Coming soon

The future is better than you think

… a brief talk with Michael Lind, Founding partner/Head of Sustainability at Uniforms for the Dedicated and key speaker at Creative Mornings Sthlm on February 20th.

Are we too dystopic?

I would say so, yes. Of course there are bad things happening in the world and there are people suffering, too many are, but a lot of good stuff is happening also. More people than ever before rise from poverty, more than ever before educate themselves and so on. The world is moving in the right direction!  

So why are we so negative?

Unfortunately good news makes for bad headlines. We are constantly bombarded with the most horrifying news about the state of the world: wars, diseases, terrorism, environmental disasters and other terrible incidents. All the positive things that are happening just get much less attention. It’s sad. But if you shift focus they are there. We just have to look trough different windows.

Do you think it’s up to each and every one to find the positives?

Yup. We live in an environment where our actions affect the world around us: businesswise as well as in private. So, either we can sit around and complain about the state of the world, or we can actually do something about it. It isn’t hard. Start small. Start with an area you are interested in. Dig a little deeper and you’ll see there are a lot of good things happening. Hopefully it will inspire you to get involved.

Have you got an example?

Sure. I’m a surfer. I can see the oceans getting more and more polluted. But I can also see that people are getting more conscious about the oceans. On all levels. Doing everything from picking up rubbish at the beach to declaring marine parks and habitats to protect our seas. That makes me happy, the feeling that yes – we can turn this around. Also, it’s much nicer to surf when you’re not swimming in trash.

"How could vanity reverse climate change?”

Too excited and proud to talk about CLIMATE with Michael Lind, co-partner and head of sustainability at Uniforms for the Dedicated. As an entrepreneur, he ventured into the textile industry, successfully creating a brand now seen as a front runner in sustainable fashion.

Michael has had the humbling pleasure of stepping onto stages in front of leading design schools, NGOs, fortune 500 companies to the most nimble start-ups. Addressing one of our grandest challenges as humans – Our ability to sustain life.Signs up starts on Monday February 16 at 11.00am here: http://creativemornings.com/talks/michael-lind-uniforms-for-the-dedicated

February 20th we will be talking about the important topic of CLIMATE. This great global theme was chosen by our chapter in Ottawa, Canada, and illustrated by Dave Arnold. Sit tight for more information on this month’s key speaker!

Don’t be perfect - Why design can be pretty ugly
… a brief talk with David Klüft Frimark, founding member of Swedish design group Fuldesign and key speaker at Creative Mornings Sthlm on January 30th.

Isn’t design supposed to be beautiful? 

Yes, but not only. I think that a lot of people are tired of flawless perfection. There is a problematic focus on beauty in the design world. Designers tend to forget that there are other perspectives apart from the sheer beautiful.

Like the ugly?

Exactly. Ugly design does not have to be downright horrible, besides it’s a matter of taste, but ugly things lets people feel that it’s ok not to be perfect. That a thing does not have to be impeccable to be likeable. So much of the design today is “silent”, it just blends in. It’s unnoticeable and therefore uninteresting. It’s just a façade. 

What is ugly design to you?

Ugly design to me has nothing to do with looks. It’s an attitude. Ugly design shows an alternative to perfection. It makes people think and feel. It’s something that it’s hard to be indifferent about. Today everything is “designed” and don’t get me wrong, I think design is really important, but design needs to dig below the surface to become relevant.

Have you got an example?

I’ve got several. One recent example that I really like is Sias music video Elastic Heart featuring Shia LaBeouf and Maddie Ziegler. It’s super designed and really crude at the same time. Beautiful, ugly and mesmerizing. Apart from most music videos that are really slick it makes you feel… something. It’s interesting.  

Link to video: http://vimeo.com/116622243

 

 

GenderTimer promotes gender awareness in social groups and workplaces. The app (check it out on app store!) shows you clearly who is talking the most, men or women and helps you see and discuss normative gender patterns. Just seeing the numbers helps people self-regulate, and improve.A great tip received on our last event with Wiminvest!

