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[theanarchistscookbook]

No Copyright Law: The Real Reason for Germany's Industrial Expansion

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No Copyright Law

The Real Reason for Germany's Industrial Expansion?

Did Germany experience rapid industrial expansion in the 19th century due to an absence of copyright law? A German historian argues that the massive proliferation of books, and thus knowledge, laid the foundation for the country's industrial might.

Von Frank Thadeusz

18.08.2010, 16.52 Uhr

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The entire country seemed to be obsessed with reading. The sudden passion for books struck even booksellers as strange and in 1836 led literary critic Wolfgang Menzel to declare Germans "a people of poets and thinkers."

"That famous phrase is completely misconstrued," declares economic historian Eckhard Höffner, 44. "It refers not to literary greats such as Goethe and Schiller," he explains, "but to the fact that an incomparable mass of reading material was being produced in Germany."

Höffner has researched that early heyday of printed material in Germany and reached a surprising conclusion -- unlike neighboring England and France, Germany experienced an unparalleled explosion of knowledge in the 19th century.

German authors during this period wrote ceaselessly. Around 14,000 new publications appeared in a single year in 1843. Measured against population numbers at the time, this reaches nearly today's level. And although novels were published as well, the majority of the works were academic papers.

The situation in England was very different. "For the period of the Enlightenment and bourgeois emancipation, we see deplorable progress in Great Britain," Höffner states.

Equally Developed Industrial Nation

Indeed, only 1,000 new works appeared annually in England at that time -- 10 times fewer than in Germany -- and this was not without consequences. Höffner believes it was the chronically weak book market that caused England, the colonial power, to fritter away its head start within the span of a century, while the underdeveloped agrarian state of Germany caught up rapidly, becoming an equally developed industrial nation by 1900.

Even more startling is the factor Höffner believes caused this development -- in his view, it was none other than copyright law, which was established early in Great Britain, in 1710, that crippled the world of knowledge in the United Kingdom.

Germany, on the other hand, didn't bother with the concept of copyright for a long time. Prussia, then by far Germany's biggest state, introduced a copyright law in 1837, but Germany's continued division into small states meant that it was hardly possible to enforce the law throughout the empire.

Höffner's diligent research is the first academic work to examine the effects of the copyright over a comparatively long period of time and based on a direct comparison between two countries, and his findings have caused a stir among academics. Until now, copyright was seen as a great achievement and a guarantee for a flourishing book market. Authors are only motivated to write, runs the conventional belief, if they know their rights will be protected.

Yet a historical comparison, at least, reaches a different conclusion. Publishers in England exploited their monopoly shamelessly. New discoveries were generally published in limited editions of at most 750 copies and sold at a price that often exceeded the weekly salary of an educated worker.

London's most prominent publishers made very good money with this system, some driving around the city in gilt carriages. Their customers were the wealthy and the nobility, and their books regarded as pure luxury goods. In the few libraries that did exist, the valuable volumes were chained to the shelves to protect them from potential thieves.

In Germany during the same period, publishers had plagiarizers -- who could reprint each new publication and sell it cheaply without fear of punishment -- breathing down their necks. Successful publishers were the ones who took a sophisticated approach in reaction to these copycats and devised a form of publication still common today, issuing fancy editions for their wealthy customers and low-priced paperbacks for the masses.

A Multitude of Treatises

This created a book market very different from the one found in England. Bestsellers and academic works were introduced to the German public in large numbers and at extremely low prices. "So many thousands of people in the most hidden corners of Germany, who could not have thought of buying books due to the expensive prices, have put together, little by little, a small library of reprints," the historian Heinrich Bensen wrote enthusiastically at the time.

The prospect of a wide readership motivated scientists in particular to publish the results of their research. In Höffner's analysis, "a completely new form of imparting knowledge established itself."

Essentially the only method for disseminating new knowledge that people of that period had known was verbal instruction from a master or scholar at a university. Now, suddenly, a multitude of high-level treatises circulated throughout the country.

The "Literature Newspaper" reported in 1826 that "the majority of works concern natural objects of all types and especially the practical application of nature studies in medicine, industry, agriculture, etc." Scholars in Germany churned out tracts and handbooks on topics such as chemistry, mechanics, engineering, optics and the production of steel.

In England during the same period, an elite circle indulged in a classical educational canon centered more on literature, philosophy, theology, languages and historiography. Practical instruction manuals of the type being mass-produced in Germany, on topics from constructing dikes to planting grain, were for the most part lacking in England. "In Great Britain, people were dependent on the medieval method of hearsay for the dissemination of this useful, modern knowledge," Höffner explains.

The German proliferation of knowledge created a curious situation that hardly anyone is likely to have noticed at the time. Sigismund Hermbstädt, for example, a chemistry and pharmacy professor in Berlin, who has long since disappeared into the oblivion of history, earned more royalties for his "Principles of Leather Tanning" published in 1806 than British author Mary Shelley did for her horror novel "Frankenstein," which is still famous today.

'Lively Scholarly Discourse'

The trade in technical literature was so strong that publishers constantly worried about having a large enough supply, and this situation gave even the less talented scientific authors a good bargaining position in relation to publishers. Many professors supplemented their salaries with substantial additional income from the publication of handbooks and informational brochures.

Höffner explains that this "lively scholarly discourse" laid the basis for the Gründerzeit, or foundation period, the term used to describe the rapid industrial expansion in Germany in the late 19th century. The period produced later industrial magnates such as Alfred Krupp and Werner von Siemens.

The market for scientific literature didn't collapse even as copyright law gradually became established in Germany in the 1840s. German publishers did, however, react to the new situation in a restrictive way reminiscent of their British colleagues, cranking up prices and doing away with the low-price market.

Authors, now guaranteed the rights to their own works, were often annoyed by this development. Heinrich Heine, for example, wrote to his publisher Julius Campe on October 24, 1854, in a rather acerbic mood: "Due to the tremendously high prices you have established, I will hardly see a second edition of the book anytime soon. But you must set lower prices, dear Campe, for otherwise I really don't see why I was so lenient with my material interests."

[reasoningdaily]

Children still mining cobalt for gadget batteries in Congo

A CBS News investigation of child labor in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo has revealed that tens of thousands of children are growing up without a childhood today – two years after a damning Amnesty report about human rights abuses in the cobalt trade was published. The Amnesty report first revealed that cobalt mined by children was ending up in products from prominent tech companies including Apple, Microsoft, Tesla and Samsung. 

There's such sensitivity around cobalt mining in the DRC that a CBS News team traveling there recently was stopped every few hundred feet while moving along dirt roads and seeing children digging for cobalt. From as young as 4 years old, children can pick cobalt out of a pile, and even those too young to work spend much of the day breathing in toxic fumes.

What's life like for kids mining cobalt for our gadgets?

So, what exactly is cobalt, and what are the health risks for those who work in the DRC's cobalt mining industry?

What is cobalt?

Cobalt – a naturally occurring element –  is a critical component in lithium-ion, rechargeable batteries. In recent years, the growing global market for portable electronic devices and rechargeable batteries has fueled demand for its extraction, Amnesty said in its 2016 report. In fact, many top electronic and electric vehicle companies need cobalt to help power their products.

