Inspiration - aNa veNtura

I received really special package from Portugal. I was happy like a little girl. It was a birthday present from my husband, and from Ana Ventura. She is an artist, which I get to know from the web, and I follow her creative steps with a great joy.  It is difficult for me to write about it , because I will get really emotional.

Simply – her work is touching deeply my hart.

The present I got, is from a serie – Roots….

I was moving many, many times in my life; It started when I was a teenager. Now I’m living abroad. For some time it was a hard cookie for me, and I didn’t know where my place on earth really is. But, like someone already said: “ my house is where my hart is” , and the people I love, are my roots. 

Ana inspirations

and here detail from “Love “ serie …. I will be happy too look at it every day.

more beautifful work of Ana you can find here  http://www.anaventura.com/

Design - Snug

Today a Snug from Germany. This small company is run by two talented women :

Kerstin Reilemann an interior designer and Berit Liidecke an architect.

Since 2010 they develop intresting design products in their studio in Hannover. Natural materials such as wood and ceramic underline this mix between tradition and a clear, simple design. ” we create design for your home from a mix of generations.”

Snug, brought to the market their first product which can be used in a children room –

the Songbirds mobile.  Isn’t it adorable?

all materials from  snug-online and snug. blog

Polish design - Toprojekt

Toprojekt is a fresh, young design studio from Poland. Two, multitalented designers, are standing behind it. Agnieszka Brzezinska and Karolina Majewska. Both graduated in Interior Architecture and Design at Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz. Agnieszka is a graphic designer specialized in Visual Communication.  Karolina focuses on Product Design, and has a broad-based design skills.

They have a great idea, to create a company, which will offer comprehensive, good quality design for children.  Since February 2010 as toprojekt.pl they design baby products, bags, websites, posters, flyers, etc. They are also giving workshops for children. I’m really impressed with their creativity, and beauty of many of their projects.  I cross my fingers, for their wide success, not only in Poland.

Agnieszka Brzezinska runs a blog about design: Graphic design, product design…..

 all materials from  toprojekt.blog. and oficcial site toprojekt.pl

24.06.2011

Being a little girl, always at the beginning of the summer my mom made a strawberry cake for my birthday. Every year the same, strawberry cake. Poland has so many of them in the summer. You buy kilograms, whole baskets on the markets or even on the streets from peoples gardens. My bithday is for me the smell of summer and the strawberries of course. I am baking one such a cake for my family today. I wish I could share it with my mom too, but she lives so far …

If you feel like joining, you are welcome, today a strawberry day ;-)

Have a nice weekend.

Kiedy byłam małą dziewczynką, na początku lata, mama piekła na moje urodziny, ciasto z truskawkami. Co roku czekałam na to samo ciasto. Lato w Polsce kojaży mi się zawsze z truskawkami, które można kupić na kilogramy, na ryneczku, czy na ulicy od kogoś kto przywiózł truskawki ze swojego ogrodu. Moje urodziny, pachną zawsze truskawkami i latem. Dzisiaj upiekłam ciasto z truskawkami dla swojej rodziny. Szkoda, że nie mogę podzielić się nim, również z mamą, mieszka tak daleko….

Jeśli macie ochotę dołączyć do mnie dzisiaj, zapraszam.

Dzisiejszy dzień, truskawkowy dzień! ;-D

Życzę miłego weekendu.

Places - Children's Trade Fairs - Europe

There are an International Children’s Trade Fairs in the air this summer time...

I will be happy to go to the Amsterdam one, and I hope to show you something intresting from it.

23 - 25 june 2011    pitti immagine bimbo Firenze
2-4 july 2011    play time   Paris

3 - 4 july 2011     kleinefabriek   Amsterdam

4-7 august 2011    cphkids Copenhagen

all materials from fairs official websites

Polish children book illustration –Joanna Concejo.

