Freelance designer specialising in leather clothing and accessories design, Marina Dias has been the brand's artistic director since 2020 Cordiz.
Luxury French leather goods maker Cordiz was founded by her father, Flavien Dias, in 1988.
After being dormant for a few years, the brand is being revived under the impetus of Marina, who designs very limited-edition models and takes part in strategic discussions with her father, with the aim of offering an environment — for work and for the planet — that is ecological for everyone.
Their wish is to create a new paradigm of conscious consumption and production — hence the Cordiz tagline, «for bags that stand the test of time».
Marina left Paris 6 years ago to live on the Landes coast and she tells us in particular how her new life enables her to be much more in tune with her fundamental needs.
She regularly travels back and forth to Paris — because you never really leave Paris! — but if I chose to interview her at her home in Seignosse, it’s because it’s my favourite region.
We covered many topics, such as:
– working in fashion without living in Paris
– the advantages and challenges of a family business
- her methodology as a freelance designer working for several brands, as well as for the family business
– his leadership within a freelance team
– the difficulties in recruiting and retaining craftspeople, and keeping precious skills alive
– communication and collaboration with the agency Frontrow Paris
If you’d like to find out more about what I call Creative Management, I dedicated a full episode to it a few months ago.
Today, I would like to take a closer look at one aspect of Creative Management: team-building.
What exactly does it involve?
What are the benefits?
I also share a great example, as well as a counter-example, from my own experience as an employee.
And bonus: I talk about my favourite sports coach, Ted Lasso. (no spoiler as I haven’t started Series 4 yet).
If you're interested in offering your team a workshop / team-building / training session, do drop me an email! lbm@lilibonnet.com
I can organise and facilitate almost anywhere in the world 🙂
I’ve known Fabien for over 20 years, back when he was a graphic designer.
We worked together on a project and have stayed in touch — partly because it’s something I enjoy doing, of course, but mainly because I’ve always admired his entrepreneurial spirit.
Even when he enrolled at art school, he didn’t know what he was going to do later on; he just had a fairly broad vision of his future:
– getting up whenever he wanted;
– not working for a boss;
– and living in a loft.
Today, that’s exactly what he’s doing.
He’s the owner of UNSEEN, a vintage shop in Brussels, but he’s also a designer, a carpenter…
it’s clearly impossible to define him in a single word, as he has developed and put to use a wide range of skills.
And it’s quite fascinating to see how much this multi-potential individual needs to free himself from the constraints that a single skill entails, to allow himself not to be confined to just one profession. Not to limit himself. And that is precisely the driving force behind everything he undertakes.
this episode, we also talked about:
– pop culture,
– imposter syndrome,
– mental health,
– and identity, thanks to his recent reconnection with his country of origin, Vietnam.
