#also interior design WHICH will be more prominently focused on once I close on my house

[itsokbbygrl]

Tag game -> Open Pinterest, make a mood board out of the first 9 photos that show up, and tag your moots.

Thanks for tagging me @javierpena-inatacvest 🥰

Couldn’t get away without having papicito in there, I spend too much time looking at his pretty face for that.

Tagging a couple old friends @mommotommo and @eeveedel I wanna see your Pinterest, pals.

[mayquita]

Damn You For Making Me Love You (13/15) - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now

Thank you so so much, for your likes, reblogs, kudos and comments. It means the world to me.

Beta-Reader: Thank you so much, @ultraluckycatnd​​​ I couldn’t have asked for a better beta. Thank you for all your effort, your suggestions, your advice and for always being there when I needed you.

Special mention to @saraswans​​ and @onceuponaprincessworld​​​, thank you so much for your perpetual support and for believing in me and in the story. Thank you again to the moderators of the event, @captainswanbigbang​​​ for giving us this opportunity and making this possible. You all are the best :)

Summary: Emma Swan and Killian Jones are close friends and co-workers. And both are in love with each other. The problem? They keep their feelings secret not only to the other but also to the rest of their friends. When Elsa, Emma’s best friend and Liam, Killian’s brother and Emma’s boss find out, they decide to form an alliance and work as a team with a clear goal, to get Emma and Killian to take the next step in their relationship and confess their love for each other.

Rating: M

Word count: ~ 6600 (98k total in 15 chapters)

Ao3 / FFnet

About this chapter: What might happen when you put six people together in a cabin to celebrate New Year with all those simmering feelings around them?

//

Chapter 12:  Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now

Emma - December 2019

Emma could barely contain her excitement as they approached their destination.

They had been so busy the previous week that she was looking forward to enjoying this well-deserved break for everyone. Not only because she would be able to really rest and disconnect for a couple of days, but also because this trip would allow her to spend time again not only with Killian but with the most important people in her life.

Christmas week had been crazy. The number of clients did not stop growing, which meant not only an increase in their income but also an increase in work. During the past few days, she had spent more time helping behind the bar than taking pictures.

The prominent success of The Kraken was also reflected on different social media platforms, as they gained new followers every day, while the number of comments that these followers left was increasing. Even the poll to choose the song on Saturday had been a resounding success, getting a lot of participants who not only dedicated themselves to voting but to give their opinions not only on the songs but also on the singers themselves.

The corners of Emma's lips rose as she read through the new comments that had appeared in the last hours on her phone. They had a passionate audience, no doubt, to the point that they had even started shipping Emma and Killian together, with non-subtle comments about it.

Omg! Their chemistry on stage is awesome. Can you imagine that one day they surprise us with a kiss after singing? I'd die if that happened. The Kraken is my favorite bar and I go there every Saturday. And now with even more reasons to go. I love Killian and Emma duets. They're fantastic together. Killian is the best singer ever, but with Emma by his side, they manage to create magic. Are they really together or does it just seem like it? I think Memories has been their best performance together so far. It was amazing!!! And I love the songs participating in the new poll. I’ve already voted, looking forward to seeing them sing together Don't Stop Believing. I believe in them.

"What's so funny?" Killian asked as he stretched his neck to try to take a look at her phone screen. 

They had decided to travel in one vehicle, with Liam the one designated to drive, since it was his own car. The passenger seat was occupied by Elsa, while Killian and Emma were relegated to the back seats, although this time Killian didn't seem to mind in the least.

"Stuff about The Kraken," Emma explained, handing him the phone. "People seem to ship us," she continued in a lower tone as she glanced forward to make sure the other two were not paying attention to them.

They hadn't told anything to anyone about the new level reached in their relationship. Not that there was much to tell, she had tried to convince herself. They might have shared several kisses but they hadn't talked about feelings, not really.

Well, to be honest, since she had asked him to be patient they had shared more than just chaste kisses. It was as if, even though the armor around her heart hadn't yet disappeared completely, she was having serious difficulties in curbing her physical attraction to him once she had been able to taste his lips — and remember it.

He was a hell of a kisser. Of course he was, she wasn't surprised at all. Still, she had only succumbed once more after Christmas, in a steamy moment shared minutes before Killian took the stage last Saturday. She had followed him to the office to grab the guitar and jumped on him the moment the door had closed behind them, leaving him breathless, flustered, and with his hair completely disheveled just before going on stage. His performance had been the best so far, to her delight.

She was surprised that this new level of intimacy with her best friend had not caused an awkward atmosphere between them. Perhaps her fear that everything would change between them slowed her down before giving him her heart entirely, but the truth was that their first kiss had awakened a wave of sensations swirling inside her, offering her a glimpse of what it could be to be completely with Killian, in both body and soul.

Emma cast a last sidelong glance at Killian, who was staring at her phone screen, a gleeful expression on his face. Then she turned her head in the direction of the car window and focused her gaze on the landscape they were going through, finding snowy fields, large trees on the roadside and the mountains in the background drawing an idyllic picture, giving her just a taste of what they would find when they reached their destination.

//

The cabin was everything they had expected and more. It was located in a clearing between mountains, surrounded by trees and endowed with an aura of peace and tranquility. The interior was quite cozy, decorated in stone and wood, with large windows that offered a privileged image of the surroundings, and a large fireplace that occupied a prominent place in the living room.

Anna seemed to have conveniently forgotten to mention one aspect though. There were only two bedrooms, each including a king-size bed.

Since both Anna and Kristoff had been there since the weekend, they had obviously already chosen a bedroom, the master suite, which not only had a giant bed but also included its own bathroom, a fireplace, and direct access to a small private porch overlooking the snowy mountains.

"Isn't it a wonderful place?" Anna could barely contain her enthusiasm while acting as a proud hostess, showing them every little detail of the cabin. "We can watch the sunrise while we lie in bed."

"Yeah, it's fantastic. But Anna, do you realize that we are four people and there is only one more bed?" Elsa was the one who decided to address the issue that really mattered to them while everyone else exchanged furtive glances.

"Oh, that's not a problem at all," Anna answered with a dismissive wave of her hand. "The living room couch is actually a sofa bed with room for two people. Kristoff and I have thought that you two guys can share the sofa while the other room would be for the girls."

"Unless you decide on a different room arrangement, of course," Kristoff added, raising his eyebrows with a not so subtle smirk adorning his lips.

"We'll manage," Liam hurried to answer as he scratched behind his ear, revealing with his gesture that he was nervous. At least in that regard, the two brothers were very similar.

This time Emma didn't even bother to protest about the distribution of rooms.

In fact, if she hadn't been one of the people involved she would have found the situation quite comical, four people in their thirties avoiding looking at each other and appearing clearly uncomfortable while thinking, surely, that, if the circumstances were different, they would have preferred a different bed partner.

Emma had to suppress a nervous laugh as an idea began to set in her head. They had come to this place not only to disconnect from the big city, but to have a good time with friends. She had at least placed many expectations on this trip since they had everything at their disposal to make those two days unforgettable in every way.

One thing was clear, she did not plan to say goodbye to the year with uncertainty in her heart and doubt in her mind. She had better find a moment to have a conversation with Killian that she should have had a long time ago. But she wasn't going to let another year go without confessing her feelings. And if for that she had to resort to certain unorthodox measures, she wouldn't hesitate to do so.

She cast a sidelong glance at Killian before accompanying Elsa to move their belongings to the assigned bedroom. The burning gaze he returned had the ability to make the butterflies in her stomach flutter furiously. He raised an eyebrow as he tilted his head to the side slightly, as if he were asking, without words, what she was up to, proving once again how well he knew her. In response, she bit her lower lip and then mouthed a simple later, before turning around and heading to the bedroom.

When Emma was left alone momentarily with Elsa, she was tempted to question her friend about her possible relationship with Liam. They had been so busy in the past few days that they had barely had time to chat beyond the normal conversations generated due to living together. But Emma was really dying to know Elsa's true feelings. She had remained quite reserved about it since she started whatever she had with Liam.

"So, are you ever going to tell me what's really going on between you and Liam?" Clearly finesse was not Emma's forte.

To her credit, Elsa's face remained almost impassive, only a faint shadow of surprise crossing her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about, Emma. He and I are just friends, you know that." Her blank expression suddenly changed, giving way to one of defiance. "I guess you're used to that term, friends, aren't you?"

"Well, I'm not the one who kissed a Jones in front of everyone last week." Emma's voice didn't even tremble as she counterattacked. Technically she wasn't lying, but the truth was that she had devoured Killian's mouth just a few minutes before the mistletoe incident.

"Oh, I'm well aware of that, believe me. Of you not kissing a certain Jones under the mistletoe, I mean. Such a wasted occasion." Elsa let out an exaggerated sigh as she shook her head in an attitude of false resignation.

Emma raised an eyebrow as she snorted, surprised by that unusual sarcastic side of Elsa. Even so, her attempts were not enough to divert attention. "What I hope is not a wasted occasion is this getaway. For any of us."

"I hope not, really. I have the feeling that we are about to enjoy some unforgettable experiences around here. We deserve this, you know. Right, Emma?"

Emma simply nodded as she offered her a smile of appreciation, her heart fluttering in her chest. They totally deserved it, not only she and Killian, but also Elsa and Liam. The most selfless and kind people she had known deserved to reach their piece of happiness and if this happened with them together, so much the better.

//

Elsa had ended up being right. They had only spent a few hours there but Emma and the others had managed to have a glorious time. The memory of their previous trip to Storybrooke crossed her mind several times throughout the day, since although the experiences had been quite different, the feeling of contentment had been the same on both occasions.

They had laughed until their stomachs ached while playing in the snow like little children. They had savored a delicious homemade meal in a small and cozy establishment located in the nearby town. She had even enjoyed playing a board game — Monopoly— for the first time in a long time. The fact that she had always been good with finances probably had something to do with the fact that she had managed to beat Liam, the expert businessman.

The only thing she had missed during the day had been the chance to spend more time with Killian. In fact, they had not had the slightest chance of having a moment of privacy even for a minute, so they had to settle for longing glances, accidental touches or promising smiles, something she should have already been used to but that now, given their current circumstances, was no longer enough.

Still, she hoped to solve this little problem soon, if all went well with the plan she had begun to forge. She just needed to find the best occasion to carry it out.

That opportunity would soon arrive, to her delight.

After the last Monopoly game, Anna and Kristoff had retired to their bedroom, alluding that they were tired, although Emma suspected that their early departure was nothing more than an excuse. Either way, she wasn't going to complain, especially since it would make her plan much easier to carry out.

The others, Emma included, decided to watch a movie since none of them seemed in a hurry to go to sleep. Emma strategically placed herself on the largest couch, the one that would be turned into a bed, dragging Killian to her side, so the other two had no choice but to settle on the other perpendicular sofa.

Before they started watching the movie though, Elsa decided it would be a good idea if they made popcorn, so Liam quickly offered to help her. It was as if the stars had lined up in Emma's favor, because this unexpected moment of solitude would allow her to inform Killian of her crazy plan.

"Are you ready to fall asleep in a few minutes?" Emma muttered as she cast a sidelong glance in the direction of the kitchen area to make sure the other two weren't listening.

"We haven't even started watching the movie, Swan. I hope we stay awake for at least the first hour." He smirked at her and then placed an arm on her shoulders and pulled her close.

"I'm not talking about really falling asleep, but pretending to fall asleep. We already have experience in that. Sort of."

Killian's eyes narrowed in confusion and then widened, as if he had realized the implications of his plan, his lips drawing a naughty smirk. "Are you planning to sleep with me here, in the middle of the living room? That would be scandalous, Swan."

"You're an idiot." She patted him on the chest, earning a silent chuckle on his part. 

She tried to convince herself that it wasn't a big deal, but still, she couldn't help a blush crawling up from her neck to her cheeks. Maybe her original idea was to force Liam and Elsa to share a bed although that would also imply that they would have to do the same. Emma was no longer sure which of these prospects she was most interested in. "You just need to go along with me. We'll pretend to be asleep until those two have no choice but to go to the bedroom and hopefully share a bed," Emma explained between whispers.

After her previous conversation with Elsa, Emma had found her friend quite receptive to the idea of being in a relationship, although she hadn't made any direct reference to Liam. Still, it didn’t hurt if they were given a little push to send them in the right direction.

"I just hope they don't decide to wake us up this time." Although Killian maintained a neutral expression, his tone implied that this possibility didn't excite him at all. Well, at least they were on the same page. "It's unlikely, though, given our tendency." He winked as he bumped her shoulder with his.

Her retort died before leaving her mouth as Liam and Elsa made their appearance again at that moment, holding two bowls of popcorn. So she did the only thing she could do at the moment, she settled back on the sofa, waiting for the best opportunity to carry out her plan.

They did watch the movie, at least during the first half-hour. When Emma cast a sidelong glance at the occupants of the other couch, she couldn't help smiling. They kept their eyes fixed on the television screen but Liam was circling Elsa's shoulders with his arm while her hand rested on his thigh at knee level. They seemed totally at ease with each other. Perfect.

The show was about to begin.

She leaned slightly toward Killian, who, in response, raised his arm and placed it on her shoulders, drawing her to him. After a few seconds of adjusting to the new position, she rested her head against his chest and pressed his thigh discreetly. She cast one last glance in the direction of Elsa and Liam to make sure they weren't paying attention, and then she closed her eyes, starting her stellar performance.

She didn't have to make many efforts to pretend to be asleep, really. The atmosphere that surrounded her certainly invited her to sleep, with the room dimly lit, the warmth emanating from the fireplace, and the rhythmic beat of Killian's heart against her ear acting as a lullaby. Emma felt a kind of drowsiness taking hold of her, making it increasingly difficult to stay awake. Just when she was about to succumb to sleep, she heard the first whispers.

"Liam! Look at these two. They've fallen asleep. Again."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Do you think we should wake them up?"

Emma held her breath trying to remain still as she prayed that her slow breathing would be convincing enough.

"Hell no. Let them sleep." Emma suppressed a sigh of relief when she heard Liam's reply. They remained silent for a moment although Emma detected some noises, as if they were moving and then heard another more concrete sound, a camera shutter followed by a giggle from Elsa.

"Shhhh, lass, we don't want them to wake up, do we?"

"I wonder how many photos we have of them in that position." After a brief pause, Elsa continued in an even lower tone, so Emma had to make an extra effort to capture her words. "At least this time they haven't needed any set up from us."

"I'm starting to doubt our abilities as matchmakers, love. Nothing seems to work with these two."

Emma's body tensed involuntarily at Liam's words. What the hell were they talking about?

"What will we have to do next? Lock them in a room together?"

"It's not a bad plan, lass. In fact, this house has a pantry that could work. At least they would have food and liquids to survive until they finally decide to confess their feelings to one another."

They know. 

Emma was surprised to realize that Liam was also aware. Not only that, but they had been working behind their backs to push them together.

Her heart began to beat frantically in her chest as a feeling of unease settled inside her, making it difficult to keep pretending she was asleep.

Although they continued to speak in soft whispers, Emma was no longer sure she wanted to keep listening. She noticed how Killian's body had also stiffened, but given their current situation, she couldn't check his reaction to Liam and Elsa's unexpected dialogue.

"It's a bit frustrating, to be honest," Elsa muttered. "They are so in love but they are so afraid that sometimes I feel like shaking them to make them react."

"Aye. Killian ... I've never seen him so in love, not even with Milah. Sometimes I wonder how I could have been so blind these past four years when the signs were so obvious."

Killian loves me.

Killian loved her.

For some reason, the realization of that fact, far from making her burst with happiness, caused the feeling of unease to increase, making her feel overwhelmed and having difficulty staying still when her whole body screamed to jump away from him.

"Emma is an expert in masking her feelings. But I think she is reaching her limit, really. I have a feeling that this getaway will bring us more than one pleasant surprise."

"Aye. For starters, everything seems to indicate that the two of us are going to end the year sleeping together. I mean, in the same bed. Well... I can always sleep on the floor, or stay here on this sofa..."

"Oh, shut up, Liam. We'll share a bed. It's not a big deal."

"As you wish."

In other circumstances, Emma would have felt happy after that little exchange. On this occasion, however, she couldn't wait for them to get out of there.

"Speaking of which, why don't we go to sleep too? I can barely keep my eyes open."

"Just give me a couple of minutes to make sure to extinguish the fire in the fireplace."

Emma kept her muscles tense while listening to several muffled noises, which she supposed came from Elsa and Liam making sure that everything was fine before going to sleep. After what seemed like hours, she felt a warm and fluffy fabric sliding over them. Liam, or more likely Elsa, had placed a blanket over them to make sure they kept warm after the fireplace went out.

