COVID-19: A message from gestalten

Your economy needs you! A few words from Berlin and ways to best navigate self-isolation

gestalten’s vision has always been to bring like-minded people together through creativity. The unusual situation we are now in means we all have to reimagine the ways in which we work, collaborate, and look after each other.

At gestalten, we are all safe and remain fully operational. We have shifted our operations to working from home. Our online store is open as per usual and we will continue to ship orders on a daily basis. We are now offering free shipping within the European Union.

In view of the current situation, the trust and wellbeing of our community are more important to us than ever. gestalten would not exist without the pioneering designers and entrepreneurs who seek new ideas, shaping the world around us. We wouldn’t exist without the support of the retailers and independent bookstore owners creating this unique community.

To get through this, we at gestalten have brought together some helpful insights to cope with the human, economic, and social effects of the Coronavirus crisis.

♦ Call everyone. Your parents, relatives, and loved ones. Be a good listener in case they need anything, don't forget they may be too proud or shy to ask. 

♦ Be kind to children during these unusual times. Don't be a robot! Inspire them with music, sing together, dance together, or even read a book together.

♦ Quarantine is boring, books are not. Travel the world from your armchair, keep exploring, stay curious, stay inspired.

♦ Love your local community, the small stores, food culture, and everyone in between. If you don't show them love they may soon be gone and you'll miss them. 

♦ Our economy relies on our shopping power now more than ever, keep paying bills and supporting businesses. You have power from your sofa, shopping online is way more comfortable.

♦ Everywhere you can, be kind, careful, and give thanks to all individuals working on the front line. Say thanks to unsung heroes and heroines, the trashmen, postwoman, the delivery people, and truckers, the ones working in supermarkets, the pharmacists, doctors and nursing staff - they keep our outside world going and they deserve our appreciation.

♦ Don’t let fear and anxiety control your daily life. Instead spread confidence and positivity, not rumors. Try to help others where possible.

♦ If you are going to stockpile, stockpile the necessities. This does not mean alcohol, nicotine, and illegal substances.

♦ Your body is a temple as is your mind. Sleep and exercise are two of the best ways to look after your immune system and stay on top of anxiety.

♦ Panic is not the answer! Whether it is your house, stocks, or hand sanitizer, now is not the time to sell.

♦ Two healthy hands? Offer them out to help families or the vulnerable in your life with their grocery shopping, don’t be the person loading up on pasta and toilet paper. 

♦ Home office is not Netflix + Chill. It's not good for you or anyone else. Stay productive, support your partners, company, and clients (and anyone). Everyone, your team, your colleagues, your customers, need you just as much as you need them.

♦ Escape your phone! Follow the news on a daily basis, yes, stay informed. No one wants to finish Instagram, don't check your newsfeed every other minute. Try leaving the phone outside of the bedroom. Buy yourself an alarm clock, reconnect with analog.

♦ Spread confidence, do not spread rumors or gossip. Double-check before you share 'news.' Don’t be a scaremonger. Don't blame others. Don't blame the Chinese, Italians, Americans, Germans, Jews, Iranians, or even bats. A virus knows no race or nationality.

♦ Life will always go on! We survived 9/11 and the Financial Crisis, we will get through COVID-19. You decide what the world looks like after the outbreak. Or as Michel de Montaigne once said, “My life has been filled with terrible misfortune; most of which never happened.”

♦ Relax, do the right thing, be smart, be gentle, stay calm, stay safe, flatten the curve, be critical, be pragmatic, and #stayhome.