Have a great 2013!

What Christmas looks like in our home

Here are finally my Christmas photos! I am sorry it took me so long. The last few weeks were very busy with work, Christmas shopping, fun activities at Tein's school, baking (I have baked no less than 6 cakes!), decorating etcetera! All things that I enjoy doing, so you don't hear me complaining, however there was a little time left to write on my blog. Christmas was fantastic over here. Hope you all have had just such a nice Christmas as I did. My father gave my sister and me the best gift ever! He converted our old home made movies on to DVD's so we can watch them again. So nice to see a little me and my sister, mom & dad 25 years younger! Besides watching the DVD's we had some great Christmas dinners. One was with Rik his entire family. His niece is an awesome cook and made an impressive dinner for more than 20 people (there were 3 turkeys!). So we had delicious food, nice presents & great company, I am a very happy & thankful girl (or woman...).

As you can see my color scheme was Purple & Red for this year decorations. A combination that I don't usually use and that I dind't planned for. At first I only used the purple with some shades of grey. Because I really think the red deers are little glittery treasuses I hung one in the tree to see if I liked it together with the purple. Well the outcome is obvious... I borrowed some red Christmas balls with it from my mother and the Red-Purple combination was a fact. Hope you like it and remains for me to wish you all the very best for the upcoming year! 

Snow!

A week ago it was snowing here in The Netherlands and everything was covered in a magical layer of snow! It was wonderful! The kids made their first snowman with Rik and had a great time. After the snowman was finished Tein went to his first birthday party from a classmate. Because there was a lot of snow I did not dare to drive so I brought him with our cargo bike. It was fairylike! So silent and serene with everything covered in snow. The party was a great succes, when Tein came home he was all happy, excited and tired from all the playing and impressions. They played in the snow, ate (I quote) "really delicious" cake and they did some crafting. When Tein becomes 5 we will also throw him a party for a few school friends, I am looking forward to it already. Back to the snow: unfortunately it is gone now, but luckily we still have the photos!

Christmas at home

I am in the Christmas mood! Sunday I decorated our Christmas tree with Tein & Fiene. It is a nice tradition but also a little nerve-racking. Tein has the hang of it but Fiene keeps droppping Christmas balls... I try to give her the little ones and the plastic ornaments, but no... she prefers big glass balls! Fortunately only one ball broke and for the love of god it wasn't my prettiest one :-). Here you see my Christmas decorations from last year. It was all pastel pink, champaign and grey. This year I have a totally different color scheme, but be patient I will show it to you later this month. Tonight I am going to make the rest of the Christmas decorations in our house.

The Boyscouts

The Boyscouts is a collection of jewelry and fashion accessories by Zelda Beauchampet. She also studied at The Design Academy Eindhoven and is a cool yet elegant young woman. The Boyscouts believe in quality components and local craftsmanship. The signature of The Boyscouts collection is elegance in urban life, with products varying from jewelry to bags and accessories. Contemporary fashion meets the esthetics and tradition of scouting. I like this collection because of it’s own signature and clean lines. Photography: Floor Knaapen.

 

Lanzarote

As I told you earlier we went on vacation a few weeks ago. Lanzarote was our destination and we had a great time! Lanzarote is a volcanic island, real impressive to see all the lava stones and craters. On the other hand I believe that once you have seen it you don't have to see it again. So we had a great relaxed holiday without the need to go out and do some sightseeing. We did the sightseeing one day and that covered it all. I didn't mind at all to lie at the swimming pool, do a little reading and drinking some cocktails :-)! Everytime when I wanted to shoot a photo from Tein he took this pose, and fun that he had :-)!

 

We went with Rik his father (Boy), his brother (Tom) & girlfriend (Laura). Unfortunately Rik's mom died a few years ago and since  we try to do something together every year. Just being together as a family and to commemorate Sylvie (Rik's mom). We are a good travel companion and hopefully we can maintain this tradition a long time. I am a real family person and really cherish family time. As my parents are divorced (and not really on speaking terms) I regret that a big family trip with my parents isn't likely to gonna take place. And what I really think would be great is a very big family trip with both our families. Well I keep on dreaming and who knows... one day? Remains for me to thank Boy as he was the sponsor and guide for this wonderful vacation :-). 