It was raining weekend out here, and feels like the summer went for a long walk…I enjoy to look at the beautiful work of polish artist - Joanna Concejo (1971). It puts me in some romantic and dreaming mood.

She was born in Slupsk and finished Art Academy in Poznan. Joanna moved to France. After long way of finding her own style, trying many things (painting, collage, installation), she discovers simple pensile and a small notebook, where she starts to draw. Her debut book was  Il signor Nessuno/  Pan Nikt  in (2008) Joanna likes this one the most from her all published books.
Some of other books : Au Clair de la Nuit / W świetle nocy ,  L'angelo delle scarpe/ Anioł od butów , Entrez!/ Wejdźcie!   I cigni selvatici, Dzikie łabędzie (ilustrations of Andersen stories) In September Humo Antóna Fortesa  - Dym will be published in polish. It is a difficult story about a child who dies in concentration kamp.
For me all the illustration of Joanna Concejo, are very metaphoric and moving.
You can read an interview with Joanna here (in polish) Joanna Concejo and her blog Joanna blog

illustration with approval from Joanna Concejo , from http://znak-zorro-zo.blogspot.com

collages made by Rafa kids  /photo 1. 2 . 5/

Inspiration - UGUiSU

UGUiSU - a world of Hiki from Tokio. It is this kind of place on the Internet, that when I stop by; it is difficult to leave it. I have found in her blog and shop many beautiful objects and amazing photos. I just love all this japanese paper goodness, so many interesting gifts to make, beautiful ideas to make party, books, journals to read…just looking at it makes me dreaming and wondering.... 
link : uguisu shop  and a blog jollygoo

all materials and photos’s from http://uguisu.ocnk.net/

Book- Zoons! handleiding voor moeders.

Last days my older son, almost 5 year old, was really intense, active and difficult. I was “relieved” when I got in my hands this small and funny book. “Sons!handbook for mothers “, written by Gerard Janssen, only in Dutch.

1. Boys use aggressive behaviour to show domination and find position in a group.

2.They are active, they love competitions, and pushing limits.

3 Great things to do: let’s hit something! Let’s throw things from high! Squeeze it with big preassure! Explode something! Let’s burn something! Let's set something on fire!

 4. Frustrations and anger are fast rising into the limits and rapidly go down (girls have to work more with it, and second day they will still be upset, while boys will already forget about it)

 4: Frendship between boys is different: a kick in the bottom means often „I like you a lot”. 

5. Do something together! Then we will become friends!

6. There are things which you do not want as a mother...but you want as a son.

 So lets put special glasses and try understand the boyhood. Good luck!

Web shop – fam.store

Frederique & Marloes are the owners of the  fam.store shop. They love beautiful and unique products. Who doesn’t like nice things? They are making selections among them: to play, to eat, to read, to wear, to give and to get…. more and more. They choose most of the time small brands, mix of quality, durability and originality. I really enjoy they home styling, the simplicity and graphic look of it.  Simple - better. Enjoy! famstore.nl 

all materials and photo’s from http://www.famstore.nl/

My design - baby room

Today my younger boy is 8 months old. He is growing so fast....his cradle is geting to small for him, it is time to move to a big bed, yes! Some time ago, I did this littel room for him...red,dark blue, and of course white. At the photo I’m still having my big belly ;-) and hanging some small birds made out of felt – he still loves them a lot.

Places – De Utrechtse Fabriek

Today I went to Utrecht, to see for the first time De Utrechtse Fabriek market.

This ‘hip market’ is located in a really beautiful city park, with a lot of activities for children, small kids farm, plenty of green areas and a restaurant. You can spend a nice day out there. On the market were 55 web shops of young designers presenting their products. There were a lot of things for children, sweet, colourful, and all hand made.

I have spotted one of my favourite shops – fam.store, which I will show you tomorrow.

on the picters are shop’s: opkop,  fam. store and de Oude Speelkamer.

the posters are from http://deutrechtsefabriek.blogspot.com/ and fam.store.