Welcome to Fernweh, a creative studio that builds and amplifies purpose-driven brands that last.
We are Lisa & Tim Hennessy, and we are excited to share our musings, to help you be a better founder.
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Don’t go chasing trends.

It’s so tempting, and I catch myself falling for it every once in a while still, even though I know better. But when things show up everywhere, and you get subjected to them constantly, and enough people seem to like the thing, you start to feel drawn to it too. That’s just how our herd behavior works. In the end, we all want to belong.

But when it comes to brand building we would like to warn you not to fall into this trap. It’s way less costly to buy a pair of terrible plateau shoes or get a bad haircut (yes, the ’90s are back, I hear you) than to actually build a brand following trends. While you can easily discard that scrunchie, in this fast-paced world, following a trend when building a brand is basically a death sentence. By the time you are ready to launch, the next thing is in. And your brand will be an afterthought of something that was once interesting.

People have moved on, at best no one will care anymore, and at worst, it's damaging for your business and customer loyalty. Because you have to rebrand constantly, and can never build that valuable brand recognition that we all want. You might save a bit of money by jumping on the bandwagon with a young designer who is right in that zone of what’s hip currently, but you will surely pay the price in the long run.

So how can you create a real meaningful connection?

Ignore it. Yes, all of it. I mean, I am not talking you out of that haircut, unless you want me to, but that’s about it.
When it comes to branding, we believe that the only way to build authentic, timeless brands that stand the test of time and outlive the latest fad, is by truly building something from the ground up. That means understanding who you are as a company and what you stand for, and who you want to connect with. That means ignoring the temptation of riding that party wave and instead, creating something that is authentically and uniquely yours and that won’t work for anyone else.

Much love, Lisa & Tim