The element is found in other products as well.

"Cobalt-containing products include corrosion and heat-resistant alloys, hard metal (cobalt-tungsten-carbide alloy), magnets, grinding and cutting tools, pigments, paints, colored glass, surgical implants, catalysts, batteries, and cobalt-coated metal (from electroplating)," says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More than half of the world's supply of cobalt comes from the DRC, and 20 percent of that is mined by hand, according to Darton Commodities Ltd., a London-based research company that specializes in cobalt.  

Health risks of chronic exposure 

According to the CDC, "chronic exposure to cobalt-containing hard metal (dust or fume) can result in a serious lung disease called 'hard metal lung disease'" – a kind of pneumoconiosis, meaning a lung disease caused by inhaling dust particles. Inhalation of cobalt particles can cause respiratory sensitization, asthma, decreased pulmonary function and shortness of breath, the CDC says.

The health agency says skin contact is also a significant health concern "because dermal exposures to hard metal and cobalt salts can result in significant systemic uptake." 

"Sustained exposures can cause skin sensitization, which may result in eruptions of contact dermatitis," a red, itchy skin rash, the CDC says.

Despite the health risks, researchers with Amnesty International found that most cobalt miners in Congo lack basic protective equipment like face masks, work clothing and gloves. Many of the miners the organization spoke with for its 2016 report – 90 people in total who work, or worked, in the mines – complained of frequent coughing or lung problems. Cobalt mining's dangerous impact on workers and the environment

Some women complained about the physical nature of the work, with one describing hauling 110-pound sacks of cobalt ore. "We all have problems with our lungs, and pain all over our bodies," the woman said, according to Amnesty.

Moreover, miners said unsupported mining tunnels frequently give way, and that accidents are common.  

Miners know their work is dangerous, Todd C. Frankel wrote late last month in The Washington Post. 

"But what's less understood are the environmental health risks posed by the extensive mining," he reported. "Southern Congo holds not only vast deposits of cobalt and copper but also uranium. Scientists have recorded alarming radioactivity levels in some mining regions. Mining waste often pollutes rivers and drinking water. The dust from the pulverized rock is known to cause breathing problems. The mining industry's toxic fallout is only now being studied by researchers, mostly in Lubumbashi, the country's mining capital."

"These job are really desired"

Despite the dangers and risks of working as miners in the cobalt industry, at least of the some miners in the Congo "love their jobs," according to Frankel.

"When I talked to the miners there, none of them want to lose their jobs or give up their jobs. They love their jobs," Frankel said Tuesday, speaking on CBSN. "In a country like Congo, mining is one of the few decently paying jobs to be had there, and so they want to hold onto these jobs."

They also want fair treatment, decent pay, and some safety, "and they would love for their kids to not work in the mines," he said.

"It's a poverty problem," Frankel said. "These parents I talked to – they don't want their kids working in these mines. The problem is that their school fees – schools cost money, and you know, food costs money, and they sort of need their kids to work in there."

Poverty also drives children into the mines instead of school – an estimated 40,000 of them work in brutal conditions starting at very young ages.

The thousands of miners who work in tunnels searching for cobalt in the country "do it because they live in one of the poorest countries in the world, and cobalt is valuable," Frankel wrote in the Washington Post article.

"Not doing enough" 

CBS News spoke with some of the companies that use cobalt in their lithium-ion batteries. All of the companies acknowledged problems with the supply chain, but said they require suppliers to follow responsible sourcing guidelines. Apple, an industry leader in the fight for responsible sourcing, said walking away from the DRC "would do nothing to improve conditions for the people or the environment."

Read company responses here

Amnesty said in November, however, that "major electronics and electric vehicle companies are still not doing enough to stop human rights abuses entering their cobalt supply chains." 

"As demand for rechargeable batteries grows, companies have a responsibility to prove that they are not profiting from the misery of miners working in terrible conditions in the DRC," the organization said. "The energy solutions of the future must not be built on human rights abuses."

An estimated two-thirds of children in the region of the DRC that CBS News visited recently are not in school. They're working in mines instead. 

CBS News' Debora Patta spoke with an 11-year-old boy, Ziki Swaze, who has no idea how to read or write but is an expert in washing cobalt. Every evening, he returns home with a dollar or two to provide for his family.

"I have to go and work there," he told Patta, "because my grandma has a bad leg and she can't."

He said he dreams of going to school, but has always had to work instead.

"I feel very bad because I can see my friends going to school, and I am struggling," he said.

Amnesty says "it is widely recognized internationally that the involvement of children in mining constitutes one of the worst forms of child labour, which governments are required to prohibit and eliminate."

[hedgewitchgarden]

Pamela Colman Smith. Image in the public domain.

She’s the world’s most famous occult artist but her name is almost unknown.

Such is the enigma of Pamela Colman Smith (1878–1951), an early 20th-century artist, writer, and mystic. Smith created dreamy, Symbolist-inspired watercolors that won her acclaim in her youth, including three successful exhibitions at Alfred Stieglitz’s famed New York gallery, 291, where she was the first non-photographic artist to have a show.

She was also an intimate friend of Dracula writer Bram Stoker, poet William Butler Yeats, and the actress and artistic muse Ellen Terry, for whom Smith designed illustrations and stage sets. 

However, Smith’s most lasting artistic contribution was undoubtedly her designs for the Rider-Waite tarot deck. Made in collaboration with mystic and scholar A.E. Waite, Smith created the Art-Nouveau-inspired imagery of mythical archetypes set against luminous monochromatic backgrounds. Released in 1909, the deck is now regarded as the standard set, with more than 100 million copies in circulation. Smith’s imagery has become synonymous with tarot itself.

And yet, for more than a century, Smith went wholly uncredited for her contribution. Her claim to the deck was only cemented by her iconic serpentine signature, a monogram she created while studying Japanese design, and which she embedded into the decoration for every Tarot card.

“Tarot is a visual device—and yet the visual artist who composed them was eclipsed by Waite, the scholar, and Rider, the manufacturer,” said Micki Pellerano, a New York-based artist, astrologer, and scholar of occult history, “Academics, with all their inertia and corporatism, are somehow more palatable to the public and valuable to the market than artistry and vision… little has changed.”  

But Smith has slowly been gaining recognition. The exhibition “At the Dawn of a New Age: Early Twentieth-Century American Modernism,” currently on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art, features an entire vintage set of the Rider-Waite tarot deck with attribution to Smith alongside The Wave, a luminous 1903 watercolor and ink drawing in the museum’s collection. The artist’s place in art history is still forming, however, and her contributions are more complex than a simple story of rediscovery.  

Pamela Becomes Pixie

Born in London to upper-class American parents, Smith moved through a sophisticated and cultured circle, spending her childhood in New York and then Jamaica, where she would be profoundly shaped by that nation’s folkloric history. Smith returned to New York in 1893, enrolling in Pratt Institute, though she would leave after two years to pursue her own interests, then returning to London following the death of her mother.

