creativebrief and Tom Holmes interview
Last month I had the pleasure of meeting up with Tom Holmes from creativebrief. We talked about a variant of subjects and settled on Sustainable Cities and how they are marketed. To read the full interview go to the creativebrief website.
Tom also invited me to join their associates page where you can find some of the worlds leading talent in marketing and the creative industries. The full list can be seen on the associates page of the creativebrief website.
The first service of its kind, creativebrief connects buyers and sellers of marketing services. It does this by applying the latest and best digital technology, industry knowledge, research expertise and extensive database to provide a unique search and selection service for clients looking to find the best marketing services for their business.
SIX magazine – Launching 24th March
Joe has been strategically advising the development of SIX magazine. Due to launch its premier issue this month, SIX is a fashion magazine for those that identify themselves as fashion-led and conscious-minded. Readers will have four digital editions, as well as bi-annual special issues to mark the two London Fashion Weeks in February and September, to look forward to. As the first magazine of its kind in the UK, it will spearhead the trend towards ethical fashion by showcasing a selection of designs from the top ethical brands across the world. Its sleek layout and avant-garde perspective of the fashion industry will prove to be daring, unique and nuanced. Its features will also include sections dedicated to beauty and nutrition, best practice in organic and eco-friendly cosmetics and diets, as well as providing a space for the arts & culture industries to promote the work of contemporary artists, anticipated exhibitions and forthcoming cultural events. This highly anticipated magazine will be sure to impress and attract reader attention. To see more visit the website: www.six-magazine.co.uk
Access: Wind – A revolution in energy
Energy poverty is one of the major world issues. It restricts growth, development and scarcity of energy debilitates all the indicators of prosperity. Access: Wind aim to combat this with their technology for open-source wind turbines that can be made in-situ by anyone, once they’ve had some training! Currently testing at Yale University and piloted in Kenya, it establishes a bottom line of efficiency by offering wind power that six times cheaper than comparable micro wind turbines. The design also works without expensive and hard to acquire components like resins and magnets, found in every other wind turbine. It proves to be ingenious in its ergonomic design, allowing for easy installation that requires little training. This is inspired innovation! Read more about the project here:
Speaking at the National Student Enterprise Conference
In February Manchester Business School hosted the National Student Enterprise Conference. The event was organized by the National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs (NACUE) who have a membership of over 70,000 entrepreneurs. Alongside Steven Lang, CleanTech Leader at Ernst & Young, Joe joined spoke on Clean Tech and Green Business. Some feedback from his speech: ‘the average rating from the session was 4/5, and they said that you were insightful, provided useful information, were highly intelligent and a fantastic speaker!’ (Yulia Ivanova – COO, NACUE) Kind words indeed! To book Joe as a speaker at your University contact him direct: joe@joetoliver.com
Unleashing London – Joe Speaking at the Penoyre and Prasad event
This is a clip of Joe Oliver speaking at the event ‘Unleashing London’ held at Prenoyre and Prasad Architecture firm: http://www.penoyreprasad.com
Joe speaks on the subject of how we must collaborate, recognise our innate potential and turn love into action to fully unleash London as a city.
Other speakers on the evening included:
Eric Reynolds – Founding Director of Urban Space Management
Nicholas Laurent – Architect of Village Underground
Jude Kelly – Artistic Director of London’s South Bank Centre
Carolyn Steel – Architect and author of Hungry City
Paul Finch – Programme Director of the World Architecture Festival & Editorial Director of the Architectural Review and the Architects’ Journal
Congratulations here’s £500!
Well done to LETs Link London and Croydon Real Nappy Network for their success in winning £500 from the Love London Festival. I had the honour of giving them the BIG cheques and creating some BIG smiles all round.
Appearing on Chinese TV – Broadcast in NYC
Whilst speaking at an event in Beijing I was approached by the presenter of the Easy China chat tv-show Rosann Lake, who asked me to come onto her show as the main guest of the hour long show. I was also allowed to choose my co-guests, so appearing with me was my colleague Jing Wen, the One Young World China Project Coordinator and for the second half of the show, Angel joined me to talk about environmentalism, Angel is a business woman, a Beijing media personality with a couple of her own tv-shows and was former ‘Miss China 2006′ however, despite her high-achiever status her solution of how to deal with plastic bags could be described as simply unbelievable.
To see this and more click on the links below for full show parts 1 and 2:
Easy China chat-show appearance part 1
Easy China chat-show appearance part 2
Many thanks to Kois Miah for his photography.
