Chair

I just love the design of this chair. It looks simple, comfortable and elegant at the same time. It almost seems that with some wooden sticks, a pink thread and thick felt you could make this yourself. The above is the result of the collaboration between one of the Design Academy's students and Leolux. The five best pieces will be exhibited at the upcoming Woonbeurs in Amsterdam.

Update: The chair is designed by Jonas Lutz.

Dancing vases

I instantly loved these dancing vases! Inspired by the movement of a spinning top, Robin van Hontem created a series of 5 vases made of nylon. “The project is all about balance [...]. The dancing vases are frozen in their movements, and show how the spinning produces different shapes. From spinning fast, to losing balance and finally hitting the ground. [...] ”

Paper magic

Yulia Brodskaya creates the most amazing graphic design, if not graphic 'objects'! Yulia was interested in diverse creative practices, and has now continued to experiment and explore ways of bringing together all the things she likes most: typography, paper, and highly detailed hand-made craft objects. Wow. Wow. Wow! If only she had some framed work... I'd so buy it!

Hotze

Every month when I go through my fresh stack of international interior magazines, I usually come across Hotze Eisma's work once or twice. Hotze is one of the best Dutch interior photographers there is and there's a good chance you have seen his work before. It seems he always gets to photograph the interiors that match all elements and themes that I have on my home wishlist.

Eclipse

I've always liked contemporary fashion, the sculptural lines and the almost architectual details, and in this fall/winter's line of Conny Groenewegen everything just comes together perfectly. Not to mention I love the color combination, inspired by the eclipse of the moon.

Bocci

I only recently discovered the Canadian brand called Bocci. Bocci, started in 2005, is a contemporary lighting, design and manufacturing house based in Vancouver. And I just have to say I love, love their designs, especially the #14 (all of them!), #21 and #25. The #14 series lights are visually quite subtle in and of themselves and designed for clustering - gaining tremendous strength when multiplied. And the seat (#25), just one word: so elegant!

*Heart* the 2.0

This music video was shot for Sour's 'Hibi no Neiro' (tone of everyday) from their first mini album 'Water Flavor EP'. The cast were selected from the actual Sour fan base, from many countries around the world. Each person and scene was filmed purely via webcam. Nice!

Liking the lace

Images by Merel Boers

Lace has been back for a while now, I mean lace is all over the place when it comes to design. A great event I visited earlier this year, completely devoted to the latest lace trends and ideas, was the 'Kantlijnen' exhibition in Bruges, Belgium.

More and more young artists and designers are unashamedly using lace in their patterns and themes. They have discovered the true beauty of lace: the richness of its transparency, the fluidity of it silken lines and the delicate interplay between ornamentation and structure. With new techniques and new materials, they have given lace new meaning. Lace once again has its own place in contemporary culture.

I'm expecting to see a lot of new lace-a-likes design soon...

Moodboard

Images via Emma Fexus

Sunny

You already know about my love for graphic design. And this is just what my office wall needs... I loooove the silk-screen poster 'Let the sun shine in' by Slide Sideways, a creative studio collaboration of Scott Scoggin and Jacqui Savisky.

Underwater

Elena Kalis is an amazing artist that was born in Russia and recently been following her interest in photography, specializing in underwater photography. See for yourself; breath taking...

Plastique Fantastique

Yesterday me and the Mr visited the Plastique Fantastique Market in Amsterdam, the event for designers to present their creative hand-made unique items.

One of my favorites there was Charlotte Kan, fashion designer and illustrator. Her clothing line 'Play & Pose' exists of pieces of clothing that can be worn in various ways. To encourage the 'play' element, Charlotte sends pieces to girls all over the world who'll photograph themselves wearing the items. Besides this being an original promotion of her work, it also results in an unique photography project including work of Elkie van Stiphout.

More of Charlotte's work (and some other great designers' original clothing) can (also) be found here.

The greed

You have sites, those mouth-watering interior design sites that would make you get your credit card out and spend all you have, just in that one store. CityFurniture made me almost do exactly that...

