Introducing: Sam Ward

As the people who follow our blog will know already, we are big fans of independent fashion and designers. We love projects that showcase this talent and scene, and although the catwalk show and the magazine photo-shoots are the things that catch the eye and write the headlines, the people behind the scenes that make things happen are the driving force behind that end result. We recently sat down with one of those very people: Sam Ward.

Sam has been heavily involved in the 'Leeds Scene' for a number of years. This is based in both personal and professional roots - She is friends with pretty much every cool indie designer and store owner in the city and she has worked for Leeds Guide and Harvey Nichols in the past, something she looks back on fondly:

"The Leeds Guide, was possibly the most fun you could have at work. Everyone talks about how great The Leeds Guide is, and I still love reading it now – there’s nothing like it in the North, they’re a great bunch of people with a true passion for the city, being independent themselves, they have this hugely balanced view of what Leeds needs. From there, I fell into the Press and Marketing job at Harvey Nichols. I was well out of my depth and learnt a lot of very harsh lessons very quickly. Luckily, I had a great mentor who pushed me right over the edge – I needed it in order to prove to everyone (including myself) that I could do that job really well. I miss the store every day – it has this really eclectic mix of people engulfed in this crazy fashion bubble – I love it!"

We got to know Sam last year during two Marketing Leeds projects: Leeds in Vancouver and Leeds in Barcelona. The Barcelona project gave a taster of the fashion talent Leeds has and the Vancouver project showcased that talent in a huge way to an international audience. Sam was one of the main players in the Vancouver project and we asked her how it had come about:

"I think we were all a little stunned with how it came about. I knew that Lisa Chadderton (who used to be Marketing Manager at Corn Exchange) was working on Vancouver Fashion Week and thought it would be a fantastic opportunity for James (Steward). I spoke to Marketing Leeds very briefly about what a fantastic opportunity it was for not only the designers but to promote Leeds as a city on an international stage, put a proposal together overnight and crossed my fingers. I was a bit teary when we got the go-ahead as I knew it was such an exciting project for everyone involved.

My primary role was to build relationships with international media, and maximise every opportunity to promote the designers and our wonderful city. In reality, I looked after everything from writing the press releases to dressing models on the day – it was an overwhelming experience, and in spite of a couple of hairy moments, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I also had some fantastic support over there from Katherine Busby – she is now the Events Manager at Harvey Nichols, having previously worked as Marketing Manager for Marketing Leeds – we had never worked together before, but made a fantastic team and it would be great to work with her again in the future."

We followed the project with interest back here in the UK. We always believe in the talent from our home city but to receive international acclaim and recognition is proof that the belief in well placed. We asked Sam to talk about the reaction to the show:

"Everyone has been unbelievably supportive and positive about the project. I think it changed many people’s perceptions about Marketing Leeds, and rightly so. It’s not easy for them as an organisation to keep everybody happy, and this was a fantastically creative way of promoting Leeds as a leading retail destination.

I wrote guest blogs for The Guardian which was a major highlight, and the comments on there were amazing – it was just good to see that so many people believed in what we were doing. My Dad told me that my three blogs were like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy – great start, a bit confusing in the middle but with a cracking final chapter. I was like, ‘Cheers, Dad’! I added all the blogs to my Facebook and people who I went to school with  15 years ago were messaging me to say how amazing the project was. The best feedback was from Leeds innovators and those pushing for change in the city – they have a completely different approach and it was great to see that they were just as excited as I was.

James and I have some very exciting plans in the pipeline which we can’t really talk about just yet. It’s been such a whirlwind since we returned from Vancouver, and we’ve gone from spending every second either together or on the phone to each other to having a little bit of time out. We’re working on a list of target boutiques, talking to manufacturers and getting some fantastic advice from Marketing Leeds on how best to take the James Steward brand to the next level. I’ll continue with my day job – I’m very lucky to work with a team of incredibly talented people; it just means that I’ll be burning the midnight oil for the foreseeable future!"

