“What’s Hot, What’s Not, What’s Next”

Check out my review of Day 1.

I doubled back to the Sands Expo on Day 2 of the Vegas fashion trade shows to check the activity at the new Liberty show. Liberty, the new project of Project founder, Sam Ben-Avraham is a contemporary men’s and dual gender apparel, footwear and accessories showcase. There was plenty of activity on the floor.

I spoke with Shelby Lee Goldberg, an independent agent who sells Christy’s Hats in the southeast.  Shelby thought the buyer traffic was spotty but they had worked good quality retailers.

Christy’s Hats new Brooklyn Hat Co range

That seemed to be the general feedback for the entire week.  Business was coming to the booths in bunches, then there were long lulls.

At Liberty, I scouted the very cool men’s collection, Goodlife.  I am hoping to work with the owner/designer, Chris Molnar to introduce the collection into Australia.

The agents and brands that I spoke with were very happy with Liberty.  They loved the look and feel (mostly uniform corrugated brown cardboard booths, large central open space/cafe with 25 foot high ramps to view the entire floor and hip tunes), and the quality of the buyers in attendance.

Here is the official Liberty recap.

Also at the Sands, Agenda was busy all week.  It’s Vegas debut must be considered a great success.  I spoke with John Faul from Red Zone Agency who represents the high quality American Needle cap label who said that they had “done tremendous business” at Agenda.

Let’s move over to the Advanstar shows located at Mandalay Bay Convention Center and the Las Vegas Convention Center.  You can find the list and links here.

ENK VEGAS Women’s

I got a mixed reaction from the women’s brands and agents at ENK VEGAS Women’s.

ENK had a lot to make up for after the TENTS debacle in February.  ENK was back in the main convention hall with Project and PoolTradeTrade.  I got answers of “it was alright” and “it was OK” from many brands and agents.  Some, though, were very happy with the week.

Leah Oseran of Place Showroom was very upbeat, saying that they had had “a great week”.  Place represents the highly successful Australian labels: Cameo, findersKEEPERS, Keepsake, and STYLESTALKER. Their large, centrally located booth area was very busy each time I walked past.

Australian label specialists, The SYDNY Showroom were showing their labels: bless’ed are the meek (their #1 seller that is blowing out on Revolve), and she was, Tigerlily, and the newest addition to their stable, ebony eve.  When I spoke with owners, Elizabeth and Jay Lewis, they had already worked with buyers from Nasty Gal, Free People, and Planet Blue, Southern Hippy and Fine & Funky amongst other quality boutiques.

The SYDNY Sales Manager, Jenny Wessell in bless’ed are the meek (on left) and Kylie Nasif, Account Sales in Tigerlily at ENK VEGAS

Their new brand, ebony eve is designed and handmade in Melbourne and Bali.  The simple but forward collection, that is a favorite of fashion bloggers, has beautiful digital prints in silks and rayons in great shapes.

The SDYNY was located in the new Oasis area of ENK. Oasis is intended to highlight influential labels in an intimate white sheer curtained area with tasteful potted plants and furniture.  While the space looked great and was located at the end of the booth rows near the entrance to the show, I think it would have more impact located more centrally.

It sounds like ENK successfully made up for having to move the women’s out to The TENTS in February.

Project

The men’s and unisex Project was massive as usual.  There was so much there is always hard to know where to start.

I particularly liked the new men’s looks being shown by Kennington.  Kennington has been known for it’s Hawaiian shirts since the late 50’s.  As their website describes, they have had success through the decades by staying on trend with”… Rat Pack stylings in the late 50s and early 60s; surf-influenced looks of the 60s and beyond; Funky & Groovy Threads, Western patchworks and quilts, terry and pieced knits in the 70s; disco polyesters of the 80s.”

Kennington have been working with their sales representatives, Brand Equity Showroom in Los Angeles, to create younger, slimmer looks in bright prints and vintage over-dyes.  They have launched a range of tees and tanks in the same eye-catching prints.  I loved their new bucket hats in all over print. Kennington’s Director of Apparel Operations, Alan Walters told me that GQ Magazine described the new bucket hat as “the hat of the show”.

