Latest

posted by Jessica on July 31st, 2012  |  We Will Miss You Lisy!

Since July 3rd, Machteld Faas Xander has had a new, vibrant and cheery face around the office: Lisy Ruiz. Lisy’s enthusiasm for marketing and her willingness to tackle any new task makes her a perfect fit for the MFX environment.

Lisy is part of the Specialist High Skills Major for Business program at Resurrection C.S.S. She is with us as part of the co-op course that is required for this program.

Working as an assistant to Rebecca and Cheryl, Lisy has been dedicated to Music Works. All have appreciated the passion that she has shown for this project. Lisy has also taken up numerous tasks around the office. She has been helping with our photography as well as social media work, including writing blog posts and pioneering our Tumblr account.

Everyone at MFX is going to greatly miss Lisy when she finishes her co-op placement with us this week. We wish her the best in all of her future endeavors and hope that she comes back to visit!

Category: About Us, Communication Design, Community Design | Comments Off on We Will Miss You Lisy!

posted by Lisy on July 27th, 2012  |  Music Works: The Strategy Sessions

Kitchener – Music City!

With a stunning location, creative and passionate people, and enough Post-It notes… anything is possible. So, when the City of Kitchener hosted the Music Works: Strategy Sessions on July 19th at Hacienda Sarria, it was no surprise to see 135 talented musicians, venue owners and music lovers sharing their brilliant ideas, all focused on building a local music cluster and creating the Kitchener music scene into Music City!

Silvia Di Donato, newly-named Manager of Arts & Culture for City of Kitchener and strategist of this initiative, began with words of excitement and encouragement. Councillor Barry Vrbanovic and CAO Jeff Willmer, brought greetings from the City. Bob Egan of Blue Rodeo, a proud Kitchener resident, delivered an impassioned keynote on working together to build a vibrant music scene – starting with ideas from today! Finally, Cheryl Ewing and MFX’s Rebecca Short, who planned and facilitated the event, briefed the excited crowd on the agenda for the afternoon.

Working in small, informal groups, facilitators led delegates through a brainstorming session to answer important questions around three themes: Audience is Amplified, Business of Music Grows and Commercial Live Music Venues Thrive. At the end, large posters covered the exposed brick walls with ideas as vibrant as the attendees. Everyone had a chance to absorb activities from other tables, and jot down more ideas on two ‘graffiti’ walls: ‘What Would Music City Look Like?’ and ‘Burning, Disruptive Ideas’.

The excitement and energy from attendees made time fly by. Once five o’clock hit, we all celebrated with Spanish tapas, and great live music, courtesy of Joni NehRita, Tim Louis and a fabulous back up band – a perfect example of why the live music experience is so amazing!

Throughout the evening, attendees relaxed, shared insights, enjoyed performances and continued to talk about ideas.

The Music Works: Strategy Session has set the tone and building blocks for the Music Works initiative…an initiative that will certainly be nothing short of brilliant! Stay tuned for more to come.

On behalf of Machteld Faas Xander and Cheryl Ewing Consulting, thank you to everyone who helped make the day a success!

For photos from the event, courtesy of Stefan Myles from Fandy Photography, click here.

Category: Communication Design, Community Design | 1 Comment »

posted by Jessica on July 18th, 2012  |  Thank You To Our Followers!

Machteld Faas Xander is almost at 200 Twitter followers. We would love to thank all of you for following our tweets and other social media accounts.

We love that social media, and the Internet in general, are able to connect people. Especially close to our hearts is how social media gives people a better chance to share their stories and what matters to them with a larger audience than they otherwise would be able to.

Here is a story:

I love painting. I believe that art gives us a channel in which we can express ideas, feelings and concepts that we may not yet be able to communicate with words.

A few years ago, I created a painting series that was composed of two parts. I was moving to live in Europe and was struggling with the thoughts of leaving behind friends, home and what was familiar to me. I thought a lot about the concepts of connectivity, distance and the bonds that can bring people together.

The paintings each focused on a journey: where we came from and where we are going. Each painting seems complete on its own. But with the use of colour, the paintings are brought together to show a deeper connection.

In line with these ideas and what I wanted to accomplish, I gave one of these paintings, entitled Distance There, to a gentlemen that owned a chain of banks in Europe. He hung the painting in the main branch so that all of the employees and customers can see the image when they enter the building.

