Visiting Textielfabrique

I recently discovered this super cool sustainable initiative called 'textielfabrique' and ow my god I was sold. Such a beautiful philosophy and beautiful sustainable fabrics and yarns they have. I discovered that the shop/atelier was just a town away from me! I got in touch en visited the interesting woman behind this initiative designer, producer and teacher, Maaike Gottschal. We talked a lot about our experiences in natural dyeing and also investigated possibility's in the future. She also showed me her atelier/shop. It was so nice that I couldn't leave without buying myself something to experiment with... can't wait to find time to try this! In short it was a wonderful trip, let's have more trips like these!

A sneak peak in her atelier/shop. Showing wool she recently dyed herself by hand using walnut and cochenille

The 100% organic Indigo Starterkit I couldn't resist buying.

Having a glimpse inside the box reveals a lot of interesting things including marbles! Can't wait to try it!

 

First orders coming in!

After my recent post the first orders are coming in! I've already send out the first package with wooden needles today. I'm completely loving the envelopes I discovered made from recycled old german maps, they are just gorgeous!

I'm currently working on a webshop. Soon it will be a piece of cake to look at and order my newest collection! I'll update soon!

New sustainable collection!

I finished some super cute earrings, wooden needles and crochet hooks made from twigs. They represent what I think is important, use of existing natural materials like found wood or feathers and next to that they are so darn cute! And the best thing is, they are now for sale in two shops. The concept store Urban Nomads and the supercute shop Elle Aime They both have a shop in Rotterdam North (NL) All for very affordable prices, so searching for the perfect holiday gift? Contact me or visit one of the lovely shops!  I'm also on the hunt for new shops to sell my products, If you have suggestions, let me know!

First up I present, wooden needles made from the large thorns of the indigenous Crataegus. The long thorns where traditionally used as nails to attach the shoe-sole onto the leather shoe in shoemaking. The needles because of the irregular shape are perfect for the somewhat coarser fabrics. Handmade by me and treated with a touch of beeswax to conserve the wood. They come in super cute handmade packaging perfect as a gift for textile craft lovers! And the nice thing is they are very affordable. You can contact me or visit Urban Nomads concept store in Rotterdam (NL)

Next up are the crochet hooks handmade from found twigs treated also with a little Beeswax to conserve the wood. They are  in different sizes depending on the size of the found twig. The crochet hoofs are for sale at the cute shop of Lisa called Elle Aime and you can of course also buy them trough me! So feel free to contact me :)

And last but not least, Earrings made from found feathers. Every feather is washed carefully en blown dry before making these lovely earrings. They are sold in recycled glass bottles finished with a used wine cork. A handwritten label attached to the bottle tells you where the feathers where found and also from what kind of bird the feather came from. Every earring is different en unique because every time I find different feathers. And to make it even more complete I decided to donate a percentage of every earring sold to the 'vogelbescherming' (bird protection association). If you are interested in one of these earrings as a gift or as something you want for yourself. Contact me or visit the concept store Urban Nomads in Rotterdam!

New sustainable project almost done!

One my latest projects is almost done. It all has to do with feathers! This is gonna be a sweet sustainable little product which is gonna be the perfect holiday gift. As you are used to with my designs, this will not only make yourself happy, it will also make the world a little better! At the moment I'm working on illustrations to explain the concept.... very soon more about this mysterious feathery project!

a glimpse of the drawings i'm working on!

New Atelier!

Long time no blog! A lot has changed in the mean time. I've moved to a beautiful atelier-livingspace with my love in The Hague (a city near the sea). The surroundings and my atelier inspire me a lot, I've started a lot of new projects, soon more about that!  

working in my new atelier on exciting new projects

having a stroll with my love on the beach 

inspiring surroundings on just a bike ride from our new atelier and living space

photo development

There is a new and exciting development in my work I want to share with you!  Recently somebody asked me how I found the photographer who photographed all my work shown on my website. On which I surprisedly answered "I always do it myself!"
I was somewhat surprised by the comments after people knew I made all pictures shown on my website myself. They said that the photo's looked so professional that they where surprised I made them. I've always photographed my own work for documentation and for my website. Also in my free time I love to photograph just for fun, so I really felt complemented by the comments, it was really nice. After these interesting remarks I got some invitations from people surrounding me to photograph for professional reasons. I was so enthusiastic that without a doubt I right away took on the photo "assignments" and did my best to make them perfect. After making the pictures, I was really surprised and so proud to hear that they liked it and where even going to use them! And now I may proudly say that I shot the cover of a magazine, and the opening spread of an article featured in the same magazine called "Down to Earth Magazine". This magazine is very into environmental situations and actions all over the world. If your interested you can also check out their facebook or follow them on twitter! And I can also proudly say that there is also a poster for a theater play and a CD cover on the way! It's amazing! I can't believe how quickly this goes! I really love doing this so who knows what is next! Below is the cover of the magazine. Later on I will keep you up to date with the other photo's assignments I did!

Iris van Herpen Exhibition

Some time ago I travelled all the way to the other side of the Netherlands (from Rotterdam to Groningen) to see the exhibition about Iris van Herpen, a dutch fashion designer I really admire, at the Groninger Museum. It was a really beautiful exhibition. It was amazing to see her dazzling pieces in real life. The only down point was that my camera after 10 minutes suddenly had no battery life anymore. But that became a good excuse to buy the beautiful book that was specially made for the exhibition. If you are in the opportunity to go to this exhibition, go! It's such a beautiful exhibition you won't regret it. More information about the exhibition check the site of the Groninger Museum. If you want to see more about this amazing fashion designer check the site of Iris van Herpen

Opening Secret Gardens at CBK

Yesterday I had a very nice opening of the exhibition and shop with the theme "de geheime tuin" (translates into "secret garden") which also had my collection "leaves Impression". This all happened at the CBK in Rotterdam. It was a great opening with lot's of people, lot's of flowers from the charming flower-girls walking around and lot's and lot's of talent that was displayed! Got in touch with some very interesting people! Some of them where Renske Versluijs, Barbara Smit, Madeleen Bloemendaal, Jörgen Smit, Susanne Vuyk and Niels van Hout , they are all worth checking out!  I went home not only very inspired and happy but also with a cute little gift envelope containing some sunflower-seeds.

Secret Gardens

This week I've been a busy bee perfecting my "Leaves Impression" collection for a new and improved Artshop and exhibition of the Centre of Art of Rotterdam. They exist for 30 years and celebrate this by having a wonderful exhibition called "de Geheime Tuin" which translates into "Secret Gardens". The very Exciting thing is that I will be featuring most of my "leaves Impression" Collection in their new and improved shop! If you are in Rotterdam and have time on the 5th of April around 17.30, come and join me for a drink at this amazing opening! Check their website for more details.

 

Nov'82 architects

Recently I am working on an exciting project that will be in shops soon! In the process of developing my product, I visited the two wonderful architects of NOV'82 architects in their studio. I must say they have one of the most interesting studio's I've ever seen! The Building is just two meters wide and has a lovely interior that perfectly suits their needs. I got really inspired by their way of working. Visit their site for info about their projects and vision. Later more about the project I visited them for so keep an eye on my blog!