Stay in the know at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories
SINGAPORE — While some may dismiss Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) as a fad, serious money can be made for those who sell in this trendy cryptocurrency space.
Ask Chanel Lee, who sold out her collection of 7,600 bread cartoons NFTs called Tasty Toastys at 0.02 Eth or S$87 each in February. Her next goal is to build a global lifestyle brand based on these cartoons over the next decade.
"I already wanted to make it a brand and licensing business. The design was intentionally kept simple — I want it to be the next 'Hello Kitty'," Lee said in a recent interview with Yahoo Finance Singapore.
After over four years in the corporate world, including completing a two-year scholarship bond, Lee decided to step out of her comfort zone and focus on creating her NFT collection based on an idea she had to create household goods under a brand Toastys.
Her interest in NFT started back in June 2021 while preparing for an interview at a local metaverse start-up. Although Lee did not join the company, she started reading up and understanding about the metaverse. She got a job in automation technology but left after a month to start working her Toastys idea by selling NFTs.
“I’m the kind of person that if I do something, I will throw myself into it. If I work in the day but also work on the NFT project at night, I wouldn't be a hundred percent in either place, so I thought, let me just do this crazy thing and quit my job because timing matters in the NFT world,” Lee said.
Lee threw herself into the project and started buying NFTs and doodling Toastys. Named after the toasty feeling of comfort and warmth, each Tasty Toastys NFT is a randomly generated bread cartoon which features a unique combination of bread flavour, spread, garnish and facial expression.
Lee, 30, created all the cartoon elements —enough to make over three million combinations — in under two months before the minting process.
“I’m not a formal artist by training but it’s okay because with NFTs, I feel it’s less about the art and more about the joy it brings and how meme-able it can be,” Lee said.
In November 2021, she first listed Tasty Toastys on the market. In her own words, it was a "failure" because the NFTs were “priced expensively at 0.058 Eth during a bear market”. Lee also felt that she had not built up a large enough international network, so Tasty Toastys failed to gain traction then.
She reworked the collection and relaunched on 31 January. The simple and cute designs contributed to the collection’s virality and were sold out within a week.
As a brand of the Internet age, Tasty Toastys embraces online lingo, such as adopting the tagline “let’s get this bread”, which means to make money. But behind the references to meme culture is a mission to grow a loyal community, backed by strong business fundamentals.
Every week, Lee holds a gathering on Twitter Spaces, where Tasty Toastys NFT holders can engage with each other in audio conversations. There is an exclusive Discord server for members who prefer to type, and since March, Tasty Toastys began hosting events in the metaverse. At the Decentraland party, partygoers can wear a Tasty Toastys backpack and dance to a live DJ set, while their NFTs hover over their shoulders.
“We hope to create more of these gifts for our community so that in every metaverse that they go to, they can show off their Toastys-related digital merchandise”, Lee said. “Our community can then go into each metaverse as a bunch, making the community ‘sticky’ down the line.”
Looking ahead, Lee hopes to expand the Tasty Toastys brand to include collaborations with other NFT artists and metaverses. She is also leveraging her NFT experience by serving as an advisor at Metapoly, which describes itself as "the first decentralised metaverse land tycoon that helps users drive investment in the Metaverse".
Lee admits that successes in the relatively unknown metaverse space can look deceptively easy, but emphasises that NFTs are not a get-rich-quick scheme.
“What makes the project special is not going to be the NFTs. It’s going to be the business model,” Lee said. “Think through it as you would a regular business.”
Why is your NFT collection called ‘Tasty Toastys’?
‘Toastys’ is misspelled, because the origin is the feeling of what toasty is, which is warm and cosy rather than the actual toast itself. I purposely kept it because that is the original brand feeling.
This was a feeling that I was going after rather than anything tangible, but I can’t have a brand without some mascot or something that people understand visually. With NFTs, it’s very much about meme culture, so we decided to make a pun on the word ‘toasty’ into slices of toast just so it's more visual. It’s also similar to other NFT projects with funny names or alliterations.
How is Tasty Toastys different from other NFTs, and why should people collect them?
We have decided that we will give full commercialisation rights to the owners of the NFT. For example, if you own a Tasty Toasty which has a smiling face, kaya spread and grape juice, you are allowed to do whatever they want with it – build your own brand or business as you see fit. I'm a huge champion of this because if we hold the IP (Intellectual Property) too tightly, it doesn't give the community the freedom to run with their imagination and it really challenges what we think IP is about.
