COOLHUNT - Playing shuffleboard glow in the dark.

Last week I read an article in the newspaper 'Metro' about an event with different kind of sports. The article pulled my attention because I saw sports like shuffleboard and bosaball. I've never heard of these kind of sports before, do you? 

WHAT? Sunday November 9, the day of the 'Andere Spelen' (different games) in the Jaarbeurs of Utrecht. This day it was all about offering thousands of children an opportunity to play one of these different games like; bounce, ultimate frisbee, bossaball, sword fighting, art roller skating, twirling, underwater hockey, shuffleboard and checkers. The 'Andere Spelen' is an initiative from A.S.R; The Dutch insurance company. They want to help children to move more and with this event they give the different unknown sports some attention. A lot of children don't know that these sports exist. So the children will get more motion and there's a chance for these sports to get more membership.

WHY? What makes it so awesome is that a game of shuffleboard is boring on it's own. But here you can play shuffleboard glow in the dark. This is definitely a great example of the 'experience economy' because these sports get an extra layer of experience and fun. It's a win win situation. It's also about 'the journey is in the product'. It's not about winning with this event. It's about letting children see and experience these different sports. If we look at the needs behind these trends we see the 'experience economy'.

Source: article Metro (10-11-14)

Source: http://i2.wp.com/www.gezondheidenco.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Andere-Spelen.jpg

COOLHUNT - A free hand poked tattoo.

Last week I bought a little book that's named: "Always be yourself unless you can be a unicorn then always be a unicorn". I bought it at the Concept store Make my Day (Read article here). It's a book with snapshots of the weird and wonderful world of the Tumblr generation. It's written by Pernille Kok-Jensen and Els Dragt. In this book I found something interesting. Mr. Pokesman, a guy whose hobby is making hand poked machine-free tattoos. 

WHAT? So his hobby is making hand poked machine-free tattoos. One day he made one for his colleague and from then on he started with this hobby. He has a blog on Tumblr where he posts pictures of some process and results. But he also answers questions and he posts sketches and inspiring material. (Mr. Pokesman Tumblr). He has no specific target audience. He does it for free. But the hand poked tattoos are for everybody now. On the internet there is a website where they teach you how to make hand poked tattoos by yourself! In the video below you can see how it works. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mlfqiJ6IhA

WHY? What gives this hand poking tattoos an extra layer of experience is that Mr. Pokesman doesn't only want to show that tattoo designs can be cool but also the whole setting around it: the place where the tattoo is made, the instrument used, the entire process and the result of course. So it's not about going to a tattoo shop for tattoo but this man creates a whole new experience to it. And also if we can make this ourselves it's also something on a mega based trend, namely individualism. But this new form of tattoos is a great example of 'the experience is in the product' and 'the journey is more important than the destiny'. So if you want a tattoo but you want something different, try a hand poked tattoo!

Photo: my own

Sources: 
- 'Always be yourself unless you can be a unicorn then always be a unicorn'. 
- http://mrpokesman.tumblr.com

COOLHUNT - Open a coke. Open a new friendship.

We all remember the personalized bottles from Coca Cola. The campaign 'Share a coke with' was a great success. It was such a success that people pulled the supermarkets upside down to find their names on the Coca Cola bottles. But now Coca Cola comes with a new action. 

WHAT? The campaign is called 'The friendly twist'. They created this concept with an underlying thought namely: a lot of people are having struggles with a new study. Younger people have to adapt to a new place and new people. Coca Cola is now trying to bring these people together to start a conversation to get through an exciting day. The idea is that on the first day of school there are bottles of coke available for the new students. Coca Cola invented a cap for the coke bottles that you can not open on your own. You need somebody else. So you have to start a conversation with somebody else. In the video below you can see how it works. 

WHY? This campaign is a great success because Coca Cola really empathized with their target audience. With this new bottle they make it easy for new students to start a conversation. And once there is a conversation it will be a lot easier for them to connect with each other. 
This campaign is a typical example of 'the experience is in the product'. This is not the first time Coca Cola pulled this off. With just a simple bottle of coke they connect people with each other. The slogan of the campaign is: Open a coke. Open a new friendship. And that's exactly what they're doing. So how strong is this campaign. With a simple product they create new friendships. And they respond to a mega trend namely: individualism. Nowadays it's simple to crawl into your phone when you don't know anyone. But when you're trying to drink a bottle of coke on your first day of school you have to communicate with people you don't know, how brilliant is that!

source: http://allesoverjongeren.nl/coca-cola-verbindt-jongeren-met-friendly-twist/

COOLHUNT - Experience the new 360 degree dinner show and night club.

