by Richard Wilson | Jun 8, 2019 | Fashion
Ferpitzt. Yiddish for well-dressed. Turned out. Dolled up. Suited up. Dressed to the nines. In modern American culture, for much of the time, many of us dress down. The frayed T-shirt and crumpled baseball cap are so often the male uniform of choice. We drag this garb...
by Richard Wilson | May 15, 2019 | Diffusion Theory, Fashion, Prohibition, Prohibition fashion, The Shrub
Obsidian MacAdoo is a poetess, and she wrote the terrifying yet compelling Green Cackles at Dawn. Diffusion of Innovations research informs us that far more than half of humanity is afraid of standing out. Uppermost in the minds of so many of us is the...
by Richard Wilson | May 15, 2019 | Boston, Prohibition
Massimo Volpedo, as we saw in the last episode, loves life and people on a breathtaking scale. Let us see what he has to say about wine. The setup: It’s a bitter cold Boston evening in January, 1930. Pinky DeVroom, his best pal Unctual Natchez, Elfred Norcross...
by Richard Wilson | May 15, 2019 | Bespoke capitalism, Publishing
The only Episode thus far with a coda to its title. And why? Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Signore Massimo Volpedo: * Pinky entered, hat in hand, and nodded to Mrs. Dalton. He was vaguely conscious that he was throttling the windpipe of his hat again, and willed himself...
by Richard Wilson | May 15, 2019 | Bespoke capitalism, Prohibition, The Shrub
Somewhere in all his writings Seth Godin asserted that businesses–and I assume he meant local, bespoke, non-corporate ones–have only two pathways to success: (1) Delight people, and (2) Solve their problems. The more interesting the problem, the better. In...
