De Waaghals (= The Dare-devil) is a very nice vegetarian restaurant. The atmosphere is informal, but the food is very nice, refined and creative. Organic ingredients are used as much as possible. Each month a dish focuses on a different country.

A beautiful museum, outside of Amsterdam, surrounded by nature.

My favourite and neighbourhood bookstore. With a good selection of books and a balanced selection of magazines. If possible I buy my books here. I want to support small business. 

Jam made from fruit grown almost in my backyard. The neighbouring complex turned the internal community green space into a community garden. Now I buy their jam at the local gardening and food store.

At the Damrak on the daily journey between home and studio, my eye is continually drawn to the emblem that has functioned as a façade ornament on the corner of the Beurs van Berlage for more than a hundred years. In combination with the past function of the building - trade centre - and in relation to the present financial crisis, the timeless maxim gains extra significance: ‘Dis-pe-reert niet’ (‘Do not des-pair’).