View from my studio. I love the view from my studio. It is at the University campus and has a great architectural mix of old and new buildings. It is special to have such a large area in the centre of small Amsterdam where it is quiet, no traffic and no stores. 

Temporary pop-up (2017–2018) on the NDSM-werf. For 365 days it will have a different owner, every day.

I’m not much of a bar-person, but if and when I do go for a drink, I love to come here. It’s simply the best brown café in Amsterdam. A little off the beaten track, in the middle of a residential neighborhood, you’d really have to go out of your way to come here. Nienke, the proprietress is what we call in Dutch “een topwijf ”. With her warm heart and no nonsense attitude she makes you feel right at home, whether you’re a regular and part of the bar’s furniture, or just pop in occasionally, just like myself.

The Amstel river is the main river of Amsterdam. Around 1200 they build a dam in the river and that was the birth of Amsterdam (or Amstelredamme as it was called back then). This dam is now situated under the Dam square, the central square of the city. If you bike from the old city center to the south along the banks of the Amstel, as I do every day on my way to my studio, the city opens up and gives way to a lot of space. If you follow the river it will take you out of town more quickly then you'd expect since it is surrounded by a green corridor that get's larger and greener as you exit the city. In less then half an hour bike trip from the old city you can find yourself in juicy green pastures between grazing cows and sheep. Only the airplanes heading in and out of Schiphol Airport will remind you that the city is near.

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.