Kennington’s new range. Check out the bucket hat in the peace sign & dove print

Check out the hip Wakami woven bracelets.  I saw them at the Agenda show in Long Beach last month.  I have been wearing a sample of one of their basic designs for men, and it feels and looks great.  Wakami is a sustainable, socially responsible collaboration between designers and artist groups in Guatemala.  They were happy with their project debut.

THE TENTS @ Project

The large white tent is located on one of the parking lots of the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

The TENTS were home to a curated grouping of premier men’s and women’s advanced contemporary, premium denim and designer collections.  This is the participating brand list.  The inside looks like this:

The air-conditioned carpeted area has a very open feeling.  The white thick-walled booths are large.  All the brands in here are upscale.

I chatted with Nicole from Namaste Showroom who said they had been busy with all of their brands.  Chippewa, Rodd & Gunn, Vince and W.R.K had strong showings.

WWDMAGIC

After the TENTS, I jumped one of the free shuttles that run from nearby over to the Las Vegas Convention Center for “MAGIC” – the ubiquitous moniker used by many for the week’s events.

MAGIC didn’t have the buzz of the February show.

I spoke with good friend and popular LA-based independent agent Bernadette Mopera.  Two of the collections that Bernadette represents were having particularly strong shows, Love Dove (formerly Knitted Dove) and the Spanish label, KLING.

KLING has branded stores in Spain.  Their collection is based around a full-store concept.  The fun printed and solid dresses, tops, skirts and sweaters are very well priced.  Check out the trenchcoat on the right in the shot below …. it wholesales for only $56!

A busy KLING booth at MAGIC

Overall, Bernadette thought the buyer traffic was down from February but she was still very happy with the amount of business written.

Other MAGIC staples that had good shows were PJ Salvage and Anama.

PoolTradeShow

I closed out Wednesday by taking a good look at Pool.  Pool had it’s usual fun energy.  More than 100 emerging and independent contemporary brands showing the full range of clothing, shoes, bags, hats, jewelry, accessories of all kinds.  There was also an expanded cash and carry section of very interesting stuff.

A couple of new brands really stood out.

Ducks in a Row has a young vintage inspired look. I really liked their Spring prints.  Designed in San Francisco by Rebecca Leonard, the collection is still small but has garnered interest from Nasty Gal.  Kitson and Therapy are already carrying the collection.  They also produce a jewelry collection branded Hatchling’s Jewelry.  Keep an eye out for the label.  I can see them in ENK very soon.

Ducks in a Row from San Francisco at Pool

Gleeful Peacock from Tulsa, OK caught my eye.  The one-of-a-kind jewelry and accessories are handmade in Tulsa.  It is a well worth a look.

One of my great Pool info sources Paula Rigoli, who has been doing the show for many years with Sprout watches, told me the buyer activity was well down from February.

Looks

I thought the predominant looks of the week were:

• tribal prints
• tropical prints
• the continuation of the 80’s look
• brights and neutrals
• blue
• very clean sharp styling in black and white
• embellishment and hardware
• geometrics
• utility sportswear

I know some of these are contradictory but these are what came through to me.  Anything goes right now, and I like it.

Takeaway

My takeaway from the week is that buyers are still being cautious, probably more so than earlier this year.  This accounted for the choppy results for many brands last week.

There is a lot of uncertainty in the domestic and worldwide economies.

At home, when is the the Federal Reserve going to start tapering it’s stimulus measures?  Can the economy stand on it’s own? We have already seen some key economic indicators come in under expectations.  Things don’t seem as robust as they did 3 months ago.

Abroad, continuing unrest in the Middle East is causing jitters among investors.  Syria is making people very nervous.  Many influential economies are not doing well.

I think all this uncertainty caused many buyers to postpone buying as deeply for Spring 14.  I think there was significant immediate goods buying.  The trend to short buying will continue.

So, I have to end this post on the same tone that I have for 4 years now.  We still don’t know how the next 2 quarters will unfold.

I am taking an optimistic view.  Why? I’m not sure. Just a gut feeling.

Paul Brindley

paul brindley consults

It was a hot one in the desert for Day 1 of the Spring/Summer 2014 round of the Las Vegas Fashion Trade Shows.

