The NEWTREE Blog

Current Mood: Alarmed

Here at NEWTREE we try to give back as much as we can to the environment.  Among our many efforts to reduce the company’s “environmental footprint”, all of our packaging and display materials are FSC certified.  In addition, all of the inks used for printing are 100% vegetable derived.

To better help our fans to understand the importance of FSC certification, and taking care of our environment, we found this funny, yet informational cartoon on the web by author and illustrator Franke James.  Simply click on the link below to enjoy the presentation.  We hope that by learning the importance of taking care of our environment, that we can all do our part to ensure the preservation of our precious natural resources.

Who cares about the Forest? From Franke James on Vimeo.

Current Mood: Cool

Written by Benoit from NEWTREE

EN

Here’s the short story about my recent trip.

Last Sunday, I had an early start, at 6.25 am.  Then I headed into the direction of my laptop to check some “heavenly” news, “Due to the volcanic cloud moving through the airspace of northern Europe, American Airlines regrets to inform you that its flights between Europe and United States have been cancelled.”

With Uncle Sam liking our chocolate a lot, I’ve been going to the US every month lately. But not this Sunday: the volcano had made some different decisions. So here I am, stuck to the ground looking at the perfectly blue sky above me. So I decided to enjoy it to the fullest while remembering a phrase by Proust that I’ve always found very valuable: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes .”

Here is the result of a beautiful walk in the woods and across fields, taken by my daughter with my camera! Vive la Nature!

Current Mood: Happy

Photo by Anne Brancart, our January competition winner

Our tree photo competition that is taking place on our Facebook page, has resulted in many amazing photos of trees and nature that can be found here. Since the month of November, we’ve already selected and announced 3 winners whose beautiful photos will feature in our 2011 calendar. It’s also become a tradition to publish short stories about each of the winning photos.

To continue this tradition, here is a short post in which Anne Brancart, our winner of the January prize (a fantastic meal for two in Hertog Jan, a gastronomy restaurant in Bruges, Belgium) is talking about the mood and spirit of this beautiful photo.

EN

It’s an early morning, and it’s very cold. The fog is still dense, but as it begins to dissipate little by little, the silhouette of the tree begins to appear slowly. Because of the magnificent light, the whole atmosphere feels a bit unreal…

It’s a weekend in the country-side not far from Namur. Let’s quickly capture these magical moments on camera!

FR

C’est le petit matin, il fait très froid. Le brouillard est encore dense mais laisse apparaître de plus en plus clairement la silhouette de l’arbre. La lumière est magnifique, l’atmosphère un peu irréelle…”

Week-end en famille dans la campagne namuroise. Vite, une photo pour fixer ces instants magiques!

Current Mood: Flirtatious

With this post, we want to announce the winner of the January tree photo competition that we ran on our Facebook fan page. We decided to make this announcement in the form of a video, which, by the way, also marked the launch of the NEWTREE YouTube channel!

To stay tuned on more news about our cool company, and get a snapshot at the atmosphere in our office, simply subscribe to the channel!

For now, watch this video (in French), in which David, our Marketing Manager, announces the winner of the January tree photo competition.

The winner is Anne Brancart, the author of this beautiful photo. Congratulations, Anne!

Photo by Milène Jacquin

In this blog post, the winner of the December tree photo competition we ran on our Facebook fan page, Milène from Alsace, France, talks about her photo. Milène’s story wonderfully captures the spirit of a snowy December afternoon, which, despite the cold temperature, was full of beauty, joy,  and stunning winter landscapes. Give in to the beautiful interplay between the coldness of  a December afternoon, and the warmth of feelings. Scroll down to read the story in French.

EN

“So, what’s the story of my photo?

Actually, I am not a professional photographer, not at all! But what’s true is that I really do like taking photos from time to time. Family, friends, events, landscapes… My small camera is often with me in my bag.

The day before I took this photo, it had been snowing. It was a Saturday. Saturdays are usually quite hectic days for me, and it’s difficult to just take it easy.

The following day the sky cleared up. We decided to go sledging with the kids near the Lac Blanc, a place near us that has a sledge track.

The snow-covered fields made the landscape look magnificent. So, off we went. A couple of  snapshots of the snowy landscape. Several trips down the sledge track, and some to go back up. The kids started feeling cold, and we decided to go to a shelter on top of the hill.

There, chocolate, mulled wine, pancakes and waffles were waiting for us. The heat of the stove warmed our bodies and our hearts. The afternoon was coming to an end, and it was getting dark. It was time to go home. The light outside was becoming dim, and the sky was overcast. We realized how essential warm boots and scarves were now, even for just a short trip to our car.

The sun was setting down, and the clouds were scattered in the sky.

And here it was, a little tree, standing alone on top of the deserted sledge track, set against the soft dim light. It was the last snapshot I took before rushing to the car.

That’s the story of behind the photo of the tree!

