Senior HR Professional | EdD Candidate in Educational Leadership | Lifelong Learning Advocate | Passionate about Merging Education and Corporate Learning & Development
Sometimes, the most unexpected encounters can offer the most profound insights. Meet my new friend here, Fendi, who reminded me of an important lesson during a recent encounter.
In the corporate world, just like in the pasture, diversity and uniqueness are strengths. Mini Highland cows, with their long horns and shaggy coats, might stand out in the herd, but it's precisely these traits that make them so resilient and adaptable to harsh climates. Similarly, our unique skills and varied experiences equip us to thrive in the ever-changing business landscape.
As a lifelong learning advocate and a believer in the power of diverse perspectives, I see parallels between the adaptability of these magnificent creatures and the way we, as professionals, can leverage our distinctive backgrounds to drive innovation and success.
#UniquePerspectives#LifelongLearning#DiversityInBusiness#InspirationEverywhere#AlwaysLearning#LeadershipDevelopment
Plus-size adventurer + CEO of The Gorgeous Agency, helping the world’s greatest brands to navigate conversation about body inclusivity, build connection and authentic growth via the 65% of Americans in larger bodies.
Can 65% of Americans find their place in your brand or in your corporate culture?
I found this alien creature at Meow Wolf in Denver. The experience overall was mind blowing as it always is in these extraordinary experiential art installations, but it was such a sweet surprise and welcome to find this alien in one of the rooms. This alien and a number of other images were in larger bodies. Yes, they have three eyes but the rest of them really looks a lot like me.
It’s so important that you reflect back people as they are in the moment. This simple gesture of imagery is what can unlock the door to business growth in attracting the plus size market. Also welcoming and retaining incredible talent that is often overlooked elsewhere.
When we work with brands, body inclusivity isn’t just an add on. It is done with intention and purpose. Let us The Gorgeous Agency help you show, not tell that you are body inclusive.
ᴄᴇʟᴇʙʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ ɢʟᴏʙᴀʟ ᴅɪᴠᴇʀꜱɪᴛʏ ᴍᴏɴᴛʜ 🌍
Recently, our Black Flower Agency's experts took center stage in Miami to discuss the dynamic shift in global perceptions, emphasizing how sustainability is reshaping our world and the luxury industry. Beyond mere greenwashing, there's a fresh wave of consumers — a generation that places diversity and inclusion at the core of their values.
Here at Black Flower Agency we firmly believe:
• In embracing and valuing everyone: from our hiring processes to our design choices, fostering an environment where understanding and mutual respect flourish.
• Inclusive marketing and representation: with a conscious effort to represent the diverse world we live in, showcasing a range of cultures, identities, and stories.
• Collaborating with diverse suppliers and partners from varied backgrounds.
And we believe that luxury must embody these principles to resonate with the consumers of tomorrow. Now is the time to not just acknowledge, but actively integrate these values.
Looking ahead, sustainability won't be a buzzword but a standard expectation.
Interested in diving deeper into the luxury consumers of 2025? Drop us a message!
#LeadTheChange#GlobalDiversityMonth#SustainabilityMatters#BlackFlowerAgency#sustainableevents
A few months ago, Black Flower Agency was part of the LVMH Sustainability Summit. Antonio Guadagnoli, Guillaume Helleu and myself had the honor of stepping onto the stage as speakers.
The message?
1. Living in a hybrid future, the next generation will be undeniably influential: By 2025, Gen Z and Millennials will hold an impressive 65-70% share of the luxury market.
2. Their values can't be ignored: 1 in 5 Gen Z consumers have turned their backs on brands over the past year due to sustainability concerns. Time to rethink sustainability.
3. Yes, sustainability currently presents an opportunity to drive top-line growth for luxury brands. But this is a narrow window of opportunity, and it won't last.
Opening the conversation about sustainability is a challenging, necessary and creative journey. We are here to encourage people stepping up, not just talking about sustainability, but integrating it into their professional practices. Sustainability needs to be core, front and center, interwoven into our strategic and creative fabric.
If you are curious about the latest in sustainability and the Next Gen's perspective, let's chat.
If you feel that sustainability and creativity are not compatible, let's chat.