A corporate company releasing an NFT would not allow for commercialisation. But because Tasty Toastys is natively born in the NFT era, it’s worth experimenting with this opening of the IP, and this is what set us apart from other brands.
How did Tasty Toastys become a hit with NFT collectors? Was there a spark that led to the sold-out status of the collection?
I think pricing the NFTs lower than others helped because it was a combination of them having a low price plus how open I was to talking about them in the public space that gave people confidence in Tasty Toastys. Because I was active and opening public discussions about NFTs, people saw that there was little bit less of a risk to try out the space with my project.
Market timing is also very important – if you didn't get picked up in a bullish market, it might not fly.
What was the reaction from your friends and family when you decided to pursue NFT creation full-time?
I have a close circle of long-time friends. They knew that I was obsessing over NFTs non-stop, so when I told them I was doing this full-time, they weren’t surprised. They were all quite supportive, and they knew that I’m someone who cannot sit still. I think they just felt like ‘this was just another crazy thing that Chanel’s going to do’.
My brother helped me through this whole process of creating NFTs. He has his full-time job so for him, this is a hobby where he helps me during his free time. He talks strategy and helps me study the tech because he is more tech-trained than I am.
What advice do you have for aspiring NFT creators?
The first thing that people need to understand is that NFTs are not the be-all and end-all of anything that you are trying to work on. I see them as a vehicle for value so think through as you would a regular business. It’s more than just art – you must think about the value you want to deliver for your community, and if NFTs make sense for that.
But for pure artist work, selling would be the same as before NFTs were around – I think people buy into the story of the artist a little bit more than the art. Twitter for NFTs is where the community is so start building up a community of your fans on Twitter because it makes your life as an artist a lot easier. Marketing and community involvement makes a big difference in name recognition.
What is the future of women in NFT and the met
averse?
It's human nature to long for quality connections, regardless of our individual backgrounds. We’re already seeing diversity thrive more on Web3 because a larger proportion of people are now actively building to be more inclusive, so the future's looking bright, in my opinion.
I’ve found that there is a joy & comfort in presenting yourself as whoever you want to be in the metaverse, woman or man. I’ve mostly had great experiences and haven’t let my gender be self-limiting.
Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore
TORONTO — A new study shows Canadian employers are willing to hire workers without experience related to the job due to a tight labour market. The research released today indicates that experience and education — once crucial to many positions — are becoming less important amid labour shortages. The findings are based on an online survey of 1,000 employers across Canada conducted in May by Censuswide on behalf of Indeed, an employment website for job listings. The survey found 77 per cent of Can
After the recent energy sector-wide selloff has driven ENB stock down, its dividend yield looks even more attractive at around 6.6%. The post Why Enbridge Stock Just Posted its Biggest Weekly Loss in Over 2 Years appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.s. President Joe Biden is expected on Wednesday to call for temporarily suspending the 18.4-cents a gallon federal tax on gasoline, a source briefed on the plan told Reuters on Tuesday. Biden said Monday he was considering whether to call for a pause in the tax, as the United States struggles to tackle soaring gasoline prices and inflation. The plan was reported earlier by Punchbowl News.
Long-term investors looking for bargains should have these two value stocks at the top of their watch lists right now. The post Market Correction: 2 of the Best TSX Value Stocks to Buy Today appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
Here are 5 companies to look out for doing cool stuff in the metaverse.
Oil prices skidded in early trade on Wednesday amid a push by U.S. President Joe Biden to bring down soaring fuel costs, including pressure on major U.S. firms to help ease the pain for drivers during the country's peak summer demand. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.34, or 1,2%, to $108.18 a barrel at 0031 GMT, while Brent crude futures dropped $1.33, or 1.2%, to $113.32 a barrel. As the United States struggles to tackle soaring gasoline prices and inflation, U.S. President Joe Biden is expected on Wednesday to call for temporarily suspending the 18.4-cents a gallon federal tax on gasoline, a source briefed on the plan told Reuters.
Microsoft Corp on Tuesday said it would stop selling technology that guesses someone's emotion based on a facial image and would no longer provide unfettered access to facial recognition technology. Since at least last year, Microsoft has been reviewing whether emotion recognition systems are rooted in science. "These efforts raised important questions about privacy, the lack of consensus on a definition of 'emotions,' and the inability to generalize the linkage between facial expression and emotional state across use cases, regions, and demographics," Sarah Bird, principal group product manager at Microsoft's Azure AI unit, said in a blog post.