She was deeply involved in the literary world and her early accomplishments include the illustrations for a volume of verses by William Butler Yeats (1898), as well as the publication of her own writing, Annancy Stories, a collection of Jamaican folktales, and Widdicombe Fair, an illustrated version of a popular English folk melody. 

By 1901, she had established a weekly salon at her London studio and apartment, and she started her own journal, The Green Sheaf, which she edited as well as contributing her own poems and illustrations. She devoted herself to miniature theater as well, constructing dazzling and diminutive stage sets for toy performances. 

The Annancy Stories particularly won Smith admirers and a bit of notoriety. Smith toyed with gender conventions, granting the women characters in these stories more agency, and sometimes making the gender of the characters ambiguous. She’d also written these stories in Jamaican patois, with which she was familiar from her childhood—an unconventional decision at the time. 

Smith was familiarly known as Pixie, a nickname bestowed on her by Ellen Terry and which captured something of her undefinable, impish spirit. Smith was often known to wear flowing robes, and occasionally pants, and her self-styling welcomed all sorts of speculation. “She adopted native costumes and wore feathers in her hair and colorful ribbons. It was almost like a self-constructed persona that she adopted,” explained Barbara Haskell, curator of the Whitney exhibition, in a phone interview.  

Her sexual orientation and her ethnic makeup also sparked curiosity. She lived for many years with Nora Lake, her companion and business partner, with whom she may have shared a romantic relationship. Others have speculated that Smith was of biracial descent, with an English American father and a mother of either Jamaican or East Asian ancestry—although not much evidence exists to lead to any decisive conclusions on the matter. What was certain is that Smith was regarded as “other” by those around her and which in turn inspired her approach to art-making. 

Early Fame and Acclaim 

In 1907, Smith had her first exhibition at 291, featuring 72 watercolor paintings. These works were partially inspired by Smith’s own synesthesia, in which she experienced visual sensations set off by auditory impulses (her first synesthetic experience occurred while listening to Bach). She organized her works for the show with overtly musical references, such as overtures, sonatas, and concertos. 

“In the 19th century, there was an idea that art was an expression of the unconscious and that it would elicit unconscious non-rational ways of thinking about the world,” Haskell said. “Smith would paint while listening to music as a way to unleash her unconscious, which would have fit Stieglitz’s mission at that point.”

This first exhibition was a commercial hit and Smith would have two more shows at the gallery in the following few years. Eleven of her unsold paintings and drawings remained in the collection of Stieglitz and Georgia O’Keeffe. Eventually, however, Stieglitz would turn to a more masculine vision of Modernism, leaving Smith somewhat disheartened. 

The Embrace of the Occult

From early in her life, Smith’s spiritual beliefs were oriented toward the esoteric and arcane. She had been raised a Swedenborgian, a mystical denomination of Christianity, and, as early as 1901, began to engage with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a secret society that explored occult, metaphysics, and paranormal activities, which certainly influenced her artistic output.  

For Haskell, these influences were symptomatic of the time. “Smith represents a strain of artists in early American Modernism who were disaffected with materialism and rationalism, but who were also unsatisfied with organized religion and so turned toward more occult pursuits,” she explained. “Theosophy was so influential at the turn of the century and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was similar—a secret society that looked at ancient texts, the kabbalah, and tarot cards. This was predominant among women and I think of Agnes Pelton as a parallel.” 

Smith was eventually approached by A.E. Waite, a scholar of the Hermetic Order, who had ambitions to create a new version of the 78-card tarot deck, and who commissioned Smith to create the illustrations.

Waite, a Grand Master of the Hermetic Order, offered direction for his vision for the order of the Major Arcana, which is characterized by allegorical characters such as the Fool and the Sun. The Minor Arcana, cards in four suits of wands, swords, cups, and pentacles, were left entirely to Smith’s discretion, and she transformed these cards, which had traditionally been simply symbols, into lush, image-laden scenes.

The deck is mythical in scope, ranging from moments of exalted regality to mischievous pleasure, and Smith’s compositional signature predominates the cards: a lone, mysterious, medieval hero appears against a nearly Byzantine monochromatic background.

For Pellarano, Smith’s familiarity with the significance of the tarot is evidenced by her detail. “She possessed a rare command over iconography, and a deep understanding of it,” he said. “Her designs are constantly revealing new layers of information. They encode so much meaning and evoke so much contemplation, but are gentle in their elegance and appeal.” Haskell notes commonalities to the work of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. “She was in England, and through the theater, she was exposed to a lot of Pre-Raphaelite art” Haskell noted.

Some of the tarot archetypes are believed to have been modeled by Smith’s friends—Ellen Terry’s daughter, Edith Craig, appears as the Queen of Wands and actor William Terriss as the Fool. Smith, who struggled financially throughout her life, would receive no copyright or credit for her contribution, and was paid only a nominal commission.

A Retreat to Obscurity 

Following the publication of the deck, Smith grew increasingly interested in Irish mythology, and in 1911, she made illustrations for Bram Stoker’s final book, Lair of the White Worm. But soon enough, Smith withdrew from the art world. That same year, she converted to Catholicism and with a small inheritance purchased a home in Bude, England.

There she would devote herself more fully to causes like women’s suffrage and the Red Cross. She would die at age 73 in Bude, all but penniless. “It was her decision. She just exited the art world,” Haskell said.  

Still, Haskell believes it is time for Smith to rejoin the story of Modernism. “Art, more than words, presents the mood of the time, and Pamela Colman Smith’s work does get to the essence of a feeling of that era,” she said. “On one hand, people were excited about industrialization and that was the dominant mode, but there were also those who were very concerned that it was stripping individuals of a sense of spirituality and connection to their inner core. That certainly hasn’t gone away and we’ve come fully back into such a moment.”

“Smith’s works feel even more resonant,” Haskell added, “showing art as a way to find a personalized, spiritual connection to divinity in isolating times.” 

[australianwomensnews]

When it comes to Australia’s national regulators, women rule.

Women now dominate the leadership of federal regulatory and oversight agencies that enforce rules for business and the economy, with 33 women holding chief executive or chair roles. This signals a profound shift for the nation’s top watchdogs, once almost solely the domain of male enforcers.

Rapid digitisation and rising globalisation are making traditional black letter enforcement approaches less effective, leading to women with so-called solid soft skills, such as influence, collaboration and communication, winning top-tier regulatory roles.

Women are now at the front line of the battles against scams, identity and data theft, cyber ransomware attacks, electronic espionage, digital surveillance, misinformation, social media abuse and dark web criminality.

“It’s very different to the skills base you needed a decade or two ago where it was just about telling people what to do, and they would toe the line,” says Ann Sherry, a former head of the Office of Status of Women in the Hawke and Keating governments.

“Those jobs were filled by a particular sort of person cast as a regulator. So, in a way, it was almost an enforcement role, whereas the jobs have changed.”

The leadership of the federal public service reached gender equilibrium last year.

Sherry, who is now QUT chancellor and chairs Queensland Airports, digital marketing firm Enero and UNICEF Australia, says that the public sector has been better at promoting women through the ranks but that many women have also built relevant skills in the private sector.

“Many women have had to broaden their careers and build a broad set of skills to be successful. There is now a body of capability to draw up. The talent pool has changed, and the jobs require broader skills. It is a confluence of events,” she says.

The surge in women leading federal regulators compares with 19 women (10 per cent) chairing ASX200 companies and 26 women (9 per cent) who are CEOs across the ASX300, as at the end of 2023.

Competition chief Gina Cass-Gottlieb and Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock (who also chairs the Payments System Board) are the first women to lead their institutions. Others, such as media watchdog Nerida O’Loughlin and energy regulator Clare Savage, have won second appointments.

A push to bring in new blood from outside the Australian public service helped veteran NSW regulator Elizabeth Tydd win an appointment as head of the Australian Information Commission. Carly Kind was tapped from a London think tank to be the new privacy commissioner.

They join a swag of women now overseeing vast swaths of the economy, including infrastructure (Gabrielle Trainor), aviation (Pip Spence), food (Sandra Cuthbert), petroleum (Sue McCarrey) and fisheries (Helen Kroger).

Others such as Rachel Noble (espionage), Julie Inman Grant (e-safety), Jayde Richmond (anti-scams centre) and Michelle McGuinness (cyber co-ordinator) are focused on rapidly emerging harms, including national security threats, identity and data theft, consumer abuse, online scams and fraud.

Workplace and safety regulators are now dominated by women too, including Anna Booth (Fair Work Ombudsman), Joanne Farrell (Safe Work Australia), Jeanine Drummond (maritime safety), Natalie Pelham (rail safety) and Janet Anderson (aged care).

The dominant role female regulators play has been part of a profound shift in the number of women in leadership roles in the Australian government. This has risen from a quarter of executive roles being held by women 20 years ago to over 50 per cent last year.

Battle ready

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb, who rose through the ranks as a competition lawyer at law firm Gilbert and Tobin, says her generation of leaders had battled their way through male-dominated workplaces.

“In those workplaces, to get ahead, we needed to target the areas we thought were most important to make an intervention and where we could most effectively make an impact.

“We actually had to build skills to succeed, which are beneficial skills in these roles.”

Ms Cass-Gottlieb says women have also had to differentiate themselves. “You needed to point to other ways of working, including creative and different solutions that drew from experience in various areas rather than a pure step-by-step standard career path.”

Australian Information Commissioner Tydd points to Columbia University research that measured creativity by analysing songs, finding that women created more songs than men.

“Digital government requires a creative use of proactive tools to identify and mitigate future harm. It’s the unforeseen or latent harms that are the most refractory and so we’ve got to look at diagnosis and predictive tools, and that’s where you start to get a bit creative.”

Tydd says she was attracted to regulatory work because of the value of promoting open government, transparency and accountability.

“I think that seeking service and purpose orientation are factors that drive people into this work and I do think seeking service is a very comfortable and well-established motivation within women.”

Demand for new approaches

According to ANU Crawford School of Public Policy director Professor Janine O’Flynn, the data on the importance of public motivation for women is mixed. However, she suggests that women’s more attuned risk and relationship skills help them to be more effective regulators.

“We certainly know that the most effective models of regulation are around how you can think about risk and how you build relationships with the parties that have been regulated.

“I don’t mean that in a sort of dodgy way. The higher the trust relationships you can get between regulators and those who are regulated, the more likely you are to get the outcomes that you’re looking for.”

Read the full article in the link above!

[justforbooks]

Le Crookie 🥐🍪

It was 3 February when the queues started forming at Boulangerie Louvard in Paris. Even in the sort of downpour that usually empties streets, clued-up teenagers gathered outside the family-run bakery in the 9th arrondissement, desperate to get their hands on one thing: its owner Stéphane Louvard’s invention, le crookie.

It’s a crisp croissant filled with American-style cookie dough, then baked to achieve a soft, gooey centre, and a video of the Frankensteined pastry had gone viral on TikTok.

Arriving a decade after the New York-based French pastry chef Dominique Ansel revealed the recipe for his cronut, the crookie is the latest in a long line of hybrid croissant offerings to cause international fervour. “We were very surprised,” says Louvard, who now sells up to 2,200 crookies per day. “We had to hire two additional people to be able to produce the necessary quantities. It was a little stressful.”

Bakeries across Paris have now started selling them. “My local is doing it, even though it’s not very trendy at all,” says Houssine Bouchama, director of Time Out Paris. Meanwhile, from Singapore to Toronto, copycats are making their own versions. Cookie Crumble, a micro-bakery in London, has been getting orders from across the country. Rhiain Gordon, founder of Babyfaced Baker in Edinburgh tells me it’s “unusual to see any left by 10am”.

To say that cross-bred takes on classic breakfast pastries have captured public imagination is an understatement. In 2013, when Ansel first brought the cronut, with its glazed doughnut outside and flaky pastry inside, to New York, they sold out so quickly that a black market arose on advertising website Craigslist. By the time it landed in the UK in 2016, it was with so much fanfare that Londoners skipped work to try it.

A muffin-croissant hybrid, the cruffin, was next, causing such a stir at Mr. Holmes Bakehouse in San Francisco that in 2015 the recipe was reportedly stolen. Then came the croloaf (croissant dough baked in a bread tin, debuted by M&S in 2016). There have been tacros (pulled pork filled taco-shaped croissants created by San Francisco’s Vive La Tarte) and cretzels (salted pretzels made with croissant dough, by Seattle’s Coyle’s Bakeshop).

Since the global launch of TikTok in 2017, the appetite for these hybrid snacks has accelerated. In 2022, the suprême – a spiral of croissant dough stuffed with the pastry creme-filling of an Italian bomboloni doughnut – became a global sensation. Next came the croffle; croissant dough pressed in a waffle machine, popularised in South Korea by cafe chain Aufglet.

What is it about hybrid croissants that have captured global public imagination for so long? Meg Palmer, a research manager at market research agency Verve, thinks it’s because “there’s something about the merging that makes it more permissible to be indulgent”.

Pastries are also perfect for TikTok, she explains, because they look and sound great. “[In videos of] the crookie you see hands breaking through the croissant. You hear that initial crunch, and you see whether it’s got filling if it oozes out. It’s very sensorial.”

She ties the constant invention of hybrids to small businesses trying to stand out on social media. “They’re always thinking ‘what can be our hook?’ People do latch on to these trends, and they don’t just want a flat white and a croissant any more.”

Bouchama has seen the impact of this in Paris. “There’s an Americanisation of French patisserie going on; the desire to reach an international audience on TikTok,” he says.

Bakery Philippe Conticini in Islington is London’s main purveyor of novelty croissants. The chain launched in London in 2020 with classic French patisserie, but found it hard to survive.

“We’ve found we have to be creative all the time and follow the trends,” says Ludovic Carassi Del Villar, operations manager. The shop soft-launched its £5.90 crookie last week and is already getting calls demanding more.

Back in Paris, TikTokers are already moving on, says Bouchama: “Some bakeries are now experimenting with the pain au chocolat-brownie.”

