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New Talent: Cloudfactory

28/03/2012
Advertising Agency
Amsterdam, Netherlands
223
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Founder Olivier Teepe and Jessica Kersten Tell LBB About Their Inspiring Collective

 

New Talent… Cloudfactory
Olivier Teepe and Jessica Kersten, Factory Owners (Founders)
 
LBB > Cloudfactory…Great name. What’s the story behind who you are, what you do and how you got started? 
We had been working in totally different areas in the advertising industry for the past 16 years. Jessica has been working as an art director for big international clients at DDB. There she developed several campaigns for clients, such as the Aurea by PHILIPS campaign that launched in all September issues of Vogue and shooting a short film with Wong Kar Wai.
She was repositioning ice cream brands for Unilever in Rome and many other projects. 
 
Olivier has always worked in a very broad sense, navigating between film direction / animation sound design / online and new media. Because of this he became creative director at On (now Taxi), leading a creative floor of 20 people. 
 
We started Cloudfactory because we’re passionate about craftsmanship and believe in crossbreeding creativity. Now that we’ve brought this theory to practice we’ve developed a totally different and effective way of working. We don’t just talk about it, we do it. We test our ideas and make them tangible from the very beginning. We just really like getting our hands dirty!
 
Cloudfactory’s first collection is the result of our first test phase. It showcases that we can realize any idea we have. 
 
We don’t want to limit ourselves to only developing traditional campaigns. A big idea can travel much further. Plus there are so many other ways to deliver communication concepts. We want the best of all worlds. 
 
Because we work with a surprising mix of advertising creatives and artists from various disciplines on a daily basis, we can deliver on this promise. We inspire and motivate each other to create new and exciting projects.
 
The name Cloudfactory - The clouds stand for our creative vision and the factory is where we produce and realize our ideas. Craftsmanship is really important to us and is the starting point for everything we do.  
 
LBB > Cloudfactory is owned and run by you, Olivier and Jess. What are you backgrounds and what do you specialize in? 
We are both entrepreneurial creatives. We master totally different skills, but what we specialize in every day is bringing craftsmanship to the table when we create our ideas. It allows us to have a different kind of creative. We believe that crossbreeding creativity and craftsmanship is where the magic is.
 
LBB > You are a collective of different people with different skillsets. Can you tell me who the others in the group are and what their talents are? 
Olivier and Jessica hand picked each of the members of Cloudfactory. Each has a unique talent and or craft they want and love to work with. The members if the group are: 
 
Olivier Teepe is a master of new media. He makes films, songs, animations… anything that asks for outstanding moving images and next-level beats. His craft is that he is a new media director, sound designer, DJ, producer, trend hunter and many others things.
 
Jessica Kersten is an all-round international art director. She has art-directed VJ films, video clips, books, global campaigns, short films…you name it. When it comes to making something look stunning, JK is your man. Her craft is art directing. 
 
Marcel Christ reinvented still-life photography in the Netherlands and soon took over the world with his creations which are full of energy and life. Nothing is still in his work. Everything moves, jumps and flies like in a memorable one-frame movie. His craft is photographer.
 
Marlies Neugebauer is a product designer with a rich background in production. This is reflected in her work, where nothing is impossible. She always makes any idea come to life. Her designs are a mix of jewelry, accessories and porcelain. You just can’t predict what she’ll come up with next. Her craft is product design.
 
Ramana specializes in creating illusions of the supernatural, truly opening people’s minds to a new level of creativity. His acts include mentalism, levitation, Indian street magic and Indian close-up magic. With Ramana, dreams will become reality. His crafts are Indian magic, mentalism, levitation.
 
Koen Hauser is a multi-disciplinary artist. Using the wonders of both antique and modern technique, he creates work that seems to emerge from imaginary worlds and uncanny fairytales. His crafts are photography, video and animation
 
Rodger Werkhoven is a genuine Amsterdam (m)ad man. His motto: ‘There’s no such thing as a great execution of a poor concept.’ That’s why he always goes the extra mile to make sure the thinking preceding his art direction or copywriting is only outstanding. His crafts are concepting, copywriting, art direction, tweeting (@RodgerMettenday)
 
Janne Kyttanen doesn’t consider himself an industrial designer, but rather a digital sculptor who specializes in producing his work through 3D printing. His work is part of several major museum collections and has been published and shown all around the world. What he can think, he can 3D print – for real. His craft is Industrial designer.
 
Daniel Nogueira is a film director who kick-started his career by getting Francis Ford Coppola in the main role of his film. From then on he’s been working with several other outstanding characters, always searching for the best way to tell a story. His craft is director.
 
Ricardo Adolfo is an international copywriter. He creates micro-stories, short stories and really long ones. He believes that a well-told story is always a good story. His craft is writer.
 
