MAGAZINE Issue 2
Cover story: Meet Karisha! ARTEPI: Your Wake-Up Call Flava’ Fresh Interview with MIKAEL JENSEN Polish the art with Alicja! We all walk in different shoes Herning, an exciting place to study
“Herning is a city, which offers great opportunities to realize new ideas, and that will make it fun being a Herningangster.�
Creating a unique and appealing student environment in Herning
Uddannelsesby Herning - Birk Centerpark 40 - 7400 Herning Telefon: +45 9626 1111 - Mail: uddannelsebyherning@erhvervsraadet.dk
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FOCUS Staff & Contributors Founder/Editor in Chief: Edvard L. Tramsen Writers: Valeria Solonari, Marc Ramos Garzon, Sara Constantinescu Martina Kiehas, Vaida Pakulyte Dayana Tsvetkova, Alina Vlaicu Photographers: Sara Constantinescu Graphic Designers: Alina Vlaicu, Dayana Tsvetkova Contributors: Alexei Patrascu Sponsors: Uddannelsesby Herning, Cafe Fry, Murphy’s Hot Cut, Magpie Lane, Jydepotten Contact General enquiries: edvard@startitherning.dk Advertise with us Contact us: edvard@startitherning.dk Want to get involved? FOCUS is always on the lookout for new contributors, writers, photographers, illustrators and designers. Cover Model: Karina Chasijeva Photographer: Sara Constantinescu Copyright is reserved.Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited. FOCUS magazine uses all the materials with permission from the owners. 2013 - FOCUS MAGAZINE
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THE CREW from writers to graphic designers and photographers, meet the team behind this month’s exquisite FOCUS
Edvard Tramsen
Valeria Solonari
Dayana Tsvetkova
Alina Vlaicu
I’m an active student and energetic entrepreneur. I’m enthusiastic in doing projects with spirited likeminded people and together creating new innovative products.
It is in my nature to spread thoughts and ideas, and to see color, where it seems to be only black and white, even in written words.
Hey guys! I get inspired by the things around me. I like to incorporate that in my writing and in the digital and print design.
I’m a student at TEKO and I’m passionate about trend forecasting. I enjoy working with layouts and design.
Vaida Pakulyte
Sara Constantinescu
Martina Kiehas
Marc Ramos Garzon
ICM student, full of passion for life and waiting to see what the next day will bring, what adventures are there for me. I am a friendly and energetic person.
Sara, TEKO student in Branding & Marketing Management and fashion & lifestyle blogger at www.saraconstance.com. I love fashion, visual communication and travelling.
Hi everyone! I’m Focus Herning’s coordinator and am also planning to write one or the other article. I’m highly interested in marketing, animals and nature.
Marc is a jack-ofall-trades: communication, marketing, web design, graphic design... currently a career counselor at AU Herning.
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FOCUS APRIL
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Art Epi: a moveable micro-city organized around sustainable activities
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Herning an exciting place to study
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Student and volunteer
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Flava’ Fresh Short tips & guidelines for a healthy living
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Meet the talent! Find out Karisha’s creative secrets
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Polish the Art with Alicja Watch out!
