New Website and Blog!

That’s right! I’m moving over to racheililansimpson.com

You’ll be able to get all the new blog updates there! Don’t forget to switch your feeds.

Field Trip: Photos

At 4 am, no one expects a handful of German and International students to arrive on time, which is why the bus was actually scheduled to arrive at 4:30. We were on our way out to Milan by 5, truly an accomplishment given that roughly 40 students needed to be in the same place at the same time, with the appropriate personal belongings in the pursuit of design excellence. 7 hours later, we arrived in the city and were ready to get down to some serious gawking at the Zona Tortona. We also visited the Design Fair for the big name brands, and I was able to visit the Duomo and some other sightseeing spots. I have plenty of thoughts on what we saw at the design exhibits, but that will have to wait for another post. Today, Photos!

First week in the land of bread

I had my third class today, at the end of the first week of school. Things are moving a bit slowly here, so I took a moment to make business cards for tomorrow’s trip to Milan and designweek.

So far, the Professors and staff have been incredibly accommodating. Some classes have been taught in English for me, the one English-speaking student, while others are taught in German and translated afterwards. There’s a small-town mentality here, mixed with a certain pragmatism. When things are unfortunate or difficult (with much of the beginning-of-term confusion, this tends to be the case) words are not minced and no time is wasted. This is the German way.

Impressions: Frankfurt

A tiny old woman with a bowl cut, big glasses and no English to speak of, yelling up at us as we ride the escalator up out of the Frankfurt U-Bahn station:

“Sixteen! Sixteen!”

She’s gasping out the words in a heavy German accent, gesticulating frantically as she passes out of view. We asked her for directions just a few moments previously, and she has figured out how to tell us the number of the tram we can take to the hotel. The Germans are a very helpful bunch.

Photos

1 German/ English dictionary

For the last 2 weeks, I’ve been in transit all about Germany and dipping into the Netherlands. Berlin was a blast, (loved the Bauhaus Archive) and my stop in a little town called Enschede in the Netherlands was fabulous. The tenuous connection to the internet was a peculiar experience. Overall, I had an amazing time, and now I’m ready for a rest in this tiny town that I’ll be calling home for the next 4 months. This is what the school’s website has to say about Schwäbisch Gmünd:

“Schwäbisch Gmünd has the highest density of designers in Europe and is an ideal place for students. The city of about 70000 is home to more than 120 design offices, advertising agencies, and other creative services. The German Financial Times speaks of “Germany”s secret design capital”.”

It all sounds pretty thrilling. The international coordinator has sent out an email to the Erasmus students offering to meet us in the Marketplatz tomorrow morning to accompany us on the bus. This is service with a smile.

All that said, here’s me as I take stock this morning:

1 Backpack, containing: Dayplanner, notebook, wallet, sunglasses.

1 Jacket, containing keys and lip balm. 1 Scarf. About 35 Euros.

1 Laptop, finally connected to the internet after an hour of wandering and help from friendly German-speaking strangers.

1 Sandwich, yet unconsumed.

1 Girl. Well rested. No german language skills to speak of.

1 German/ English dictionary.

I’m looking forward to chatting with all of you, who have been trying diligently to reach my transient self via email. I’ll be getting back to everyone in the next day or so, but if you’re waiting for something urgent, please feel free to drop me a line.

Last Term

Here’s a short visual summary of what I’ve been working on over the last 4 months or so. I’m leaving for an exchange in Schwabisch Gmund, Germany this afternoon, so expect lots of updates!

The 60 degree home project for my Core class continues, thanks to my amazing teammates Lorea Sinclaire, Mina Ghaani and Joey Chung. You can see our work on the project blog, here.

Modeling

I’m learning to model items in solidworks this term, which is super exciting. Here are a few of my basic models from this class: a gear, a random part, a bowl and a wineglass.

Elyza Strojek Wooden Textiles

Beautiful.

Via coolhunting.com