 

Black Lace

In my student days I loved to work with Lace (still do by the way :-))! My mother gave me some beautiful pieces of lace back then and I remember that I used them over and over again for several assignments at the academy. I scanned the pattern and used it as photoprint, I made drawings from the lace and created several new patterns from them, I used the lace itself as a stencil and spray-painted the lace pattern on my miniature furniture. I created furniture from the lace itself in miniature by hardening the Lace (like Marcel Wanders later did with his Crochet Table), I made beautiful plastic lace structures and  I also designed some new window decorations from the lace patterns (that was actually the first beginning of my window sticker collection!). As you already know black is one of my favourite "colors" so you understand that I am very happy with this Black Lace collection I show you here! 1 This Prince Chair from HAY was originally designed for a competition setting the task of creating a chair for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Denmark. The design is from Louise Campbell. 2 These Doilies are reusable window stickers from my own collection. I like it that you can place them as you like, for instance in a circle, a line or just random all over the window. Also nice is that they are suitable for many different window sizes and shapes. With these Doilies you can solve the problem of viewing in a decorative and beautiful way! 3 How stylish is this Baroque black presentation plate from Wedgwood! The Baroque charger is made of high-quality fine bone china porcelain, can be put in the dishwasher and is available in black, blue, green and red. 4 These little tables are from the Fergana collection from Moroso. Patricia Urquiola designed these candies for your interior, almost everything she designs looks special and gives an interior just something extra. 5 Carpet Dia is from Mohodesign. Available in several colors. Well I hope you like these items just as much as I do. Have a nice day and hope to be back soon :-)!

Photography class

Just some photos I took for my photography class... Hope you all have a great weekend!

Autumn

Here in the Netherlands the autumn is a fact and undeniable present. It's rainy wheather and actually... I like that :-) Most people think I'm nuts but I think it's cozy to be nice and warm inside and then hear the rain ticking on the windows or even better on the roof. Okay, I have to admit, that when you go to work and get all wet isn't very pleasant, but otherwise some rain once in a while is welcome to tick on my window :-)

Karin Nussbaumer

These beautiful photos are from photographer Karin Nussbaumer. A few months ago I saw some of her work on Bloesem blog and I immediately fell in love! What a spectacular colors Karin used in these photos! This Elephant series is a free art series and I think that some of these photos almost become still life paintings. Karin was born in 1974 in Austria and studied in the Netherlands at the Art-Academy in Enschede (NL). She now is based in Amsterdam (NL) and Dornbirn (A). With her photos she creates stories. Sometimes fantastic, sometimes real. Often based upon and focused on small things.

Interior stickers for the Holidays

Two weeks ago I told you I shot some photos of my interior sticker collection for the Holidays. I thought it was a bit early then to show them, but hé now it is November, so here they are! I was doubting about what colour scheme to use, but I am quite happy with the purple versus white & silver look! Off course the stickers are available in 20 different colors, but for my product photos I had to choose a specific color scheme. What colors are you going to decorate your home with for the Holidays? I don’t know yet what colors I am going to use for my Christmas decorations at home. I ‘m thinking about white & beige or the white & purple which I used in my photos.

Studio Ditte

Studio Ditte is a Dutch design Studio which consists of Marieke Dirks, Natasja Heesbeen and

Endry van Zwam. They have the most cute and likeable products in their collection, among others an extraordinary wallpaper collection. From sturdy scrap wood wallpaper to wallpaper with lovely birdhouses. The latest addition to their wallpaper collection is this very sweet Teaspoons wallpaper. Studio Ditte wants to add something to the user’s perception of the environment by giving everyday life an extra touch. A hidden story, an element from another culture or a twist that makes you think about things. They do not believe in heavy philosophy or in design movements. However, they do believe in people and their emotions, desires and dreams:-).

