In the words of Simon Sinek, ”Start with why”. Easier said than done these days. The values of a business however often motivate us to take action and, hopefully, keep us coming back.
The Great Break recently had the amazing opportunity to work with the Gone Outdoor Supply CO (exclusive stockists of Patagonia in SA) and illustrate their “why”.
Our task was simple but challenging, with the opening of their second store in Joburg, Gone wanted a custom backdrop in-store that communicated their values, LIVE OUTDOORS. SERVE OUR COMMUNITY. PRESERVE THE ENVIRONMENT.
We wanted to create a single image that ‘told the story’ all in one. By following the trail the values are communicated in actions and activities from start to finish. For a better look, why not swing by the Gone store at 44 Stanley .
Illustration by The Great Break.
Here at The Great Break we are defining our own values and evolving to best represent them. Just like the above project, what we create should illustrate who we are and what we stand for as a business.
Luke Roberts (Gone store manager) – credit: @lukalacious IG
“A big premise behind The Great Break is to collaborate with different artists and create unique pieces in different formats,” explains founder Jared Kohn, outlining how a recent project with friend Ross Symons brought this to life.
Ross Symons below the installation
Kohn was approached by the Gone Outdoor store in Cape Town to do some form of installation for the increasingly popular First Thursdays. “I was not just about me doing flat illustration design but bringing in new dimension to an artwork,” Kohn says.
“Ross and I had done a collaboration before which went up in Salt Circle,” he says. “We did an artwork and I immediately thought it was a great opportunity to do some sort of installation with him again.”
“We’d worked well together (on that previous project) and enjoyed the whole process of combining an idea of a taking two-dimensional artwork, which is on a flat piece of paper and then taking that flat piece into a three dimensional format (which is essentially what Ross does).”
According to Kohn there was this really interesting contrasting relationship and cross over between the two crafts.
“The brief was to relate the installation to the water crisis that was happening in the Western Cape. It didn’t have to be the only focal point but we thought it a relevant influence at the time,”
Kohn explains.
The two didn’t have a huge budget so wanted to keep it simple but interactive. “If it couldn’t be aesthetically impressive to look at from far, we wanted people to engage with it,” he says.
The two then came up with the idea to create a virtual rain shower out of origami diamonds which had been illustrated on by Kohn. “I did various elements of nature,” he says. “From water to plants, mountains and rivers.”
The diamond shape worked well as a ‘raindrop’ and was just the most obvious choice for the two, who suspended these ‘raindrops’ from the ceiling down to a seat and focal point. People then had the opportunity to go and sit down and take photos underneath this rain shower, by way of interaction.
“It ended up looking great and we were pleased with the outcome, it was a nice meaningful piece,”
Kohn says.
“I think in hindsight we could’ve made it much bigger which would’ve made it more impactful but a lot more time consuming (it took two days to install). But this is what we learn on our journey as creators, the practical versus the ideal. There is no benefit in having a great idea that cannot be translated into something tangible”
After the First Thursday event, the installation was relocated to the Gone Outdoor store and then stayed there until the end of that month. Throughout that month people had the opportunity to take a photo of themselves interacting with the installation and then enter a competition to win some prizes from the store and some art works from the duo.
“What it was, was showing people a new way of doing things, to a degree – it was, in essence, advertising for us as well, but it was exciting to do. With this project and the previous one we learned a heck of a lot, in terms of getting it done,” Kohn muses. “It was definitely about it having meaning and uniqueness in terms of a collaboration between the different crafts and about being interactive and a talking point for people who viewed and experienced it. We’re looking forward to doing more for sure,”
