Our ‘Wall of Knowledge’

At the end of last year, GROUP A took the courageous decision to explore a new horizon. We exchanged our charming office in the Diepeveen building on the Pelgrimsstraat for a rough floor in an enormous warehouse on the Keilestraat. Room to grow and develop, extensive view on the ‘Voedlseltuin’ and the Maas, located in an inspiring area – M4H – in transition.

GROUPA was responsible for the refurbishment of their own workspace in the new building. I myself was fed up with DIY jobs and moving after I had, via a temporary rented house, my own ‘klushuis’ in an old school. At first I wisely stayed away during the weekends when a group was doing the painting, making furniture and so on. At Christmas the boxes piled up and we really moved. We had a huge pile of boxes with materials and an empty ‘wall’ of about 35 meters. Go all the way!

Then I got into it. I was surprised by the enthusiasm with which I started to categorize and unpack all boxes. Materials that I did not even know we had. Everything was organized by type and color. Small and tactile at hand and eye level, large pieces at the top, documentation at the bottom. And so on … meter by meter. Where in the beginning I caught some pitying glances, shifting back and forth with stacks of heavy boxes, I slowly became aware of what I was doing. Steadily the ‘Wall of Knowledge’ really unfolded. A wall of product knowledge. A wall that revolves around displaying and inspiring.

Now I regularly see colleagues strolling past the cupboard to look for samples together. Where previously people often searched online is now being looked at, felt, cuddled and browsed. One sees how the light reflects or absorbs. One feels whether fabrics are natural, synthetic, soft or rough. One can observe the difference between natural stone in gray, gray and gray. And that is exactly what our profession is about. Know how to shape, with precision, the story and the intended atmosphere in space, composition and material.

Text: Janneke van der velden
Photos: Frank Hanswijk