The long-awaited silence fell on them a few seconds later. Emma remained motionless though, ignoring the pull of her body until she was sure that they weren't going to be discovered. After mentally counting to ten, she couldn't resist it anymore, literally jumping off the couch.

She was freaking out. Deep down she was aware of it but seemed unable to stop the escalation of feelings that had taken hold of her. She began pacing up and down, feeling like a caged animal.

She suspected —no, she knew, she corrected herself —that Killian had feelings for her. She had stopped having doubts about that after sharing their first (second) kiss. But love was a meaningful word. She hadn't expected to hear that word so soon, even though her feelings were mutual. She hadn't expected to hear about it in such an unusual and impersonal way either.

"Emma? What's wrong?"

Emma chose to ignore Killian and focused instead on trying to control the contradictory thoughts that clustered in her head and to pull herself together. She wasn't even able to put into words everything that was going through her mind at the time, which only increased her sense of frustration. Still, she forced herself to take a deep breath to calm the rapid beat of her heart.

He loved her... How on earth would she be able to deal with that confession when she hadn't yet assumed the implications of their first kiss?

The other revelation wasn't easy to accept either. All these previous weeks, all those unexpected plans had been nothing more than the set-up attempts by her two friends. Emma felt as if, somehow, the escalation of feelings towards Killian had been forced instead of flowing naturally.

"Emma..."

This is a mess ... she thought, unable to face Killian right now while avoiding his gaze at all costs.

"Emma, look at me." She was so absorbed by her turbulent thoughts that she hadn't realized he had risen from the couch and was right in front of her. "What's going through that head of yours?"

His voice didn't denote annoyance, rather concern and a hint of curiosity. In other circumstances, she would have admired his composure, but this time she wanted to be mad at him. They were both involved, why did she feel like boiling inside when he remained perfectly calm?

"You heard them, right? This is... this is too much." She waved her hand as if encompassing the space between them. She was scared of what she would find when she looked into his eyes but showing off an unusual display of courage, she finally looked up, searching for his gaze, finding a stormy expression, and a special glow in his eyes.

"I've listened to them and honestly, I wasn't surprised by any of their revelations. I wonder why it has affected you so much. Isn't everything they have said true?"

"That's exactly the reason, Killian!" she hissed, looking away again as she felt like a wave of frustration washed over her, seeing herself unable to explain how she felt. Killian, always so perceptive, reached out tentatively and began rubbing her arms gently, as if trying to calm her down.

"Emma, love, you need to calm down."

Although reluctant, she did what she was told while taking a shuddering breath in a new attempt to pull herself together. His reassuring gesture worked as she noticed how her tension level gradually decreased. Only when he made sure she had calmed down enough did he nod in her direction, encouraging her to express her feelings.

Before speaking, she shook her head feeling ridiculous about her overreaction, while noticing how her cheeks blushed in embarrassment. Even so, after letting out a heavy sigh, she finally decided to explain herself.

"I know it's ridiculous, but I feel like with their stupid setups they've forced us into our current situation, instead of the feelings between you and me developing naturally." She knew that her speech made no sense, but still she felt the need to expel those thoughts away.

Killian opened his mouth as if he wanted to reply, but she lifted a finger and pressed it to his lips gently as she gave him an imploring look to let her continue. "Besides, I feel robbed. First, with our first kiss that we barely have a memory of and now with that revelation. Such confessions should be one of the milestones to reach in a couple. The first kiss, the first I..." Her voice trailed off, as she looked away again, feeling unable to express those three words out loud. Not yet.

"Emma..." The way Killian pronounced her name, in an almost reverent manner, caused a chill to run down her spine. He then touched her chin and pressed gently, forcing her to lift her head and look him in the eye. A feeling of vertigo seized her when their gazes met again. There was pure honesty in the blue depth of his eyes, along with something like devotion and, above all, love. 

"I love you, Emma Swan. I've loved you for a while, actually. My confession may be hasty, but at least it serves, I hope it serves to reach one of our milestones as a couple. Because, believe me, love, I intend to reach each and every one of them. Together."

He loved her.

She gasped, unable to react, her breath caught in her throat as he continued speaking. "As for my brother and Elsa's alliance, these unexpected plans may have gotten my feelings towards you to increase, but they are real. So real and intense that sometimes I feel overwhelmed, but in a good way."

She loved him.

She loved him for many reasons, including his way of acting towards her and his ability to always find the right words to reassure her.

"Besides," he continued in a lighter tone, "haven't we been doing the same with them? Acting as matchmakers? In fact, we're in this situation right now because of your idea to try to push them together, Swan."

He was right, again. Still, she had the feeling that the other two had taken it more seriously than them. At least the other pair had developed a much more detailed action plan than their poor attempts.

"We're idiots," she groaned as she covered her face with her hands. Now wasn't the time to feel embarrassed, she told herself, but to assess their actions and learn from them, as any normal adult would do, right? She dropped her arms, looking back at Killian. "But at least it worked, didn't it? I mean, look at the two of us, finally having this conversation, while they are sleeping together. Thanks to me." She raised an eyebrow while she grinned at him. Okay, maybe acting like an adult wasn't her forte after all.

"Okay, I'll give you that, but you must admit that you were wrong when you said they were dating in secret."

"Semantics."

Killian chuckled, the sound causing her stomach to flutter. She was hopeless in regard to this man. That reminded her that she still had more confessions to make. Still, she was grateful for that brief pause that had served both to lighten the tension and to reassure her in some way, since at least so far in their new relationship, the banter and the teasing between them remained intact.

"I'm terrified," she blurted out, without giving herself time to have second thoughts. Perhaps if she dared to express her concerns aloud she would be able to see them from another perspective that would allow her not only to face her fears but to overcome them. "What if this doesn't work between us? What if we, I don't know, we don't work in bed? What if there's no spark?" She hated the vulnerability of her voice a little, but he deserved honesty. "You're my best friend, I can't... I can't lose you."

The corners of his lips rose drawing a reassuring smile. "I know how you kiss, Swan, and if that is indicative enough, we shouldn't worry about that other regard, believe me." He accompanied his words with a suggestive move of his eyebrows causing her cheeks to start burning. Then his expression changed to a more solemn one. "I'm not going anywhere, Emma. If you want us to remain friends, I'm going to accept it, but that won't change my feelings for you."

Just when she was about to reply, his eyes widened as if he had remembered something while he pressed his fingers to her lips. "Also, I'm so glad I found you, I'm not gonna lose you. Whatever it takes, I will stay here with you."

"Did you just use the lyrics of a song in this conversation, Jones?"

His lips curled into a bright smile as he shrugged. "I have a feeling that nothing's gonna stop us now ."

She huffed while shaking her head in disbelief. She should be used to it, after all. It was one of the consequences of falling in love with a musician, that music was always present in one way or another.

She was in love with him. And he deserved to know it.

"I love you," she suddenly confessed, without giving herself time to think. The way in which his face lit up as his gaze intensified was enough reward for her. After such a long time of suppressing them, those words sounded a bit strange when said out loud, so she forced herself to pronounce them again to get used to saying them. "I love you, Killian," she repeated, in a much more convincing voice. 

"Good," he muttered and then pressed his lips against hers. It was a delicate kiss where Emma could feel all his affection and devotion towards her, the softness of his lips on hers causing all her worries to melt away while her heart finally broke free of its protective barrier.

They kissed languidly for a few seconds until their kisses became more passionate, as if they couldn't get enough of each other. She was so consumed with desire that she barely noticed that they were moving until Killian's calves hit the couch and he dropped on it, dragging her along.

She straddled his lap, her mouth never leaving his, while she felt an overwhelming wave of lust invading all her senses. It was as if, after so much time of repressed feelings and emotions, those very feelings had finally found their freedom. Such was their intensity that she found herself unable to restrain them. Not that she put too much effort into that restraint, honestly. Not when she felt so fucking good in Killian's arms as she was devoured by his demanding mouth and his hands began the first tentative exploration of her body, leaving a burning trail in their wake.

The delicious friction of his prominent arousal against her core was driving her crazy. When his fingertips tentatively brushed the curve of her breasts for the first time, she thought that she could combust at that very moment. She moaned against his mouth as she moved her hips with a clear purpose.

She could have continued just like that for hours, lost in the intoxicating sensation of his lips on hers, while she felt her skin burn under his touch. But Killian decided to break the kiss, parting a little from her and looking for her gaze.

He looked wrecked, the blue of his eyes almost gone, his hair completely disheveled, his lips swollen. A wave of pride seized her at the realization that she was the cause of his current condition. Just when he was about to say something, she deliberately moved her hips again, earning a loud groan from him.

"Emma, love. We... We need to stop," he finally managed to say in a raspy voice. "We're in the middle of the living room."

He was right, of course he was. She was internally grateful that he had had some lucidity because in her case, she had difficulty forming coherent thoughts. After such a long time of repressed feelings, now they ran wild causing her blood to boil and her mind to cloud. Letting out a huff of annoyance, she buried her head in his chest, reluctant to get away from him.

"I'm totally claiming the other bed for tomorrow," he grunted, earning a giggle on her part.

"Well, we can always turn the sofa into a bed and cover ourselves with the sheets. At least we'll have some privacy," she suggested, looking up as she raised an eyebrow suggestively. She did not want to miss the opportunity for intimacy with Killian now that there was nothing that stood in their way.

"Are you thinking of having your way with your best friend, eh Swan? Without even taking me on a date?" he joked, an expression of feigned disbelief on his face.

"Well, we have actually had plenty of dates, if we consider all those crazy plans of your brother and Elsa."

"If you put it that way..."

The light conversation had managed to cool her impulses somewhat, yet the desire for him remained latent, waiting for the best occasion. When they got up from the couch, Emma couldn't help directing her gaze at his crotch, finding a more than obvious tent in his pajama pants. She licked her lips and then let out a quiet sigh trying to redirect both her thoughts and her gaze to something less tempting, such as helping Killian turn the sofa into what would be their bed for the night.

Once the bed was ready, Killian turned off the light of the only lamp that remained lit and then they got into bed together, covering themselves with the sheets. Both instinctively turned towards each other, finding themselves in the middle of the mattress and entangling their limbs.

An idea crossed her mind at that moment, something she had completely forgotten after that first shock a few minutes ago. "So Liam knew about your feelings?" Emma asked in a soft voice, gently stroking his cheek while trying to glimpse his features despite the darkness that surrounded them.

"Aye," he admitted, then placed a soft kiss on her lips. "He has known for a couple of months. Do you remember the weekend we had free?"

"I also confessed to Elsa that weekend," Emma said slowly, as the memory of that night came to her mind, causing her cheeks to blush. She was grateful now that Killian couldn't observe her features in detail due to the darkness.

"What the hell happened that weekend?"

Emma was tempted for a moment to respond evasively using any excuse, but in the end, she decided to be honest with him and confess how she had felt. She didn't want to hide that information, especially because she had the suspicion that that night had been the beginning of what would lead them to their current situation.

"I... I might have been a little jealous," she muttered and bit her lower lip while waiting for his reaction.

"Jealous? Of whom?" Even in the dark, Emma could observe how his eyes widened when he caught the meaning. "Of Belle?"

"I know, I know. It wasn't just Belle, but... you could have chosen any other girl from the bar." She tried to explain herself but was interrupted when Killian captured her lips with his in a demanding kiss, one with the ability to make her head spin.

Killian broke the kiss a few seconds later, resting his forehead against hers as they both tried to catch their breath. "I have another confession to make," he muttered, his warm breath caressing her lips. "I was also jealous, Swan. I thought your strange behavior was because I was interfering in some way, in your search for a one-night stand."

"Really?" His answer caught her off guard. "God, we're two idiots," she muttered while hiding her head in his chest. He circled her with his arms, pulling her to him and causing their bodies to press together.

She loved him.

She wanted him.

She wanted him so badly that, for once, she decided to act on impulse, without fear of consequences, determined to just feel.

Killian slipped a hand under her tank top and began to trace delicate patterns on the skin of her back, while she did the same on his chest.

"You were stunning in that dress that night, Swan. Bloody hot, pure temptation," he purred, his velvety voice sending liquid heat directly to her core. "And then you had the audacity to wear it again to dinner at that restaurant. It was torture."

"Maybe I did it on purpose," she admitted, causing him to utter a guttural sound as his hand slid dangerously toward her lower back until he reached his target, giving her a light squeeze on her ass and pushing her further against him.

T wo could play this game , she thought as her fingers began to trace a path following the line of hair on his torso, descending slowly and tortuously. "I wonder if you needed to do something about it, take the matter into your own hands. You know what I mean." Her hand ended its descending path while she emitted the last words, palming his length over his pants with a clear purpose.

"Bloody hell, woman." He flinched at her touch as he let out a heavy breath. Far from being intimidated, she continued her exploration, internally thanking him for wearing pajama pants, allowing her better access. She did not hesitate to slide her hand under his clothes and then she wrapped her fingers around his length, exerting a tentative movement at first, but gaining security with the soft sounds that came from him. "Emma, love, we shouldn't... someone can appear at any time."

"Let me give you at least this, please."

"We're definitely claiming the other bed tomorrow," he growled before searching for her lips and starting to kiss her thoroughly. Emma took that as an invitation so she continued with her movements, the mere sensation of him pulsing and powerful under her touch sending electric shocks of pleasure up her spine and down to her toes. It was a beginning, something promising and exciting, a glimpse of what was to come.

Maybe the road to get here had been long, but looking back, she wouldn't change anything they had experienced in recent years. Especially when the path they took meant they would end up in this situation, finally giving rein to their passions in an idyllic place with her favorite person by her side.

"Emma," Killian pronounced her name with a mixture of devotion and plea.

"Yes?"

"Don't stop, please."

"Never," she muttered against his lips.

And we can build this thing together Standing strong forever Nothing's gonna stop us now

 Killian was definitely right when he used the lyrics of a song to describe their relationship.

//

Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think :)

We're reaching the end, just one more chapter to go, plus the epilogue. It's time to celebrate the new year, and as long as they're together nothing else matters.

[geckoodles]

Item #: SCP-721-A

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures:

SCP-721-A is to be kept within a sealed, ten (10) meter by ten (10) meter containment cell at all times. No unauthorized personnel are permitted to enter the containment cell unless specifically instructed by a Security Clearance Level 4 (or higher) site supervisor. The interior of the cell is to be kept under constant remote surveillance through the designated wall-mounted security camera.

Subject is to have it's hands bound at all times. Bindings are to be made from layered metals including lead, copper, brass and steel. SCP-721-A is to be exposed to artificial sunlight at all times except during feeding and testing. Subject is to be fed once every 13 days, consisting of one (1) D-Class Personnel scheduled to be terminated.

SCP-721-B is to be stored inside of a locked container made up of layered steel and lead. Experiments involving the use of 721-B must be approved by personnel with Level 4 clearance or higher.

Description:

SCP-721-A is a humanoid entity approximately 3 meters in height, which bares the appearance similar to that of a gargoyle, with a wingspan of roughly 5.4 meters. The wing membranes appear to be made of a thick, shadowy mist that the entity can control at will. By this method SCP-721-A has been observed to sweep outwards with it's wings, prey passing through the membrane effortlessly before being pulled towards it as though the membrane was solid. It has glowing golden eyes and prominent incisors and tusks. The entity's skin is made of an unknown stone-like material; samples removed from the body rapidly calcify before testing can be done. Areas of exposed crystal are visible across sections of it's body and appear to be luminescent labradorite, but as with skin samples these calcify when removed from the entity.

SCP-721-A is known to be capable of speaking Bulgarian and rough english, though it generally refuses to speak to personnel. Subject is generally aggressive and periodically demands the return of SCP-721-B. (See interview 721.01) SCP-721-B is a ring made of an unknown stone similar to that of SCP-721-A's skin, and bears golden markings which produce a faint glow. The entity becomes increasingly agitated when the ring is worn by another humanoid, and seems to be able to sense where the ring is outside of containment. Any subject wearing the ring cannot be physically harmed by 721-A while aware of it's presence, though 721-A will attempt to kill the subject after the ring is removed.

SCP-721-A feeds by draining the blood of it's prey, and prefers humans to anything else. The entity's preferred method of hunting appears to be stalking and, when close enough, breaking the neck of prey before feeding. After prey has been drained the entity appears to push the remains into the membrane of it's wing, whereupon it vanishes. Tracking devices placed on prey before feeding have failed to provide any information on where these remains are sent. Testing with body mounted cameras is currently awaiting approval. When threatened the entity shows a number of anomalous abilities. It's claws will begin to glow green when fighting, and even the smallest cut from them in this state will turn victims to stone; there is currently no known way to prevent this or stop it's effects. SCP-721-A has been seen to create portals appearing to be composed of shadows, mainly as a method of transportation. The entity also seems to have some control over shadows; an area of roughly 3.7 meters around it is always darker than the surrounding area, and in low light conditions proves to be an effective way of disorienting prey. This effect is not present while SCP-721-A is in direct sunlight.