And as for my discovery of NEWTREE, it was a friend who knows all your products by heart  – he introduced me to your chocolate. My favorite is NEWTREE CANNELLE COCOON.

Finally, thanks to NEWTREE for the great gift box, and an original idea to combine chocolate with wine!

Milène.”

FR

“L’histoire de la photo ?

En fait , je ne suis pas photographe professionnelle, loin de là. Mais il est vrai que j’aime bien prendre des photos de temps en temps. Famille, amis, évènements, paysages… J’ai très souvent un petit appareil compact dans mon sac.

La veille de la prise de la photo, il avait neigé. C’était un samedi. Mais le samedi est généralement un jour assez chargé. Pas le temps de profiter. Le lendemain le temps s’était éclairci. On décide d’emmener les enfants faire de la luge l’après midi au Lac Blanc, une station proche de chez nous, et où il y a une piste de luge.

La neige est toujours présente, le décors est magnifique. Quelques clichés des paysages enneigés.
Quelques descentes.  Autant de remontées. Les enfants commencent à avoir froid. Direction l’auberge située au sommet de la
piste.

Chocolat, vin chaud, crèpes et gauffres, tout près du poële réchauffent coeurs et corps.

L’après midi se termine. La nuit commence à tomber. Il est temps de rentrer. La lumière décroit. Le ciel se couvre de nuages sombres. Il fait froid. Bonnets écharpes et gants sont impératifs. Même pour n’aller que jusqu’à la voiture.

Dehors, le soleil se couche. Les nuages s’étirent et s’éfilochent. Et ce petit arbre, seul, au sommet de la piste désertée, sous cette lumière douce. Dernier cliché avant de m’engouffrer dans la voiture.

Voilà pour la petite histoire.

Pour ce qui est de la découverte de NEWTREE, c’est un ami connaissant par coeur toute votre gamme qui m’y a initiée. Mon préféré : NEWTREE CANNELLE COCOON.

Il me reste à remercier Newtree encore une fois pour le magnifique coffret et l’idée originale d’associer un vin à du chocolat !

Donc merci et à bientôt.

Milène”

Last week, we chose the winner of the December tree photo competition (congratulations, Milène!) and announced the start of the January competition.

All the photos submitted by our Facebook fans on our Facebook page will be also published on our separate January page.

For the launch of our January competition, our jury member Cécile Bolly has shared this beautiful photo with us. As described back in November, Cécile is a member of the jury whose members will vote for the best photo of each month. Cécile is also an author of a book La Magie des Arbres.

Enjoy this photo and share your photographic talent with us!

January in Nil-St-Vincent. Photo by Cécile Bolly, our tree photo competition external jury member

In our today’s post Philippe Ruttens, formerly a photographer now working as marketing manager and consultant, will talk about his photo that won our November tree competition that NEWTREE ran on its Facebook fan page. Let’s find out what kinds of stories, people and events surround this extremely beautiful image that will appear in NEWTREE’s 2011 calendar.

NEWTREE: Philippe, first of all, thanks for being a fan of NEWTREE chocolate, and for participating in our photo competition. We’re happy for you, and hope you’ll enjoy your prize, a nice chocolate massage!

Tell us why you decided to submit exactly this photo?

Philippe: It actually didn’t take me long to find my photo as I don’t actually photograph trees much but I got a lucky shot with this one.

I knew about NEWTREE but discovered the latest range of products recently.

That image was part of an exhibition I showed about 4 years ago while I was living in Sydney, Australia and working as a photojournalist. It was shot on a one-week 2000kms return trip between Sydney and Broken Hill in New South Wales, which is a small town on the edge of the great Australian Outback. Along with a colleague photographer, I wanted to document through portraits, places and details the real Australian life outside of the  city.

This tree was beautifully set on the edge of the road among fields, we just had to stop and shoot it from various angles!

NEWTREE: It was taken in Australia, so November there looks a bit different than in Belgium, home of NEWTREE! Is this what’s in your view the “spirit of November” looks and feels like?

Philippe: Indeed, it was shot at the beginning of Australia’s summer which explains the straw rolls next to the tree, so pretty different from our own November. The temperature in Australia’s November can easily hit 35c, the equivalent of our November down under would be April basically. Having said that, that tree was without leaves and even looked “nearly dead” so it still fits the November mood!

NEWTREE: For you personally, what does it mean to capture the beauty of nature in general and trees in particular in your photos?

Philippe: I prefer more the detail shots than vast panoramic landscapes images in general.

Capturing nature is a challenge for photographers as you need a lot of patience, attention for time and light (sun, clouds positioning, etc.) and usually return to the same place many times to really get the best shot.

In the case of this particular image, it was simply a matter of stopping the car for 5 minutes. We took the same road on the way back and the setting looked different already with another light!

I particularly like the tree trunks and roots, the shape and forms of their wood, as well as the mushrooms nesting at its roots!

