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.
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.
On a hazy morning is a unique photography team with a fresh and playful eye for capturing the things we all love. Husband and wife team Andres and Joyce specialize in both commercial and editorial storytelling.
Eternally curious, and with a passion for sustainability and green projects, they scour the globe seeking authentic moments and characters to create rich photographic narratives in a cinematic style, with magical light and lots of detail.
When home in canal-side Amsterdam, they enjoy nature walks, home-made vegan pizzas, Twin Peaks, their cats and the fine, fine eye candy films of Wes Anderson.
Amsterdam based illustrator Sue Doeksen (1982) creates worlds that are overpopulated with bright colors, friendly shapes, layered or light concepts and hidden jokes. Mediums ranging from physical, digital, pencil-drawn, paper-cut, and animated. Juggling commercial and personal project balls she is often overwhelmed because there are so many visual adventures to be made at the same time and therefore wishes there were just many more hours in a day.
My works can be described as ‘post-graffiti art’. The approach, attitude and application of my designs are heavily influenced by graffiti and street art. I am fascinated by today’s zeitgeist but am also critical about it. Street art is an art movement in which many inspiring things are happening and where I feel at home. With a spray I can visually express what I cannot do with a pencil.
However, I would like to go deeper than the sometimes superficial appearance of graffiti and street art and highlight those aspects that make the viewer think. I would like to express my thoughts visually, either in a clear statement or in an experiment with a still unknown outcome, which can lead to something new.