CONNECO Issue no.1 August 2014 We Change
Art and culture made in and by Denmark
Say YES to Networking!
Fashion designers, what do you do?
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Publisher : Margareta Sopkova and www.issuu.com Writer : Margareta Sopkova Issue : no.1, We change Class : BA top up thaide5a TEKO Design and Business School, Denmark 5th Semester August 2014
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Read ONLINE!
From now on, you can read our magazine online
Find us here: www.issuu.com/margaretasopkova/docs/Conneco
Contents 4
Reflection on InSync
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Who Is.....a Fashion Designer?
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The facts you might not know about fashion
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Margareta Sopkova interwiew
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Will You?
18 Networking 20
Danish art and culture
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Reflection on the
InSYNC I consider InSync project as a “teambuilding-like” project. However I didn’t participated in it personally and I didn’t get to meet new people in my class, I came to the conclusion, which made me realise, how important the connections are. Especially in the creative businesses, it is very important to know, who to know. Well, you never know who can be valuable for you to know. You should not only know, but maintain “knowing” the people. The project, after all, was not hard to accomplish. Rather, it is hard to realise the purpose meant behind it. InSync was supposed so synchronize us, as a class, as a team and as a closer networking group. I missed this opportunity, due to the work opportunity I got back home. Even though I wasn’t able to put to use the theory from this project in the university circles, I decided to “test” and apply it in my workspace. And it worked! If anybody asked my for help at work, I was willing to do it. Everytime. Might sound a bit crazy, but if you watched a movie “Yes Man”, you understand. It is crazy to say yes to everything. But as a starting point? Well, worth the try. Sooner or later you realise, saying yes trains your will and brings you opportunities, you haven’t dreamt of. In the movie starring Jim Carrey will jump from a No man, to a complete opposite, to a Yes man, just to realise that not one of these “mind states” were right. Although the Yes man, brought him a girlfriend, friends, hobbies and a new job opportunity, at the end this extreme ruined it anyway. He said yes to literally anything, just to come to conclusion that the he has a choice. He has to decide what to agree on. However, this extreme trained his will by doing things that weren’t most pleasurable for him. He needed to even consider saying yes. Saying yes constantly and persistently trained his will so much he didn’t want to stop. Doesn’t matter if he was afraid to stop or just didn’t want to, his WILL to say Yes, brought him opportunities he wouldn’t let go. As he, I tried to do the same for the last two months. And result was, not that I didn’t want to say yes anymore, but it brought opportunities and trained will and open mind so much, you don’t want to stop saying yes. Your mind changes 180 degrees and instead of denying, you will search opportunities everywhere.
From the day I arrive to Herning, I would like to apply this in my class and university network. I believe this will help me to catch up with others in what I have missed in last two weeks.
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WHO IS... A FASHION DESIGNER? This year BA rookies: Agata Mostowik Agnieszka Olszewska Aleksandra Machnicka Anna Talvi Aurelija Norkunaite Brenna der Weduwe Camilla Korsgaard Hansen Charlotte Winum Dita Enikova Kadri Lindemann Kerstin Simon Lilla Papai Margareta Sopkova Maria Kristine Pedersen Maria Skoczynska Marianne Tullivan Olga Wiktoria Kincel Sara Diamant Rasmussen Snaedis Bjork Sigurdardottir Stephanie Dorothea Jens 6
“ Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories, “ says Wikipedia.
