From Farming to Launching Creative Campaigns to Hosting Retreats: Bernhard Schluga Shares His Creative Journey

Bernhard Schluga on blending his family’s farming roots with contemporary art and business in Austria.

Robin: Bernhard, your journey from a budding farmer to successful Art Director is as fascinating as it is unique. Can you tell us how your early life on your grandfather's farm influenced your decision to pursue art and design as a career?

Bernhard Schluga: Let me start at the very beginning. I always thought I would become a farmer because my grandfather had a beautiful farm in the countryside, and my earliest memories are all connected with this farm. It was kind of my mission to take over one day. Interestingly, my mother wrote me a letter when I was about five or six years old, predicting that I would become an artist. She didn’t hand me this letter until I got accepted into art school. Then, she revealed that she always knew, but didn't want to tell me, feeling that art would be a stronger calling than farming—and she was right. When I was 14, I was still planning to attend farming school, which I did for two years. I went to a polytechnical school to learn how to become a farmer. But alongside those memories of the farm are my memories in which I am always drawing. My grandfather told me I always had a backpack with paper and some pencils in it.

These two passions drove me. At farming school, I had a moment of realization that I might miss out on something significant in life. In Austria, the school system allows you to specialize quite early, at around 14 years old. I learned about a school called Ortweinschule, which had a curriculum inspired by the Bauhaus model, offering everything from fine arts to graphic design to sculpture. I decided to take the entrance exam and moved from my small town near the Italian border to the big city. That decision and the education I received there changed my entire life. The school was very open; they didn’t just teach technical skills but also encouraged curiosity. I fell in love with the work of Joseph Beuys, a German artist, and I spent three years researching and meeting people who had worked with him, which made me realize that everything in life is about being curious and making an effort to learn techniques. This is what it takes to become a professional in your field.

After completing five years at art school, I started my civil service. In Austria, you can choose between military service or civil work. Interestingly, right when I was supposed to join the army, I received a draft notice, but I didn't want to enlist. So, I changed my residency to Vienna and looked for civil work there. I ended up in a small studio, actually a law firm that offers free consultancy for refugees. Together, we organized the most successful art auction for charity that had ever been held in Austria.

Tell us more about that…

We asked artists around Austria to participate and help the lawyers with their work. We even got the chance to collaborate with Austrian television, which featured some of the art pieces on their TV show. Back then, I was an 18-year-old, running from one famous Austrian artist to another. To be honest, at that point, I was more focused on becoming an artist than a graphic designer. I had this somewhat naive view of art, thinking it could change the world and do something good. But when I saw how the art system works and realized that it was more business-driven, I realized it wasn’t just about being a great artist or the most inspiring person; it’s about who you know, the galleries you're connected with—it’s all about the network.

What did you do next?

I was about to go and study painting in Vienna at the Akademie der bildenden Künste. But that plan changed when I met an Austrian artist at one of the art auctions, who was also teaching at the Universit?t der Künste in Berlin. He invited me to come to Berlin and take the entrance exam for the university. That's what I did, and I found myself torn between stage design, graphic design, visual communication, or media.

What I realized is that I enjoy pleasing people and working for them, rather than as an artist who creates something without caring whether people like it or not. I love creating moments that make people happy and evoke smiles and emotions. That’s why stage design appealed to me—you get a brief, but there’s a lot of freedom in your work. You do your research, you connect with culture, and that was something that interested me. Visual communication was the other direction I considered, and in the end, I opted for media and visual communication.

So, when you decided to become an Art Director and start your creative agency I am Bernhard and I am Studio?

That’s the moment when I started what would become a lifetime of art and design. And yeah, this was almost 25 years ago. It doesn't feel like much time has passed. I moved to Berlin from Vienna in 2003 and started at the Universit?t der Künste. While studying, I began to build my business, which is now a full-service creative agency.

I was extremely fortunate to get the opportunity to work for some big clients at a very early stage. For example, I started working with Red Bull in my early ‘20s doing some graffiti and flyers, and this project just grew bigger and bigger until they allowed us to build our own agency. This collaboration is still going on today.

