BoomWehmeyer took part as a “mobile jelly”, we have been on the road last week with different client meetings, presentations and talks in the Netherlands and during that time connected to different other jellies via Videochat, Facebook and exchange of thoughts and strategies.

Being neither a co-working space nor working in one we still seeing interesting chances for our practice to use co-working as a tool for our projects, services and strategies. We dont necessarily need a community, but seeing our connections (both locally and globally) as our testbed for collaboration. In that regard we are seeing the Jellyweek as a perfect experimental platform to work beyond co-working only and we are curious what will happen with this movement in the next years!

Our experiences of the collaboration factor throughout the week was interesting. A few days before the week started Gunter to engage with Paula Walker from Dresden/Germany in an effort to test how a one-week partnership between two jellies would work. Soon a common theme was found to help interesting jellies with questions and challenges about the intersection between design and science.

Although being enthousiastic about possible spinoffs from that connection i also experienced setbacks mostly due to technology and social media. It is just not that easy to keep an overview over hundreds of Etherpads, several Facebook groups and Google Hangouts. In the end its always about personal connections and networking…and i assume that also other jelly-partnerships made the same observations…

So how would we sum up our experiences during jellyweek 2012?!

- I think this week was a very promising start and testbed for a new platform of collaboration. A way to be engaged very much locally, but using different social media services to connect (later also collaborate) globally.

- we need easier ways to interact and connect, less is more and facebook doesnt help either. A next step could be summing up all the different assets, personalities and stakeholders interested and involved to work on a Jellyweb – a platform making local connections visible on a global scale.

- we need to use the momentum we created so far to filter out what we/they/us really want. What are the deeper goals for individuals, spaces and cooperations?!

- last but not least we are curious how other people globally are working on similar projects defining new ways of working and designing. The next weeks will be crucial to deepen the contacts and looking for common grounds for shared projects and new strategies! Thanks for having been part of Jellyweek 2012!

How can you, as future designer, create a design practice that engages in a relational well-being that inspires change through design/craftsmanship ? Designing to make a difference for others.This class series will be a journey to search for the meaning of making design for the world around you and explore your future practice be researching your perceptions, aspirations and surroundings. This semester will showcase your experimental thinking around this theme, by personal research on your own person and the meaning of your future practice and the design and ideation of objects that communicates this.

We look forward to unwrap the coming  months and see what kind of personal thinking and exploration will be shared by design..

Cologne Fine Arts 2011

This november you can view our work at the presentation of gallery Karena Schuessler at the Cologne Fine Arts fair. The gallery will present the work of artists such as Kwangho Lee, Bas van Raay and others. A part of our collection Porcelain Topographies with stools and benches will be on show here.

The Cologne Fine Art and Antiques fair is a bridge that links the past with the here and now. With its range of ancient art, modern art and applied art and design, the traditional trade fair is unique to Germany: a crossover of styles and eras, with works of the highest quality. You can visit the show from 16 to 20 november. Look forward seeing you there! Greetings, BoomWehmeyer

Already the day before the mixed group of students (fashion, products, graphics and design management) had their first presentation to the client (Butterfly Works) in Amsterdam to show off their first ideas for two different cases. Its a perfect frame to use co-creation and co-design methods with a realtime project and learning face-to-client what it needs and makes to step beyond simple products only and envisioning new ways of designing.

How much space do you have when you work with a client? Can we influence them with ideas and questions which they dont see? is it possible to change their way of how they see their projects?

Its a lot of new things design students are confronted these days: Not only the era of ego-designers is over, but even more they see the need to speak new languages, understanding their new role. Its not anymore products against philosophical understanding. Its about influencing different stakeholders, the need and natural requirement to work sustainable and the urgency to co-design for better solutions.

Its a challenge: understanding this new paradigm and taking up their new role and expanding their own space!

We look forward hearing from you or meet you at one of our project locations, see you soon !

Best, Gunter & Judith

Also there are new movements around changing our work location in the Netherlands, new relations with partners and projects made room for new perspectives what would result in moving into a larger space where we can activate also better public projects around new design work ways and co-design.

We will keep you update, when you are curious and want to know more about what is going on or these is something what you like to share, please give us an email.

Best wishes, BoomWehmeyer.

What does it mean, co-working ? What defines knowledge? What determines sustainable change? What are the collective interpretations?

Conversation is a participative approach and the words we use are having impact. It is this basic communication that inspires our perspectives. The power of being in communication. Participation starts in our speaking, our listening and our responses. Also our team and clients come from different cultures so every day we deal with the expressions and pronunciation of our words. Sometimes it feels as if we do most of our business in English, the language that connects us. We all speak fluenly English but the strength of touchpoint lies often in using personal local language, being fluent in a language doesn’t take away the feeling that you can’t always express yourself totally. People often wonder what it takes to learn a foreign language, to be able to communicate and integrate better but also more and more we believe in the process of learning the meaning of your local language.To be able to speak by heart with the sensitivity of the subject and to connect into global language but with the drive of the potential of your local subtlety.

In our processes we often use the tool of Language to open up a different perspective, for example we speak so often on social innovation in connection to society. Society is the most common word of naming our communities, which was derived from societas (ally, friend) when we reflect the word back in Dutch it just ads a different layer again. Society is translated in Dutch by the word Samenleving, it consists out of two words, ‘Samen’ meaning together and ‘Leving’ what means living. Samenleving strictly translates into Together Living, a word with a new layer to society. Are we open for new interpretations of Together Living and can we interpret new ways of Living are we able to integrate our local language into knowledge tools? Local language can be the mediator for expressing seeds for change. Change is personal, it affects us all, so speaking it out bold but subtle can make a difference..

It’s this speaking that connect us, functional by mind, driven by heart. The first contact build out and dialogues grow, connections deepen and ideas start bridging. For us that connects the synergy. The synergy of learning from your local language, speaking with the words you know from ‘place’.