Discovery:

SCP-721-A was discovered in 2011 in ██████, Bulgaria following a Foundation operatives investigation into several disappearances reported in the area. Agents reported finding SCP-721-A draining the blood of a young male before disappearing through a portal. MTF Lambda-12 ("Pest Control") was assigned to locate and capture the entity. SCP-721-A was found near █████, Bulgaria and attacked agents, killing one and injuring three more before weapons fire deterred it. Entity was pursued to a clearing in the area at dawn; once exposed to sunlight it became immobile, it's body hardening and turning to stone. Capture was concluded with no further issues and brought to Site-██. SCP-721-B was found while bringing in SCP-721-A.

Interview 721.01

Interviewed: SCP-721-A

Interviewer: Dr. Romaine

Notes: Interview was conducted three days after SCP-721-A was placed in containment. D-07389 was equipped with standard audio recording equipment and sent in with Dr. Romaine. Prior to the interview the subject attempted to breach containment, but was immobilized by the UV lights in the containment unit. Subject was warned against attempting another breach. 

----

D-07389 enters the containment unit, equipped with standard recording device. Dr. Romaine follows and remains near the entrance to the unit. The primary containment lights are shut off and the overhead lights come on.

D-07389 is instructed to move closer to SCP-721-A with the microphone. Subject complies.

Dr. Romaine: Greetings SCP-721-A.

721-A focuses on Dr. Romaine, growling.

721-A: I will kill you all-

Dr. Romaine: I see. My name is Dr. Susan Romaine, and I have a few questions to ask you.

721-A leans forward, using it's wings as supports.

Dr. Romaine: Can you tell me what you are?

721-A: Нещо много по-старо от теб

Dr. Romaine: Pardon?

Dr. Romaine: (into provided communication device) What language is that? Can we get a translator in here?

Dr. Romaine is informed that it can't be identified yet.

Dr. Romaine: Damn, alright. 721-A, where did you come from?

721-A growls, taking a step closer to D-07389.

721-A: You know

D-07389 backs away, visibly intimidated. Subject is ordered to remain where they are.

Dr. Romaine: No, we don't. If we knew, I wouldn't be asking.

721-A: Bulgaria.

721-A takes another step towards D-07389. Subject is ordered not to move away.

Dr. Romaine: Bulgaria. Is that where you originated from?

721-A growls again.

Dr. Romaine: (producing a picture of SCP-721-B) Can you tell me about this?

721-A is observed to become agitated upon seeing the image, flaring wings and growling more deeply.

Dr. Romaine: Can you tell me about this object? It was recovered when you were brought in.

721-A: това е мое и го искам обратно

Dr. Romaine: I do not speak Bulgarian, 721-A.

721-A suddenly lunges forward, grabbing D-07389 with it's wing claws and pulling them towards it. The D-Class's screams are silenced abruptly with a loud cracking noise. Dr. Romaine hastily exits the unit.

------

SCP- 721-A was immobilized and another D-Class sent in to retrieve the recording device from D-07389's remains. All that remained of D-07389 was left forearm, torn at the elbow, and the recording device.

Continuation of [x].

[wifeofbath]

Wife of Bath in Florence--Part 6: San Lorenzo, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, and Santa Croce

Hey, Wife of Bath!  Two things! First, it’s been *checks blog* three years since you last told us about what you did in Florence back in 2014. Second, where’s the love for Michelangelo?

 Hi, fictional person I made up solely to ask me accusatory questions! Yes, it has been a ridiculous amount of time since I last did my little travel breakdown, and I really haven’t mentioned Michelangelo at all have I?  That’s going to change because Michelangelo featured prominently in the last two days of my 2014 Florence trip.

 (Also I realized that I really do want to finish this because I’m going back to Florence in June.)

Friday brought an early morning with the class meeting at San Lorenzo at 8:30. By this time, I had a pretty good (though not great) idea of where everything was, so I had a leisurely walk to the basilica.  Unfortunately, I got to the church earlier than the rest of my class, which meant a few minutes of walking around trying to spot anyone I recognized.  Thankfully, I found them after a while at the back. Luckily, my favorite classmate was also running late, so at least I wasn’t the last to show up.

Once all gathered, we headed to the Old Sacristy.  At the time of our trip, San Lorenzo did not permit pictures inside, so the photos here are a mix of Wikipedia and WGA.

 Brunelleschi’s Old Sacristy.  Look at those lovely arches and Corinthian capitals.  In their architectural designs, both Brunelleschi and Michelangelo used this gray stone, pietra serena, which was native to Florence.

Michelangelo’s New Sacristy, commissioned by Leo X and Giulio de’Medici. Michelangelo designed it and completed some of the sculptures, including the famous Night, but he was never able to finish it.  

Night and Day flanking a sculpture of Giuliano de’Medici.  Much has been made of Night’s pose and her physiognomy, ranging from the humorous “Michelangelo wasn’t comfortable with women so he stuck two oranges on a man’s chest,” to doctors speculating that Night shows symptoms of breast cancer to analysis of androgyny and late-Renaissance/early Mannerist concepts of beauty.  Personally, I come down on the side that Michelangelo designed a figure that was both elegant and off-putting that reflects both the changes in art and the uncertainty in Italian culture during the beginning of the Mannerist period.

Dawn and Dusk with Lorenzo de’Medici.  This is not a sculpture allegorizing Michelangelo’s beloved mentor but one of the lesser known Medicis, Lorenzo di Piero, Duke of Urbino, who’s probably more famous for his children, Catherine de’Medici and Allessandro, who became the first duke of Florence.  Lorenzo the Magnificent’s tomb was never completed, but he is buried here with his brother Guiliano in a simple tomb underneath a Madonna and Child sculpted by Michelangelo.

From there we went to the Cappelli dei Principi (Chapel of the Princes). If you look at an aerial view of San Lorenzo, the large, octagonal dome between the two sacristies easily stands out. Of the sites we saw at San Lorenzo, this one with its height, opulence, and the mixture of dark stone was one of the most memorable for me.  First photo from MuseumsinFlorence.com

Peak Baroque aesthetic right here.  This picture helps give some sense of how TALL this space is.

 Off to the Laurentian Library!

Brunelleschi’s cloisters

Orange trees!

Inside, the vestibule with the famous steps designed by Michelangelo. Originally, Michelangelo wanted these stairs, which may be the first freestanding staircase in Western architecture, to be made of walnut but ended up using that gray stone seen in the Old and New Sacristy.

Subverting the rules of Classical architecture to make a characteristically Mannerist space

I love how the center aisle of the staircase seems to pool out into the vestibule.

Inside the library, the floor with some great grotesques

One of the reading stalls

From there to the Medici Riccardi Palace.  We primarily focused on the Chapel of the Magi, the tapestry room, and the Luca Giordano hall.

 The Chapel of the Magi is actually quite small, smaller than you might think just looking at pictures of Benozzo Gozzoli’s frescoes online.  It’s a very intimate space (confining if you’re in there with fifteen other people).  The frescoes completely envelope you, and your eye follows the journey of the Magi along the walls.  No pictures inside the Chapel, so pics are from travelsintuscany.com and wiki.

Like many Renaissance depictions of the Magi, Gozzoli included portraits of the Medici family among the Magi.

 For a long time, there was speculation that the young king was a portrait of Lorenzo de’Medici, but recently, he’s been identified as one of the other members of the party (fourth figure from the left).

He does look a lot more like the later portraits we have of Lorenzo.

The Tapestry Room

This was interesting to see.  It’s a Madonna and Child by Filippo Lippi, but on the other side is a drawing of a young man.

The Gallery, which is where Florence’s government meets.  

Giordano’s ceiling fresco, representing the creation of Man and the triumph of the Medici on Mount Olympus.

The courtyard with the sculpture of Orpheus.

The gardens.  In Hannibal, this was where “Dr. Fell” ran into Anthony Dimmond (thirsty scarf dad).

Once we were through with the area surrounding San Lorenzo, we split into two groups.  My professor took half the class to the Florence Archives while my group headed to Santa Croce.

“The Church of Santa Croce, seat of the Franciscans, its vast interior ringing with eight languages as the hordes of tourists shuffle through, following the bright umbrellas of their guides, fumbling for two-hundred-lire pieces in the gloom so they can pay to light, for a precious moment in their lives, the great frescoes in the chapel.”

Of course, I had to check out all the tombs

 Machiavelli’s tomb

Dante’s memorial

Galileo’s tomb.  All that Baroque covering up those frescoes *sigh*

Michelangelo’s tomb.  Definitely not what he had in mind, but Vasari went all out to honor his friend.  Hopefully, Michelangelo does not mind too much that I write stories of questionable quality about his relationships with Leonardo and Raphael.

The altar

Bardi Chapel with one of the earliest depictions of St. Francis (sorry about the glare)

Death of St. Francis by Giotto and his followers

Just wanted a picture of the stained glass light on the stone floor

Baroncelli Chapel, Taddeo Gaddi’s fresco of David and Goliath

Because of the time, we didn’t have a chance to check out the Pazzi Chapel.  I also did not take a close look at the Rinuccini Chapel (mostly because I didn’t know how relevant it would be to my research later—add that to the to-do list).

It was close to lunchtime, so we grabbed a sandwich nearby (tomato and mozzarella with an Orangina) and had some gelato under Dante’s imposing stare.

The façade of Santa Croce, completed in the 19th century.

Then it was off to the Florence Archives to briefly talk to the people who run the Medici Archive Project.  I’ll be seeing them again in June for their paleography seminar.  Once done at the Archives, we checked out the Duomo.

Vasari’s frescoes inside Brunelleschi’s dome.  He’s showing up a lot in this write-up too, but Vasari has cast a long shadow over art history.

We then dispersed for a couple hours until meeting against for a farewell dinner that evening.  I hate that I never caught the name of the restaurant (we met together at the cathedral and then walked over together) because the pasta carbonara and tiramisu I had was really good.

And that was it for the official class business!  All in all, I learned a lot.  However, I still had a day left to explore Florence on my own, which I will recount later (but not too much later).

[architectnews]

22 Bishopsgate London Tower Building

22 Bishopsgate London Tower, City Skyscraper Building, AXA Real Estate Project, News, Height

22 Bishopsgate Tower

Skyscraper Building Development constructed by Multiplex, England: Planning News design by PLP Architecture

29 July 2021

22 Bishopsgate Building News

The Morris Project & Design LSM Reveal Stunning 2nd Floor Marketplace at 22 Bishopsgate

Inspired by London’s Guilds and a focus on wellbeing & community

London – The Morris Project in partnership with DesignLSM is proud to unveil 22 Bishopsgate’s Market, managed by Rhubarb Hospitality Collection. This is an inspirational market spanning the entire second floor (20,000 ft) of the UK’s first wellbeing building, 22 Bishopsgate is designed to be a vertical village focused on the modern office worker and their evolving needs. Sustainability, wellbeing and community will be at its heart.

Commissioned by AXA IM and Sir Stuart Lipton for the Capital’s most eagerly anticipated new 62 storey building, The Market, is Europe’s first ever wellness food hall. The design team’s aim was to emulate London’s tradition of the guilds, of which there were once 90, whose purpose was to provide welfare to their members, and a place to gather and share ideas. After years of decline, urban guilds are experiencing a revival, and the design for 22 Bishopsgate seeks to emulate their noble objectives; encouraging the development of community while supporting collaboration, well-being, and discovery.

Key features of the 20,000 ft collaboration and wellness market include:

The Restaurant & Terrace will provide a welcoming “local” for meetings and gatherings; The Terrace has its own bar and relaxed seating

The Market includes four kiosks which will offer a variety of nutritious & delicious options and highlight a diverse group of future tastemakers

The Market Hub Events Space will support dynamic programming of music, talks and private events

Floor-to-ceiling walls at 20% taller than in a market-standard building, give a sense of volume and space to increase wellbeing of residents. Triple glazed windows, which not only increase the energy efficiency of the building but also reduce noise and boost the level of natural daylight by 60%, reducing need for internal lighting and providing a healthier environment

Innovative technology creating convenience for residents who want their coffee ready to pick-up on arrival, or lunch delivered to their desk

WELL Building Standard : The first building in the UK to apply.

Amy Morris is Founder of the Morris Project, and recipient of the prestigious James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant Design. Morris said; “Our number one goal was to design a space that is a hive for collaboration. Providing support for balance and wellbeing in business and daily life. I believe whole heartedly in 22 Bishopsgate’s vision to radically embrace a new environment for the way we work. Your surroundings have a strong impact on your day. The Morris Project’s partnership with DesignLSM aims to create spaces that invite collaboration and spark ideas. It’s a dream project with a dream team in one of my favourite cities.”

Holly Hallam, Managing Director, DesignLSM said; “We are thrilled to be a part of this monumental and exciting development of 22 Bishopsgate. Our collaborative design with US agency The Morris Project delivers a highly polished and thoughtful aesthetic capturing the spirit of a modern-day guild.” Karen Taylor, Design Director, DesignLSM adds: “Our aim was to create a true “sense of place”; reflecting the heritage of the locality with a contemporary outlook; perfect for  22 Bishopsgate community to unwind, dine, relax and socialise.”

Key design elements of The Market include:

Artist, Sinta Tantra: British artist of Balinese descent has created a unique installation, Illuminated (2021), which will stretch across seven arches. Sinta Tantra’s immersive site-specific frames the central social space of the building. The work draws inspiration from the rich history of the City of London to inform a contemporary reading of this dynamic new public space. A careful composition of geometric forms suspended in a formal tension creates a sense of harmony and balance, echoing the ethos of wellbeing and creative exchange at the heart of 22 Bishopsgate.

Artek Domus chair: Designed in in 1946 by Ilmari Tapiovaara which was created as part of a series of furniture for the Domus Academica student housing complex in Helsinki. The style is approachable and most importantly comfortable

Maruni Lightwood Stools: By British designer Jasper Morrison and manufactured by Maruni. Visually and physically lightweight stools of near-perfect proportions. Founded in 1928 and based in Hiroshima, Maruni epitomises Japanese design. Their considered blend of traditional craftsmanship and innovative industrial techniques results in furniture that is tactile and timeless

675 Robin Day Chair: The main restaurant chair is the fresh revisited design update of the 675 Robin Day Chair which has truly stood the test of time and is one of the most recognised of the 20th century. Originally created in 1952, this Robin Day chair’s most prominent feature is its curved walnut-veneered plywood back

Communal Tables Tops: Forbo Furniture Linoleum tops of the communal tables which have great Bacteriostatic properties (i.e. it stops bacteria from reproducing)

About The Morris Project

Operating in London, New York and Australia, multi award winning agency, The Morris Project is at the heart of hospitality. They partner with developers, restaurants & hotels to offer both strategic insight, and thoughtful creativity to articulate the vision from concept to launch. Founder Amy Morris was awarded the prestigious James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant Design. Branding also won a Gold Prize, from the DrivenxDesign New York Design Awards.

Morris is driving original creative with focused strategy, capabilities include concept development, branding, interiors & packaging. The Morris Project only takes on a handful of clients at a time to ensure Morris works closely with founders on focused missions and authentic narrative that connects them with their communities.

The Morris Project was built out of a desire to offer the equivalent of Creative Artist Agency for hospitality. We see our clients as partners and aim to take the anxiety out of the process. Clients include: James Lowe [Flor wine bar], Vornado Reality [developer of mid-town NYC], Union Square Hospitality [Danny Meyer of Shake Shack] and Melissa Weller [Trend Setting Baker of Funk Foods Bakery] and others.

https://www.themorrisproject.com/

About The WELL being standard

The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) is an independent set of standards that make spaces around us healthier, happier, and more productive. See https://www.wellcertified.com/

About DesignLSM

DesignLSM is a multi-disciplined studio specialising in Strategy, Branding, Interior Design and Architecture for a diverse portfolio of world class brands within the hospitality industry. Encouraging a spirit of collaboration with clients, colleagues and suppliers to create lasting relationships and deliver engaging and memorable environments and experiences.

With over 34 years’ experience, DesignLSM have master planned spaces, curated concepts and produced innovative designs for luxury hotels, large food halls, elevated dining brands and QSR concepts. Working with brands such as: Roka Restaurant Group, D&D London, Gaucho Restaurants, Lacoste, Taj Hotels, Marriott Hotels and Curio by Hilton, Shaftesbury Estates, RioCan Real Estate and Emaar Properties amongst many others.