Over the years, it grew from being a one-man show to a company called I am Bernhard, which felt a bit odd when my colleagues answered the phone with my name. So, it became I am Studio. I think what I cherish most in my work, not only with our team but also with our clients, is the long-term relationships we've built. We grew together, learned together, and developed together. That’s something I truly enjoy. I love seeing this kind of loyalty and growth on both sides.

Also, a client once told me that he appreciated that I am not the kind of person who does the work for the money; I do it because I have a passion for design and communication. When I reflected on it, I realized he was right. It was never about optimizing for profit, though of course, once the team starts growing the responsibility grows too.

Over the years, we've managed to maintain the huge benefit of being selective with the projects we take on. We often have to decline at least 50% of the job offers because accepting every big new client would mean expanding the team. We have retainers with our clients and prioritize maintaining the highest quality of service for our long-term relationships. When a new client comes in, I want to treat them with the same dedication, which often requires expanding the team and possibly hiring new employees. That's the challenge when it comes to new business.

Balancing the needs of existing clients while embracing new opportunities is a significant challenge, isn't it?

Yes. On this journey, for instance, we even created our food startup called P-Stash, which was a venture I embarked on with a friend and former client. This was particularly intriguing for me because we've always been focused on brand-building and communication campaigns. I wanted to experience the entire process firsthand. We've worked extensively for new businesses aiming to develop their brands, which seemed straightforward for us, but I wanted to immerse myself completely.

What did you learn from this venture?

I learned what it feels like when you not only create the communication for a brand but a whole product and company from scratch. I wanted to get a full understanding of every challenge and pain point you could face, from sourcing to production and communication with China, e-commerce and social media to quality management. That was the main idea behind P-Stash for me. I would sit in a fine food store and observe why people choose certain products. Now, after five years, we have over 25 products on the shelves in hundreds, maybe even thousands, of fine food stores across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

That’s quite a transition from creating large marketing campaigns for clients to experiencing the other side as a product creator…

Definitely. This experience also helped me understand various aspects, whether it's commerce, automation, or other fields. Yes, I've built a successful design company, which taught me about project management, how to build a company, and how to manage funding. However, this food startup was like an experiment where I could try different things, and it brought more learnings than when you build a company under more crucial, survival-driven circumstances.

As a result, we also started to invest in other companies, mostly small startups that wanted to work with us but couldn't afford to invest in their brand identity. We'd often work out a shared concept with them. And the most personal project I've ever worked on is I am Escape, a life work retreat I built over the last three years with my wife. It's been a profound journey.

I am Escape has involved you returning to your roots at your family’s farm in Austria, right?

Yes, I am Escape is in the Carinthian mountains. This is where everything comes together. From my childhood, two things drove me: I wanted to become a farmer and to answer the call of creativity to create and design. Now I consider myself a creative farmer. It's about harvesting, not agricultural goods, but inspiration. After spending 20 years in Berlin, I returned to the countryside. I inherited this farm six or seven years ago. My grandfather always hoped I would take it over and do something meaningful with it. Although he knew I was living in Berlin and had a different life, he wasn't too expectant. But I promised him I would take care of the farm and land. I wouldn't become a traditional farmer as the region might expect, but I would look after the property and develop it. I shared with him my idea of creating a life-work retreat, which I think gave him comfort knowing his life's work would continue and be cherished. The two worlds then converged as we began transforming the old farm into a life-work retreat.

Initially, the idea was that this place would be just for us—for our team and our clients to hold off-sites, workshops, and team-building events. However, the project grew, and we decided to rent it out and create our type of retreat here. Now, my wife, who is a yoga teacher and studying to become a therapist, runs the yoga retreats.

What kind of retreats do you offer?

We have 'Cloud Yoga.' We also have 'Cloud Creative,' where we host creative workshops and activities ranging from politics to art to business. One of the events is your business retreat, Robin. This year, we’re also hosting a major artist residency with Fabian Knecht and Peter Jellitsch. It’s exciting because unlike my other businesses, which are screen-related, this involves being a host. I enjoy the transformation into a host, bringing in diverse content and people. It's very inspiring for me right now.