I spent the day at the Sands Expo Convention Center at the Venetian Hotel.  The Sands is hosting the first edition of Modern Assembly.  Modern Assembly is a marketing collaboration between the Agenda, AccessoriesTheShow, Capsule, Liberty, MRket, and Stitch apparel and accessory shows.  Modern Assembly is a direct challenge to the Advanstar trade shows at the Mandalay Bay and the Las Vegas Convention Center that are highlighted by Project, ENKVegas and WWDMAGIC.

Modern Assembly – http://www.themodernassembly.com/

Modern Assembly got off to a flying start.  There was a real buzz all day with lots of buyer leaving paper rather than just taking notes.

Liberty the new project of Project founder, Sam Ben-Avraham is a contemporary men’s and dual gender apparel, footwear and accessories showcase that is the new headliner at Modern Assembly. It looks like this:

The uniform booth look of Liberty main floor.

A mermaid at Agenda.

An awesome promo by Caviar Cartel – http://store.ssurempirestate.com/caviar-cartel.html

A very cool look at Capsule.

The main floor at Capsule

Stitch, MRket and Accessories The Show were in a new configuration but there were many familiar brands.

It was great to see solid activity at CURVENV, the swim and lingerie showcase.  I visit CURVE every show but must have been choosing the quiet times to walk the booths.  This time there was plenty of buyer activity.

One of my former clients, Wood Underwear, was exhibiting at CURVE for the first time having previously shown at Project. Terresa Zimmerman, the owner/designer of Wood was having a great day.  Wood had a strong showing at the recent CURVENY, and the momentum is continuing here.  Wood is currently in 12 Equinox stores nationwide.  At the Curve shows, Terresa has worked with buyers from Blue Collar in Buffalo, NY, Under U 4 Men in Portland, OR, Birdies in Kansas City, MO and City Drawers in Belfast, ME, to name a few.

Wood Underwear at CURVENV

Terresa finds the CURVE trade shows to be more personal and focused than Project.  Wood doesn’t not get lost in the crowd compared to the massive Project show.  Terresa is also impressed with the personal attention she gets from the CURVE staff, and has had success with the marketplace option on the CURVE website.

Now, off to Project and MAGIC, as well as a buying trawl through the OFFPRICE for some bargains for Z Fabrique.

Paul Brindley

paul brindley consults

After 2 weeks vacation immersed in the majesty of California’s and Oregon’s national parks and wonders, then indulging in the Anderson Valley and Russian River wine districts, it was back to work on Monday with a visit to the Spring/Summer 2014 edition of the Swim Collective trade show at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa in Huntington Beach.

Standard booths in beautiful abode-style convention rooms at Hyatt Regency, Huntington Beach

The semi-annual 2-day show is held in January and August.  It was bigger this season with nearly 220 exhibitors, up from about 190 brands in January.  The exhibiting brands are a mix of established and emerging.  You can review a full list of exhibiting brands here.

Swim Collective concentrates primarily on women’s swimsuits with some accessories.  Swim Collective is now the only swimwear trade show of note on the west coast since the demise of the ASR show in San Diego in 2010 (that’s if you don’t include the ISAM and Curve trade shows in Las Vegas).  Many brands see the show as an excellent opportunity to reach the west coast buyers that may not travel to the swim shows in Florida or Las Vegas.

One of my clients, Nathan Lodge of Nathan Paul Swimwear was showing his sexy ‘Getaway’ collection for men and women. Nathan, who hails from sunny Melbourne (Aussie readers will get that) has had an excellent response to the collection from US retailers.

Nathan Paul Swimwear at Swim Collective

The marquee Australian brand, Tiger Lily, had a strong showing.  Elizabeth Lewis, the owner of The SYDNY Showroom and distributor of Tiger Lily in the US, told me, “We had a great show. It was a lovely atmosphere, and very easy to do business.”  The SYDNY worked with buyers from Swell, Vida Soleil, Ishine365.com, Discovery group, Largo Drive to name just a few.

I really liked the brand new Costa Mesa label, House of Au+Ora.  This was their trade show debut.  Co-owners and designers Lindsay Rochelle and Miranda Lynne have used sustainably produced Italian fabrics and recycled fishing nets to create a fresh island holiday inspired collection that is produced right in LA.

