Lauren's Capstone: December 2010

Although my flight home from Holland was scheduled for 17 December 2010, I was not able to board the plane until 27 December 2010. Unlike in the States, Europe is unaccustomed to inches upon inches of snow covering its streets, houses, trees and so on. Luckily for me, I had befriended a lovely Dutch family that was glad to share their Christmas with me. And even though I did not have my usual design resources, I was not about to let a little snow stop me - after all I am from Ohio!

I will detail my winter break in two parts:

Capstone Goals
Dealing with the Snow

Part I: Capstone Goals

1. Bakery Identity
Why do people visit bakeries when supermarkets have so much variety? Bakeries offer extra quality and customer service that sets them apart. I want my bakery to be known for hard work, fresh ingredients, and good quality food. Everything is handmade and any left overs are used for the greater good (i.e. as food for livestock) rather than thrown out.

2. Materials for Presentation
Lucky for me, my dad works for a bakery and my cousin is a baker! I spoke to both of them over break and found some great websites from which I can begin ordering packaging:

Innovative package design from Fabri-Kal
Moresco for biodegradable and compostable packaging
Aleece also told me about Nashville Wraps, which has tons and tons of packaging products - I really like the idea of having little windows in the bags to display the product

3. List of Bakery Items to Design
In addition to various types of packaging, I would also like to design the bakery's

logo (I would like to use a wordmark)
serving/sample plate(s)
labels
order form
store layout
wall menu
award (the greatest way for a bakery to advertise is by entering contests and winning awards)
apron
signage (store, "road")

4. Test Run of Fake Bread (If I just leave a bunch of loaves in the gallery they will get moldy/stolen!)
My mom actually found an alternative recipe to preserve bread instead of make fake bread. We tested it and it really works. I will try this on other pastries, and I may also purchase some fake pies.

Considering the unpredictable circumstances, I am proud that I was still able to accomplish all of my winter break goals! Now, just for fun....

Part II: Lauren in de Sneuw/Lauren in the Snow

The snowman I built with my Dutch family!

Christmas Market in Aachen, Germany

Beginnings of the Christmas Tree Hunt

One of the Famous Dutch Windmills

I Chose the Christmas Tree!

Bakkerij De Renet Decorated for Christmas

Even the Rooster Liked the Snow!

Snowball Fight with the Neighbors

The Tree Decorated with Lights and Candies

Me on Christmas Day

I could think of no better time to be researching bakeries than during the holiday season -warm hearts, sweet treats, twinkling lights, and more importantly (at least for the Dutch), Sinterklaas.

Sinterklaas is celebrated on the eve of December 5 as Dutch children place their wooden shoes near the fireplace in the hopes of waking to find small gifts, candies and even a humorous poem waiting for them. This holiday is filled with songs and all sorts of delicious treats. This being said, I found it quite the privilege to be invited to the Bakkerij De Renet, perhaps the most favored bakery in the entire province of Limburg, as they finished up their Sinterklaas festivities and prepared the store for Christmas.

Besides the obvious - breads, pies, and cookies, - one of my favorite aspects of Bakkerij De Renet is their core value of customer satisfaction. Every product in the bakery is fresh and made by hand. What's more: every design aspect that has gone into the bakery's identity since day one has been crafted by the store owner!

Visiting Bakkerij De Renet was a fantastic way to begin formulating ideas for my package design (which will be a huge part of this project) and see what goes on behind the display cases.