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Interview with Mikael Jensen Meet one of TEKO’s teachers
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We all walk in different shoes
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Events calendar
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EDITORIAL On behalf of the team of Focus, I would like to wish you a cheerful spring and we hope you will enjoy this second issue, the student magazine of AU-Herning and TEKO. As previous readers of the magazine will notice, we have made a lot of changes to our design to more accurately reflect our original concept. As this is a new project initiated by volunteer students, we have made everything from scratch. Along the way we have faced many challenges and I’m going to share some of the insight this has brought us. When starting any endeavour I urge you to keep Murphy’s Law on your checklist, because as an avid entrepreneur I’ve learned to trust it as much as I would gravity. What can conceivably go wrong in any project, is likely to manifest at some point and if you’re not prepared, you’ll face challenges at inconvenient junctures. Imagine a best case scenario where your apple tree will have enough fruits left for you to bake a pie at the end of summer (ref. “Adams Æbler”), worst case scenario they’ll drop right on your head as you’re relaxing underneath. The odds of that occurring may be astronomical, yet it does happen and the headache it brings will be even bigger if you don’t have your guard up. The lesson is: Keep your head up, hope for the best and be prepared for the worst. That said, there’s not a learning cost that won’t be it’s own weight worth in gold. This is one of those “change your
paradigms to be your very best” selfhelp book tips, it’s the all-time positivistic thinking, 21st century zen fulfilment and mindfulness meditation in our hectic modern society type of mindsets. I find it to be absolutely true. Whatever you are doing, always look to where you can personally benefit. Be it money, joy or health, there is something to gain from whatever you are engaged in. Now I’d like to wish you good luck with the projects and exams you are involved in. Also as a reminder in any coming hardships, I’ll be plagiarising an old saying, that’s been rethought for today’s world: “Good things come to those who work their hardest and never give up”. On that note; FOCUS is looking for new members to join our dynamic team and help keep our magazine to high quality and generating fresh content. If you feel like you have something to provide to our friendly team, be it as a journalist, photographer, designer, web-developer or even a comic writer, then please write a motivated application letter along with a CV portraying relevant experience to me (e-mail at bottom of page). Thank you for reading and enjoy the April issue of FOCUS, Student Magazine. Edvard L. Tramsen,
Editor & Founder of Focus edvard@startitherning.dk
LIVE MUSIC Thursday: 21.30, Friday: 22.30 and Saturday: 22:30
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ART EPI Your Wake-up Call!
Imagine a place, where innovative art, diverse culture and architecture are blended together. Imagine a city, where everything is not exactly the same as in modern and fast-moving society. For those who hear about ARTEPI for the first time, it is a project where a moveable micro-city is build around a series of environmental activities. This micro city will be build between seven municipalities including Herning. You may wonder, what is the actual point of creating this green city? According to the Project leader Per Bech Jensen, ArtEpi “animates people in the world to do what they dream about and take action with responsibility. ArtEpi is like a huge stage - the utopia of tomorrow.� It is all about changing your mindset and moving towards a better way of living. Not only buildings are made
with sustainability in mind, daily routines like shopping, education, fashion and lifestyle are switched making it green and environmentally friendly. Have you ever considered how can wine bottles be used instead of just collecting them? We can do more than that by transforming them in useful, decorative objects. The city will become a stage for artists and scientists to work together, present their thoughts and create brighter and greener future. AU Herning became one of the official partners of the ARTEPI project and more than a few students decided to join ARTEPI team and create an unforgettable experience. Students from different programs work on various marketing, communication and design tasks that are not only relevant to their program, but enrich understanding on how can small everyday life changes bring big effects.
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Let’ s see what ARTEPI team has to say: Isabel, Web Team What does ARTEPI mean to you? To me ArtEpi symbolizes a coordinated cluster of ideas and intellectual thoughts with an artistic point to view, working towards the creation of something productive while providing a forum to discuss the main problems our world is going to encounter in the future. When I imagine ArtEpi I envision a brain where the left side is interacting with the right side, utilizing everything creative and functionary to produce something extraordinary. Asya Gyurgancheva, Marketing Team What is the main impact of this project? The main impact of this project is the provocation I imagine it will create. I think our everyday life seriously suffer because of this lack of provocation. “To get to a new place you should take a new path” and sadly I admit the fact that this change doesn’t come to people naturally. Something should provoke them and this project for sure provokes me. Viktorija Jasiuleviciute, Marketing Team What are your expectations in this project? I truly believe that the team of the project is capable of realizing all set goals and expectations, even surpassing them. At the end, ArtEpi is going to become a symbol of something extraordinary – art and science collaboration, tangible proof of how sustainability and innovation can contribute to our future. ArtEpi is like a lab - a room for experimental work. This combined with scientists’ lab will merge two different kinds of languages into a new one. This is what we need - a new specific present language for the future using the past. Writer: Vaida Pakulyte
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HERNING An exciting place to study?
