Release my inner Peace

I first arrived at PeaceWadi as a guest, spontaneously booked via AirBnB. The plan was to reside on the farm for a week. Soon I realized this farm had more to offer than simply a tourism venue. It is a gorgeous place to be, has a fantastic community and moreover is ran by an Not for Profit Organization: the PeaceWadi! I decided to stay longer to release my inner Peace on the farm.

Finding the core

Unraveling the core of PeaceWadi has been an exciting job. The community in and around the farm offers tourism opportunities, has all amenities a proper (date) farm should have and moreover enjoys the favors of an active network in- and outside Jordan! How to combine this versatile set of elements into one statement?

Mission: “To catalyze the exchange of understanding between cultures and generations, thereby fostering peace and development in broadest sense”

Please note the impact of historical events in the Jordan Valley, which is close to the border with Palestine. The impact can be felt every day when you talk with Jordanians – the desire to maintain understanding in any dialogue to get one step further with all of us.

Three Pillars of the Wadi

Sometimes things are obvious, yet they are not clearly defined. I supported the NGO in formulating their contribution to the Jordan Valley by chopping up the mission in three parts.

1. Hospitality & Ecotourism – sharing culture and dialogue on a personal level
2. Social Entrepreneurship – providing the community with development projects
3. Environment & Innovation – provide a platform to improve the future of Jordan

I was asked to think along with a Dutch furniture company, Meubelfabriek De Linde. The initial idea aimed at new images for social media and a redesign of the website.

First things first

As the CEO of the company noticed, the world is changing – even the world of furniture production. The company is getting increasingly involved in producing custom made furniture for designers & labels, therefore producing a wider variety of products and serving more diverse customers. This changes the market it has traditionally been working with.

Dusting off the value proposition

What value are we adding for the customer? What differentiates you of competitors and why do your customers need to understand that? Simple questions to ask, though hard to answer in reality.

We renewed the whole vision on the furniture company by going through the developments of the past years and understood why market demand is changing.

• In house produced furniture traditionally is sold via the retail channels that know the brand – as the customer group is shifting buying behavior, the factory needs to update its identity to follow those customers (and rethink the use of its existing retail channels)
• High end designers have discovered the advantages of a can-do furniture proposition, and are increasingly calling in to discuss custom made designs, and cooperation in producing one off orders with a reliable partner
• Design & production labels are looking for a flexible partner in production, which can think along in the design phase and is willing to challenge the customer in his choices. The industry experience provides valuable knowledge when it comes to material choices, production methods and quality norms

A new chapter – Servicing labels & designers

With the above, a new chapter has begun for the furniture production company. Not only has it understood how the former brand positioning affects the existing customers, it has also discovered what values can still be benefited from in other market segments.

Tom van der Linden, CEO:

“Hugo manages to put the existing business in higher perspective of the market and provides clear choices for the future of my company. Together we go forward and develop my business step by step.”

Next steps

After finishing the revision of the company markets and strengths, the following items were put on the to-do list.

1. Apply the revised company values and update those in social media and digital presence like the website, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn
2. Breathe the renewed proposition of the existing, in-house produced furniture catalog. Hereby addressing the proper customers with marketing efforts tailored for only them, using the existing retail channels accompanied by digital presence on social media platforms
3. Upgrade the value proposition for designers & labels to a service concept. Making furniture on demand requires an advanced understanding of the needs of the designers’ world. The in-house knowledge of the furniture production complements the needs of outsourcing parties during design & production phase

Website impression – redesign of company presentation

A brief impression of the new website.

In order to redesign digital media presence for a dutch beauty salon, I was asked to produce media for representation on a new web site. We discussed the business format the salon follows, types of clients that come in and the desired reputation of the brand.

Femke van Gaal, Salon Manager:

 “Your style matches the desired mix between a clean yet appealing vibe. Your result shows the professional reputation I want to strive for with my brand!”

Best compliment you can get. Below you’ll find an impression of the current website.

Interior shots

It’s important to present the space customers will be spending time. A fresh and professional look of the beauty salon.

Headshots of representatives

To fit the new look, I organised headshots of employees customers can expect to meet in the beauty salon.

Personal editorials

Single shots with representatives to introduce a personal story of everyone involved in the salon. Style of single shot editorials have a bite allowing for an improved personal connection.

The whole idea started when I found a large log slice in the countryside of the Netherlands. I took it home and dried it for 4 months in a medium dry environment, to prevent it from cracking.

Planning to saw it by hand, I started my investigation for my options and what to make of the log. I figured slicing it into slabs, such that I could make a table top out of it.

“Hand sawing a log slice into a table top with a Katana saw.. Contrary to western push saws, a Katana saw is operated by gently pulling.”

My initial research soon revealed there aren’t many manual ways to saw large pieces of wood with western saws. The Japenese woodworking tradition however offered me a solution. A Katana saw can take virtually any dimension – basically as long as the blade length. Since the blade is pulled instead of pushed, the saw direction follows the direction of pull automatically. Any western alternative is pushed, thereby naturally destabilizing the blade direction.

Think about that for a moment. Forcefully pushing into your desired direction will naturally destabilize the energy you’re applying. There is much to learn from a Katana blade, and the Japanese attitude towards energy clashes.

The next step includes a 48 hours of straight pulling the blade through a thirty centimeters thick slab. Once you went through that meditation session, the result is three nicely cut slabs, making up for almost a meter of tabletop.