Q&A Marcel & Aaron | Adam No Eve Designers
We recently got introduced to the two handsome Sydney lads behind the Men’s Accessories designer label Adam No Eve. Marcel and Aaron tell us about the driving forces behind their creative business, where they have been before, where they are now and potentially where they are heading next… Enjoy!
Names: Marcel Bingham & Aaron O’Brien
Nicknames: Aaron Steel & Marcel Steel or The Steel Brothers (more people from the industry is in this group apparently!?)
Profession: Multi taskers… Some may say men’s accessories designers at Adam No Eve
Location: Sydney, Australia
Passion: Fashion, Music, Bikes (Marcel), Surfing (Aaron)
How we got our break:
We started Adam No Eve due to not being able to find accessories we wanted to wear… Girls are so lucky and have so much in fashion we try to balance it out. Our goal was to focus on making guy’s look great in accessories for work or for casual occasions. A year later after forming the label we’ve got two collections down due to having such a great group of people around us that have driven and inspired us along the way. Both of us make it a point to focus a strong energy on everyone who enjoys fashion we thrive on that. We are anticipating an exciting future.
Our top tricks of the trade:
- Keep you priorities in order
- Always try to keep focused on what is next
Our style in a sentence:
Aaron: I like colour, well-tailored jackets and a good pair of jeans… oh and love shoes
Marcel: My styles very clean cut and modern
Travel destination & tips:
Aaron: Spain is a must for me… from what I hear it will suit me just fine… Incredible nightlife, great fashions, culture that goes back decades and Portugal nearby and that means great surf!
Marcel: I’m of the opinion that everywhere and anywhere is a good place to travel, you really learn so much when traveling its truly priceless. But I think the place that fascinates me most is Tibet.
I bet you didn’t know I/we can:
Aaron: Play ‘Take me out’ by Franz Ferdinand on the drums whilst being blind folded…
Marcel: Love to spend time cooking up a storm with my brother.
We get our inspirations from:
Marcel: Most of my inspiration comes from Sydney, I think we live in an amazing place and its abundant with inspiration.
Aaron: Agreed…
Our latest project is about:
The next collection is going to be another step forward its called Adam’s… (haha you’ll find out!) Where we will be incorporating a stack of elements and broadening the range we’re really looking forward to this one.
Our latest purchase:
Marcel: Cheap Mondays jeans
Aaron: A Unit on the Northern Beaches… I’ll be drinking water at the bar for the next 10 year until I’ve paid it off!
Our current favourite mecho item:
Surface Tension Arcade Games Coffee Table… Mad idea… We want that for our office… Wanna donate?
Pssst… One time……. :
Marcel: We were in Melbourne on a sales trip/Project Runway Australia finale when we ended up having a bit too much fun out and lost track of time. We then realised that we had a meeting in a few hours and we were at the casino sadly enough drinking fishbowl martinis, quiet rough the next morning… but we managed.
Aaron: Ahhaa… I have to add this… At the Project Runway Australia after party there was plenty of people in the industry their and Marcel thought it would be a great idea to boldly introduce himself to fashion designer Collette Dinnigan… Anyway he run’s up and starts to introduce himself and engaging in what he thought was a professional conversation about fashion and lifestyle, they seemed to be getting on well… towards the end of the conversation he said by the way was great to meet you Collette and love what you’ve done in Aussie fashion… She says… “Collette?… No sweetheart your mistaken” Marcel replied “but aren’t you…”
“No!” she snaps whilst turning the other direction.
Meanwhile I’m pissing myself laughing… he comes up and goes “ Dude… Did you know that wasn’t Collette Dinnigan?!”
“Yepp” I answered with great laughter.
“FFFFAARRRRRKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!” yells Marcel!
That was funny… well to us it was… so Shh!
