BLING is DEAD!!

[cmrocks]

I don't understand entirely what's wrong here. Would someone shed some light?

I'm just curious because my family is very involved in diamond exploration in Canada. Just recently, one of the companies my Dad is with merged with DeBeers. He was thrilled because he said it was like merging with a bank.

 

[Bandwagonesque]

Originally Posted by poly800rock

Laser-etched polar bear wearing flannel, shotgunning a Molson, holding a box of Tim-Bits I believe.

Fixed yer typo.

 

[nappywun]

Originally Posted by DucatiCole

I don't understand entirely what's wrong here. Would someone shed some light?

I'm just curious because my family is very involved in diamond exploration in Canada. Just recently, one of the companies my Dad is with merged with DeBeers. He was thrilled because he said it was like merging with a bank.
Alittle history: http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mh...&s=silverstein

Current situation: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortu...5442/index.htm

poly800rock, I'm waiting to hear back from the guys at Edun, who are beginning to wholesale blanks. Their shirts are supposed to be 100% African made (both cotton and production). If this works out, I'll use them with all the t-shirts in my collection. Cut & sew is more than I can handle right now, because of the minimums.

 

[Arethusa]

Originally Posted by DucatiCole

I don't understand entirely what's wrong here. Would someone shed some light?

I'm just curious because my family is very involved in diamond exploration in Canada. Just recently, one of the companies my Dad is with merged with DeBeers. He was thrilled because he said it was like merging with a bank.
It's a little more like giving Hitler a *******.

 

[cmrocks]

That is really interesting. From what I understand, DeBeers is funding the exploration that we do so, in the case that we do find something (pretty likely as we've found several kimberlite pipes already), they will own a percentage of the mine. That will help them keep their market power in the diamond industry.

 

[Reggs]

Originally Posted by nappywun

You're right. Though diamonds themselves are not so rare, it's a combination of marketing and cutting/polishing that makes them cost more than they actually do. 70% of the world's diamonds are mined in Africa but only 10% of the profits make it's way back to the continent primarily because the diamonds are "cleaned" in places like Belgium and Israel. There are some organizations which ar now looking to keep the "cleaning" on the continent and therefore reducing the cost to sell them.


Russell Simmons is trying to promote this by teaching africans how to polish and cut the diamonds, but only if they are black.

 

[rach2jlc]

Originally Posted by vanity

The reason I'm being an ass on this is b/c like the poster above stated, these Slogan TeeShirt Campaigns simply don't work.

I agree that they usually don't work, but one key exception is Maison Martin Margiela and his Aids shirts. He does one in a different color scheme every year, they always completely sell out and become collectors items, and the proceeds go to AIDS research (except when places like Barney's charge 150% markup above and beyond the MSRP for them).

 

[montecristo#4]

Originally Posted by rach2jlc

I agree that they usually don't work, but one key exception is Maison Martin Margiela and his Aids shirts. He does one in a different color scheme every year, they always completely sell out and become collectors items, and the proceeds go to AIDS research (except when places like Barney's charge 150% markup above and beyond the MSRP for them).

Selling t-shirts will solve all the world's problems in the long run.

 

[rach2jlc]

Originally Posted by montecristo#4

Selling t-shirts will solve all the world's problems in the long run.

Well, as MMM says on the aforementioned Aids Tshirts, "There's a lot more that you can do to help aids than wear a tshirt but at least its a good start" (or it says something to that effect.)

 

[Lucky Strike]

Another thing: Isn't bling dead, or at least dying, anyway?

 

[nappywun]

The persistence of the t-shirt as a medium for communication is not anything that is going to go away anytime soon. It's a simple blank canvas to create on and consumer's put a lot of value in it as a way to express themselves. What better way to get a topic out there into the public. And it wouldn't hurt to get celebrity to wear it either. Somebody tell Leonardo DiCaprio about us.

 

[nappywun]

Originally Posted by Lucky Strike

Another thing: Isn't bling dead, or at least dying, anyway?
There are too many people who rely on the bling mentality financially for them to let it die. Streetwear especially is getting a resurgence of bling, with "grills" becoming more and more popular, Nigo and Pharell are still pushing the mentality so I doubt it'll die on it's own.

 

[poly800rock]

the people that buy into that whole bling thing anyways could probably give 2 ***** about whats going on in the world. i'd love to think a tshirt could change their mind, but unless it's all over print with rainbow camo, it's most likely not going to even cross their mind that they should buy your shirt

 

[caelte]

It's about changing ordinary people's perceptions.
De Beer's is buying into Canadian diamonds because of the success of stuff like this.
All silk sceened t shirts suck.
This one isn't any worse or any better.