Uddannelsesby Herning wants to create a more vibrant student life After classes are over, when projects are written and overdue books are returned to the library, even busy students have some spare time. But what is there to do in a small city like Herning? Not that much, some would say, others see it differently, and one of them is Anne Sofie Persson. She is a project coordinator at Uddannelsesby Herning and her vision is to create unique and attractive environment for students in Herning. Facilitating projects It is a pity, if you have not heard about Uddannelsesby Herning before. They are working hard on helping students put their ideas for events into action. Another part of Anne Sofie’s job is to close the gap between local companies and students; because of her occupation she talks to many businesses, and she mentions that the problem isn’t that there are no interesting offers for students, such as free museum tickets, events and much more, but that these local companies are often unable to reach students. Anne Sofie wants to change that and tries to communicate their offers to local students. One of the projects she is particularly proud of, actually consisted of 20 small events. It was called “Community
Challenge Herning” and hosted teams of students organizing events that ranged from “Bingo for international students” to political debates. Get active! If you are a visionary student who wants to see one or the other project put into action, get in touch with Anne Sofie. So don’t be shy. She’s interested in students’ ideas for events in and around Herning, no matter if it is a concert or a casual bike trip to Fuglsangsø (a lake in Herning). You’re also welcome to get in touch, if you want to hear about the projects she is currently working with and your possibilities to get involved. Facts: Uddannelsesby Herning is financed by Ikast-Brande and Herning municipality, 10 local educational institutions and 26 companies. One of their goals is to attract students in order to enhance the qualified workforce in the area. Writer: Martina Kiehas Photographer: Szabolcs Nagy Get in touch:
www.uddannelsesbyherning.dk www.facebook.com/uddannelsesby.herning uddannelsesbyherning@erhvervsraadet.dk
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STUDENT & VOLUNTEER Being a student can be time-consuming, we all know that: all those assignments that seem to reproduce overnight, all those parties that cannot be missed, throw in a part-time job,… Daunting. So why would anyone in his or her right mind join a volunteer organization (of any kind) they get no benefit from? 1. Meeting people “No shit, Sherlock!” some will think, and they are right. But it is not just meeting people, think about networking! Who knows maybe someone in the group has a family member who turns out to be the CEO of Coca-cola! (OK, perhaps not in Herning…). 2. Experience No matter what you join, it will give you a nice amount of experience, like event organisation, communication, leadership,... it is up to you to later market your skills to potential employers. This is the key perk: other activities like sports also expand your network (and fun) but do not improve your future.
3. Having fun Let’s face it, it is fun (most of the time), meeting new people and doing stuff together will at the some point bring some laughter, some celebration,... So there you have it: you meet new people, have fun, expand your network and improve your CV at the same time. Writer & Photographer: Marc Ramos Garzon
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FLAVA’ FRESH A must read guide for your Body & Mind
Contrary to the landscape outside, which seems like a snapshot from the Snow Queen movie, the spring season is gradually stepping in. Those of you, dedicated to “eat like a champion” lifestyle, are definitely awaiting some of the seasonal fruits and veggies. On the other hand, if you are an advocate of “fatty treats are good for my soul”, then this time of the year is perfect for you to balance back and do something that will benefit your body too. Thousands of researches, performed by scientist and nutritionists, have tried to understand the relation between our emotional state and the foods we put into our body. What’s for sure is that cupcakes and chips do actually boost our spirit, but overeating reduces the effect and increases the need for receiving more of the fatty substance. Therefore, specialists advise – keep your diet balanced! As students at both AU HIH and TEKO, we are privileged with foods and treats that follow the canteen’s policy “less salt, less sugar, less fat”. Even so, to be healthy, we can’t count solely on the meals served in the canteens. Here are some suggestions on how to improve your diet with fresh foods from the spring season.