As we have said in lots of our 'introducing' posts, we are developing a number of projects at the moment, working with some of the city's most interesting talent and influencers. We actually had our first 'official' meet in December. Team Hebe are very excited about some of the projects coming out of this group of people and Sam feels the same:

"I’m excited and humbled to be collaborating with so many talented individuals on upcoming projects. When Lee sent through the introductions e-mail I couldn’t believe I was going to be working with all these amazing people. I’ve followed Bangs and a Bun for ages; she’s nuts but I just love her – she’s straight talking, and that’s super-important in a project like this. I think there can be times when influencers meet and talk a lot, without saying anything at all – that won’t happen with us – I can see us all having an opinion on everything, and leaving each meeting with a list of action points as long as our arms – and that’s definitely a good thing!

In terms of how it can help the city, having a team of highly creative, dedicated individuals who are all pushing to challenge perceptions of our city can only be a good thing. I think we all know from experience that a project doesn’t have to be big budget and ‘jazz hands’ in order for it to be successful – all you need is a lot of people who want to make it happen."

We agree 100% with Sam and are looking forward to working on things with her this year. She is one of the most important cogs in Leeds' underground and provides brilliant support to some of our best talent. Keep up the good work Sam!

More 'introducing' posts here:

Introducing: James Steward

Introducing: Marc Leaf

Introducing: Muireann Carey-Campbell

Introducing: iCallShotGun

Introducing: Bethanie Lunn

What if Leeds... The Hebe View

Yesterday I attended a meeting to discuss the findings of the What if Leeds consultation. I left the event with a strange feeling: On the one hand I agreed wholeheartedly with some of the things put forward but on the other felt like I did not connect with the new proposals, some of the people who spoke and most of those who attended. I thought it maybe be useful to give my honest feedback on What if Leeds and then some suggestions of how we can help.

A Little Background

To give a little background to Hebe Media for those of you who do not know: We are an ideas factory. A collection of young professionals with one simple mission: to create interesting, cool, fun projects. We do this primarily in the creative industries. We produce projects, create brands, put on events and lots more. Over the past year we have worked with some of the world's biggest brands, cool cities and interesting people. We report on trends, create international communication strategies and lots of other things it would take far to long to explain. So our angle on Leeds is exactly that: our angle, our view on the city and what it is like for a young (the average age of our team is 27) creative business. We also have a Leeds network online which is close to 50,000 members including the 42,000 strong Leeds Facebook page.

To give a little background on a personal level: I am Leeds through and through. Born in Seacroft, raised in Whinmoor. My father is one of 13 children and my mother is one of 8, and virtually all the family and the zillions of cousins and second cousins I have, still live in Leeds. I have seen the best and worst of the city both professionally and personally so feel I am well positioned to give a balanced view. 

What if Leeds... Key Issues

I really liked the points being made about the transport system. Both Tom Riordan and Kieran Bradford (the 15 year old star of the show) emphasised the need for a dramatic improvement in this area, this is something we agree with strongly. The need for more green space in the centre and environmental issues is another issue we fully support. The 'community spirit' issue is of course important but is a complicated one. Leeds does have a great platform to start from - people are passionate about the city and their community, the challenge will be to harness that into something productive and sustainable.

Obviously as with any meeting like this, everyone goes with their own 'agenda' and a desire to hear something relevant to them. The last two points on the 'key issues' list were particularly interesting to us on a personal level. These points were - "Jobs and work for young people" and "greater recognition of culture and arts in Leeds". Again from a personal point of view I would have loved more discussion of the creative industries and how Leeds can develop it's own businesses and talent in this area. I firmly believe that in the future, Leeds (and frankly the whole of Europe and America) will become more of a creative economy. We can name this differently, 'Knowledge economy' or the 'Cultural industries' etc, but they all float around the same basis: ideas, intellectual property, brands will be our economic future. The UK Dept for Culture and Sport lists the creative sectors as:

• Advertising
• Architecture
• Arts and antique markets
• Crafts
• Design
• Designer Fashion
• Film, video and photography
• Software, computer games and electronic publishing
• Music and the visual and performing arts
• Publishing
• Television
• Radio

We are currently directly involved in projects that cover at least 8 of those areas, so going back to the original point: this is something I wanted to hear something about at the What if Leeds event. We are a new business growing very quickly and we made our home in Leeds. However in the future, what will stop us moving our company elsewhere? What can the city do to support businesses like ours to grow here? What benefit is there to staying in Leeds? It seems initially that this is not a priority moving forward for Leeds. I see all kinds of bodies/ groups /organisations that claim to represent people like us (either because of our age, 'industry' or location) but speaking honestly, they really don't represent us as individuals or as a company at all.

What we would love to see

There was a video at the event which you can see here. One of the comments that really stood out to me was "What if Leeds could be the next Berlin?" ...we would love it if Leeds was even considered in the same creative league as Berlin! We are currently planning a project there and it is definitely one of the coolest cities in the world right now. Four members of our team have at some point lived in Barcelona and this is another city we should look to take inspiration from. Of course those cities have a different political and social history from which they can draw inspiration, but we can definitely adopt and embrace some of their attitudes and inspirations. 

We need to have more of an open mind in Leeds and not try and measure something immediately. Some of the best projects I have seen in the last few years in cities like Berlin and Barcelona start small, they appeal to niches and they inspire either something that can take the concept to new markets or in some cases inspire a 2.0 version that is even better then the original. Usually in those cities, the first thing you hear is "how can we help?" rather then "you can not do that because..." and this makes a massive difference.

"Jobs and work for young people"

There was a lot of talk at the meeting about the level of unemployment among young people in Leeds. Councillor Wakefield in particular spoke about his despair at the current situation and his and the council's desire to change this. This issue is a massive one for the UK in general not just Leeds and is something we talk about regularly in the Hebe office. We have a really firm viewpoint on this which is based in both small scale research and our own personal experiences. For a lot of people university fees and student loans etc are not the thing that stop them entering further education, it is the fact that some people just don't want to. 

Some young people do not grow up dreaming of studying economics or becoming a lawyer, they want to be a footballer, a singer or a entrepreneur / mogul like Jay-Z! How can we channel those ambitions and passions into something? We firmly believe getting young people involved in real-life projects about the things they are passionate about can help develop other skills. Some do not want to listen to a 60 year old guy in a suit, they want to talk to the people who's names are on flyers, people who appear in music videos, fashion magazines... people they want to be like! 

What can we do? 

In every single project we create we try to implement some kind of learning and development for both our team members and also offer opportunities to young professionals and freelancers. In some of the projects we have coming up this year we are taking it further and including talented young people from high schools in Leeds. This will give these young people first hand experience of talking to, learning from and being around the people they look up to and respect and will hopefully fuel further creativity and lead to them developing some amazing projects of their own over the coming years. 

We will also be submitting plans soon for something that could be major advancement for the city in this area. We have learned a lot working with forward thinking people in 'education' like Hyper Island and have consulted with some of Leeds' best creative talent and everyone involved is passionate about helping the next generation and 'giving something something back'. More on this project soon...

Conclusion

What if Leeds produced a number of issues that we agree are very important to the city. The massive challenge now is developing a plan that addresses those issues, and not just a plan for the next year... a plan for the next 20 years. Getting the right people onside will be key in the early days. There is some wonderful talent in the city which is under-utilised, either by choice or because of lack of awareness but that needs to change. 