When and how did you decide to create I am Escape? Where did the idea come from?

Interestingly, we started building this space during the Covid pandemic. I had spent the last 20 years in Berlin and never thought the office could survive without me for more than 10 days. Then, I was in the Philippines for a project and was racing to get back before the lockdown. It was a frantic journey from an island to Manila, and I barely caught the last plane. We thought about returning to Berlin, where I had lived for two decades, but decided the countryside would be more comfortable than staying in a city apartment. This gave us the chance to spend two years constructing this place. Now, I find myself spending a lot of time here, though we still maintain our office in Berlin.

So, this has become a larger venture, and I'm looking forward to all the events and content we can bring here. We focus on three main pillars: growth, focus, and rest. For instance, the small rooms are designed for intense focus. Each room has a unique view—into the forest, mountains, or valley—that facilitates rest and focus. There are also boxes on top of the main room, designed to help you be more conscious of yourself and the people around you.

Last year, we had a wonderful retreat with people from all around the world who shared a common history of adoption. We had guided meditations tailored for them. This place is perfect because you are completely alone. There's never another group here; you have the whole property to yourself. It's very private, and you can choose whether to connect with high-speed internet or disconnect entirely and enjoy an open fireplace, library, and good conversations over a glass of wine.

How did you fund this project?

Interestingly, I've never had sponsorship or funding in my life. So with I am Studio, I built it step by step. When I could afford my first employee, that's when I hired someone. With I am Escape, it was similar. It’s funny, you, Robin, are a master of fundraising.

Let's dive into the rebrand you’ve done for Robin Capital. We’ve been working together for a long time…

There were many layers to the design. We wanted to transform your brand into a digital experience, and the robin animation was crucial because we aimed for it to be seen more as a symbol than as a literal video. So we brought in some incredibly talented people who could turn a traditional copperplate engraving into a 3D model. This allowed us to animate the robin across the entire website, which is a key part of the CI.

Yeah, it's very unique. I love how the bird has been created with this old-fashioned technique but adapted to modern technology.

Exactly, the copperplate engraving is classical, much like you, Robin. You’re somewhat of an old-fashioned gentleman but always on the cutting edge, searching for innovation. This mix creates a disruptive moment, combining an old technique from possibly the 12th century with state-of-the-art 3D technology.

You’ve managed to walk this fine line between being a designer, and a creative, but also an entrepreneur. Do you ever find that these two sides of your personality clash, or have you found a way to bring them into balance?

That’s an excellent question. I think on one hand creativity is key in both worlds but I also experienced that creatives are often not good at self-marketing and building a proper business as they are more focused on self-realization and perfectionism than simple market rules or management. I can relate to this a lot - my X-fit trainer ones told me “better to start medium fit than to miss the start-shot fully-trained.” This sentence I always try to remember when I am getting too passionate about details. Fun fact: I just hired a person at I am Studio and I recognized with her that she is all about management and is always on top of everything. Through her professionalism, I realize again that I'm a little chaotic and creative. Which I actually really enjoy (laughs).

I think it’s about being aware of your own personality and recognizing your own limits and other people's skills than being a Frank of all Trades. I love it when I recognize that someone is better at something than I am. This is one of my biggest joys when I see someone growing especially when I see someone getting better in a field in which I excel in. And so yes, there is definitely a clash sometimes, but I think I can always find a way to combine these two sides of my personality.

What brings you balance outside of work?

It's always the small things. It's walking the dog, especially in the nature here. I mean, I just need to walk into the forest and I get this big smile and this deep happiness. That's why I enjoy being in this environment now after spending over 20 years in big cities. And for me, driving a motorcycle or a car, it's just meditation and flow. It's this moment where you're acting intuitively and you are in the moment.

Especially on motorbikes, this always really inspired me. I’ve spent a lot of time on bikes, traveling through Vietnam, India, South America, and the Middle East, all on the back of a bike. It’s the moment when you close your visor, and there's no mobile phone, nothing but your thoughts, and the wind, that's something that calms me down and makes me a very happy and grateful person.

Thank you very much for sharing this with us.

Thank you!