Line-sitting, geese-chasing and Hawaiian jerky

Plus, a deep dive into Bangkok's creative scene Friday 21 April 2023 [View in browser]( / [Sign up]( We've got contributors from Bangkok and Hawaii this week – and people making a living from geese-chasing, line-sitting and selling reservations for New York's hottest restaurants. 1. For multi-hyphenate creatives like Ini Archibong, having a consistent vision for your varied projects is essential to running a business. Ini's done [a bit of everything]( from gallery exhibitions and designing furniture to creating a watch with Hermès – but he's always had the same mindset. ‘When I switched my path to art, I still had every intention to be a businessman,’ he tells us. ‘The entrepreneurial spirit never left. I just put them both together in order to have an impact and leave the world in a better place than how I found it.’ 2. Healthcare workers Yasmin Samatar and Firaoli Adam were frustrated at having to change their hijabs during long shifts – especially when there's PPE for other hair coverings, like beards. So they launched [Mawadda]( a patent-pending, FDA-compliant hygienic disposable hijab. 3. Courier's Bangkok contributor Pam Vivatsurakit shared this about a local launderette doing things a bit differently. ‘[Otteri]( is a 24-hour laundromat and a franchise business (800+ branches across Thailand). It's set quite a new standard for a launderette in the country. What I find most cool about Otteri is a program called Chu Manee, in which they hire local senior citizens in the community to take care of washing, drying and folding clothes, for customers who want this service. This older group might not be accepted in many companies, but they can still do so much, make a living and feel valued.’ 4. Plus, Pam's got her eye on these local brands. - [GIMM EYEWEAR](. A bespoke handmade eyewear company. - [VIBESLAB](. A scent design studio for businesses. - [Kad Kokoa](. A single-origin bean-to-bar chocolate cafe. - [MELTDISTRICT](. A plastic recycling and upcycling studio. BONUS. For more on Thailand's creative scene, Pam suggests checking out the [TCDC]( (Thailand Creative and Design Center): ‘Creative people in various fields will meet at these events – graphic designers, interior designers, architects, type designers, crafters, etc.’ 5. South of Melbourne on Mornington Peninsula, there's an industrial estate that's home to a little makers' area called [Dromana Habitat]( featuring a selvedge denim brand and a handful of distilleries, breweries and cheesemakers. 6. Berlin-based Marleen Franke, a former impact investing consultant, runs natural wine brand [Chateaumoabit](. She hosts open days where people can swing by [her building]( to taste the wine and eat hummus from the Turkish deli downstairs. Very Berlin. 7. [Emile Wines]( co-founder Rebecca Perry found success importing and distributing wine from the particularly exclusive – at times impenetrable – French wine world. By becoming an expert in this region, she also saw what it was missing: a brand that felt relaxed and approachable. So, she [created it herself](. ‘Wine is so often placed in a separate universe that can seem unattainable, especially from regions such as Burgundy. We, as women, wanted to bring wine back onto our dining tables to be appreciated in the same relaxed way that we can enjoy art, music and food.’ TRY IT. Struggling with whether to go B2B or B2C? We've got a [case study]( on a business that decided to do both. 8. Elsewhere in France, creative director Ramdane Touhami – co-founder of beauty brand [Officine Universelle Buly]( – has opened up a bookstore in Paris called [La Pharmacie Des Âmes]( in a former 19th-century pharmacy. 9. Check out this Korean running brand, which makes clothing [tailored for]( different workouts. 10. And [Endorf]( makes mushroom supplements for endurance athletes, with a companion app focused on self-development in the works. 11. Social recipe app [Spillt]( lets you save online recipes in one place and share what you're cooking with friends (and it's just launched an Explore page for discovery). 12. After traveling through Georgia (the country), [three friends set up Nela-Nela]( a tea brand preserving the traditional method of fermenting leaves gathered in the Caucasus Mountains. 13. [DSTLRY]( is on a mission to make the comic-book industry fairer and more equitable for creators. 14. Argentinian brand [Limay]( makes genderless denim apparel, produced by co-operatives in Patagonia. 