Through europe on motorcycle!

A greeting from Jonas who once again been on an impressive motorcycle journey through Europe. It is inspiring to see his pictures of what it is to experience different places and cultures by traveling around on a motorcycle, we are pleased to be a part that simplifies and compliment his trip, let yourselves get inspired!

"So, we have been out on a trip again and this time we were in Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. I have been driving with the Kori back protector and I do not think about it, feels like it is  with the body.

We went shopping in Samnaun in Switzerland and then I had kori on all the time, it was only when I got back to the motorcycle that I thought about having it with me.

On our trip, we visited among others Postojna Cave in Slovenia where you travel by train into the cave a few miles and then walk around in there. We have also been in Arabba which is my favorite place when it comes to great motorcycle roads!"

Now Jonas is home again and he is already planning for next year's motorcycle trips! Thank you Jonas for sharing!

Thinking about the disaster in Bangladesh...

We're talking about that we manufacture our products in Sweden "with the environment impact and the living standards that we feel that we can stand for", and this may appear to be empty words but it is just examples like these that made us take this decision, the disaster in Bangladesh where over 1,100 textile workers lost their lives.. who would want to stand for that ..

We feel that we are too small to make the kind of demands that would give us full control of what happens in a factory on the other side of the globe, in a culture that we can not compare ourselves with and with a standard of living that makes these conditions considered to be ok ...

What is interesting in this discussion is that not even major companies, global companies such as H&M proves to have the strength (or desire) to achieve full control and take responsibility for their factories ...

When we want to visit our factory here in Sweden so we jump into the car and a few hours later, we sit and have a coffee discussing the production. It is an incredible security and a comfort, not the least that we feel safe with the laws and regulations in Sweden, but also our communication and close contact with production managers and seamstresses the credibility that we want to make us proud of our production and products!

Yes, our prices are higher than our competitors - but we also make sure to fill our products with a user value and a functional value that matches our pricing. In addition to this value, one should not extenuate the security of buying a product that is made with a standard of living that allows our factory workers to go to work each day without having to be concerned, either for themselves, their colleagues or their families.

KORI - Made in Sweden!

5 tips for a good design process

Yesterday i was at Malmo University to hold a lecture about our design-thinking and product decelopement.

I showed the students our journey with KORI, how we took the kori-concept from idea to reality.

I tried to explain how we reach innovation through loops between chaos and structure.

Instead of promoting the ever promoted and sure worth promoting "focus" I choose to promote chaos and "leaving the track" inviting to think broad and wide, gain knowekegde and finding inspiration.

In short these were my 5 tips for a good design process,  which ended the lecture with 

1. Collect information. As much as you can. The more the better. No need to be directly related, it can as well be inspirational to the project.
2. Do not value the information too early, something uninteresting in the beginning of a project can be of great importance in later in the project.
3. Be curious. Listen and observe. The best way to learn is to get infi from the users. But note that not all questions will give you the actial answer. Ask the right questions. Observ and learn.
4. Get to know your user. And not only in the situation where your project touches him or her, get to know all levels of the user, find out as much as you can, people are complex creatures.
5. Communicate. Get to know yourself and how you communicate your own ideas, how you get them from your thoughts into something explainable for yourself and for others. How you communicate within your group and with different professions, we all have different languages.

The students at Malmö University, waiting for the lectura to begin.

The favorite from last winter season is finally back.

Now we have our KORI Hermine, a winter beanie in an extended model for a stylish fit and with soft and warm fleece lining that keeps the wind and the cold out.

The beanie is named after the hermine, which, with its thick winter coat, withstand cold winter conditions excellent. The hermine is a brave and intelligent hunter who is not afraid of larger prey than their own body size, despite its poor vision, it is also a very skilled climber. Hermine herefore represents a brave and active lifestyle.

Today, we are excited that we have found a supplier who can live up to our expectations in quality, durability and of course Swedish production.

Read more about KORI Hermineon our website

Creative meeting with great girls

Yesterday I was in a meeting with three great girls with creative ideas and well thought through strategies. They are working in a project with KORI to guide us into the stunning alpine world. A world that many of us recognize and long for each year, high mountains and glittering white slopes, environments and emotions that are explained with words like freedom, flexibility and spontaneity - just the words that KORI stands for, with these feeling as a starting point, KORI enriches the experience with safety.

We want to show the market that the back protector does not need bulky, stiff and uncomfortable, with KORI, they may even be soft, comfortable and practical. The goal is to make it easy for the alpine world to know and experience the benefits that KORI carries over other back protectors on the market.

Four great girls (yes, self-confident as I am, I include myself as one in the great gang) who sit together and discuss opportunities that creates an image of the future, can it be more inspiring?!