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[raptasllc360]

At Innovative Horizons, we are more than just a creative design agency; we are architects of the future. Our team is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of imagination and innovation to create cutting-edge designs that captivate, inspire, and revolutionize.

[indianseo24]

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[ereardon]

You said you’re in New York with clients. What do you do for work??

I’m a director at a PR agency! My firm is based in London with an office in NY but since we left New York in 2020 I’ve been remote and go into one of the offices a few times a year. I’m meeting with a compliance client but I do financial services, capital markets and energy!

[brand-relations]

Culinary and Beverage Excellence: From Recipe Development to Brand Marketing

Recipe Development in London: Crafting Culinary Excellence

Beverage Development Company: Crafting Liquid Art

Elevate your beverage offerings with the expertise of a leading beverage development company. We specialize in creating signature drinks that captivate the senses. Our commitment to quality and innovation ensures that each sip tells a story, making your brand a standout in the competitive beverage market.

Food & Drink Branding: Beyond Taste, an Identity

Unleash the power of memorable branding with our comprehensive food and drink branding services. We understand that your culinary creations and beverages are not just products; they’re experiences. Let us help you build a brand identity that resonates with your audience and leaves a lasting impression.

How to Market a Drink: Strategies for Success

Navigating the beverage market requires more than just a great product; it demands a strategic approach. Learn the art of how to market a drink effectively with our tailored strategies. From social media campaigns to experiential marketing, we guide you through the steps to ensure your beverage reaches the right audience.

How to Develop a Drink: From Concept to Creation

Dive into the intricacies of beverage creation with our guide on how to develop a drink. We walk you through the entire process, from conceptualization to the final product. Whether you’re a budding mixologist or an established brand, our insights and tips will help you bring your drink ideas to life.

Brand Bubble Tea: Unleashing Innovation in Every Bubble

Bubble tea has taken the world by storm, and we specialize in helping brands stand out in this unique market. Brand bubble tea with creativity and flair, ensuring that your offerings become a go-to choice for tea enthusiasts. From playful flavors to eye-catching aesthetics, we bring innovation to every bubble.

Drink Design Company in London: Crafting Liquid Artistry

Step into the realm of liquid creativity with our renowned drink design company London. We specialize in turning beverages into works of art, combining innovation and aesthetics to create unforgettable drinking experiences. From cocktails to custom brews, our team brings a touch of sophistication to every sip.

Food and Drink Branding: Elevating Culinary Identities

Elevate your culinary offerings with our comprehensive food and drink branding services. As a London-based agency, we understand the city’s vibrant gastronomic scene and help your brand carve its niche. Our expertise lies in creating brand identities that resonate with your audience and leave a lasting imprint.

Food Branding Agency in London: Where Flavor Meets Identity

Food & Drink Branding in the UK: A Tapestry of Taste

Navigate the diverse tastes of the UK with our specialized food & drink branding UK. We understand the nuances of the UK’s culinary landscape and help your brand stand out. Our approach combines creativity and market insights to build a brand identity that resonates with both local and international audiences.

Food Branding Agency in the UK: Crafting Culinary Narratives

Immerse yourself in the world of culinary storytelling with our esteemed food branding agency UK. We go beyond creating logos; we craft narratives that showcase the heart and soul of your brand. Let us help you communicate your brand’s story effectively, making it an integral part of the UK’s culinary tapestry.

Drink Branding Agency: Where Every Sip Tells a Story

Unleash the potential of your beverage offerings with our expert drink branding agency. From label design to marketing strategies, we understand the dynamics of the beverage market and ensure that every sip tells a compelling story. Elevate your brand presence with our innovative and impactful branding solutions.

Beverage Branding: Crafting Experiences, One Sip at a Time

Immerse yourself in the world of unparalleled beverage branding that transcends expectations. Our expertise lies in creating immersive brand experiences that resonate with your audience. From label design to storytelling, we specialize in crafting a unique identity that sets your beverages apart.

Food & Drink Branding Agency: Elevating Culinary Identities

Elevate your culinary offerings with the expertise of a distinguished food & drink branding agency. We specialize in capturing the essence of your brand and translating it into a visual and narrative masterpiece. From concept to execution, our agency ensures that every element reflects the soul of your culinary creations.

Drinks Branding Agency: Where Every Bottle Tells a Story

Unleash the potential of your beverage brand with the services of a dedicated drinks branding agency. We understand that every bottle holds a unique story, and we specialize in telling it through compelling visuals and narratives. Let us transform your brand into an unforgettable journey for your consumers.

Brand Development Agency: Shaping Identities, Igniting Connections

Food and Beverage Branding Agency: Crafting Culinary Legacies

Craft a culinary legacy with the expertise of a renowned food and beverage branding agency. We go beyond creating logos; we tell stories that evoke emotions and build connections. Our agency understands the intricate dance of flavors and translates it into a brand identity that stands the test of time.

Food Brand Marketing Campaign: A Feast for the Senses

Immerse your brand in a culinary journey with our captivating food brand marketing campaign. We specialize in creating campaigns that tantalize taste buds, ignite curiosity, and leave a lasting impression. From delectable visuals to strategic storytelling, our campaigns turn your brand into a culinary masterpiece.

Food Marketing Agency UK: Redefining Culinary Excellence

Step into a world of culinary excellence with our top-tier food marketing agency UK. We understand the nuances of the market and tailor our strategies to showcase your brand’s uniqueness. From comprehensive market analysis to innovative campaigns, we are committed to propelling your brand to the forefront.

Drink Design Agency: Crafting Liquid Artistry

Elevate your beverage brand with the expertise of a leading drink design agency. We go beyond conventional design, infusing every bottle with liquid artistry. Our designs not only stand out on shelves but also tell the story of your beverage. Trust us to turn your drink into an icon of innovation and style.

Branding of Food Products: From Concept to Consumer Connection

Food Branding Ideas: Where Creativity Meets Culinary Vision

Unleash a wave of creativity with our unique and innovative food branding ideas. We understand that every brand has a story to tell, and our ideas are crafted to bring that story to life. From logo concepts to experiential campaigns, our ideas are designed to make your brand unforgettable.

Brand Development Agency UK: Shaping Identities, Igniting Connections

Discover the art of brand development with our top-tier brand development agency UK. We specialize in crafting identities that go beyond logos, encapsulating the essence of your brand. Our strategies are tailored to resonate with the UK market, ensuring a powerful and lasting impact.

Brand Marketing Campaign: Transforming Visions into Visceral Experiences

Embark on a transformative journey with our comprehensive brand marketing campaign. We don’t just market products; we create experiences. Our campaigns are designed to evoke emotions, build connections, and position your brand as a visionary in the market.

[hwselect]

Navigating the IT Jobs Market Within London

While new opportunities and prospects may seem exciting and enticing, charting a path for vacant IT jobs in London and the surrounding territory, while trying to find both work and living demands a strategic and planned approach and partnering with perhaps a specialist IT recruitment agency.

