Creative Mornings Featuring SIBLING

Loving the format of Creative Mornings. Concise, precise and uplifting for the early risers. In Melbourne, coffee and donuts were provided by Clement Coffee and photographs are supported by Mark Lobo. Venue was at Donkey Wheel House, also a house for The Hub Melbourne. Downstairs there's The School of Life to supply the early morning read. The one last week was featuring SIBLING, an architecture collective with a rather broad discipline of work from installation to experimental residential. Very concise as it was presented under 20 minutes with a quick Q&A. Definitely the format for a refreshing and eye opening morning.

Indonesia's Economy Creative Blue Print

Photo by Januar Rianto 

As a part of the creative economy, I found sometimes I am confused of what's really happening in the industry, what's our government plan, how should we act and what will happen in the near future. These questions are sometimes get drifted away and never really got asked to the relevant people.

Today was a different day for I got the honor to moderate a talk show by the Creative Economy Ministry on how we should carry our creative economy. Guest speakers include Ahmad Djuhara, Dien Wong, Calvin Kizana, Bu Cokorda Dewi, Pak Has and Mas Rofiq, names familiar in the creative subsectors in Indonesia.

A couple of problems in creative industry surfaced during the talk. Things such as the lack of qualified human resource which seems unbearable due to the high (and fast) demand in the market and the large number of graduates or productive age workers. That has been a more and more common challenges in the day to day operation of businesses here, because suddenly jobs that were not there before popped up, challenging the readiness of people to act on the opportunity.

When asked if any of the speakers have any retaining system for their workers, Pak Wong confidently said that it's fair for anyone in the creative industry to jump from one boat to another. It's only natural. Of course loyalty is expected out of the many hours of trainings and informal education at work, but it seems like creative people can't be contained under one roof for a long time.

Then, when does the government come in handy? It seems like we can't never put our hope too much or rely solely on helps not just from the government nor associations. Our job now is to act, to supply the creative industry with good works. Government then can come in the position to leverage the creative economy, said Mas Rofiq.

The ministry has prepared a blueprint for the next ten years. How relevant that would be might be a big challenge, but nevertheless as practitioners in the creative industry, it's everyone's task to have a standard, to work at our best and not to complain too much about what others can do for us. Rather, prove that you can do it too.

Mau Dibawa Kemana Ekonomi Kreatif Indonesia

Will be moderating this Sunday's talkshow by the Creative Economy Ministry. Starting at 4pm, practitioners in animation, design, architecture, games, IT and R&D will share their thoughts and discuss about how we should carry our creative economy. Especially important due to the government transition soon and definitely relevant for you working in the creative industry. So I'll see you at Galeri Fatahillah, Kota Tua tomorrow!

Mata-Mata Rakyat

Jadi ikutan bicara karena kayanya penting banget sih! Be smart on making your decision, lihatlah siapa yang menjadi kaki tangan rakyat dan siapa yang adalah kaki tangan mafia. Pay attention to what they said, udah ngga jaman kita masih dicekokin janji-janji, kita mau bukti yang real! Yang paling penting, gue sih mau pilih orang yang akan membebaskan kita untuk berkarya dan menyatakan pendapat, bukan malah kembali ke oppression era. Selamat memilih dan selamat berkarya, jadilah mata-mata rakyat yang cerdas!

Know Your Leader

There is something rather romantic about being able to relate with someone so far yet so close to you. Perhaps it is like a long distance relationship, that you sometimes can't talk directly to that person, but you just know it, you know exactly that you share the same values.

It's been quite a long time, I think, that we have not heard people who are making so much sense, that we are now in the euphoric state of joy, simply because we are able to relate to our leaders. It's that bad and we've been craving it for so long. The absence has been too long that a glimpse of hope seems very warming now. 

Being able to choose a leader is quite a privilege. Out of the so many opportunities, perhaps we have not been able to utilize it as much as we could. Rather astounding it is, to see how such leader can move so many people to speak up, to be bold and and to vote. It has come the time when being a follower is uncool and to step up doesn't make you a fool. 

To be honest, I'm bought by all the movement, the color tone, the illustration and the imagery of such leader. Can't deny that I felt that this leader is very relevant to me and it triggered me to trust that person. Simply because of the relevancy, knowledge of the present problems, the authenticity and the willingness to make a change, are the reasons why I've made up my mind. 

Just like in a relationship, I want to be in an adventure with whoever that is. However bumpy the road is, the notion that all of us might make mistakes sometimes, yet the optimism that we can be better is at times enough to push me a bit further. I hope when we're making a decision to help someone to reach the goal, we are at a realistic state that everyone is human. Put your hope at a measured optimism and keep in mind that it's about us doing it together. Don't get lazy and wish someone will do it for you. You, you are the one has to do it for the country.

Our chance to make a difference comes in 4 days, be wise and stay conscience!

#gerakcepat

The Nostalgic Feeling

I found myself having trouble sleeping at night. It seemed like my mind keeps running at my midday pace and wouldn't stop though the dusk has passed. 

This was a nostalgic feeling occurred to me at some circumstances:
- Have been working too much
- At a precarious state
- Having not done enough things
Somehow this feeling was not a stranger to me. 

One day when I was in Hildesheim, I felt that I was so lonely although so many people surrounded me. 

"It is lonely when you're among people, too,"
- The Little Prince

I jumped straight on to the train heading to Hannover, about 20 minutes on the S4. Once arrived at the Hauptbahnhof, the first errand was to grab a hot brezel from Ditsch, something that always warm the heart. After walking few kilos into the city, I would, surprisingly head to Starbucks at one of the malls near the station. I wouldn't go to Starbucks if I were in Melbourne, but something inside of me made me excited that I was going there. 


It was about the familiarity that I chose to come to Starbucks. Not about the coffee, not about the interior, not about the food. It was merely because I missed the feeling of being somewhere I'm familiar with and having no need to adapt one more time. That was I think one reason why Starbucks have won so many of our hearts. It was about the convenience, the consistency and the trust that we could come back for so many times and it would still be the Starbucks we know. 

A lot of touch points went into consideration when building such brand to evoke the nostalgic feeling, the needy feeling and the attachment. These include smell, taste, look, feel, atmosphere, noise and so much more. Building a brand required a lot of humanity and a lot of consideration to make it a successful one. And through times, improvement is the core of any brand to strive and to stay relevant. 

In the end, the nostalgic feeling is what we're craving for.

A social yet personal environment between one's house and job, where people can connect with others and reconnect with themselves.

- p.13, Onward, Howard Schultz