it transports me back to being a young child, those smells are so nostalgic!

After discussing the power of smell and its filing system, we got on to the fun part where I got to sniff out my perfect scent….  Roja prepared three blotting strips with different fragrances on,  I did not know the families they belonged to nor what fragrance house they were from, the only thing I was to use to identify my favourite was my nose!  It was fascinating how each of the fragrances changed as time moved on, how after smelling one of the blotting strips altered the smell of the previous one and enabled me to identify / experience notes I had not been aware of before.  This went on for about 10 minutes until I settled on the strip that I favoured, which turned out to belong to the Oriental fragrance family.

Oriental Fragrance A blend of warmth and mystery. Musks and precious woods are complemented by exotic essences.
Oriental Fragrance Lifestyle: Mystical, luxurious, dramatic, sexy, sensual. Mostly worn in the evening

Having identified the family of fragances that I liked the most, Roja then got together another 25 blotting strips with various perfumes for me to engage with.  I know all it sounds like is that I sat there, sniffed a couple of perfumes and worked out the one I liked the most, but actually it was a lot deeper than that.  With each new sniff of a blotting strip the fragrances entered new realms, I smelt things that I couldn’t identify at first and began to understand just how powerful my sense of smell is.

This whole bluesky project was born out of a desire to understand the role of our senses in branding and this last exercise has highlighted the extent of the job I have given myself.  In the world of perfume we rely quite heavily on what the products look like and their advertising, so much so that smell can often be of secondary importance.  If buying Chanel No5 can help us live a life like Nicole Kidman or Keira Knightly then we can grow to like the smell!

The perfume that I ended up falling in love with is a perfume  called La Voce, inspired by opera singer Renee Fleming,  on looks alone it is not something I would normally have gone for.  If i’m being honest I probably would have walked right on past it, but it smells absolutely divine and one thing this experince has made me realise is that its time to smell with our noses not with our eyes!

KT x

For years we’ve popping up our bread half way through the toast cycle to check its just the way we like it, peering over the top to make sure the edges haven’t burnt, narrowly missing singeing our eyebrows off.

Obtaining that perfect piece of toast hasn’t been an as easy task especially when we all  have such high standards.  Just read the requirements from some of my work colleagues and you’ll know what i’m talking about…..

“Caught just before it starts to darken, white and pale caramel coloured”

“crispy golden on the outside, fluffy inside with burned bits round the edge”

“I am very particular about my toast.  I prefer hand cut bread, evenly done with a nice golden brown colour.  It mustn’t be too overdone and if it’s too lightly done it’s too soft”

“Golden brown evenly toasted all over . To ensure its evenly brown I frequently peer into the toaster to check how its coming along”

If only we could see whats going on inside I hear you cry!!

Well take a look at this………

Its the new ‘Vision’ toaster from Magimix, a double insulated transparent toaster that gives a panoramic view of each slice as it cooks.

The super sensory toaster initially launched at five John Lewis stores in the UK this month, and is expected to be rolled out across other stores nationwide later this year.

What a simple solution to our toast troubles

For those of you that don’t know who they are – LS:N is an online consumer news and insights network set up by The Future Laboratory.  In its simplest form the guys at LS:N provide news of whats going on around the globe in fashion, interiors, architecture, design you name it they are on to it and last night they held a fascinating evening at The Connaught Hotel in London.

The topic of the evening was luxury and the way the evening was set up was a bit like speed dating.  6 tables, 6 speakers, 6 minutes all we had to do was sit and listen.

The speakers included Stephen Alden, CEO of the Maybourne Hotel Group who spoke about how luxury is becoming more meaningful in 2010.  ‘Frivolity, excess & waste’ have become a thing of the past, consumers are looking for values, authenticity and craftsmanship in their luxury brands.

This view was certainly backed up by many of the other speakers of the night.  Christopher Sharp, CEO of The Rug Company mentioned the importance of story and how consumers warm to a product and are willing to pay more for something that they know has an interesting past.

The evening was certainly very interesting and as always provided me with a great deal of food for thought.  I’m interested to see how the luxury market develops as we enter a new decade, has the age of bling really left us? I’m not so sure….

Judging by Blackburn rovers star El Hadji Diouf’s brand new gold cadillac – I would say it might take us another few years before we wave goodbye to that dear friend.

Firstly – Happy New Year!

Its been a while since my last post and for that I am sorry – Ive never been one for new years resolutions  really, but one for 2010 is to blog more, even if its not big posts and just photos – i’m going to be more active!

2010 is a big year for me, I’m getting married in June this year and with that comes lots of fun and excitement and also lots of thinking and reflecting – a new chapter in my life, how did the last one go, what will the next one hold?

At the moment my fiancee and I are in the process of putting together a playlist for our band.  We are thinking of the mood of the night, the songs that mean something to us and how we want to feel / our guests to feel throughout the evening.

Its got me thinking again about the power of song.  You can travel between a really uptempo energetic number to a more romantic, subtle tune and create a real clash of emotions – it just happened to me as I sit at my computer.

Listening to Marvin Gaye, Aint no mountain high enough I was feeling really cheery and then Des’ree, kissing you came on and it was like being dragged through a sea of emotion in a split second….. Now I don’t really want that to happen on the big day, ill be a blubbering wreck – not such an attractive look!

At the moment, our biggest challenge is deciding on what our last song is going to be.  We want to leave people on a high….. Ive got a few ideas, but if any of you can think of a good suggestion, let me know.

KT x

Via Creativity Online

I have just returned from a week of bluesky adventures in Marrakech and the first thing that comes to mind is  WOW what an incredible city.  I was given fair warning from lots of my friends of how crazy & beautiuful it is, but nothing quite prepared me for just how intense it would be.  The sights the sounds, the smells the colours, at times it could be quite overwhelming.

We chose to stay in a gorgeous Riad, owned by a British couple which was absolutely stunning. The attention to detail throughout was magnificent, it was so calming and luxurious and a real contrast to the rest of the city, the perfect place to spend our week.

The purpose of my visit to Marrakech was to experience a place that embodies all the senses and in my opinion it is a complete assault on them.  From the overwhelming smell of herbs and spices to the enchanting call to prayer, every way you turn your senses are tested and I loved it!

Ill leave you with a few more photos for the time being, while I gather my thoughts together from the whole experience.

KT x

]]> http://poweroffive.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/a-sensory-journey/feed/ 0 poweroffive P1010145 Riad Assakina P1010384 IMG_9064 IMG_9068 P1010389 P1010126 P1010614 http://poweroffive.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/lucky-cat-candy/ http://poweroffive.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/lucky-cat-candy/#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:50:01 +0000 poweroffive http://poweroffive.wordpress.com/?p=371 ]]>

I saw these gorgeous sweet wrappers on a design blog today and I think they are fantastic.

‘The tiny cellophane packet achieves an illusion, transforming its contents (two gum-ball shaped candies)— into a miniature Maneki Neko‘.

Aren’t they beautiful!

KT x

Via the dieline

Take a look at the arcade game style bottle bank and the piano playing stairs – they are such a great way to engage with consumers, to get them involved.