The city is amassed with major tech giants and conglomerates, including social media favourites like Google and Facebook, along with new budding, smart technology startups spanning sectors in finance, media, education, insurance healthcare, and governance bodies. Opting for available vacancies within London means finding, and embracing this vibrant city alive with diverse culture, leisure, and amenities. For many budding IT jobs in London seekers within the local surrounding areas, this work-life change can serve as the ideal career path and living opportunity, providing a wealth of available opportunities.

IT individuals seeking fresh horizons, and a more than lively social life, then the capital city stands as a brilliant and realistic, give-us-a-try vibe, to progress your chosen career path. Exploring and matching your preferred IT role and embarking on a successful job search for IT jobs in London, the hunt can sometimes entail the services of an IT recruitment agency and their team of consultants, by ideally aligning your professional interests, experience, and skills with available and suitable roles.

Try to diversify your search resources –using relevant social and digital platforms and contacting multiple IT recruiters can offer a big opportunity boost. Do not commit to the first interested agency you come across, engage proactively with several and gauge their responses both in time and clarity, along with your related search aspirations, and test their responsiveness to your skill sets and experience.

Not a British or dual nationality citizen!  You do and will need to acquire a UK Work Visa: If you are an international jobseeker, then possessing a valid UK work visa or permit is paramount. A significant portion of London businesses and companies, as well as other UK major cities, employ IT workers that hail from overseas.

Your recruitment agency should be able to discuss, advise, and offer guidance on work application requirements. Check, and bear in mind any potential fees and other various requirements that need to be attended to, such as tax and health insurance, etc., based on your country of work and also your home country's tax or, earnings-related implications.

Accommodation: While an IT recruitment agency might be able to offer assistance and advice, the onus of finding accommodation lies with you. Several search platforms and agents can assist in this quest. Additionally, weigh the different pros and cons of transportation, living costs, and entertainment. Driving in the city may prove difficult and very challenging both in cost and time, but in general public transportation offers a reliable and viable alternative, at a cost.

Selecting accommodation that fits your budget, might mean a certain amount of travel time is involved, so be aware and prudent in any financial decision you make. Working in London not only provides a chance to work with smart and new cutting-edge technology but also offers a cosmopolitan lifestyle, brimming with cultural, entertainment, and social experiences.

Identifying job roles: Begin by pinpointing an IT recruitment agency that is aware and aligns with your understanding of the type of work requirements you seek. Check their expertise, and what they can offer and bring to your professional career trajectory. Though social media platforms can be of assistance, when looking for IT jobs in London, it's prudent to diversify your search. Remember, every agency promises to provide a unique job search experience and proactive perspective; finding the one that ideally resonates with your requirements is important and paramount.

Read More:

How an IT Agency Sources and Shortlists Global Talent A Recruitment Agency Checks & Interviews Candidates Before Placement

[7hrrecuitmentuk]

Banking sector in UK provides a dedicated service both to Clients and job seekers

The banking sector is the key component of the financial system. Credit institutions conduct settlements, ensure the safeguarding of clients’ funds in bank accounts, and transform these funds into loans to the economy. A Bank is a financial institution licensed to receive deposits and make loans and to invest and earn profit. A Bank is a financial institution licensed to receive deposits and make loans. Two of the most common types of banks are commercial/retail and investment banks. Banks also engaged in providing payment services, thereby facilitating all entities to carry out their financial transactions. On the other hand, banks can create vulnerabilities of systemic nature, partly due to a mismatch in maturity of assets and liabilities and their interconnectedness. Therefore, the soundness of banks is important, as it contributes towards maintaining confidence in the financial system, and any failure may have the potential to impact on activities of all other financial and non-financial entities, and finally the economy. With the passage of time, the activities covered by banking business have widened and now various other services are also offered by banks. The banking services these days include issuance of debit and credit cards, providing safe custody of valuable items, lockers, ATM services and online transfer of funds across the country/world.

As the financial hub of the world, the UK offers some of the most diverse and exciting jobs in banking. In addition to more traditional banking roles, there are career opportunities at any of the numerous banks headquartered here. Banks look for economists, marketing, and HR, statisticians, media and government relations specialists and, connected to the explosion of financial technology, IT professionals. What’s often less well known is the contribution the industry makes to the UK’s regions and the career opportunities available via graduate schemes, apprenticeships or for those looking to return to work. Working for a bank is so varied; it could mean working in head office in marketing, HR or in any number of other roles including IT. As banking organizations are so large, there is always the chance to progress through the organization into other roles. Banks are well known for having well trained staff so whatever your job role is, you will be given the skills required to do the job and many of these skills are required for your job and many of these skills should be transferable. A career in banking offers both a competitive salary and excellent benefits. As a new starter you can expect around 23 days holiday a year and this will rise to 30 days after you’ve been there a while. Banking Sector recruitment agency in London is international in nature and some roles can offer excellent opportunities for travelling and working in other countries.

The fast-paced nature of the banking and financial services industry requires people who embrace change and can adapt quickly. They have the scale, insight and deep understanding in banking and financial services to help shape your hiring strategy. Using a customer-first and data-driven approach to meet your business needs within banking and financial services, they make it easy for you to deliver against the complex talent and recruitment landscape you need to navigate. Their dedicated financial services recruitment teams assist organizations in recruiting permanent, temporary and contract banking & financial services staff. They are active in these markets and have built a strong database and network of contacts across all areas of risk, audit, cyber security, treasury, business resilience and legal. Banking Sector recruitment agency in London consultants specialize on specific areas of banking and so they are able to offer advice and direction based on an in-depth understanding of your area of interest or requirement. With global operations and offices across the UK, their reach enables them to source the financial services skills and experience you need to support your business priorities.

Specific recommendations on prudential and market policy should help the industry better support the wider UK economy. They are also adamant about the “digital first” approach the UK should be taking, with the aim of leading global innovation in areas such as data sharing, open banking and digital IDs. The shift to remote working and virtual customer service has dramatically changed how services are delivered. Without the usual in-person customer engagement, lenders have been forced to find creative, innovative and collaborative solutions in a short space of time to ensure the customer demand is met. For an incumbent bank, digital transformation has become a herculean task in an age saturated with technological options, requiring traditional lenders to embrace unpredictability, maintain agility and digitize to the core, which requires support from agile fetch players. From building an agile platform to meet the expectations of demanding customers, creating an optimized digital operating model, going beyond diversity and building a strong work culture, Top Banking Sector recruitment agency in London must address central challenges to lay the foundation for success.

[charisreads]

ALL THE BOOKS I READ IN 2022

This year I was mostly focused on my career (and I fell in loveeee) so I’ve not had much time for reading. Nonetheless, here are the books I managed to get through. (I'll do another post on the books I bought but haven't finished!)

This has been a bad reading year for me, so I was surprised to see that I read as many as I did. I think the reason for this is that now I have multiple ways to read eg. My kindle, the kindle app on my phone, audible, and hard copies. I bought myself a Kindle last year for Christmas, worried that I wouldn’t ever pick it up, but I use it all the time! (Hasn’t curbed my love for physical books though.)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

I highly doubt Tumblr needs to be told how great this book is. I loved every second, I cried, I’ll buy whatever the author releases next.

