Blog & Inspiration

Now both aged 60, Ian and I go back to days where we were teenagers of circumstance in Perth, Western Australia. Over 45 years of hard and sincere work Ian is now first-class through working his way up to become an entrepreneur of standing, spanning from the outback tracks where Ian masters the dust in cross-country rallies, while standing his own on the stock markets of London, New York and Hong Kong; while I hung in theory and strategic splendor. Ethics aren’t at the forefront of this interview by chance, as Ian thinks, lives and humbly shares his deep belief in, concern for, and sharing of ethical values, recognising ethical habits to have set his foundation for long-term success.

A captivating atmosphere, an enthusiastic audience and thunderous applause – a musician really can’t imagine anything more wonderful than this. Each of his concerts is a genuine experience. Without a doubt, the Dutch violinist André Rieu is one of the great and outstanding personalities of the worldwide music scene. The unforgettable summer evening concerts in André’s home town of Maastricht rank among the musical highlights each year. With us, he discusses the beginnings of his career and the importance of his family.

As soon as you enter the huge atrium, you stop involuntarily. My initial gaze wanders an unbelievable 33 metres up the massive concrete tubes. Here you can really feel space, the atmosphere is vibrant, like in a cathedral. My second look is at a giant dragon floating in space. Nicholas Hlobo’s archaic-looking bird is the first piece of art you encounter at the impressive new Zeitz MOCAA Museum in Cape Town. After nearly ten years of planning, the V&A Waterfront has opened Africa’s first and the world’s largest museum of contemporary African art.

He is anything but a conventional entrepreneur, and this is precisely what has made him so successful and popular. Professor Götz Werner is the founder and patron of the drugstore chain dm. His focus has always been on people and – as a result – his management style has been based on appreciation, responsibility and meaning. Götz Werner has created one of the most successful and popular companies in Europe, focusing in particular on the perpetual question regarding the meaning of our own work and our personal contribution to the whole. In our interview, he spoke about the fulfilment of ideas, his great role model and his ‘Unternimm die Zukunft’ (Undertake the Future) initiative.

Counting steps and calories, analysing sleep and monitoring fitness levels – fitness trackers are the mega trend of recent years. Although the devices have become slimmer and increasingly personalisable, they can still be identified as such immediately. While they normally aren’t a problem at the gym or while jogging, the fitness armbands are usually replaced by watches or suitable jewellery for business outfits or smart evening wear. The British company Bellabeat has identified this gap in the market and developed a smart accessory called “Leaf” that is not only optically appealing, but which also discreetly and reliably gathers data.

We stop on a dusty road in Tulum, Mexico, in front of a high fence of planks and palm leaves. This is actually where the hotel Casa Malca should be, but we cannot find a sign or a driveway. Apparently great value is placed on privacy. Suddenly, the reed fence opens and a security guard lets us enter. We find ourselves in a paradise coconut grove with powder-white sand, you can hear the rush of the Caribbean Sea. This is Casa Malca, an estate around which many rumours are entwined.

Tricia Guild is said to be the only interior designer who can design a cobalt blue sofa without it looking silly. With her colourful designs, she acts almost completely outside the fashion and trend world - rather, she is her own trend. She has been in the design business for almost 50 years, has published numerous books on interior design, and is considered an icon of colours and patterns. In this interview she tells us how she started her company Designers Guild in early 1970 with first ideas and a few fabrics on London’s King’s Road and why she cannot imagine a life without colours.

Bees hum and it smells of thyme. A group of geese waddles across the path and moves towards the pond, unimpressed by the breathtaking panorama of the Simonsberg. We are in South Africa, in the famous Western Cape wine region just outside Cape Town. Here are the most famous wineries in the country and the refuges of numerous wealthy South Africans and international wine lovers. One of the most beautiful historic farms in the typical “Cape Dutch style” is Babylonstoren near Paarl, about 40 kilometres from Cape Town.

Tyler Bradt paddles calmly down the River Palouse in Washington in his kayak. The trees move slowly past him, the water is calm and drives him gently forward. As if by magic, the water suddenly becomes a torrential river that storms the red kayak until the abyss opens in the immediate vicinity. The strong tearing of the waterfall is not to be missed and suddenly the kayak disappears on the horizon and falls 58 metres into the depths. But all this is no coincidence, because Tyler Bradt is contending with the most important kayak ride of his life.

While most people wouldn’t dare to step closer to the edge, cliff divers boldly throw themselves from cliffs of over twenty metres in height in order to show off their dives, somersaults and twists in front of an ecstatic audience. The impressive backdrops of beautiful locations such as Mostar or Polignano a Mare ensure that the spectacle is surrounded by a unique atmosphere. The successful German cliff diver Iris Schmidbauer tells us about the tough training and tight-knit community behind it all.

The plates at the Geranium in Copenhagen are little works of art. Strong colours, floral arrangements and fine shapes. Every dish appears as a well thought-through story told by both nature and art. The Michelin three-star restaurant is an inspiring place for people who love food, pure tastes, and the culinary pleasure of Nordic cuisine. It is probably because of the deeply rooted passion of chef Rasmus Kofoed that the Geranium established such an institution in the culinary world.

