Category: Lifestyle

Montblanc for £164,000 – Writers Edition Homage to Brothers Grimm Limited Edition 8

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date April 24, 2023

I just realised that, I haven’t written anything about Montblanc for a long time. In an era of iPads and voice recognition, Montblanc and other fountain pen brands are still going strong. I don’t mean to say that these brands are just trying to survive – they are actually doing very well.

Recently, Montblanc unveiled a new fountain pen – the Writers Edition Homage to Brothers Grimm Limited Edition 8 Fountain – which is priced at £164,000. I’m too lazy to convert it to other currencies, but suffice it to say that it’s expensive in any currency.

This is a limited edition fountain pen, and unlike other limited edition Montblancs, the craftsmanship is at its finest level. While it’s not to my taste with the diamonds and gold, I have to be fair to the people who designed and made this fountain pen.

Does a fountain pen worth £164,000? It is up to you.

Photos // Montblanc

Tags Montblanc

Lifestyle

Nuuna: Probably the Best UX Designer Notebook

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date March 18, 2021

Nowadays, it has become less common to see a review of a notebook on a website. While we all try to embrace digital life, there is absolutely still room for a notebook. Especially if you are a user experience designer!

That’s what I do for a living. I am a user experience designer – not a blogger. So, I need to draw quick designs, and sadly digital tools can be a nightmare to use, meaning I always need a notebook to hand. Finding the perfect notebook, however, is an experience! The issue with many notebooks is the paper quality. Some notebooks (most of them) can’t cope with marker pens, fountain pens or anything that can throw a vast amount of ink onto the paper.

Because of this, I appreciate a good notebook when I find one, and recently I found a great one – Nuuna. I actually used a Nuuna notebook 5-6 years ago and decided to try them one more time, and it is now even better than before. Using the notebook is an experience in itself; you don’t buy a notebook, you buy something that looks extremely beautiful.

The paper quality is beyond anything I could have imagined after years of disappointing notebooks. Unlike other beautiful looking notebooks, Nuuna has high quality but low thickness paper, meaning it doesn’t take up too much space in your backpack, and also isn’t heavy to carry around.

The best part is that you can use any pen to hand without any problems. Even if the first pen you come across is a permanent marker like a Sharpie, yes it is a bit brutal on the paper, but it can handle it.

For sketching user interfaces or new ideas, I couldn’t recommend Nuuna enough. I would also highly recommend the dotted versions so that you can have a screen experience on paper.

Here is their website https://www.nuuna.com

Tags nuuna, user experience design

Lifestyle

Rapid Response – Movie

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date September 15, 2019

18 years ago, in 2001, Alex Zanardi had a massive accident. Whilst for many, this may seem a distant memory, I still remember it very clearly. A few days ago, I watched a movie, Rapid Response, that featured the accident.

Rapid Response narrates the track safety from the primitive stages of racing to the latest modern state. Driver safety has been a bumpy and a brutal journey. In the early years of Indy Car Racing, racing drivers pushed their lives to the edge of their luck. Sadly, safety improved at a much slower rate than the speed at which race cars have developed increased performance and faster laps.

Rapid Response unfolds the stories behind how motor racing progressed to become safer and the dedication of key people to save drivers from dreadful crashes. Whilst the movie did not cover Formula 1 racing, it was clear that the improvements narrated have had an indirect impact on Formula 1 racing as well.

Rapid Response is in theatres now and I would highly recommend watching it!

Tags Rapid Response

Lifestyle

WeWork Creator Awards 2018 London

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date October 27, 2018

The Creator Awards 2018 London. I have just left the event in London and am heading back to Birmingham on Virgin Train’s last service at 23:30. This is what I do three times a week but with earlier services.

This year’s Creator Awards event took place at PrintWorks and the demand was far more than you can imagine. It is clear that WeWork is the coolest co-living space in London. I noticed that people were there to see what WeWork really was.

They all know what lies inside the Arts Club, Annabels or Soho House. Expensive members’ clubs! While WeWork is also a members’ club, it accepts everyone regardless of their profession, style of clothing or interests. That’s why WeWork is more than an office space. It is a cool community and you can work there at the same time.

Returning to the Creator Awards, to cut a long story short they fund start-up projects. You record a one-minute video, write a short intro and upload it. If they pick you up, you pitch your business in front of everyone and you receive the money. I did it four times and failed but will do it next year as well. I think that after the fifth time, it will be a tradition for me. I’ll have to apply to it every year.

