Show Your Colors!

I am, at the heart of it, a Northern Youth.  I grew up in a very small college town in Ohio, and the closest I came to crewing was when a work crew was assembled to tackle a particularly labor intensive project at my after school job.  

But there were two things pulling on me.

One that was clear from the off - my imagination and the dreams that it fueled extended far beyond the realms of Oberlin.  The sartorial gas that was dumped on this fire was the film Chariots of Fire.  I was particularly taken by the clothing.  Specifically?  The blazers worn by the members of the various colleges and/or clubs.  I often pictured my future (better) self, sitting by the fireside in my rooms, enjoying a brandy and plotting my future.

The second string tugging at me?  My mother was an aspiring fashion designer who would later make that her second act.  So I guess it is fair to say that some of it is in the genes. 

A lot of time has passed since then.  I did not take up rowing, I enjoyed and benefited from a degree taken at the University of Oregon, and I found myself pursuing and completing a graduate program in the UK.  And where a lot of  my childhood flights of fancy came full-circle was living and working at the University of St. Andrews with Wendy during our summer vacations. 

So it was with no small amount of interest and curiosity that I walked the the two blocks to Newbury Street yesterday to check out the Rowing Blazers pop-up shop during my lunch break.  I have been stalking this online purveyor of niftyness for some time, but had never been able to see their wares up close and personal.  So a quick pop in, and I was able to meet the owners, set an appointment for a more in-depth follow-up (longer story coming Friday), and get my own copy of the book that helped start it all, Rowing Blazers -

 And Doctor Jack L. Carlson very kindly inscribed my copy -

 So more to come shortly, stay tuned!

Giving Stuff Away

I would like to quote  Ian Charleson from one of his memorable moments portraying the great Scottish runner and rugby player Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire.  And I will need to paraphrase here as unfortunately the quote was not recorded for posterity on IMDB and it was many years ago, but here goes:

One of the great consolations of being famous, if only as a rugby player, is occasionally you get asked to come and give things away!

This was from a scene in the film where he was attending an event (not unlike today's highland games) and awarding prizes to the young boys who ran in a race.  

In many ways, BaselWorld each year is an opportunity for me to have that feeling for myself and Carlo and Samuel Naldi.  Each year, we present the Writing Wrongs Award to a watch brand, or someone working in the industry working to solve seemingly unsolvable problems.  This year, Nomos was recognized for their work with Doctors Without Borders.

I have to be honest.  For a few moments this past year I thought, you know, enough. Nobody cares.  What's the point?  Stop pushing.

And then I realized that maybe more people care than I realized. 

Yes, this is a call to action.  

This is not a request, but a demand that the brands stop talking and start doing!

So - for those of you who think maybe I've mellowed and am just going to sit on the sidelines from here on out (yes, that means you Jean-Claude Biver), guess again!  

Do some good, write some wrongs!  I will be very happy to shake your hand next year.