±±¾©Èü³µpk10

Bearing in mind that this is the first ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 of 1998 and, at

this time of year, thoughts turn to making a fresh start, some of you

may want to take advice from Bates Dorland’s new executive creative

director, Jay Pond-Jones, on how to revamp your office.

Pond-Jones will join Dorlands in February and has already been into the

agency to measure his new office for curtains. He has also, we

understand, engaged the services of a Feng Shui expert who has been

testing the karma in the agency.

His first recommendation was to replace all the spiky plants with more

karma-friendly ones - such as geraniums - and make sure all the rooms

were uncluttered. The ’expert’ then moved on to more important matters,

such as Dorlands’ creative hub, known as the Egg. This enclosed area was

commissioned by Tim Ashton, Dorlands’ former executive creative

director, and is generally used for chilling out and watching reels.

Pond-Jones’s adviser insisted that two inches be trimmed off the top of

the Egg’s wall to help creativity flow through the agency.

On his second visit to the agency, Mr Feng Shui insisted the chi in the

building still wasn’t right and that Pond-Jones ought to move Ashton’s

former office. Fair enough, we thought - bearing in mind the problems

Ashton experienced there, a new location would seem like a good

idea.

However, it wasn’t actually the office’s history that bothered the

expert, but the direction it faced. It would appear that if Pond-Jones

wants to improve his karma, he should look north, not south-east.

So Ashton’s lack of success was obviously due to the fact he faced

Peckham rather than Hampstead.