We at Hebe are more then willing to help where we can and contribute to this city's future. In 2030 I will be 48 and want to be able to look back at this period as the time when our input was heard and we helped shape the future of what could be one of the best cities around. The thing stopping us moving to another city right now is the potential in Leeds and the room to create something special that we can be proud of in the future. I am sure there are more like us, we just have to create a strategy that people can identify with and get behind. Not one overall strategy has to 'fit all' we can all develop lots of new things and hopefully the sum of those parts will produce something exciting and sustainable. 

The Guardian Leeds

With 2010 coming to a close, the team here at Hebe have been discussing some of our favourite projects and conversations from the past year. Without doubt one of the best projects we have seen this year is the Guardian Leeds. We wanted to use this post primarily to highlight the amazing work being done by John Baron but also to give a big "thank you" on behalf of all the people and projects he and the Guardian have helped this year.

Before the Guardian Leeds project had officially launched I had spoken with them about possible link ups and collaborations. We had the first opportunity to do this during the 'Leeds in Barcelona' project when I wrote a series of guest blog posts during my time over in Barcelona and then again when our Barcelona guests visited Leeds. I can tell you from first-hand experience that the trend researchers and bloggers were very impressed that Guardian Leeds supported the project and it gave a lot of energy and excitement to the interviews and photo-shoots we carried out. I am sure there are a lot of projects in Leeds that have benefited from the support and exposure that the Guardian Leeds has given. I know recently during the Leeds in Vancouver project, the help and exposure on the Guardian Leeds blog really helped showcase what was happening to the people back in Leeds. 

Another massive way the Guardian Leeds helped out was with the recent explosion in popularity for the UK Observing Diary project. The project has been featured all over newspapers and television in Asia and the girls are about to sign their first book deal. All this coverage started with the Guardian Leeds post focusing on the project, it sowed the seed that grew into something amazing and I am sure there will be more examples of which this can be said.

The projects and examples we have mentioned here are obviously close to Hebe hearts because they are fashion-based but the amount of different community groups, charities, independents the Guardian Leeds has helped is amazing. The project has also stimulated heated debates on things like the Leeds Arena, Trinity, Kirkgate Market and much more.

I recently sat down with John and we spoke about the impact the project has had on the Leeds community and some of his personal highlights and challenges so far. I asked him a few questions:

What were the original aims of the 'Guardian Leeds' project?

The original aims, which are still valid today, were to provide Leeds with a collaborative blog which reflects the issues people in Leeds are talking about. We've followed a number of local community campaigns, such as the campaign to transform the abandoned Royal Park School in Hyde Park into a community hub, the traders' calls to halt the decline at Leeds Kirkgate Market, the successful campaign to stop City of Leeds School in Woodhouse from closing and the community's bid to take over South Leeds Sports Centre to name a few.

My aim is to look at community activism, but also to have an eye on council accountability, so we look very closely at the decisions that are made at the Civic Hall and cover the debates between councillors in-depth.

What we've also aimed to do is raise the profile of bloggers in Leeds. There's a massive online community in Leeds which is just starting to find its voice. These are exciting times, and I've tried to provide a platform for as many voices as I can through the daily morning 'Leeds today' posts and through our 'blogosphere' section which we're currently adding more bloggers to. We also encourage guest bloggers to submit posts and cover different subjects and events - ultimately it's a blog written by the people of Leeds for the people of Leeds.

Why did you personally become involved?

Saw the job advertised and thought 'that sounds right up my street'. I'd previously had 16 years in local weekly papers and was increasingly aware that the industry was changing rapidly. I saw the Guardian Local project - which is an innovative pilot scheme - as being a bold experiment and at the forefront of what journalism could be in the future.

What have been the most challenging parts of the job 

Balancing 20,000 different jobs at once. Managing your time effectively is an important part of this job and you have to learn that as much as the journalist in you wants to cover everything, you really can't!

What has been the most rewarding aspect?

Undoubtedly supporting some of the community campaigns we've been following. That's what really motivates me personally and professionally - making a difference to people's lives by giving them a voice and then shining a light onto the council's response.

What are the plans for the future? 

