2 Minutes Of Fame
I would lie if I said that I don’t like being in the spotlight, especially when it’s a good one. Maybe some of you might recall, last summer, in my post Time, So Precious, So Scarce, I mentioned working on a fun project with an upcoming DJ.
I can finally tell you guys more about the project, which was for DJ Tony Junior and his father, Toni Peroni Senior. DJ Tony Junior is an upcoming Dutch DJ, very well known in the US and other parts of the world; he made his debut at Tomorrowland last summer, with his hit Immortal under the label Spinnin’ Records, which you are surely familiar with from Martin Garrix, Afrojack and lots of others. He also works with Steve Aoki, one of my favorites too. Toni Senior was a rock n roll star/ drummer in a Dutch band in the 80s.
Father & Son, both sweet, genuine and very nice to work with, have become close acquaintances since we approached them about 2 years ago to wear the Wulterkens Casual T-shirt line. It’s never a dull moment with them, always fun and laughs.
When Tony Junior asked us to be involved in creating the first designs for Tony’s t-shirtline IMMRTL, it was an honor and an exciting project to do. At the same time they were filming their own Dutch reality tv show called Toni & Tony: Zo Vader, Zo Zoon. The past week the first episode aired on Dutch national television RTL5, and yup, you guessed it, my partner and I had the privilege of starring in it too, for 2 whole minutes haha!
Not being aware of the voice overs, the master editing of the RTL crew and the opinions of Toni Senior, I’m a bit stuck in the middle on whether I’m happy about my 2 minutes of fame or not. The idea that over 460,000 people and counting have seen this, does make me very self-conscious and a bit shy. Nevertheless it’s been very good promotion for my partner and I as designers, but also lots of brand exposure for Wulterkens, since Toni Senior is/will be rocking our t-shirts throughout the different episodes of the show and in other shows, such as Carlo & Irene that aired today on RTL4, which we are very grateful for.
In case you want to know why we have those looks on our faces, check out our funny 2 minute scene from the first episode, here.
Unfortunately there are no English Subtitles, so I’m very sorry for my non-Dutch readers.
To my Dutch readers, I highly recommend you to watch the full episode , because it’s really awesome to take a look into the rock n roll way of life Toni & Tony, click here.
Pictures are screenshots from the first episode. New episodes of Toni & Tony: Zo Vader, Zo Zoon, will be airing every Tuesday night 21:30 on RTL 5.
Outfitdetails:
More info on my outfit can be found in my post The Cost of Ambition.
The Wulterkens 3D Signature spotted on Toni Senior is available for purchase here.
Love,
Nadira
- Published in Written Archives 2013-2018
Pressure Creates Diamonds
As I’m sitting in my office on this cold rainy Saturday, waiting for my office to warm up a bit, I’m contemplating on how eventually all the dots will connect. Every piece of the puzzle will fall into place. Everything that’s happening, is happening for a reason.
There is this strong tendency that we all have to show off the better parts of our lives to the public. In general we tend to only/mostly share the good things that are happening in our lives with others and on social media. Nobody wants to see the struggle, they only want to see the glamour.
For a long time I’ve had and part of me still has, the tendency to create a certain image of myself and our business where it’s all and only about the success and growth. Because I only want people to see/believe things are going great. I come from a culture, where a lot of people, even family, for no other reason than simple jealousy love to hear when you’re not doing great. And I for one am not a person who wants to give them any satisfaction of the sort.
But then I realized how unrealistic and unfair it is to be dishonest; giving people the idea that there are only ups and no downs. Downs are as much part of life as ups are, and no one is excluded or gets spared. Everyone has their own issues, even the people from whom you don’t expect it. Everybody has their own shit to deal with. So why not own it, just like you do with the positive things. What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger right? So it even has an up-side to it.
The past few months we’ve been making some big investments to put our brand on a higher level. As my fellow marketers would understand, it’s pretty hard in some cases of marketing to directly connect a certain return to a particular marketing investment. And then you suddenly realize how vulnerable you are to the economy as a young brand. Let’s just say the past month hasn’t been easy. At some point it’s been like Murphy’s law. One disappointment after another. I didn’t think I could handle the stress anymore. You can work so hard (I’m talking roughly 90 hours a week) to create something, and within a few months of investments and ‘’not so smart’’ decisions things can make a total turnaround.
It’s painful, hard to deal with and to accept. Especially when it is your baby, it’s your creation, your ultimate goal and dream, everything you base your future upon. It’s something you’ve put all your money, time, energy, blood, sweat, tears in. But that’s the reality. You have to take it as it comes. It’s entrepreneurship.
We’ve learned so much during this period, literally an extremely expensive list of lessons learned. All these lessons, although I wish I didn’t have to learn them this way, are part of the pressure that eventually creates Diamonds. Or so I tell myself (Never a Failure, always a lesson). As nauseating as the ride may be, getting off the rollercoaster is simply not an option.
Just when I thought I reached my limits, I discovered I have the power to go beyond. I know one thing for sure. I was born one month too early and they didn’t think I was going to make it into this world. I fought for my life and now at 25 years I can feel it in my entire being that I’m here to create something big. So no matter what it will take, even if it means taking a few steps back, I will continue to fight. My partner, Edwin Wulterkens, has been fighting all his life as well. So the sure thing is…Wulterkens, as a brand, is a diamond in the making.
I hope that by being honest about our situation instead of pretending like most do, I am able to inspire you to keep on fighting, whatever battle you’re fighting. As I’ve said before…I know what I want and I’m gonna get it, no matter what it takes.
Conclusion: Never give up, never bend, just take control, adjust your sails. Tides eventually turn around and great things will come to you!
Plus: It does make a better story, I mean let’s be honest. If everything goes as planned, there is no adventure.
Stay focused!
Love,
Nadira
Outfitdetails: Multi-way Sweater: Victoria’s Secret; Pants: Zara; Heels: Missguided.
As most bloggers go darker with colors as the season changed, I wanted to do a lighter look in contrast. I’m still hooked on the nude-white look and it brightens up the day!
”An entire sea of water can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship. Similarly, the negativity of the world around you can’t put you down unless you allow it to get inside you”.
