Greetings from Amsterdam. Another week of quarantine.
Does it feel routine or surreal? Either way, the malaise is real and the horizon is hazy.
I've been typing and deleted an intro for too long now. Just like Andy from OPEN (see link below), I've struggled with this issue.
For me, keeping these issues shipping on schedule adds a vital rhythm to my weeks and that matters more than ever as these confined days all run together.
But ultimately, a clever paragraph to kick off each one may not always be required. Instead, I'd like to switch it up: I'd like to help.
Twotone predominantly does PR and lots of people pay attention to what we do:
- we have 1200 subscribers to this newseletter
- ~11k Insta followers
- ~8k Twitter followers
- I have 10k+ Linkedin connections
- & between the Twotone page FB & my own: another ~3k there
So, next week, to hopefully help some people not lose their dreams, I'd love to share projects people are working on for work, for fun, for philanthropy or simply for inspiration. (Hat tip to Ass Savers, who I saw doing this first.)
If you think Twotone could help, hit reply, tell me how you're doing and what you'd like me to share.
I'll push the ideas where I think I can help through the best channels and even make intros behind the scenes. We all could use some new conversations now, right?
What the Twotone team has learned since mid-March is that the people, brands and media we interface with are all keen to help each other stay successful, learn about new developments and do their part to get the word out.
So, please do send me some cool initiatives, aspirations, experiments and efforts to publish next week. : )
Thank you for reading!
Stay safe and stay true,
Jon
p.s.
Please do forward this one to people you think have a project that could use a push. Posts on social are welcome too:
➫ 🐦 Please tweet 💼 Share on LinkedIn 🚩Post on FB.
(Banner image by Rob Quirk during The Atlas Mountain Race)
Cycling
The Podcast — Zero Lemon
I didn't know either but I've known its founder, Chris, since Silk Road in 2018 if not sooner? We road together again in Morocco and I offered to share his new project with you. Check it out! :D
This week's guest is a Twotone newsletter frequent flyer: Stefano of Broom Wagon!
Now is a great time to buy an e-bike
An electric bike could be the most useful vehicle for riding out the pandemic. An e-bike also lets you ride farther to escape the congested hearts of most cities where crowded bike paths can still pose a risk. Traffic is down in many cities, and e-bikes can help provide a boost for small businesses.
Great stuff from Twotone neighbor & Amsterdam local Thomas Ricker!
Just like everyone else, the team at Tern Team are spending a lot of time at home.
And constantly trying to find stuff to keep their kids interested and entertained.
So they've created this GSD Activity Book! Just print it out and have fun.
Twotone Client's Around the World
Soigneur - Home Roads: Yorit Kluitman
“If the weather is good, I’m gone, and if the weather is bad, I’ll work 14 hours a day”
Yorit Kluitman runs a graphic design studio in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. His clients include Rapha, Ace & Tate, De Correspondent, and the Van Abbemuseum. (Twotone too! He made our logo & 5 year throwback logos as well) He is also the art director for the Dutch Design Week. And throughout it all, he is a cyclist...
In partnership with komoot, Soigneur has just launched a new series called Home Roads, in which they’ll feature inspiring locals and their favourite routes.
Photos: Jeroen van der Wielen / Yorit Kluitman: https://buff.ly/39x9kTW
Collective Reward #054: Grab Bag
Nice to see SILCA featured in Bikepacking's most recent Collective Reward.
Nothing beats a bike ride, even if your route looks a little different these days.
We've been working with Cannondale in the Netherlands & Belgium for over a year now. Nice to see light hearted humor in the face of so much uncertainty. Proof that smiles are just as important as the miles!
Coincidentally, Bikepacking Journal makes a cameo in this quarantine clip too!
Coupling Commercial & Covid Conversations
We are OPEN
I saw OPEN's last insta post suggesting people read their latest blog entry.
Worth a read.
Especially for those currently struggling with adapting commercial goals.
How Will the Coronavirus End?
The U.S. may end up with the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the industrialized world. This is how it’s going to play out.
🎧 Is Covid-19 an existential threat?
Covid-19 feels overwhelming. With its deep impact on our economies, institutions, and personal lives, we might feel it is an existential threat to our lives, perhaps to humanity.
But is it?
Azeem Azhar discusses the pandemic in this light with the moral philosopher. Listen now (7 min)
Radness
My partner Kristy & I made a cameo in Uitkrant April 2020
De Uitkrant is the cultural magazine for Amsterdam'ers and visitors to Amsterdam. It features news, reports, interviews, shopping, restaurant reviews and the agenda with concerts, festivals, exhibitions and other events.
This issue was about what attract internationals to Amsterdam. With 180 different nationalities and 45 per cent ethnic minorities, the population of Amsterdam is one of the most diverse in Europe!