OUR EXPERIENCE
On the road as artists
We are Nìka Feré and Jürg Mäder—story collectors and producers. Idea supporters and consultants. Filmmakers and photographers. Travel experts and pioneers of new territory. Music-connected and habitat-shapers.
We are interested in the new, the brave, the pioneering, the groundbreaking, that which leaves the beaten path, the essence of things—trailblazing.
On this website, we share this with you. The experience of being on the road, projects we accompany, those we hear about, and those we initiate and implement.
What we do
We travel
Being on the move, leaving the known and familiar behind; setting off into new, unknown worlds.
The most beautiful ideas and the most sustainable projects emerged during our travels—in the unplannable and unforeseeable.
We observe
As storytellers, photographers, filmmakers, and writers, we are currently traveling through the 24 countries of the “European Green Belt,” giving this network a voice across various social media platforms.
We document
We are interested and fascinated by: new paths, the realization of lifelong dreams and utopias, courageous and pioneering initiatives. On a large scale as well as in the inconspicuously small—leaving the beaten path, the essence of things, “trailblazing.”
Our path
For more than 35 years, we have been traveling at the intersection of travel, education, expression, culture, and art. We have initiated various projects in the fields of pedagogy, art, and biodiversity, bringing them to life as total works of art—as habitat mosaics.
We move with the transformation of the living and help shape change in a variety of ways.
In our work, we are interested in the essence that underlies things, places, living beings, and people. We give it expression, a voice, and support.
Our art form follows the teachings of life, that which is oriented toward life, and the design of living spaces.
Nìka Feré
Co-Founder, Lead Designer
It is diversity that has always interested me. The differences, the contrasts—the connection and the connecting element within them.
And the silence, the small, the inconspicuous. Everything living and everything that seems lifeless.
Ju Mäder
Co-Founder, Lead Developer
The magical is unexpected, fleeting, and follows twelve laws. It manifests in the moment—beyond what has been, in the insignificance of what is to come. New things reveal themselves seemingly on their own, opening up surprising worlds, subjects, and encounters never imagined before. As a traveler, in photography and film, as a writer, and in consulting with people, it leads me to the essence and beauty of things and serves as a compass while on the road.
New paths
trailblazing
verb (used with object), trail·blazed, trail·blaz·ing.
to blaze a trail through (a forest, wilderness, or the like) for others to follow.
to be a pioneer in (a particular subject, technique, etc.).
verb (used without object), trail·blazed, trail·blaz·ing.
to work or serve as a trailblazer.
adjective, trailblazing
introducing new ideas or methods; innovative or pioneering.
noun, trailblazer(s);
the first person to do something or go somewhere, who shows that it is also possible for other people.
a person who blazes a trail for others to follow through unsettled country or wilderness.
WAYSTATIONS
Where we are located
Trübbach-CH
La Herradura-ES
Vienna-A
Portsall-FR
Winterthur-CH
Ummanz-D
Lannavaara-SE
Massenhausen-D
Les Bois-CH
Kärde-EST
Kuusamo-FIN
Wolfhalden-CH
Our services
Guidance
Courage to set out
Supporting people and organizations in their personal or entrepreneurial development.
Guidance into a new phase of life.
Consulting
From vision to reality
Supervision, coaching, and organizational consulting. Partnership in building or developing NGOs and educational institutions.
Storytelling
Portraying beauty
Storytelling about projects and people through film, photography, sound, and words.
Collaboration in audio-visual productions.
trailblazing GmbH
Key data
The Swiss company “trailblazing GmbH” is a limited liability company based in Wartau, in the Canton of St. Gallen, and was entered in the commercial register on July 14, 2020.
Identification number UID
CHE-200.345.871
Mailing address
trailblazing GmbH
Hauptstrasse 41
CH – 9477 Trübbach
Purpose
Planning, conception, financing, production, promotion, exploitation, rental, and trade of products (primarily audiovisual, print, and electronic media)
Consulting, training, and provision of further services in the areas of audiovision, supervision, coaching, organizational development, project development, marketing, and communication.
Bank details
Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft, 9001 St. Gallen (Switzerland)
Account trailblazing GmbH, 9477 Trübbach
IBAN CH39 8080 8003 4986 4215 6
Swift-BIC: RAIFCH22XXX
Trailblazing means taking or making a path first, first of all, the first one to do so, and being the first to do something.
It also means that one is leading the way, being far ahead of others and being exceptional. We are looking for trailblazers.
Utopia
Ancient Greek οὐ– “not” and tópos “place”
A utopia is the image of something that has not yet found its place in the world. It is a thought that can become reality, must become reality, so that the world—the outer or one’s own—can be led to something better.
Life is subject to constant change. Adapting to ongoing change is a challenge that is always new; being able to help shape this change is a human gift.
In this striving of life for change and further development, the ability to think utopianly is a fundamental human competence.
Our work is therefore always also liberation—liberation and encouragement for utopian thinking, so that new paths and new places can become reality.