I am sure you are now getting bored of reading my words and looking forward to watching the videos and seeing the photos. If you are looking for any celebrities or influencers in the photos, I’m afraid I never cover those things. It is just the WeWork vibe.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay until the end of the party and had to leave. Nonetheless, it was amazing and I wanted to stay longer – but if I had stayed longer, I would have had to stay all night and wait for the 5am train from Euston to Birmingham.

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Tags Creator Awards 2018, WeWork

Lifestyle

Exo Investment #StartUP FinTech

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date January 30, 2018

I have been using WeWork Spitalfields, London for more than eighteen months. During this time, I have met with many startups and global enterprises. The good thing about the WeWork offices is that there are no boundaries between small and large firms. It is a great environment to get to know each other, especially with regard to discovering new startups.

A few months ago I discovered a startup through a Google search and it turns out that they are based in WeWork. I should have looked around better. They are called Exo Investment.

Exo Investment is an innovative fintech startup. They aim to revolutionise investment banking through an AI platform. Basically, you no longer have to have a middle man, aka the Wolf of Wall Street. Instead, the AI analyses the markets for you and, based on your attitude towards risk (from very low to I love risk), AI invests your money in the right direction. In addition, Exo Investment is FCA regulated. They are committed to their work and tick all the necessary boxes.

The cool thing with this startup it that they are the golden standard. I have been chatting with the founder and the team since I came upon them. Literally, nothing is going wrong. If you take their case as a startup, they are the benchmark for literally everything. They even provided Apple MacBook Air to their interns, even though MacBook Air hasn’t been updated since 2015. Anyway, I am really impressed with their commitment to their work. Also, it is a great success story. For me they are the benchmark or the scale to measure the success of your startup against. Running a FCA-regulated investment firm is not an easy task because there are lots of regulations and paperwork, and the market is very competitive. They are competing with Wolf of Wall Street, Wolf of Berkeley Square and the big banks.

I really appreciate their work and their commitment. I am definitely sure, when you read this article a couple of years from now, that they will be known by many people.

If you are reading this article on April, 2021, yes I discovered this startup before you :)

Learn more details: https://exoinvesting.com

Photo Credit // Exo Investment

Tags Banking, Exo Investment, FinTech, StartUp

Lifestyle

Tiffany & Co // Price is No Object

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date November 14, 2017

If ‘Price is No Object’ for you. You should read this :)

Tiffany & Co, is one of the most luxurious brands on this planet. Whatever they sell in their stores is expensive. The word ‘affordable’ or ‘cheap’ doesn’t exist in Tiffany & Co’s world.

When Apple released the iPhone X, many people complained about its price tag. However, when you compare the iPhone X and its capabilities with any product from Tiffany & Co’s range, the iPhone is a bargain.

However, the new generation doesn’t really see the point of spending lots of money on Tiffany & Co products, and I think the same way. It is too much for what you get.

Despite this changing trend, Tiffany & Co has decided to push the boundaries of luxury before it vanishes, and called it Price is No Object! You can buy a Tiffany & Co ball yarn in a silver lining for £8,995, a set of two paper cups for £90! A ruler for £425!

After seeing the product range of Tiffany & Co, I can easily rationalise buying an iPhone X and call it a bargain!

http://www.tiffany.co.uk/accessories/decorative-accents/everyday-objects-sterling-silver-paper-cup-60558914

http://www.tiffany.co.uk/accessories/decorative-accents/everyday-objects-bone-china-paper-cup-60558930

http://www.tiffany.co.uk/accessories/decorative-accents/everyday-objects-sterling-silver-ball-of-yarn-60558779

http://www.tiffany.co.uk/accessories/desk/everyday-objects-sterling-silver-ruler-60558507

http://www.tiffany.co.uk/accessories/desk/paper-clip-bookmark-60559481

Photo Credits // Tiffany & Co

Tags Luxury, Tiffany & Co

Lifestyle

WeWork Creator Awards 2017 London

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date September 15, 2017

Back to basics. I have been blogging for more than seven years. It started as a fun became a part of my life. During my MSc Research years in University of Birmingham (Doing a research degree is an endless loop, keep in mind) I was attending to many press days, from car launches to London Fashion Week.

When I started to work, things have changed. I couldn’t have time to attend press day often and sometimes doesn’t even bother to apply for a press pass. When you are a blogger and written for a very long time, you can get a press pass.

