In 1996, the job was in the newspaper. Not online, not recommended by an algorithm - on paper, among other advertisements. Nadine cut it out, applied and got the job. What nobody knew at the time was that she would become a constant that everyone at Blackbit relied on - and still does today.
Every colleague working at Blackbit today joined after she did. No one knows the company without Nadine. She was there when the first teams were formed. When technologies came and went. When Blackbit grew, reinvented itself, and navigated through tough times. Nadine stayed because she is exactly what a company needs: an anchor.
Numbers as a Vocation
As a commercial all-rounder, Nadine makes sure the numbers add up at Blackbit. Her job, as she puts it, is “dry, but vital.”
She has experienced everything that thirty years of day-to-day business life has to offer. Back then, the company was still called Blackbit Viani GmbH—and at the bottom of the letterhead it read: Advertising, Typesetting, Lithography, Exposure, System Solutions. Invoices were based on handwritten delivery notes. Vacation and working hours? Recorded the old-fashioned way. Her workdays began with a trip to the bank statement printer—online banking was still a distant dream. Eventually, PDF invoices arrived via email. And eventually, the Siebträger. Both: long overdue.
Projects haven’t shaped her, she says. She doesn’t work on them—she settles them.
For Nadine, this is more science than art—and she has been practicing this science for three decades with a calmness that is contagious. Three hashtags she would choose for herself? #Numbers #Numbers #Numbers. No fourth needed.
Coffee, Frothy Milk and an Infectious Laugh
The perfect day starts with a coffee with her long-time colleague Siska - the two of them use the frothy milk to predict what the day will bring. What it reveals remains between them. A working day could hardly get off to a better start - seeing your favorite colleagues, paying customers on time, and in between, a saying that makes you sit up and take notice. Groot stands on her desk next to postcards and a pen holder made by her children. None of this is decoration. It is her place - and has been for thirty years.
Anyone who has ever heard Nadine's laughter immediately understands why people like to tell her what moves them. It is warm and infectious. She is approachable, loyal and reliable.
A Bear. But Without a Sticker.
Which animal would she be? Her children didn't think twice: a bear. Protective, warm, caring - always there for others. In her private life, that means gardening, traveling, family. And if she has her way, a big family table - full, loud and bustling. She doesn't want to miss out on the world: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Asia, Canada, Africa - preferably everything, preferably with a sea view.
At the same time, Nadine is someone who knows exactly what suits her - and what doesn't. Sushi? Overrated. Tattoos? "You don't put stickers on a Ferrari either." The bear has style.
Be Brave, Be Bold
That's her advice to her younger self. And perhaps also the explanation for thirty years of Blackbit: cut out a newspaper ad in 1996, apply, go there. Entering a world she had never planned.
Her motto: love in her heart, family behind her, friends by her side and fun in life. Anyone who knows Nadine knows: that's not a slogan. That's her.
Thank you, Nadine.