Au+ORA Owner/designers, Lindsay Rochelle & Miranda Lynne (center)

Nicole Kegley, the PR/Marketing Director at Tavik was very happy with the show, saying it had been “awesome”.  Tavik had seen buyers from Zappos, Tilly’s, Dianne’s, and the Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas.  Tavik also produces men’s lifestyle Ready To Wear, and Apple phone and laptop accessories.

Surfing legend Kelly Slater’s girlfriend, Kalani Miller was showing her collection. Mikoh.

Fair trade produced accessories collection, Mar Y Sol was being shown by their west coast agent, Gabriela Schultz of Adorn Thyself Showroom.  This unique collection of stylish bags, hats and pillows is produced in Madagascar using traditional craftwork, sustainable materials, organically tanned leathers and responsibly sourced raw materials.

Want a pair of flip- flops that look fantastic, are made with recycled materials, and give to a great cause?  I’ve got them for you.  They’re call Hari Mari.  The clean look is eye-catching, and the recycled rubber and foam sole is especially comfortable.  Only 18 months in the market, Hari Mari is carried by 125 stores worldwide – check our their full store list.  They are big in Japan (everyone sing along).  Plus for every pair purchased, Hari Mari donates $3 to support kids battling pediatric cancer.  If you want to carry the line in your store, call their wholesale agents in LA, Namaste Showroom.

I’m off to Las Vegas on Monday morning for the Spring/Summer 2014 circus of trade shows.  I’ll be blogging daily and updating during the day via social media.  This is going to be a very interesting week.  The debut of the new Liberty trade show at the Sands Expo is going to be a game changer.  Stay tuned.

Paul Brindley

paul brindley consults

Agenda continues to grow in size and diversity. It was pumping yesterday on the first day of the two-day trade show at the Long Beach Convention Center.

The street and action sports origins of Agenda are still well represented but the show now offers so much more – the men’s and women’s contemporary Ready To Wear, fashion accessories and footwear and swim categories are growing every show.

The energy and foot traffic on Day 1 were strong.

The usual industry leading brands were in attendance.  Agenda has had great success over the years in making sure the high profile, buyer-drawing labels are exhibiting show to show.  Adidas, Billabong, Body Glove, Element, G-Shock, Hurley, just to name a few.

Some of the brands that stood out for me were:

American Needle was showing an eye-catching range of snapback and strapback caps

Psyberia winter active wear.

The artist and brand collaboration stylings of Secret Artist.

The “Anxiety” cap in Sanskrit text and Dali tee of the incongruously named The Teenage Girls (check their website for video and graphics).

Ben De Luca of Christy’s Hats was back at Agenda after skipping the show for a few years.  Ben tells me wider brims for men and women in Rancher Hats are the go with lots of color and novelty in hats and caps.  Their new Brooklyn Hat Co. cap range has just dropped and is selling strongly.

The Australian lifestyle brand, teeink‘s cool, island themed styles at great prices. teeink is represented in LA by Eme Mizioch of Joken Style Showroom.

Day 1 of Agenda was big success.  The activity bodes well for the upcoming round of Spring/Summer 2014 trade shows that started this week with Project NY and rolls out big-time in Las Vegas in mid-August.

I’ll be blogging from Vegas so stay tuned.

Paul Brindley

paul brindley consults

“Not another trade show?”, I can hear you say.

Yes, the fashion industry calendar is blessed with an abundance of opportunities for buyers and sellers to interact. Many people think that this familiarity breeds, well not contempt, but let’s say confusion – especially if you are new to the game.

Which show should I do?

When should I do them?

Will the right buyers for my styling be there?

Will there be any buyers at all?

Which location suits my brand?

Can afford it?

Are there more important priorities to be spending my money on?

How will I sell my brand if I don’t do trade shows?

All these questions and many more need to be considered before plunging on a trade show booth.  As I have said many times before deciding on a new or different trade show to attend can be like reading tea leaves … you see what you want to see.

So I was very interested to attend the one-day brand new streetwear and lifestyle trade show, Venue Trade Show, at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday, June 28.

With Spring/Summer 14 breaking in Las Vegas in mid-August, it seemed way too early for Spring/Summer selling and a little late for Fall/Winter.

I was pleasantly surprised.

I met the President of Venue Trade Show and the show creator and director, the very youthful looking Miles Canares, in the registration area.  Miles came to the fashion business through his photography and entertainment company, Mirror Images Entertainment which does photos shoots for many independent brands.  His relationship with these independent brands was the genesis of Venue.