This week something caught my eye in the newspaper 'Metro'. In Rotterdam there will be a whole new kind of entertainment club with a dinner show. The idea came from catering owner Olivier van Hoey and director from the dinner show Ton Soepenberg. They wanted to do something that have never been exhibited in Europe. They found the perfect location for their dream at the 'Kruiskade', the Thalia cinema. And now it will be called the Villa Thalia. Together with the new 'Markthal' and the new central station in Rotterdam the city will get even more international attention. The grand opening will be at Thursday, November 27th. 

WHAT? In the beginning of the evening the Villa will be the stage of a dinner show headed by top chef Francois Geurds. And after that the whole building will be changed to a nightclub. But there is something extra to this show that will create a great experience. There will be a 360 degree projection on the wall and because of that you do not only see the show but you're also in it. The theme of this dinner show is also 'film'. When you walk in you feel like you're in the 20's. And during the show you will also see the jungle in Brazil, Londen and the show will end on top of the 55th floor of a nightclub in New York. Because of the 360 degree screen you really get the feeling that you're on top of a building watching the New York skyline. Then the chairs and tables will be removed and the champagne will be taken to the VIP tables. It will be something unique. 

WHY? This new dinner show is cool because it's not just a normal dinner show but it has an extra layer of experience. The 360 degree walls that will give you the feeling that you're a part of the show. It's something that has never been used before. With this wall they can project everything they want. Also there will be a lot of interaction between the performers and technique. This is a great example of the 'experience economy' trend. The club will also fit in with the positive flow of Rotterdam. 

https://www.facebook.com/villathalia.rotterdam/photos/a.342539222574381.1073741827.342539082574395/366841373477499/?type=1&theater

Article from 'Metro'

LEISURE - Movie time: Interstellar

I wanted to do something fun with my family so last week I read an article in the newspaper 'Metro' about a new movie: 'Interstellar'. It's a science-fiction adventure movie directed by Christopher Nolan. The movie is about a team that is going to search for a new habitable planet because all the resources will soon be gone. Normally I absolutely hate science fiction movies. I know my dad loves them. But after reading the review from the 'Metro' my expectations were adjusted.

So last saturday night we went to Cinemax Ede. The movie took about two and a half hour. My head was spinning when we left the cinema. But what an awesome movie! The movie is very close to reality which makes it almost creepy because you think about your own future. The story is based on the scientific theories from de the theoretical physicist Kip Thorne. The movie had great special effects and it was so realistic. With great actors like Matthew McConaughey, Anna Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Bill Irwin and Ellen Burstyn this movie was a great success.

So maybe if you also don't like science fiction movies, step out of your comfort zone! This is an awesome movie with a lot of emotional aspects. It's definitely worth it to watch this movie!

Source: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar + own experience. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816692/

EXPLORER - How to be an explorer of the world (exploration #11)

For this week I chose exploration #11: collect multiples of one thing. Lay them out in front of you. Observe them in detail. List the differences you see. Try to document at least twenty-five things. In the picture below you see 10 pine cones. In the list below I will try to describe twenty-five differences.

1. shape
2. colour
3. old
4. new
5. broken
6. in one piece
7. open
8. closed
9. rough
10. smooth
11. triangles
12. with a hump
13. dots
14. pointing
15. dark
16. light
17. shadow
18. round
19. dirty
20. clean
21. small
22. big
23. in a curve
24. holes
25. long
26. short

I've even reached 26 differences. But it was really hard to find differences. Up to 10 it's easy, but then. You think you've seen everything. But if you look a little closer you'll see that there are much more differences. Most of the differences are also synonyms. What I've learned from this experience is that you have to look further than what you see at first glance. These are 10 simple objects but if you put them together and look at it a little longer you're going to see things that you would normally not see. 

BELEVING - Conceptstore Make my Day Nijmegen

Vorige week heb ik een bezoekje gebracht aan de conceptstore 'Make my day' in Nijmegen. En inderdaad it 'made my day'. Wat een superleuke winkel! Ik ben er al vaker langs gelopen maar wist nooit zo goed wat het was. Toen ik voor school op zoek moest naar een belevenis wist ik al gauw waar ik heen wilde!

