Free Thinking
Ädesē™ is poetry in the age of imagination.
In the winter of 2022, I sat down at my desk, and began to write. This daily practice has no guidelines or expectations; it is simply meant for me to achieve a state of creative flow. At the top of that first page, I wrote, “How do you build the perfect brand?”
Ädesē™, which is the phonetic spelling of the word, “Odyssey,” was born that day.
As a creative director, it has been my responsibility to see the final work from the onset when nothing exists, and work backwards to complete it. They call this, “The Vision,” and Ädesē™ is by far the best I have ever had.
At the beginning, when I told people I was building a skincare brand, I was met with vacant eyes. My experience was in the creative industries, after all, and I am a straight man.
In essence, I had no business being in the business of skincare.
Creative vision is a powerful thing.
For two and a half years, it has been my life’s work, and without doubt, its most challenging, but fulfilling professional pursuit.
At the time of this writing, we are two months into market, and already carried by Canada’s foremost luxury beauty and lifestyle retailers. Our products have been tried and tested by dermatologist, beauty experts, celebrities, and celebrity makeup artists, but most importantly, by customers, with 100% positive feedback. We have six trademarks and two breakthrough proprietary technologies.
It is clearly very good, but a curious question remains, “Why skincare?”
When I looked at those pages, timeless, stood out over anything else. Few products provide real value, and almost, everything is ephemeral. It almost felt like a moral obligation, that I needed to create something that would stand the test of time, something that would provide real and lasting value everyday, for everybody.
Ädesē™ does that and I am proud of that. Is it perfect? I cannot answer that, but it is what I had envisioned from the onset.
I approach work, in the same way I approch life, with childlike wonderment. I question everything, and ask “Why,” until I find the answers I am seeking, even when nothing exists.
Ädesē™ is poetry in the age of imagination.
About
Co-Founder and CEO Stephen Shaw
Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (Canada) in 1985, Stephen Shaw is a Toronto based award winning artist, designer, and creative director.
While earning a degree in Ethics, Society & Law at Trinity College in the University of Toronto, he joined Janet Jackson’s creative team in 2009. It was there where Shaw was taught to converge the fields of arts, craft and design, under the mentorship of Gil Duldulao (Janet's Creative Director,) where he first began to bring mass scale multimillion visions to life. These theories, merged with contemporary culture, still make up Shaw’s inter-disciplinary practice today, where he unifies the principles of mass production with individual artistic vision and strives to combine aesthetics with everyday function.
Shaw has lent his creative vision to dozens of global brands and world renowned artists, and has been featured on E-Talk, Entertainment Tonight, MuchMusic, and MTV.
