Strands of Genius: Rethinking Labels, The Fierce Triumph of Loneliness, Forbes Grifters
Plus, our thoughts on: Mexico Street Art
WRITING FROM | Isla Mujeres, MX
WORKING ON | vacation?
LOOKING AHEAD
Feb 5-26 | Mexico City, Mexico
Feb 26-March 7 | Isla Mujeres, Mexico
March 7-10 | Isla Holbox, Mexico
March 10-12 | TBD: Holbox or Cancun, Mexico
March 12-17 | Nashville, TN
March 17-21 | Atlanta, GA
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
We’re not even through the first quarter and things are l-i-t over here. We spelled it out because we didn’t want to say it. But if it cements our millennial status, then so be it.
(Faris: There is quote a lot ambiguity about my millennial status tbh. I believe myself to be GenX, generally considered to encapsulte the generation that was born between 1965 until 1980. However, some sources end it in 1977 (the year Star Wars came out and Elvis died) , so then I’d be a Xennial, or the world’s oldest millennial (as our friend Joe Cox puts it in his bio. These designations are mostly marketing and entirely arbitrary.)
We’re rocking and rolling with new clients, writing contracts and scopes of work, and diving into discovery & triage. It’s exciting, it’s fun, and/but it’s a lot! We’re moving and grooving — but we’re also thankful that our friends Scott & Ivan are getting married, and that our friend Alex is celebrating her birthday, because it means that the two week vacation that we’ve been looking forward to since last October is finally here! You’ll hear from Ashley next week, and then we’ll be back with you on March 15th.
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
all the family time we got over the past few weeks, the tasting menu at Pujol, Xochimilco, Taqueria El Califa (I’m not going to tell you how many times we ate here), hot air balloon rides, Plantasia, Lillian&Jason, Simon&Porter&Vera, Marion&Nate, Steve&Marua, Rafa&Ingrid, Katy&Greg, our vacation and the upcoming nuptials for Scott&Ivan, catamaran yacht, micheladas, AGI Tours, Javier, Alex&Collin, Rachel&Mike, Lauren & YOU. (PS! Happy Birthday, Alex!! Happy Wedding Weekend Scivan!!)
:: THE LINKS ::
RE-THINKING LABELS
While this is essentially an announcement post for Yancey Strickler’s new company, ahem project, “Metalabel”, it’s a super interesting perspective diving into the concept of {record and beyond} labels. Yancey acknowledges that “Today labels are the horse and buggy of culture – an old model nobody wants back. The major labels’ long rap sheet of shady accounting, exploitative ownership, and corporatized content have ruined the form in the popular imagination.” But he goes on to argue that labels do three things particularly well — “they stand for a core purpose or perspective, they invest in people and projects that share that purpose, and they create context and visibility for projects they support.” Oh and — We’re particularly big fans of MSCHF and love the case study that Yancey put together in his post. (Ideaspace)
FORBES.COM - PLATFORM FOR GIFTERS?
According to a book Faris read about working in Moscow, when young women go out on the town they hope to snag themselves a ‘Forbes’ - which is to say a very, very rich man. Such was the power of the Forbes brand and its eponymous rich list. Then, embracing digital, Forbes.com became a seemingly unmoderated blogging platform: “Of all the ways Forbes magazine might have evolved from there, Past Me would never have guessed “under-edited group blog that’s a soft mark for grifters.” Call it “Forbes: Scammer Tool.” Forbes became a hub of pay-to-play journalism…the best way to disguise PR as news…a place to launder even the dirtiest of reputations.” Including for Jeffrey Epstein…(NeimanLab)
THE FIERCE TRIUMPH OF LONELINESS
While bachelor pads are sometimes celebrated, “women who live alone are objects of fear or pity,” writes Helena Fitzgerald. She goes on to explore both the benefits of being alone and the benefits of living with someone else. Neither is without its faults, and yet both can offer us a unique perspective. It’s a beautifully written essay and you should absolutely give it a read. (Catapult)
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:: WHAT WE’RE THINKING ABOUT: :: XOCHIMILCO
A TikTok Doc by Rosie’s sister Lillian about boating to the island of (creepy) DOLLS!
:: AND NOW… CDMX STREET ART ::
One of our favorite parts of Mexico City is all the amazing street art! This caught my eye on our walk the other day.
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faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
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