So, what’s for breakfast? A healthy breakfast includes fruits or vegetables, low-fat protein and dairy together with some whole grains. As breakfast is the most important meal, this sort of combination will provide the nutrients you need for a kick-off start of the day! Blueberries and Strawberries are two very special seasonal fruits that not only sit well on your morning plate with their vibrant colours, but also have a very high ORAC value (Oxygen radical absorbance capacity), meaning they are the perfect anti-oxidants! After a weekend full of alcohol beverages and cigarette smoking (for most of you), a mixture of these two fruits will clean up your body immediately. Kiwi also known as the Chinese Gooseberry is the ultimate source of Vitamin C. Yes, you heard me! Kiwis contain more Vitamin C than oranges and
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How about dinner then? A natural miracle that contains more than 20 essential nutrients is the Alligator pear otherwise known as Avocado. This pure booster enables the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha and beta-carotene. A great veggie with its peak season between April and May is the Asparagus. Steamed, grilled or roasted, the asparagus contain 114% RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) of vitamin K, which is important for the bone health. So, those preparing for the HIH & Teko Sports Day should take advantage straight away!
lemons. Why is that important? The weather conditions we are now facing are perfect for an unexpected and unpleasant cold. The Vitamin C will strengthen your immune system and protect your body at the beginning stage of the illness. Other spring fruits, perfect for your morning meals are apricots (the golden eggs of the sun) and pineapples. Those have a high mineral value and Vitamins B, which are essential for the growth and development of the body. The Vitamin B complex regulates the turning of the food into energy. Basically, small adjustments to your daily nutrition will make you happier, smarter, stronger and more beautiful. No, guys this does not apply to girls only. Clean skin and well shaped body are unisex qualities that will not be left unrecognised and unappreciated.
The perfect garnish for your salad could be Radishes. Although available year-round in supermarkets, now is the perfect timing for their harvesting. These small root veggies are packed with a solid dose of vitamin C, which makes them another perfect antioxidant. Finally I’d like to further inspire you to add healthier ingredients into your meals - but I don’t want to put this entire burden on my shoulders alone. Therefore I will let Oscar Wilde do the talking: “After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.” So, be good to yourself and remember Happiness begins from the inside out!
Writer: Dayana Tsvetkova Photographer: Sara Constantinescu
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MEET THE TALENT Karisha, a versatile & multi-talented student at TEKO who is currently taking her BA in fashion design!
Writer & Photographer: Sara Constantinescu
I followed her during one of her work days at TEKO, trying to dig deeper into her creative mind and steal some valuable info about her passions, fears and challenges as a student. Here’s what I found out: 1. Her biggest challenge as a fashion student is time-management. 2. Her favourite part about being a designer is the inspiration-seeking process. She also enjoys creating her own signature prints. 3. She finds her motivation during a project by visualizing the final result. 4. She manages to combine work and fun with the help of her best friend, Amalie.
5. Her biggest passions are dancing (hip-hop), painting and fashion design. 6. The hardest thing about living abroad is missing her family, but luckily, they are very supportive with her fashion design education. 7. The future doesn’t scare her, as she has a clear vision of what she wants to do in her up-coming career. “One of my biggest dreams is to go to the US and start my own brand there, which would really allow me to represent my signature style.” 8. Her biggest inspiration is the African culture. “I admire their positive energy, their beauty and their exotic vibe which they bring through their art and culture.”