Miles took me on a tour of the 40 booth show located in a conference hall in the West Hall of the LA Convention Center. I immediately thought of a proto-Agenda Show with streetwear/liefstyle staples such as logo caps and tees, hoodies, jackets, and bags dominating the show.

Miles is a passionate advocate for young and start-up brands.  He wants Venue to be “a new dynamic marketplace and hub for new things”.  He stated that he is creating “an environment for independent brands to grow … a space that caters specifically for the young brands to showcase themselves in a comfortable and affordable environment where they can network and create relationships, and most importantly, conduct business.”

Conducting business = attracting the right buyers.  Miles had great success in getting the these retailers to the show, including:

• Attic (Buena Park)
• The Hangout Boutique (Glendale)
• Fresh and Nameless (Online)
• Krewshal Xposure (Rancho Cucamonga)
• BGSK (LA)
• Icons of Surf (San Clemente)
• Legends Boardshop (Whittier)
• Crown Roots(Pasadena),
• Drip Hollywood, (Hollywood)

The brands were selling their Spring 14 collections and immediate goods.

The stand-out collections for me were:

Equilibrium USG (Urban Survival Gear)

Build Your Own Bag! Equilibrium USG designs, manufactures, and sells modular gear and accessories, primarily bags and backpacks.  It’s like Legos for bags.  Each piece can be used independently and interchangeably.  Configure your bag to conform to your lifestyle.

The modular P.A.C. (Portable All-Purpose Containment) System consists of the following: Harness, Payload, and Skyn.  Choose from several different base harness sizes and types, muliple styles and sizes of payloads or messenger bags, and a smorgasbord of skyns.  You can even customize your skyn for a more personable look or use it to advertise your company or product.  Build your bag out with our wide selection of accessories.

This is one of the more exciting new ideas that I have seen in a while.  Keep an eye out for this brand.  Some lucky licensees, distributors or sales agents are going to make a lot of money selling this brand into the worldwide market.

Woodruff Apparel

Woodruff Apparel is a cool, clean collection of black and white cotton basics for men and women. Manufactured in Peru exclusively using beautiful Peruvian PIMA cotton, this brand does not have US distribution as yet.

The tees, tanks, tops and dresses have clean contemporary lines and fits as excellent price prices.  I can definitely see this brand being available at your local boutique or department store in the near future.

Be Inhabited

Edgy and wearable, Be Inhabited logo tees, hoodies, beanies and snap-back caps are worth checking out.  The range needs expanding before it makes a name for itself.  Owner/designer, Caitlin Berger tells me that they are growing steadily and will be growing the brand organically.

Marillest

Women designing mens streetwear … I love it.

The Marillest website says it best: Marillest has embedded itself into a male dominant industry as one of the few mens’ street lifestyle brands to design, run and be operated by women. Marillest self taught themselves every aspect of the industry from making patterns, marketing, product placement, photography, videography, html coding and merchandising by challenging their skills to a level of their competitors. 

“There is so much to do, but so little time. Not one day can go by without making something happen.” – Marillest

Marillest is a Los Angeles based mens’  street lifestyle apparel brand inspired by art, culture and every day life of Southern California. Designs are inspired from the creative adventures of the three founders, Mari Nazaryan, Arpa Sarian, Piruz Dedeyan, who started the brand in 2009.

Venue also put on 2 panels during the day. The morning session was “Marketing Your Brand”.  The afternoon was “Building Your Brand”.  Both were well attended and very useful to the brands.

I was impressed by the day.  The activity and energy were sustained throughout.  The feedback from the exhibitors was overwhelming positive.

I’ll leave it to Miles’ own words to sum up: “I was really happy with the outcome of our show. This was our first go at it, and we had a really strong response coming from our exhibitors, guests, and attending retailers. I feel that we really made some noise within this industry, which was exactly what we wanted to do for our brands. We opened the door for our brands with this show, and now we feel that we can be taken more seriously the next time around.”

I agree with you, Miles.  Good luck for the future.  I’ll be following Venue closely.  See you next time.

Paul Brindley

paul brindley consults

Welcome home: ‘Made in USA’ on the rise – NBC News.com.