I brought the other painting, entitled Connect Here, back to Canada. I have been keeping it, waiting for the perfect opportunity to finish the initial concept that I originally created three years ago.

I have finally found the connection that I have been looking for. To celebrate connectivity and bringing people together, Machteld Faas Xander will be giving away the second painting, Connect Here, to one of our first 200 followers.

We will put the twitter handles of our first 200 followers into a draw and choose one of you to receive the painting. I really want the painting to go to a someone who will appreciate it, so if you would like the painting, send us a tweet @MachFaasXan expressing your desire for the painting and your handle will be entered an extra 20 times into the draw. You have until the 200th follower to tweet us. The winner will be contacted through twitter and will have 48 hours to reply once their name is announced.

When the community in Europe sees the painting and looks at the abstracted background, they will be staring into your painting. Although an ocean separates us, we are closely tied together.

Category: Communication Design, Community Design | Comments Off on Thank You To Our Followers!

posted by Lisy on July 17th, 2012  |  Stories Worth Sharing: Ian Pinnell

Many people ask us why we do what we do. The answer is simply; we believe that sharing authentic stories makes the world a better place. This is also why we want to help people in the community share their stories.

This is the story of Ian Pinnell. Listen to his experience and how it taught him not to trust stereotypes:

If you have a story that you want to share with out community, send us a tweet @MachFaasXan or e-mail Jessica@machteldfaasxander.com to set up a time and place to record it.

Category: Community Design | Comments Off on Stories Worth Sharing: Ian Pinnell

posted by Lisy on July 9th, 2012  |  Steve Jobs ‘Lost Interview’

All of us at Machteld Faas Xander were recently invited to a company-sponsored, mid-week matinee screening of the Steve Jobs ‘Lost Interview’ film at the Princess Twin Cinemas.

In 1995, writer/broadcaster Bob Cringely*, in the process of making an InfoWorld TV series called  ‘Triumph of the Nerds’, conducted an hour long interview with Steve Jobs. The recording was lost after its initial airing.

Found again, just recently, and released to selected theatres, the one-hour interview reveals a charismatic, engaging Jobs openly discussing the founding of Apple and his battles with Apple CEO John Scully. At the time of the interview, Jobs had been away from Apple for 10 years and was running NeXT computers (which he sold to Apple one year after the interview).

It was great to see and hear Jobs relate his early career experiences with business partner Steve Wozniak, and the development of their first electronic device, the ‘Blue Box’, that made free long-distance telephone calls. He also details his visits to Xerox HQ in California; these visits were the inspiration behind the creation of ‘Macintosh’ the ‘world’s first modern PC’.

It was also during this interview where we heard Jobs declare that ‘Microsoft made mediocre products’ (a declaration that caused the famous rift between Jobs and Bill Gates).

Most memorable for many of us, were the last few minutes of the film. He described the vision he had for the future “where wonderful products will be created by artists and poets”. None of us captured Jobs’ exact words but we all left the theatre with the lasting impression that under his leadership, Apple products were built with, and inspired, passion and creativity. He passionately believed that was what made his company’s products so special.

*Robert X Cringely’s story is also an interesting one: His real name is Mark Stephens and he worked for Steve Jobs during the early days of Apple in the late 1970s (Jobs offered him company shares in lieu of salary but Stephens held out for payment at $6.00 per hour).
Stephens started using the name ‘Cringely’ because, in 1987, his new employer asked him to. That made him the third reporter named ‘Cringely’ to work at InfoWorld, a weekly computer trade paper. There have been many more ‘Cringelys’ since he was dismissed from InfoWorld, shortly after completing the Steve Jobs interview.

In an out-of-court settlement with InfoWorld, Mark gained the right to use the ‘Cringely’ pseudonym, and continues writing technology news columns and hosting various industry documentaries.

Category: Community Design | Comments Off on Steve Jobs ‘Lost Interview’

posted by Jessica on July 5th, 2012  |  MFX July Storytelling Contest

Thank you to those who supported and entered the June Storytelling Contest. We are please to announce that we are now holding a July Storytelling Contest. The MFX July Storytelling Contest features a memorable traveling experience. The prize for this month is a $100.00 gift card to Cambridge’s Café 13.

E-mail your submission to Jessica@machteldfaasxander.com along with your name, age, and preferred contact method by July 31, 2012. All stories must be under 500 words and tell a memorable travel experience. The winning story will be announced on August 6, 2012, at noon via twitter. The winner will receive a $100.00 gift card to Café 13 and will have their story published in our blog.

