Make space for meaning

An update from Guineapig

Hello all, I hope you are well. I’m Keivor, founder of Guineapig & co-founder of Harvey & John. I’ve decided this year to communicate with you on a more regular basis. It’s been quite an entrepreneurial rollercoaster for me these past few years and I now feel I’m in a place where I have true vision and purpose for the future. And I’d like to share that vision and purpose with you.

A bit of context

Back in November 2015 I had reached a point with Harvey & John (design studio that creates interactive commissions for hotels & museums) where I felt pretty exhausted by the consistent change in direction from project to project. Don’t get me wrong, we were doing some great work, but we had lost sight of why we began the studio in the first place. It didn’t feel right, and so I started to develop ideas of how to change direction. Coupled with a growing interest by clients to rent our existing inventions for events, and the wish to create something new, I developed Guineapig.

Guineapig began simply as a way to bring four of our existing products (Tropism Well, Pluck and Hug, Dancing Spheres and Thought Bubbles) to conferences, parties and corporate events both nationally and internationally. From the moment we launched this time last year we were inundated with requests to deliver imaginative and uplifting experiences at a number of different functions. Our team has grown in order to cater for the increasing interest and we’re now a small, creative and productive collective delivering a solid service.

Towards the end of 2016 things were ticking over nicely, and I noticed myself stepping back to allow some time to think more deeply about what it is we’re trying to achieve. I began by investigating the work of Simon Sinek and The Happy Startup School. I was looking for Guineapig’s ‘why’.

Finding Guineapig’s ‘why’

During one particular moment at a recent conference I noticed a couple of quiet souls stood around the Tropism Well during a break. As the neck bowed down to pour them a drink there was a flicker of delight between the two, a connection between two folks who might not ordinarily reach out to strangers in a room. Something clicked for me as I watched this moment, something that has been knocking around in the back of my head for as long as I can remember… where are all the spaces for introverts? The world is set up for extroverts, people who find it easy to walk into a room and connect with anyone, people who find big open spaces with a multitude of stimuli comfortable places. But what about the introverts? What about the people, like myself, who prefer quieter moments, spaces where thinking and contemplation are celebrated, spaces that allow for self-exploration and moments of deeper connection and discussion? And there right before my eyes, that question that I had been subconsciously carrying around for such a long time, was being answered.

Guineapig is an introvert revolution.

Making space for meaning

Our huggable lighting, Pluck and Hug, brings businessmen together on a deeper level as they briefly abandon their suit and tie etiquette to squeeze a light that glows. Our Dancing Spheres allow intimate interaction in the midst of vast and energised crowds. And our Tropism Well silently and graciously mesmerises, serving as a catalyst for connection to those it interacts with. Our pieces embody intimacy, quiet and calm and almost permit those they serve to be the same. The slow quiet space our inventions create seem to evoke deeper and more meaningful connection between guests.

The realisation that this is what we’re creating felt like a light bulb had turned on in my head. The world needs the quiet wisdom of us introverts just as much as it needs the extroverts.

An introvert revolution

And so our vision for the future is to create social occasions where the pressure is less on what you’ve got to say and more about sharing meaningful moments around imaginative inventions that uplift and delight. I see events that cater for big crowds, but provide pockets of quiet and deep connection around creative pieces peppered throughout a venue. I see events created for introverts, set in nature, with permission to dream and think and ask powerful questions about the world. I also see more moments of physical interaction as opposed to the on going zombification of the technology rabbit hole. I see Guineapig as a provider of spaces to think, spaces to feel and spaces to have game changing ideas away from too much noise.

I am excited about the future. All of us at Guineapig are. I feel we can proudly say we’ve done our job when extrovert and introvert are equally celebrated, and can come together as the personality ying and yang we need in this world. I see a brighter, more optimistic future where the introvert destination void has been filled. It’s going to be an extraordinary adventure and we’d love you to be part of it.

Join us

This year we will be running a series of experimental events where we share our latest introvert inspired inventions in beautifully natural locations. We’d love you to come along. Please sign up here if you’d like an invite.

And we are looking for a likeminded sponsor for these events, someone who is on the same page and wants to be an important part of the introvert revolution — is that you? Please get in touch at keivor@guineapig.global if so.

Here’s to the quietly passionate ones...

Keivor