NEWTREE: And a final question: a person who takes such beautiful photos of nature, and likes chocolate must be someone who is positive about life, and likes to enjoy it! How are you going to enjoy 2010?

Philippe: Actually, I prefer to photograph buildings, objects and people, but surely a nice landscape with a dramatic sky will always see my camera used! Scotland for that reason is one of the nicest places to shoot nature for me. I used to study and live there too.

Positivity is all in the mind, an attitude that must be constantly nurtured. Meditation, going to the gym, good Belgian beers, films and chocolate are indeed things that help me get to that state of mind.

For me, there are no big plans for 2010 except for some short trips within Europe, buying furniture for my Antwerp loft and enjoying great food & drink with my partner Annemarie and friends.

NEWTREE: Once again, thanks for participating in our Facebook photo competition, and have a happy and healthy new year!

Image source: imageafter.com

With our December tree photo competition taking place on Facebook, we wanted to look into the history of the ultimate symbol of December in many countries – a Christmas tree.

December is the only time of the year in many countries of the world when a tree gets adorned with ornaments, fruit and chocolate and becomes a symbol of festivity and joy.

In general, trees, and particularly, the tree of life, have been attributed extraordinary powers, especially those of immortality and fertility, throughout the history of humankind.

Adorning evergreen trees during the winter season is a tradition that had a symbolic meaning in pagan rituals. Decorated trees are said to have played a symbolic role during the Roman feast of Saturnalia and were cherished by the Druids in the period of winter solstice.

Some traces of the first Christmas trees being erected go back to the 16^th century in North Germany, a tradition which later on spread to many Slavic countries in Eastern Europe.

Enjoy the sensational moments of fun with your family and take time to inhale the fresh scent of the beautiful Christmas trees. We wish you a very happy Christmas season!

Current Mood: Playful

Photo by Christophe Deliens

We are very happy to have received a lot of very beautiful November tree photos from our Facebook fans. You can see them both on our Facebook fan page, as well as a separate photo gallery that we created on this blog.

The author of the winning photo will be rewarded by a chocolate massage.

HERE IS HOW WE WILL CHOOSE THE WINNER:

Our jury will consist of 5 NEWTREE staff members, one external member, as well as YOU, readers of this blog!

• If you are our blog reader, Facebook fan, or anyone else who follows NEWTREE’s activities on the web, you are welcome to vote for the most beautiful photo. The principle is simple:

1. go to our photo gallery of November trees,
   
2. choose 3 photos you like most and give 3 points to the one you like most, then 2 points to the second choice, and 1 point to your last choice
   
3. send your selection of the 3 photos to tree@newtree.be INDICATING THE NUMBER OF EACH PHOTO, and how many points you give it.
4. You can vote for photos by sending an email to tree@newtree.be from December 1, 2009 11 pm  till December 3, 2009 11 PM (GMT+1).

• NEWTREE employees on the jury will each select 3 photos of their choice.

• Out of 3 photos selected by each employee, the favorite one will receive 3 points, with the other two receiving 2 points and 1 points.

• Finally, an external jury member, Cécile Bolly, will select her preferred photo!

Cécile is a medical doctor, photographer and author of a book “La Magie des Arbres” (Magic of Trees).

Cécile shares the same passion for nature and trees as NEWTREE does, and she has kindly agreed to be one of our judges for each month’s best tree photo.

Together with  NEWTREE employees, Cécile will select the winning photo of the month. Next year, we will publish the 12 winning photos as a calendar with a foreword and a photo courtesy of Cécile Bolly.

Apart from that, we have some other surprises for you in connection to Cécile Bolly’s photographic art and her book “La Magie des Arbres”. For updates, become our fan on Facebook and watch our wall!

Current Mood: Cool

Our previous blog post announced a November tree photo competition in the framework of our Amazing Trees 2011 Calendar project. Before we’ve even announced the winner of the November photo game on Facebook (whose photo will be rewarded by a chocolate massage), we’re happy to say that:

First, we have a wonderful collection of beautiful photos all of which display amazing November trees! European trees in November stand still in their beauty, almost ready to go to the winter sleep, but still proud to show their beauty. In other parts of the world from we received photos, such as Australia, or Brazil, November trees look quite different — full of life energy and reflecting the abundant sunshine!

That’s the spirit of November: moments of fragile beauty and tranquility are mixed with exuberant joy and love of life!

Second, we are happy to discover that we have managed to inspire our fans to embark on small journeys to the nearby parks and forests, breathe fresh air, take their minds off their hectic lives, and enjoy the quiet beauty of nature.

One of them, France, author of the blog www.cosicuisine.com spent a beautiful day in one of the Brussels parks with her camera, and the result is….392 photos that capture the dim light of a beautiful November day!

Photo courtesy of cosicuisine.com

Visit her blog to get into the tranquil mood of November in Brussels and take a glimpse at her great photographic journey.

The article was written in French, but even if you don’t speak it, get tuned to the November mood displayed in these photos and their beauty will speak for itself!