Yesterday saw the very first of @swissmiss' "Creative Mornings" series outside of the US and here in her home country - Switzerland!
Can you guess where I am?
As if that wasn't special enough, she only managed to organise this premier in the Zürich Headquarters of FREITAG®!!! Famed for their cult courier bags and accessories, the Freitag Brothers' family business is now recognised as one of the top brands in the World - not bad when you consider that Graphic Designers Markus and Daniel Freitag first started out with less than CHF 1500 earned from small jobs back in 1993.
The location is perfect for a Creative Mornings get-together: An old factory hall with floor-to-ceiling racks of cut and rolled truck tarpaulin, along with other "repurposed" materials used to make the FREITAG products, a raised office floor swathed in black tarp-like material and an open area which was set up for Daniel's presentation - right next to where the truck tarps are washed.
Yes, they have to wash every single truck tarp that comes into the factory, every day. The "Washman" - the specialist responsible for ensuring that the tarps are washed correctly - told me he washes around 2 Tonnes of tarp PER DAY! That's a lot of washing!
The factory layout from the presentation area - with the washing area at the front, washing machines at the left, "Washman" blurred in motion
Clean tarp:
It didn't smell of Persil but it looks clean
Daniel's presentation was very enjoyable - and inspiring. The brothers were brought up by their parents to reuse things and respect their environment. This is a central philosophy for their entire business. He talked of the cradle-to-cradle concept and it's role in their approach.
The presentation "tent" was, in itself, an example of great reuse and innovation: A truck tarp-draped framework with integral screen and beamer, raised above some very cool tarp-wrapped cushioned benches (one of which you've seen part of above).
Daniel Freitag, seen through the "eye" of the tarp...
The key word, and concept, of the day was "Recontextualisation":
Recontextualisation
Take "throw-away" items like truck tarp and recontextualise it - not just recycling but using it in a new context, making it into something different but, at the same time, something new. "Nobody wants to own trash", as Daniel so succinctly put it.
After the presentation and the excellent coffee and bakery goodies provided by local bakery Jung, we were able to wander around the factory and snap away to our hearts' content while, of course, mingling and chatting a lot about what we'd just heard.
The event itself was excellent - great fun, informative and inspirational. Swissmiss (Tina Roth Eisenberg - THANK YOU!) and her team have the edge on many other organisers of similar events with their approach, the organisation (flawless) and their clever "conversation-opener" badges handed out before the event with a leading question for which one has to provide an answer intended to spark conversation. Much better than the old name badge.
Here's one of my favourites from yesterday (not mine):
Simply click the photo to go to the Flickr photoset where you can see another 89 badges 
More photos can be found on Flickr and the rest of my iPhone snaps will probably end up there at some point in time.
Click here to show Flickr search results for Creative Mornings.
Last, but of course not least, thanks to Daniel Freitag and the rest of his team for being such great hosts!
It was fun. I hope that the series continues and we get to take part in many more Creative Mornings here in Switerland!
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