I'm keen to get more people writing guest posts and coming on the site and posting their comments, adding their pictures to the Flickr group and generally getting the poeple of Leeds to take ownership of what is their blog!

Lets hope that this is just the beginning for this project and it continues to grow in reach and importance to the Leeds community. There is still some massive untapped potential for the Guardian Leeds and we hope to help John and the project as much as we can in 2011. In the new year we will be collaborating in a new way with the Guardian Leeds and our own Leeds Online community working together which is exciting; we will have much more information on this in early 2011.

For now though we would just like to give a huge thank you to the Guardian for creating Guardian Leeds and to the tireless work done by John Baron. Well done :)

A look back at Hebe's 2010

As we head towards Christmas, we have been looking back at 2010: what an amazing first year for Hebe Media! We have done a lot this year and perhaps more importantly we have identified people, brands and cities with similar values who we are going to collaborate with in 2011.

Our Team 

Our team has more then doubled in size during the year and we have more people ready to roll with us in early 2011. Simon has joined us to put energy behind the team's interest in the arts; Stacey has her ear to the ground for all things music; and Shang Ting heads up our Fashion and Trends squad. We have new people joining and collaborating with each of these departments early next year so things are only going to get more interesting in every area. Although we have separate 'titles' and areas of expertise, Hebe is very much a team and collaborative movement. Every fashion related project we create will incorporate music and art. Every music project includes fashion and art.

Before joining the team on a permanent basis, Simon had been working with people in all corners of the culture under his own brand, Roomman. In recent weeks we have decided to merge Roomman with Hebe, and we look forward to taking advantage of the opportunities this will create to work with artists, curators, galleries and museums, performance companies and more.

Some of the projects we have been involved with in 2010 have been really interesting. Leeds in Barcelona was a great example of stimulating international relations and collaborations. In a word... has resulted in a series of projects supporting experiments in writing, including a major exhibition at Shandy Hall, Coxwold that attracted the attention of audiences and critics alike. Hyper Island have arrived in the UK and early next year are opening their first international 'school' in Manchester. Leeds Online has developed into an amazing network with more then 43,000+ people now engaged. These are just a few of the projects we have loved getting up to our eyeballs in during 2010. We have also worked with Global PLCs, consumer brands and non-for-profit organisations. It has been a crazy mix but we have enjoyed every bit of it for different reasons.

Some of the people we have collaborated with in 2010

Individually Shang Ting has the amazing UK Observing Diary and is about to sign her first book deal. Simon helped The Independent pick its 50 Best museums and galleries and got married! Stacey has been spearheading our Spanish communication with the launch of Hebe Espanyol on Twitter and here on the blog. I have written guest blogs for The Guardian Leeds and helped as much as possible with projects like Leeds Digital Festival and the Social Media Surgeries. 

All in all it has been a busy year. But speaking speaking personally, one I have really enjoyed. The same applies for the rest of the team. It has been a year of change for Simon:

"2010 has been a year of big changes, both in the world as a whole (economic, political, ecological) and for each of the team (weddings, migrations, job changes). In many ways it feels like all the change created the right conditions for us to start afresh, think differently, and do some truly special things. It's added up to be a year I for one won't forget, and has put much in place to help us grow further in 2011."

Shang Ting has also seen a lot of changes both personally and for the Hebe team in general:

"2010 has been an incredible year for me and for our team. I'm very grateful to be given the opportunities I've received this year, all thanks to Hebe. I'm also proud of myself  for a few little things I achieved this year since I just graduated in 2009. Hebe as a creative group is so different now than a year ago, I'm looking forward to what will happen next."

