As Talon Lloyd (Comm’15) explains it, his company – Lloyd and Company Bespoke Tailoring – is a meeting of an old world business with 21st century technology.

In a time when so many young entrepreneurs are focused on apps, Mr. Lloyd has taken a different tack, introducing bespoke tailoring – where garments are custom-made – to the needs of today’s consumer – a quality product without a lengthy wait.

Like apps, however, the key to the startup is the use of the Internet along with understanding the needs and wants of the market, in particular young professionals in the financial district of Toronto.

The premise is simple. He has taken a specialized industry and put it in the hands of the consumer. Forget the traditional visit to the tailor in his shop.

“What I am doing is utilizing technology so that it optimizes this business for today’s consumer,” he says. “The way we run online appointments, the way that we use our mobile POS (point of sale) system that allows me to go into offices and collect payments locally, the way that we can take measurements through our online system where we actually teach somebody how to measure themselves and then they can submit their own measurements.”

With a supplier in Hong Kong, where expert tailoring is still available and affordable, Mr. Lloyd is able to provide a high-quality product quicker and cheaper compared to the traditional model.

This meshing of old and new recently earned him the $5,000 top prize at the annual Paul and Tom Kinnear Business Plan Competition, hosted by the Queen’s School of Business.

With Lloyd and Company Bespoke Tailoring successfully up and running for two years now, Mr. Lloyd’s business plan for the competition was based on improving the delivery system and more suited to the customer. The money will now be put to adding QR codes to the product so the customer can track exactly where their orders are, from the measurements up to delivery.

“The approach that I took in my presentation was how do we optimize the customer relationship, specifically looking at after somebody places their order, how can I not only track that order from manufacturing to delivery, but how can a customer maintain an understanding of where their order is,” he says. “Right now we send everything off to our supplier and then it arrives in a box a few weeks later. Then, when I have it in my hand, I can reach out to the customer and say I have your product. In the meantime I don’t know whether the product is in the air or if it is in the cutting stage, the sewing stage.”

Today’s customers, he explains, aren’t willing to merely sit back and wait for their orders to show up. They want to know exactly where it is and what is going on. The other benefit to the QR code system is that he will also be able to keep track of the orders and deal with any delay-causing issues as they arise, such as a fabric being out of stock.

The other key is the minimal overhead required for his concept. Owning or renting a store in downtown Toronto means a massive initial investment, while a “pop-up” shop that sets up temporarily at a hotel lacks the image his clientele are looking for.

So Mr. Lloyd is using a shared-office model, where another company that owns the entire floor of a building at Bay and Wellington streets in Toronto’s financial district, segments out offices to smaller businesses, such as Lloyd and Company.

There’s also a shared reception, providing the professionalism he wants and his customers demand.

As for the future Mr. Lloyd has big plans, including expanding to other financial centres around the world and taking on more of a management role.

“Ultimately, I’m a business student. I would like to see this operated and use what I’ve learned at school to advance the business end as opposed to being the salesperson,” he says. “You can only be in one place at a time as a salesperson. But the way that we’ve started this business it can be leveraged and scaled. I can’t be in every financial centre selling at the same time so ideally I would like to remain as involved as I can on the sales side but I’ d like to be in a position where this business can run on its own without me involved day-to-day.”

History and tradition are key parts of life at Queen’s University and they are never more prevalent than during the convocation ceremonies.

This year’s Spring Convocation ceremonies start on Thursday, May 21, and will continue through to Thursday, June 11, with a total of 21 ceremonies being held – all but one at Grant Hall.

In honour of convocation here’s a quick look at some of the history and tradition that will be seen over the coming weeks:

• The first convocation ceremony at Queen’s took place on June 2, 1847, when the Senate awarded degrees to the university’s first three graduates and was likely held at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. Subsequent venues have included the Old Medical Building (1858), Convocation Hall in Theological Hall (1878) and Grant Hall (1905).
• As Queen’s continued to grow, convocation moved to the Jock Harty Arena in the early 1970s while fall ceremonies continued to be held at Grant Hall. With the dismantling of Jock Harty Arena in 2007, Grant Hall once again became the primary host location for spring ceremonies, along with the Queen’s Centre.
• The main features of each convocation ceremony are a speech to the graduands by the principal, or a senior administrator, a speech by the honorary graduate or guest speaker – a tradition that dates from the granting of the first honorary degree in 1858 – and the granting of degrees by the chancellor. Traditional music includes “Flourish for the Chancellor,” an organ composition written specially for convocation by Queen’s music professor Fred Clarke.
• Convocations are organized by the Office of the University Registrar. The Office is responsible for the main logistical arrangements and coordinates the work of other departments involved in the ceremony. The Registrar’s Office also compiles the list of graduands and award winners. The Senate Academic Procedures Committee has authority for approving the list of graduands. The Senate Honorary Degrees Committee makes recommendations to the Senate for the award of honorary degrees.
• At convocation, graduands don the traditional outfit of a gown and hood. At Queen’s, the design and colour scheme of the hood differs depending on the degree earned, e.g. Red-Gold-Blue for Doctor of Philosophy; Queen's Blue-White for Bachelor of Laws; Black-Red for Bachelor of Arts.

Queen’s University revealed today 10 new honorary degree recipients who will be honoured at the spring 2015 convocation ceremonies. Recipients include James Cuddy, Eric Windeler and Alan Broadbent.

For 157 years Queen’s has been conferring honorary degrees to people who have made remarkable contributions to the lives of people throughout the world in academia, business, politics, science and the arts.

The following is a brief description of the first six honorary degree recipients at this spring convocation.

Jean-Robert Bernier

Originally from Sarnia, Brigadier-General Jean-Robert Bernier graduated from the Royal Military College in 1982 and studied medicine at McMaster University. He was appointed Surgeon General, Head of the Royal Canadian Medical Service, Commander of CF Health Services Group, and Honorary Physician to Her Majesty the Queen in 2012. He is the first person from outside continental Europe elected as Chair of the committee of Surgeons General of NATO and partner nations (COMEDS) beginning in November 2015.

Brigadier-General Bernier will receive his honorary degree (DSc) Thursday, May 21 at 2:30 pm.

Lyse Doucet

Lyse Doucet OBE is a Canadian journalist and the BBC's Chief International Correspondent and an occasional contributing editor to the BBC. She presents on BBC World Service radio and BBC World News television, and reports for BBC Radio 4 and BBC News in the UK, including presenting and reporting for Newsnight.

Ms. Doucet will receive her honorary degree (LL.D) Wednesday, June 3 at 10 am.

James Cuddy

With sales of more than four million records and eleven JUNO Awards, Blue Rodeo has established itself as one of Canada’s leading contemporary rock bands. Founded in 1984 by lead singers, guitarists and songwriters Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, the band’s success and longevity are widely attributed to their love of touring, their active connection with their fans, and their unwavering commitment to pushing their creative limits.

Mr. Cuddy will receive his honorary degree (LL.D) Wednesday, June 3 at 2:30 pm.

Alexander McComber

Mr. McComber is a Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk) member of the bear clan living in Kahnawake Territory. For the past 35 years, he has worked to enhance the wellbeing of Aboriginal people and communities across Canada. After starting as a teacher, Mr. McComber worked his way up to becoming a principal and during that time, met many families living with Type 2 diabetes, a common disease in First Nation communities. Since then, he has worked with a number of national diabetes organizations including Health Canada’s Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative.

Mr. McComber will receive his honorary degree (DSc) Wednesday, June 3 at 6:30 pm.

John MacGregor

Dr. MacGregor has made major contributions to the development and practice of advanced control techniques in industry including the Canadian technology sector. He hold the title of Distinguished University Professor, the highest honour awarded to faculty at McMaster University.

Dr. MacGregor will receive his honorary degree (DSc) Thursday, June 4 at 10 am.

David John Mullan

David Mullan is a long-serving law professor at Queen’s University, a prolific writer and an often-called upon consultant. Brought up and educated in New Zealand, Professor Mullan has taught and lectured at universities across Canada and in Australia and New Zealand. His major areas of interest are Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Contract, and Remedies.

Mr. Mullan will receive his honorary degree (LL.D) Friday, June 5 at 2:30 pm.

The remaining four bios will be posted at a later date.