About Rhubarb Hospitality Collection

RHC is a premium hospitality group with over 25 years’ experience in luxury events. Today their portfolio includes a number of iconic locations in London including Sky Garden, The Royal Albert Hall, Royal Ascot Racing Club, the immersive experience Mamma Mia! The Party and 22 Bishopsgate. In 2017 RHC announced two restaurants and an extraordinary event space at Hudson Yards, New York. This was the first international location for the revered London hospitality group.

post updated 13 June 2021 22 Bishopsgate London Building Photos

7 Dec 2020

22 Bishopsgate Building News

22 Bishopsgate reaches practical completion.

The tallest tower in the City of London stands at 278 metres high. The project is developed and managed by AXA IM – Real Assets on behalf of an international consortium of investors, with Lipton Rogers Developments retained as developer.

The 1.4 million sq. ft (130,000 sqm) development is set to be Europe’s first vertical village.

22 Bishopsgate has London’s largest cycle park and a state-of-the-art gym, complete with a climbing window, 125 metres above the ground on level 25, as well as a wellbeing retreat on level 41. It is also the first building in the UK to apply for the Delos WELL Building Standard.

This people-focused building is a complex, 22 sided, faceted glass structure. The design is built and managed to satisfy the changing nature of the City of London in terms of the type, size and priorities of companies based there, including demands for high standards of technology and sustainability.

According to the statistics from the City of London Corporation*, while just over a third of businesses were financial services, tech was the fastest growing major sector in the City with jobs growth of 16%, the quality of workspace needed to reflect that in order to attract a more diverse range of tenants. Emphasis has been placed on constructing a building with flexible floorplates, high ceilings and exemplary lighting that compliments the natural light flow, which is enabled with three metres high, triple glazed windows.

The creation of approximately 100,000 sq ft of social spaces and services throughout the floors was a key part of the design. There is a 22,000 sq ft area of food and dining space on level 2, a members’ club on level 57 and London’s highest public viewing gallery on level 58.

Recognising the fact that 99% of City businesses are SMEs, there is an innovation hub for small businesses and start ups on level seven. Levels three and four, meanwhile, will house a new 51,000 sq ft events and meeting venue available for use by the hour or day.

FUTURE Designs, the international lighting designer and manufacturer completed the office lighting. They developed ‘GLOS’ for the project, a contemporary and minimalist luminaire that results in a perfectly illuminated environment.

As well as providing a place for 12,000 people to work, creating a diverse business community, 22 Bishopsgate also provides a range of retail, bar and restaurant units.

26 Oct 2020

The 22 Bishopsgate building is now completed.

2 Mar 2017

22 Bishopsgate Skyscraper Approval

Design: PLP Architecture

22 Bishopsgate Planning Approval News

The City of London has granted planning permission for revised proposals by PLP which reduces the building height by 23m, reports the Architects’ Journal.

The tower is set to reign briefly as the tallest building in the City of London until Aroland Holdings’ 1 Undershaft Tower completes, which will be 290 metres high.

The 22 Bishopsgate tower, under construction by Multiplex for AXA Investment Managers Real Assets, will be 255 metres (840 feet) tall.

Back on the 5th of December 2016 architects PLP submitted revised plans for their tower design at 22 Bishopsgate, reducing the skyscraper’s height by 23m.

This City office development is due to have a population of 12,000 office workers over its 59 storeys.

Otis won a contract to install 57 elevators and 10 escalators at 22 Bishopsgate, reported https://ift.tt/1mW9FQW in February 2017.

Otis will install 18 of its Gen2 elevators, 13 of its SkyRise single-deck, and 26 SkyRise double-deck elevators combined with its CompassPlus destination management system.

When completed, these elevators will be Europe’s fastest SkyRise double-decks, running at 8 metres/sec (approx. 30km/hour).

27 Oct 2016

22 Bishopsgate Skyscraper Development

Design: PLP Architecture

22 Bishopsgate Development News

AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets to proceed with landmark 22 Bishopsgate development in London

AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets (“AXA IM – Real Assets”), the leading real estate portfolio and asset manager in Europe(*), announces that, on behalf of a consortium of international investors, it will continue construction of 22 Bishopsgate (“22”) in the City of London.

image : Riverfilm Martin Richardson

The commitment to 22 demonstrates AXA IM – Real Assets’ and the consortium of international investors’ confidence in how appealing this highly progressive c.1.4 million sqft (c.128,000 sqm) development will be to all types of international and domestic occupiers. This confidence is based on the unique and broad range of amenities and types of space that 22 will offer, as well as its prime location in the City of London, as one of the leading global centres for international business, notwithstanding the current uncertainties created by the EU Referendum.

AXA IM – Real Assets, together with its development partner Lipton Rogers, expect to finalise the appointment of a contractor for the main build of the tower within the next few weeks, with work due to commence thereafter. Significant preparatory works have already been undertaken on the site, including substantially completing the foundations and ground works, which utilised those from the previous unfinished development, to allow for an accelerated construction timetable, with a target completion date of 2019.

On completion, 22 will be a new model and standard for workplace design and management, with the objective of meeting emerging occupier needs for greater space, adaptability, productivity and employee satisfaction. The building, designed to appeal to a broad range of occupiers, will offer extensive amenities and spaces for meeting as well as shared work environments, including an innovation centre that will support progressive new City businesses. A wide range of services, new technologies and events will serve the community of over 12,000 people working within 22.

image from architects

Plans include dedicated areas for leisure, health and wellbeing. In line with AXA IM – Real Assets’ ambition to be a globally sustainable business, notably by targeting 75% of total direct property under management to be certified with reputable sustainability labels by 2030, 22 is the first UK building to apply for the Delos WELL Building Standard. This certification recognises the impact that buildings have on the health of their occupiers.

Pierre Vaquier, CEO of AXA IM – Real Assets, said: “Our ongoing commitment to 22 Bishopsgate reflects our firm belief, and that of our clients and partners, in this development project, aligned to the fact we are taking a long term view of this investment. The decision to proceed underscores our confidence in the progressive and attractive development that we will deliver at 22, coupled with the anticipated breadth of demand from local and global occupiers for easily accessible space in a prime location in the City of London, as one of the leading global centres for international business, that will respond to their future business needs.”

*Source: IP Real Estate Top 100 Investment Management Survey – Nov/Dec 2015

7 Apr 2016

22 Bishopsgate Skyscraper Approval News

Design: PLP Architecture

The City of London resolved to approve the 295-metre tall building in November 2015, subject to a final decision by the mayor of London.

image from architects

The structure is earmarked for the site of the part-built “Pinnacle” skyscraper. This secured planning permission in 2007 and work subsequently started on-site, only for construction to be halted in 2012, reports https://ift.tt/3f5BMBO.

Following a request from the scheme’s developer, AXA Investment Managers Real Assets and Lipton Roger, a report considered by the City of London’s planning committee earlier this week recommended that the authority use Section 237 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to override rights to light claims which threatened to further stall the development.

22 Bishopsgate Tower

Website: 22 Bishopsgate Skyscraper Building article in full

5 Mar 2015

22 Bishopsgate, London

Design: PLP Architecture

22 BISHOPSGATE

PLP Architecture has been appointed by AXA Real Estate, on behalf of clients, and Lipton Rogers Developments as the architect for 22 Bishopsgate, a new office tower at the heart of the City of London.

The 22 Bishopsgate Tower is the acknowledged centre of the City cluster of tall buildings. Since the initial design, much has changed in the context of the City. A number of towers are now completed, notably the adjacent 122 Leadenhall. An entirely new design conceived for 22 Bishopsgate will now form part of the cluster.

22 Bishopsgate will be a building of character whose massing is shaped to enhance townscape views. The emphasis on the brief for the building is to be more than an office building, with social amenity spaces throughout the building shared by tenants; a free public viewing gallery, a restaurant and bar will occupy the top. Art will enrich the public realm experience.

Karen Cook, a founding partner of PLP Architecture, says, “We will work with Lipton Rogers Developments and AXA Real Estate to design what will become an exemplary building, setting new standards, for the world class workforce that is London.”

The consultant design team includes WSP (structures, building services and specialist engineering services), Vertical Transportation Studio (lift strategy), Professor Robert Tavernor (townscape assessment), Miller Hare (townscape visualisation), West 8 (landscape), Alinea (cost management).

The design is currently at the development stage and no images have been formally released.

22 Bishopsgate London Tower information from PLP Architecture

PLP Architecture

20 Feb 2015

The Pinnacle – Helter Skelter

Julia Kollewe in the Guardian reports yesterday that, “The partially built Pinnacle building is to be revived to become the tallest tower in the City of London – but without the elegant twisting design at the top that earned it the nickname “the Helter Skelter”.

The Pinnacle, as seen from Waterloo Bridge, forms the apex of the emerging cluster of tall buildings in the City of London: image : KPF and Cityscape

After months of negotiations, a consortium led by Axa Real Estate has clinched a £300m deal to buy the site near Liverpool Street station in the Square Mile. The building became known as “the Stump” when construction stopped abruptly three years ago.

Until now called the Pinnacle, the building will be renamed 22 Bishopsgate. Its design has undergone radical changes to save money. The office tower will be 60 storeys rather than 64, and the expensive curved-glass panels at the top are to be scrapped.

Aerial view of 22 Bishopsgate London looking south east towards the River Thames (Tower Bridge on right, Canary wharf beyond to left): aerial picture : public domain

It will however be the tallest building in the financial district at 262m, overtopping the nearby Heron Tower at 231 metres tall (758ft).”

PLP Architecture Practice Information

Website: The Pinnacle Helter Skelter Tower – London skyscraper building

Location: 22 Bishopsgate, City of London, England, UK

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22 Bishopsgate Background

Website: 22 Bishopsgate London design – PLP Architecture, architects image : KPF and Cityscape

14 Mar 2013

The Pinnacle Skyscraper

image : KPF and Cityscape

images : KPF and Cityscape

photos © Adrian Welch

tower photographs © Nick Weall

The groundwork for ‘The Cheesegrater‘ is in the foreground, with The Pinnacle behind: tower photo © Nick Weall

The Pinnacle London architect : KPF image : KPF and Cityscape

The Pinnacle London image : KPF and Cityscape

A London skyscraper by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF):

Heron Tower

Another Bishopsgate skyscraper building on e-architect:

6-8 Bishopsgate and 150 Leadenhall Tower, City of London, England, UK Design: WilkinsonEyre image courtesy of architects 6-8 Bishopsgate Tower

Comments / photos for 22 Bishopsgate London – Helter Skelter Tower – Architecture page welcome

Website: Skyscrapers

The post 22 Bishopsgate London Tower Building appeared first on e-architect.

[littlesin]

to be fair your moulding this image of him way more than he is. dacre has spoken often about his family & how close he is with his mom & the fact that he has coffee with her everyday. does he need to post about that on instagram for it to mean something to you? & it's summer so yeah expect him to be at parties/festivals. does he also need to be a quirky indie boi like joe to be #relatable or can he have other interests such as design & script writing which he has stated and is pursuing? ease up

Of all the passive-aggressive shadethat’s slid into my inbox from those previous asks, none of you have answeredmy question: What has Dacre given you to stan for? And here is a new question:What has Dacre done to counter the messy image of him that is out there rightnow?

I really wantto know, because all I’ve gotten so far is “but he said 3 years ago that he hascoffee with his mom every morning” “but he’s mentioned his sister a few timesduring PR press” “but he said he wants to be an interior designer” “but…but…that one time he mentioned wanting to write scripts” “but don’t you understandthat all that stuff makes him so deep?”

Like *sigh*,ok, let’s start with the family. No one said he didn’t love his family. I suredidn’t. And that’s all I’m going to say about his family because I don’t thinkit’s fair to drag them into this. I have my opinions on how his mom may have dotedon him a little too much, which may have contributed to what I personallyperceive as a prematurely inflated ego, but his family is kind of off limits tome unless they insert themselves, which they haven’t.

To the “interestin interior design.” Having an interest in interior design is great, but whatexactly has he done to show an actual interest in interior design besidesmentioning he likes it, and lifting photos from real professional designer’s websitesto post on his Instagram mood board because they make it look pretty? There isthe “internship” with the celebrity interior designer in L.A. which is fine andgood, but I’m inclined to side-eye that because he has zero interior designbackground/training yet he managed to get an internship with a prominent designer.This sounds like a vanity internship that flatters his ego and gives virtuallyfree promotion to Adam Hunter. I wonder which new designer fresh out of collegeapplied for that internship and lost it because Dacre Montgomery wanted it. Butthat’s just my very personal opinion.

As far as the“script writing” goes, once again, good for him for having a hobby. However, I’mside-eying the hell out of this because writing requires heighten observation skills,not only of your surroundings, but also of the human condition. You have to beable easily empathize and sympathize and get under the skin of people, and notjust the people that are like you, but also the people that are not like you. Idon’t think he is capable of this. His ass backwards, tone deaf characteranalysis of Billy is an example. He was more excited about discussing Billy’s wardrobethan he was about who Billy actually is. Him being so focused on the aestheticsof Billy doesn’t surprise me, but his ignorant, offhand comments about theimmigration/wall debate going on in the U.S. during the PR press tour also hadme like WTF. He strikes me as a typical white guy who, if something doesn’tdirectly affect him, isn’t interested in the intricacies of the issue and howit can affect other people. How is he supposed to be a screenwriter if this isthe case? How is he supposed to write three dimensional, layered, diversecharacters? You can chock it up to him being young, but if that’s what it is,then he should focus on living more life and expanding his horizons rather thentrying to be a jack of all trades, yet master of none because he has a shit tonof free time on his hands and it strikes his fancy. But as always, that’s justmy VERY personal opinion.

RegardingJoe, I don’t even fangirl Joe, but the previous ask brought him up and I wentwith it because I like Joe and have opinions about him. Do I need Dacre to be “indieboi” like Joe to relate to him? No. Dacre is his own person. People can berelatable in different ways. The problem I have with Dacre is that he doesn’treally seem to be committed to anything except the benefits and accolades thatbeing a successful actor can bring. It’s fine that he’s committed to that, but he,and the fandom, need to be honest about it. His attempts to beef himself up by proclaiminghe’s passionate about things he seems only mildly interested in to appear “deepand artsy” is silly to me. But Dacre is a grown ass man and he can do what hewants. However, I’m a free bitch and I’m not required to indulge the fuckery.

The bottomline, at least for me, is this: the idea that fans are required to pledgeultimate fealty to an actor to pass someone else’s fandom litmus test is ridiculous.We are not required to be grateful for crumbs and displays of bad behavior ifwe don’t want to. It is not a cardinal sin to recognize shenanigans and callyour fave out on them. It’s ok to critique your fave and even criticize them whenyou feel it is needed. Why? Because you have spent your time and your hard-earnedcoin supporting that person. They don’t owe you their first-born child, but itis also not wrong for you to expect a return on your investment. The fandom,and this is my very person opinion, is not seeing a return on that investment,which is why I’m pretty much out the door. We can disagree about this all daylong, which is fine, but people have the right to differing opinions, andpeople have the right not to “ease up” if they are witnessing messiness anddecide not to be here for it.

[motivatingspeech]

The Story Of Tommy Hilfiger: 15 Things You Didn't Know About Tommy Hilfiger

  The Story Of Tommy Hilfiger: An American fashion designer and Founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. 

Tommy Hilfiger was born on March 24th, 1951 as Thomas Jacob Hilfiger in Elmira, New York to jeweler Richard and Nurse Virginia. He was the second born of nine children and was raised a Catholic since launching. His namesake brand in 1985, Tommy Hilfiger has become globally renowned as the pioneer of classic American cool style. Inspired by iconic pop culture and American heritage, the designer and his brand are driven by an ever-optimistic vision to break conventions and celebrate individuality. Today, under Hilfiger’s guidance vision and leadership as principal designer, Tommy Hilfiger is one of the world's most recognized lifestyle brands that, shares its inclusive and youthful spirit with consumers worldwide. In fact, for a period of time, the very colors red white and blue were synonymous with the designer. He pioneered courting hip-hop artists in time before it was common practice, extending his brands reach even further.  

