Andrew Robertson, Trend Hunter (INTERVIEW)

Though you might think that former Editorial Intern Andrew Robertson's choice of trend was due to the fact that he has a beard of his own, the video entitled Angry Beard was selected more so for its brilliant stop motion ideas. Aside from worrying about his own beard falling off while watching the video, Andrew also fills us in on why he believes smiling while playing classical music is the key to being creative, and how his very imaginative mind as a child led him to frequently aspire towards having nonexistent occupations.

What is your favorite trend and why?

Right now my favorite trend is this beard video, which gives some great stop motion ideas. It revolves around this stranger, I don't know who he is, but his beard just comes to life. It's pretty shaggy, so not like mine. And it goes under the table and his shaving equipment that is in a bag comes out and starts attacking it. I am blown away by how it is made because stop motion takes so long to do. When I watch that sometimes I touch my own beard to see if it's still there and, it is, which is good!

How do you define cool?

That's a hard question. I don't think, at least for me, that there is a universal concept of cool. I think that it's kind of whatever you feel that maybe embodies or represents you. There are certain things that get you excited, that makes your hair raise on the back of your neck. Tap into those things, don't ever ignore them.

What is a remarkable way you see businesses changing?

One of the most remarkable ways that businesses are changing today, at least from what I've been noticing from Trend Hunter is a big increase in companies crowdsourcing inspiration. So, rather then just having a small group of thinkers up on top, who have some ideas, brainstorm and have that work its way down, companies are starting to reach out to the public and to the people its going to influence. Its branching out and networking into a spider web of ideas.

How do you reset to be creative?

Recently, I was at this barbecue and these friends of my cousin were telling me that if you smile, it actually affects your mood. So lately, I've been doing two things. If I've been feeling in the dumps, I try and just smile and then I'm okay, I'm awake and then I can start writing more. Also, I listen to classical music because somewhere down the road someone told me, maybe in high school, that classical music stimulates your brain. So my advice is smile while listening to classical music and you'll write all day.

What did you want to be when you were little?

When I was little, none of the jobs that I actually wanted to be ever actually existed. I wanted to be a sky pirate or the leader of some sort of expedition to a far away land. I was never into sports so me and my friend would go out on the field and say "adventure is out there! Today I should be a scientist, tomorrow I am going to be an explorer."

Predict something awesome for 2020?

A trend that I see upcoming in the future would definitely be something that is directed towards a green initiative. Hopefully that is a trend to come or else we are all screwed.

What is your favorite part about working at Trend Hunter?

My favorite thing about working at Trend Hunter really is the people. I love the work, I love the atmosphere but the people are so great. When you have a community of individuals that are so encouraging, so friendly, so approachable, it motivates you to want to do better and you can see that in your work. People come here as strangers and leave here as friends, which is nice to see in a workplace environment.