Brand awareness in Iceland

So Iceland was great... every time we travel we notice little brands we've never seen before, or see familiar ones in a new light. Here are some snaps from the trip. (The first one means Fish King and is a popular fish shop in Reykjavik - they were just closing when we pulled in but they stayed open for a few minutes when they heard I came all the way from Vermont to try their halibut :)

A few of these designs are inspirations for Ursa Major; we'll let you decide which!

No toxic deodorant for me thx

One half of the Great Bear team is traveling in Iceland at the moment (visiting a good friend and doing some consulting for a local natural body care company seeking to enter the US market) and I forgot our natural deodorant prototype back home in Vermont. Damn! (It's the only natural deo stick I've tried that actually works - I swear.) There don't appear to be ANY natural deodorant sticks in this country, so I'm going without, making sure I shower twice a day. Not ideal but - knowing what's in mass-marketed deodorants/antiperspirants - there's no way I'm going to resort to that crap. Actually, it's easy to stay super-clean here because every neighborhood has spotless, geothermal public swimming pools fed by clean, warm water and showers, etc. Good opportunity to get some swimming in. Btw, my host sent me this photo earlier this year - awesome scenery around here.

Office away from home

The scene of all kinds of wheeling and dealing carried out (with good
effect!) on behalf of The Big Bear over the past few days... Thanks to
Mr. McClave for hosting.

Parking it for a few days in the city

Down in the city (that would be New York City) for a few days of scouting and meetings for the Big Bear. On the surface NYC can seem so unfriendly but in fact it's a very cheery place, even in the middle of a recession.

I chuckle every time I walk past this sign in the West Village, and almost always stop to take a quick photo. There's something so 'New York' about the style of the message... And the composition reminds me of a Rothko painting!

Vision strategy brand workshop

Spent all day cooped up in a conf room in mid-town cooking up some
seriously blue ocean strategy for the Big Bear! This is Mark, one of
our mad advisors. He's good. Very good. We're lucky to have him.

Aaahhh New York

Blistered peppers and sea salt, in case you're wondering.

Can you guess where?

Clue: cheap hotel in NYC.