Conceptstores poppen uit de grond als paddestoelen door heel Nederland, maar nog niet iedereen heeft ervan gehoord of weet wat het is. Bij Make my day in Nijmegen kun je lunchen bij Caf é Louis, naar de kapper bij de kapsalon van Amy Hofmans of je kunt lekker shoppen. Deze conceptstore weet zich ook goed te onderscheiden van online concurrentie. Tegenwoordig is het namelijk om alles via internet te kopen. Maar als je naar deze winkel gaat kom je niet alleen om zomaar naar de kapper te gaan of te lunchen. Nee het is echt een belevenis. Van leuke kreten die op de trap zijn geverfd tot leuke hangertjes aan de muur. Dit is precies wat de eigenaresse wilt uitstralen. Dit is niet zomaar een conceptstore. 

Het concept staat vooral voor lekker veel kleur en niet te abstract. De bedoeling is om lekker te genieten en jezelf niet te serieus te nemen. Gewoon lekker genieten en doen wat je wilt dat is waar make my day voor staat. Als we kijken naar de waarden staat deze conceptstore vooral voor lekker genieten van je vrije tijd, ontwikkel je eigen stijl en alles kan en niets moet. 

Ook maakt deze conceptstore een goede link met social media. Ze hebben namelijk een Facebook wall waar je een foto kunt maken met je aankoop en deze kunt posten op Facebook. Hiermee maken ze er een extra beleving van omdat je het kunt delen met vrienden. 

De setting van de conceptstore is een combinatie tussen vintage en nieuw. Door deze te combineren blijven de prijzen betaalbaar. Er zijn veel verschillende merken te verkrijgen, maar vooral nog niet bekende merken zoals Engelse en Scandinavische kleding en interieur merken. Daardoor maakt het deze conceptstore zo speciaal. Je vindt hier dingen die je in andere winkels niet zomaar tegen komt. Je kijkt je ogen uit als je binnen komt zoveel leuke kleding, gadgets en boeken. Er hangt een ontzettend fijne relaxte sfeer. Niet meteen een verkoopster die op je afstapt met de bedoeling om je iets aan te smeren. Nee je kunt gewoon lekker je gang gaan en rond kijken, het gaat natuurlijk om de beleving. Dit maakt deze conceptstore meer dan waar met het hele interieur van de winkel. 

De kern van deze conceptstore is dat iedereen zichzelf kan zijn en dat ook kan laten zien door midel van je outfit, interieur, boeken, eten en kapsel. Kortom bij Make my day kun je terecht voor een nieuw kapsel bij de kapsalon van Amy Hofmans. Of als je zin hebt in een lekkere gezonde, duurzame maaltijd kun je aanschuiven bij Café Louis. Ze heeft onder andere bio en fair trade producten om daar op te eten of mee te nemen. 

Mijn eigen ervaring:
Ik ging er met een frisse blik in, ik was nog nooit in een conceptstore geweest dus wist er ook nog vrij weinig van af. Ik sta altijd in voor nieuwe ervaringen en dit was echt een leuke ervaring. Ik had verwacht dat het gewoon een winkel was die zich een beetje wilde onderscheiden door een ander interieur. Maar deze winkel weet zijn gedachtegoed goed door te vertalen naar alle aspecten van de conceptstore. Ik heb een super belevenis/ervaring gehad. Het personeel was ontzettend aardig en zag er lekker hip uit. Na een praatje met de eigenaresse werd ik echt enthousiast. Ik vind haar echt inspirerend door wat ze met deze winkel probeert neer te zetten. Na een lekker sapje te hebben gedronken heb ik ook nog een leuke boekje gekocht ('Always be yourself unless you can be a unicorn then always be a unicorn.) Het is geschreven door een lerares van onze opleiding (International Lifestyle Studies). En het is ook precies iets wat in deze winkel past.
Het was voor mijn zeker een memorabele ervaring en het lag zelfs tegen een transformerende beleving aan. Ik voelde me heel vrolijk toen ik door de winkel liep. Ik kreeg veel inspiratie en ook kreeg ik een gevoel van dat ik nieuwe dingen wilde proberen. 
Deze conceptstore is echt een aanrader, ik kom hier zeker nog vaak terug, want deze conceptstore MADE MY DAY!

Conceptstore 'Make my day'

Stikke Hezelstraat 65

6511 JW Nijmegen

024 323 4000

Foto's: zelf gemaakt