The Bartolotti is perhaps one of the most beautiful Museum Houses Amsterdam has, built by someone who once was the richest man in the city, but it's a bit hidden in plain sight. These days, it is run by a group of lovely old ladies, who can't wait to offer you tea or juice. You can walk around the house like you live there.
You have to ring the doorbell to get in.
(picture from Google, by Arjan Bronkhorst)
This store is filled floor to ceiling with vintage glass- and tableware from France and other countries surrounding the Netherlands. It is a gem for finding birthday or housewarming gifts.
If you are looking for a reason to visit Kivik, Ulla & Folke are that reason. Their food is great. Their natural wine is great. Their traditionally Swedish interior is great. Their hospitality is great and their logo is strangely Copenhagen hip, in the middle of the South Sweden countryside.
I'm sorry I have no better picture, but do check their Instagram account. It is lovely.
There's a Sol LeWitt pavilion in the middle of a wheat field in Skåne, and it is part of the Kivik Art Centre. This centre sounds like a crafty old ladies thing, but it is not. It a lovely surprise of modern art with a sea view.
Go there, look at art, pet the sheep and then go swim in the coldest sea of Europe - the Baltic.
Chinese visual artist and photographer, whose works often speak of personal and collective memory, cultural identity, symbols and language.
Currently based between Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Shanghai, China.
Elisabeth is a Dutch photographer based in Amsterdam. She has been fascinated with photography and aesthetics as well as searching for perfection and imperfection for as long as she can remember. Outdoors or on the information highway, she is always looking for images that impress or inspire her.
In her own work she seeks to inject places and objects with serenity and timelessness infecting them with mystery. For Elisabeth a photo doesn’t have to be explained in detail but can be smashed of its plans. Thereby providing space to the plan -in theory- to transform itself, dependent on its surrounding. She likes to capture the unconscious by following her own sense of beauty. Her goal is to capture life in silence, to hold a moment that remains present, captivating and accessible, but diametrically vague and elusive.
Waste Textiles Artist.
Femke van Gemert, 1969
After a career in commercial fashion Femke decided to change the way to
create things. Now she designs wall hangings and rugs that are unique,
handmade and fully sustainable. By focussing on a single colour she re-uses textiles in abstract works. The beauty of imperfection and deterioration over time are always visible in her creations. The composition she creates radiates a certain mood or longing laden with fragments of the former characteristics of the used textile pieces. In the creation process Femke thinks about certain societal or environmental issues, these are reflected in the titles.
In commissioned work clients can donate their own discarded textiles. This improves the personal involvement the owner has with the piece of art. This way Femke wants to revaluate textile waste that is omnipresent in our fast consuming society. The wall hangings improve acoustics and are suitable for homes, offices and public buildings. The love for textiles combined with the urge to explore
the possibilities of discarded fabrics form a long lasting source of inspiration
and a way to express opinions in Femke van Gemert’s life.