Dutch Design Week

Last week I went to the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. One of the biggest exhibitions there is the Graduation show from the Design Academy. As you may know I studied at the Design Academy and once upon a time I graduated there with my interior- and windowstickers! When I was walking in my old school last week it felt like I had never left there. It was still all familiar to me, an odd awareness because it’s already 8 years ago that I was a passionate (some times too passionate) student over there. However, back to 2012. What struck me was that there were little “just” aesthetic products to see. What I saw most where ideologies concerning how to improve: flora and fauna, handcraft and the earth in very different ways. Very idealistic and “green”. There was a machine to save old craftsmanship (well that sounds a little strange :-), but see the project from Daan Brandenburg), a machine that indicates how to grow your own crops, medicines for the bees, a food pharmacy, an outdoor pharmacy etcetera. Good to know that the graduates in Eindhoven ARE trying to save the world :-). Have a good weekend!

1 Vending Cart for Den Bosch by Dorus Faber 2 Made in Brabant by Daan Brandenburg 3 Brabant Livestock by Ruben van Megen

1 Food Pharmacy by Maaike Schuitema 2 Seed Savour by Sebastiaan Sennema 3 The Outdoor Pharmacy by Marloes van Bennekom 4 Victoria (Save the bees using Rhubarb) by Laura van Os

White & Wood

I told you last week that I think the combination from wood with white works very well and looks very sophisticated. So I thought let’s do a little blogpost about that! I found some beautiful items and think they make a good combination together. 1 Recession chair from the Dutch design Studio Tjep. Receding is the act of withdrawing and diminishing. Studio Tjep was interested in exploring the visual impact of receding in relation to a design object. They took an Ikea mass produced chair and started sanding it to the finest possible version. The result is a process where the chair goes from normal, to diminished, to skeleton like. The resulting object is barely functional as it most likely wont withstand the weight of the person it's trying to support, much like a society plagued by recession. A chair with a story, I think it looks beautiful! 2 Pigeon Light by Ed Carpenter for Thorsten van Elten. This bird I really would like to have in my home! Need I say more :-)? It’s made from 3mm vacuum-formed Acrylic. 3 This Deskbox from Arco is a practical small table/cabinet, hanging on the wall and perfect for situations where there is little room for furniture. This closed box can be pulled into a small and elegant work place which is perfect for working on a laptop. How clever is that? The design is from Yael Mer & Shay Alkalay. 4 Dessouschic 7435 is designed by Noè Duchaufour Lawrance. This console-table is from the special editions collection from Zanotta. I think this table is a piece of jewelry for your interior! It’s made from wood and is glossy lacquered. 5 Brave New World Lamp from Moooi designed by Freshwest. In a brave new world imagination is free to produce a complex lamp with simple materials, translating the warm soul of the oak wood in a mechanic way.

Well that's it for today, thanks for stopping by!

Mood board for Haikje's blog

As I wrote to you earlier I am taking the Blogging Your Way Boot Camp class from the awesome Holly Becker. Holly is the editor and founder from the world-renowned design & decorating blog Decor8. Two weeks ago I was reading her blog and it made me a very happy girl! So happy that I literally danced around the room… twice! Why? Because she tipped my blog to her readers! See it here for yourself. I feel very honoured, that she recommended Haikje's blog to her readers (thanks again Holly!) and feel proud that this blog guru reads my blog! Well back to class. This week we had to make a mood board about our blog. So as a good student :-) I did and I thought it’s nice to show it here. Hope you like it. Together with the mood board we had to write a little piece about our blog, so this is what I wrote:

Haikje’s blog is my online home where I write about everything that inspires me. I want to share all my beautiful finds and give my readers a little peak in my world as a stylist & mother. I have a great passion for design & decorating, I am crazy about Rik and our two lovely kids and I am the happiest when I create something beautiful. Welcome to my world!

Trine Thorsen

At Pinterest (via Jan of Poppytalk) I found a beautiful photo from the Norwegian based photographer Trine Thorsen. I e-mailed her if I could show this photo and the entire reportage she did with stylist Kirsten Visdal. She almost immediately replied that I could, so here it is! Trine started her working career in service management, but she dreamed about being a photographer. In 1994 she completed a three years study of photography at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco. It took her a while to take the final step to fulfill her dream, but finally nine years ago, at the age of 29, Trine decided to leave her job and became a fulltime photographer. Her photos have been published in Norwegian and international interior, fashion & lifestyle magazines. She has also contributed in several books and has er own blog! In 2002 she won gold for best landscape photography in the Norwegian commercial photographers "Utsnitt" awards. I like the clarity in her work and in this reportage I think the combination from wood with the color white works very well.