17 “The most important thing is to love what you are doing.�
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Her urban inspiration also comes from musicians such as ASAP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar or Tupac Shakur. “I am so lucky to have her around during each project at school.” 9. The secret to her productive working schedule consists of 3 factors: music, friends and food! “Music gives me the inspiration to bring the right atmosphere into my collection. My friends keep me motivated by giving me good advices and making me smile even through the most stressful times. And last but not least food gives me the energy to keep up all night and day. “ 10. Being a fashion student at TEKO so far has thought her how to incorporate her personal style in both womenswear
and menswear. She actually thinks that menswear will be the path she will follow in her design career. 11. During her BA internship, she will work with Astrid Andersen, one of the best menswear designers around, having collaborated with Kanye West and ASAP Rocky. 12. Unfortunately, she didn’t reveal the secret to her constantly happy, energetic and positive mood. I suppose this is just another talent of Miss K. She did tell me a little funny aspect about herself though. “My friends often wonder where I get so many energy from and since I am very loud and crazy they call me Monkey.“
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“I feel like there are so many opportunities that allow you to discover something that is your own. When going through my own creative research, I really enjoy selecting the best ideas and incorporating them into a final line-up.�
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ALICIA’S ART
“My favorite sweater used to be my mum’s when she was seventeen.” “I wear brooches that used to be my grand grandmothers. I know their stories. I know that they were important to them, so now they are important to me and it cheers me up during long working days.” I became a fan of Alicja Biala’s work, when I first met her at the Polish evening, at TEKO. Being the daughter of an artistic family, Alicja is well prepared for a career in Arts. Before coming to Denmark, she was working for the German-Japanese Theater, Ten Pen Chii, making installations and welding most of the time (in Germany). Several months she worked for Schloss Bröllin, helping with the scenography during the Butoh biggest European festival.
21 After graduating the high-school in Poland, Alicja made the decision to come to Denmark to study Fashion Design, “just to give it a try”, like she says. Now she is balancing her time between school, collaborations and exhibitions. The Polish fashion brand Love you more is now producing a collection of bags and t-shirts in collaboration with Alicja. Her creative process is unstructured. “I don’t have a daily schedule. It’s not healthy to plan. You never know what could happen. I just try to do as much as I can, develop myself and have fun all day.” Her inspiration comes especially from books and letters. Asking her which is her favorite, she told me about the Polish book Sklepy cynamonowe (the English title is The street of crocodiles), by Bruno Schulz. “I was lying in my bed all weekend and just reading and crying, although the novels were not sad, just so beautifully written.” One of Alicja’s recent projects is an on-going series of conversations with the “crazy lady” (as she calls her), which lives far away. Even if they never met, they write each other daily, on the internet, for about 4 months. The “Lady with the camel” drawing (on the right side)was inspired by her. One more thing before we’re closing, get your books down of the shelf, because Alicja wants to meet you all after Easter to share opinions about the books you would read, biographies and art. I’m already on the list! You can see Alicja Biala’s works here: Højkant Gallery – Aarhus www.bialashots.blogspot.com www.alicjabiala.com Writer: Alina Vlaicu
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MIKAEL JENSEN speaking the language of business and sports
The Danish smaller towns do not spring to mind when you think of interesting reads, but one of Teko’s highly esteemed business professors, Mr. Mikael Jensen used his creativity and drive, in spite of his modest surroundings, to become an innovative and challenging writer. With his latest up-and-coming brand book, ‘Det Hele Menneske’, or in English ‘The Complete Person’, he is decided to change certain stereotypes about football and give the city’s sport club, FC Midtjylland, the chance to stand out in the crowd. You think you had the man teaching in front of the blackboard all figured out? Think again.
1. First and foremost, what inspired you to write this brand book, ‘The Complete Person’? Have you ever written before? ‘Yes, I have written before, three novels, but that’s just literature. This is my first real brand book, and the ambition was to make Nike embarrassed, so that they would take their brand book off the market!’, Mikael says laughing. ’I always have high ambitions and believe it’s important to have high ambitions in order to reach a good result. I have made a lot of design manuals for several companies, but that’s another angle you take when doing design manuals, not as exciting as when working with human beings and talking brands in that relation.’