Well, it may not always go
hand in hand with aesthetics, but if you agree or not, it is sort of art, in a way. As every artistic person, fashion designers don’t sleep, don’t eat and don’t care what’s going on around when in “zone”. They do what they do, just for the sake of doing it. So what do they actually love about it so much? Think about it. They research, they sketch, they experiment - they cut, they fold, they scratch and pin, they get to tell people what to do and how to do it, and most of all they create things from scratch and get to see the results! ...and then they get back to their machine, analyse and languish over what could have been done better…
Anyway, they get to work (if lucky) in one of the most idealistic workspaces of all. They are free to create anything that crosses their mind. It can be as crazy, as shapeless, as uncomfortable and unconstructable as possible. If they can argue and explain the purpose or at least the idea originally meant behind it, no one can tell you of. You can dissent, but you cannot disapprove. In fashion, everybody has their opinion and style. If you come across as a mess, with no style, just hold on. Later, you might come across as a trendsetter! Working in a fashion industry can volley you up in the greatest and one of the most influential existing production
businesses. You can be the fledgling that makes everybody fall to knees and follow your crazy concepts presented in your designs. Uh, how mesmerizing!
“Make yourself and the things you do visible!”
Designers recommed Well, enough of the “designers’ dreams”. This is in a long, looong, hillocky and foggy distance. As this is one of the greatest industries nowadays, you can imagine the competitiveness within. Therefore, we asked a few successful fashion design students for an advice, and these were their answers: Be realistic. Work on your portfolio. Work on yourself. And most of all, take an action! Any action! Just make yourself visible.
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The facts you might not know Louis Vuitton At the end of the year, Louis Vuitton burn all their unsold bags. They take this drastic measure only to maintain the privileged and high-end nature of their brand.
The first magazine The first fashion magazine was published in Germany in 1586. It was made by men for men. Ladies got theirs more than a hundred years later, in 1693 Those Sagging pants! Loincloth or a skirt? The skirt is the second oldest piece of clothing, outdated only by the loincloth.
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The low-waist baggy pants originated in the prisons of Los Angeles, as inmates were not allowed to wear belts.
Size chart change Women’s nominal clothing sizes have increased in physical size over the years in a phenomenon known as “vanity sizing.” A size 8 dress with a 32-inch bust in 1967 is now considered a size 0 today.
Dolls as models During 15th century, designers used little dolls instead of females as models to showcase their creations to the clients. Well, at least the body looks realistic...
Colours A person’s social rank and profession in the Medieval Ages was represented by the color of their clothing. The nobility wore red, peasants wore brown and gray, and merchants, bankers, and gentry wore green.
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Personal presentation
Who is....Margareta Sopkova? One of the lucky tventy, previously studied fashion design at Secondary Art
School in Slovakia and also tried luck with Erasmus exchange programme in Southampton, United Kingdom. Passionate about design, art, languages and business. Read an interview with “Maggie�.
When did you know you wanted to be a fashion designer? Always. I started drawing little colourful triangles when I was 3 years old. Later, when I attached the head and four hooks, it started to be obvious these were supposed to be dresses.
What are your inspirations behind the designs you create? It always comes from a different source. I have to admit though, I never liked getting inspired by nature or stuff like that. Even if I use is as a starting point, I like to give the clothes some extra meaning. For example, I made designs
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inspired by voodoo. These were supposed to represent not the person performing it, but the person being controlled by it. These garment were constructed without armholes, leaving a space for hands bonded to the body.
Other time, inspiration came from 5 senses, where I made a video with pouring a hot wax on a person in dress with frills. You could almost smell it, you wanted to touch it and you could see it transform.
How would you describe your potential future brand? Different. Innovative. And most of all, representing myself. The theory I believe in says, that people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. They buy the philosophy behind it. I would like to have one of the next fully transparent companies. I believe that if you show people what is behind the product, they are more likely to trust you back and stay loyal with your brand. However, this will definitely make the brand more high-end focused. What is your favourite part about being a fashion designer? Being creative. I am not always good with words, but when I start drawing, I just forget everything else and keep drawing until I get the result, no matter how long does it take. The beautiful thing about it is, that I will never be satisfied, there is always something to improve, something to innovate and rethink. And I love stress from the deadlines. That’s my adrenaline donator.
