Expanding our Horizons With The Lost Agency

There is a number of different ways to look at the word agency which is partly why we are using it. It can be referenced to a management service or the idea of self-agency which in psychological terms is taking control of your own life, both are apt in the case of the lost agency. We wanted to have some degree of management and self-rule over our work which is overall what the lost concept is and why we are now bringing in The Lost Agency as part of our business future.

We often talk about the changes that have become part and parcel of the industry (both good and bad) and how commercial makeup, in particular, has become something of a “lost art,” instead the salon/party style is taking over and newer artists are focusing on the more personal side of the industry leaving people who want to work on the more film and TV level or commercial media side lost in the mix which we found frustrating as did some of our actors.

Focusing on the in-house staff we will be managing a small number of people and business elements as part of the ongoing work of The Lost Concept building on the creative, artistic and media work we have already done taking things forward and bringing The Lost Vision to new levels.

At the forefront of this will be our creative director JamesC who will be heading up more of the media elements and being central to the staff requirements for upcoming work taking a stronger more managerial stance and running The Lost Agency whilst simultaneously developing editorials and project work such as TV shows and photographic work for the sites portfolio and marketing needs.

What this means for the future of The Lost Creatives is we will be posting on the blog requirements for crew and looking at offering training positions on our work and tackling larger-scale projects. One of which we are close to finalizing at the moment with some fantastic brands/designers supporting the concept giving us a chance to showcase the creative work of our team.

Later in the year and into 2021, we will also be looking to put forward bids to take a team to London for off-schedule events during fashion week:

“Our plans and any work within the confines of The Lost Agency and affiliated sites/companies will be subject to agreed terms and a code of conduct. “

Stay tuned for news and updates on The Lost Agency and more in our blog.

Moonworkers Payroll, HR Management and Talent Sphere

When it comes to the financial side of being a freelancer or a company it can be difficult to keep track and ensure that your availability is visible to potential clients and requires a great deal of work which could be filtered to key areas of marketing, which is why the team behind Moonworkers came up with the new platform designed to streamline the process of corporate pay and freelance contracting. 

Built around a two-part process of a diary service and a financial platform for payment and invoicing which can be split into two key areas: 

Corporate: 

• Payroll accuracy: More easily pay workers accurately and on time with the continuous

  calculation of net pay.

• HR Management: Sign e-contracts, check right to work in the UK, enable auto-enrolment,

• approve worker's timesheets, that enable auto-generation of payslips/ invoices depending

• on the employment type.

• Talent acquisition and retention: Find, recruit and rate the best talent with an end-to-end

  talent management solution.

• Mitigate compliance risk: Moonworkers helps enable you to maintain compliance with HR requirements by automating and incorporating several legislative and regulatory requirements through flexible configuration options.

Freelancer/Talent: 

• Showcase your brand profile: Showcase your personal brand, easily link your social media profiles and self-rate your caliber.

• Get connected with trusted employers: You can easily check reviews and ratings of

• employers. You can also chat with the previous workers of employers to get feedback.

• Get paid on-time, every-time: Get job offers, negotiate and ensure getting paid on-time.

• Increase your take-home pay: We do not charge the companies any recruitment fees, hence your take-home pay increases.

• Manage all your documents in one place: You can track your timesheets, generate invoices and so on.

• payslips and access HMRC's statutory documents within the app.

The beauty of this is the simplicity and marketing potential that for those in the creative fields allows us to control our diary, advertise and handle potential clients from a central point.  Corporate clients can also use this to streamline their payroll, browse and book staff on a per requirement basis and offers a more open playing field with all levels and budgets catered to allowing employers to find the best candidates from a wide pool with minimal fuss.  

To learn more or to sign up for the service see:

Moonworkers Website.

Moonworkers Instagram.

Moonworkers Facebook.

Moonworkers LinkedIn.

Moonworkers Twitter.

iKonic February Fashion Moments

From its launch in September 2014, The House of iKons has grown into a leader of the fashion world evolving above and beyond expectations with talents in design and crew coming to the forefront of fashion giving the elite a run for their money. The 2020 February show was no exception to this with a sense of style and panache, they have brought diversity to the world of fashion.

Developing the show was no easy task and it has all been overseen by the smart and talented Savita Kaye who has been front and center of the move to push the fashion business to new and exciting heights, a spectacle, yes, savvy, absolutely, it is without question a show but it is the behind the scenes elements that have really grabbed the attention of the mainstream, in particular, the new deal in place with China:

“The evening solo segment was in partnership with the UK-CHINA FASHION ARTS & CULTURE celebrating the beauty, culture, art, and fashion. With the media and press coverage on China at present due to the ‘coronavirus’, the CEO stated it was imperative that this segment is pushed to the forefront, highlighting that House of iKons does not discriminate and that there is only one race and that is the Human Race. Feedback from this segment was very positive, collections were graceful with a twist of both Chinese and western influences.”

