When I was in my early twenties, I studied fashion design. I myself thought that I had many good ideas, but had difficulty in obtaining the materials for my ideas, as I was often several years ahead of the trend. Timing is everything in design, so being this far ahead doesn't score points in that industry.
When I studied economics at CBS in my late twenties, I had entrepreneurship as an elective. Here I wrote a large assignment where I invented a new company and brand called "Chameleon Radio". It was about the fact that I was sure that in the future you would listen to radio and music by making your own playlists and putting together your programs as a podcast. The challenge was just that the technique hadn't been invented yet. There were no smartphones yet and it was too difficult to control from a computer, so my teacher didn't quite believe in my amazing business idea.
When I had to write my thesis at CBS, I wanted to write about sustainability and ecology in the clothing industry. I dreamed of wearing smart clothes that were also a little better for the environment. I couldn't understand that the only ones who fought for that cause were a few very small brands, where you also got to look very organic and could only choose beige linen if you wanted to do something good for the environment. However, I believed that the larger clothing brands had to be able to create something fashionable that at the same time had less impact on the environment and that consumers were ready to pay for it. Unfortunately, I had to give up my thesis topic, as no major clothing companies would cooperate with me. It was not an area that the industry wanted to talk about in 2005. Fortunately, a lot has happened since then.
I have always dreamed of becoming a trend researcher. I have always been fascinated by seeing the larger trends, but I think it is probably very good that I have become an artist, where timing is not quite so important, as the expression has to last for many years.
However, I still have the challenge with my art at times. I am inspired by biology, and in both 2018 and 2019 I painted paintings where viruses were part of the story. In 2020, when the pandemic started, I stopped everything. It felt wrong and now suddenly clichéd, and I couldn't fathom painting shapes inspired by viruses in my paintings in 2020... the timing thing is just not my forte 