15. Rocky Xu runs [a matcha brand]( selling single-cultivar Gokou matcha from an award-winning producer. It's held pop-ups in Tokyo, Miami and LA so far. 16. And in Hawaii, Courier's editor-at-large [Danny Giacopelli]( just returned from exploring O'ahu… - ‘Hawaii loves jerky. One brand is [Paradise Jerky](. Uncle Bobby made thin, crispy beef chips and passed the recipe to his family, who now run a small shop in Honolulu. I'm also obsessed with the tuna jerky (!) from [Kaimana Jerky](. I'm gonna buy a metric ton of this stuff online. Sustainably, of course.' - ‘In Honolulu's Chinatown, one of the oldest in the US, there are shops that make custom flower leis, used for all sorts of events like graduation ceremonies and, obviously, for tourists, too. It's a traditional art, but also big business. These stores, like [Cindy's Lei Shoppe]( are super cool to visit.’ - ‘Shave ice (not “shaved” with a “d”) is everywhere. The most famous is [Matsumoto]( founded by the legend Mamoru Matsumoto in 1951, all the way on Oahu's North Shore, where some of the world's best surfing can be found. His family still owns the place.’ - ‘Hawaii produces some of the world's best coffee. A guy named Raymond Suiter moved from Seattle to Hawaii 30 years ago and launched [Honolulu Coffee]( which became huge and which he eventually sold. Raymond now runs [Kona Coffee Purveyors]( which has a fantastic cafe in Waikiki – huge lines out the door every morning. A total scene. And its black Kona drip is one of the best cups of coffee I've ever had. A blond tan guy was wiping spilled milk on the coffee counter when we were there. We struck up a conversation with him. Turns out… it's Raymond! He could've been on a beach, but he was hustling with his crew.’ 17. Communities like [Stone Club]( and [Weird Walk]( (which just launched [pre-orders]( for a book) are giving folklore and ancient myths a fresh look. 18. Munich-based [Saskia Diez]( makes all her jewelry in Southern Germany out of recycled gold and silver. 19. [Matawi]( is reviving South Africa's indigenous mead traditions, with an eye on water insecurity – it uses 10% less water than conventional alcohol brands. 20. There's a new kissa – a Japanese-style jazz-listening bar, which are seemingly popping up everywhere now – in Austin. It's called [Equipment Room](. 21. Speaking of nightlife, alongside a residency this month at a London nightclub, Berlin-based live broadcaster [HÖR]( [rented a storefront]( for DJ booth content. 22. [Last year]( Swedish luggage brand Carl Friedrik tried something new: co-creating with its customers. The products [a]( now out]( – a travel range with more ergonomic straps and improved hardware based on feedback. Co-founder Niklas Opperman says he'd do it again – but make one change. ‘The biggest challenge was keeping the program engaging, given the timelines involved. Customers entered the design process at a relatively [early] stage, so multiple feedback rounds and product development time were needed before the collection could go live. During this time, a private channel for our Creator's Club cohort to discuss and share updates would've been a great way to maintain engagement.’ TIP. Looking for ways to get your customers more involved? You might need to improve customer feedback loops. We've [got a guide]( to get you started. 23. For sneaker fans who are also architecture fans, we present to you [Ronnie Fieg x Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation x New Balance](. Yeah, you read that right. 24. Run by a writer, editor and pastry chef, [Kora Bakery]( is Athen's first long-fermentation bakery (making its pastries more digestible and nutritious – and still very tasty). 25. Time is money – meaning, there's money to be made from saving people time. [Same Ole Line Dudes]( is ‘New York's [most conspicuous line-sitting outfit](. ‘We show up and do the work so you don't have to,’ says the company, whose premium service extends to not just waiting in line, but buying and shipping products to you if you're out of state. 26. Also in NYC, reservation marketplace [Appointment Trader]( will get you into the city's hardest-to-get-into restaurants – that's if you're willing to pay up to a couple hundred bucks to buy the reservation off someone else. The platform itself pockets 20% to 30% of the bid. And, unsurprisingly, [not everyone's a fan](. 27. Finally… got a goose problem? [Here's a business]( that will sort you out. Elsewhere in Courier: 🤳 On TikTok: What it feels like to open [your first shop](. ▶️ On YouTube: [Keep customers]( (even as costs rise). 💻 Online: Thinking beyond the [four-day week](. 📰 In print: How to start a business, [right now](. Drop us a line any time at [hello@couriermedia.com](mailto:hello@couriermedia.co). 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