September 22, 2008 in Uncategorized | by eeosher | No comments

Check out Kalyn featured on Darling Hill, a blog dedicated to life & lawyering:
Lawyer Redefined: Meet Kalyn Johnson, Lawyer Turned Fashionista

Lawyers who dream about stepping out of the law to pursue entrepreneurial dreams, or find themselves chronically wondering if the grass is greener on the other side, will find inspiration in Darling Hill’s latest Lawyer Redefined Pick: Kalyn Johnson.

Kalyn Johnson, a former corporate lawyer, recently launched Style by Kalyn Johnson, a company that specializes in wardrobe makeovers and provides corporate seminars on style. “After ten years of practicing corporate law at a large international law firm, Kalyn could no longer resist the lure of the fashion world.” Darling Hill had the opportunity to speak with Kalyn via e-mail about her business venture and her transition away from the law. Here’s what she had to say.

Darling Hill: How long before you jumped off the corporate law track were you dreaming about doing so?
Kalyn: I was someone who went to law school never thinking I would practice law. I went to law school to complement my policy degree and then I got there, starting racking up debt, saw what the starting salaries were and decided I’d better practice for a few years to “learn” how to be a lawyer. So, from day one I didn’t plan to stay forever, but I ended up practicing for about 10.5 years.

Darling Hill: Were you dissatisfied with the practice of law?
Kalyn: I was tired of dealing with big firm politics and egos. My dissatisfaction came more from that than the practice of law itself. Law is one of the most intellectually stimulating professions out there. I loved being around really smart people and being challenged on a daily basis.

Darling Hill: What were your biggest fears/doubts/concerns, if any, about leaving the law?

Kalyn: It may sound strange, but I didn’t think I was someone who was caught up in the title until I was no longer practicing. When I began to re-invent myself, so to speak, the societal importance of being a lawyer hit me. I’d just taken it for granted. So that was a latent fear/concern for me. My biggest fear was, and is, doing something on my own and being solely responsible for my success or failure. If I succeed it’s all the sweeter, so my mantra has become FINO (failure is not an option).

Darling Hill: How has having a J.D. helped you with your business adventure?
Kalyn: I’ve always loved fashion and have played “stylist” to my family and friends my whole life. It wasn’t until a few years ago that it dawned on me that I could do what I love for a living. Both professions are service driven, so it was natural for me to take the professionalism and customer service skills I learned as a lawyer and apply them to my styling business. I think my attention to detail, follow-through, and customer service help to distinguish me and are attractive to professionals who are looking to update their style.

Darling Hill: What, if anything, do you miss about the full-time practice of law?
Kalyn: I miss my friends, being an entrepreneur can be quite lonely. I’ve built up a great network of friends and colleagues who are entrepreneuers, but I no longer have the luxury of being able to pop into someone’s office to bounce an idea off of them, work through a difficult problem or situation or just shoot the breeze.

Darling Hill: What advice can you give another lawyer who dreams about leaving the law to pursue a non-law dream?
Kalyn: Before you quit your job, really think about what you want to do and why. Join entrepreneurial networking organizations and talk to other like-minded people; create a support group for yourself. Set goals for yourself and your business, save money (save as much as you can), and talk to people who are doing what you think you would like to do - the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. If you can continue to practice and pursue your dream, consider it … Remember you’re walking away from a great deal of security (401K, health insurance, an IT Department, an assistant) and that’s not to be taken lightly. It took me a good 3 years to decide to leave. On the flip side though, a law degree is a great Plan B.

To visit Kayln’s website, click here.
Ladies on the street

September 18, 2008 in Uncategorized | Tags: AIRA, Annie, Danielle Snyder, DANNIJO, InStyle UK, New York Street Style | by Erica Lichtenberger | No comments

We feel like proud parents! We knew our ladies (DANNIJO and Aira) had style and InStyle UK agrees!
We’re Kind of a Big Deal - just ask the NYTimes

September 15, 2008 in Uncategorized | Tags: AIRA, Alyson Campbell, badgley sneed designs, Christopher Fawcett, Claire Buxton, DANNIJO, Dynamic Duo, Emily Zanovich, erica lichtenberger, erin crumpacker, Erin Osher, Fashion Week, Jack + Bill, Kalyn Johnson, Lauren Szczerba, New York Times, Pop-Up Agency, Porter Novelli, Richard Small | by Erica Lichtenberger | No comments
ADVERTISING
A Pop-Up Agency Shows Off Emerging Talent
By STUART ELLIOTT
Published: September 15, 2008

The idea of the pop-up has always been popular in advertising and marketing. There are Kleenex tissues, which “pop up one at a time,” as the old slogan goes, along with pop-up stores, those temporary outlets for retailers like Eddie Bauer and Target.