15 Things You Didn't Know About Tommy Hilfiger

1. As a child, Tommy Hilfiger Suffered From Dyslexia. In an interview discussing his book American dreamer, he elaborated on his childhood struggle with reading. He says he just had to learn how to read differently. Saying, he cured himself. It’s not like he took medication or went to a specialist. He says, he forced himself to read each word as it presented itself rather than attempting to speed read like an average person. 2.  Tommy Hilfiger Never Went To Design School He began experimenting with design in the early 70s. At the age of 18, he opened a store called the people’s place in Almira, Washington that sold hippie, supplies like bell-bottoms, incense, and Records. Wildly successful at first, Hilfiger soon had a chain of stores and a six-figure income but a downturn in the economy hit his business hard and he filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1977. That setback only motivated him to work harder. He’s quoted as saying: “I forced myself to learn the nuts and bolts of the business and not solely on the creative side. I got hyper-focused on it. I learned how to read a balance sheet, I figured out how to control expenses and figured out a way to build a business on a shoestring budget. In school, they teach you through case studies of other companies…I had my case study.” 3. He was fired from Jordache after only working one year in 1976. Hilfiger fell in love with Susie, an employee at one of his stores. The couple married and moved to Manhattan shortly after the bankruptcy. they were hired as a husband-and-wife design team by the apparel brand 'Jordache' but were fired after only one year Hilfiger developed a reputation as a hard-working, young designer and was considered for jobs at Perry Ellis and Calvin Klein, what he really wanted though was his own label. 4. He got his chance to launch that brand in 1984. Hilfiger was approached by Indian entrepreneur Mohan Moorjani, who was looking for a designer to head a men’s sportswear line. Moorjani allowed Hilfiger to design the label under his own name. Stealing the deal, the pair announced Hilfiger's arrival onto the scene with a blitz marketing campaign that included a bold billboard in New York City's Times Square, announcing Hilfiger as the next big thing in American fashion. In fact, Hilfiger told a reporter in 1986, that he thought he was the next great American designer, the next Ralph Lauren or Calvin Klein. 5. Tommy Hilfiger has an estimated net worth of over 450 million dollars. It was in 1984, when Tommy Hilfiger Corporation was launched. In 1992, the company went public Hilfiger, sales went up and up from 107 million dollars in 1992 to 138 million dollars in 1993 and 227 million in 1994. By the mid-1990s they were close to 500 Tommy Hilfiger sections within department stores. About half the company's revenues came from sales at three big department store chains. As of 2004 the company already had more than 5,400 employees and was earning an annual revenue of more than 1.5 billion dollars. However, over time the company sales began to decline, which led Hilfiger to sell the company to the private investment firm Apax Partners for 1.6 billion dollars. And in March 2010, he sold Tommy Hilfiger Corporation to the owner of Calvin Klein Corporation Phillips van Heusen for three billion dollars. 6. The first-ever Tommy Hilfiger campaign was legendary. The line of Tommy Hilfiger clothing debuted in the fall of 1985 with an ad campaign that featured no clothes but declared that Hilfiger was the designer on par with Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis, and Calvin Klein. The ads did little more than inserting Hilfiger's name in the pantheon. Yet, this was somehow effective. The brashness of the strategy attracted attention in the fashion industry and caused comment by Johnny Carson and other notable people. The first ads were centered on New York City, using print and outdoor media. By 1987, the Hilfiger line was attracting more national attention with advertisements in people. USA Today, GQ, Sports Illustrated and other publications. The entire advertising budget for Hilfiger clothing was only 1.4 million dollars and ads appeared infrequently. However, they sure did make a splash with double-page spreads and because they featured words, logos or Hilfiger space, and no images of clothes or models they stood out from other fashion advertisements. George Louis, who helped create the ads for the firm Louis, Pitts, GGK, claimed in a March 1988 marketing and media decisions article, that he could not make Hilfiger's clothes look any better than anyone else’s, and therefore the ads sold an idea and not a particular fashion. According to one survey, after only two years of his ads, Hilfiger had succeeded in convincing 68% of sampled New Yorkers to name him as one of the top four or five important designers. 7. He received the title of the menswear designer of the year. In 1995 he received the title of menswear designer of the year, which was conferred by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. His once skeptical peers recognized him as one of the best. Hilfiger made a name for himself by prominently putting his name and logo on his clothes and marketing them to urban youth in a way that other American designers had not done. He harnessed a diverse following of consumers with his oversized, street style sportswear and relaxed all-American style of jeans, khakis, and polos, that began to be taken at the end of the 20th century. And to keep that name and logo prominent, Hilfiger invested a great deal in advertising. And the packaging of the product has surpassed any originality in the clothes themselves. He has raised the bar for fashion merchandising and image branding that has come to define American fashion. 8. He was a mentor to Sean Combs’ brand Sean John. When Hilfiger was asked if he had any regrets of helping Sean Combs’ build his business, only to have it take away market share from him, he said, “I’ve always been a mentor to younger designers and people who have asked me for my advice… I also think what’s meant to be was meant to be... I was happy to help young people, who come to me for advice... many people helped me along the way...” 9. He briefly shortened his brand name to Tommy Hill. This was back when he first established the company, but his business partner at the time, Mohan Murjani, convinced him to stick with his full surname to stand out in the business. Seems like that was great advice to follow. :D 10. He’s been accused of copying Ralph Lauren. From the outset, Hilfiger has been compared to Ralph Lauren. He has been criticized for copying Lauren's preppy style but gearing his signature: red, white and blue styles toward a younger market at more popular prices, Hilfiger, like Lauren has appeared in advertisements for his clothing line. Both men have used the American flag as an important marketing tool. Hilfiger has also replicated Lauren's business model. Even, employing former Lauren executives, to help build Tommy Hilfiger, which Hilfiger with backing from Silas Chow and Lauren's novel enterprises, bought from Murjani in 1989. Chow, then incorporated Tommy Hilfiger in Hong Kong following Lauren’s lead in lifestyle merchandising. Hilfiger expanded his franchise by opening a number of stores, whose interiors reflect the all-American-ness his clothing by signing licensing agreements around the world and by offering a range of lines such as underclothing, accessories, fragrances, home décor, designer jeans, women's wear, children's wear, and a higher-end menswear collection. Hilfiger spent fifteen million dollars in advertising to launch his men's fragrance “Tommy”, in 1995. Which at the time was the most money spent on a campaign for men’s fragrances. 11. The brand suffered major declines in the early 2000s. Around the year 2000, his professional success began to dwindle down as he started suffering from financial troubles. His designs started losing their popularity with the hip-hop artists and sales went down by 75%. Tommy may have rested on his red white and blue laurels for too long at the time, because trendier brands like FUBU, dominated urban fashion. While Tommy’s clothes build bargain bins at Bloomingdale’s and Macy's. Hilfiger tried a host of makeover strategies that didn’t work. A women's sportswear collection failed miserably. Sponsorships of Mary J Blige and Sheryl Crow concerts didn’t sell more Capri pants. And while one of its new fragrances performed well, it didn't turn around the company. Though, Hilfiger’s impressive growth had slowed dramatically from the 1990s. The company remained a popular and well-known brand. Along with traditional advertising, the company chose to tout its image using unique methods, including the purchase of the sponsorship rights to Long Island’s Jones Beach Theater, one of the most successful amphitheaters in the United States. and the sponsorship of a 50-foot sailing vessel, the ship was named the Tommy Hilfiger freedom America yacht and would be racing in the challenging 27,000-mile 9-month endurance alone around race, that would launch in New York City in September of 2002. For Tommy Hilfiger Corp., remaining afloat of the highly competitive ever-changing fashion industry would no doubt prove to be just as challenging. 12. Tommy Hilfiger has partnered with supermodel Gigi Hadid. Now going into their collection the collaboration between these two fashion forces has been a blast. The partnership has been equally beneficial for both of them. Gigi Hadid may have helped Tommy Hilfiger sell more bomber jackets, sweaters, and sailor outfits, but their partnership has apparently also been good for the supermodel. The designer said Hadid's social media following has grown exponentially since joining the brand. Hadid, has more than 48 million followers on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook today, more than twice the number she had before their collaboration. 13. He is leading the charge of inventory lists showrooms. Located at its global headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the digital showroom revolutionizes the sales experience for retailers by offering them a more engaging and seamless buying approach. The interactive system blends collection information, sales tools and brand content in one seamless touchscreen interface. Hilfiger told the Post that we don't have showrooms packed with clothes anymore. 13 of his 40 showrooms across the world are equipped with the IMAX Theater like technology and iPads, which show off his collection to buyers. the centerpiece of the digital showroom is an interactive 1/2 meter by one-meter touchscreen table, set in a sleek walnut frame that connects to a four-meter high wall to a wall grid of ultra-high-definition 4k screens. Customers can digitally view every item in the Tommy Hilfiger sportswear and Hilfiger denim seasonal collections and create custom orders all with product categories laid out across a single screen. They can view head to toe key looks, zoom in with incredible detail to see unique design features and click on a garment for specific information, such as color offerings and size ranges.   14. Tommy Hilfiger is launching clothing for adults with disabilities. After releasing multiple adaptive clothing collections for children last year the brand is adding a range for adults 37 men's and 34 women styles with modifications like Velcro closures, magnetic flies and adjusted leg openings to make it easier for people of all abilities to get dressed. Tommy Hilfiger collaborated with Magna ready and runway of dreams, a nonprofit that works to broaden clothing options for people with disabilities. 15. Tommy Hilfiger now serves as an ambassador for the brand and doesn’t have all the design responsibilities. He's quoted as saying I'm busier than I've ever been and I'm happier than I've ever been. I don't have the burden of all the day-to-day business... I feel that our leadership is better than ever and is as strong as any leadership in the entire industry... Daniel Grider who's the global CEO is leading the charge and believes very strongly in social media, and being on the edge from a technology standpoint that is one of the reasons why we’ve continued global growth it takes a very special person to have that vision. He’s very strong and confident in making decisions that keep us on the edge of technology. A Bonus fact of Tommy Hilfiger: Tommy Hilfiger used to hand out free clothing according to Ralph McDaniel’s, the creator of Video Music Box. Tommy Hilfiger would show up in predominantly black neighborhoods and open up a trunk with clothes and hand them out. It makes the malicious rumor that the designer doesn't like black people, wearing his clothes look even more ridiculous. Hilfiger's shrewd marketing move paid off big-time, as people who receive free clothing only ended up wanting more of it. McDaniel adds that it was like a drug dealer giving you a free hit. Suddenly, people started purchasing their own Hilfiger, including 90s icons, that made the label a staple in the hip-hop community. Hilfiger famously ended up on the backs of 90 stars like Snopp Dogg, Raekwon and more... Read the full article

[kat-mccallum-hnd]

Structure Research

Architectural photography is capturing images of buildings exteriors and interiors, cityscapes and other structures such as bridges. It is the photographer’s job to represent the architect’s concept through the careful capturing of light and consideration of composition and to try to evoke feeling from their image. Architectural photographs could be used for commercial use, for creating portfolios for contractors, architects or yourself, or for advertising etc.

ANDRES GALLARDO

Andres Gallardo is a Spanish born architectural and urban photographer who currently lives in Estonia. He has self taught for the past 9 years and gives lectures and photography workshops in South Korea, Taiwan and Estonia. His main focus is architectural photography in today's urban environments. Andres travels a lot to try and capture different cities from the architectural and urban landscape point of view. Some images below are from a project of his called ‘Urban Geometry’.

You can see by these images that Andres likes to focus on lines and shapes. He has downplayed the human presence massively but he wanted to show modern architecture and people intermingling. The composition of architectural images is the most important aspect and Andres captures it perfectly.

You cant help but be drawn to the ‘ripples’ around the ‘mouth’ of the building and although very small, the person shows you just how grand this building is. The image looks somewhat evenly lit, although a tad more exposed at the top, possibly due to the suns placement above or slightly in front of the building? Or perhaps has been fixed in editing? The lines at the bottom being straight is very aesthetically pleasing and has reminded me to watch for those straight lines in my own images! The corner of sky also provides a nice counter balance to the ‘mouth’. Lines going from 1 side of the image to the other would normally lead your eye out of the image, but thanks to the mouth and tiny person, my eyes are more drawn to the middle of the image.

This image shows almost the same shape, which is interesting, because the images could not be more different. Symmetry is what makes this image work. Again, my eyes are drawn to the middle of this image where the person is, although the person is only a tiny part of it and I image is only there to show the size of the building around them.

With the next 2 images, Andres wanted to show architecture intermingling with nature. This image is evenly lit again with no shadows suggesting possibly the sun was overhead and slightly in front? Or editing has been used. Shot against a bright blue sky, Andres has made this abstract shot stand out. The composition is perfect, the shape of the building being the same shape as the sky in the image, and it works so well with the tree against the sky, nature on nature sticking out of modern architecture. The detail on the right of the building adds great texture, and you can see when looking at the lines the holes make, that this was taken with a wide angle. (I could be wrong!)

This is another in his series of intermingling with nature. Again with the backdrop of a bright blue sky, this leaves you focused on the architecture again. I love the use of shadows and highlights here, I can only guess that editing has lifted harsh shadows and dropped some bright highlights to allow the tones in the shadows and highlights to sit well together. The arrangement of shape, lines and form with the building, cacti and shadows is great as not one leads you out of the image.

Here we have a fantastic abstract shot. Andres has focused solely on the detail of the building and after looking at the image for a long time I am still a little confused. The close up of the lines and dots are beautifully captured, evenly lit once again (I am not sure if it is natural or edited as I don’t know if this is a low angle shot of the building or if this is a birdseye shot?). You can see the focus here is the camera in the middle, but it the last thing I saw as I was admiring all the shapes and lines that the ‘spots’ have created. There is a lot going on here but weirdly it is quite calming, possibly due to the symmetry.

I wanted to include this image because of the ariel view of the building. I’m not a big fan of this image as all it shows is some nice shapes but not much detail, although what else could be expected from an ariel shot? I like the counter balance of road in opposite corners, these little details show that Andres is always thinking about composition. The highlights are very prominent here and I think the use of shadows is great, as the building looks ‘stacked’ and not flat on the ground. The more I look at the image the more I see triangles, either through actual triangular objects or through the way Andres has made an object seem.

Andres has successfully shown the architects image in these photos by the composition he chooses and the amount of detail he wants to showcase. By taking in the elements around him - the people, the sky and ground, the form of the building and the surrounding nature - he shows us what the architect planned for when he also took all these things into consideration.

KEITH DOTSON

Keith Dotson lives in Nashville and specialises in black and white Fine Art photography. He also includes landscapes, cityscapes and abstractions from nature, but is drawn more to historic places, old houses and the soft light of gloomy days. Keith has had his work exhibited in many states and is also the author of the book Unloved and Forgotten: Fine Art Photographs of Abandoned Places.

I chose to use Keith as I love the look of Fine Art photography, as well as black and white, and since I have shown examples of modern architecture I wanted to focus on a few ancient ones.

Keith has taken every shot imaginable of this federal building in Nashville, I chose this one to annotate as I plan to get a detailed shot similar to this for my own project. It is a very simple centered composition, but the lighting and the detail is what makes this image. You can see the wear and tear of time here, but the extraordinary detail on the stone shows just how well made building were over 100 years ago! Given how old this building is, converting to black and white keeps the old feel and surely matches the architect’s vision. The lighting here is soft and even, with soft shadows in the right places. There is a dark, moody feel to this which I like, as if the photographer is trying to preserve the history of what went on here and has tried to show that in his photos.

This image is of a church in Nashville and you can see that Keith has captured a lot of different detail. Firstly, I love the composition as it just slightly breaks the rules with being skewed. What he has done here is highlighted the key details and removed what is unnecessary, like the rest of the door, pillar and wall. The pillar provides a nice counter balance to the door, the tones and texture of each detail stands out immensely, as well as highlights and shadows in all the right places so as not to lose any important details. Even though this is black and white, you can tell what kind of material you are looking at by the way the light reflects/absorbs, and again the black and white conversion helps keep the older feel of an older building. The sun looks like it is shining from slightly above to light this building.

FRANCOIS GUILLEMIN

Francois is an architectural and interior photographer from Paris.

I have chosen to include interior images although I don’t plan on taking any interior shots for my own project. Interior is not my favourite type of photography to look at as I generally find it pretty boring. I have to say that this shot is not boring and it piqued my interest. The use of light here is incredible, both natural and ambient. The slither of natural light highlights a bit of detail from most things in the image – the wallpaper, couch, cushions and floor. I guess with interior you are showing off the designer’s vision, with this, thanks to the warm lighting, I would say they are showing how homely this can be. I have always thought that interiors would have to be well and evenly lit, showcasing everything in the image, but this one is artistic and it still shows the necessary details. The rule of thirds composition works well here, I was drawn to the lamp first and then the ray of light which led me to the rest of the image. The post editing to make the shadows on the right darker is great also, as the details fade away into darkness which keeps your interest to the middle and left. The mirror at the top and the light on the floor provide a great counter balance for each other.

I like the lines and shapes in this image, it seems pretty messy but with the minimalism in the white decor it fits together well. You can see that natural light is used to light the left of the image, and with the tones getting warmer across the right of the image I would guess that artificial light has lit there. The use of shadows are great as it leads me to the chair which is highlighted by a ray of light. It seems the photographer is trying to help keep the interiors ideas that this is a cosy place to read. You can tell that Francois has had to carefully frame this image with thoughts of vertical lines and a perspective, as well as balancing artificial and natural light.