Celebrity Sinitta/ Photo by Hicks Mestry

With a clear message that nothing will stop business and fashion wins, it is no surprise that The House of iKons team has become one of the top 6 respected fashion events worldwide and the media are loving it with this season’s show was also part of a USA reality TV show ‘Rising Fashion Show’ which will be aired on Amazon Prime, and this iKons show will be the grand season 2 opening. The reality TV show will also be returning to London in September’s fashion week with House of iKons highlighting not just the show but the build-up, drama just before the catwalk.

As they move forward to begin the planning of the (even bigger) September show it is with bated breath that we watch the exceptional growth of the company that has broken taboos (trans, nonbinary and gender-fluid models gracing the runway) whilst maintaining a dignity that rivals are clamoring to match and the celebrities are flocking to see.

To learn more about The House of iKons:

The House of iKons Website.

The House of iKons Facebook.

The House of iKons Instagram.

The House of iKons Twitter.

The House of iKons Youtube.

Its All In The Details a tale of Two Beads

Styled by Amber Richards

One of the fun things about arranging shoots is talking to the other more remote members of the team about details such as bracelets and other jewelry, do we go custom or search charity shops for pretty and unique costume pieces? All of this had to be discussed at length along with different styles and possibilities for our upcoming cover shoots.

In all of the discussions which have covered a range of subjects from clothes to jewelry it has become something of a tale of two beads, with our shoots designed around more of an old school method of character creation:

• Hero/heroine with lighter color tones and softer touches to the clothing and accessories.

• Villian more about dark colors and textures.

Amber (Richards) our wardrobe stylist normally works on films and wanted to take this on as a challenge to her own skills and has been really good about creating/sourcing pieces from her own collection, all handmade by the lady herself, and is going to create some specific pieces that will be worn not just by the models but by creative director JamesC for the headshots to be featured on his new portfolio site.

Our first of the female-led shoots is based around a beautiful jacket and set consisting of a pastel green necklace, earrings and bracelet, a portrait shot, this will be submitted to a newer magazine with an amazing following on social media and an aesthetic we at The Lost team can fully get behind.

Phone Calls, Planning and Pushing Boundaries

In the last few months, we have been working on something a little different that will change how we approach business longterm. While the goals are still the same it is the actions that will be redefined with a new corporate name and the closure of our books, we will not be taking in new staff long term but focusing on short term contracts and freelancers to create opportunities that will be agency (management based) giving us a more structured sense of control on the artistic and fiscal aspects of the work we undertake.

The overall feel of the Lost Concept is what we are planning to focus on and our South Asian contacts including Nepal film Production and a select number of artists in the acting field to create a stable of talent that will be at the heart of the business. HOD TV will be a major part of our future plans along with actor and model Raj Srivastava who has been a big supporter of the work.

Structuring a full-scale marketing plan built around different media elements such as editorial, short film, and TV with some cover images being created just for this project to showcase what we are and what we do.

New sites and business development projects/strategies that we will be announced soon are going to be leading the charge on how The Lost Concept is showcased and offering a different slant on how the creative art world works. While there is more to be done, we are really happy with the progress we have made and the support we have received so far to the prospect of our goals and proposals.

It is worth note that much of the work (and support) has been dependent on scheduling phonecalls via Whatsapp and Facebook messenger due to time differences etc.

Marketing using Magazines and Behind the Scenes

With the creative development work being done and a much more solid sense of the future of the Lost Concept, we are shooting content and work that is specifically tailored to marketing and will be slow-released as we set out our editorials and other magazine elements in the coming months.

Our goals have become really clear and we are determined to push forward with an agenda of creative commerciality that was our goal from the start of our journey.

All the strategies we are using require a certain amount of investment both financially and in terms of time but will ultimately bring into place what we want and can be used by a wide range of people to accommodate their own business model from makeup staff to the filmmakers themselves.

For us, we are focused on film and TV with a minor but none the less important aspect in fashion and print for the marketing value. *There are sites that are dedicated to magazines that offer different packages that with careful checks and a little effort will make good marketing tools for business.

The logic we are using to work this is we are a business, we want to create content that sells and promote ourselves in the best light with key members of the senior team organizing and looking at the different aspects structuring the photoshoots around the magazines to maximize the potential of the work across the board; this does mean we have had to calculate a budget to cover the costs and will be talking to a Google rep this week about SEO.

Our preference overall is for digital magazines and online content sites as the overall potential reach is higher when you combine the magazines reach and our own social networks (this can be a smart method of driving home your brand and giving validity to your skills).

