#27 Is creativity important anymore?

In any given moment, I am both inspired and uninspired — overwhelmed and underwhelmed. Everything, everywhere, all at once: a film so aptly named, speaks to our current predicament playing out in so many ways:

In the last five years we’ve seen the barrier to entry for brands launching online disappear, while the challenges to scale increase exponentially. Will we ever see valuations again like we did in 2020/2021? Is VC funding over? And do indie brands stand a chance amongst the million dollar budgets of big corps? What does it mean to have ‘values’ as a brand anymore? Are there any products left to make? Any campaigns left to write? And can brands keep up with consumer expectations? Can we exist without Facebook, influencers, constant sales periods or monthly product releases? What does slowing down look like at different businesses size and age? Is it better to operate within your industry and play the game? Or does having the courage to be disliked, to rebel and live outside of your industry promise long term gain?

We recently held an industry talk whereby we discussed the start goal vs messy middle vs end goal, that many brands find themselves in, especially post algorithm.

Within the beauty industry specifically, for Fluff 4 years in, the messy middle is:

-The increasing amount of skincare brands launching every day.

-The increasing amount of SPF products being launched by said skincare brands every day.

-Heritage brands including Revlon closing down.

-Unicorn brands like Linktree and FB and Glossier laying off hundreds to thousands of employees.

-The increasing price of influencers.

-The increasing CPAS of paid spend.

-Green Washing. Red Cycle closing down.

-Consumer expectations vs what’s possible.

-Cancel culture.

-Hustle culture.

-Twitter.

-The Metaverse.

And within this messy middle, we as brands, as founders, as creatives, find ourselves asking*:

-How to make sustainable choices knowing it’s never enough.

-The balance between adding value to the world and adding for $$

-How to stay authentic when brands are expected to stay consistent but humans and the world is constantly changing.

-How to bring new ideas to the table while the collective unconscious is sending us all in the same direction.

-How to challenge the consumer while still making them feel at home.

-What’s left? What’s next?

It’s a tough spot to be in, that being a brand, founder, or even creative. It begs the ultimate question: am I just doing this for the sake of it, or because I think it’s important work?

Is creativity important anymore? Or is it all we’ve got?

Does creativity look disruptive, loud, nonsensical, or obnoxious? Or does it look quiet, traditional, and modest?

One of my favourite restauranteurs, Andrew Tarlow said,

“I think people want to come back to an honest approach, an honest cooking style. We joke a lot that people just want a nice warm sweater to put on. They know the colour and they know the fit of it. It’s like, you don’t want to try on that tight suit that might not fit you, after a year. And I think it’s more than a trend. You can see that, stylistically, these things don’t really go away. They fall a little out of flavour for a while, but then they’re always there in the undercurrent.”

This is how I feel about the beauty industry, and perhaps brands in general. I don’t think creativity is a trend. I think it’s quite simple.

Creativity is:

-Talking IRL.

-Rethinking concepts.

-Rewriting rules.

-Owning your story.

-Publishing your thoughts.

-Selling your art.

-Planning for a future. Dreaming of a better one.

Lately I’m:

Interested:

-Brad Troemel’s Hustle Report is as always, on point — breaking down societal, technological and memetic influences on how we’ve adopted and commodified ‘the hustle’. Instead of watching a movie tonight, you should watch this. Thanks to Nick for introducing me.

-Jonah Hill’s doco, Stutz. A candid convo with his therapist, and an introduction for anyone interested in therapy, or unpacking and building on their life. This is creativity.

Note: It’s very rare that I recommend watching anything, and I’ve just suggested two things.

-James Turrell created perfume bottles that look like art. Dries Van Noten is getting into refills, and Kindred Black continues to do their own thing, so beautifully. I wonder how quickly this will trickle down to mainstream beauty? Is the next step designing packaging not to be recycled, but rather kept?

Interesting:

-We made a podcast, Pretty Hard. It’s all about discussing what we feel when we think about our relationship to beauty — how it’s changed over time, what we’ve been and are currently influenced by, what we’re trying to change, and of course, how hard it is to run (and consume) a beauty brand in today’s digital age. The first episode discusses my personal relationship to beauty. I’d love you to listen, and know what you think.

-Our product drop is live, for one more week. Our campaign centred around the Before & After shot, and one question: what if you loved both? We sold out of our Lip Oil in 4 days (you can preorder).

-Our pop up store is open in Fitzroy until December 20th. 63 Smith St, Tue-Sun. It’s a beautiful space, designed for conversation. Come by.

That’s it.

If you like these updates, please share them. If you want to read past updates, do that here. Got thoughts, feelings, feedback? Say hi.

*Thanks to Mirte for articulating the creative dilemma, and everyone who continues to listen to and advise on my thoughts, feelings, and rants.