Dutch Electronic Arts Festival, also known as DEAF, was pulling off some artsy strings in the center of Rotterdam this past weekend. And with some free tickets to the exhibition and clubnight at Worm’s -thanks to Nalden, so big up for that!- it was a good excuse for a quick getaway out of town, and only a matter of driving off to the big city and see what DEAF had in store for us.
Accompanied by the love of my life, it was actually already bound to be a good day. But DEAF owns the cool title of ‘the dynamic platform of a generation of creative individuals, that mean to change the world through art and technology‘, at least, so I’ve heard. And that title, made me extremely curious, obviously. But while visiting the exhibition, we were surrounded by creative minds and artsy lovers which was good, but the expo itself.. I don’t know. Well, I think we were a little bit too sober for that. Cause we did not got the clue of a lot of art pieces which were exhibited. It just didn’t got me. Maybe I just need to dig into the whole art world a little bit deeper the next time I’m in.
Although, what I did love was The Nano Supermarket, which I remember seeing, from working at Dutch Design Week Headquarters some time ago. It was remarkable to see what Nano Technology can do from the eyes of visionary designers.
All in all, I had a good day. It was interesting and cool to be a part of this year’s DEAF. And ending our day at Witte de Withstraat with a fine dinner with candles is never a fail..
I may not look like the average girl that spent a lot of hours on a skateboard, but when I was young, I did. I’m not saying that I was any good at all. I guess I was just chilling on the board and too lazy to walk on my own rather then I was out pulling off some tricks and stuff. But the skateboard in this video looks similar to my old skateboard and made me remind of the good old times in the hood.
I dig the stuff that’s going on in this video. The lighting, the settings, the colours, the music, the vibe, it all makes perfect sense. I love how this dude is portraited in the film and the art direction is just sublime. It totally took me in it’s adventure when it’s only even one minute and a half of film! It just got me so stoked. I wish I had the guts to get back on my skateboard again.
Video credits: by Penny Skateboards found on Vimeo, for more credits check out the Vimeo link
My saturdaynight was full of surprises. It started off with a big dinner with cool friends and I ended up laying all curled up in bed with chocolate and this month’s Vogue issue. Between that, I visited the release event of one of my lecturer friends who’se at the same time a big shot in the artsy world, his name is Lucas Maassen.
Lucas is known for his famous design chairs, which were exhibited all across the globe in these past few years. I witnessed the Nano Chair at previous year’s STRP event, admired the Sitting Chairs in New York City’s finest Museum of Modern Art a couple of years ago, and enjoyed the new tunes of the Singing Chair in Eindhoven last saturday. I was kind of overwhelmed by that event to be honest, an nostalgic factory as a venue, Oonomatopee’s art exhibition on the side, creative people all over, camels, inflatable elephants on stage, it was bound to be a peculiar evening. Even though I wasn’t in for too long, I enjoyed. And for the fact that I got this Chair’s new track on Vinyl.. that’s just a pretty darn good bonus on top.
Come meet the Singing Chair folks, with it’s charismatic looks and the incredible voice by Woody Veneman from Woody & Paul.
For starters, I guess it’s VIMEO time on my blog this week, since I’ve been fully pumping video’s -and only video’s- lately. But that should not spoil all the fun cause Vimeo is just blasting with extraordinary minutes of online cinema these days -have you seen their new website by the way?- I just luv it.
Click. Play. Two minutes of joy. Really. This film expresses all the feelings that I have for Paris. And ever since my family struck out to this amazing city a couple of weeks ago.. They not only brought home some stunning pictures, but you could just sense the love that Paris brought to them. The last time I was there -which was ages ago- I’d got shivers for every block, every sightsee, every piece of food and every piece of clothing, actually just everything that Paris popped up. And now; after seeing this film too, it’s confirmed once again that I have to go back. No wonder I’ve been browsing the net back and forth in my spare time, just to plan my rendezvous with the city of love asap.
Video credits: by Land of Nod Inc. found on Vimeo, for more credits check out the Vimeo link.
If there’s one artist in the Netherlands that I admire most for his art, it’s Parra. With no doubt. No hesitation. Definitely Parra. Absolutely Parra! I think the man is a genius. And when I got word of the fact that he shook hands with the ultimately stunning brand STUSSY, it made my heart even pound a little bit faster. A world class collaboration between two superpowers. Genius.
Parra, a member of the group Le Le, a big shot when it comes to illustrations, the creative brain behind Rockwell Clothing, and shoe pimper for Nike. You gotta admit that he’s a fresh ink rockstar. Period. And what about Stussy? Stussy is just fashion funk. It’s street, it’s cool, it’s awesome. I’m not even going to spoil more words cause this limited fashion line is something I have to get my hands on. And quick.
Video credits: by Stussy found on Vimeo
To catch up on one of my previous posts on magazines, you might already noticed that I’m head over heels in love with the magazine Little White Lies, fabricated in the fabulous Church Of London. These people just got too much swag to pull off an insanely cool magazine like that. LWL is all about truth & movies, astonishing artwork, edge writing, illustration and remarkable photography. All of that to get under the skin of cinema. It goes beyond the boundaries of the big screen. LWL is art, it’s beautiful.
And when I stumbled upon this short film on the production of the Black Swan Issue, I was simply mesmerized. In 90 seconds I found out how amazingly cool this proces would have been -and how much I would have wanted to witness that live- It involved pretty much cups of tea and caffeine shots -I bet- and technological meltdowns. All of the hard work, sketches and try-outs eventually optimus primed into fresh ink on paper.
