photos: Wrigley’s
We spent Last Wednesday and Thursday at the 5 GUM Vision Lab at the Weekend Club in Berlin. Friends have asked me since what went down and why I was holed up at in a club for two days straight. Well, in my opinion we were at a swanky PR/Marketing exercise by Wrigley’s in conjunction with the launch of their latest chewing gum – 5 GUM. Under the header “Making Senses” we were treated to not only up-close encounters from the likes of Scott Schuman a.k.a. The Sartorialist , Mark Eley from Eley Kishimoto (loves!), Front Design, Telse Bus, Ewan Pearson and Sissel Tolaas (my other personal favourite, the woman speaks 9 languages and makes bad smells sexy, enough said) BUT we also got to hear from 10 hopeful contestants, there to pitch their project and win over the judge’s for 10,000 EURO in cold hard cash. Oh and we were treated to lots of chewing gum, of course. I have to say the new range is pretty addictive and I know of a certain someone who stashed away a lifetime’s supply of gum, and then some. More of my 5 GUM experience after the jump.
You have to face it, “conferences/events” such as this one are really all about the PR and Marketing hype that the said event seeks to create, generate and later resonate. (yes, I deliberately rhymed that). If this is the case, then I would give the Wrigley’s team a 7 out of 10 for the event, which is pretty decent, really. It was an interesting event on the whole, I met some genuinely nice people, lots of creativity was passed and shared around and I think most participants did take away something at the end of the two days. But yes, there were *minor* aspects of the event that I questioned. OK, so it’s an old occupational hazard that I haven’t quite shed (due to my PR and event management background), but I guess questions such as venue choice, event set-up, speaker selection and event objectives really don’t interest the average participant.
Having said that, if I could single out five things that I really loved about the 5 GUM Vision Lab, my list would look like this (in no particular order):
1. The amazing blueberry soup and Curry Wurst Praline which was part of the molecular food menu on Day 1
2. The Lighter than Light project presented by Claus Berg and Rainer Kollender. It’s beautiful and it’s light! Who wouldn’t want such a gorgeous piece floating above them?
3. Mark Eley from Eley Kishimoto. I had the luck to spend my Workshop day with him. The results – an inspiring paper on the concept of ‘LOOK’, insights into the fashion and textile surface industry and one hell of an honest-“OMG! -Did-I-just-say that?” video, which we might be able to air at some point.
4. The fact that everyone there had come eager to participate, open-up, share, explore and to contribute. It was an interesting mix of students, artists, journalists and bloggers, young professionals and creative heads all around. I for one left adding a few more names to my phonebook and ever growing Facebook list.
5. The Bubblegum Sequencer project by Hannes Hesse. This music maker is sweet (pun intended). Each bubblegum ball corresponds to a different music element/sound, you line them up on a grid and place/move/add them as you like. So effectively, you’re making your own music, the balls are colourful and happy and if you get hungry, you can just eat one! What’s not to love?
photos: Wrigley’s
I wonder if the rest of the participants had a good as time as I did. I know C.R did and although the meeting of a certain famous fashion blogger did leave a bitter taste in my mouth (and made me take him off my Twitter list ) its these colourful characters that make life all the more interesting I say.
Text: Diwa
