One of the few professional hardware stores in the city centre of Amsterdam with a great knowledgable staff. Whatever you’re building problem, they have the answer for you, both in advice and in material solutions. I just really love hanging out there. For me it’s one of the best places to get inspiration from. When building a set, I usually go there with a vague idea of what I want to make and then fill in the details by looking at the materials they have.

Banging my head against the ceiling on the first floor doesn’t stop me from drinking a coffee in café Latei at Nieuwmarkt. I love it here, especially on rainy days, which is most days in the Netherlands. This small cosy café filled with a thousand colours warms me up.

The Oostvaardersdijk is huge dike that protect the polder of Flevoland from being flooded. It's near the city of Almere that was founded in 1975 on the just recovered land of the Flevopolder. It is a great place to see the skyline of Amsterdam and look out over the Markermeer, the former Zuiderzee. When you turn around you can look down in the polder on an impressive group of modern windmills, in the distance you see the city of Almere. This is Holland at it's core: endless flats with the endless skies you know from Seventeenth century painting. You can drive the Oostvaardersdijk north to Lelystad and cross the lake to Enkhuizen and back to Amsterdam. On the way you drive past Oostvaardersplassen nature reserve, a large area of marshes and wild land in the Flevopolder, where they introduced wild horses and prehistoric cattle.

Since I’m a graphic designer I'm obviously into books and my favourite bookstore in Amsterdam is Boekie Woekie. This small shop is located in the Nine Streets and they sell nice and special publications that are often hard to find because they are self published or published by small press publishers. If you are into graphic design you should really check it out.

Small co-working space in Amsterdam West for 8 creative freelancers. Check the website for possible availability.