The mecho team invites you to continue the conversation below… Make it fun! Post comments with your own free personal Gravatar
If you enjoyed this feature, you may want to Sign-up to our mecho e-newsletter for our latest style updates, giveaways and other juicy stuff. Don’t forget to check out our current Competitions & Giveaways
Join us on: 
NOTE: ARCHIVE ONLY from MAY-09. You may leave a comment but please note Marcel & Aaron is no longer actively responding to any questions post 31 May-09.
Discover More Stylish features below:
LINK
MORE
GUEST BLOGGER
24 comments
24 Comments Add your own
1.
Gina | May 1st, 2009 at 3:43 pm
goddamm, you guys are hot too! i also like how you catering to make other men look good too. thumbs up! do you guys just design or are jewellery makers as well?
2.
Adamnoeve | May 2nd, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Hey Gina!
Ah thanks
… yes the amount of money we had to spend on cosmetic surgery to hide our true ugly mugs is ridiculous…
But yes we design everything, and make the pieces to a certain extent. Most of the jewellery is a done using a casting process (a mold) and then is hand finished, so we physically cut and polish the metal etc.
Thanks for your feedback too!
A.N.E
3.
mand | May 2nd, 2009 at 8:06 pm
haha! U guyZ R Hottt! LUV ur work
4.
Lee | May 3rd, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Yeah, nice niche you have going on there. Sounds like a fun career too! How long have you been running Adam No Eve and what did you do before?
5.
Gina | May 3rd, 2009 at 4:24 pm
sounds like you are good with your hands too! 2 thumbs up this time
6.
Adamnoeve | May 3rd, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Hey Lee!
Well I (Aaron) was in menswear retail. But I had been doing jewellery for a number of year prior to Adam No Eve.
Marcel was also in fashion retail.
Yes, it is a nice niche to cover. I think guys really appreciate it more when there isn’t much around and then they find something they really like. Girl’s do too when they are looking for gifts for male companions!… Us guys can be pretty painful to buy for sometimes haha!
A.N.E
7.
Owen | May 4th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Guys, I’m going to tell my girlfriend to keep your works in mind when looking for gifts (for me!) next time.
8.
Adamnoeve | May 4th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Cheers Owen… Appreciate it mate.
What do you look for in accessories? What do you thinks lacking in the mens market?
We like to hear people thoughts.
A.N.E
9.
laura lee | May 5th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
love your stuff you guys are babes are you taken?
10.
Adamnoeve | May 5th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Hey Laura!
Thanks and… thanks!
Well Marcel (Right) is spoken for and as for me… its complex…
Ahaa
A.N.E
11.
Owen | May 6th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Hey guys, very hard to find nice things in the mens market. You either have the Goths or the tacky Italian styles. Prob looking for something more understated. I don’t have much accessories but necklace or ring and set of cufflinks would be nice. Do you custom make or just make collections?
Man the chicks seem to be all over you! Maybe I should consider changing career! Hahahaha… Aaron, you must be doing fairly well, seeing you can afford a unit in Northern Beaches! You just need to uncomplicate things with the women…
12.
Adamnoeve | May 6th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Hey Owen,
Well that’s what we’re trying to fill in that market. There really isn’t alot out there in the way of accessories for men that are just well… nice. However, there are a few great pieces around from other people if you look hard enough.
We certainly customize… there is actually a section on our website (www.adamnoeve.com) that mentions this. We more or less get a feel of the style your after and create it with our aesthetic but always keeping in mind your tastes.
As for the unit… I need to sell more accessories… so buy up everyone! hahaha
A.N.E
13.
Tash | May 11th, 2009 at 9:27 am
How did you guys meet and how do you maintain a good partnership? I’ve been in some bad business deals even though it felt right at the time the bonds were knitted… Also did you guys quit full-time jobs to start your business? Any advice for start-ups would be greatly appreciated.
14.
Adamnoeve | May 11th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Hey ya Tash,
We actually met at a school party several years ago and just became mates. Communication is what’s important in any partnership… I mean no ones perfect there are always disputes but overcoming them is the important part.
