Our Pioneer in Berlin: Telma Negreiros

Telma Negreiros, Vice President PR & Communications at Lynk & Co Europe, is our Pioneer this week. We speak with Telma to learn what it is that stands out the most to her whilst living in Berlin. Along with her colleagues at Lynk & Co, Telma shares it’s the raw roughness that attracts creative and open-minded individuals. Read on to learn more about an Instagram initiative that has led to a contagious sense of creativity along with the little things that make Telma feel like home.

Through our Pioneers series, in collaboration with Nils Adriaans, we catch up with members of the Dutch Creative Community living abroad and ask them to send back personal ‘messages in a bottle’ about life away from the Netherlands.

Why are you where you are right now, how did you end up there?

I fought to be where I am now, but I’ll always challenge myself to do better. “You are as good as your last event”, is a quote I often use. This is, to me, an encouragement to reflect and improve on my work, my career and on the way I communicate my ideas to the world. Does my enthusiasm and energy for life and innovation shine through? Can I share my doubts and fallbacks for someone else to learn from these? This positive self-reflection is what drives me. And my never-give-up mentality is what keeps me going!

What is your most precious, ‘priceless’ possession that makes you feel at home?

My partner and son make Berlin feel like home.

The black and white picture I have from photographer Carli Hermes, from his first exposition, is one of my dearest possessions. When I buy tulips and put them next to this beautiful and exciting picture, I almost feel like I am back in Amsterdam. Home is also in the little things: yes, I must admit that I order Calvé mayo to dip my fries in - nothing else compares!

What stands out the most there (professionally)?

It is truly amazing how passionate my colleagues at Lynk & Co are about their work and the brand they represent. The drive and high energy at this company is one of the huge forces behind our success.

I always like to say that we are building the car while driving it! We are still a bit of a start-up and it is my task to create brand awareness throughout Europe.

What inspires you extremely as a professional?

I surround myself with creative people from all walks of life. It is such a special gift to have so many visionary friends. Sometimes we brainstorm, sometimes I just listen to their journeys while creating, which in turn motivates me to keep exploring and innovating.

Something I also love and appreciate are campaigns that humbly make fun of the brand behind it and don’t take themselves too seriously like us at Lynk & Co. A great example is Channel 4 in the UK, who turned viewers' complaints into a promo video. It’s called Complaints Welcome.

What’s the most radical piece of work over there?

I loved ‘Tussen Kunst en Quarantaine’, an Instagram initiative created in March 2020: anyone could send in an image of themselves replicating a famous artwork. It’s the epitome of 21st century art, and it leads to a contagious sense of creativity that connects us again. Perhaps this is the very human, community feeling that social media was always all about?

In the same line of thought, the DJ set improvised by Fatboy Slim’s daughter, aired on YouTube, also reminded me of how sometimes, all we need is lighthearted fun.

What ‘souvenir’ would you bring home?

The city of Berlin reminds me a bit of New York but with more edge. It's a come- and go of people that are all on the move. Berlin’s raw roughness attracts creative and open-minded individuals. A city too perfect loses its identity, and Berlin never fell into that trap.

I love the fact that random people have created pop-up ‘ libraries’ filled with books that would otherwise have ended up in the bin. Take a worn out book, a book you’ve already read, or a much-loved classic, and share the experience with someone else. This is a great example of the sharing economy initiated by consumers.