News
FX Series Justified: CITY PRIMEVAL Shoots at THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™
GERTRUDE, INC. JOINS DIVERSITY IN DESIGN COLLABORATIVE
CHICAGO, IL – GERTRUDE, INC. is excited to join the Diversity in Design (DID) Collaborative. The #DIDCollaborative is a group of companies that recognize that diversity is our greatest creative advantage and are coming together to foster systemic change in increasing diversity in design across disciplines. DID members will illuminate design career paths for underrepresented high school and college-aged students and create bridges to eventual employment opportunities. Learn more at diversityindesign.com #diversityindesign
Credit: Logo designed by Forest Young
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RETURNING TO RITUAL:
A PREVIEW OF SEA CHANGE AT THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™
CHICAGO, IL – Frank Maugeri believes in the importance of ceremony and celebration in civic life. “We need that outdoor experience of story, gathering around the fire and seeing something beautiful,” he says. After the shuttering of the iconic Redmoon Theater in 2015—the company he co-founded and led to fame for its wildly imaginative stage shows and outdoor spectacles that incorporated puppetry, music, and fantastic sets and costumes into operatic displays of the whimsical, breathtaking, and grotesque—Maugeri took a new approach to large-scale public ritual performance with a kaleidoscopic collective called Cabinet of Curiosity. Instead of a permanent company with a physical home, Cabinet forms creative collectives around specific projects, pulling together a wide-ranging, ever-growing, ever-shifting group of writers, actors, puppeteers, musicians, dancers, and visual artists under the banner. Their latest public spectacle, “Sea Change,” takes place July 15-25 outdoors at THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™ in partnership with the Hideout, and promises to make up for a year-plus of constrained and isolated living with larger-than-life pomp.
The script is a collaboration between five authors: Lindsey Noel Whiting, Kasey Foster, Bethany Thomas, Liz Luthier, and Seth Bockley. Maugeri directs a cast of seven, including quadruple threats (actor-dancer-singer-puppeteer) Time Brickey and Olivia Comai. Behind-the-scenes photos on Cabinet’s social media provide tantalizing peeks at fantastical puppet sharks, sea birds, a whale, and a twelve-foot mermaid—creations of designers Ellie Terrell, Milam Smith, Jesse Mooney Bullock and Jillian Gryzlak. “Sea Change” invites us to gather once more and, together, experience wonder and awe.
Cabinet of Curiosity’s “Sea Change” at THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™, 1727 West 21st, July 15-25. $25. Cocechicago.com
NETFLIX FINDS LOVE AT THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™
CHICAGO, IL – GERTRUDE, INC.’s global brand innovation and content factory, THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™ (pronounced The• Brand•House•Pilsen) is successfully making its name as a dynamic hub for global brand engagement, content creation, and connecting brands in culture.
This summer 2021, the BRNDHAUS stepped up as the location setting for the season 2 production of NETFLIX’s #1 rated show “Love Is Blind.” The reality program brings together potential love-and-relationship-seekers in a blind dating format where they meet, and connect, without ever seeing each other. The matches made get engaged, and can even marry. The 6-week production assembled an 85-person crew from Chicago and L.A. to film season 2 in Chicago—home to THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™, located in the heart of Pilsen at 1727 W. 21stStreet.
As a premium, go-to environment for brands to develop, create/produce content, and activate experiences in a creative-driven private space, the BRNDHAUS delivered NETFLIX the perfect setting for “Love Is Blind” film production.
And NETFLIX is not alone. Other global brands including Beam Suntory (Maker’s Mark, Courvoisier), NBC (Universal Television), and Lollapalooza, to name a few, are crafting unique content, consumer engagements, and brand experiences at THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN under the direction of in-house global brand development and innovation agency GERTRUDE, INC.
As companies and brands continue to seek smarter solutions to innovate creative, production, and activation in a changed world, GERTRUDE is leading a new path forward at THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™, offering a one-stop brand innovation and content factory located in a global hub for creativity and culture.
VISIT GERTRUDE, INC.™ AT GERTRUDE.AGENCY
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BRIDGING CREATIVITY, INNOVATION, AND COMMUNITY
WITH THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™
CHICAGO, IL – Operating under the GERTRUDE creative umbrella and with the company’s 16 years of expertise in the marketing realm, THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™ is a one-stop destination for bringing a brand to life—from planning and strategy, to consumer testing and co-creation, to branding, to communications, to creating and activating brand experiences.
