#WFH Diaries: Renée Lam of 72andSunny Amsterdam

As the COVID-19 pandemic gallops along, we’re checking in with the creative industry to see how people are doing. Here’s an update from 72andSunny Amsterdam senior creative Renée Lam.

Give us a one-sentence bio of yourself.

Athleisure embracing → NZ born → Amsterdam based → art director.

Where are you living right now, and who’s with you?

In a little nest for 1-2 in the Dam.

What’s your work situation like at the moment?

Strangely manageable thanks to video conferencing, but currently struggling to keep work-life/life admin from morphing into one continuous blob.

Describe your socializing strategy.

Baking too much to fend off boredom, then taking said baking to friends around the corner for some non-contact chat through their window, 1.5 meters away.

What are you reading?

The Catcher in the Rye, although who knew having the word “goddamn” punctuate every second sentence could be so tiresome?

What are you watching?

Nothing particularly highbrow. These times call for comforting fodder, like Brooklyn 99.

What are you listening to?

The Adam Buxton Podcast. Just finished an old two-part ep he did with Brian Eno. I find his vibe soothing, with his unique mix of silliness and intellectually stimulating interviews. 

How are you staying fit?

I’m embarrassed to admit I downloaded one of those “GET ABS IN 30 DAYS” apps with the tacky adverts that spam you if you don’t pay. I’ve since moved on to a very non-tacky app called Down Dog (thanks, Wendy!). It’s for personalized yoga routines, and for someone who despises yoga, I’m really enjoying it—it’s well designed, and even has nice hipster music.

Have you taken up a hobby?

Actually, no. I’m trying to remind myself to only do things I WANT to do versus feel I SHOULD do, and currently nothing has ticked the former box yet.

Any tips for getting necessities?

SUPPORT YOUR LOCALS. Go to your little fruit and veg man round the corner that you always skip in favor of the big corporates. 

An awkward moment since all this started.

Not fully realizing how the app House Party worked, and all of a sudden finding myself in a video chat with people I didn’t know, with a genuine #wokeuplikethis look.

Best work email you got since all this started.

It’s nice to work at a place where we like each other enough to still want to hang out even if it’s virtually.

An aha! moment since all this started.

Just because the world has gone on pause doesn’t mean I have to succumb to the pressure of creating ALL THE THINGS. Simply living and being kind to others is also OK.

What’s your theory on how this is going to play out?

That this unique interruption will give us the space to see how we can do things we usually take for granted, differently. Hopefully for the better.

See the full #WFH Diaries series here.