On 1 October 2022, I will be celebrating 20 years of the Gardenia being my brand logo.
I still have the sketch, which I originally drew; the geometric gardenia as part of an art assignment at high school. The gardenia captivated my imaginations as a child and to this day it still holds a special place in my heart. It has been my brand logo for my flowers, fragrances, interiors, cakes and photography. When I started developing my bespoke tailoring range in 2012, it became even more relevant, as the original idea of the gardenia logo came to mind as I styled and accessorised my school friend's uniforms with fresh gardenias from my childhood gardens. The Gardenia is the flower of my choice for Brand James Clarke.
The Gardenia logo is the representation of the James Clarke Brand emotions in its abstract form. Its beauty is known almost everywhere throughout the world. It's a mystical flower renowned for its symbolism of harmony, love, passion, the power of attraction, positive energy and peace. Their delicate yet robust petals with a deep seductive fragrance speak of sensuality and romance, whilst their richly glossy leaves speak of mystery and darkness with lashings of tenderness.
A note from the gardenia.
"I remember James as a child, when he used to enjoy my fragrance early in the mornings. He used to pick me and crush my petals in water to create his very own aqua fragrance. I remember how he used to adorn his friends hats and belts with me.
As James grew older, he started to appreciate me more and more, with the passing of each year. I remember how he used to wait in anticipation for the arrival of spring and for me to bloom. The winter months, that he spent dreaming and longing for my arrival. Sometimes, James used to sketch me during the long cold winter mornings just to feel my warmth.
I remember how he admired my opaque white petals, I remember his touch, his presence, his gentleness, and his appreciation. I remember the first time he pinned me to his lapel, it was blue velvet and I proudly sat there with my vibrant white petals and richly intoxicating and intense aroma. It was at that moment, as he pulled me in, closed his eyes and took a deep scent of my fragrance, I realised the depth of his love for me.
I remember how he told me that I was irresistible for anyone. Both men and women will adorn me in some way through James Clarke. He said... you bring elegance in the form of accessories, seduction and lust in the form of your fragrance.
I remember the first time James took me to Paris, I was keeping him warm as the lining of his silk blazer, and during dinner, I kissed his neck as his favourite perfume.
In New York, I cushioned his feet while he found inspiration during his walk in Central Park, and I rested on his chest in a glass pendant during afternoon tea at the tea rooms.
I remember how I contributed to the floral arrangement James once did for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. I remember the care that was taken to make sure I looked my best.
I remember the time when James made me into a necklace to adorn one of his friends. I remember him carefully stitching a few of me to pieces of velvet, and how he sprayed me with water like drops of dew to keep me fresh.
I remember how he re-constructed me with silks, chiffons, feathers, pearls and velvets. I remember... I'm the flower of James Clarke."
"I remember James as a child, when he used to enjoy my fragrance early in the mornings. He used to pick me and crush my petals in water to create his very own aqua fragrance. I remember how he used to adorn his friends hats and belts with me.
As James grew older, he started to appreciate me more and more, with the passing of each year. I remember how he used to wait in anticipation for the arrival of spring and for me to bloom. The winter months, that he spent dreaming and longing for my arrival. Sometimes, James used to sketch me during the long cold winter mornings just to feel my warmth.
I remember how he admired my opaque white petals, I remember his touch, his presence, his gentleness, and his appreciation. I remember the first time he pinned me to his lapel, it was blue velvet and I proudly sat there with my vibrant white petals and richly intoxicating and intense aroma. It was at that moment, as he pulled me in, closed his eyes and took a deep scent of my fragrance, I realised the depth of his love for me.
I remember how he told me that I was irresistible for anyone. Both men and women will adorn me in some way through James Clarke. He said... you bring elegance in the form of accessories, seduction and lust in the form of your fragrance.
I remember the first time James took me to Paris, I was keeping him warm as the lining of his silk blazer, and during dinner, I kissed his neck as his favourite perfume.
In New York, I cushioned his feet while he found inspiration during his walk in Central Park, and I rested on his chest in a glass pendant during afternoon tea at the tea rooms.
I remember how I contributed to the floral arrangement James once did for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. I remember the care that was taken to make sure I looked my best.
I remember the time when James made me into a necklace to adorn one of his friends. I remember him carefully stitching a few of me to pieces of velvet, and how he sprayed me with water like drops of dew to keep me fresh.
