Telegraph Herald: Cinderly, Your Fashion Forward Fairy Godmother!

Originally posted in the Telegraph Herald Jun 16, 2016.

By Tia Carol Jones TH Staff Writer

Cinderly A New Fashion App

A Dubuque native has created an app with the hope that it will inspire creativity when it comes to selecting outfits, as well as encourage community input.

“We all wake up every morning and have no idea what to wear,” said Luke Stoffel, who resides in New York, in a phone interview.

Called Cinderly, the app lets users upload photographs and allows other members using it to critique the outfit.

The 38-year-old Hempstead High School alum said his inspiration came from the fairytale “Cinderella,” as evidenced by the app’s abundant sparkles.

While it is free to download, in-app purchases will include a fee, Stoffel said.

Set for release on Wednesday, July 6, the creation already is turning heads. Cinderly recently was named one of the top five startups at Collision, a technology conference, in New Orleans.

As part of the app’s development, Stoffel and his partner, Laura von Holt, have cultivated relationships with those using Instagram, chosen because of their style.

Stoffel also used models from Dubuque Senior High School, where his niece, Maddie Stoffel, goes to school.

It was important to have real girls as models, Stoffel said, showing real girl style, looking fabulous and stylish.

Download Cinderly's Games Now!

Stoffel also envisions the app as a no-bullying zone, where users can receive positive affirmations on their outfits.

“I was tired of the internet being this craptastic place where people could be mean to each other,” he said.

Things like the “wand of awesomeness” and “super likes” are meant to instill confidence in the user.

“We try to reinforce positivity because it’s really about any girl wanting to feel beautiful and having a community that is really supportive,” Stoffel said.

MediaPost: 5 Startups Showcased At Collision To Watch - Cinderly

Originally published on MediaPost.com on May 4, 2016.

Written by Fred Schonenberg , Op-Ed Contributor

Sandwiched between the two weekends of New Orleans’ iconic Jazz & Heritage Festival is Collision, America’s fastest-growing tech conference. In two short years, the “anti-CES” has grown to expects more than 11,000 attendees from 50 countries.

It is the U.S. version of the popular Web Summit in Europe, and focuses on networking and social meet-ups, as much as its star-studded speaker line-up, ranging from Chris Sacca to Brett Favre. It’s a melting pot of entrepreneurs, innovators, CEOs, investors and disruptors.

It becoming a must-attend event, similar to SXSW.

Of the 650+ startups featured at Collision, here are five that should be on marketers’ radars.

Cinderly: www.cinderly.com

Your fashion-forward fairy godmother, Cinderly, helps you out in that awkward dressing-room moment when you ask, “Does this look good on me?” Go into “Glass Slipper Mode” on its camera feature, and Cinderly will ask local users whether the consumer should buy the item or not.

All posts from “Glass Slipper Mode” are pushed to the top of feeds and voted on by others, so by the time you step out of the dressing room, you have guidance on whether to make the purchase. It has several social sharing incentives encouraging amplification and gamification.

Brands, of course, could get involved by making suggestions or cashing in on the location-based focus of the app to drive traffic to local stores.

Read more on MediaPost.com

See Cinderly's Games in the App Store:

Download Cinderly's Games Now!

Stepping into a Twisted Fantasy: Banksy's Dismaland

Dismaland - Bristol, United Kingdom

Photography by Lucas Stoffel can be licensed on Shutterstock and Getty Images

Dismaland photo by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

In 2015, the enigmatic street artist Banksy unveiled a dystopian theme park, Dismaland, effectively jolting the coastal town of Weston-super-Mare into the global spotlight. With its glaring grey castle, distorted sculptures, and deliberately dismal performances, Dismaland was far from your usual theme park. This temporary art project, erected in a derelict lido, offered a morose and satirical commentary on consumerism, environmental decay, and a plethora of other societal issues, swiftly becoming an international sensation.

The entrance to Dismaland held no illusions about the bleakly satirical journey ahead. Gloomy attendants, purposely unenthusiastic and unhelpful, welcomed visitors into a world where the sparkle of typical amusement parks was ruthlessly stripped away. This was a realm where traditional expressions of joy were substituted with thought-provoking, often unsettling, installations and exhibitions from over 50 artists across the globe.

Dismaland photo by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

The crumbling Cinderella Castle, one of Dismaland’s key visuals, offered a grim portrayal of the fate of princess fantasies and fairy-tale endings. Inside, a crash scene: Cinderella's pumpkin carriage, surrounded by a horde of paparazzi snapping away, highlighting the media's relentless scrutiny and society's fascination with celebrity tragedies.

Yet, despite its melancholic aura, there was something almost magnetic about Dismaland. The dismal park sparked vigorous debates and discussions, encouraging visitors and onlookers to question, to think, and to challenge the status quo. Banksy's darkly imaginative installations, such as the remote-controlled boats crowded with migrants or the killer whale leaping from a toilet into a plastic pool, wove a provocative narrative that seamlessly blended fantasy with harsh reality.

Dismaland photo by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

While Dismaland was ephemeral, dismantled after just five weeks of operation, its impact lingered far beyond its physical existence. It drew in over 150,000 visitors, generating not only a significant economic boost for the area but also igniting conversations on the societal issues spotlighted through its morose exhibitions.

Dismaland photo by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.

Banksy, through Dismaland, demonstrated the potent capacity of art to not merely decorate spaces but to infiltrate minds, stirring reflections on societal norms and expectations. Dismaland was more than a parody of a theme park; it was a stark, thought-provoking mirror held up to modern society, a defiant reminder of the dissonance between our consumer-driven world and the dismal realities that underpin it.

In a world increasingly dominated by digital experiences, Dismaland underscored the undying relevance and potency of physical art spaces. It served as a stark reminder that art, in its myriad forms, continues to be a powerful vehicle for social commentary, capable of resonating across borders, sparking dialogue, and perhaps, instigating change.