[anniversary-magazine]

Architectural Photographer Ben Hosking ⏤ The Hand to Give and The Hand to Take

How do we decide to draw a line, a series of exact points, that carves one nation from another? An abstract squiggle, drawn from the mind and ink on a map to a boundary in the flesh? In 1948, in the wake of India’s independence of two hundred years of British Colonial rule, one such arbitrary line was gauged by a single hand. It was a line that would give the people of the Indian subcontinent two nation states – India and Pakistan, the idea being that Hindus could peacefully inhabit one, and Muslims the other.  But in the mass migration that followed to fulfil this decree, it was a line that would also take away two million of their lives, leave fifteen million homeless and seventy- five thousand women raped as arson, riots and massacres erupted throughout the country.

The drawing of this line re-routed the capital city of Punjab, Lahore, away from India, and placed it in in the newly formed Pakistan, requiring a new capital city for the state. So, amidst the anguish, bitter bloodshed and displacement that plagued the Punjabi people, it was Le Corbusier, the famed Swiss architect at his zenith at seventy, whose hand was asked to plan, design and implement this new city.

 Le Corbusier’s directive for the city from Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of Independent India, was to build ‘a new town, symbolic of the freedom of India, unfettered by the traditions of the past.’ The city became Chandigarh, or ‘stronghold of the goddess Chandi’, a goddess known for her ferocity and capability of destruction, the flipside of her powers to manifest.

 Photographer Ben Hosking first discovered Chandigarh as a young student living in Melbourne. He and his flatmate, an architecture student, came across a poster outlining all of Corbusier’s works and became intrigued by how the brutalist master’s European architecture translated into this South Asian environment. They vowed they would visit the city on the completion of their studies.

Although the trip never eventuated, Chandigarh remained in the back of Hosking’s mind’s eye as he graduated from his photography degree and focused his camera lens on architecture throughout Australia and Asia. But in 2014, he travelled to Chandigarh and posed his lens to its iconic buildings and proud people. Here he found his renown as a photographer and his Australian nationality opened doors to interiors that may have otherwise been unseen. The photos you see here are from this trip.

 Within his series of photographs, there is a photo of Le Corbusier’s hand sculpture; a palm open to the wind, held like an Indian mudra. The monument was completed in 1985, twenty years after his death, and so was never seen by him. But the hand was a motif that was prominent throughout Le Corbusier’s life, a hand which to him symbolised “the hand to give and the hand to take.”

 We sat down in conversation with Ben a few months before he plans to go back to Chandigarh to finish this series of photographs, to talk about his impressions of the city, Le Corbusier’s work there and his experiences photographing this modernist city of hope.

SC: Tell me how you first came across Le Corbusier and his team’s work in Chandigarh?

 BH: It would’ve been over ten years ago now. One of my close friends who’s an architect, we were both at university so we were quite young, we would’ve been around twenty-two or twenty-three, and we were going through all of Le Corbusier’s work, and she had a poster that listed every single project of his.

 We were talking about his work and we planned a trip to India. We didn’t end up going but we had always planned on going once we graduated from university. I studied photography and she studied architecture and both of our worlds ended up colliding. But that was the initial fascination in seeing such a Euro-centric architect’s work in the East, not just Japan, which is still such a first world country. That was something that intrigued us at the time.

 It wasn’t until three or four years ago, I was still thinking about it, and I wanted to shoot some of his work, but I didn’t really want to go and do any of the well-known projects in Europe. Even as beautiful as they are and as important as they are, it didn’t really hold that much interest for me. Whereas a lot of his stuff in India, hadn’t been seen as much. Even though Chandigarh sets a precedent for urban planning in a good way and in a bad way, I think that was far more interesting.

 I started organising access to different places in Chandigarh and the southern city of Ahmedabad as well. I guess at that point it wasn’t really a reality but I’d already organised a lot of sites to through and meet different people there so I couldn’t really pull out by that point. I guess it was a double-edged sword, it was good in some ways and bad in others, because I ended up stuck there in the middle of summer where it was forty-five degrees and old people were kicking the bucket left, right and centre, so it was the worst time of year to go, but an amazing experience nonetheless.

 I think that was the initial attraction, it feels so long ago. I’ve planned on going back every year since, and I’ve got a flight this year, but I haven’t been back for two years.

 SC: So you started the series and you feel like you haven’t finished it?

 BH: There’s enough there – I’ve got the imagery in front of me, and there’s quite a lot. But I feel like I can …I’m not sure….it doesn’t feel quite there yet.

 SC: I can imagine, because there’s so much there – it’s a whole city. There is big architecture, monuments but even little things. I know that he even designed the sewerage covers and tourists rip them off and sell them on eBay.

BH: Everything’s been flogged off you know. Everything that’s small enough to move. There was a New York or LA Times article about all the government officials selling off the chairs to European auction firms. You can see the Jean Royère chairs for 40 or 50 thousand euros if they’re in good shape. And it’s quite an interesting experience because they can sense an opportunity there, and I mean, why wouldn’t you? I guess it depends on the way you value it. If they’ve lived in it or sat on those chairs their whole lives, they probably think they’re terribly uncomfortable, and they probably are!

 I can understand – it’s an office chair and they can buy a house for the same price. It’s opportunism, but I can kind of understand it at the same time. You can’t see a lot of those things anymore, because they’ve been flogged off or a lot of the Swiss or French market have gone in and bought it all. But the buildings are obviously still intact and a lot of them are in amazing shape.

 SC: Is that because they’re under a historic act to preserve it?

 BH: I think just before I photographed it, it was added to the UNESCO world heritage list. It might have been two or three months before that, that I went, so I knew it was happening. And I thought, maybe I should go before they change anything, because it would be policed in a very different way and you might not be able to gain access to any of it, in the same way you did before.

 I think it’s more that there isn’t the budget to change the buildings or put modern infrastructure in, not so much because it is highly valued in any way, and I don’t think it still is. I think that if it was anywhere else in the world, you’d still have all the sewerage covers and chairs and all the knick-knacks that Le Corbusier designed, would still be there and accounted for. I’m not sure what it is. No one’s really shown a great amount of interest in it till the last ten or fifteen years. Before that, without the internet, a lot of people didn’t know it existed, unless of course you’re an academic or an architecture professor or something like that. It flew under the radar.

 SC: Do you think the residents of Chandigarh have a sense of pride about it?

 BH: I think they do now, absolutely. And that’s only because of the recent interest, because you have professors leading school tours there throughout the course of the year. I think now they realise it’s of such significance, because I think it was Le Corbusier’s last project. I think he died towards the end of it and he got to oversee a lot of it. I think that because it’s considered such a clean city, the people of Chandigarh put a lot of pride in their city and the Punjab people in general.

   SC: Le Corbusier’s work is quite divisive, people either love it or hate it, and you mention that Chandigarh sets a precedent for urban planning in both a good way and a bad way. So, what from your point of view are the positive and negative aspects of Chandigarh?

 BH: I’ll start with the negative. I would say it is that there is so much security in and around the buildings and it feels very much like a police state. The officers and the army are just everywhere, and I can understand that due to the insurgence and tensions that surround it due to assassinations and that sort of thing. It feels very strange, despite being openly friendly. In an urbanism sense, it’s very difficult to get from point A to point B, and it just wasn’t a success because the public transport is terrible. You’re forced to get a car or a took-took and it’s terribly difficult to get anywhere, especially in summer where you can’t be out in the heat, even if it is a relatively green garden state. Way-finding is awful, and everything about getting around is incredibly hard.

 The positive aspect is that his work is scattered throughout the whole city and whatever projects weren’t his, he still had an influence on. You can still see his style and ethos reverberate through that. I would say that is the most positive aspect about it. Even just going to the art schools, or even offices, you can just walk straight in and everyone’s very open about that. I’m sure it would be different if I wasn’t a westerner, but you can go right in and benches are still there, a lot of his concrete floor work is in beautiful condition, and aspects of these buildings, you see the most mundane, inane looking objects, to the complete opposite in the High Court. That’s the most beautiful aspect of the city itself. In comparison to Brasilia or another city which is not so well preserved, I think it’s quite special.

 SC: Coming from a knowledge and understanding of architectural practice before you went there, what were you hoping or expecting to see, that became fulfilled when you were there?

 BH: I wasn’t expecting or hoping to see that much. I’d seen three or four projects so my expectations were relatively low. I didn’t understand the scale of it prior. It’s not until you’re there, you know – universities, schools, medical practices, everything is by him or his cousin Pierre Jeanneret. I didn’t actually have any high hopes of photographing any of it because of how heavily policed most of those buildings are. So, it was only really circumstance at the time. I took all my camera equipment with me, but there weren’t any pre-ordained plans to actually take it seriously. I had access to go and view it, but I didn’t think I was going to photograph it.

 SC: Was it hard to gain access in that respect or were they pretty open to you photographing?

 BH: I had to organise beforehand when I sent reference letters form university lecturers, and architects, basically signalling what I do and who I’ve worked for. Afterwards they were quite open to it. There’s a lot of bureaucracy in India so it took quite a lot of time to get things done, but after that it was fine.

 SC: When you talk before about how much security surrounds the city, you can see that in your images of the guards. Can you tell me about shooting them and what their reactions were?

  BH: I’m not sure if I should disclose this anywhere, but even though I had prior access, money did exchange hands with some of the guards to make it happen, such is the way. The guards that are in those photographs are from the High Court. It was very sensitive, as there was an upcoming election at that time for either the state of Punjab or Haryana – one side of the building is Punjab, the other side is Haryana. Because of a previous assassination in that building, there are guards everywhere, littered with AK47’s. I think that was from the independence movement of Punjab state from the 1980’s to early 2000’s, so that is why the guards are literally everywhere.

 But I think being a westerner you have certain freedoms that you wouldn’t have if you were Indian or Asian. The fact that I was Australian as well helps facilitate the process, because the cricket is absolutely massive, so as soon as you say you’re Australian it opens up doors, even though I have no interest in cricket, I made the most of it.

 One of the guards, who is up the top on the rooftop, was one of my guides through the building and he didn’t want me to take photos anywhere but by the time we got to the top, he kind of relaxed a little bit. That’s when I started shooting. I think he had a barbeque up the top there and left me on my own for a little while. There was one part which was the Parliament Sitting building and I wasn’t able to shoot anything in there, I had to hand over everything. I think that was the site where one of the ministers was killed or assassinated, so that’s probably why I wasn’t allowed to sit in the chairs there, which I can understand.

 SC: For me Chandigarh is such an interesting city, because at the time that it was built, it was made from the ashes of this horrific partition where millions died and millions were displaced. And then Nehru, as the first Prime Minister of Independent India after two hundred years of British rule, gave Le Corbusier and his team a directive to turn Chandigarh into this new capital city based on hope. The layout and architecture was meant to be unlike anything that had been before in India, and I was wondering what your feelings were personally witnessing these monuments, at this certain time of history?

 BH: When you talk about hope, I don’t necessarily see the ideology behind Le Corbusier’s work fitting in with that idea, but in terms of the architecture itself I would say that his certain brand of modernism is more appropriate for India than what it was anywhere else. Having these huge, concrete, monolithic structures that actually work incredibly well in that environment, but don’t necessarily entrance as they would in Berlin or Switzerland.

 But going back to when you talk about Nehru and that period, I never tend to feel overwhelmed by a building. There’s Gaudi in Barcelona, but never actually modern architecture. That was probably the first time I actually felt overwhelmed, going to Chandigarh and seeing the High Court and everything else. The sheer scale of it and the amount of work that’s gone into it as a city, it doesn’t even exist today – nothing’s come close to it. So, I would say it reflects that period really quite well, unlike anything else I’ve seen before. The monumentality of it all. I still think it’s incredibly relevant today.

  SC: When you talk about how suited it is for India, these monolithic concrete structures, do you mean in how it houses the population?

 BH: I guess more its environmental features. The concrete which is quite cooling in the shade. In that sun, it’s so stiflingly hot, and it would almost be fifteen degrees cooler in the shade, and its really quite cool inside. If you have that sort of building in Berlin in winter, it’s quite awful and it’s snowing outside. It’s perfect in a lot of ways for the West Asian climate, and that’s the first thing that you notice if you’re forced to walk around with all your camera equipment on the off chance that you might stumble upon something. You walk under the canopy of a building and you think ‘Thank God, we’re here.’

 SC: What was the building or monument there that really spoke to you?

 BH: I think it would be the High Court, the scale of it. It’s quite unbelievable seeing these tiny little figures as you walk along marshalling out the front, it feels very strange in comparison to this huge concrete building. I had to go there twice, because the first day I went they had a sitting day in court, a trial of some description, I think it was about corruption. So, I wasn’t allowed internally, so I had to organise another day to go inside, but I wasn’t allowed to photograph anything or anyone inside. I’m hoping if I persevere or push a little harder I may be allowed to photograph inside.

SC: So are you going back to just Chandigarh?

 BH: Maybe Ahmedabad as well, as there’s the Mill Owner’s Association Building there designed by Le Corbusier and which I’ve got some images of. It’s from all the old mills around Ahmedabad from when it was the textile epicentre of the world. There’s a private house there too. There’s a lot there, and there’s an architect called B.V Doshi who came from the same lineage of architects, so he has a lot of work in Ahmedabad as well.

 SC: What surprised you most about the city?

 BH: The amount of money – It’s quite an affluent city because of the huge parliament there, so you have all the political offspring and the university is one of the best in India as well. That’s quite apparent. I just thought it was normal, but because I went to Chandigarh first and then Mumbai and Ahmedabad second, it was only then I realised how different it was to the rest of India, and how clean it was. You can kind of see the pride in the city from everyone you meet. I got a sense of the hospitality of the Punjab people, and I don’t often say that – I’ve travelled through Asia for the better part of fifteen years now, and that was one of the things that stood out. I still get correspondence from Architecture students there and it felt quite wholesome. I think that’s lovely.

[aaronsniderus]

Tips for Real Estate Agents to Make Their Businesses Rank Better in Google and Other Search Engines

People often turn to the internet for everything from ordering pizza, to tracking their favorite teams and find out what the heck a bomb cyclone is. Zillow, Trulia and other sites have made it an increasingly viable tool for home buyers to at least begin their home search process before taking in-person tours. It makes sense for real estate agents to want to get in front of these home buyers to build a client base.

However, without some tips, how do you know if your web marketing is working for you? You can give your clients all the tips in the world about how to show a home, but you have to get them there first. Google and other search engines with their opaque algorithms can be intimidating beasts.

If the world of meta-tags, keywords and content marketing has you confused, you’re not alone. There are Fortune 500 companies constantly trying to figure out how to make something show up in search. Google, Bing and others guard their algorithms like the gold in Fort Knox. There’s good reason for this, too. If someone were to figure out exactly how search engines worked and fool them, high quality content might be pushed down in favor of info that wasn’t as good because the person who wrote it knew how to game the system.

While there’s no search engine silver bullet, we do know some things about what search engines are looking for to find the high quality content their users covet. What follows is a series of tips that should have your content headed to the top of page 1 in no time.

Make Sure Your Info Is Accurate

If you’ve ever searched online for a restaurant, florist or any number of other businesses, you’ll probably notice they have photos, their hours, reviews and even notes on when they’re busy. It comes up in an info box to the side of search results and looks a lot like this.

This is really nice and draws a ton of attention to your business if you can make it stand out with pictures of yourself, the exterior and possibly interior of your offices. There would also be a map to your location. So how do you get one of these?

You can go to Google My Business in order to claim your location and start filling out relevant details about your business. Now, when someone searches for that location on Google, they’ll get this handy search box that’s going to show you putting your best foot forward.

You should follow similar steps to claim your business on Yelp and the Yellow Pages.

Beyond these, you should search your own business, making sure that the online information is accurate and relevant. In many cases, if these are internet listings, you can edit your own address, phone number and email. If you’re mentioned on news sites or blogs run by another entity, a quick perusal of the website will often turn up the author or editor of the information and you can reach out.

Your listing should include at minimum:

Your name and the name of your business

Address

Business phone number

Business email address

Use Location-Specific Webpages

Real estate is all about location. No one knows the ins and outs of the areas and neighborhoods you cover better than you do. People looking for houses may only do so once a decade. You’re out there pounding the pavement every day.

With that in mind, if you cover several cities across a metro or county area, you should have specific webpages for each major area you cover on your site.

As an example, if I were to look at cities in the metro Detroit area, Ferndale or Royal Oak are much different areas from Dearborn or Redford, despite being within a relatively close distance to each other. You might choose to keep separate localized webpages or even dedicated sites. That way, if someone is searching for homes in those specific areas, your site comes up.

If you had your own site, you could have pages focusing on the different selling points of the area and you yourself as a real estate agent. For example:

Homes for sale in Royal Oak

Living in Royal Oak

Royal Oak real estate testimonials

Amanda Peters is one of our search specialists here at Quicken Loans. She says that every page should include a call to action.

