THE SIXTH SENSE
Lucas was working in a large company after graduation. Several years later, he decided to quit and start his own business. He wanted to create and control something on his own. He first did wholesale at Brick Lane Market in 2014, six months later, he moved to Camden Market and started to make his own designs.
Lucas in the market and in the shop
Lucas usually drives to the workplace. There are several options leading to Camden Market but he prefers going through the suburban area, which is more leafy, slower and quieter. There are some hills up and down on the way, with a beautiful cherry blossom line all the way down.
The area where Lucas goes through to Camden
He usually arrives at the shop at 10 o’ clock in the morning. At that time, the market is just waking up. The cleaners are there to spray the floor. It’s just quiet. At around 11 am, traders are slowly waking up to open the doors. After cleaning and tidying up the shop, Lucas begins a new working day.
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Lucas’ shop the street, and its door is wide. Standing in the shop, he can clearly see the café and bushes on the opposite side of street and people coming and going. He constantly hear the trolleys rattling because they are paving the road. The noise is so loud that when the trolleys coming, he can’t hear any other sound but the rattle. But when the trolleys have gone, it’s a bit quiet in the morning. So Lucas would put on the speaker music. “I just need some energy otherwise it becomes a bit too quiet and lonely in the space.”
Sketched floor plan of Lucas' shop
Lucas likes watching and observing people. “I am like a DJ when I'm working on my laptop because it looks like that everyone is in front of the stage.” He looks at what people are wearing and how they're wearing. This helps him to think about his own designs and business. And just out of an unconscious curiosity: who they are and where are they going? “Just subconsciously receive some information through watching and observing, but not criticism or anything like that.”
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Lucas says that the shops and stalls in the market are like different pockets. “So you've got some places which are very busy, that have no natural sky in on top, because they are sheltered. My Location is open air. So I can feel the rain, I can see the rain, I can hear the rain. And I can walk in the rain. So I have to be aware and manage the shop. But I like the feeling. I can step outside and I get fresh air. It's not claustrophobic. There's not too many traders around. When it’s sunny I can enjoy the sunshine more than somebody who is sheltered indoors. The bigger the entrance, the more inviting a place is. I guess it’s a trade and balance.”
Hybrid sensory experience
I am first attracted by the jackets with unique patterns and colours. Different from the ordinary jackets that are usually in solid colours, Lucas’ jackets are multi-coloured with many detailed patterns. For me, The pattern conveys an Asian aesthetic while the shape is relatively modern and western. The equally remarkable visual element is the socks wall placed at the entrance. So I walk in the shop. And then I find something more than visual. In Lucas’ shop, the sensory experience is hybrid.
To my surprise, the best seller of Lucas’ product is a plain velvet burgundy bomber jacket, rather than one of those multi-colour ones. “The two collections I have are called the love at first sight and the love at first touch. Love at first sight - the colourful jacket is beautiful straightaway. And the velvet jacket belongs to the love-at-first-touch category. Because when you touch, it is so soft to conjure some emotions I guess.”
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What’s more, the jacket is reversible. “The inside is a surprise. It's kind of like when you're eating food. If you eat sweet food first, before the salty, you lose the taste. So you rather have the savoury first and then you add the sweet.” The multi-colour inside is just like the dissert after meal.
Another reason why this jacket is popular is that, its pattern and texture accommodate most people. “It's a classic shape, classic colour. It goes for men and women.” This also parallel Lucas’ principles of choosing fabric – “It must be elegant, it must be sophisticated. And it must be neutral, that it's not overly masculine or overly feminine.”
Debossed zippers
Stamped business card
The tactile experience does not only sensed through touching and wearing the clothes. Lucas is very detail-oriented. The zippers are debossed, with the brand’s logo raised on the surface. So every time you wear it, you can touch it and feel it. It functions as a tactile reminder of the brand to customers.
Lucas’ business card is special as well. It looks like (also can function as) a price tag. “When you see this, you know is a is a price tag, which means it's a cloth shop. And I can give someone a business card with the white stick out of the wallet. So they have to consider how they're going to put this in the wallet. Then it adds this extra level of thinking what to do with my business card.” Also, he stamps the logo on the right bottom corner of the business card because people usually touch that corner when receiving the card. So it adds a bit texture and elevates the experience.
Smell is another aspect through which Lucas manages to create the vibe. He uses the diffuser of Jasmine, “an elegant, clean scent.” “Jasmin is not invasive. It's not so strong that you notice it is there. It's like the background music playing in a cafe when you're enjoying that delicious coffee and croissant without noticing the music in the background. This is nice without thinking it's nice.”
Lucas want customers to looking, touching and focusing on the clothes with a pleasant scent in the background but don’t have to think too much about the scent itself. “Jasmine is subtle, soft and delicate. It’s not too strong to distract them.”
Jasmine diffuser
This ambient sense also applies to the way Lucas selects music. Lucas usually plays the “boom boom” music in the shop (that you are now listening to). “When you listen to high paced music, your natural heartbeat elevates. So your impulse is increased to shop. The music just doesn’t let you think for too long.” But the music is not too loud, like what’s on the Camden High Street. It just exists in the background, not too distractive, aiming to create atmosphere and influence customers imperceptibly.
Reflection of the fabric under the light
Lighting is also important because “it helps the ambiance of a place.” For a clothing shop, the light decides the overall tone of the clothes. Lucas is trying to strike a balance between the ambient light and the central light that make the space bright enough. Currently he is using the yellow ambient lights in the middle and several white lights on the left and right side that illuminate the clothes rack area. But he is not satisfied with the current arrangement and is considering adding a disco light ball, which might work well with the music and the visually striking style of the clothes.
Lucas dreams big. He wants more than retailing, but to construct and develop his own brand. So he sells not only products but also experience. Our eyes, ears, nose and skin are the sensor to receive the experience. Lucas manages to convey the harmonious, mutually supported multiple senses through textures, colours, scent, light and music.
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“What is love? Generally speaking, love is something that I define my own way of like everything that pleases those five senses, the five main senses, and the sixth - which you don’t know what it is, but it’s there.”
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In this regard, perhaps the sixth sense is a combination of all the tangible senses. It is not sensed through any particular organ, but a sort of general feeling or emotion that conjured via those visible senses.