I remember how he re-constructed me with silks, chiffons, feathers, pearls and velvets. I remember... I'm the flower of James Clarke."
I've incorporated the Gardenia at the core of my brand design. As the JC brand logo, I represent it in different ways through relevant graphics and visuals to highlight different parts of my creativity and the concepts behind the scenes of my brand. I've planted so many Gardenias over the years, at every home I've ever lived in. The two images below are of the first ever Gardenia I planted as a child. It was roughly around 8 inches in height at the time of planting and now it towers over the potting shed, and nearly 25 feet in height. Although, it was coming to the end of its flowering season during my lastest visit, the fragrance that was eminating from the last few flowers were intoxicatingly beautiful.
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Although the original shape, design and layers of my logo are exactly the same to this day, as it was the day I handed my assignment in to my art teacher at school, I've developed the Gardenia from that initial design, that was flat geometrical shapes in representation of layers, to a physical 3D version during the early stages of my brand design process in 2002. After all these years, the reaction of my art teacher still makes me laugh. I was the only student who brought in maths and science to the art lessons and almost every piece of my art works were infused with some form of those elements. I stuck out like a sore thumb with all my creative endeavours, and everyone thought I was bizzare, that may be the case, but I was just being me, even at that age I didn't follow everyone else with water colours, pastels or indeed for any of the art forms. I was lucky to have very undersatnding teachers who encouraged my individuality at every stage. For the place where I went to school and my early inspirations for art, click here.
The transformation of my logo
I followed exactly the same branding method that I wrote for my floral brand when it came to marking and celebrating my own achievements through small increments within my brand design formulas.
The original logo was as it is today but in black and white. As I progressed through my floristry career, I worked through my brand design targets in stages and succeeded in achieving them one dimension at a time. My branding is based on the principles of having 6 dimensions, so I decided to have each flatlay layer of the logo as a single dimension. I added pre-determined shadows and added a layer on top of each as I completed each dimension of my brand design. It took me 14 years to complete my logo to all 6 layers with my floral brand. Luckily I applied my learnings from all my mistakes from those days to my JC fashion brand and I managed to complete the 6 layers of my logo to what it is today, in 3 years, without counting the 2 years I lost during the pandemic.
The original logo was as it is today but in black and white. As I progressed through my floristry career, I worked through my brand design targets in stages and succeeded in achieving them one dimension at a time. My branding is based on the principles of having 6 dimensions, so I decided to have each flatlay layer of the logo as a single dimension. I added pre-determined shadows and added a layer on top of each as I completed each dimension of my brand design. It took me 14 years to complete my logo to all 6 layers with my floral brand. Luckily I applied my learnings from all my mistakes from those days to my JC fashion brand and I managed to complete the 6 layers of my logo to what it is today, in 3 years, without counting the 2 years I lost during the pandemic.
For my floral brand the very first stage was to establish a gold standard by working out the brand design formulas. My reward to myself for completing that task was to be able to turn my black and white logo into a black and gold one. Still remainig a single flatlay layer until I complete each dimension of my branding strategies. It took an enormous amount of strength and discipline to keep to this method.
For my JC fashion brand, in 2012 I started with exactly the same logo as it is today, then I stripped it back to a single layer black and white logo again, and first step was to transform the colour to black and gold. I've also established a few different colours within my brand design, all representing different stages of my brand's journey, and of course the same methods of layering as I complete each dimension of my brand design.
The final stage of my JC branding was the launch of my commercial Art Collection, which is my Haute Couture range. Although I've been creating Haute Couture private collections each year since 2017, my original date was July 2020 for going live with the commercial part of that dimension. Unfortunately due to the pandemic, I was delayed for 2 years. But now with the successful launch of the commercial Art Collection and my brand movie in the making, that has a lot of 3D elements to it, I'm able to complete the final stage of my logo transformation with the final layers in place. It's the same logo that I've transformed very subtly throughout the years to mark the completion of each stage of my brand design that started betwen 2012 & 2016. I celebrated in 2016 when I finalised all my branding formulas and now in 2022, I've acknowledged my own achievements for completing each stage successfully and baked myself cheesecakes and took myself on road trips to admire the views that inspired my brand design in the first place. That's how I honour myself without needing external validation for all the hard work I put in towards achieving the things I do in life.