2. How did this project come up? Were you friends with the director of the academy or did you know someone working there beforehand? ‘No no. I was the one who approached the director of the academy, and we continued to bump into each other until he was convinced that he couldn’t live without this brand book. That’s my approach!’ he laughs. 3. How would you describe this book to someone who has not read it yet? Like me for example… ‘I think I would try to compare it with another brand. If you make a brand book for eco shoes for instance, then the brand book is there to explain the designers what the soul of the brand is, so that when you remove the label, you can still see that it’s an eco shoe. And the comparison is that when you remove the jersey from the academy player, it still needs to be shown and defined in a way that he is from FC Midtjylland. And here is where the brand book comes into play.’ 4. So would you say that the book is realistic? Are experiences based on someone you know? ‘This book is based on interviews taken with the director and the couches of the academy, but also on stories about how the everyday life of the players is. It’s much about how they construct a professional football player in FC Midtjylland and how their successful approach is different from other academies. We could also say that it’s an explanation for other coaches for instance, the amateur ones, on how can they motivate their players, but also how to fight this internal motivation as a basis for improvement, whether you are or not a football player, a designer or whatever.’ 5. Something very catching about this brand book is definitely the imagery. Who did you work with on that? ‘I was in charge with everything in regards to this book, from the layout to the graphics, but I did have a talented and
ambitious photographer, Bo Lavindsgaard, who shot the photos. He always tried to improvise with them, but I knew in the end how I wanted them to turn out. He has a very funny look, he’s the exact replica of Arnold Schwarzenegger, only with a lot of tattoos, but he has a very soft inside. He was the perfect ‘tool’ for this project, the type of person who can easily depict feelings, but also present that kind of harshness that I wanted the pictures to portray.’ 6. I’ve seen throughout the pages that you showed me, that the interpretation of the wolf is a very important issue. Is it because of the logo or is it meant to speak on a deeper level? ‘Well, the players say that their DNA is the same as the wolfs’, they also hunt in a pack, so then they create their own identity like many other football clubs in terms of what are the qualities of this particular animal. That should be perhaps the most evident comparison.’ 7. What was the hardest part of writing this brand book? What were the challenges (literary, psychological, logistical, research) that made it difficult to bring it to life? ‘I don’t think there has been that many hardships around it, it has been fun all the way actually! I really tried to build my soul into this book, so that I send out the signal of what I can do and what is the degree of my talent.’ 8. Are there any authors (alive or dead) that you would name as influences? ‘I think in my heart I always try to aspire to be as good as Hemingway. He has always been my hero and I very much like that he was provocative towards everything, towards his audience, towards other writers, and that he didn’t allow himself to be limited by society. I’m not saying that I’m as provocative, but I don’t mind provoking, or creating curiosity and waking people up sometimes.’
9. Would you say that you have a specific writing style, given the fact that you jumped from novels to something so uncorrelated like a brand book? ‘On the contrary! I think they do have a correlation because a brand book for a football club is about feelings as well. It’s about creating interest, empathy and curiosity all at once and that’s the same thing you aspire to reach when writing a novel.’ 10. Do you see writing as your career then? Or is it something that you hold onto for pleasure? ‘I think writing is something that you do because you just can’t help it. It’s always in the back of your mind, like a tinkling. But for me, it’s definitely not full-time. I write when I have the time or when I stumble upon something that I just really need to put on paper. I very often get inspired by what’s happening in peoples’ lives, and when they tell me their stories, I then steal them and transform them into something totally different.’ 11. Would you say that brand books will be your new niche? Does it inspire you to incorporate your writing style into something else? ‘Well, of course you can say that I incorporated a lot of me into ‘The Complete Person’ too, because it was fun and interesting, but also because I need to be aware that I am evaluated on this. But it was definitely enjoyable, and as long as it continues to be this way, I will keep on doing it. I do have orders for brand books which will take me about a year to write. And this brand book will also have another version actually since we are making an educational material for primary schools based on it. I presented it to a number of school masters who are really much interested in having material like this, which shows that both will and talent are needed to succeed; it will make a very relevant subject among pupils.’