Their cool level is colossal. Pow!
Video credits: by Archers Mark, found on Vimeo. For more credits check out the vimeo link.
In about two months from now I will be graduating -well, if all goes well then- and will be entitled with the fancy name of Media Designer for the rest of my life. And as a media designer, it’s kind of crucial to be working one on one with the client, serving them with bucketloads of graphic designs, mock ups and good inspiration. This short film kinda made me realize how my job, my 9 to 6 daily routine would look like in the future. Seriously. What have I got myself into?
Someone once told me, if there’s no pain, there’s no gain. And he was right. And I love what I do, and can’t wait to officially start my moneymaking career with a title like this in the pocket. I know that this movie reflects everything that could happen in this business that I’m in, which I’m fully aware of. I love the fact how they’ve put this movie together, marvellous graphics, a real message, insanely good sound design and a twist at the very end. Clearly a stunning mix that made this film listed top favourite on this weeks blog. Cause when you will fail, over and over in life, remember that it’s never failure unless you quit trying. When you faill again, fail better. Stand up. And be better. As F. Scott Fitzgerald once said; “Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.” Always act like a winner and never give up.
Video credits: by Sara Shin found on Vimeo, for more credits check out the Vimeo link
Tuesday. 8 pm. Rotterdam. I was off to see the guys that used to be decorated all over my walls when I was in my kiddy slash teenage years. Boybands. Lovesongs. Cheezy dancemoves. Back in the day, all of that was accompanied by horrible outfits and even worse hair. These guys.. formerly and still known as The Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block. Nowadays, they transformed into grown up men with fancy wardrobes (which was about time). And I gotsta tell you that they were simply fabulous all together on stage. Boybands were a part of my youth. Crushes, sing-a-long-songs, dancemoves, yeah, I have to admit, Tuesdaynight felt like ten years ago.. all over again. Sigh..
This tour, a collaboration between two of the biggest boybands in music history was a once in a lifetime experience, so they said. I was glad to be part of that. I already saw the New Kids about two to three years ago in Amsterdam and ever since they struck my mind in the 90′s I never got rid of them. Luckily though. This concert was flawless and I loved every minute of it. Whether it was BSB, serenading a few girls on stage with tracks as I’ll Never Break Your Heart, or As Long As You Love Me. Along to a million of their other classics -that I wholeheartedly sang along to by the way- and dance moves that were familiair since I would have danced along to it in the living room back in the days. Not to mention New Kids -which were obviously the better half of the evening, or better say the best boyband ever- playing their classics such as Please Don’t Go Girl and Step by Step. Donnie Wahlberg with his sixpack -at the age of 40!- Joe Mac being blonde haired-blue-eyed-pretty and Jordan’s incredible falsetto voice. Sigh. The boys ended the show with a fabulous Hangin Tough -wearing Dutch flagged sweatsuits- it was just remarkable. I loved how this whole show was put together, from A Friend In London who opened the evening untill the entrance of all the boys untill the very ending encore. I got shivers, chills, excitement, laughter, party grooved and astonishment all at once. NKOTB was stunning and clearly got the upper hand in receiving standing ovations all over that night, and when they’d perform I’ll be Loving You Forever. I know for sure, that there wasn’t a seat in the house that didn’t got emotional and swept away. I’m still throaty.
I had a bunch of fun and it was so lovely to bring back memories and catch up on all the classics. It’s funny to reminisce on my teenage era with all my TV crushes and such. But you know, I’m happy to have found my real life crush now. And for the first time, I finally understood what NKOTB was singing about. I know I’ll be loving my boy forever.
Queensday is by far on my top list of most favourite celebration days in Holland. The whole country is going wild, all to celebrate our lovely queen Beatrix. She must really be a rockstar by the way, since she rules such a great nation, who’ll party on this day like it’s the last thing to do on planet earth.
Monday. 30th of April. No work. No rules. Amazing blockparties, drinks, cocktails, food, flea markets, festivals, performances, artists, canal rides and if we’re lucky there’s a sun peaking through. Queensday is crazy. This year, I’m going to skip visiting my beautiful Amsterdam and take a shift to Eindhoven since the parties are going to be nuts out there. I’ve had a hard time doing this since Amsterdam is the place to be when you’re rocking hiphop blockparties amongst other fabulous sights and people, but it’s time for something new. I heard there was some crazy line up somewhere near the Vestdijk, and a million other wicked things to do too. I’m off to go shopping tonight for this year’s orange dress, so come up with some fashionable tips if you’re out here anyway!
Where and how will you be celebrating Queensday?
If there’s one magazine that I love, it would be Wallpaper*. If there were two, it would be Wallpaper* and Little White Lies.
Wallpaper* covers my big love for design, interior, fashion, art and lifestyle. It’s seriously the whole package, bundled into one massive magazine. I just love how it looks, how it’s written, how it’s Wallpaper-ish sexy. The other magazine, Little White Lies covers my love for movies and cinematography, If that word even excists by the way. Only the look of their covers blows me away every single issue. I love their truth, their articles on movies, actors and all supported by intruiging photography and art. It makes my artsy heart beat faster every time.
But to come back to Wallpaper*.. When I saw this short movie about handmade tailoring for a new issue, I could not, not share it with you, haha. I hope you’re inspired guys. Cause this is bluntly awesome.
Video credits: by Lernert and Sander found on Vimeo, for more credits check out the Vimeo link