The difference bewteen Toronto and Miami stores

I have heard many times before that Toronto is slow with fashion, that Toronto follows other cities. I didn't know what this truly meant but it was fun to joke about it.

I was quite surprise on my visits to stores in Miami that the managers actually told me the time the buyers would be in and how to see the buyers. In contrast to Toronto where the staff and even the buyers try whatever they can to avoid you.

Buyers in Miami were happy and excited to see the JUZD line. They are friendly people.

But this all makes sense you see. The world and people in Miami look to Miami to set trends. The best new lines strive to have their lines sold in Miami and only the best survive out there. While in Toronto, the lines that approach the stores are local lines and the majority of these local lines are not good and don't go much further than a few Toronto stores.

And the world and people are not looking toward Toronto for trends. People in Toronto want to go to a Toronto store and buy lines that are popular in LA, New York, and Miami. Torontorians don't go into stores in Toronto looking for the latest and hottest Toronto brand. You can see this from the buying of stores like TNT and Over the Rainbow. The one store that supports local artists is Got Style. I hope with the success of JUZD more artists from Toronto take starting a clothing line more serious and determine to compete like they do in LA and New York.

Learn what inspires the JUZD designs!

Theresa Laurico from Asian Inspiration talks to Jing about the JUZD collection and brand. Find out where Jing got his Asian Inspiration from - originally aired on RogersTV.

Asian Inspiration takes a look at Asian culture in the Greater Toronto area. The reporters profile up to date events, fashion, culture, people, health and lifestyle. Asian Inspiration airs Thursdays at 11:30am and Saturdays at 4:30pm.

15 ways to get more photography business

I’m looking for a photographer for our next shoot. I posted a listing on Craig's List and got a flood of applicants. For those that submit to online jobs and never get a reply back I want you to know I actually went through each and every single email. I would love to reply back but just don’t have the time, sorry.

To help you photographers to get more gigs not just in fashion here are my 15 top recommendations to get more photography business from the perspective of the client.

(No particular order)

1. Be enthusiastic. I met with a photographer a few days ago. He does great work and charges a reasonable rate. Problem is we didn’t click and I feel he doesn’t care about my product.
2. Keep your email short. Make it personal, if possible tell me how you are perfect for the job and how you love my product. Don’t go overboard, flattery is good until I can obviously tell you are bullshitting.
3. Don’t B.S. Don’t tell me you are an ideal fashion photographer, and have one picture of your semi-attractive friend in a trendy shirt among 300 wedding photos.
4. Don’t have 300 wedding photos in your portfolio. In fact don’t have more than 5 photos from a shoot. I want to see your diversity, not 20 pictures of slightly different angles of someone’s toe.
5. Link me directly. Don’t make me go searching on your site for the links to see some pictures. If you think the shoot you did for XYZ band is perfect for what I need, link me directly. So don’t make a Flash site. Can’t link directly in Flash.
6. Make it easy to view your pictures. I don’t want to click, drag, and scroll to see each photo. Make one long scroll bar or simple click for navigation.
7. Guide my experience. Make it easy to go from one set of photos to the next. Also make it to get your contact info. Have it on every page or have a link on every page.
   
8. Show your versatility. If I want a dark prison psychotic sober style of photos it’s okay you haven’t done that before. It is also okay that you specialize in happy outdoor fun with the family style but show me that you can create diverse moods in your photography. By doing this you will get all type of jobs you’ve never done before. However you might want to be an artist known for one and only one style, this is okay too.
9. Show pictures and show it BIG. I’m on a photographer’s site and I see some photos, it might look good but I’m not sure. The resolution is too low, the image is too small, or the compression is too high. I’m not a fan of Flash sites and when you use flash it distorts the image even more. Bigger image have more impact and I can see the quality of your work.
   
10. I don't need to hear your life story. On your site I do not need to know you like eating chocolate on your Sunday afternoons. I’m not hiring you to eat chocolate. But if it really relates to the job then tell me in the email.
    
11. Get your site professionally designed. You know that pair of $30 Calvin Klein underwear you bought with the nice packaging? It might be the same quality as the $1.99 one from China town but only difference is that the CK one feels like a $30 underwear (in your mind). If you are a bad photographer you are a bad photographer, but if you are a good photographer with a bad site you are a bad photographer.
12. Don’t ask for more info. The truth is I have 60 emails to view. I might like your work but if I have to send a request or give you more info or ask for your rate, I would rather go with the next guy who provided his portfolio and rate. It’s instant I don’t have to wait or exert more effort. Both of which I hate.
13. Make your site usable. Most photographer sites are pretty simple which is nice. Don’t make me figure out how to view your pictures or how to find all the different categories.
14. Tell me more. Tell me what the photos were used for and the context. This shows me if you understand the situation and if you can direct your creativity appropriately.
15. Don’t show me graphic design work. Don’t show me the cover of the magazine (especially if it’s not a well known one) with all the title, text, and other crap on it. If it was used for a major magazine show your photo and the thumb of the magazine.

If you don't meet all of these still apply. This is a guide and will only increase your chances. Good luck and I hope these tips help and are enlightening.

Fashion is superficial! JUZD is not.

I was talking to a friend who have been in the fashion industry for a long time. He was part of the urban streetwear fashion scene when it first started in the 80's. A very powerful thing he told me was: "fashion is superficial, this is different, when people wear a JUZD shirt they are making a statement, they are making a difference."

Up to that point I never thought of our JUZD bamboo shirts being that. We didn't start using bamboo because we wanted to save the planet. Nor did we use bamboo, the most eco-friendly fabric to jump on the eco-friendly bandwagon. Heck, I don't even like the word "eco-friendly"...it's just too happy...too friendly, I prefer eco-conscious. But I do have a lot of respect for nature and wanted to create a brand that's organic that goes deep into the spirit and innate power of the individual. And using bamboo is part of that philosophy.

Two things can happen. One, people buy JUZD because it's eco-friendly (They want to help save the planet or because it's trendy). Or people feel passionate about the JUZD philosophy and brand and buy it for that reason. Either way I'll be happy because you and I will have made a difference, intended or not.

Countdown to March 19th 2008 - Confirmed, the JUZD official launch party

Hi everyone, it’s definitely been awhile since we’ve updated our blog! No we have not abandoned it, we have just been crazy busy working on finalizing details for our official launch party in March and the designs for our Fall 08/09 collection. So here is the inside scoop on recent JUZD happenings…

After visiting tons of different venues all over Toronto we finally found a space that we fell in love with and feel is absolutely PERFECT for the unveiling of JUZD and our Spring 08 and Fall 08/09 collections.

We are extremely excited to announce that JUZD’s official launch party will be held at MARO on Wednesday March 19th, 2007 during the Toronto L’oreal Fashion Week. In addition to that, while we were in talks with Uniqlifestyle (which are the owners of Brant House, West, Maro, and Cheval) to sign the contract for the venue space in March, they had expressed tons of excitement and love for our shirts that we are now in talks with them to outfit their bartenders specifically in our JUZD tee’s.

We can’t wait for you guys to see our amazing collections for yourself! March may seem like a long time from now, but it’s really just around the corner. Get ready for an evening of fun and fabulous fashions.