Die hohen Betonfassaden des Gebäudes ragen inmitten einer grünen und luftigen Landschaft empor, die sich in den futuristisch anmutenden, ovalen Fenstern spiegelt, was dem gesamten Gebäude eine fast surreale, leichte und lichtdurchflutete Aura verleiht. Es fällt nicht schwer, die Faszination nachzuvollziehen, die das modernistische Gebäude auf die Gründer von Fosbury & Sons ausgeübt haben muss, die sie dazu inspiriert hat, einen weiteren Raum für Kollaboration und Co-Working zu schaffen. 

Das Bauhaus: eine Idee, die Schule gemacht hat. In Deutschland, aber auch weltweit. Funktionale Gestaltung und modernes Bauen haben eine Epoche geprägt, der Traum eines Gesamtkunstwerks aus Kunst und Kunstgewerbe, Architektur und Design, Tanz und Theater gibt bis heute Impulse – für unser Kulturschaffen wie für unsere Lebenswelten. Das Bauhaus war eine lebendige Ideenschule und ein Experimentierfeld auf den Gebieten der freien und angewandten Kunst, der Gestaltung, der Architektur und der Pädagogik. Das Bauhaus bestand nur 14 Jahre und feiert in diesem Jahr sein 100-jähriges Gründungsjubiläum. Zu Beginn als „Staatliches Bauhaus“ in Weimar, als „Hochschule für Gestaltung“ in Dessau und als private Lehranstalt in Berlin. Seine Ideen wirkten weit über die Schule, ihre Orte und ihre Zeit hinaus.

There’s a new kid on the block – Uniconta is a completely cloud-based ERP system created by Erik Damgaard, an institution in the ERP market. In contrast to traditional solutions, Uniconta is a fast and lean app from the cloud with a strong focus on integration and the essential aspects of Enterprise Resource Planning. We spoke with its founder on the historic development of the market and the reasons why the traditional approach of ERP will not survive modern workplaces.

Teahupo’o turned him into a legend. The surfing spot on the coast of Tahiti has the legitimate reputation of being the “Heaviest Wave in the World”. The monstrous waves during the winter’s big wave sessions are seen as particularly dangerous, as the waves break over a coral reef that is located just a mere 50 centimetres below the surface of the water. This is where Laird Hamilton achieved a spectacular ride in the year 2000 that would make him world-famous. Laird Hamilton is one of the most influential big wave surfers of the 21st century.

Why does print continue to play such a major role in product communication despite all the digitalisation? We addressed this issue in the last issue of the Produktkulturmagazin. This time, we are examining another interesting question: What role will print play in the long term? Will it eventually go extinct after all? Is the discontinuation of Germany’s main Otto catalogue, for instance, a sign of things to come?

Today, everything revolves around data, the raw material of the 21st century. Digital transformation would be simply inconceivable without it. Data has an impact on every single business throughout all sectors – what is interesting here is the fact that software companies and integrators are themselves also affected by change. Whereas silo-like solutions were sufficient until now in individual areas of data generation, data processing and data distribution, PIM, CRM and CMS systems, among others, are today faced with the crucial issues of classification and further development.

A new day – this is one of the possible translations of NIO’s company name that fits the vision of company founder William Li: Blue Sky Coming. The global startup’s development process benefits from its team’s internationality: the cars may be assembled in China, but the design centre is located in Munich, practically in the heart of the German automotive industry. The accompanying software comes from San José in Silicon Valley – a clever strategic move on behalf of a company that was only founded in 2014, one that allows it to get its hands on special skills in precisely those regions whose expertise in this field is both notorious and renowned.

Listening to Beatie Wolfe is a little bit like watching the sun going down with the wind quietly rustling the leaves. It immediately shrinks your focus to simply enjoy what you hear and see before your inner eye. The tranquillity flooding around is magical – and yet, this is not where the magic ends.

Inspired by 1962 - a year when the Jet Age began to shape the history of aviation, where John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy governed in the White House, where the Beatles’ “Love Me Do” was released - an architectural masterpiece has now been awakened from its 19-year long, Sleeping Beauty slumber.  The famous Trans World Airlines (TWA) terminal at JFK Airport in New York has been transformed into a modern hotel and, in the future, will spirit its guests into the glorious era of the Jet Age. The spectacular building was designed by Eero Saarinen, one of the best-known designers and architects of the 20th century, and opened in 1962.

Denmark’s white gold – that is the name of the special Læsø salt that is seethed according to the old method on the small Danish island of Læsø. Danish salt has a long tradition: the Vikings already knew how to produce and refine sea salt. Denmark has large salt deposits, especially in Jutland and its northernmost island of Læsø. Here you will find endless wide marshes and green salt meadows, great tranquillity and untouched nature. The salt is extracted by hand using the same method as 500 years ago from the saline groundwater of the marshland and Wadden Sea. Each year, Læsø Salt produces around 80 tonnes of the wonderful spice. It tastes “of summer on the beach of Denmark”, says Poul Christensen, the founder of Læsø Salt. In any case, you can see the age-old craft and the love with which it is won. No wonder Læsø salt is one of the most sought-after salts in the world and so highly regarded by star chefs. Jeppe Ladefoged, managing director of Læsø Salt, tells us the story of the white gold.