Back to basics...

By Gregory Ronczewski, Director of Product at Ibbaka. See his skill profile.

The positioning line for 1 Mill Road Vineyard starts with "Back to basics.. ."It is back to basics for Cynthia and David Enns as they begin yet another wine journey after leaving their previous success story—Laughing Stock Vineyards—behind.” This statement resonates with me on so many different levels. I was walking the other day and spoke to a neighbour, of course keeping a safe distance, and she said that in a way, her life has gone back to basics. She was wearing wellingtons and an old sweater. She said - ‘After all, we don't need that much“ - and went home carrying firewood in her arms. And this got me thinking. Apart from digging into cupboards in the kitchen to see if perhaps there is a forgotten pack of pasta hiding in the back, we are all reaching deep into skills and solutions lost a long time ago. Skills replaced by technology and services that are not available now. This back to basics notion made me also look for examples of simplicity. "Basic" does not necessarily mean "simple," however, "simple" often means "ingenious."

One of the critical skills that—in my opinion—is having a huge impact is Planning. We are all now playing this planning game. It's called What's for dinner? How do you plan with limited resources, alternate between something simple and a bit more extravagant? Planning is really responsible for not only small and tangible outcomes but also for a vision of how a particular product will be used. Being wrapped in a protective bubble of isolation makes me go back in time, which is much safer than planning for the unknown future. Anyhow...

One of my all-time favourite cars is Citroën 2CV. The car was introduced at the 1948 Paris Motor Show and produced in different versions until 1990. One can see a utilitarian, ultra-simplistic and straightforward machine, but there are several rather smart choices made by the design team. For instance, we are familiar with the wheel balancing process when a new tire is mounted. Bright engineers at Citroën knew that finding a shop in rural France with tools to perform it was not an option. So instead, they come up with self-balancing wheels, which are manifested by using only three wheel-screws with smart washers. Same with the oil filter - 2CV had no oil filter. Just change the oil regularly, and the two-cylinder, air-cooled engine will last forever. It was a well-planned, user-centric decision. The suspension on the 2CV is phenomenal. The original model had no shock absorbers, just a set of rods connecting the front and back wheels through springs, making this car one of the most comfortable rides in the history of automobiles. Surprisingly, this ultra-smooth solution was not adopted by other car manufacturers. While the suspension was left to do its thing, smart design moved the breaks away from the wheels. They were mounted close to the gearbox in the center of the car. This solution was later picked up by the F1 teams. It not only it simplifies the construction of the wheel hub, but also brings the weight closer to the center of gravity, resulting in much better handling. 

For me, the planning process is central to service and experience design, not just technical aspects, but the broader context in which the product will be used . And it was all done over seventy years ago! I did not have a chance to own 2CV. Instead, I was fortunate to purchase a 1968 Renault 4 Fourgonnette, and it was by far the most fun ride I've ever owned. Owning it taught me a lot about myself, about cars, and skills I never thought I had. To be specific, Patience and Attention to Detail are two that are still in my core set. When I think about all the things that talented engineers thought about back then it shows that having plenty of features doesn't necessarily lead to usefulness. However, a small set of items that helps the user to foresee and remove problems results in massive adoption and unconditioned love for the product.

We are accustomed to delegating, to use services, subscriptions and all the things that move our hyper lives even faster. Now, all of it has come to a sudden stop. For some, food delivery is still an option, but for many, it is not. As I shared at the beginning of this article, food is currently a topic of all households. It can be a great activity, where we connect and work on a new set of skills which may come handy. From my childhood days, I recall one dish that everyone loved to participate in. As we all struggle with the flood of COVID-19 messages, I decided to use this space and share a recipe that will test your Collaboration and Manual Skills. It's fun to do, especially with the kids. 

Without further ado, let's make a lot of dumplings or pierogis as we call them in Poland.

For the dough you will need:
500gr (1/2kg) of multipurpose flour
1.5 glasses of quite warm water
One spoon of butter, or a large chunk

Start with mixing on a flat surface/table the flour with one glass of water. Add butter and keep kneading. If too dry, add water. If too sticky, add flour. Work on the dough until smooth and soft to touch. It should not stick to your hands. Wrap in the plastic foil, so it doesn't dry too fast.

For the filling, and this is a so-called Russian version, the one my grandmother always made, you will need:
4-5 medium potatoes, peeled and boiled in salted water
One small onion, finely chopped and sauteed until translucent in oil or butter with a pinch of salt and pepper
4-5 spoons of goat cheese. If you are not a goat cheese person I am not sure what you can use to substitute.

Once potatoes are cooked, mash them with a fork, add onions, and cheese, add more pepper or salt if needed, mix well.

Finally: cut a small piece of dough, roll thinly, sprinkle a bit of flour if the dough sticks to your rolling pin. Next, use a glass or metal form to cut circles from it about 2.5" or so in diameter. Add a spoon of filling, fold and close it by firmly pressing sides of the dough. Place on a clean cloth and cover with another, so those ready do not dry. There is enough in this recipe to make around 60-70 pierogis. Add in batches to the simmering water, 16 to 20 at a time. They should be ready in about 8 minutes or when they float to the surface. Serve with sauteed onions. If 70 is too many to eat in one sitting, they are delicious when you pan-fry them the next day. Just make sure your frying pan is pretty hot, so they do not stick.

So there, going back to basics is not that bad. Use this time to dive inwards into the skills of the past and then use those skills to connect with the people you are close to. It will take the statistics off your mind and frankly, making and eating food together beats everything.