Letter from America: Third time's a charm.

I am back in fabulous San Francisco for a couple of weeks with work and, now clocking up a total of 3 months here since May of last year, it really does feel like a very nice home away from home.

On the work side, I'm here doing brand strategy for a super cool app with some very exciting technology behind it. As such, I had the opportunity to do a brand workshop from the client's Command HQ in Paolo Alto. Just south of SF, Paolo Alto is a sweet suburban enclave just riddled with tech start-ups. You can't buy a Soy Latte without overhearing someone discussing their latest round of VC funding.



The client's house is your classic American modern home pimped out to the nines with screens and servers. Every room has been re-purposed to house tech and engineering teams all "wired in" and making the future happen. For someone with a barely concealed Geek Fetish, such as myself, their place is pretty nerd-tastic. The app I'm working on has already launched in Beta, so watch this space to see how the project develops!

Outside of work, there is only really time to eat. So I have been hitting the breakfast, lunch and dinner scenes pretty hard. For breakfast, I can nip out of my hotel to The Ferry Building for a Bluebottle coffee with a goat's cheese and apricot jam sandwich. Lunches, grabbed from nearby South Park in the Soma district consist of "Super Tacos" from Mexico au Park, or a Jalapeno Popper from The American Grilled Cheese Company. And dinner has been anything from hipster pizza at Delfina, Lobster Po Boys at Anchor & Hope, posh fried chicken at Foreign Cinema and even a quick and dirty Burger from In "n" Out. Calories on location don't count, right?




And finally, in this travel journal-esque post, to note that I have just returned from a rather wonderful weekend in Napa. Carrie Bradshaw's response to Mr Big's announcement that he was moving to Wine Country was "If you're tired you take a nap-a, you don't move to Napa!". And how wrong she was. My friend and I left SF yesterday morning with bags under our eyes and full of work anxieties. After mucho vino and mucho lolling in the hot tub in the cool and pleasant rain, we drove back today feeling well-rested and ready for another week.



Working abroad has its downsides - jetlag, disorientation and feeling forced to pull the plug on your life at home. But they are far outweighed by the upsides - new sights, new friends, new experiences and - for those who find it hard to switch-off - the chance to have a change of scene while still showing up for work each day! Clearly Napa didn't quite get its hold on me, yet!

Camillastore goes Stateside.
"who were burned alive in their innocent flannel suits on Madison Avenue
amid blasts of leaden verse & the tanked-up clatter of the iron regi-
ments of fashion & the nitroglycerine shrieks of the fairies of advertis-
ing & the mustard gas of sinister intelligent editors, or were run down
by the drunken taxicabs of Absolute Reality"


It is my second day in the uber-cool San Francisco and, now I'm over the jet lag (For me, it's Tylenol Nighttime every time!), am able to finally string two lines together. Further evidence of my being bombed on the time difference emerged last night when I returned from a wander round the shops still wearing some unpaid for merchandise. A felony within 24 hours of landing. Awesome.

Anyway, today I am more coherent and with the weekend free to explore this great city. First up I headed over to the Ferry Building. A local foodie's heaven. a visiting, hotel-bound foodie's nightmare. Photos will follow, but picture row upon row of incredible produce set against the backdrop of San Francisco bay. Just spectacular. I also popped into Miette bakery. I first heard of Miette and got to know the owner, Meg, back when I worked for Rococo Chocolates. Meg wasn't around, but the Rococo was in prime position and the carrot cake cupcakes pretty special.



Next I sauntered - well, admittedly, heaved - my way up one of the infamous San Fran hills to make a pilgrimage to City Lights Bookshop. Though I may have sold my soul to branding and be more about power plates than Lucky Strikes these days, the Beat poets and writers still hold a very special place in my heart. I have always been fascinated by their courage and commitment to forging new forms of literature, of thinking even, in a time when America was vigilant against "non-conformist" behaviour. To finally set foot where founder Ferlinghetti hung out with Ginsberg, Kerouak and Cassidy realised a long-held dream of mine.

And now I'm back in my hotel room which overlooks the hot tub in a very Don Draper-esque manner and wondering whether a second burrito in as many days is pushing it slightly.

The First Lady

So, Obama and the first family are no doubt slinking around the White House, trying to decide what picture to hang where and recovering from the 10 inaugural balls they attended last night. And, while we are left in no doubt that political history was made yesterday, the fashion blogs have naturally been going nuts over Michelle's choice of inauguration outfit.



