Grace Gordon, Brand & Creative Consultant

💭 Thoughts on getting 10k steps per day, Telfar, and the science/art of brand-building.

Grace Gordon is a Brand and Creative Consultant who has her own independent practice, called Goodgame, and also works as a freelance consultant beyond that for brands and agencies. As a recovering corporate brand marketer (ex Nike, Netflix, Apple) on a consulting, “portfolio career” journey, Grace’s current focus is to create space for her equal love of writing, research, and brand strategy to all get a share of the action. She’s thinking of trying to make her dream of living between Melbourne (Australia) and NYC a reality soon so she can never see a winter again. 

🎯 Current focus 

At the moment I'm thinking A LOT about how “everything is downstream of rent”, as my friend Seyi put it. In the work I do (but also the community I have around me), there’s usually an ebb and flow of conversation around culture, both where it’s boring/lacking, and where it’s most exciting or dynamic. I’ve seen so many takes this year around how redundant culture and cultural production has gotten in all its forms - fashion, music, etc - and I just keep going back to how crippling our economy has become for creativity.

I feel this especially in New York, where we all know people getting priced out of neighborhoods, long-standing businesses we love having to go online only, or even just clubs getting further and further out. By the way, this is very real, and documented in plenty of economic or trade publications - in the US, Rents have gone up 30% in the past 5 years, outpacing wage growth of approx 20% in the same time period (Source). It’s also on my mind at work a lot, because when people can’t make rent it’s pretty wild to expect them to care about the latest sneaker drop or whatever it might be. I don’t have a conclusion, but I do think about it a lot. I find cultural critique without a layer of acknowledgment of what’s going on economically pretty tone-deaf.

🎶 Nemahsis’ album Verbathim

I’ve been listening to Nemahsis’ Verbathim album a lot since it came out. Beautiful song writing, lyrics and production (from OVO’s Noah “40” Shebib… but we’ll allow it), much of which is driven by Nemahsis a.k.a Nemah Hasan herself. She released the project independently after being dropped by a label. It’s very marc by marc jacobs for marc jacobs in that way (the best way!), but it has a kind of soul and originality that feels rare. I am also interested in seeing creative people being able to DIY their way through the current climate. 

🕉️ Mantra of the moment

I am trying to maintain faith in the statement “you won’t regret the things you do, but the things you didn't do.” There’s a million variations on that theme, but I think it’s for the most part true, and applies in particular when you’re nervous about taking on a big life change. It’s worth a shot.

👩🏻‍🔬 The science/art of brand-building

I admire Ana Andjelic’s academic, visual approach to the science/art of brand-building and her commitment to educating aspiring strategists or people who want to better understand marketing. She also has a level of deeply-Serbian candor that is so rare in marketing, and makes me feel more assured with my own (somewhat unintentional) lack of filter. 

✅ A consultancy and creative practice that’s true to you

I don’t know him personally, but from a purely professional standpoint, I admire Chris Black who seems to have established a consultancy and creative practice that doesn’t require fraught levels of Linkedin thought leadership (the actual worst), over-explaining or education. It seems like Brands know what to go to him for and he consistently delivers with a lens and framing that is very true to him and his taste. I would definitely love to be able to operate similarly one day, and I’m moving closer to it, albeit without the vast podcast audience.

🍂 How Fall is the absolute best time of year 

This might be goofy / cliched but Fall is the absolute BEST time of year in New York City. I’m looking forward to getting some fits off with the optimal amount of layering, heading to the Union Sq greenmarket and getting some donuts and cider. I’m also very much looking forward to a big work event in November in Ojai, meeting some collaborators who have been working with a client of mine, and talking about what’s happening with Men's style right now (that's all I can reveal!)

👣 Getting 10k steps per day

I live and die by the ethos of getting 10,000 steps a day, which I try to get done before 9 or 10am (work calls permitting) - if i’m not doing a Pilates or Yoga class that day. That gives me at least an hour, often two of uninterrupted listening time - so I try and get a few podcasts in there, something that feels relevant to work or life or something I’m curious about. I always feel like I've learned something or at least have something to mull over by the end of the walk.

📖 Being addicted to your Kindle

I also highly recommend getting a Kindle. I am addicted to mine. It’s so good especially for folks who travel a lot - you can buy a book wherever you are and download it immediately. I can’t read off my phone, but to me a kindle feels basically the same as reading from a book.

👜 Telfar

I’m ALWAYS paying attention to Telfar. Their entire team is incredible and the work they do is so cool and unapologetic. You can tell no one has to sit around in a creative review explaining why something will hit – they all just know it will. I loved seeing the roll out for their first foray into luxe, premium goods with ‘The Carry’. They are one of the few brands that actually get ‘community’ – despite the amount of times I see that word used in decks – so few actually get behind it in a real way.

🏃 Satisfy

I’m paying close attention to Satisfy. I love their gear and they have a fun, punk attitude about running that is more interesting to me than what most of the big incumbent running brands are doing. Great editorial, too.

👼 An angel wrapped in a fur exterior

One thing I can't live without is definitely my dog. A 10 year old rescue chihuahua named Anchovy. She brings my stress levels down significantly all day, all the time. Truly an angel wrapped in a fur exterior. 

👟 Adidas’ campaign with Anthony Edwards

I think by far my favorite campaign of the past year has been Adidas’ work with Anthony Edwards. There are plenty of examples/extensions. He is such a superstar, and the ‘believe that’ line is so simple and does exactly what it needs to. Adidas have struggled with feeling ‘American’ and this campaign solidified to me that they’ve brought in some people or partners who actually get it, and can make something beautiful out of the raw material that is Ant’s personality. So many of these big companies try to dilute or filter that kind of attitude, and I think it’s the reason that it cut through and feels different.

(Ant, please come to the knicks.)

Follow Grace on Instagram & Linkedin and check out her Substack here.

💭 Share your thoughts ➡️ DM on IG or Email us.

✅ Make Thought Enthusiast better by filling out a quick reader survey here.