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12. What did you learn from writing this book? Has it awaken something in you?
13. Is there a message in your book that you want readers to grasp?
‘I had a great deal of freedom doing this and the marketing department has told me to do whatever I wanted to, and I was positively surprised by this because you very often see the marketing departments as being scared when approaches like this begin with an outsider; all of the sudden, they want to protect their logo. And I have actually torn it apart and done a lot of stuff with it, in order to create something like an art book. But I don’t know exactly what I’ve learned…. I think that it is important to learn all your life. If you stop learning or if you are to say that you are a Buddha, then I think your life has no meaning anymore.’
‘I think one of the main messages is that it’s very important for both the elite and average person in athletics and sports to talk to each other and to work together. This club has a very big focus on co-operation, and has always been involved in helping smaller clubs and their trainers to stay unite, as oppose to other higher organizations, like DIF and DGI. I am one to think that these two (the elite and the amateurs) can learn a lot from each other. That and actual ways of how it can be achieved, is what I strongly wanted to point out in this brand book.’
Writer: Valeria Solonari
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WE ALL WALK IN DIFFERENT SHOES Teko is known for nourishing students that challenge the banality of much that surrounds us today. The school produces some of the most creative, and boundary challenging fashion and business students in Europe and it’s famous for advocating a conceptual teaching style and has alumni that hold influential positions worldwide. Although students are only just embarking on the beginning of their careers, they should demonstrate from this early stage, focus and most importantly, individuality within their work. But do they always? During a requisite conversation with a close friend some three weeks ago, she divulged what seemed like the opinion that wouldn’t end about the way in which the students of this school are growing into one and the same. I didn’t ask for the assessment but that didn’t matter. The point she made was intriguing and it really made me look more carefully at the people around me. Has the school have this affect upon students or is it just in our nature to fly like moths into the light bulb and not realize that we can be butterflies instead? Individuality is a funny thing, quite often the people who seek it the most end up having the least. As humans, we have been endowed with free will, yet we bypass it with surprising frequency to follow the herd. You can see it everywhere: high school kids who want to stand out and be different do it by joining a group of Goth
kids all dressed in black, who are subsequently indistinguishable from each other. College kids want to rebel and show their independence and individuality by getting the exact same tribal tattoo of the year as 15 of their friends. And apparently, nowhere is this herd mentality as obvious as in the Lifestyle Design community. Yes, my friends, maybe even here at Teko. The school’s unique character is a result of its ability to combine experience stemming from a long tradition with new thinking in a way that enables new, creative solutions. The links between teaching, research, business and artistic activities are active and very close. So close that they get so muddled up, you can’t feel the taste of cultural differentiation anymore. Since the moment I arrived in Denmark, back in August, I have gathered a couple of situations that come in this claim, issues like these happening in Fashion-Design, but also in Retail, only showing that conformity is spreading on all the departments. As it came to my knowledge, higher grades were taken by the people that either verbally or visually supported the Danish fashion culture. Was it just a mere coincidence or is the school actually expecting to portray the same national and cultural standards of beauty? Imagine that Teko is a big mountain. You cannot move it out of your way as much as you wish, but you can definitely climb to cross it over. Nobody expects you to drop out, but there are for sure other ways to still keep
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your identity in an environment where compliance seems to be the key. Like Ralph Waldo Emerson said once upon a long time ago, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” However, some people think there is nothing inherently wrong with being part of a herd; if you made an informed decision based on what you wanted, that’s great. But it gets a bit ridiculous when people criticize the ‘status-quo’ while espousing the virtues of their own supposedly unique life choices, when they proudly share a label describing their lifestyle with an industry and thousands of others doing exactly the same thing. Let’s say we all moved to some poor tropical country and make a living by selling e-books about moving to a poor tropical country to sell e-books. Soon enough, hundreds of kids in their early twenties would gather like lemmings to live on the beach in some poor tropical country, trying to sell e-books about writing e-books about selling e-books about living in a tropical country selling e-books. Nice work if you can pull it off, though I suspect there’s a limited market for selling e-books. My point? You don’t need to be pulled into all that craze only because everybody else has decided to do so. Sometimes Teko might dictate minimalism and ‘slow motion-ness’? So what? Go crazy, buy a motorcycle and dye your hair blue. It shouldn’t matter. We are here to develop our-
selves as the persons we are meant to be, not necessarily into any of these Danish stereotypes. We wouldn’t be able to distinguish ourselves from the crowd if we all wanted the same thing in black and white. There are plenty colors in between. Just find yours and don’t let anyone, not even an institution, tell you otherwise. Nevertheless, I’ll further explore this hypothesis and report back. For now, maybe it will help a few of you out there to gain some perspective. Just remember you are awesome anyhow! Thank you for reading!