For updates about the contest, follow our twitter account @MachFaasXan. We eagerly anticipate all of the entries. Best of luck!

Here is an example of what my submission would be.

I’ll never forget this moment. My family was enjoying a relaxing lunch in the cruise ship’s restaurant, as the ship prepared to port at Tunis. Dessert had just been served, a soft-looking strawberry cake, and I gazed at the large circular windows that lined the vessel. One was directly in front of my seat. I daydreamed with my eyes on the view, half sky and half water. It seemed peaceful. I put the fork up to my mouth, eyes still intent on the window and my balance registered that something was off. A little movement or swaying is common on these ships so I dismissed the thought. My view changed as the window started showing more and more water until there was no sky visible, only the dark waves.

My plate started to slide away from me and I just watched it go. I didn’t turn my head from the window, until I was startled by the sound of crashing glass. The bottles from the bar had fallen to the floor, leaving a pool of ruined liquor and glass. And we were still tipping. But the restaurant was dead silent; no one even moved to get up. Everyone looked blankly at each other, some in shock and others fearing the worst.

Although it couldn’t have been longer than a few moments, we seemed frozen in time. The ship regained its balance and went back in the other direction. Everything swerved to the opposite direction. Still no one moved.

My dad looked at my family and said quickly, “Stay calm and don’t panic. Get up; we are going to the lifeboats.”
We were the only family to get up and leave the area. I remember having to jump over a fallen tree that was blocking the doorway in my heels and blue sundress.

The ship recovered its stability and thankfully no one was seriously injured. We had been on the fifth floor of the ship. On the fourteenth floor, water and children had been thrown from the pools and all the tables and chairs in the buffet had been hurled to the edge of the room. We were never given a straight answer from the company about why this had happened. From the balcony near the lifeboats, however, my family and the one other family who had gathered there could see the sandbar.

As we looked out on the water and blue sky, my brother reminded me of what I had told him earlier that morning: it was the 98th anniversary of the day that the Titanic sank.

Sharing authentic stories makes the world a better place- that’s what we believe at Machteld Faas Xander.

Category: Uncategorized | Comments Off on MFX July Storytelling Contest

posted by Jessica on July 5th, 2012  |  It’s Official. Two great teams, one great space, and lots of energy and ideas.

The sign is up! Our friends at Mad Hatter Tech are now officially part of our space.
Watch movie magic flash the process before your very eyes!

Category: About Us, Communication Design, Community Design | Comments Off on It’s Official. Two great teams, one great space, and lots of energy and ideas.

posted by John on July 3rd, 2012  |  An Unconference Experience

I was privileged to be one of over 40 digital media, education and business innovators from around the world who were invited to get together and discuss how to kick-start the next generation of science communication practices. The event was called the ‘BrainSTEM unconference’ and was co-sponsored by The Perimeter Institute and Communitech. Organizers Karen Gallant and Greg Dick are quick to point out that the event couldn’t have happened without the generous support of Canada’s Federal Economic Development Agency.

All the action began Monday evening June 25, at the Perimeter Institute where we were asked to choose the 6 sessions we would like to attend from 24 topics that were available to us. A welcoming BBQ followed. Ok, enough about food.

Tuesday at 8:00 am we reconvened for… more food.

Serious unconferencing began at 8:30 am with a keynote address by Angela Maiers (check out angelamaiers.com). She is famously dedicated to the pursuit of literacy and learning. The highlight for me was her activities using social media built around the ‘You Matter’ theme to reach children and youth and successfully engage them in activities that are making life better for others around the world.

Next, it was off to the first session each of us chose. Mine was ‘The Online Degree’ where six of us gathered to discuss the issues and opportunities that the Internet offers educators.

My second session was ‘Transforming Experiences into Digital Content’. Seems to me that much of what is needed here is a refresher on age-old principles of communication: compelling and authentic stories that are relevant for the audience.

No need to mention the delicious lunch.

I’m pretty sure that the most dynamic place in the entire Institute was our next stop: the Space Room. Here, 30+ students in small teams were pounding away, developing new gaming, videos and apps in a 72 hour marathon contest to win $$$ for their digital creativity. Huge Congrats to the winners of the Build-a-thon, listed at the bottom of this blog.

