Big adventures
Back in the summer of 2015, The Big Building was merely a rumor. This was the place to be when you’re a venturous, young professional. The high demand became even clearer when my colleagues and I from the Puddingstudio tried to acquire a spot in this concrete palace. There was a big waiting list for viewing the building, even before you were put on the waiting list for actual office spaces. We could see why when we were given a tour of the place: lots of room for creativity and unique ideas to fill a massive location at the edge of the city center. Other benefits were the great views from the building and of course the low costs, which were a fraction of most other office spaces in Groningen.
We were lucky enough to get our preferred offices on the third floor, right next to the two founders of The Big Building, Nick Stevens and Ralph Steenbergen. This floor was a great place to work next to many other creative professionals like the collective Saus, web designer Kevin de Vette, law firm Rein and of course my freelance colleague filmmakers such as Roeland Dijksterhuis, Tom Tieman, Alex Pitstra, Giso Spijkerman and Mark Winkel.
The first year I shared my office with colleague Frank Boxman, who also produces corporate animations. We both have our own company but occasionally work together or hire each other when the workload requires it.
Together with my best friend and illustrator Sylvia van Schie, I create explainer videos for all sorts of businesses, from healthcare, construction, government to education. Sylvia lives and works in Amsterdam, so we mostly keep in touch through digital media. Since the beginning of 2015 we’ve combined our experience and have been making all sorts of animations together as Explanimates. It turns out that we’re a great team! I think it works so well because we share the same pro-active work ethic and are truly (sometimes brutally) honest with each other. We’re both very curious and enjoy the many different fields of knowledge we are able to dive into. Every project teaches us something new!
We work very well together from a distance, however I do enjoy the social aspect of going to an actual office and surround myself with other creatives. Therefore I was quite happy to share my office with Frank who understands the animation industry and workflow. If stuck in a project or in need of some feedback, we could always help each other out. Also during our move to The Big Building in the summer of 2015, Frank proved to be truly indispensable. While I was lazily enjoying my summer break in Spain, Frank transformed our office into the beautiful place it is today. I’m still very grateful for all of his hard work and ‘gezelligheid’ during the time we shared an office.
During my first year in The Big Building I enjoyed the daily lunches on the third floor platform the most. It’s very easy as a freelancer to get so caught up in your work that you forget to eat or even move around once in a while. Going to ‘the office’ really provided me with structure and a healthier and more fun way of working. It’s also quite interesting to hear what other people are working on or brainstorm about your own projects.
During my time in The Big Building there were many interesting events organized by different residents like Screw Up, Start Up weekend, Pick your own talent: entrepreneurship and many others. I also got the chance to organize my own event in The Big Building called Make a Motion. Together with two other animation companies (Eva Lenis and Big Pixel) we try to organize the event every two months for animation enthusiasts.
After six years of mainly focusing on my freelance animation career, I decided to go back to art school in the fall of 2016. My goal was to find a better balance between my commercial and more personal work. I was accepted at Akv St Joost in Breda to study the one-year program Master of Animation. I therefore had no more need of an office in Groningen and left the building. However, I was happy to start my new adventure with the knowledge that afterwards I could come back and reclaim my spot in The Big Building at any time.
It was quite a turbulent year for me with lots of traveling between Groningen and Breda. Some of my experiences you can read on my personal website. During that year I have grown so much on a professional, creative and personal level. And to top things off: in the last few months of my studies I found out that I was pregnant! This was of course great news for my husband and me. Nonetheless finishing a full time study, working on sixteen five-minute animations for the UvA and being pregnant, while my husband was finishing up his PhD dissertation, proved to be quite stressful for both of us.
Luckily in the summer of 2017 I could finish my last months of studies back in Groningen. The Big Building was again the perfect place to find the much needed rhythm and balance. My time back in The Big Building has really helped me through that last crazy phase. I am so proud to have finished my Masters (cum laude) and completed the animations for the Uva on time, while my husband has finished his dissertation. What a year!
Meanwhile it was great fun to see how much The Big Building had changed during my one-year ‘break’. The added eight-floored tower has made The Big Building even bigger, with even more exciting companies and creative professionals. The Big Building team had simultaneously expanded with the wonderful Thijs Wesselink, Mathijs van Beers and Caro Jongert, who made my coming back so much easier and more fun. Also Eetlust had transformed the cafeteria from a simple lunch buffet to a modern, hipster café with delicious daily specials. I especially enjoyed my occasional talks during lunch with Caro Turlings about our shared love of food!
During the recent Christmas party for freelancers I’ve got to say my final goodbyes to everyone at the beautiful place called IIWII: the temporary bar on the eighth floor with dj’s, dancing and the best view at night. It has definitely been, to keep up with the Christmas spirit, a most wonderful time these last few years. During my maternity leave I will keep a close eye on what will become of The Big Building and its interesting people. Thanks so much everyone and all the best wishes for this upcoming New Year!
