I spent most of today sleeping, but have found some time now to write a little, so that I can at least jot down some first memories at work. Outside periodically over the past few hours fireworks have gone off right on the street, and I've been jolted into laughing and occasional cursing. I even saw the fizzling sparkles of a set of them flaring a few meters from my window. Sound from downstairs (and farther away from around Berlin) alert me to how Germany's doing against Ghana... they really need to win this one after last Friday's surprising loss to Serbia.
I've arrived at the workshop on Bergmannstraße around 9am Monday and Tuesday, and it's been extremely exciting to see how Olbrish's leather handbags are made by hand. Because I don't have a specific daily regimen or list of things to do, I have a lot of freedom and time to spend watching everything in detail. There's a giant leather cutting machine that I haven't yet had the chance to hover over, but I'm planning to do so soon. I've been spending most of the time around the work tables and sewing machines, which I was allowed to play with (well, maybe experiment is a better word). Conny explained to me that it was probably not going to be like my sewing machine at home because this was an industry machine. She's quite right.
Everything happens completely in German. I'm happily surprised to find that its actually going well in German; there are words I don't know, mostly because they're specific material names and so on, but with guesswork and watching what's going on I can pretty much understand how the techniques work. I was so happy to see several bags go from scraps of leather all the way to completed handbag yesterday!
(Ghana and Germany are currently still tied, as are Australia and Serbia. I have my little Fifa.com window open, haha... I can hear some more howling from the bar downstairs. Sounds kind of painful.)
That's my mornings. In the afternoon, my main overseer and the designer of the handbags comes in to work, and I go to my own work stations (one with a computer, and a huge tablet-like thing that isn't really a tablet, the other in the middle of the workshop and across from Beate) to draw and think and make models. The work is very self-driven.
The atmosphere is really friendly. They work diligently, but when someone has something to say, out it comes and often it fills the room with laughter. The World Cup is a hot topic at the moment, and my boss would run out of his office to catch what everyone was talking about and interject. They even have I only wish I could keep up with all of the German, they talk so quickly sometimes. I felt more lost though among my roommates' friends when they were speaking quick colloquial young people German. But it was kind of fun :) And they like to make sure to reiterate in English, haha.
(Halftime, Ghana and Germany each with zero. The mood downstairs seems lively and more fireworks are going off, luckily more distant this time.)
There was also a giant, friendly dog in the workshop on Monday. I don't know much about dogs, but it looked like a black lab to me, so something of that family.
Well, enough of my gabbling. I wanted to post a few photos from last last Friday's DMY Berlin (International Design Fair) which I enjoyed very, very much. The people who showed there displayed products and art just like those that I enjoy reading blogs and magazines about.
There was an art installation - a giant cobweb constructed entirely out of packing tape. About 700 rolls I think.
We got to go inside. I was very, very excited.
The fair took place at what used to be an airport, Tempelhof, but is now used as an open park space and a space for public events like this one. I was completely lost when I first got there, but luckily I had the chance to walk around the places where airplanes used to take off and land and taxi...
And soon we shall see what the outcome of today's World Cup games are...
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Wow that art exhibit looks really cool! Reminds me of McDonalds, just a little bit.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you're getting a chance to indulge you creative side, love. I haven't been enough, lately. But not particularly working, either. Any new project ideas sparked, though? Gonna make some cool handbags? My friend encouraged me to submit to Leland Quarterly so we'll see about that.
Your workplace sounds really cool! =] nice people make it pleasant. Friendly people make it so much better. Get better, meet people, craft your art, and get down there so you can cheer for Germany and launch fireworks! I'm assuming they're legal haha.
Secretly, I'm rooting for Chile. And maybe North Korea because they're hilarious. My brother/church are rooting for South Korea, my postdoc here refers to Australia as "we" (but will be backing the Kiwis, New Zealand, since Australia lost), all my Chilean & study abroad friends are rooting for Chile, most others for America...
I don't particularly enjoy soccer but people's enthusiasm is so much fun to experience.