As a result of my hesitation to apply for press pass and ignoring the fun of covering an event, I didn’t bring my DSLR to WeWork Creator Awards 2017 in London. If this event was happening, five years ago I would have applied for the press pass ages ago.

During the amazing WeWork Creator Awards event, I have realised that once you experienced the excitement of covering an event live on social media, you can’t get rid off it.

So, I tried my best with an iPhone 7+. Unfortunately, smartphones are not really good with the low light conditions and when you use 50mm lense for the DSLR camera, smartphones are way behind DSLRs.

Anyway, long story short, I have covered the WeWork Creator Awards on Twitter, Instagram and on my blog.

Tags Shot on iPhone, WeWork

Lifestyle

The Apple MacBook Air

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date July 22, 2017

Born in 2007. It was the reaction to the world of netbooks. Netbooks were a disaster but they were so cheap that we loved and consumed them. However, the MacBook Air didn’t give up, it got better and better. Lighter and lighter. Once I had an 11-inch MacBook Air and it was amazing. I was really happy with it. However, the non-Retina display was destroying everything.

Nowadays, MacBook Air is only available with a 13-inch display and weighs as same as the new MacBook Pro. However, the Air sells really well! Yes, people still buy a non-Retina Mac. I don’t know why but they do. It feels like using an iPhone 3GS. The non-Retina experience is heart-breaking. Also, the Air offers the longest battery performance.

I was expecting the MacBook Air to have vanished from the Apple’s website but Apple still keeps it. I mean the Air is on life support, but it received a new CPU which is keeping it alive.

I think the new iPhone 5 is the Macbook Air. Nothing can destroy it.

Macbook Air

Photo credits / Apple

Tags Apple, Apple Macbook Air

Lifestyle

I Am Missing The Apple Watch Edition Gold

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date July 14, 2017

The Apple Watch, the luxury item that became a health gadget. I am really glad to see that. When the Apple Watch was released, I rushed to buy one and was really excited to see the Gold Edition. It was the first time that Apple had offered a pure luxury product.

I have known the Apple brand since 1992, and remember most of their products. From the Apple Newton to the Apple Laser Printer. Also, I remember the days when Steve Jobs was out, Apple was on the edge of bankruptcy, and there was the first Apple Conference where they announced the iPod.

Time has passed and now Apple is the biggest company on earth, and I hope it struggles with being such a massive company. This was the Steve Wozniak’s concern and I totally agree with him.

Going back to the Apple Watch, after the first generation, Apple decided to remove the Gold Edition and re-branded the Apple Watch as a health aka fitness gadget. That’s a really good strategy, because when the product offers nothing other than being expensive it will damage the Apple brand image and alienate users like me (highly involved with the brand).

Even though I sold my Apple Watch on eBay, I am really excited about the idea of buying the new Apple Watch that will measure my sugar levels from my sweat. That’s a great innovation and will be rule changing.

However deep inside me, I really miss the extravagance of the Apple Watch Gold Edition. I can imagine the influence behind introducing the Gold Edition. It was a product manipulated by the coherency of the Apple Stores. I am sure Apple will not reveal a similar product soon. However, I will always miss the uniqueness of the Gold Edition among the Apple products.
Apple Watch Edition Gold

Apple Watch Edition Gold

Lifestyle

Tile Mate Experience

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date June 15, 2017

You may have seen this device on the Internet. It is basically a tiny tile with a hole on the top left hand side. It helps you to locate your keys, bags or anything that is attached to it anywhere in your house or anywhere else. You might be thinking how can a device like this be capable of sending out its location data?

Let me explain the Tile Mate. It is a tiny gadget with bluetooth and a non-replaceable battery. When you turn on your bluetooth in your smart phone, you can easily find your Tile within the bluetooth’s radius. When you lose your Tile or leave it somewhere, the Tile community will be able to locate it for you.

Sounds crazy? No. It is the sharing economy model. The whole Tile community acts like a giant beacon and help you to locate your Tile.

Now you might be thinking, the Tile will surely be very expensive because it is a gadget. No, it is very affordable, and if you have enough referrals, you can have a free Tile. Your next question might be, is it useful? For a person who frequently loses their car keys inside the house, it really works. Also, when you attach the Tile to your backpack or to your laptop, you can be confident that you can locate your belongings very easily.

Tile Mate

Tags Tile, Tile Mate