Oilfield services stocks have created massive shareholder value since the pandemic. The post Precision Drilling (TSX:PD) Stock Falls 25% From the Top: What Should You Do? appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
ROSEBUD, South Dakota (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday she still views two quarters of negative growth as a good rule of thumb to indicate a recession, but believes it is possible to bring down inflation while maintaining full employment. "A shorthand of two quarters of negative growth has typically worked, and so a lot of people think of it that way," Yellen told reporters during a visit to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe reservation in South Dakota when asked how she would measure a recession.
Three TSX oil stocks are among the top picks for income investors looking for good dividends in 2022 and beyond. The post 3 Oil Stocks With Surprisingly Good Dividends appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as the recent selloff in risk-sensitive assets paused and ahead of domestic data this week that could show inflation climbing to a new multi-decade high. The Canadian dollar was trading 0.2% higher at 1.30 to the greenback, or 76.92 U.S. cents, after trading in a range of 1.2979 to 1.3038. "The CAD has recently suffered from a steep deterioration in risk sentiment in markets amid building recession fears and unpredictability over the Fed's (U.S. Federal Reserve) future policy path," strategists at Scotiabank, including Shaun Osborne, said in a note.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed concern Monday about rising food prices caused in part by the war in Ukraine and said he will serve as secretary of agriculture when he takes office to prepare for a possible emergency. Marcos Jr. and Vice President-elect Sara Duterte take office June 30 after winning landslide victories in May 9 elections. They will inherit daunting problems, including a coronavirus pandemic-battered economy, soaring inflation,
TSX stocks might open flat today due mainly to a mixed movement in commodity prices, as investors continue to assess recession risks. The post TSX Today: What to Watch for in Stocks on Tuesday, June 21 appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
(Reuters) -A Black former elevator operator at Tesla Inc's flagship California assembly plant on Tuesday rejected a $15 million award in his lawsuit alleging racial abuse by coworkers, opening the door for a new trial after a judge slashed a $137 million jury verdict. Lawyers for Owen Diaz, who had sued Tesla in 2017, turned down the judge's award in a brief filing in federal court in San Francisco. "In rejecting the court’s excessive reduction by asking for a new trial, Mr. Diaz is again asking a jury of his peers to evaluate what Tesla did to him and to provide just compensation for the torrent of racist slurs that was directed at him," his lawyers said.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell won praise for his deft leadership during the maelstrom of the pandemic recession. As threats to the U.S. economy have mounted, though, Powell has increasingly struck Fed watchers as much less sure-footed. Inflation has proved higher and far more persistent than he or the Fed's staff economists had foreseen. And at a policy meeting last week, Powell announced an unusual last-minute switch to a bigger interest rate hike than he had previously
North America's clinical research leader, Centricity Research, announced that Aventiv Research has merged with the organization, extending the reach and capabilities of the largest integrated research site organization across the USA and Canada.
High-end home appliances and camping gear were among Chinese shoppers' most sought after buys during the "618" shopping festival, according to e-commerce platforms, in a sign of how China's COVID-19 curbs are driving lifestyle changes. The event was the first major shopping festival to take place since several Chinese cities, including Shanghai, were hit by a series of lockdowns to halt the spread of COVID-19. Consumption in China remains weak as shoppers were confined to their homes in Shanghai and other cities.
LONDON (AP) — Britain is facing its biggest rail strikes in decades after last-minute talks between a union and train companies failed to reach a settlement over pay and
job security. Up to 40,000 cleaners, signalers, maintenance workers and station staff are due to walk out for three days this week, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The strike is expected to shut down most of the rail network across the country, with London Underground subway services also hit by a walkout on Tuesday. The Rail
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -JetBlue Airways said Monday it had sweetened its takeover offer for Spirit Airlines to $33.50 per share in a bid to convince the ultra-low cost carrier to accept its offer over rival Frontier Airlines' proposal. Spirit’s board had previously rejected the JetBlue offer, arguing that U.S. anti-trust regulators would not approve a tie up with JetBlue and noting that JetBlue refused to abandon its alliance with American Airlines.
These three growth stocks could deliver substantial returns in the long term, given their healthy growth potential and discounted stock price. The post 3 Top Growth Stocks Available at a Substantial Discount appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

source