Astrid: ‘I like to think in drawing language’

Astrid 1 klein

Role at Bord&Stift: Illustrator and project planner.
Working here since: End 2017.
What kind of movies do you like? ‘I’ve been watching a lot of classics lately. Recently I saw Wild at Heart by David Lynch. ‘O sailor…’, ‘Yeah peanut…’ So bad it’s good.’

What do you like most about your role at Bord&Stift?

‘As an illustrator you translate text to image. Thinking in drawing language is something I like to do. The translation process is twofold; on the one hand you want to make it visually appealing and on the other hand it must be understandable. The aesthetic and the communicative. I like to draw, but I have noticed that in a busy city with all the stimuli I find it difficult to find peace of mind. Isn’t it great that I can now find that reflected in the work that I do?’

You are not only an illustrator, you have recently also started working as a project planner.

‘That’s right, it seemed like a nice change to me. As an illustrator you can kind of sit on your own little island; the island of your own creation process. You focus on your own part within the complete production process. As a project planner you are involved in all parts. I can see up close how the text process works, but also how other illustrators translate text into images. As an illustrator I learn a lot from that.’

What makes you happy at Bord&Stift?

‘I really like the dynamics. There is a lot of room to shape your work. That feeling of freedom keeps me on my toes, because otherwise I lose contact with why I’m doing this. I don’t want to run production like a link, on autopilot. When I have different roles, work on different teams, the days look different, it stays in motion. It gives me energy when situations are changeable and mobile. The freedom we have here comes with an enormous sense of responsibility. Because I am allowed to shape my role myself, the situation I am in feels like a choice to me. That’s why it works so well. When I tell people that I work in a horizontal organization, they think that we are meeting together all day and then we collectively decide that today we go home earlier. On the contrary. Everyone is highly motivated and because everyone’s vote is equally valuable and we trust each other, we don’t have to renounce.’

What do you do besides Bord&Stift?

‘Look, as much as I like working at Bord&Stift, ideally I’d never work again and boulder every day. That really is a little obsession. I am also in training as a Shiatsu therapist, a Japanese massage form based on Eastern medicine, so with a holistic approach. It works on meridians, the energy pathway network throughout the body. I want to be more out of my head, not always be busy with analyzing, worrying, looking for distraction, consuming, focusing on things outside of yourself. Working with someone else’s body also forces me into my body. With Shiatsu, strength has a different meaning, it is about energy and not muscle strength. That may sound woolly, but to me it is very physical and concrete, very down to earth.’

Also read the interview with Charlotte:
‘As owner I had to learn to let go.’

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