I think research is very important, you really have to know someone and how they operate. You also need to know the business inside out. And if you don’t… learn it.
At the start out stages we defiantly had other jobs… it wouldn’t be wise to start a business and do it full time, Unless it was one of those jobs that are just plain old money makers… bastards! But you have to do what you love. And i can assure you of this… we are not millionaires haha!
Advice for starting up (this is a very broad guid) in a nutshell would be to:
1.Research what you want to do and learn it… read books, mags, online stuff and ask a million questions.
2. Set out a plan of action before doing anything. Draft down ideas, goals and leads you will use to help achieve it.
3. Talk to people without giving too much away. I tend to talk to people I can trust in the early stages… However, like us for example if we have developed a product and want honest feedback we put it to people we don’t really know, and ask for opinions.
4. Get cracking on it and stick to your goals you have set out! There will be some sacrifices to achieve this but the end result is the most important!
I hope this helps… Feel free to shoot us any other questions… Happy to help.
A.N.E
15.
Tash | May 12th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Hi there, greatly appreciate you response and it is good pep seeing people that followed their passions.Have you manage to get a lot of PR? Any tips to get people talking about you as have not got much money to spend on marketing and advertising? Hope business is going well and thanks again for the kick in the butt
16.
Lana | May 13th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Hihi.. you guys sounds like high school sweet hearts and your partnership sounds like a marriage. I guess those fundamental things goes for any kind of relationships – personal or business.
Great tips by the way. Far too less people are happy to help. Have you considered to cater for the female audience at some stage or Eve is completely out of the picture? Who came up with that name by the way – it is very unique
17.
Adamnoeve | May 13th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Hey Tash
We have managed to get some brilliant PR. You will be seeing plenty in the months to come. We’ve received such great support of publications and websites like this one. I think publications are very into this breath of fresh air of catoring for guys.
Thanks for your support and we’ll do all we can to kick butt!
And Hi Lana!
High School sweethearts…haha! We’ll any business partnership is like a marrage in some kinda way, but without the love, physical attraction and romance! HA!
As for Eve being out of the picture… The way we like to put it is this…
We feel the business is like a strong energy… Every time another element is added that energy will divide… (Which we don’t want to happen) As much as we are capable of making womenswear at the moment we want to look after the blokes first. As for the name we were filthy rotton hung over after a party and we were jotting down names that symbolized what we are trying to achieve… And Marcel wrote down Adam No Eve… At the time it didn’t register. Later on that night I was eating dinner and my brain was starting to funcion I looked at it and was like BANG! THATS IT!!!
Hope that anwered your questions!
A.N.E
18.
Griv | May 18th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
by far two of the most exciting, creative duos i have ever known. their accessories are ‘it’.
19.
adamnoeve | May 18th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
Thanks Griv!!! Appreciate it!
A.N.E
20.
Hannah | May 19th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Hi Aaron,
I just read your first article! How nice that you have been chosen to part of the mecho network now. More guys in fashion needed. Well done!
Regards, Hannah
21.
Tim | May 20th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Yeah nice work dude
22.
Adamnoeve | May 20th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Thanks Hannah. Yeah it is nice they have chosen me. Glad I can help to add more male fashion to the mix of things.
And thank you too Tim
Take care!
23.
mecho team | May 27th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
We are delighted to have Aaron on board!
It is always sad seeing the guest bloggers go and this is actually the final week of the May blogs… Nice to know Aaron will continue to show up each month though with some inspiration!
For anyone that missed, Aaron’s first feature with us:
http://www.mecho.com.au/his/mens-fashion-clothing/cesare-paciotti-shoes-boots-mens-womens/
Love your style,
mecho team
24.
Mens designer accessories | June 23rd, 2010 at 1:41 pm
thanks Aaron for sharing travel destination & tips for spain. I should be there for almost a month on my office work. would luv to see 19th century fashion..
Leave a Comment
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed