2012 forecast

these images are translated into a forecast for 2012 on colour and materials.
the first images are from vahanvinoon and Sartorialist
all other images are from browndresswithwhitedots

visual contrast

Inspired by the bible sayings that reference light and dark, a church in Shiga, Japan, is a visual contrast of the two.
It's designed by Kouichi Kimura

Paperbags

This will definitely be on my wishlist for christmas....
I wonder who will buy this for me.
Beautiful, beautiful clutches by Anve

a portrait of Eames

Black steel, leather and wallnut dowel legs are the most beautiful details
of this 1950s chair made by Charles and Ray Eames 


images by svpply

new colourcards

As everybody liked my colourcards so much, I decided to make some new ones.
I brought them into the year 2012 where letters, vintage and the colour green/grey will play a big role.
All images are from habitual bliss

Explode

This is how I feel today...
No more words needed...

images by Mounts

still/life

This weekend I did a photography workshop at the foam museum in amsterdam.
Until the 26th of october there is a still /life exhibition going on.
I was lucky that the workshop was about the same subject, so I had quite some examples to look at.
This is my photo on still /life.
My mentor liked the third photo the best. I still can't choose between the pictures, because I think they all have something I like. So next time I would work harder, to get the right picture.
But hey, I'm a perfectionist...

Inside Design

I just want to give you a small impression of Inside Design days in Amsterdam. The exhibition is three days in total, but I only went on sunday. The most beautiful day of all. Because the sun was out. And I had a lovely day meeting friends and having drinks at the harbour.
I think, if you are a designer,  Inside Design is a "must see".
And what did I see?...
The world is ready for colours. Green, red, orange, yellow. You name it. Every colour will do. Combined with industrial materials like concrete. But the industrial look is also combined with nature (woods) to give your home a warm feeling. Ceramics are no longer in one color only, but you can select your own bowls, cups and plates. Select them in different shapes and colours. And you have created your own unique tableware.
An other new concept is to decorate your living in just one colour but in different tones of that particular colour. So what do I think: the year 2012 is all about colour, colour and colour.

the wow factor!

This 3 awards winning pendant (2010) does not need any words...
It's designed by coco flip design studio.

Maison et Object

what can I say about Maison and object?  It was my first time. I might have been a little too critical but I found it disappointing. I had expected much more design and thought I could compare it with the Salone di Mobile of Milan. I did not see any innovation. Actually my conclusion is, that we are quite innovating in the Netherlands. But still, there were a few highlights, that I don't want to keep from you. One of my favorites was the Asian colour blocking from Jean Boggio for Franz. An asian art with many colors, but still very attractive. The lamps of metylos I thought were interesting. But I also think that working with felt is a little dated. What I liked, more than the products, was the styling of the show. The styling was sometimes so beautiful and simple that the product became a work of art. By using materials like wire, the product stands out. Especially around the stand of Richard Ginori.
After the show me and Cynthia Vorstenbosch( my former classmate and now friend) checked in at the hotel in one of my favorite neighbourhoods le Marais. We had a nice walk, dinner and quite some laughs that evening. The next day we planned for shopping and visited some galleries in my favorite le Marais. And what have I learned from this trip?..
The next time I have to do something about time management ...

Proud!

I'm so proud of my sister, who made this beautiful picture. Since the day she made this, I have been loving it. I'm still waiting for the day that she will give this beautiful piece of art to me....
If you would like to see more of her photography, you can check out her website mevrouw issa

minimalism

This minimalistic loft is only 64 square meters. I love the use of the non colors. The white contrasting with the black looks sharp.  I always suggest to use large furniture in a small space. as you can see here, it works really well. This beautiful minimalistic design is created by Tamizo architects group

I wish I could say i'ts mine... 

So true...

I just don't want to keep this from anyone who thinks he's creative...

 You are a unique individual.

On the history of this planet, there has never been another person who has thought exactly the same thoughts as you have thought. The thoughts of that occurring would be mind-numbingly astronomical. To make the most out of your design inspiration and help inspire others creatively, we need to learn to create our own

worlds.

We live in a world filled with so much stimuli, so many types of people and so many boxes that people try to fit each other in that it’s all too easy to put yourself in a box and limit yourself.

For the simple sake of advertising and making our world easier to navigate, we instinctively break our surroundings down into simple categories called schema, into which we learn to expect certain behaviours in certain situations, from certain people at certain times and so on. This is a double sided sword, because while we can process information faster this way, we make way too many generalizations and we miss out of the complexities and unique qualities of the people around us.

When we are more certain about who we are, in all aspects of our life including creatively, we begin to break these ‘schema’ because people will notice we don’t react how they think we should react given the information they think they have about us.

Read that again. That’s the key to it all. Being yourself and creating your own way to be makes it
harder to be put into any category. People might think you’re one way, but you’re actually totally different. That throws people, that’s good because they’re going to remember you now.
This is the difference between being the person they remembered from that cocktail party that lands you a lifetime of creative jobs, and that person who they just remember as ’oh just another creative type’. It’s not about going out of your way to grab attention. It’s not about going over the top to do wierd things to get attention. It’s just beingyourself in the most authentic way possible.
This is the essence of creativity. This is why I could never paint a Mondrian or a Mona Lisa even if I perfected the technique. Those artworks are the result of self-assurance, something that simply cannot be copied.
The  people who we remember, those seemingly lucky few who go down in history invariably are people who did things their way and their way alone. Nobody else decided to wear a glittery glove, Michael Jackson came up with that. Lady Gaga for whatever we might think about her, does things her own way and that’s why we remember her. The same with Kanye West. He follows his own path and makes the kind of music he wants to hear. This is why such artists could never be surpassed, because they are on a road of their own making. The only reason they are now easy to copy is because they made the trail behind them that’s easy to follow. It wasn’t there before them.
We all have such an ability to be unique, but sometimes we allow our creativity to be dulled and our inspiration taken away from us by allowing ourselves to be categorized or thought of as a particular kind of person, then we begin to trick ourselves into living that way. When you let someone else define your identity, you lose your ability to define your reality and creativity. Living your own way is easy though. Pay more attention to the things you like to do.
Be disagreeable, have your own point of view- make decisions you are comfortable with, do things that are frowned up (within reason!). It’s not being a rebel for the sake of being a rebel, because that’s a category in itself. It’s not about upsetting people of being anti-everything just to get a reaction either. It’s about knowing yourself, your vision, your goals and what you believe in clearly and precisely.
Create a manifesto. Say what kind of design you are willing to do and what you won’t. This makes you a more solid individual to deal with. When you define yourself the world flows around you rather than you flowing through the world. The things you need to get to where you need to get to just come to you.
Design your life, or life will design you!

via http://creativeblock.monomoda.com/ 
images from http://www.festbaumbeauty.de/#/portfolio

what do you see?...

I just couldn't stop looking at these paintings. Yes they are paintings. Can you believe this?
It's made by the contemporary artist christopher stott. I just think if you have the oportunity to become an owner of one of his paintings, you will not stop looking at it again and again and again...
To me,  he is a real artist.