What a way to end 2014! Sofia Falk, inspiring founder and CEO of Wiminvest joined us at Berns Salonger for a talk and a practical exercise on gender awareness. 

Check out all the photos taken by our awesome photographer Richard Ortega here!

… a brief talk with Sofia Falk, founder and CEO of Wiminvest, one of the minds behind the national gender project Battle Of the Numbers, gender equality advisor to some of Sweden’s largest international companies, the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, the Swedish Government and key speaker at Creative Mornings Sthlm on December 19th.

There’s a lot of buzz around you right now, what’s going on?
- People are beginning to realize that there is a lot of untapped potential in diversity, that your company can become better and more profitable with a more heterogeneous staff. When I started Wiminvest, diversification was a soft issue. Now it’s a business advantage.  

In what way?
- Recruitment is one of the most important issues that businesses will face in the future. In order to find the best employees, companies have to make sure that they are looking for potential in the entire population, not just in certain groups of people. This is why the issue of diversity is becoming even more central. Organizations that seek global market relevancy must embrace diversity in how they think, act and innovate. Employee diversity lead to enhanced understanding of our customer needs, open up new and previously unforeseen market opportunities.

What’s your best advice for a successful recruitment?
- Look outside your own network and ensure that all management jobs are advertised both internally and externally. Recognize the work/life balance.

What are you going to talk about at Creative Mornings?
- Success and inspiration! I will share best practices, success stories when increased diversity have had an impact for the bottom line and inspire the audience to become a part of the transformation.

Hurray! What better way to end 2014 then to have Sofia Falk as a speaker on ‘Education’! Sofia is a recognized opinion leader and international expert and has served as a gender equality advisor to Sweden’s government and largest businesses. Sign up for tickets Monday 15th of January at 11.00 ————>

 

Me and co-founder Jesper preparing a talk with House of Dagmar.
Last talk for me as an organizer, Tyler Brulé and Andrew Tuck.
First talk ever in Stockholm with Nicke Bergström.

Thank you Stockholm
More than 3 years have gone by since me and Jesper brought Creative Mornings to Stockholm. By then, we were city number 8 in the world to join this community and event series. This month, Creative Mornings announced city number 100 and actually there are now 102 cities!

In Stockholm, starting September 2011, we have arranged 32 talks and counting. We have had thousands of you visiting our events and there are now more than 800 profiles in the local creative community on our web.

Everything must come to an end. Or not.
Being one of the founders it has been hard work all the way through to make this happen. Days and nights, weekend and not the least, dead early mornings. All people involved are doing this from their own good will, there is no money involved and we are pulling this together every month because we love our audience. But sometimes, much work can be to much. Myself, I have a full time job and a small bicycle start-up plus two small children, poking for my time. 

Therefore I have made a decision to allocate my hours in two rather than three fields.  From now on, I wont be part of the Creative Mornings crew. The good thing is, it will only be me missing. The rest of the team stays intact under the lead of Jesper, my co-founder. So you my dear audience are in good hands.

I will miss you
It hurts in my heart to leave this fun, exhausting, interesting and engaging project behind me. But rest assure, I will join you on your side, being a regular in the audience. If I get a ticket, that is. As we all know, tickets are sold out in a matter of minutes.

Last but not least. Thank you Jesper, Nisse, Louise, Lena, Richard O, Kim, Peter, Anton and Viktor who all have been an incredible team along the way.

Enjoy Christmas and take care. 

Richard Feigin

If you wish to contact me, here is my email.

As a celebration of the book ‘The Monocle Guide to Good Business’, Tyler Brûlé & Andrew Tuck joined us for an exclusive talk at Moderna Museet. Thanks to everyone that came, to Monocle, Moderna Museet and to Lufthansa, Mynewsdesk Sverige, Artspace Group! Photos by excellent photographer Richard Ortega: http://www.richardortega.se/