‘Free Content and Financial Returns’ was my third session. Big revelation for me was that selling gift and novelty items (tee-shirts, mugs, etc.) are key generators of cash for most of bloggers in the session.

Because of conflicts with session choices and not being able to attend the third day of the ‘Unconference’, my last sit-down was with a gang of participants who wanted to share ‘Social Media’ experiences. Here we learned how human-centered content will get you further towards the top of search engines’ lists without spending a fortune.

Our hosts treated us to an evening visit to the Hub at the Tannery. Good fun and oohs and aahs in Christie Digital’s ‘Hive’.

I’m really sorry that I couldn¹t attend the last day. I was most looking forward to ‘Looking into the Future’.

These descriptions don’t do the event justice; it was amazing and I suspect people will be clamouring for an invite to the next one… will that happen?

Can I come?? … Pleease???

(more…)

Category: Communication Design, Community Design | Comments Off on An Unconference Experience

posted by Jessica on June 28th, 2012  |  The Winning Story from the MFX June Storytelling Contest!

Congratulations to Mike Farwell who submitted the winning story:

The question I’m most often asked about my hometown is ‘What’s in the water in Waterloo Region?’ This frequently posed query is an outsider’s way of trying to figure out what makes us tick, what makes Waterloo Region’s economy weather turbulent times better than most, what makes innovative institutions seek residency here; in short, what makes us so darn special? Fortunately, I’ve been able to arrive at an answer. It’s the people IN that water that make us so special.

There’s just something about the folks in this community. I can’t imagine a place where you’d so readily find a helping hand, an attentive ear, or a sturdy shoulder…all at the other end of a quick phone call or – around here – more likely an e-mail sent on your BlackBerry Bold. Yup, it’s the people that make us special, all right.

Nowhere was this more evident to me than on the night of April 4th, 2009. That was the night of the 22nd annual Mayors’ Dinner, a yearly event in support of The Working Centre. Established in 1982, The Working Centre was created as a response to unemployment and poverty in downtown Kitchener. Its founders, Joe and Stephanie Mancini, are as much a part of the fabric of this community as King Street itself. Each year, the Mayors’ Dinner recognizes a person or persons who have made a meaningful contribution to our community. It’s also an integral fundraiser that enables The Working Centre to continue its important work.

The guests of honour at the Mayors’ Dinner three years ago were John and Donna Weber. Their contributions to amateur sports and their generally selfless nature made them easy selections as honourees. But in keeping with the spirit of this story, what made this night memorable for me was not so much what John and Donna had done but rather how those in the room rallied around the Weber’s generosity.

To understand this story is to understand a little bit about Donna Weber. To put it mildly, if you were ever fed by Donna, you’d remember the meal or the baked treat for the rest of your life. As a couple, John and Donna would open their home as billets to Kitchener Rangers hockey players. Before long, the Weber household would become the gathering spot for the players because there was always an ample supply of delicious food.

No challenge was too great for Donna, who would prepare food for major sporting events our community was able to attract. Those events included the World Women’s Hockey Championships and the World Fastball Championships. Her decision to stray from “traditional ballpark food” at this latter event led to the sale of 6000 slices of pie and food revenues that out-paced even the sales at the beer tent. Donna sure did leave a mark in the kitchen.

So I guess it comes as little surprise what happened at that Mayors’ Dinner in 2009. The fundraising portion of the evening included the usual silent auction items along with a handful that were auctioned live. One of those live auction items was a dinner for two, lovingly prepared by Donna herself and served up in the Weber home. While admittedly impressed with some of the dollar figures that had been bid already that evening, nothing could have prepared me for what turned out to be the ultimate prize.

Before I could bat an eye, the bidding for Donna’s dinner for two reached $1000. With two tables aggressively bidding back and forth, the dollar amounts increased rapidly. It wasn’t long before a winning bid of $1500 was announced. Donna’s culinary reputation was that good. The simple offer of a homemade meal for two was enough to generate $1500 for The Working Centre. And then, as it turns out, even more.

The second table that had been in the bidding asked if they, too, could donate $1500 and also take part in a dinner with the Webers. With a laugh, Donna agreed. But we weren’t done there. It seemed the crowd realized that $1500 to share dinner with the Webers was great value for the money, so a third table chimed in. They, too, would like to take advantage of this incredible opportunity. Again, Donna laughingly agreed. And that’s how it came to be that Donna Weber prepared a meal for six guests…and raised $4500 for The Working Centre. Of all the art, sporting events and wine tours up for auction that night, it was dinner with John and Donna that opened the wallets the widest.