Our newest team member Stacey is looking forward to what 2011 will bring:

"I haven’t been at Hebe for the whole of 2010 as I graduated University in June but from the minute I started I have been constantly learning. I promised myself that I would join a company where I can keep being creative and keep learning. I love the fun stuff Hebe brings, I love the necessary stuff that keeps us grounded and I love my team. Lee and Simon had a vision and it has continued to come to fruition every day. I am so glad I am a part of it and that I can help Hebe grow as it helps me grow everyday. Who knows where we will be in 5 years time, I just know it’s going to be somewhere good. I have so much faith in all of us and what we have to offer."

Looking towards 2011

Next Year we will be presenting some cool new projects. We cannot say too much at this stage, but we are really excited by some of the things we will be announcing after Christmas. We will be putting on more events, creating more interesting content and will also begin telling our own story. Although the Hebe Media brand is only 14 months old, our company is now more then 10 years old and we have done a lot of different things and worked with some of the world's biggest brands. We feel it is important to begin telling this story to add some context and 'back-up' to some of the projects coming in 2011.

Hebe TV will be launched early next year and will give a much greater insight into things we are doing here. Content will include interviews and insights from some of the people we work with, introductions to team members, diaries from our interns, exclusive music videos and loads more. 

I hope this post has given a little more information to those of you not directly involved in some of our projects and we hope that next year we can share even more in terms of case studies and 'behind the scenes' stuff. 

Introducing: Bethanie Lunn

Photo: www.stevestensonphotography.com

She is a writer, presenter, stylist and with her first book selling out just three days after launch, Bethanie Lunn's star is certainly on the rise. We sat down with Bethanie to discuss her career, plans and vision for the future.

We have got to know Bethanie during the past year mainly due to our mutual interest in the UK fashion scene and this is certainly an area she has a great deal of experience in. (Bethanie is the resident style and beauty expert for Meadowhall, Sheffield) We have often spoke about the power of blogging and this is something that has helped Bethanie raise her profile online, so much so that she has recently landed a new role as an online presenter for the X-Factor's fashion partner: very.co.uk

Bethanie's Book

Recently Bethanie has been on a whirlwind UK book tour promoting the release of 'A Modern Girl's Guide to Fabulousness' which has already attracted the praise of global fashion icon Elle Macpherson and many others. The book is billed as a 'lifestyle bible of services, places, tips and tricks for modern life'. Bethanie hopes the book is just the first step in taking her ideas and tips global:

"I hope to do as Elle Macpherson says in her testimonial of my book and ‘take my Fabulousness global’, I like the idea of bringing out a Modern Girl’s Guide To Fabulousness in different countries, sharing the best kept secrets and hidden gems in the world to help women everywhere get the best products and services, wherever they are"

The Future

Looking towards the future, Bethanie is determined to make her own luck and create her own opportunities:

"I’m not here to put my nose to the grind stone nor am I here to accept situations – I’m here to create my own situations, make a difference, make an impact, help others if needed and fulfil every day with purpose, intent and fulfilled dreams…and thoroughly enjoy myself while I’m at it!  This is what I remind myself of every day"

We will be collaborating with Bethanie in the near future on new projects and we are sure that together we can develop some really interesting ideas. Some of these ideas will be 'Leeds-centric' with a focus on showcasing some of the great talent and potential we have in the city. Bethanie believes the talent is here:

"The vintage fashion scene in Leeds is particularly strong and, sadly unlike other cities, there are still lots of independent stores and plenty of entrepreneurial spirit.  Initiatives such as Leeds Shopping Week and Leeds in Vancouver, for instance are excellent but I feel what is lacking is the community support to back these independents and move forward to initiatives to really put Leeds on the fashion map, make an impact and reap the rewards the city truly deserves.  Hopefully this is where we’ll come in!"

Having a professional as focused and ambitious as Bethanie providing input onto upcoming projects will definitely be a big advantage to everyone involved. It seems, like many people we talk about on this blog, she is only at the start of her journey and we are really excited to see what will happen with Bethanie in the future.

Check out our previous Introducing posts here: 

Introducing: James Steward

Introducing: Marc Leaf

Introducing: Muireann Carey-Campbell