Given that, and paraphrasing Obama, the economy has been weakened due to greed and irresponsibility, it seems there has never been a better time to make sound investment buys. So I will be showing my support for the new Pres with these fabulous Michelle-inspired leather gloves from John Lewis. With care, they might even last the entire Presidential term!



Also, click HERE for The Telegraph's look at what the blogs had to say.

Election night.

Why is British politics never as exciting as all this? A friend of the Mothership spotted this Obama cookie in Eleni's Bakery in Manhatten's Chelsea Market. She says 'all the Baracks sell out, but the McCains sit there with the Halloween ghoul candies....'

Come on Obama!!!

Will Ferrell as Bush, Tina Fey as Palin. It takes a team to make a dream.

I fear the next few days herald a considerable drop in blog post rate and quality. With working days so long they are putting us up in a hotel, I can only dream of a holiday right now. Pater recently found photos from our two week jaunt to Florida several years ago. What I'd give to return to that little suburban enclave with days out to Wal-Mart!


Photograph by Blazing Cameras.

So freakin' brilliant. (Takes a sec to load video, but worth the wait!)



God Bless Saturday Night Live.

Service with a Smile

The next big thing is going to be a seismic shift in the British retail landscape. Currently in a limbo between its formal, bespoke past and its technology-driven, experience-orientated future, Britain must discover how to stand out in the international marketplace.

Classic BBC dramas like Cranford or Lark Rise To Candleford remind us how there was once a time when what we bought, be it candles or muslin, was handed to us wrapped in tissue paper, then bound in silk ribbon and finished off with a kindly word of advice (or gossip) from our local tradesman.



Today, a trip to Europe or even down Saville Row proves that this attention to detail is far from lost - luxury and artisan retailers feel an affinity with their product and pride themselves on the care with which they sell it. However, with more and more emphasis placed on price and choice, UK companies have cut back on their service offer, choosing to bring in less costly foreign floor staff but losing eloquence and devotion along the way.

Until recently, retailers in Britain got away with shoddy service as consumers got what they thought they wanted, namely cheap products piled high, but in the past five years our boisterous, American cousins have appeared on the scene. For Banana Republic and all the other American owned stores, excellent customer service is part of their mission statement. Their staff are as much as part of their brand as the items they sell. We have laughed for years at candy-pop cheerleaders who greet everyone with 'Hi! How are you folks doing?', but the shopping 'experience' is an integral part of a brand's image, and, ultimately, what we pay for.



The recent backlash against shops like Primark and Tesco in the UK highlight a massive change in consumer attitudes. The term ‘organic’ has taken on a larger meaning that goes beyond chemicals and accountability and now encompasses an entire lifestyle. What we do and experience will define us more than what we buy and own.

In the midst of a Credit Crunch, stores who offer more than just the product they sell in terms of service and experience, will find themselves with a loyal following as consumers enjoy the feeling of true value. With more UK brands focusing on customer experience, the Next Big Thing will be fantastic customer service that excites and enlightens the British shopper.

Over- fed, over-hyped, and over here: The American Invasion.

It started a while back with Urban Outfitters opening on High Street Ken as the go-to place for fashionable bo-ho Londoners who prefer their vintage looks without the smell of old lady. Then American Apparel appeared on Carnaby Street luring generations of Gap-fans with their soft cotton tees in rainbow colours. But it was unleashing Abercrombie & Fitch on the nation's 15 year old girls that really made everyone sit up and take notice of these sexy American stores charming their way onto our high streets and into our wardrobes.

Unlike their reserved and somewhat eccentric counterparts, the American stores know no bounds. They are vast, glossy and immaculate. No amount of British propaganda (apparently A&F in-store models are fired if they stop dancing) can penetrate their alluring shell. Whole Foods swanned into Kensington, kicked the Barkers building into shape, piled the shelves high with over-priced Organic veg and, like unwitting Northerners with a penchant for coal, had Londoners swooning in the aisles.



It is Banana Republic, however, that is quietly giving British retail a major run for its money. And it's not due to their office-perfect twin-sets, or their preposterously massive changing rooms, it is their standard of service. We have laughed for years at candy-pop cheerleaders who greet everyone with 'Hi! How are you folks doing?', but it is sixteen years since Ab Fab's Eddie quipped 'You only work in a shop, you know. You can drop the bloody attitude' and still we are putting up with surly, unwelcoming assistants.

Will Banana Rep's pioneering development of a beautiful midway point between Olivia Newton-John and Jeeves see things begin to change on the shop floor?