Art, craft and storytelling runs in my family. Despite the proliferation of modern content and media filling our small and large screens as a society, sometimes something new comes along that harkens back to the old, prompting a warm feeling cascading up from the belly to form a smile on my face.

I became aware of Indiana native Chris Sickels of Red Nose Studio and his throw-back 3D illustration and stop-motion animation craft 11 or so years ago after watching this video, and have followed his journey on Instagram and in print and digital interviews.

The last time I hung out in person with Ola Stenegärd, the Director of Design for Indian Motorcycle, was at the 2020 One Moto Show in Portland, Oregon, weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic shut everyone down. Our weekly interactions since consist of idea and anecdotal exchanges on WhatsApp or Instagram, and recently the topic of Werner — the popular German cartoon character created by Brösel (born Rötger Feldmann) in the 1970s — caught my attention.