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What would you change in fashion industry if you could? Everything and nothing. I would change a lot, but then, I just realise those are the things that makes me work harder. So, nothing. What activity you hate the most about fashion design? Sewing sleeves into armholes. What did you learn while studying in Denmark? Minimalism. I tend to overthink everything, I struggled with deciding which idea to use. But Denmark definitely taught me how to just stop, and go with the flow sometimes. What is the most memorable fashion design moment of yours? Uf, I think there were many, but I hope the most memorable moment is just yet to come. If you had an indefinite amount of money to create a piece of garment what would it be? How would it look like? It would be smart, sexy with use of some sort of technology, you wouldn’t think could be used on making a dress. Something like Hussein Chalayan does. It wouldn’t have to be huge, just smart and idealistic. 12
What would you change in fashion industry if you could? Everything and nothing. I would change a lot, but then, I just realise those are the things that makes me work harder. So, nothing.
I would be a painter, an illustrator, I would study until I get old, I would learn languages, psychology, graphics, I would travel. And when I would be sick of getting by on a budget, I would become an IT programmer. What’s next?
What is your favourite part of the garment to wear/sew/design? To wear, a dress, to sew a jacket, to design, anything.
Catching every possibility possible, doing masters abroad and trying some totally unrelated things like volunteering in Africa, Wwoofing or studying psychology. Who knows‌ And then, starting my own business.
If you had to do anything else, except the designing, what would it be? 13
Train your WILL The will is a muscle that needs to be exercised.
Do you want to
speed up learning? Learn a new language? Learn to draw? Well, it doesn’t always have to be about what you’ve got, but how badly you want it. If you find a meaning in the things you do, you find a motivation. Your motivation should become your willpower. If you don’t find a meaning in the things you do, you start to lose your will. Be persistent. Be resistant. It will come around.
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Take control You cannot usually control the things that interest you, but what you can control is the attitude you approach them with. You can control the sources of influence that shape your behaviour and your behaviour changes your motivation and gives you higher willpower to accomplish something. You need to find a meaning in things you are learning. Let’s say you try to learn one completely unrelated skill, language, or hobby to you. Sooner or later you will find yourself proudly presenting it to somebody else, maybe creating a special bond with someone you would never think you had something in common. The willpower you train through learning new skills, can not only help you with faster learning, accomplishing things, but can as well create a new networking opportunities you haven’t dreamed of.
Treating your will as a muscle If you have the will to utilise your potential, you can easily outrun people with natural talents and no will.
“Do be willing to do things. “ “Do find a motivation.” “Don’t underestimate yourself.”
If you go to gym, you need plenty of encouragements to start but also accomplish your body goals. Muscles can be trained, shaped and gained, so does the willpower of your brain. Start treating your brain as a dynamic organ, that you can modify, enhance and shape as you want to.
It doesn’t matter if your read a book, or listen to e-book, just educate and train yourself. List of books and websites you might find useful: How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie
Creative problem solving by Dr. Arnd Stein
Learnoutloud. com
Memory : How to develop train and use it by William Walker Atkinson
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
The magic of thinking big by David J. Schwartz, Ph. D.
The 4-hour Work week : Updated & Expanded by Tim Ferris
Self improvement 101 by John C. Maxwell
Business insider. com How to analyse people in sight, The five human types by Elsie Lincoln Benedict
Bookshouldbefree.com Essay on the creative imagination by Theodule Ribot 15
Fear Did you know some people have a fear that if an idea comes into their mind, they won’t be able to influence it, but the idea will manipulate them? Well, why not to use this for a good cause. Read the books and let the ideas shape you in a way you are not, but you want to be.
Don’t be yourself, be, who you want to become. The frequently repeated wisdom sentence “Just be yourself ”. But wait. Think about it. Did you notice people saying this usually aren’t happy with who they are?
They use this “wisdom” as an excuse no to try any harder. I say, don’t be yourself. Be who you want to become. There is Re-think your thinking. no relationship, no friendship and no work position that Thinking comes before acwould work if you haven’t tions. Re-think and train your worked on it and made a few will in order to make it work sacrifices. for you. Support your will, and later your will will be trained to support and motivate YOU.