Normal People ✨fastest read!✨

I really needed an easy read after stopping and starting so many books and I just swam right through this one. I finished it. I sulked. I watched the BBC series. I find it hard to recommend because it’s not satisfying but it’s real.

They Both Die At The End

I read the entirety of this book commuting. To and from London, up north and back to Manchester. It was great to dip in and out of. It made time pass by quickly. I cried like a bitch. Highly recommend.

Ark

It’s a short story but a lovely one. I was looking for more Veronica Roth books like a hungry dog, this satisfied the itch.

Press Reset

This was work related. It’s a great insight into the video game industry, probably not interesting if you’re not in this field.

Chess ✨new all-time favourite book✨

London Euston station bookshop staff I owe you so much!! I was looking for a short read for my long journey back to Manchester. I spotted this short book with a handwritten recommendation. It surprised me. Stefan Zweig is an author I’ve never heard of before. With a book name like “Chess” I expected a strategic story. To me it is colourful, people focused and wonderful. I love how he clearly writes the motivations of characters and how the story seems fantastical but real. I sent my writer friend 7 voice notes about it then bought her a copy of it for her birthday.

Primal Branding

Another work one. Marketing related, interesting case studies, goes on a bit.

Fatal Attraction 😶least favourite😶

My auntie gave me a bunch of books a while back and this thriller caught my eye. Sadly, it had potential to follow through but didn’t.

Whoever Fights Monsters

Non-fiction! This book was written by the man who invented the term serial killer. He writes about many cases he helped solve and serial killers he interviewed. It's very interesting, not just the parts about serial killers but his determination. He's worked in some very difficult and slow-moving agencies, yet got through the bureaucracy to get this work done.

The Thursday Murder Club

I really wanted to like it. I really, really, really did. But I didn’t. I couldn’t get attached to the characters and it felt like it was aimed at an older audience that wanted to be seen, which is lovely! But not meant for me.

Poirot’s Finest Cases

Audiobook. Top lad that Poirot.

Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging

Work related read. I wrote a blog post about it on my work website here. https://www.charisreid.co.uk/blog/charisreidstribe

Project Hail Mary ✨recommend the most✨

A friend recommended me this and I loved it. It’s only available on audible right now but I really recommend it. It’s fun, heartwarming and I love how the problems the character faces are all science-based. Really rad. 10/10.

(I also reread the Hunger Games trilogy bc it’s my comfort series, so let’s include that)

✨16 total books finished in 2022✨

I'll do another post about aims for next year and what I'll be starting to read in January!

[ppcagencynetworkuk]

AR Magic in PPC

Turning Ad Interactions into Memorable Experiences

In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising has proven its mettle in driving targeted traffic and boosting conversions. However, a new form of magic is infusing life into PPC campaigns, transforming mere ad interactions into captivating and unforgettable experiences. Enter Augmented Reality (AR), the technological marvel that is reshaping how users engage with ads. In this article, we explore how AR is turning the tables in PPC, creating experiences that resonate and linger, all while keeping a focus on a PPC Company London.

The Enchantment of Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality overlays digital elements onto the real world, effectively blending the virtual and physical realms. With AR, users can interact with digital content as if it were part of their environment, offering an unparalleled level of engagement. This technological wizardry, when integrated into PPC campaigns, turns static ads into dynamic encounters that are not easily forgotten.

Crafting Memorable Experiences

Visualize Products in Your Space: Imagine searching for furniture online and stumbling upon a PPC ad from a London-based PPC company that specializes in interior design. Instead of simply viewing pictures, AR allows you to see how that new sofa would fit in your living room. You can place, rotate, and scale the 3D model of the sofa, creating an immersive preview that informs your purchase decision.

Try Before You Buy: When considering fashion items or accessories, AR lets you virtually try them on. London-based fashion brands utilizing AR in their PPC ads provide users the ability to see how a pair of shoes or a piece of jewelry complements their style. This interactive trial before purchase adds a layer of confidence and excitement to online shopping.

Interactive Ads: London, with its bustling atmosphere, is the perfect setting for interactive AR ads. Imagine a PPC ad for a restaurant. Through AR, you can interact with a 3D menu, watch dishes being prepared virtually, and even see reviews from fellow diners hovering around the eatery. This immersive experience creates a sense of connection and compels you to explore the restaurant in person.

London's AR-Powered PPC Landscape

London, a hub of innovation and culture, is an ideal canvas for AR-powered PPC Agency London campaigns. As a global city at the forefront of technology adoption, London-based PPC companies are harnessing the power of AR to deliver unique experiences to their audiences.

Keywords: PPC Company London

For London-based businesses aiming to excel in the PPC game, integrating AR is a strategic move. By partnering with a PPC company in London that specializes in AR integration, businesses can create campaigns that stand out in a crowded digital landscape.

In a city known for its diverse business ecosystem, London PPC companies are utilizing AR to differentiate their clients' campaigns. By blending digital innovation with traditional advertising approaches, they craft experiences that resonate with the city's dynamic audience.

In a city like London, where innovation is the norm, AR-powered PPC campaigns are gaining traction, captivating audiences and driving results.

As the digital advertising landscape continues to evolve, the partnership between PPC and AR is a powerful testament to the potential of technology to create engaging and lasting brand experiences. In London, where the heartbeat of progress and creativity thrives, AR's magic in PPC is leaving an indelible mark on the way businesses connect with their audiences.

[kuroit]

Best Website Development Agency in UK

To ensure the achievement of your business, you need a solid and professional-looking website development and social media marketing approach. With the help of our Best Website Development Agency in UK, you can get exactly what you want. Providing full-package services with outstanding value and standards is part of what makes our company stand out. Additionally, we provide web development solutions and mobile app development services in UK that ensure a complete customer experience.

Based in London, Kuroit has been presenting web development services for over 15 years. The agency has worked with a variety of clients, from startups to established brands, and offers a range of exclusive services including web design, web development, web hosting, and digital marketing.

Let us help you maximise the potential of your brand’s website

It is our goal to provide our clients with the best service possible. Consequently, we use every marketing skill and media technology at our disposal to serve you well.

In conclusion, there are many web development agencies in the UK that can help businesses establish and keep their online presence. Kuroit has its own unique strengths and services that can benefit businesses of all sizes and sectors.

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

‘Scrublands’: Luke Arnold, Bella Heathcote & Jay Ryan To Lead Stan And Nine Network Drama Series Based On Chris Hammer Novel

By Jesse Whittock (February 26, 2023 1:30pm)

Director Greg McLean with actors Luke Arnold, Bella Heathcote and Jay RyanStan/Nine/Easy Tiger

EXCLUSIVE: Luke Arnold, Bella Heathcote and Jay Ryan are set to lead Scrublands, a TV adaptation of Chris Hammer’s novel for Australian streamer Stan.

We’ve learned production in underway in Victoria, Australia on the crime series, which is a co-commission of the Nine Network and its streamer Stan. Easy Tiger, which optioned rights to the story back in 2018, is producing in association with VicScreen.