Thera Hillenaar is a costume artist. She creates magical characters for plays, concerts and fashion shows. When her creations come on stage everyone knows only a fairytale mind like hers could come up with such amazing and unexpected characters. Her craft is costume artist
 
Carla IJff specializes in bringing characters to life, although she does it with styling instead of words. Her creations for cinema, TV and commercials can be classic, or really funny – but for sure her characters are never dull. Her crafts are stylist and costume designer.
 
Nienke Sybrandy achieves beautiful work by observing daily life from all possible perspectives. She cites her muses as objects that are so self-evident, they are overlooked. Each piece of work has a story or symbol that is not self-evident, but with Nienke’s thoughtful observation, analysis, and re-interpretation, she creates a connection between past and present. Her craft is product design.
 
Barbara Berends focuses on the beautification of space through interior design and styling. Whether residential or hospitality, big or small, international or local, she focuses on beauty, functionality and telling the story of any space. Her crafts are interior design and styling
 
John Stam hails from Canada and the Dutch are lucky to have him currently on their soil. With an eye for the interesting, unique and new, Jon’s projects vary from carpets to cabinets. With excitement and an open mind, the creative road for Jon is wide open, and we can’t wait to see what he comes up with next. His craft is product design. 
 
Judith Teensma specializes in ‘the art of branding’. Through creative direction, finalizing product production and market integration, she pushes the envelope from innovative and creative perspectives. Her field of play is international fashion and youth culture. Her crafts are brand builder, product & marketing strategist.
 
Maaike Dommershuijzen is a storyteller that loves a white sheet of paper. Her passion lies in creating brands, starting from the very beginning – the brand’s name. And then, she nurtures her projects step by step until they’re ready to conquer the world on their own. Her craft is creative brand building.
 
Rutger Storm is a force of nature, as the name suggests. He has shot thousands of hours of film but no film looks the same. Every time Storm has a new challenge you can be sure he will create something new and amazing. His crafts are director of photography and photography.
 
LBB > Who are your clients? Who do you traditionally work for? 
Heineken international and brand Pony sneakers amongst others. We work for brands and people who want a quality product and understand the new economy.
 
LBB > Working as a collective, what is it that makes you so unique as an offering to your clients? 
We develop advertising concepts and products through craftsmanship and crossbreeding creativity. 
 
A lot of agencies say they develop 360 campaigns, but we can actually deliver on this promise for real. We develop communication concepts not only for above the line or below the line or online. We work around the line. 
 
LBB > As a collective: does it open more doors than being a traditional agency?
We have big traditional agency experience, and mix this knowledge with that of the collective. We are as big and as small as needed on a job. We get great creative talent at the table every day. This makes us flexible compared with the traditional agencies. And yes this opens doors. Traditional is old economy, and we're heading to the new economy in a pace that's quite pushy. We’ve been building a hybrid organization that is ready for the new. 
 
LBB > You make your own products. Can you discuss further what they are and what they bring to you, individually and to Cloudfactory? 
We create our products simply because we want to. It is for us a way of researching new crafts and exploring new ways of working together. Some products are only limited edition and some we’ll bring to the market. With the collection we allow ourselves the freedom of getting to a specific result without limitations, or concessions. It keeps our creative brains fit and healthy in the broadest sense.
 
LBB > Inspiration must come in many different forms. When you work with a brief, do you find it limiting or is it enjoyable to have an end goal and vision for the work? 
This sounds corny, but it has been truly inspirational and exciting to start our own company, allowing ourselves the space and time to really develop a new way of working that is uniquely ours.
 
We love good briefs. Limitations and borders are there to be challenged. 
We love a good challenge, and delivering creative answers to our clients’ business issues. Finding a creative solution within the borders of the brief is what we do everyday. We actually make a sport out of delivering on brief. Bring it on! 
 
LBB > What exciting projects do you have planned for 2012? 
We are working on some great new products for our collection. We are exploring some really exciting techniques… more soon.
 
We’ll present to you in June an amazing design project that we’re developing for Heineken now. Here we can really showcase what the benefits are of craftsmanship and crossbreeding creativity. 
 
We’re also working on a new campaign for Pony. But the most exciting project is still a secret, and this is something we are truly, truly excited about. We can’t wait to share this with the world.
 
LBB > What were your highlights in 2011? 
Starting Cloudfactory and launching our collection.
 
LBB > Do you love what you do? If so, what is it about your everyday that makes you bounce out of bed? 
Yes, we love, love, love what we do. We live and breathe our work. We love having our own agency. We are passionate entrepreneurial creatives. And actually the best ideas sometimes come in the middle of the night, so this does not always make us bounce out of bed…
 
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