All ’bout Trees Slaps and Tickles at The Pickle on a Tuesday
As I write this I feel the ethical need to tell you of my exact whereabouts. I’m sitting with a whiskey sprite in front of me, disco lights above me and what I think is the Dracula of what a squirrel/monkey/ and bear would have if they decided to mate. For the purpose of story let’s just call it a squirrel since I’m sitting beside my friend who is launching his all organic ethical clothing line All ’bout Trees or A.B.T (www.allbouttrees.com) and his logo stems of his family. Chances are if you are Venezuelan you know of El Bloque De Armas. They own Playboy in Venezuela. Yeah…
So his great-grandfather has a typical billion dollar story. He started selling newspapers on the streets and got these people who he delivered the news to on a daily basis to locals who got to know him as their daily source of news. This was the way that he was able to raise funds to eventually begin, execute, and publish his own newspaper, which he then delivered to the same people who knew him as their daily news source for years. If this doesn’t give you credibility I don’t know what does. Credibility is key. Someone to back you or your concept up. And what this very smart businessman did in the 1920′s was to back himself up. In the era of the great America depression and in pre-booming Venezuela this was unheard of. People purchased, liked, and supported this unbiased publication titled “El 2001.” Ironically, 2001 would be the same year the founder of its publication died, but I’ll leave that for my book.
Anyways he went on to raise the money by selling the future to a society that would too soon be destroyed their ruler. While others crumbled to their demise, El Bloque de Armas who was known to just report the facts and keep opinions aside was left completely alone and acquired radio stations, channels, magazines and fully blossomed into a media conglomerate. Last time I checked the company was valued at six billion dollars.
So why is this important? Well his logo was a squirrel he created and A.B.T is using that same squirrel to start their ethical apparel all organic clothing line today. Of course it has a modern feel to it like all things current should, but that’s just history repeating itself in a different time.
Oh did I forget to mention that his grandfather gave fashion designer Carolina Herrera, who my other friend Eugy, also starting her own clothing line called Fake Frivolity got to meet and like every other aspiring fashion designer idolizes the investment that would make her who she is today? A mere 50 thousand would translate into what the Carolina Herrera empire is in present day society. This investment also got her to custom make his aunts wedding dress for free. Now that’s building ties. When you have Carolina Herrera make your wedding dress for you only and personally gift it you are a Carrie Bradshaw. And don’t we all want to be our own version of Carrie?
So today this same squirrel comes back and tries to tackle the modern-day fashion world that is be or be eaten. And what better way to do so than by eating nuts and …
So I ask him how he got this billion dollar idea and it was really simple. Their friends started talking about it and then they started doing it. So as I sit here out on a Tuesday night listening to damn good music I find myself inspired and slowly on my way to my (our) billion dollar idea, and all of this, what’s happening now in this place is all a part of it.
Especially Pirate Stereo, but he’s about to come on after fantastic opening performances from his real name is Nico but I’ll get back to you on his DJ name, and Santi Caballero (who keeps it simple with just one name)., so I’ll get to that at a later time.