With every experience, every new contact you discover new attitudes, new approaches to things. But if you just say everytime : ”Let me be myself ”, what your brain hears, is, I don’t need to change, I am on the right spot right now. You loose the WILL to change. Self-discipline goes hand in hand with willpower. How to train it What is the better training than doing things you find pointless, unpleasurable or incomprehensible? Use this few examples to create your own “workout plan”.
1. Go grocery shopping and let people jump in front of you in the queue –do something u are usually reluctant to. Test yourself. 2. If you know you need to exercise, go for a run. Or even if you don’t need it. 3. If you like sugar in your coffee don’t add it for a week. Prove yourself you can do things you have never imagined. 4. Feel like saying something that is not really important, choose not to. Hold of from expressing your opinion, even when it’s very important to you – don’t.
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Thoughts come before actions-always. So, in order to train your will you have to think in a way that supports your will. So, naturally, the only way to train and strengthen your will is by doing the things you don’t really want to do.
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Networking
Say yes to your new social network!
P
eople need people. But who really knows where to go? What to say? ….and with whom? Listen First thing we all need to learn, is to listen. Everybody likes, Loves, to talk about himself. But wait, if we just did that, who would you be talking to? Try to imagine a person that constantly has something to say, always knows better than you. Now imagine a person that has a lot to say, but let you express yourself.
people feel good around you, you will attract and pull them towards you. “I was never a great conversationalist. I hated small talks. But, I didn’t give up. I practised over and over and pushed myself into situations I wasn’t comfortable at. “
When I got home, I went through my day, and situations when I met new people, or even, I created these situations in my mind just to push myself to create questions (not stories or jokes) I could have said. Questions. Questions that I could have asked the person to make In which situation will you them feel comfortable and feel better? Wouldn’t you make myself look interestwant to know more about ed in them. “ Says Mathew the silent person? Wouldn’t this person seem more inter- Hussey, one of the greatest conversationalist nowadays, esting and worthy to you? that helps many to find and improve their relationships. We appreciate and attract people that their companionship makes us feel good. Are you manipulative? This might be the key step into making a great base for Many might say this way of your network. If you make
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thinking is a manipulation. But we are here to learn. We need other people. Why would you ruin your chances of understanding them then? This is not a manipulation. It’s getting what you want. It’s giving the others what they want. Does it seem bad now? Who to let in We often analyse people and try to place them into a category. One could be useful for work, one for hobby, one for friends. But most of the time, we find ourselves giving up on people, considering them useless in the point of life we happen to be right now. But do you know exactly where you heading? Who is really important for you to be able to reach your goals later? Don’t ruin you future chances now.
Try to watch TedX talks such as Rediscovering personal networking presented by Michael Goldberg or The Art of Networking by Jan-Jaap Bats. Here are some of the networking tips you can find in these videos: Be open and ask open questions. 1. Pay it forward. 2. Take initiative. 3. Show who you are. 4. Follow up. 5. Have goals. 6. Nurture your relations. 7. Ask for help. 8. Think proactive. 9. Be strategic. 10. Be open and curious. 11. Be much more personal. 12. Say thank you.
It doesn’t matter if you are looking for widening your professional or personal network, these are the mindsets that can help you get there. And one more thing. Trust people. You don’t want to push them away just because you want
to make them work for it. If people feel you rely on them, they will automatically become behaving more responsible and open near you. P.S. Don’t overthink it. After all, being random ain’t that bad either.