Whoever you are - Motorcycle Fair 2013

Right now in Stockholm, formerly known as the Swedish motorcycle exhibition "On Two Wheels", this year the fair has simplified its name to simply call itself "Motorcycle Fair 2013". A promising change from our view, as this brings out their well chosen and oh so true slogan: 

"Whoever you are"

They want to convey the message that anyone can drive a motorcycle, and it's really! Driving a motorcycle no longer needs to be about becoming a biker or in any way place you in the category of "motorcyclist". Driving a motorcycle is all about experiencing something special. Driving and being transported in a way that brings special feelings of freedom, flexibility and spontaneous.

These feelings are so special that they was the start of the entrepreneurial spirit that is the foundation of KORI, our passion, our products and our vision.

Some recognize that feeling on a pair of skis in the snow-capped mountain, on a mountain bike in challenging terrain or on a longboard on a steep slope. It's speed and movement, it is focus and concentration it is a challenge.

Whoever you are, you can ride a motorcycle - and what you will experience, you will most certainly love.

we wish you a merry christmas

This is KORI...

We are a brand that doesn't look upon our users as a market, we look upon our users as a person wich is a part of several markets, summertime...

... and wintertime.

And we'll have a range of products adapting to our users and their specific need. Products represented by inspirational animals, their characterists and their living habits.

We hope to combine these two worlds and we hope to make this a new experience - Encouraging Freedom. Encouraging Safety.

www.koriexperience.com

KORI the brand

But what does the word KORI mean?

From the very beginning, we produced the figure KORI. A spirited Alert curious figure who symbolized the wild, adventurous and surreal feelings surrounding a motorcycle. The long ears represent freedom and responsiveness. The curious eyes and childish but cocky expression stands for the mischievous and confident feeling that conveys the motorcycle. There was a fellow who eventually needed a name.

We were searching for a name that would convey our feeling - feeling of freedom, pride, mischievousness, curiosity, flexibility, spontaneity, adventure covetousness ... At the same time, we wanted to highlight the profound relationship that is found between the individual and the motorcycle, which is a special relationship, difficult to put into words ...

Trying to summarize all this in a single word, or even a name soon proved to be anything but easy. We wanted to get everything without really saying anything!
Finally one day we asked ourselves some swenglish "what exactly is the "Core" in our product and our brand?" And suddenly we had the answer in front of us:
- It's "Cor" it's all about!

Kori name originated from the word "core" = "the central or most important part of something"
We took the word core and lifted it to a new dimension: Kori, a mischievous and a bit cocky wave with a scoop of freedom, joy, curiosity and spontaneity.

Today is our figure our internal mascot that reminds us of who we are and what we stand for. It is still hard to straight up and down to put actual words what Kori really is and stands for, Kori is a feeling ... It's about to experience Kori. It's about finding their Kori ... The one who has known the feeling also know what we're talking about.

Word linguistic meanings:
- In Finnish, the word basket / bärredskap
- In Serbian, the word usage.
- On Indonesian / Malay, the word door.
- The Slovenian / Czech, the word corridors.
- In Hungarian, the word age.
- In Korean, the word connection
- The Bangladeshi is "kori" a plural of "kora" and that means "ourselves."
Neija Kori = we do it our selves. Help Organization in Bangladesh.

Kori also:
- A first name (USA) that can be used by both men / women.
- A nickname (France and England) for the name Corinne originally from Corinna / Korinna meaning virgin / maiden.
- A village in Central Africa
- A city in Japan
- A people in India that is strongly associated with weaving and textile industry.
- An African word for valley in the desert where water collected during rainy periods. Hence a kind of gathering place for animals.
- A large African bird in Africa (Kori Bustard), one of the largest flying birds.
- Kori has also previously been the name of an Indian currency (up to 1947)

The Brand

I wanted to create a brand that would stand for more than just products. I wanted to create a brand that could convey the mischievous, curious and terrified feelings I had as a motorcyclist, as an entrepreneur, as an innovator, designer ... 

I wanted to convey the core in the emotions  - "the core feeling" - I wanted to convey KORI.

Many thanks (again) to those who helped me convey the feeling through both figurative and film! Michael Olenmark, Jenny Ekdahl, Nadja Maya, Maya Hansson, Samuel Hildingsson, Mikael Hildingsson, Axel Åkerlund (Creative Music), Johanna Löfgren, George and Ingrid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsPgpg_eqOU

A cold spring day in 2007

We are approaching the same annual period, though today its 4 years ago. A cold spring day on dry pavement .. it was in 2007. First time on a motorcycle. A few months later, I sat on a custom motorcycle with a license that understood that the alphabet does not begin with a B but with an A (!) (in sweden that is)

Thank you Michael and thanks Bengt! Thanks Margaret and Helen!

Thanks - for the lending of motorcycles, equipment, lessons and patience!