To be sure, Donna’s food alone would be worth every penny. But what this really was – more than anything else – was a response to John and Donna as people. “My heart steers me towards hospitality,” Donna once said. “Everybody eats.” For John, he remembered well the lessons he learned at Bluffton College in Ohio. Among them, “contribute time and money to church and community.” John and Donna practiced what they preached and the people of Waterloo Region were more than happy to embrace the message.

Donna has since left us but her legacy lives on. “Donna’s Kids” is a program established after her passing in 2010. The goal is simple: to allow every child to play. Donna’s Kids assists parents with the costs associated with having their children play minor hockey. The program carries on the work Donna had done for 35 years through the Kitchener Minor Hockey Association. I have no doubt it will carry on for 35 more.

So the next time someone asks you ‘what’s in the water’ in Waterloo Region, tell ‘em it’s people. Lots of them! But there’s no danger of drowning. Heck, even if there were, somebody would be nearby with a life preserver, reaching out with that helping hand.

Category: Communication Design, Community Design | Comments Off on The Winning Story from the MFX June Storytelling Contest!

posted by John on June 21st, 2012  |  Singing from the same song Sheet: Day 2 at Herman Miller

Over breakfast we talked with the company’s Head of Facilities, a 30-year Herman Miller veteran who is following in his father’s footsteps, also a 30-year veteran and facilities manager at Herman Miller. He played a role in a famous Herman Miller story that speaks to the culture of the company and gets to the heart of their reason-for-being.

When they were building their newest production facility in a meadow just outside Holland MI, one of the challenges they faced was an infestation of wasps. The first reaction was to destroy the nests… but somehow, that just didn’t seem right to the Herman Miller building team. Was there a better way?

In studying the situation, they learned that bees are natural enemies of wasps. So, they arranged for a bee-keeper to establish hives on the property. Now there are no more wasps, just colonies of busy, less aggressive bees!

That’s not the end of the story. Today, visitors to the plant are presented with the results of this win/win solution: a small jar of honey from the Herman Miller bees!

Breakfast over; it’s back on the bus and a brief trip over to the production plant mentioned above. We saw the hives on our way to the plant amongst groves of fruit trees.

Like so much of what we have seen so far, the plant is very unique in layout. The meet and greet area is as nice as any home you would enjoy visiting, only bigger. Welcome, orientation and more delicious coffee in a seating area of plush couches, book-shelves and an entertainment centre. It could be your family’s favourite place to hang out.

They call this manufacturing facility The GreenHouse, and rightly so, since it makes the best possible use of available daylight; even the production areas have huge skylights. Plants and even small trees are a feature of the corridors and meeting areas.

The production manager explained how Herman Miller consulted with the most progressive manufacturers to develop production lines that were both people-friendly and productive. On the line we toured, dedicated to one chair design, a finished product left the line assembled and packaged for shipping every 17 seconds.

Another highlight of our second day was a discussion with the company’s people responsible for performance environments and workplace knowledge. They are responsible for the research that leads Herman Miller’s customer services, focused on optimizing client spaces and maximizing their appeal for employees. We learned a great deal about what offices of the future may look like and trends in the industry.

Then it was lunch in the meeting area prepared in the plant’s kitchen. Again, delicious.

As dessert was served, we were asked individually to comment on what we had seen and offer ideas about how we could continue to interact together in the future. Some very provocative ideas were shared and I suspect we will be hearing more from these very clever, helpful and friendly, design-driven people.

As impressive as their products and facilities are, Herman Miller people are the jewels of the organization; we spent significant amounts of time with a very diverse group: from design, to facilities management, research, finance, production line leaders and operations staff. While they all had their own way of expressing their activities, objectives and contributions to the organization, the overall continuity in what we heard is my most lasting take away. Everyone was so passionate about what they did and so proud of their company- singing from the same song sheet.

All of us on the trip home agreed that this was one of the most enlightening business tours we have ever been on. In fact, we could only think of one thing to complain about; our bus driver missed the parking entrance to the duty free shop on the way back over the boarder.

Category: Community Design | Comments Off on Singing from the same song Sheet: Day 2 at Herman Miller

« Newer Posts — Older Posts »