Scrublands is set in isolated country town Riversend brought to its knees by endless drought, where a charismatic and dedicated young priest (Jay Ryan) calmly opens fire on his congregation, killing five parishioners. A year later, investigative journalist Martin Scarsden (Luke Arnold) arrives to write what should be a simple feature story on the anniversary of the tragedy but when his instincts kick in and he digs beneath the surface, the previously accepted narrative begins to fall apart and he finds himself in a life and death race to uncover the truth.

Zane Ciarma (Neighbours), Adam Zwar (Squinters), Victoria Thaine (Nowhere Boys), Robert Taylor (The Newsreader), Stacy Clausen (True Spirit), Genevieve Morris (No Activity) and newcomer Ella Ferris have also been cast.

Greg McLean is directing and Felicity Packard, Kelsey Munro and Jock Serong are writing. East Tiger’s Ian Collie and Rob Gibson, David Redman and Packard are producing and Michael Healy and Andy Ryan from the Nine Network and Cailah Scobie and Amanda Duthie from Stan are executive producers.

Jack Irish and Rake maker Easy Tiger is leading production and UK-based distributor Abacus Media Rights is handling international sales.

The series marks the second co-commission between Nine Network and Stan, following on from Bali 2002, which explored how everyday heroes from Bali, Australia and elsewhere defied the odds of the devastating tsunami to bring order and hope.

“Following the immense success of Bali 2002, Stan is delighted to once again co-commission with the Nine Network. Scrublands promises to be a powerful and compulsive crime thriller. A remarkable crime series set in Australia’s unforgiving and harsh landscape, Easy Tiger has secured an outstanding core cast in Luke Arnold, Bella Heathcote and Jay Ryan and we look forward to collaborating with them on Scrublands.”

“Joining forces with the teams at Stan and Easy Tiger on Scrublands has realised an ambition we have had since Chris Hammer’s novel was published in 2018,” said Nine Director of Television Micheal Healy. “We are confident the creative team led by director Greg McLean and lead writer Felicity Packard will adapt Scrublands into a must-watch television drama for a global audience.”

Easy Tiger founder Ian Collie and CEO Rob Gibson added that “from the moment we opened Chris Hammer’s ripping page-turner, we knew Scrublands was destined to be a must-watch crime series.”

Abacus is headed into the London TV Screenings this week, and its founder and Managing Director Jonathan Ford said: “Once again Stan has co-commissioned an ambitious and engaging thriller which we are delighted to be taking to the international market after its Australian launch. Not only does Scrublands have all the ingredients that make for a winning drama – a great script, relatable characters and a strong cast – due to the fact that it’s based on a best-selling crime thriller novel the Scrublands franchise is already well known around the world and we can’t wait to offer this series to our clients.”

Luke Arnold is represented by Lisa Mann Creative Management and The Gersh Agency. Bella Heathcote is repped by Brian Medavoy at More/Medavoy Management and Joanna Milosz at JM Agency. Jay Ryan is repped by IMC and UTA.

Source: Deadline

[fcklondon]

(—) ★ spotted!! london eaton on the cover of this week’s most recent tabloid! many say that the 36 # year old looks like adrianna lima, but i don’t really see it. while the socialite/model/businesswoman/reality star is known for being sociable my inside sources say that they have a tendency to be secretive i swear, every time i think of them, i hear do ya think i'm sexy- paris hilton { she/her / cisfemale } - penned by laiceeee again.

london eaton was known as one of the biggest heiresses in the world, most famously for eaton hotels, one of the fanciest hotel branches in the world. but not only that, her father, richard eaton is the charman and cofounder of eastwood & eaton, a huge real estate brokerage based in beverly hills. london has never had to worry for a single second of her life about money. everything she wanted was right at her fingertips. 

london had modelled on and off all throughout her childhood and teen years. as she became older, it became far more clear that she was a party girl, and was even dubbed ‘new york’s leading it girl’ in 2001. however london’s media ateention shot up after her release of a sex tape in 2003. she made it with her ex boyfriend who decided to market and profit off the video, earning millions in sales. at first london had been mortified, and filed a law suit. one she one and earned 400k in compensation. but after a while, london decided. to stop being embarrassed by this scandal and instead harbor the energy into making a bigger career for herself, after all she’d never had more media attention before. 

three weeks after the video, london teamed up with one of her closest friends and created a reality show called a simpler life. and although many told her that her sex tape scandal would ruin her and alienate ratings and cause no one to ever watch, the rating sky rocketed and the show was a huge success. and not too long after she was approached by multiple modelling agencies to shoot a huge worldwide campaign. 

soon london’s life was booked up. she had perfume lines, came out with a nightclub franchise, and was guest starred in multiple big star shows and films. after a while, it became clear that london was growing apart from her close friend she did a simpler life with and decided to call it quits. although not without thousands and thousands of media articles speculating what had happened with that friendship. 

in all this time, her partying had never settled down. she was still very much a top party girl. always seen out at clubs and getting into trouble. this lifestyle was what eventually led to her arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. she was only meant to do 45 days but it was reduced to 23- after all even the american justice system could be easily bought if you were rich enough. 

although london seemed to have the perfect life, no one knew the dark horrors that were happening behind closed doors. when she was still a teen, her parents sent her to the troubled teen industry. one that had her fake kidnapped in the middle of the night, heavily medicated, sleep deprived and she faced a lot of abuse. one that took her a long time to speak out on. she ended up speaking out on it in 2020, becoming one of the lead voices in an effort to shut it down. even to this day she still has nightmares that haunt her over everything that happened in that place. 

 eventually london settled down, didn’t lead such an insane lifestyle anymore, although she still wouldn’t say no to a good party. she likes to be a voice now for the younger generation, showing that the dumb, ditzy 20 year old they saw on the screens before was a character. although parts were true, she held more intelligence than anyone could have ever known. after all she marketed herself so well, earned millions just to party and invented the first ever selfie. 

wanted connections

THE NICOLE RICHE TO HER PARIS HILTON- her bestest of best friends for so long until it all turned sour and they had an on again/off again feud. she screened london’s sex tape at a party and london was betrayed and hurt beyond belief.

HER FIRST ENGAGEMENT- they were young, dumb and thought they wanted to be together forever. however they were only together for a year. it wasn’t anything serious that broke them up and they still remained really good friends. 

HER SECOND ENGAGEMENT- he was a young heir to her heiress, however they soon realised that they were only really doing it because their parents approved and they had no real intention of ever living happily ever after.

HER THIRD ENGAGEMENT- she cheated on him and broke his heart, but really what did he expect dating such a wild party girl? she also refused to give the ring back. 

HER FOURTH ENGAGMENT- and possibly her most heartbreaking one. the father to her daughter evangeline, who’s now four. she thought it was a whirlwind romance one that she’d finally found her happily ever after. only to wake up one morning and see that he was gone, left on the table was a letter saying he couldn’t do this anymore. she was heartbroken and alone with a baby. 

ANY PARTY FRIENDS- this girl would’ve met a lot of people on the party scene

INDUSTRY FRIENDS- from other reality shows or who could’ve appeared on her reality shows 

ANY EXES- that didn’t end in an engagement whoops. 

CURRENT HOOK UPS- the woman has needs