Writer: Valeria Solonari Illustration: Alexei Patrascu
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EVENTS CALENDAR Cafe Atmosphere like you’re used to, but still much more than just a cafe. For years we have been serving the familiar pastasalad, crunchy nachos and delicious, cold drinks, which we plan to continue with in many years to come. We can be found close to you, we are the best place to meet up with friends and relatives, we are the place to serve you chilled beer during hot summer days and we are the place to serve tasty hot chocolate throught the cold winter times. We are Cafe Fry as you know it and much more. Other than being your favorite cafe we would also like to be the place to give you unique and fun experiences. That’s why we can be the base for your party, birthday, meeting, workshop, concert or any other kind of event, which you would like to host. If you would like more info, feel free to contact the staff at Cafe Fry. Muphy’s Pub is a typical Irish pub with all traditional drinks and a great sense of an Irish interior which creates a perfect atmosphere. The brand stands for quality, service, exclusivity, friendly atmosphere and live music. Opening Hours Thursday 15:00-01:00, Live Music from 21:30 Friday 12:00-03:00, Live Music from 22.30 Saturday 12:00-03:00, Live Music from 22.30 Birk League 2013 is the biggest football event with students this year. 13 teams from both AU Herning and TEKO will compete in this season’s league. April Events 7th & 14th Games with the Student House providing drinks and hopefully sunny weather. 20th Birk League Day - follow us on Facebook for more info.
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Herning Museum of Contemporary Art Opening Hours Tuesday - Sunday 10:00-17:00 Student Ticket: 50kr Exhibitions: Super 100 Art of all types and shapes are taking over HEART, as the museum celebrate Herning 100. 25th January - 8th September This is a landscape of Desire The biggest exhibition this year with Jesper Just’s seductive movie universe. Reality and dreams melt together through panoramic landscapes and city environments. 9th February - 21st April Textile Concert Designer Henrik Vibskov, composer Jakob Riis and Ensemble MidtVest create a harmonic concert with textile machines. Be visually and auditorily stimulated. 11-12th of April
STARTit Herning aims to encourage, inspire and support entrepreneurship for all students at AU-he and TEKO. Follow us on Facebook/STARTit Herning for our next big event :) Meet creative and motivated students at our STARTup Café on the 30th of April in the TEKO Cantina and find out what’s happening in the entrepreneurial scene near you.
The FridayBar AU-Herning Open every Friday from 12:00-18:00 for a fun time Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/FridaybarAuH April: 5th Sports Day 12th SAA Event + Photohunting 19th Photohunting 26th Holiday (bar is closed)
TEKO Friday Bar is open every other Friday and at special occasions. The bar offers Herning’s cheapest prices and there’s always table football ready - also Flip Cup tournaments with prizes.TEKO Friday Bar is for everyone, who likes a relaxed vibe, cozy company and great music… 5th of April Sports Day 19th of April TEKO Friday Bar is open