And who can forget “Pop-Up Video”? The influence of that VH1 series from the 1990s can still be seen today in unexpected places like the commercials for Kozy Shack pudding on the video screen at Shea Stadium, which offer pop-up factoids about landmarks in the New York area.

Porter Novelli, a leading public relations agency, is popping up on the list with a pop-up agency inside its halls, staffed by younger employees who have spent the summer creating campaigns for clients with fledgling businesses to promote.

The entrepreneurial pop-up is named Jack & Bill, after Jack Porter and Bill Novelli, who joined forces in 1972 to found Porter Novelli, an agency now owned by the Omnicom Group with 100 offices in 60 countries.

Eight Porter Novelli account supervisors and account executives — average age, 26 — have been responsible for Jack & Bill, running the agency on behalf of five clients that are receiving free services from the pop-up.

“We have an agency filled with millennials, with a need to feel empowered,” says Lisa Rosenberg, partner and managing director of the Porter Novelli New York office, referring to the demographic group, also known as Generation Y, born between 1982 and 1994.

“This was an idea they were tremendously excited about,” she adds. “And as a senior manager here, it’s exciting to see the strength of our young people.”

Ms. Rosenberg estimates the expense of the Jack & Bill project for Porter Novelli at more than $150,000 — an economical sum for a summer’s worth of publicity generation that generated its own share of publicity.

One goal of Jack & Bill is to help paying Porter Novelli clients, current and potential, learn about the parent agency’s services that are centered in the new media.

“It’s showcasing our digital-media expertise,” Ms. Rosenberg says, “what we have in our repertoire that we may not always get to do for bigger clients.”

So Jack & Bill has a microsite, or special Web site ; a blog; and a channel on YouTube.

The pop-up agency also has presences on Facebook, Flickr and Twitter.

A decision was made to concentrate Jack & Bill on clients in the fashion field, reflecting that many of the younger Porter Novelli employees work on accounts in areas like “fashion and style and art and culture,” says Erin Osher, a partner at Jack & Bill who is an account supervisor at Porter Novelli.

“It was really the chance of a lifetime,” says Ms. Osher, who has worked at Porter Novelli three years, “to create an agency with the support and help of a big organization.”

To give Jack & Bill’s pop-up life an appropriate end date, the work to be done by the staff members for their clients would culminate with the annual Fashion Week that took place last week in various venues across Manhattan.

Jack & Bill and its clients found each other in a way that turned upside-down the traditional pitching process for selecting a public relations agency. (Or maybe it was pop-up-side-down?)

Instead of several agencies being called in by a client to make presentations, which lead to one agency being hired, the partners of Jack & Bill asked potential clients to come in and audition to win the pop-up’s free services.

Underlining the emphasis on the digital media, Jack & Bill spread the word about the audition — held on July 15 and 16 in TriBeCa — through Web sites, blogs and other nontraditional outlets.

“More than 150 people showed up for the casting call,” Ms. Osher says, which was also chronicled as it took place on the Jack & Bill Web site and blog as well as through Twitter and the other digital means of dissemination.

“We were taking photos on iPhones, which were sent to Flickr, and doing live blogging,” she adds, “and we invited others like PR Week, Huffington Post and People to live-blog.”

The winners of the free services from Jack & Bill have been drawn from several aspects of the fashion business.

In women’s apparel, the selection is Aira, a company started by two sisters, Karen and Annie Lin. They are showing a collection for the fall along with a “sneak peek” at spring 2009.

Kalyn Johnson, a former lawyer, was chosen for her work as a fashion stylist. Her company, Style by Kalyn Johnson, offers wardrobe makeovers and styling sessions for individuals and groups.

There is a model, Christopher Fawcett, a 22-year-old from Aurora, Colo., who moved to New York about a year ago to break into big-time modeling.

One fashion item, jewelry, is represented twice. One is Dannijo, a line created by two sisters, Danielle and Jodie Snyder. The other is Badgley Sneed Designs, a collection from two long-time friends, Lynne Badgley and Jan Sneed.

If the name Badgley rings a bell, it is because Lynne’s son, Penn, is an actor who has a lead role in “Gossip Girl,” the buzzed-about series on the CW network. (Ms. Sneed is his godmother.)