“Let’s say you’re a real estate agent focused on the Ann Arbor, Michigan area,” she said. “The call to action under your Google result might be something like ‘Wondering what it would be like to live in Ann Arbor? Schedule a walk-through today!’”

Many real estate professionals are using some sort of content management system (CMS) for their website. When you set up a particular page, many of these systems will have plug-ins that will allow you to edit what comes up underneath your Google result, sometimes referred to as the “search snippet.” For example, you might search “WordPress search plug-ins.” If you don’t know which CMS you might be using, you can contact the person or organization who helped set you up with the site.

In addition to being in your search snippet, any calls to action that you have should also be prominent on your page. You want to be able to convert those eyeballs into leads who could eventually sign a contract to work with you.

Do Some Experimenting

If you want to get a little more advanced, companies do plenty of A/B testing on their sites. You can play around with where the calls to action are on your pages. If it’s just a link, does it work best at the top or bottom of the page? If it’s button copy, does it work best when the button is orange or blue? You can spend a lot of time on this stuff and you shouldn’t go too crazy, but if you’re having trouble getting people to convert after viewing your page, you might change up some things.

Keywords

Keywords are an important part of your strategy for rising up the rankings. The important thing to remember is if you’re writing on something like homes in Sterling Heights, it’s important to have the phrase “homes in Sterling Heights” near the top of the page in the first few paragraphs.

You’ll also want to cover other topics and keywords your potential clients might be searching for. How do you find those?

In this case, related searches are your friend. When you type in one inquiry into a search engine, the engine will auto populate other entries. This can be immensely useful in generating related topics for your pages. You can also find related searches at the bottom of the search results page.

If you phrase your inquiry in the form of a question, sometimes you’ll get a box with the questions people also ask. This can be helpful in generating ideas for blog posts, which we’ll get into below.

The one thing I will caution against is you don’t want to have keyword stuffing. That means putting the keyword in every sentence or even every paragraph doesn’t necessarily help you and may actually hurt you because Google doesn’t want people gaming the system. They can penalize you in search.

You don’t have to go out of your way to walk a keyword tight rope, but a good general guideline is to only mention the keyword where it would make sense if you were just having a conversation with someone about the topic. You wouldn’t say something like “Mountain Dew is my favorite soft drink because Mountain Dew has a refreshing lemon lime flavor.”

Mobile Friendly Sites

More and more web browsing is done on phones, particularly among millennial first-time home buyers. You’re going to want to make sure your site is mobile friendly and fast. If your page doesn’t load in the time the user expects it to, they tend to move on and there’s no sense letting them go to your competitors.

Just how fast is fast?

“Page load speed is huge, particularly on the phone or tablet,” said Peters. “People aren’t going to go microwave dinner while waiting for your page load. They’ll move on. Your page should load in three seconds or less, but you would like to see it under one-and-a-half seconds.”

What can you do to speed up page loading? Having your tech person or a webpage designer working on it may help. In general, make sure you’re loading versions of images that are optimized for digital. Without getting too technical, screen resolutions aren’t as high as what would be required for print. Therefore, you can get away with smaller file sizes, which will help speed up load times.

Google also has a PageSpeed Insights tool. It may be helpful to follow the recommendations.

Blog Posts

One way Google measures your site is if it’s regularly updated with high-quality content. One way you can do that is by writing blog posts on home buying and selling topics.

You can do a few things. Talk up the virtues of the areas you serve. It makes you look like you really know the area if you can talk about how good Air Margaritaville was during Music in the Park or speak highly of the fettuccine Alfredo at the best local Italian place.

The other cool thing to do is write about the topics in which your clients are interested. You’re in a unique position to know these things because you talk to clients on a daily basis. The other great way to find topics is to put a question in Google that you might write on and then look at the related questions as we did earlier.

The best thing about blog posts is that it’s a great way to get other sites to link to you and this is one of the best ways to get your search engine rank to increase quickly. One key indicator for Google is whether other sites link to you because it’s a sign that you have good content they’re interested in sharing with their group. You’re considered influential in your field.

So how do you get back links? You’ll have to do a little legwork, but there’s a method to the madness.

I recommend downloading the free MozBar extension for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, and creating a free account.

Now you’re going to want to do a Google search on a topic you plan on writing about like “buying a home in the winter.”

Once you have the extension, you’ll get a toolbar under each Google search results. Ideally, it would be good to get a link from any site with a domain authority (labeled DA in the extension) above 30.

It may be unlikely that sites like realtor.com or Trulia will link to you as an individual real estate agent, but there are plenty of great real estate blogs out there looking to share good, engaging content with their audience. Once you’ve identified several prospects, now it’s time to do outreach.

Try to find contact info for the authors of the articles you’re writing. Many times, the info for an author or editor can be found right on the site. Other good resources for finding contact info might be social media like Facebook or LinkedIn. However you do it, just try to get in front of the person and tell them how much you enjoy their site – a little flattery never hurt anyone. Maybe you throw in that you’ve read a few articles and that you really liked a particular one they wrote.

Then you can run through the fact that you’ve recently written a great article on buying a home in the winter that you think could benefit readers. Would they be willing to link to the page now or in the future as a resource? One thing that helps is if it adds something to the article that they don’t already have covered in their post.

Not every editor or author will say yes and they may not even respond, but if you get a few links for your articles, every little bit helps and if you do this for enough articles, you can steadily climb the online rankings.

Hopefully, those tips help you master the search engine game. Now it’s time to turn to social media marketing, just maybe not all in one day.

The post Tips for Real Estate Agents to Make Their Businesses Rank Better in Google and Other Search Engines appeared first on ZING Blog by Quicken Loans.

from Updates About Loans https://www.quickenloans.com/blog/tips-for-real-estate-agents-to-make-their-businesses-rank-better-in-google-and-other-search-engines

[mikebrackett]

Tips for Real Estate Agents to Make Their Businesses Rank Better in Google and Other Search Engines

People often turn to the internet for everything from ordering pizza, to tracking their favorite teams and find out what the heck a bomb cyclone is. Zillow, Trulia and other sites have made it an increasingly viable tool for home buyers to at least begin their home search process before taking in-person tours. It makes sense for real estate agents to want to get in front of these home buyers to build a client base.

However, without some tips, how do you know if your web marketing is working for you? You can give your clients all the tips in the world about how to show a home, but you have to get them there first. Google and other search engines with their opaque algorithms can be intimidating beasts.

If the world of meta-tags, keywords and content marketing has you confused, you’re not alone. There are Fortune 500 companies constantly trying to figure out how to make something show up in search. Google, Bing and others guard their algorithms like the gold in Fort Knox. There’s good reason for this, too. If someone were to figure out exactly how search engines worked and fool them, high quality content might be pushed down in favor of info that wasn’t as good because the person who wrote it knew how to game the system.

While there’s no search engine silver bullet, we do know some things about what search engines are looking for to find the high quality content their users covet. What follows is a series of tips that should have your content headed to the top of page 1 in no time.

Make Sure Your Info Is Accurate

If you’ve ever searched online for a restaurant, florist or any number of other businesses, you’ll probably notice they have photos, their hours, reviews and even notes on when they’re busy. It comes up in an info box to the side of search results and looks a lot like this.

This is really nice and draws a ton of attention to your business if you can make it stand out with pictures of yourself, the exterior and possibly interior of your offices. There would also be a map to your location. So how do you get one of these?

You can go to Google My Business in order to claim your location and start filling out relevant details about your business. Now, when someone searches for that location on Google, they’ll get this handy search box that’s going to show you putting your best foot forward.

You should follow similar steps to claim your business on Yelp and the Yellow Pages.

Beyond these, you should search your own business, making sure that the online information is accurate and relevant. In many cases, if these are internet listings, you can edit your own address, phone number and email. If you’re mentioned on news sites or blogs run by another entity, a quick perusal of the website will often turn up the author or editor of the information and you can reach out.

Your listing should include at minimum:

Your name and the name of your business

Address

Business phone number

Business email address

Use Location-Specific Webpages

Real estate is all about location. No one knows the ins and outs of the areas and neighborhoods you cover better than you do. People looking for houses may only do so once a decade. You’re out there pounding the pavement every day.

With that in mind, if you cover several cities across a metro or county area, you should have specific webpages for each major area you cover on your site.

As an example, if I were to look at cities in the metro Detroit area, Ferndale or Royal Oak are much different areas from Dearborn or Redford, despite being within a relatively close distance to each other. You might choose to keep separate localized webpages or even dedicated sites. That way, if someone is searching for homes in those specific areas, your site comes up.

If you had your own site, you could have pages focusing on the different selling points of the area and you yourself as a real estate agent. For example:

Homes for sale in Royal Oak

Living in Royal Oak

Royal Oak real estate testimonials

Amanda Peters is one of our search specialists here at Quicken Loans. She says that every page should include a call to action.

“Let’s say you’re a real estate agent focused on the Ann Arbor, Michigan area,” she said. “The call to action under your Google result might be something like ‘Wondering what it would be like to live in Ann Arbor? Schedule a walk-through today!’”

Many real estate professionals are using some sort of content management system (CMS) for their website. When you set up a particular page, many of these systems will have plug-ins that will allow you to edit what comes up underneath your Google result, sometimes referred to as the “search snippet.” For example, you might search “WordPress search plug-ins.” If you don’t know which CMS you might be using, you can contact the person or organization who helped set you up with the site.

In addition to being in your search snippet, any calls to action that you have should also be prominent on your page. You want to be able to convert those eyeballs into leads who could eventually sign a contract to work with you.

Do Some Experimenting

If you want to get a little more advanced, companies do plenty of A/B testing on their sites. You can play around with where the calls to action are on your pages. If it’s just a link, does it work best at the top or bottom of the page? If it’s button copy, does it work best when the button is orange or blue? You can spend a lot of time on this stuff and you shouldn’t go too crazy, but if you’re having trouble getting people to convert after viewing your page, you might change up some things.

Keywords

Keywords are an important part of your strategy for rising up the rankings. The important thing to remember is if you’re writing on something like homes in Sterling Heights, it’s important to have the phrase “homes in Sterling Heights” near the top of the page in the first few paragraphs.

You’ll also want to cover other topics and keywords your potential clients might be searching for. How do you find those?

In this case, related searches are your friend. When you type in one inquiry into a search engine, the engine will auto populate other entries. This can be immensely useful in generating related topics for your pages. You can also find related searches at the bottom of the search results page.

If you phrase your inquiry in the form of a question, sometimes you’ll get a box with the questions people also ask. This can be helpful in generating ideas for blog posts, which we’ll get into below.

The one thing I will caution against is you don’t want to have keyword stuffing. That means putting the keyword in every sentence or even every paragraph doesn’t necessarily help you and may actually hurt you because Google doesn’t want people gaming the system. They can penalize you in search.

You don’t have to go out of your way to walk a keyword tight rope, but a good general guideline is to only mention the keyword where it would make sense if you were just having a conversation with someone about the topic. You wouldn’t say something like “Mountain Dew is my favorite soft drink because Mountain Dew has a refreshing lemon lime flavor.”

Mobile Friendly Sites

More and more web browsing is done on phones, particularly among millennial first-time home buyers. You’re going to want to make sure your site is mobile friendly and fast. If your page doesn’t load in the time the user expects it to, they tend to move on and there’s no sense letting them go to your competitors.

Just how fast is fast?

“Page load speed is huge, particularly on the phone or tablet,” said Peters. “People aren’t going to go microwave dinner while waiting for your page load. They’ll move on. Your page should load in three seconds or less, but you would like to see it under one-and-a-half seconds.”

What can you do to speed up page loading? Having your tech person or a webpage designer working on it may help. In general, make sure you’re loading versions of images that are optimized for digital. Without getting too technical, screen resolutions aren’t as high as what would be required for print. Therefore, you can get away with smaller file sizes, which will help speed up load times.

Google also has a PageSpeed Insights tool. It may be helpful to follow the recommendations.

Blog Posts

One way Google measures your site is if it’s regularly updated with high-quality content. One way you can do that is by writing blog posts on home buying and selling topics.

You can do a few things. Talk up the virtues of the areas you serve. It makes you look like you really know the area if you can talk about how good Air Margaritaville was during Music in the Park or speak highly of the fettuccine Alfredo at the best local Italian place.

The other cool thing to do is write about the topics in which your clients are interested. You’re in a unique position to know these things because you talk to clients on a daily basis. The other great way to find topics is to put a question in Google that you might write on and then look at the related questions as we did earlier.

The best thing about blog posts is that it’s a great way to get other sites to link to you and this is one of the best ways to get your search engine rank to increase quickly. One key indicator for Google is whether other sites link to you because it’s a sign that you have good content they’re interested in sharing with their group. You’re considered influential in your field.

So how do you get back links? You’ll have to do a little legwork, but there’s a method to the madness.

I recommend downloading the free MozBar extension for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, and creating a free account.

Now you’re going to want to do a Google search on a topic you plan on writing about like “buying a home in the winter.”

Once you have the extension, you’ll get a toolbar under each Google search results. Ideally, it would be good to get a link from any site with a domain authority (labeled DA in the extension) above 30.

It may be unlikely that sites like realtor.com or Trulia will link to you as an individual real estate agent, but there are plenty of great real estate blogs out there looking to share good, engaging content with their audience. Once you’ve identified several prospects, now it’s time to do outreach.

Try to find contact info for the authors of the articles you’re writing. Many times, the info for an author or editor can be found right on the site. Other good resources for finding contact info might be social media like Facebook or LinkedIn. However you do it, just try to get in front of the person and tell them how much you enjoy their site – a little flattery never hurt anyone. Maybe you throw in that you’ve read a few articles and that you really liked a particular one they wrote.

Then you can run through the fact that you’ve recently written a great article on buying a home in the winter that you think could benefit readers. Would they be willing to link to the page now or in the future as a resource? One thing that helps is if it adds something to the article that they don’t already have covered in their post.

Not every editor or author will say yes and they may not even respond, but if you get a few links for your articles, every little bit helps and if you do this for enough articles, you can steadily climb the online rankings.

Hopefully, those tips help you master the search engine game. Now it’s time to turn to social media marketing, just maybe not all in one day.

The post Tips for Real Estate Agents to Make Their Businesses Rank Better in Google and Other Search Engines appeared first on ZING Blog by Quicken Loans.

from Updates About Loans https://www.quickenloans.com/blog/tips-for-real-estate-agents-to-make-their-businesses-rank-better-in-google-and-other-search-engines

[ljones41]

"THE GOOD SHEPHERD" (2006) Review

"THE GOOD SHEPHERD" (2006) Review As far as I know, Academy Award winning actor Robert De Niro has directed at least two movies during his long career. One of them was the 1992 movie, "A BRONX'S TALE", which I have yet to see. The other was the 2006 espionage epic called "THE GOOD SHEPHERD". 

Starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie, "THE GOOD SHEPHERD" told the fictionalized story about the birth of the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.) and counter-intelligence through the eyes of one man named Edward Wilson. Edward, the product of an East Coast aristocratic family and a C.I.A. official, has received an anonymous package during the spring of 1961. The famous C.I.A operation, the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba had just failed. Inside the package is a reel-to-reel tape that reveals two unidentifiable people engaged in sex. Suspecting that the tape might reveal leads to the failure behind the Cuban operation, Edward has the tape investigated. The results lead to a possibility that the operation's failure may have originated very close to home. During Edward's investigation of the reel tape and the failure behind the Bay of Pigs, the movie reveals the history of his personal life and his career in both the C.I.A. and the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) during World War II. Many film critics and historians believe that the Edward Wilson character in "THE GOOD SHEPHERD" is loosely based upon the lives and careers of American intelligence officers, James Jesus Angelton and Richard M. Bissell, Jr.. And there might be some truth in this observation. But if I must be frank, I was never really concerned if the movie was a loose biography of anyone associated with the C.I.A. My concerns mainly focused on whether "THE GOOD SHEPHERD" is a good movie. Mind you, I had a few quibbles with it, but in the end I thought it was an above-average movie that gave moviegoers a peek into the operations of the C.I.A. and this country's history between 1939 and 1961. It is a pity that "THE GOOD SHEPHERD" was marred by a handful of prominent flaws. It really had the potential to be a well-made and memorable film. One of the problems I had were most of the characters' emotional repression. Are we really supposed to believe that nearly every member of the upper-class in the country's Northeast region are incapable of expressing overt emotion? I am not claiming that the performances were bad. Frankly, I was very impress by the performances featured in the movie. But the idea of nearly every major character - especially those born with a silver spoon - barely speaking above an audible whisper, due to his or her priviledged background, strikes me as more of a cliché than interesting and/or original characterization. I never understood what led Edward to finally realize that the man he believed was the genuine KGB defector Valentin Mironov, was actually a double agent. He should have realized this when the real Mironov had arrived several years earlier. The circumstances that led Edward to seek evidence inside one of the fake defector's struck me as rather vague and far-reaching on screenwriter Eric Roth's part. My main problem with "THE GOOD SHEPHERD" was its pacing. It was simply TOO DAMN SLOW. The movie has an interesting story, but De Niro's snail-like pacing made it difficult for me to maintain my interest in one sitting. Thank goodness for DVDs. I feel that the only way to truly appreciate "THE GOOD SHEPHERD" without falling asleep is to watch a DVD copy in installments. However, thanks to Eric Roth's screenplay and Robert De Niro's direction, "THE GOOD SHEPHERD" offered plenty of scenes and moments to enjoy. The moment of seduction at a Skull and Bones gathering that led Edward into a loveless marriage with Margaret 'Clover' Russell struck me as fascinating. It was a moment filled with passion and sex. Yet, the circumstances - namely Margaret's pregnancy - forced Edward to give up a college love and marry a woman he did not truly love. I also enjoyed how De Niro and Roth used flashbacks to reveal the incidents in Edward's post-college life and C.I.A. career, while he persisted into his investigation of the mysterious tape in the movie's present day (1961). I was especially impressed by De Niro's smooth ability to handle the transition from the present, to the past and back without missing a beat. There were two scenes really stood out for me. One involved the Agency's interrogation of the real Soviet defector, Valentin Mironov. I found it brutal, somewhat bloody and rather tragic in a perverse way. The other scene featured a loud and emotional quarrel between Edward and Margaret over the latter's demand that Edward should convince his son not to join the C.I.A. What made this quarrel interesting is that after twenty years of a quiet and repressive marriage, the two finally revealed their true feelings for each other. But the best aspect of "THE GOOD SHEPHERD" was its depiction of how a decent, yet flawed man had allowed his work in intelligence and his position of power within the intelligence community warp his character. The higher Edward rose within the ranks of the C.I.A., the more he distanced himself from his family with his lies and secrets, and the more he was willing to corrupt himself in the name of national security . . . even to the extent of disrupting his son's chance for happiness. "THE GOOD SHEPHERD" must be one of the few large-scale movie productions, whose photography and production designs failed to give the impression of an epic. I found Robert Richardson's photography rather limited, despite the numerous settings featured in the plot. So much of the movie's scenes featured an interior setting. Yet, even most of the exterior scenes seemed to reflect a limited view. In the end, it was up to the movie's 167 minute running time and 22 years time span that gave "THE GOOD SHEPHERD" an epic feel to it. Robert De Niro and the casting team did a pretty good job in their selection of the cast. The only one I had a problem with was actor Lee Pace, who portrayed a fictionalized version of C.I.A. director Richard Helms named . . . Richard Hayes. I have always viewed Pace as an outstanding actor, but he spent most of his scenes smirking on the sidelines or making slightly insidious comments to the Edward Wilson character. I believe Roth's screenplay had failed to give substance to his role. But there were plenty of other good supporting performances. I was especially impressed by Oleg Shtefanko's subtle, yet insidious portryal of Edward's KGB counterpart, Stas Siyanko aka Ulysses. Director Robert De Niro, John Sessions, Alec Baldwin, William Hurt, Billy Crudup, Joe Pesci, Gabriel Macht and Tammy Blanchard all gave solid performances. Eddie Redmayne held his own with both Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie as the Wilsons' intimidated and resentful son, Edward Wilson, Junior.  Michael Gambon was his usual competent self as an MI-6 spymaster named Dr. Fredricks. Gambon was also lucky to give one of the best lines in the movie. At least three performances impressed me. John Tuturro was very memorable as Edward's tough and ruthless deputy, Ray Brocco. For once, De Niro's insistence upon minimalist acting worked very well in Tuturro's favor. The actor did an excellent job in portraying Brocco's aggression with a very subtle performance, producing an interesting contrast in the character's personality. I realize that Angelina Jolie had won her Oscar for "GIRL, INTERRUPTED", a movie that had been released at least seven years before "THE GOOD SHEPHERD". But I sincerely believe that her portrayal of Edward's long suffering wife, Margaret, was the first role in which she truly impressed me. She tossed away her usual habits and little tricks in order to give a very mature and subtle performance as a woman slowly sinking under the weight of a loveless and repressive marriage. And I believe that Jolie has not looked back, since. The task of carrying the 167-minute film fell upon the shoulders of Matt Damon and as usual, he was more than up to the job. And while there were times when his performance seemed a bit too subtle, I cannot deny that he did a superb job of developing the Edward Wilson character from a privileged , yet inexperienced college student to a mature and emotionally repressed man who was willing to live with the negative aspects of his profession. I do not believe that "THE GOOD SHEPHERD" will ever be considered as a great film. It has a small number of flaws, but those flaws were not as minor as they should have been - especially the slow pacing that threatened to put me to sleep. But I cannot deny it is damn good movie, thanks to Robert De Niro's direction, Eric Roth's screenplay and a talented cast led by Matt Damon. Five years have passed since its release. It seems a pity that De Niro has not directed a movie since.

[motivatingspeech]

The Story Of Tommy Hilfiger: 15 Things You Didn't Know About Tommy Hilfiger

  The Story Of Tommy Hilfiger: An American fashion designer and Founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. 

Tommy Hilfiger was born on March 24th, 1951 as Thomas Jacob Hilfiger in Elmira, New York to jeweler Richard and Nurse Virginia. He was the second born of nine children and was raised a Catholic since launching. His namesake brand in 1985, Tommy Hilfiger has become globally renowned as the pioneer of classic American cool style. Inspired by iconic pop culture and American heritage, the designer and his brand are driven by an ever-optimistic vision to break conventions and celebrate individuality. Today, under Hilfiger’s guidance vision and leadership as principal designer, Tommy Hilfiger is one of the world's most recognized lifestyle brands that, shares its inclusive and youthful spirit with consumers worldwide. In fact, for a period of time, the very colors red white and blue were synonymous with the designer. He pioneered courting hip-hop artists in time before it was common practice, extending his brands reach even further.  

15 Things You Didn't Know About Tommy Hilfiger

1. As a child, Tommy Hilfiger Suffered From Dyslexia. In an interview discussing his book American dreamer, he elaborated on his childhood struggle with reading. He says he just had to learn how to read differently. Saying, he cured himself. It’s not like he took medication or went to a specialist. He says, he forced himself to read each word as it presented itself rather than attempting to speed read like an average person. 2. Tommy Hilfiger Never Went To Design School He began experimenting with design in the early 70s. At the age of 18, he opened a store called the people’s place in Almira, Washington that sold hippie, supplies like bell-bottoms, incense, and Records. Wildly successful at first, Hilfiger soon had a chain of stores and a six-figure income but a downturn in the economy hit his business hard and he filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1977. That setback only motivated him to work harder. He’s quoted as saying: “I forced myself to learn the nuts and bolts of the business and not solely on the creative side. I got hyper-focused on it. I learned how to read a balance sheet, I figured out how to control expenses and figured out a way to build a business on a shoestring budget. In school, they teach you through case studies of other companies…I had my case study.” 3. He was fired from Jordache after only working one year in 1976. Hilfiger fell in love with Susie, an employee at one of his stores. The couple married and moved to Manhattan shortly after the bankruptcy. they were hired as a husband-and-wife design team by the apparel brand 'Jordache' but were fired after only one year Hilfiger developed a reputation as a hard-working, young designer and was considered for jobs at Perry Ellis and Calvin Klein, what he really wanted though was his own label. 4. He got his chance to launch that brand in 1984. Hilfiger was approached by Indian entrepreneur Mohan Moorjani, who was looking for a designer to head a men’s sportswear line. Moorjani allowed Hilfiger to design the label under his own name. Stealing the deal, the pair announced Hilfiger's arrival onto the scene with a blitz marketing campaign that included a bold billboard in New York City's Times Square, announcing Hilfiger as the next big thing in American fashion. In fact, Hilfiger told a reporter in 1986, that he thought he was the next great American designer, the next Ralph Lauren or Calvin Klein. 5. Tommy Hilfiger has an estimated net worth of over 450 million dollars. It was in 1984, when Tommy Hilfiger Corporation was launched. In 1992, the company went public Hilfiger, sales went up and up from 107 million dollars in 1992 to 138 million dollars in 1993 and 227 million in 1994. By the mid-1990s they were close to 500 Tommy Hilfiger sections within department stores. About half the company's revenues came from sales at three big department store chains. As of 2004 the company already had more than 5,400 employees and was earning an annual revenue of more than 1.5 billion dollars. However, over time the company sales began to decline, which led Hilfiger to sell the company to the private investment firm Apax Partners for 1.6 billion dollars. And in March 2010, he sold Tommy Hilfiger Corporation to the owner of Calvin Klein Corporation Phillips van Heusen for three billion dollars. 6. The first-ever Tommy Hilfiger campaign was legendary. The line of Tommy Hilfiger clothing debuted in the fall of 1985 with an ad campaign that featured no clothes but declared that Hilfiger was the designer on par with Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis, and Calvin Klein. The ads did little more than inserting Hilfiger's name in the pantheon. Yet, this was somehow effective. The brashness of the strategy attracted attention in the fashion industry and caused comment by Johnny Carson and other notable people. The first ads were centered on New York City, using print and outdoor media. By 1987, the Hilfiger line was attracting more national attention with advertisements in people. USA Today, GQ, Sports Illustrated and other publications. The entire advertising budget for Hilfiger clothing was only 1.4 million dollars and ads appeared infrequently. However, they sure did make a splash with double-page spreads and because they featured words, logos or Hilfiger space, and no images of clothes or models they stood out from other fashion advertisements. George Louis, who helped create the ads for the firm Louis, Pitts, GGK, claimed in a March 1988 marketing and media decisions article, that he could not make Hilfiger's clothes look any better than anyone else’s, and therefore the ads sold an idea and not a particular fashion. According to one survey, after only two years of his ads, Hilfiger had succeeded in convincing 68% of sampled New Yorkers to name him as one of the top four or five important designers. 7. He received the title of the menswear designer of the year. In 1995 he received the title of menswear designer of the year, which was conferred by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. His once skeptical peers recognized him as one of the best. Hilfiger made a name for himself by prominently putting his name and logo on his clothes and marketing them to urban youth in a way that other American designers had not done. He harnessed a diverse following of consumers with his oversized, street style sportswear and relaxed all-American style of jeans, khakis, and polos, that began to be taken at the end of the 20th century. And to keep that name and logo prominent, Hilfiger invested a great deal in advertising. And the packaging of the product has surpassed any originality in the clothes themselves. He has raised the bar for fashion merchandising and image branding that has come to define American fashion. 8. He was a mentor to Sean Combs’ brand Sean John. When Hilfiger was asked if he had any regrets of helping Sean Combs’ build his business, only to have it take away market share from him, he said, “I’ve always been a mentor to younger designers and people who have asked me for my advice… I also think what’s meant to be was meant to be... I was happy to help young people, who come to me for advice... many people helped me along the way...” 9. He briefly shortened his brand name to Tommy Hill. This was back when he first established the company, but his business partner at the time, Mohan Murjani, convinced him to stick with his full surname to stand out in the business. Seems like that was great advice to follow. :D 10. He’s been accused of copying Ralph Lauren. From the outset, Hilfiger has been compared to Ralph Lauren. He has been criticized for copying Lauren's preppy style but gearing his signature: red, white and blue styles toward a younger market at more popular prices, Hilfiger, like Lauren has appeared in advertisements for his clothing line. Both men have used the American flag as an important marketing tool. Hilfiger has also replicated Lauren's business model. Even, employing former Lauren executives, to help build Tommy Hilfiger, which Hilfiger with backing from Silas Chow and Lauren's novel enterprises, bought from Murjani in 1989. Chow, then incorporated Tommy Hilfiger in Hong Kong following Lauren’s lead in lifestyle merchandising. Hilfiger expanded his franchise by opening a number of stores, whose interiors reflect the all-American-ness his clothing by signing licensing agreements around the world and by offering a range of lines such as underclothing, accessories, fragrances, home décor, designer jeans, women's wear, children's wear, and a higher-end menswear collection. Hilfiger spent fifteen million dollars in advertising to launch his men's fragrance “Tommy”, in 1995. Which at the time was the most money spent on a campaign for men’s fragrances. 11. The brand suffered major declines in the early 2000s. Around the year 2000, his professional success began to dwindle down as he started suffering from financial troubles. His designs started losing their popularity with the hip-hop artists and sales went down by 75%. Tommy may have rested on his red white and blue laurels for too long at the time, because trendier brands like FUBU, dominated urban fashion. While Tommy’s clothes build bargain bins at Bloomingdale’s and Macy's. Hilfiger tried a host of makeover strategies that didn’t work. A women's sportswear collection failed miserably. Sponsorships of Mary J Blige and Sheryl Crow concerts didn’t sell more Capri pants. And while one of its new fragrances performed well, it didn't turn around the company. Though, Hilfiger’s impressive growth had slowed dramatically from the 1990s. The company remained a popular and well-known brand. Along with traditional advertising, the company chose to tout its image using unique methods, including the purchase of the sponsorship rights to Long Island’s Jones Beach Theater, one of the most successful amphitheaters in the United States. and the sponsorship of a 50-foot sailing vessel, the ship was named the Tommy Hilfiger freedom America yacht and would be racing in the challenging 27,000-mile 9-month endurance alone around race, that would launch in New York City in September of 2002. For Tommy Hilfiger Corp., remaining afloat of the highly competitive ever-changing fashion industry would no doubt prove to be just as challenging. 12. Tommy Hilfiger has partnered with supermodel Gigi Hadid. Now going into their collection the collaboration between these two fashion forces has been a blast. The partnership has been equally beneficial for both of them. Gigi Hadid may have helped Tommy Hilfiger sell more bomber jackets, sweaters, and sailor outfits, but their partnership has apparently also been good for the supermodel. The designer said Hadid's social media following has grown exponentially since joining the brand. Hadid, has more than 48 million followers on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook today, more than twice the number she had before their collaboration. 13. He is leading the charge of inventory lists showrooms. Located at its global headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the digital showroom revolutionizes the sales experience for retailers by offering them a more engaging and seamless buying approach. The interactive system blends collection information, sales tools and brand content in one seamless touchscreen interface. Hilfiger told the Post that we don't have showrooms packed with clothes anymore. 13 of his 40 showrooms across the world are equipped with the IMAX Theater like technology and iPads, which show off his collection to buyers. The centerpiece of the digital showroom is an interactive 0.5 m x 1 m touchscreen table, set in a sleek walnut frame that connects to a four-meter high wall to a wall grid of ultra-high-definition 4k screens. Customers can digitally view every item in the Tommy Hilfiger sportswear and Hilfiger denim seasonal collections and create custom orders all with product categories laid out across a single screen. They can view head to toe key looks, zoom in with incredible detail to see unique design features and click on a garment for specific information, such as color offerings and size ranges.   14. Tommy Hilfiger is launching clothing for adults with disabilities. After releasing multiple adaptive clothing collections for children last year the brand is adding a range for adults 37 men's and 34 women styles with modifications like Velcro closures, magnetic flies and adjusted leg openings to make it easier for people of all abilities to get dressed. Tommy Hilfiger collaborated with Magna ready and runway of dreams, a nonprofit that works to broaden clothing options for people with disabilities. 15. Tommy Hilfiger now serves as an ambassador for the brand and doesn’t have all the design responsibilities. He's quoted as saying I'm busier than I've ever been and I'm happier than I've ever been. I don't have the burden of all the day-to-day business... I feel that our leadership is better than ever and is as strong as any leadership in the entire industry... Daniel Grider who's the global CEO is leading the charge and believes very strongly in social media, and being on the edge from a technology standpoint that is one of the reasons why we’ve continued global growth it takes a very special person to have that vision. He’s very strong and confident in making decisions that keep us on the edge of technology. A Bonus fact of Tommy Hilfiger: Tommy Hilfiger used to hand out free clothing according to Ralph McDaniel’s, the creator of Video Music Box. Tommy Hilfiger would show up in predominantly black neighborhoods and open up a trunk with clothes and hand them out. It makes the malicious rumor that the designer doesn't like black people, wearing his clothes look even more ridiculous. Hilfiger's shrewd marketing move paid off big-time, as people who receive free clothing only ended up wanting more of it. McDaniel adds that it was like a drug dealer giving you a free hit. Suddenly, people started purchasing their own Hilfiger, including 90s icons, that made the label a staple in the hip-hop community. Hilfiger famously ended up on the backs of 90 stars like Snopp Dogg, Raekwon and more... Read the full article