Even if you feel that sustainability is "another constraint", let's chat. 💬
#sustainableexperiences#sustainableevents#sustainabilitymatters#blackfloweragency
ᴄᴇʟᴇʙʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ ɢʟᴏʙᴀʟ ᴅɪᴠᴇʀꜱɪᴛʏ ᴍᴏɴᴛʜ 🌍
Recently, our Black Flower Agency's experts took center stage in Miami to discuss the dynamic shift in global perceptions, emphasizing how sustainability is reshaping our world and the luxury industry. Beyond mere greenwashing, there's a fresh wave of consumers — a generation that places diversity and inclusion at the core of their values.
Here at Black Flower Agency we firmly believe:
• In embracing and valuing everyone: from our hiring processes to our design choices, fostering an environment where understanding and mutual respect flourish.
• Inclusive marketing and representation: with a conscious effort to represent the diverse world we live in, showcasing a range of cultures, identities, and stories.
• Collaborating with diverse suppliers and partners from varied backgrounds.
And we believe that luxury must embody these principles to resonate with the consumers of tomorrow. Now is the time to not just acknowledge, but actively integrate these values.
Looking ahead, sustainability won't be a buzzword but a standard expectation.
Interested in diving deeper into the luxury consumers of 2025? Drop us a message!
#LeadTheChange#GlobalDiversityMonth#SustainabilityMatters#BlackFlowerAgency#sustainableevents
✔️Ensure your employees don't feel like they're living in the shadows of "Nobody Knows I'm Here."
Instead, foster an environment where they can thrive on the journey of the protagonist in "The Devil Wears Prada."
🏅This iconic approach empowers employees to overcome obstacles and ultimately attain recognition and success.
#LuckyCarrot#employeerecognition#employeeengagement
📬 🚨The 2024 Artlogic Gallery Report published this week! 📬🚨
Key findings reveal galleries are facing longer sales cycles and work-life balance challenges, especially in North America, where 61% report a poor-work life balance.
I've witnessed first-hand the significant amount of time galleries dedicate to administrative tasks - especially in the lead up to fairs and exhibition openings. This often leaves gallery teams with little room for strategic growth, managing collector/gallery relationships, or even the creativity needed to run an exciting exhibition programme - there's simply not enough hours in the work day!
With 66% of gallerists optimistic about tech adoption, and 90% recognising the potential to consolidate that technology into one, unified system, the report shows that galleries are starting to take a new approach about how they spend their time, both in and out of the gallery.
Many in our community are eager to use technology to adapt and grow with the fast-changing market, reducing the amount of time spent on admin, and instead spending more time on fostering relationships with their artists and collectors.
You can read more findings from the report below:
#ArtMarket#GalleryManagement#Artlogic#Innovation
📊 Artlogic's new research report reveals how gallerists from across North America and Europe really feel about work... and the findings tell us a lot. 👀
🌎 Our data shows that over half of North American gallerists do not have a good balance between their work and personal life. But in Europe, it's a different story. Most European gallerists are perfectly happy with their work-life balance. The data also highlights that European gallerists take more personal time away from the gallery, could this be why they're so much happier than gallerists in North America? 🏖️
📰 Read the Artlogic Gallery report 2024 for more intel on gallery working dynamics, including which job role within European/North American galleries has the highest satisfaction with work-life balance, and which has the lowest!
💡 A must-read for galleries and art professionals looking to benchmark operations against the global gallery sector.
👉 Tap the link to read the full report!
https://hubs.ly/Q02FN-Xm0#ArtlogicReport#Gallery#WorkLifeBalance#ArtWorldInsights#ArtMarketTrends#ArtBusiness#GallerySuccess
🌈 Rainbows are pretty nice to look at, but they can get boring fast if that's all you ever see. 🤔 Same goes for workplaces filled with people cut from the same cloth (talk about a freakin' snooze fest).
It might seem tidy and in order, but so is a box of crayons before any coloring happens.
🎇 The magic happens when you gather all those different colors together and encourage them to move outside the lines once in a while.
Your people are the colors that make your organization thrive.
💡 So while gathering diversity is crucial, it means literally nothing if people still feel boxed in by others perceptions or expectations.
