Our online Christmas party and how we beat 2020.
At the end of the strange year of 2020. we had an idea of how to steal the fun and make an online party. The initial thought was to gather a few of us to make a toast. "Why not bigger?" it was a magical touch of Tanja. Very soon we had a plan for how to invite all the ones who helped us in a process of starting with the Sprend office in Pula.
The first thing I saw when I joined was Karin's Christmas dress and a glass of wine. I haven't seen that image in a while since bars and restaurants are shut down in Croatia. My sister Petra was there, she helped us with her advice, support and sharing her brilliant analog photos with us. My brother Andrej who made a great job with the survey amongst the students at his university and my father, who was something like a great keeper of Sprend from the beginning, on the way of founding. A retired banker who still adores his job and credit rates are still one of his favorite topics.
It may seem that I gathered my whole family here, but I didn't. That's just half of it.
Tanja and Arne, masterminds of Sprend. Ratomir, our new member in the role of a developer in the Croatian office. Amir as the character who assembled all the IKEA furniture, and at the end of this task, he was sitting in the office and thinking about what would be like to become a carpenter instead of teaching and writing books. You can not say that Sprend doesn’t change lives. Not to forget our special guest: cinnamon rolls representing Swedish spirit in Croatia. The first time I tasted them was last summer made by chef Dennis, a 15-year-old, already great person.
Everything went so natural during our online party, small talks, laugh (especially at Arne’s stories; there is a rumor you can hear that laugh even today in some parts of Pula) and a very important part: Tanja's presentation, mentioning and thanking the ones who were on this path with us. Very emotional, showing how people who don't even know each other can make unity and make things bigger.
I lived again through those beautiful two days with Tanja and her friend Johanna when they came to Pula in October for a firm founding. After they traveled for an enormous number of hours and the hardest rain in the recent history of Pula was not welcoming them, they were bright and positive. Johanna is the person you meet and from the first second, you know there'll be pleasant and interesting talks. I felt I'll miss them on my walks when they'll go back home. Johanna was the only person who was charmed by the old facades of buildings in a center of Pula. That can describe her approach to everything.
So I'm writing this down, not to bother a reader with the things that maybe are not so interesting for the ones outside of this group. My intention was to say how we have never missed other people like today. With no enough social life, we intensify activities within our homes or in nature. But in the end, we need interaction, parties and fun. So we made it. Even online, even with all the things happening around us, we were happy, entertained and it was for real, not only to satisfy the form. It was a good year for Sprend and it ended in the same spirit.
I hope that very soon it'll be possible to gather people for real. To hug without a fear, to travel, or to stay at home because it’ll be our decision and no obligation. We expect simple happiness.
In that spirit, Sprend team wishes you all the best in 2021!