11.16.2005
past year in fast forward (I'll cut out the dramatics. Just the Facts FF)
january: got so sick of talking about the great ideas we have that decided to put my money were my mouth is!! see chand marde halaajam, walk the walk, talk the talk, step up to the plate, roll the dice was it?
feburary: took the craziest idea i had, toys, and started developing the idea while starting a new job.
may: 3 months and a whole lot of market research later decided to move on it. found a guy in so cal to make the prototype. did I mention how crippling the fear of being ripped off is? in an industry u know nothing about? at every step?.. heartbeat; boom boom boom... go with it.
july: after a billion emails, whole bunch of money and way behind schedule the prototypes were done. they fucking looked awesome!!!! worth the money even if i was to set them on the counter and do nothing else with them. it would have been the most expensive piece of art/thing i would have ever own. ever. ever. ever. and the most precious. should I preach? thats why we are here; to create.
august: got in touch with a few manufactures in china. what the fuck, right? this part was by far the hardest.
october: with the prototypes under my arm flew to mainland china to meet with the companies. the great vast land of china? new industry? different language? different culture? all the nightmare stories I've read? the handmade noodles in the street stalls were great!!
nov: well, the boys are on the assembly line (I hope). expected delivery time? dec 25th!!!(I hope) frustrated doesn't describe it. after all the effort to make it on time for x-mas market. but realy doesn't matter. I'll be happy if I just get them and not a container full of newspaper. its been known to happen. but there is always something: the heads dont fit right, the colors are not standard, the lables are too big, the bottle's curve is too much. packaging is the most recent screw up, mostly theirs. communication sucks, hong kong work day starts 6pm pacific time... but it doesn't matter. I'll be happy if I just get them. truck them to the storage space of the newly rented house. take all 8000 of them out of the cartons, put them around the room and sit in the middle. 16000 pair of eyes staring at me, with their little devilish smiles. I'll smile back giving all their due attention, i'll promise to make eye contact with each and every single one.
4 hours of sleep and coffee has served me well. the whole thing is a blur in my head. get up every morning and think 'what the fuck are you doing agha mohandes? what about the degrees? passing up good paying jobs with stock options and the whole nine yards, investing all this time, empty the savings, ...' questions and answers. questions and answers. why toys? because they are interesting, they'r fun, they'r tangible, they'r not software, they're expressive. what do you know about the industry? nothing. but I'll learn. it will take time but I'll learn. I can do that!! we have to believe that!! the heart stops once we stop, not the other way around. what if they dont sell? what if they do!? what if they dont sell? WHAT IF THEY DO!!! its past reasoning. its like crossing the street in tehran. trust yourself, trust the chaos. its either squashed by a taxi or snake through to the other side, safe and sound, with a stride... fuck it. this phrase has served me well in the past year. well, we'll find out how well in a few months, might be fuck me!!!
to be continued...
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january: got so sick of talking about the great ideas we have that decided to put my money were my mouth is!! see chand marde halaajam, walk the walk, talk the talk, step up to the plate, roll the dice was it?
feburary: took the craziest idea i had, toys, and started developing the idea while starting a new job.
may: 3 months and a whole lot of market research later decided to move on it. found a guy in so cal to make the prototype. did I mention how crippling the fear of being ripped off is? in an industry u know nothing about? at every step?.. heartbeat; boom boom boom... go with it.
july: after a billion emails, whole bunch of money and way behind schedule the prototypes were done. they fucking looked awesome!!!! worth the money even if i was to set them on the counter and do nothing else with them. it would have been the most expensive piece of art/thing i would have ever own. ever. ever. ever. and the most precious. should I preach? thats why we are here; to create.
august: got in touch with a few manufactures in china. what the fuck, right? this part was by far the hardest.
october: with the prototypes under my arm flew to mainland china to meet with the companies. the great vast land of china? new industry? different language? different culture? all the nightmare stories I've read? the handmade noodles in the street stalls were great!!
nov: well, the boys are on the assembly line (I hope). expected delivery time? dec 25th!!!(I hope) frustrated doesn't describe it. after all the effort to make it on time for x-mas market. but realy doesn't matter. I'll be happy if I just get them and not a container full of newspaper. its been known to happen. but there is always something: the heads dont fit right, the colors are not standard, the lables are too big, the bottle's curve is too much. packaging is the most recent screw up, mostly theirs. communication sucks, hong kong work day starts 6pm pacific time... but it doesn't matter. I'll be happy if I just get them. truck them to the storage space of the newly rented house. take all 8000 of them out of the cartons, put them around the room and sit in the middle. 16000 pair of eyes staring at me, with their little devilish smiles. I'll smile back giving all their due attention, i'll promise to make eye contact with each and every single one.
4 hours of sleep and coffee has served me well. the whole thing is a blur in my head. get up every morning and think 'what the fuck are you doing agha mohandes? what about the degrees? passing up good paying jobs with stock options and the whole nine yards, investing all this time, empty the savings, ...' questions and answers. questions and answers. why toys? because they are interesting, they'r fun, they'r tangible, they'r not software, they're expressive. what do you know about the industry? nothing. but I'll learn. it will take time but I'll learn. I can do that!! we have to believe that!! the heart stops once we stop, not the other way around. what if they dont sell? what if they do!? what if they dont sell? WHAT IF THEY DO!!! its past reasoning. its like crossing the street in tehran. trust yourself, trust the chaos. its either squashed by a taxi or snake through to the other side, safe and sound, with a stride... fuck it. this phrase has served me well in the past year. well, we'll find out how well in a few months, might be fuck me!!!
to be continued...