Here is more “good news” on the “Made in USA” front.  I have predicted the return of apparel manufacturing to the US as one of the consequences of the now 5 years of economic downtown in the US as outlined in the article.

More and more designers are doing their best to keep their manufacture on-shore.  Apart from the convenience of working in the roughly the same timezones, in the same language, and under the same rules of law, quality control is more assured and turnarounds are quicker which allow longer selling cycles.

And in spite of the federal government’s and industry groups’ reluctance to go on an all-out “Buy USA” program as they have in other countries, local consumers want US-made for economic, social and patriotic reasons.

International buyers love “Made in USA” labels in their apparel.  They always have  and still do.

So to all budding and established designers out there, if you can fit “Made in USA” into your price points, do it!  Eat that extra bit of margin as advertising, marketing, consumer goodwill or wherever it makes sense in your budget.

Paul Brindley

paul brindley consults

Right Brain, Left Brain | Clouds Looming Over Australian Fashion – BoF – The Business of Fashion.

This is an excellent article from The Business of Fashion detailing the current pressure on the Australian fashion retail sector.

On my recent trip to Sydney for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia, there was a lot of talk about the effects that the general economic downtown, the explosion of online retail shopping and the penetration of global fast fashion chains are having on the local market.

While the economic downtown is slight compared to what we have been dealing with here in the US for the past 5 years, it is starting to bite. In particular, independent boutiques are feeling the pinch. Many have closed. As such, the retail fashion market has contracted. Not good news for designers in an already relatively small market.

In search of markets, l can see even more Australian labels coming to the US earlier in their development.

The international online shopping explosion is also having an effect on the wholesale market.

In the past, Australian collections have been able to recycle their previous season’s  collection for the US market, e.g. the Spring/Summer 13-14 styles can be offered again in the US for Spring/Summer 14 with some curating and updating if necessary. But with more and more Australian styles available online, the US buyers will resist writing styles that have been out for 6 months. Australian designers will need to internationalize their collections to allow the collection to be ordered in both hemispheres concurrently. Unless, of course, they have the financial power to design and produce new collections as required.

The upheavals in the fashion world continue globally with technology leading the way. The is much more to come.

Paul Brindley

paul brindley consults

It’s Time to Talk About Fashion’s Poor Payors – BoF – The Business of Fashion.

This article is about the UK but it applies internationally.  As a fashion designer and manufacturer, you have to be very careful with the payment terms you accept from retailers.

Gone are the days of accepting Net 30 day terms just to get the order.  Do that, and you’re in big trouble, possibly fatal trouble.  I know a number of young designers who were forced out of business by returned orders.  Retailers can simply bounce the box if you don’t have payment before shipping.  It feels fantastic to write that order in September but it feels awful to sign for that returned box in February.  Cover your behind at all times.  It’s not “Trust No One”.  It’s more like “Trust Very Few”.

So what are some solutions?  Get references from buyers and check them, make sure your sales agent knows the buyer and trusts their payment history, get credit card details from the buyers at the time of writing the order, attempt to get a deposit from the buyers, insist on COD terms (if the references check out, do “COD hold 30 day” terms if required), and approach factoring and asset lending companies and explore your options.

Of course there are marquee retailers that will insist on terms; some will insist on up to Net 60 Days, and you may have to take back any inventory that doesn’t sell. However, the exposure and marketing cache of being carried by certain retailers can counterbalance the financial risk.  But remember these are the minority.

There is a big difference between sales volume and profitability.  A large part of that difference is cash management.  You have to get paid to have cash.  How will you pay your bills?  Pay for developing your next season?  Pay for sample lines?   Pay your sales agents?  Stand your ground and ensure that you are entering a transaction on fair terms.  If you don’t, you may not be around to write those orders next September.

Paul Brindley

paul brindley consults

Here is an excellent preview of next week’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia in Sydney by Damien Woolnough in The Australian:

Runway ready – Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia | The Australian.

I’ll be there as usual.  I attend MBFWA each year to view the Spring/Summer collections and to meet with designers who plan to launch in the US or need assistance in the market if already selling here. For example, this year I will be following up with Watson X Watson, Toi et Moi, Manning Cartell, Roopa Pemmaraju, to name a few.

I will also be blogging daily from the show so keep an eye on this space.

Paul Brindley

paul brindley consults