“You dont get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies.” From the movie: The social network, Mark Zuckerberg
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Art and Culture made in / by Denmark If the very first encounter with Denmark is happening just now, you might be a bit surprised – or not. The culture, history and approach to art are reflected in the society and literally everything you look at. Thinking in that way, it might be good to get familiar with the most important and famous bits and pieces of Danish art and culture. Art When talking about most famous Danish artists and painters, we should definitely mention few names - Asger Jorn, C.W. Eckersberg, Per Kirkeby and Olafur Eliasson. Have you heard of them? Did your high school art teacher taught you about the dreamy portraits, tapestry works or contemporary art that came from the only Bjrake Ingels Architecture Scandinavian country without proper mountains? Then Architecture you know visiting an art museum in Denmark will The architecture is an omnibe a nice surprise to you. present hint about the aesthetic standards of a country. Even the most ordinary Danish street looks completely different to one in my home country. But what are the “biggest” buildings?
Per Kirkeby, landscapes at Tate Modern
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and Henning Larsen are real masters within their field! Pretty young and certainly fresh Dane named Bjarke Ingels happens to be an awesome innovative residential housing architect who already collected numerous awards around the world. He is also a visiting The Sydney Opera House professor at Harvard or Coor The Copenhagen Opera lumbia – how cool is that? house are both amazing arGoogle his great Copenhachitecture jewels designed by gen project “8 House” up Danish architects. Jørn Utzon it’s worthy!
Furniture and product design This is the artsy field every Dane is proud of. Danish design has an amazing reputation worldwide. And remember, Danes hate to brag, they are sometimes just that good. Georg Jensen. Verner Panton. Hans J. Wegner. Thorvald Bindesbøll. All of them have come up with products that shook the design world. Amazing chairs, lamps and furniture that became iconic and inspirational for many (hello IKEA) or even silver cutlery and decorative brooches – all made in Denmark.
Chair design by Verner Panton
HErnik Vibskov A/W 2011
Literature Fashion Characterized by minimalism and relaxed feel. If you are a protagonist of cleanness and simplicity, your vocabulary must include names as Ivan Grundahl, Mads Norgaards or Designers Remix. Within these brand you can find basic T-shirts to edgy denim and philosophy to make women sexier and men rougher. If you are more into “fantasy” and playful clothing, stop by a Henrik Vibskov’s shop in Copenhagen to get your piece of originality in his garments.
I guess we all know fairytales by Hans Christian Andersen, but what about books written by Isak Dinesen or Peter Høeg? There are for sure worth it, so let’s check them out in the new library.
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TV series There’s nothing more exciting than waiting for new episode of Forbrydelsen, is there? The latest Danish police thriller series started airing in 2007 and managed to get translated to many languages and even won British Academy Television International Award. Congrats, Lund! If you were hoping for TV series that won’t let you sleep from thrilling excitement, look no further.
Jagten, drama movie, starring Jagten Mikkelsen
Cinematography
Forbrydelsen, police thriller winning British Academy Television International Award
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Scandinavian cinematography has a good reputation thanks for many high-quality movies produced by talented directors from Northern Europe. One country excels more than the others – yes it is Denmark! Modern cinematography is blessed to have directors such Susanne Bier, Lars Von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg or Nicolas Winding Refn. And the old-film lovers still talk about the art of a genius Carl Th. Dreyer.
The most popular Danish movie according to IMDb is a recent “Jagten” (The Hunt) starring famous Mads Mikkelsen himself. If you are familiar with this drama you can easily imagine the concept of other Danish titles. The atmosphere is usually dark and thick and the humour black and sarcastic plus happy endings are never ever guaranteed. Danish comedy genre could be represented by Adam aebler movie – very popular and highly rated piece of work from year 2005.
Music If you are into jazz, you probably heard of Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, who is very successful, internationally acknowledged, bass player. If not, there are plenty of other music genres in Denmark for you. The pop radio stations can introduce you to Rasmus Seebach, Mew, TopGunn, Volbeat, Nephew or MØ. Danse danse The Danish cultural scene is interesting and overall unique mixture of trend-setting phenomenon. I’m very glad I can experience such inspiring environment on everyday basis! Hope you will find it easy to fall in love too.
Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen
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Written by Margareta Sopkova BA-top up student at TEKO Design and Business School