Q & A With Martin Lindstrom

How Shoppers Make Decisions In Recession
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1899035,00.html

Companies will start to play a mind game with consumers that is slightly different from what we've seen in the past. Some companies assume that the consumer doesn't have any money. But now they're learning that that's not the case. Consumers still do have money — at least many do — but the reason that they're not spending it is because they're afraid they may lose the money in the future.
- Martin Lindstrom

Useful link:
www.martinlindstrom.com

A very interestingly insightful interview.

Sabido & Basteris

Sabido & Basteris
http://blogs.modernjeweler.com/blog//2009/05/14/show-preview-sabido-basteris

Useful link:
www.sabidobasteris.com

Beautiful and inspiring.

Art Market Update

Optimistic Buyers Push Up Sales of Contemporary Art
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/16/arts/16iht-melik16.html?_r=1

Unbelievable prices. Recession? What recession?

Chaim Even Zohar Viewpoint

It Ain't Over 'Til the Fat Lady Sings
http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp

Useful link:
www.diamondintelligence.com

Troubling, but interesting story.

Random Thoughts

Well, let me put it this way. Anyone who's ridden a horse knows that the secret of success is to have the horse think that it's doing what it wants. So, I think that when people feel like somebody else is telling them what to do, there's going to be resistance. If they think it's what they themselves want, then they sign right up. Lao Tzu said this 2,500 years ago: When the best leader leads, the people say we did it ourselves.

- Tim O'Reilly
www.oreillynet.com
http://oreilly.com

Spot on.

Kikunoi

The Art You Can Eat
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124242719429025155.html

After spending three days in Kyoto, where visitors can eat variations of kaiseki for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I began to see why this centuries-old cuisine holds so much fascination for the most inventive chefs of Europe and America. Kaiseki is a tonic to the senses from every direction, and something no Western restaurant I've ever dined can approach. It demands perfection from the freshness and preparation of the ingredients to the dishes they are served on. The noise in some New York restaurants makes it impossible to concentrate on your meal; kaiseki diners sit in a tranquil, private room and gaze onto a Japanese garden while polite, efficient waitresses in kimonos cater to every need. The cost, at Kikunoi, is $150 a person -- a bargain compared with, say, the $275 tasting menu at Thomas Keller's Per Se in New York.
- Stan Sesser

Useful link:
www.kikunoi.jp

A kaiseki dinner at Kikunoi is an experience visitors won't quickly forget. The simplicity of a kaiseki dinner masks its complexity. A must visit, really.

Diamond Market Update

De Beers woos safe-haven investors
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f1525262-4172-11de-bdb7-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

Diamonds are of limited interest to a lot of people because of the difficulty in buying and ­selling. Gold remains the ultimate hedge.
- Nigel Rendell, RBC Capital Markets

Useful links:
www.debeersgroup.com
www.diamondintelligence.com
www.ambrian.com
www.rbccm.com

According to Brock Salier, a mining analyst at Ambrian, diamonds represent a much riskier investment than gold. Unlike the yellow metal the stones, traded through auctions and private tenders, have no public market price and there is no instrument investors can use to hedge against fluctuations. I think he was spot on.

Yves Behar

Meet Yves Behar, a master designer + explore his laboratory works via www.fuseproject.com