“GERTRUDE is creating a concept with the agency’s own mark of design craftsmanship, imagination, and branding that will see closer collaboration between our clients, consumers, and a wide array of disciplines across the Chicago creative community within a modern, premium, mercurial working environment that perfectly aligns with Pilsen’s reputation as a forward-looking hub for the city’s creativity and culture,” says founder Otis D. Gibson.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FEATURE IN NEWCITY DESIGN
VISIT GERTRUDE, INC.™ AT GERTRUDE.AGENCY
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INNOVATION BRAND FACTORY OPENS IN THE HEART OF PILSEN
AUGUST 05, 2020 – Global brand development, innovation, advertising, and marketing services consultancy GERTRUDE, INC.™ announces the completed renovation of its design-forward brand destination, THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™. The two-year long development is a transformational one that brings a new brand and energy to the 20-year-vacant property located at 1727 W. 21st Street in Chicago’s dynamic Pilsen neighborhood; and new opportunity to global brands and professional creative business.
Powered by GERTRUDE, INC., THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN is the new global HQ to the agency and its two divisions OZ MFG. COMPANY™ – Design & Content Creation, and RAYE™ – Experiential & Architecture.
The newly opened BRNDHAUS is described as a ‘Global Brand Innovation and Content Factory’ dedicated to the development, consumer co-creation, incubation and activation of brands. “The BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN’s founding purpose is to cultivate brand experiences while aligning professional creative leaders, thinkers, and doers within a premium, forward-looking environment that nurtures memorable brands,” said GERTRUDE and BRNDHAUS Owner and Chief Creative Officer Otis D. Gibson, “It provides a contained, creatively-focused space for brands to develop, rapid prototype, engage with consumers, do pop-ups, and create and test ideas real-time in the heart of Pilsen.”
Additionally, the BRNDHAUS offers select rental opportunity exclusively for film and photo production. Mindful of today’s ever-shifting businesses realities, Gibson and team took care to create a socially distanced, globally connected space that is COVID-19 safety compliant. The building features wide-open spaces with 17’ ceilings for production and livestreaming capability for remote shooting and broadcasting. Gibson added, “With the business climate rapidly evolving and creating new opportunity for entrepreneurial solutions, THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™ is a facility built for today’s world and anticipating what tomorrow may look like. We look forward to serving our clients and creative professionals as we collectively reshape and innovate an even stronger path forward.”
For inquiries please contact 312.266.4410 or hello@brndhaus.co.
ABOUT GERTRUDE, INC.
GERTRUDE, INC. is minority owned and certified agency headquartered in Chicago. Some of GERTRUDE’s clients have included AB InBev, DIAGEO, The Hershey Company, Hewlett Packard, J&J Snack Foods, Mars Wrigley, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Red Bull, Singha Beer, Smoothie King, and Virgin.
www.gertrude.agency
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CHICAGO P.D. SHOOTS AT THE BRNDHAUS
CHICAGO, IL – NBC and Emmy-winning producer Dick Wolf's riveting police drama following the men and women of the Chicago Police Department’s elite Intelligence Unit features THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™ as the setting for the season finale airing Wednesday, May 22, 2019. The BRNDHAUS property, which was under construction during filming, was the perfect choice for location scouts seeking a classic abandoned Chicago warehouse located in the heart of Pilsen where the CPD is chasing its next high-profile case.
Now in its 6th season, the highly-rated Chicago P.D. follows the Intelligence Unit of the 21st District of the Chicago Police Department as they pursue the perpetrators of the city’s most heinous street offenses—organized crime, drug trafficking, murders, and beyond—against the backdrop of political and social agendas the play a key role in how they function. The elite force’s goal is to protect their great city, and their form of justice means that rules are oftentimes more guidelines than laws.
THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™ is a warehouse-style building facility featuring various sized spaces (indoor/outdoor) or the full property available for film and print production.
Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays on NBC at 9pm CST.
Look out for more news on the next exciting chapter at THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™.
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CLICK ABOVE TO WATCH SEASON 6 EPISODE 7 HIGHLIGHT
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF INNOVATION
APRIL 01, 2019 - THE BRNDHAUS™ PL-ZEN announces its launch on April 1, 2019, coinciding with the momentous 100th anniversary of the German art school Staatliches Bauhaus, commonly known as “Bauhaus,” in operation since 1919.
The Bauhaus’ indelible influence on the development of modernist arts, architecture, and design during the 20th century is the inspiration for the BRNDHAUS’ modern aesthetic and founding purpose as a place to cultivate and nurture memorable brands and brand experiences while aligning the city’s creative leaders, thinkers, and doers.
As the BRNDHAUS embarks on a new chapter as a “Brand Innovation and Content Factory,” we pay respect and admiration to the Bauhaus school’s 100 years of innovation.
THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN is scheduled to open its doors in mid-2020.
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THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN’S BRANDING AGENCY GERTRUDE, INC. SELECTED FOR NEWCITY’S DESIGN 50: WHO SHAPES CHICAGO 2019
CHICAGO, IL – THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™ is pleased to announce the return of Newcity’s marquee design issue, Design 50: Who Shapes Chicago highlighting the behind-the-scene forces who bring Chicago’s worlds of design to life by driving the creation of form, function and beauty—from architecture and home, to fashion, product, and graphic design.
Considering leadership, influence and vision as its principal measures, here’s those who lead Chicago’s design ecosystem into steady, collaborative growth, those who make a splash putting the city in the national and international spotlight and those, whose up-and-coming nature doesn’t compromise their big ventures, visions, and ideas.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FEATURE IN NEWCITY DESIGN
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100 years of Bauhaus: what today’s famous logos
would look like in Bauhaus style
FEBRUARY 18, 2019 - It’s bold. It’s minimal. It’s functional. After a hundred years, Bauhaus design continues to inspire artists, graphic designers, and architects across the globe.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY BY 99DESIGNS
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PILSEN WAREHOUSE CONVERTED TO
DESIGN-FORWARD OFFICE SPACE AND INNOVATION BRAND FACTORY
THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN
FEBRUARY 01, 2019 – A bi-level warehouse building located at 1727 W. 21st Street in the heart of Chicago’s dynamic Pilsen neighborhood is set to be transformed. The building dates back to 1914, in its early years hosting local retailers including a bakery, and most recently housing a large cold storage and pallet factory. Next up, the building will merge with Pilsen’s reputation as a forward-looking hub for the city’s creativity and culture.
Scheduled to open its doors Summer 2020, the building has been named the “THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™” (Pronounced: The•Brand•House•Pilsen). “The BRNDHAUS is described as a ‘Global Brand Innovation and Content Factory’ dedicated to the development, consumer co-creation, incubation and activation of brands within a mercurial working and gathering environment that is modern, premium, and forward-looking,” said the property owners and management.
Creatively owned and operated, the BRNDHAUS brings a distinct creative texture rooted in modernist design to Pilsen’s landscape—aligning and inspiring professionals across advertising, architecture, branding, remote working, exhibit, fashion, film, and media arts, to grow with and imprint upon this singular neighborhood that was recently named by FORBES as one of the Top 12 Coolest Neighborhoods in the world.
THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN is the new global HQ for Chicago-London-New York based, brand development and innovation consultancy GERTRUDE, INC.™ and the agency’s two divisions OZ MFG. COMPANY™ (Design & Content Creation) and RAYE™ (Experiential & Architecture). The BRNDHAUS also offers select rental opportunities for Brand Activations and Film & Photo Production.
The BRNDHAUS celebrates its official opening in 2019 to coincide with the momentous 100th anniversary of the German art school Staatliches Bauhaus, commonly known as “Bauhaus,” that opened April 1, 1919. The Bauhaus’ indelible influence on the development of modernist arts, architecture, and design during the 20th century is the inspiration for the BRNDHAUS’ modern aesthetic and founding purpose as a place to cultivate and nurture memorable brands and brand experiences while aligning the city’s creative leaders, thinkers, and doers.
For rental inquiries with THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN™ please contact hello@brndhaus.co or 312.266.4410.
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Forbes names Pilsen one of the 12 coolest neighborhoods
in the world
JUNE 22, 2018 - Chicago is made up of more than 70 distinctive neighborhoods, so we're never surprised when a corner of our city lands on a national publication's list of coolest neighborhoods in the country. But when a Chicago 'hood is named one of the world's best? Now you've got our attention. According to Forbes, Pilsen is one of the 12 coolest neighborhoods on the planet, a statement we can happily corroborate.
There's no scientific data at play here; the author simply tapped industry travel experts for top places to explore. The hot tip on Pilsen came from Melissa Biggs Bradley, the founder of Indagare, a membership-based luxury travel company. Here's what she had to say about the South Side destination:
“Featuring streets lined with hip galleries and walls decorated with colorful murals dating from the 1970s, the Pilsen neighborhood on Chicago’s Lower West Side is a nest of cutting-edge culture and art. It’s been fostered by successive waves of Eastern European and Mexican immigrants, in addition to local artists and students, who have molded this fascinating area over the past century and a half. At the National Museum of Mexican Art, the 10,000-piece collection showcases the work of Mexican and Mexican-American artists. And there are a growing number of performance venues, art studios and trendy bars like the popular Punch House."
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