Being cooped up inside isn’t great when you have three energetic girls but we’ve really enjoyed movie nights, discovering new boardgames and as a bit of a treat, we buy tubs of gelato from a local shop down the road!
What is your role at Incu?
My official title is something generic like Director, but I guess the best way to describe how mine and Brian's roles differ at Incu is that, I look after of the creative ideas and make sure that the look and feel of Incu is always in line with what we wanted when we first started.
Tell us a little bit about yourself?
Brian and I were born in Hong Kong but our family immigrated really early on to New Zealand and we were raised on a healthy dose of rugby and tennis, before we moved to Australia in the late 80s. We have both had almost the identical life because we have basically done everything together - schooling, university and work.
Before Incu, I was in the I.T. industry in the early 2000s and basically the first week I started, the Dot-Com crash happened and most of the perks of working in a corporate office were taken away. I still remember the second day I turned up to work and they were rolling the big fridge which had all the free drinks in it out of the office. Brian and I learnt pretty early on that the corporate life wasn’t quite right for us, so every lunchtime we would meet up and brainstorm ideas of what we wanted to do.
Being young and naive, starting a retail store seemed to be the most natural thing for us to do and 17 years on, we’re still learning a lot about retail and enjoying the ups and downs of what it takes to be successful.
Outside of work, I spend most of my time with my wife, three daughters - who seem to be growing up way too fast for my liking, and our two puppies.
What are you doing whilst staying at home?
Self-isolation has really opened me up to doing a lot of things that I usually wouldn’t. For example, my wife taught me and the kids how to play Mahjong and now there’s a nightly family Mahjong championship. I also have been trying to keep my daughters entertained so there have been regular dance-off challenges which involves me making a fool of myself and them showing off their dance moves.environment is inescapable. We take a space and give it meaning and purpose. I believe this creates experience, which is what shapes or defines a space. I find this really motivating as a designer.
Some friends of mine have also introduced me to the whisky and gin, so I’ve been drinking a lot more than I usually do! I’ve also tried to keep up with my exercise by going on some walks, although I have been snacking a lot more than I usually do. I invested in a coffee machine just before I went into isolation and that has been a lifesaver. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have a cup of coffee in the morning!
How are you coping with Staying In and Keeping Safe?
To be honest, we’ve been keeping ourselves really busy so staying at home has been really rewarding. Like everyone else in Australia, my wife and I binged watched Tiger King a few nights ago. Saff is really the hero in that show… To have your arm amputated and return to work in a week is crazy. We also got to watch Jojo Rabbit last night which I loved.
I’ve also really enjoyed going through some coffee table books that I bought a little while ago that I haven’t had a real chance to look through. To be honest, I don’t read that often but I really love looking at big hardback books full of visuals. Here’s a list:
- The Wes Anderson Collection
- The Grand Budapest Hotel by Matt Zoller Seitz & Anne Washburn
- Jamie Hewlett by Julius Wiedemann
- A Man and His Watch by Matthew Hranek & Matt Hranek
- Tom Ford by Tom Ford, Bridget Foley, Anna Wintour & Graydon Carter
- Fernando Botero by Rudy Chiappini
- Virgil Abloh by Michael Darling
- Fantastic Man by Joe Van Bennekom & Gert Jonkers
- The Cinema of Richard Linklater by Rob Stone
I’m so grateful to have my family with me all the time. As stressful as these past few weeks have been, they always bring laughter and joy into my life. I’m also grateful for all my wonderful staff who have shown their true colours during these challenging times. It's very inspirational seeing them all support one other, and it gives me a lot of confidence that we’ll come out of this OK.
What is your WFH situation?
I have a pretty good home office which helps a lot since we have daily morning catch-ups with various departments of our business. I live on the Sydney North Shore, so my window looks out into lots of trees and I love the breeze that comes through in the morning. As you can see from the photo, I try and keep it very minimal because decluttering really keeps me focused.
Lastly, what are some of your current favourite pieces available at Incu?
My friends and family know that I’m quite addicted to shopping and I’m more than happy to fall in love with something that I probably won’t have the courage to wear, but will still buy. So my picks are based on my first impulse and what I believe are amazing pieces, that probably look better on most of the other guys in the office than myself. I’ve tried to mix in some really nice stand out pieces like the Our Legacy Tiger Print Shirt and Marni Polo with easier core items like Rag & Bone Definitive Jean Jacket and Incu Collection Albi Jacket. I had a lot of fun picking out the accessories because they are usually items that I never need but always want. I definitely don’t need another cap but the Norse Projects caps fit so well, which is probably why we sell so many of them. The Maison Balzac burner is definitely something that I have been using quite a lot at home recently.
(See the rest of Vincent's Wishlist here)