Fuga sconces by Maija Liisa Komulainen for Raak Amsterdam

Longobarda ceramic lamps by Marcello Cuneo for Gabianelli

50s writing desk

Kosmos sofa & chairs by Augusto Bozzi for Saporiti

Integrate

Image by Notebook Doodles

Image by Kristen Wulff

I love photography combined with texts. To me it's how everything comes together. Often when just using words or just images the message doesn't see to come across. However, when combining, integrating an idea, the emotion is visually integrated and someone feels, sees, reads that what the person had in mind. I know, graphic design that is called ;-)

A great example I read about (via Mishy Lane) is the This is Home project, where a lot of submissions do exactly this: integrate image and text. But more over, the project is a visual exploration of the concept of home (my favorite subject!), with submissions from all over the world.

Look at the birdie

I'm not a doll's person, never was, never will be. So no dolls for me, but I do love birds. And bird houses. Secretly I'm addicted and hope to soon add more bird houses to the one lonely cardboard bird house we have hanging on the living room wall now. And the birds and their homes created by doll-maker Tamar Mogendorff might just be what our living room needs...

Patience my dear

I guess it's coming all out now. Everything that's been on my list, in my head - all I consider little gems. One of these gems is Denise van Leeuwen, a freelance illustrator who has done work for Elle, AvantGarde, Hide & Chic and many others. For a while now I have been checking her site to see if she added some new work, but I guess I have to be patient for a just bit longer. Please Denise... surprise us soon...

Origami tea

I love my teas, and usually tea time to me is when I have a teeny tiny moment for me. Tea is warm, loving, comforting. Teas I enjoy are Hotel d'Amour and Lulu's garden and from the Mr. Jones assortment, but I think I might have a new favorite. Judging by the package, I am. Nathalia Ponomareva made these stunning origami Green Berry Teabags by hand. While the tea infuses the bird or the shape is gradually expanding. Beautiful!

Dutch treat

All the things I keep inside by Nynke Boelens

September is my favorite month when it comes to design and interior. Especially in the Amsterdam area the month is packed with fairs, events and exhibitions. With more than twenty design events, spread over 5 weeks and two Dutch cities, the Netherlands is becoming more and more a 'design destination'. Eindhoven is already in the running to become World Design Capital 2012, and Utrecht and Amsterdam have joined together to host an exclusive selection of design projects. This year the two will present, under the name of Dutch Design Double, the Inside Design exhibition, the biannual Utrecht Manifest and the Woonbeurs (home show).

Just a couple more days and then: ready, set, go! Off to see all the wonderful new design and interior ideas! And no worries... I'll let you know what the new cool is...

(Un)limited Design

Oh wow! The Dutch FabLabs are organizing the (un)limited design contest, a design contest anyone can enter. The contest is divided into three categories: Form, Food and Fashion. Unique about the contest is that all designs are open for anybody to be used, re-interpreted and redesigned; just check out the 'how to' manuals.

One of the product entries worth checking out is the hexagon dress by Goof van Beek, student at the Design Academy Eindhoven.

Something old, something new

Recently I read an article which featured the above chest of drawers by the German Valentin Löllman, a young designer who just graduated from the Academy of fine Arts Maastricht with his graduation project "past memories". Grown together out of old, forgotten pieces of furniture, this collection was guided by their original forms and memories to something new that keeps its character and uniqueness and hides it at the same time. The collection includes a chair, table, drawers and sofa.

Valentin's drawers reminded me of the chest of drawers Decades by WIS design that then, about 2 years ago, immediately grabbed my attention. Also made from discarded drawers, creating a mix of different styles from earlier decades. I really like how past and now meet, without losing any charm.

Fashion in a bottle

One of my favorite (online) shops is Colette. The Colette concept store is the destination for products that reek of cool and thus Paris' shoppers' paradise. Colette sells great fashionable luxury goods, including one of my favorite perfumes (speaking of 'reeking'): Lady Vengeance by Juliette has a gun. Since last Friday Colette sells APC's new perfume, in a limited edition of 300 units. Too bad exploring fragances online is not possible, but just the wood turned bottle might do the trick for you already...

Design junkie

A new space, a new place. A new canvas for me to fill with ideas, finds, treasures and more. Being the visual design junkie I am, this is really one of the things I love best.

Share what I think is worth noticing...! Enjoy!