Organizations who want to attract top talent and ultimately succeed long-term will foster a welcoming space where quirks strengthen bonds, ideas mix freely, and progress knows no shade 🌴
😍 Only then will you see the most vibrant, rich, and game-changing blends blossom before you.
If you desire true innovation and inclusion, first make sure your crayons are free to roam wild across the whole page - not just a sanctioned corner.
💙 Ethico#diversityandinclusion#ethicalleadership#growthmindset
I help brands to understand and anticipate the culture of the future | Director of Culture @ The Mighty Shed | Pleasure-Focused-Futurist | Imagine & act on your brand’s future today
When I say that retail growth can protect, not destroy, cultural identity…
Look no further than Uniqlo’s new Rome flagship store.
They’ve mastered the art of integration:
1️⃣ Culturally Rich Location:
— Set in the historic heart of Rome.
2️⃣ Inspired Design:
— Think arches, travertine, and wood finishes that breathe Rome’s essence.
3️⃣ Community Engagement:
— Collaborations with local artists and initiatives like restoring green spaces.
Uniqlo’s new store isn’t just a place to shop. It’s a celebration of Roman heritage and creativity.
From the Re.Uniqlo Studio offering bespoke tailoring…
To the UTme! Machine for personal T-shirt customisation…
And the ‘adoption’ of a local green area to train homeless people to become gardeners…
Every detail is about connecting with the community and preserving local identity.
Brands that understand and integrate into their cultural context have the chance to become part of the community’s story.
What do you think? Can brands truly integrate into local culture?
Or is it all for show?
How do you get 6 people to write the word ‘sustainability', together, without directly touching the pen (and with 4 different mother tongues)?
A beautifully simple and effective metaphor for the challenge we face: rewriting our futures, as a collective of individuals, with very different backgrounds and challenges, on the ‘intangible’ topic of climate change.
It was the end of a 24h sharing session on progress-to-date from the incredible Hang Lung Properties + LVMH collaboration, which has already rewritten the book on how tenants and landlords work together.
Focused on tangible and measurable outcomes, the sessions served to share what has been achieved and learned so far. On our end, thank you LVMH and Louis Vuitton* for supporting and enabling us to share the results to date.
And recognizing that there is still so much to do, the sessions brilliantly ended with these simple yet powerful ‘games’ reminding us that we need to build stronger bridges to cross the divides that remain.
*Nadège Samson, Dak Coutts, Nicolas Martin, Joanne Allott
Guiding in a new future where art and luxury are a force that transforms and unite the world.
For very long time the world of art and luxury has been limited and disconnected from the realities facing our society.
We must take care of people, ensuring that luxury and art aren’t just a privilege or a place for a select few, but a FEELING—an EMOTION of appreciation, beauty, and value that enriches lives and transforms communities.
We specialize in forging partnerships with visionary individuals and companies as well as communities and cities to reintroduce a sense of belonging, connection and transformation through public programs, art experiences, events, urban development art, and various mediums to create meaningful experiences and foster powerful connections to transform on a global scale.
Let’s transform. Connect. Let’s bring the world together.
Ever notice how some leaders command the room the moment they walk in?
It’s not just what they say; it’s their presence and style.
When I pitch to a brand, I make sure my appearance aligns with their identity.
It’s my way of showing that I’ve done my homework and that I’m invested in their brand even before we start talking.
It’s about respect, professionalism, and building trust from the very first moment.
This isn’t just a personal habit; it’s a strategy used by many successful leaders.
Think of Justin Trudeau, Jacinda Ardern, or Narendra Modi—their outfits are more than just clothes; they’re powerful symbols of who they are.
Take Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for example.
Her iconic red lipstick? It’s more than a beauty choice; it’s a bold statement that embodies her confidence and makes her unforgettable.
In the end, how you present yourself speaks volumes before you even say a word.
It’s about making a statement and setting the tone for how you’re perceived.
#StyleWithPurpose#LeadershipInStyle#AOCInspiration#BrandAlignment#DressThePart
Store Manager at Walmart
7moWell said! Is that your baby? I have 2 on my farm. Joyce and Norm are expecting their first baby this Summer.