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- Picture by Kois Miah
My Book begins!
I have just complied 11 years of my creative writing In a 90 page manuscript. Now for serious editing, in the meantime, here is an extract from this poem: Leave The Window Open
I left the room untidy, and as I closed the door behind me
I stopped mid-calf into the hallway, curious
Thinking of things discovered by accident
Occupied thus knocking elbow against doorframe
Twinge-shot fingers shaking off the numb
Now left behind me one of those accidents
So glance back tilted-head and beyond shoulder
A glare of shine noticed in retina rebounded and upturned
Where I had stood there seemed to be anew
Land of flavour and twists of cotton colour I could not see enough
Extending the door further to the yawn of morning so my vision was clear
Stretching out across the sheets
Moving with the curtains
Dancing on my bed
She had somehow had crept into the room when back was turned
Madame light
Aperture Dreams – now available in print
Joe takes photos… Soon he will have a whole website that will show his favourite work over the years. Like this one from Tibet.
Eco-Superbike Revelation
The Mission One
“To live only for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top.” — Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.
What is the future going to look like when we run out of oil, global warming changes our climate beyond recognition and Tigers becomes extinct? I try not to think about it, but we all like to imagine the future, often playing out crazy technologies and the futurescapes of our lives from the confines of our minds. In the mainstream media often the world’s future is based on horror and worst-case scenarios, rarely are the concepts shaped in a way that recognises into our innate ability to adapt and build our dreams. If we are to control our destiny and avert the forthcoming bleakness of a world in tragedy, then I find it imperative to search around the world in the present and discover alternatives to our damaging lifestyle culture. Tangible examples that we can both touch, enjoy and experience. This is the beginning of my search for empirical evidence of veritable sustainable lifestyles that we can access now. To inspire action and the transition to a better life in the present rather then wait for our collective fantasies, or nightmares, to play out. So join me on these discoveries and hopefully by sharing what captivates me you’ll be inspired in your own way to seek further a more sustainable life with a touch of magic and dreams thrown in.
I recently found myself staring at The Mission One, developed by Mission Motors, a new breed of superbike designed to reach a top speed of over 150mph on a single electrical charge of its state of the art Lithium-ion battery. This is no dream in September 2009 the team broke the world electric land speed record reaching a heart pounding 150.059mph. Needless to say the concept of a powerful motorbike running on electricity appealed to me instantly. Ever since my first excursion on numerous gasoline bikes across the world I have nurtured an affinity with the way the machines allow the rider to experience the journey they are taking, the air rushing past you, your immediate fragility and the feeling of freedom that speeding across a landscape presents. Aside from bicycles motorbikes are the only mode of transport that have made me feel part of the environment surrounding me. My only love affair with a form of transport.
Ever since I learnt about the state of our planet, my desire for these machines has given way to utter disappointment that most electric bikes were so badly designed they looked like a yogurt weavers wet dream, not even close to my cup of tea. Coupled with poor speed performance and a distinct lack of road distance, I have since been repressing one of my more secret passions for propelling into the unknown on a bike that would kill me with the tiniest mistake. Pretending instead that I was satisfied with jumping on the bus or tolerating the sneezing children on the tube.
Like Marmite the design of the bike is a required taste, however, the lead designer, Yves Behar has much to be proud of, aside from his grip of superbike ergonomics, he is also the designer of the $100 laptop and in his spare time designs prints for PACT the organic underwear company. Subsequently he’s just achieved my 2010 Hyper-Respect Award as a shining example of a sustainable lifestyle pioneer.
Some of the most startling characteristics of the bike are the fact it has no gears and achieves immediate torque, giving the bike powerful acceleration all the way to its top speed, as well as allowing for 70mph wheelies. A definite hurdle for my acceptance is the recharge time. Mission Motors states that the bike can recharge in 2hrs using a 240v and the adrenaline riding experience lasts for 150 miles, almost twice that of other electric motorbikes on the market. With some beautiful touches like the sustainable LED lights mimicking soviet stealth jets, regenerative braking and the aim to make the bike 100% recyclable, I cannot think of a better example of a realized vision for the new eco motorbike industry.
They release the first 50 limited edition models for the initial price of $68,995. If the price is a little too steep then hold your breath and buy one of the slightly less expensive, models to be made in 2010 but you’ll have to be fast as there’s only 250 of them. pre-orders can be made now from the company website: http://www.ridemission.com/