From cover images to interviews, the options are endless and we are going to be adding behind the scenes stills and video to our arsenal with our script work in motion and a solid sense of the future of our company it is going to be a fun few months as we finish our additional sites and creative director JamesC reopening his portfolio site with fresh content, after 20 years in the job and his various travels the time feels right to relaunch his site, he will still be a heavy influence on our blogs but will also be influencing the direction of the business more strongly in terms of the look which we are all very excited about.

Starting The New Year With a Social Media Shoot

Burhan Javid

Sunday was a breath of fresh air for the team as we finally got out and did some shooting with one of our regular models Burhan Javid, who asked us to help create some new content for his social media accounts. For us, it was a really good excuse to take dig out our little bridge camera and take some shots while we picked his brains over potential avenues we are looking at for advertising using editorial submission.

While we did keep the whole shoot casual and simple, it was still fun and gave us the chance to dust off the cobwebs a little and take the time to use an old friend of the company as a sounding board for ideas.

Interestingly, we have found several really smart options that will allow us to be creative and market ourselves with a minimal outlay for the fashion sector which as any business owner will tell you is a real bonus and will allow us to push a narrative of creativity that will be commercially appealing as well as visually.

*A little side note to this is we are going to be putting out casting calls very soon through one of the major networking and booking sites, our plan is to give new faces from the modeling world a chance to be showcased.

With so much potential for 2020, we felt this was a really good start to the year and will continue working on the new developments and concepts.

Nepal Film Production and HOD TV

In what will be a game-changer for the team at Nepal film production, we are very happy to announce our exclusive partnership with HOD TV, a digital distributor of horror and thriller films.  This deal will open doors to new potential commercial avenues for the industry in Nepal and wider, giving not only our own in-country talent a platform for their films but also offers an extra incentive to shoot in our beautiful country.

As a partner we have access to the parameters for projects in the thriller and horror genres to potentially be sold to a global audience, a major advantage for filmmakers across South Asia and worldwide making Nepal the new home of horror. 

For filmmakers, this means they can find a one-stop-shop for all their needs with our access to the best production staff and equipment with the added draw of a platform to sell your horror/thriller film.  Nepal is one of the most beautiful countries in the world with talent coming from every corner of the globe to work here on documentary films, commercials and more, so for us to be able to offer this additional aspect of support to filmmakers and take the stress out of making a horror/thriller and giving you more room to work on the story and visuals.

To learn more about HOD TV and the requirements for distribution email a member of our team. 

Flexible Planning Strategies

We are as a team pushing forward with the creative plans to update all our websites and with the upcoming relaunch of the JamesC site, it is going to be interesting to move into 2020. With so many new and exciting options being brought into play, not just with our UK clients but our partners and affiliates in South Asia (particularly Kathmandu and Mumbai).

It is our intention to start working on new, flexible strategies for the new year, something we have always maintained from the beginning has been we need to be flexible and open to new options and look at the possibilities, hence the revamping and reopening of our creative directors artist site and plans to bring in a set of new projects that will be used as showcase work for the team.

At the moment we have a digital marketing specialist looking at our sites and will be working on a strategic marketing campaign that will push the Lost Concept harder than our current organically built following.

Our lightbulb moment and planning come in place thanks to our friends and supporters including the fantastic owner of World Fashion media news and of course the author and scriptwriter Susan Ronnie Marshall, who have both been instrumental in the promotion of our latest articles.

Naturally, we will be working to set briefs for our initial commercial projects in line with the partnership with HOD TV (submission details and parameters on request).

We intend to continue down the path we are on and look forward to all this brings.

Refreshing The Lost Concept

In the last month, we have been working really hard on the creative and more solid business elements of our work and we are really grateful to our partners for not only being in regular contact but helping with giving us a new direction and helping to define boundaries.

Over the next few weeks, we will be working with our creative director JamesC on what will be his relaunch, a new portfolio website and shop with My Beauty Brand is being constructed to showcase his work and separate him from the more lifestyle and art-based work of the Lost Project.

With all the new doors being opened up to us with our new collaborative relationships and partnerships in place with companies such as Nepal Film Production and HOD TV, whos horror and thriller distribution service we will be making good use of, we are really gearing up for the new year as the starting point of a whole new and fresh business year.

Lost Project will continue as an art, beauty and lifestyle blog with a new element of travel (which we are really happy to take on) with efforts made toward creating new work for that site around its current themes.

Lost creatives as a site is going to expand and we will have a new banner for production coming soon, with ties to our current team members here in Scotland and some more options coming to the fore with our partners overseas.

Overall, we are happy with our new direction and will continue to push boundaries with our team and media partners.