It's time to go....

Last days I was spending a lot of time with my kids at home, and in the city. Now is time to leave, and have some real holiday with the four of us. We are going to Poland, to the sea, and to visit the grandparents, spend some time with family and friends. I will be back in August.  Have a good days…. and don’t forget me ;-)

Places – Rotabs-style center – Rotterdam

I went on Sunday to see the Swan market in the north part of Rotterdam. I wasn’t amazed by the market but by the place where the market was, the entire area around. Not so long time ago it wasn't really an interesting part of the city…. Now I just couldn’t believe it! All new hip galleries, cafés, great new vibe all around.

“ Groei mee in’t Swaenshals. food, fashion & design”.

The Rotabs – style center is one of the buildings, which was turned into a creative warehouse where entrepreneurs of diverse disciplines have put up small businesses. Small units with tenants, like a photographer, a publisher, a goldsmith, a café, a gallery. There are some units left waiting for other daring adventurers to set up shops!

One of the shop I really like is an "elle aime", run by Lisa Manuels, an independent illustrator and lover of everything vintage & handmade. Her shop is full of works made by different designers and artists, I spotted a work of Kim Welling, illustrator and artist from Utrecht and Mikodesing from Rotterdam, but there is much more to see.

more info  and all materials from: 

 rotabs /  and here elleaime  / kimwelling and mikodesign

photo 3/4/5/6 Rafakids

Marimekko – new book Surrur.

 Marimekko turns 60 this  year and to celebrate the occassion, they have launched magnificent book cold Surrur. It is a guide - an introductory instruction to the secrets of craft ideas and Marimekko.  Surrur is the sound of a sewing machine, a bee and the brain processing new ideas. The joyful ideas come from Mari Savio and seven famous Marimekko designers, photographed by Kati Rapia .

What is Marimekko? The company was created during the international design revolution that came out of post war Helsinki, Finland. A woman named Armi Ratia with her husband Viljo joined other well known designers in interior, fashion, industrial and graphic design and architecture to create a new design aesthetic with clean lines, practical ingenuity and bold colourful patterns.

One  Marimekko pattern is legendary. / the one on the 1 photo/ Unikko was designed in 1964 by Maija Isola.  She had designed using nature as inspiration earlier in her career but decided to exaggerate the poppy flower design. It has become a pop icon.  You can find it in many forms....I want this book so much!!! ;-)

All materials from surrur.com and blog stylish serendipity
in Netherland you can buy it here tas-ka

Inspiration – home of Tuula Pöyhönen

A while ago, I found this interesting workshop corner for kids in the living room. I newer saw anything like that before, so I started to search for more information. It comes out, that this amazing house is in Helsinki, and belongs to a Tuula Pöyhönen, her husband and their 4 sons! Tuula Pöyhönen is a fashion designer by background; she runs a family, a studio and a shop called ONNI at her home, an old textile factory turned into loft apartment. Have a look by yourself at her website here  ONNI , I just love it!

all materials from ONNI , vtwonnen september/2010  and site ok-do.eu


more photos from the house : here / 

Design – paper mobile from Alice Melvin.

I’m still in my paper inspiration mood. What about some paper mobile for a new born baby? I found this sweet birds mobile set from Alice Melvin. She was born and brought up in the seaside town of Saltburn in England. She moved to Scotland in 2001 to study illustration at Edinburgh College of Art and she has stayed there ever since. In 2007 her first book An A to Z Treasure Hunt was published and Alice became a fully self-employed illustrator. She has developed this paper mobile set for Tate Gallery, UK.

all materials from tate.org.uk

Toys – animals from Mibo

It is raining here, so its time to play with kids home. It will be nice to take some scissors; a ruler and some glue, and make nice animals from paper. Here we have Dougie the Dog, Camille the Cat, Ruby the Rabbit and Hercules the Hamster who are all just off on their holidays.

And what about some magic tea towel ?  If you tired of drying dishes you can dig out your scissors, needle and thread and transform him into great stuffed fox. All this sweet projects designed by Madeleine Rogers , and available at mibo

 

photos from official site of mibo

Web shop - Engel - celebrate for life.

It is all about hanging a party flags in your life!

I saw this new Dutch company on the Kleine Fabriek in Amsterdam. It was looking colourful and inviting. It was nice to talk to the owner Sabien  Engelenburg , and took a photo of her daughter playing with the big flower.

 You can check it all at the web shop: engelpunt - celebrate-for-life



Children room – Alice and Karl - Sweden

The multi talented couple Charlotte Öström and Rikard Gartmyr, live together with 2 children, Alice and Karl in a house in Bromma, Sweden. They run the company Charlie Charlie, which is all about stop motion animation, character design and illustration. They working for a big clients like MSN and Greenpeace and the Swedish Postoffice . Films & illlustrations are produced in the basement of they house. Have a look inside their children rooms :

Photos Jenny Brandt  from  dos family  and charlie charlie

Places – Museum for children?

When my son was younger (2-3 year) I found difficult to go with him to museums, because of the “DO NOT TOUCH “signs all over. I realised how not accessible art can be, for the small children, which just love to touch and fell everything. Now when he is older, he can listen to the story and enjoy it using his imagination. I’m still looking for exhibitions and activities, which give the children a chance to be more involved. One of my favourite art works to see with kids was Ernesto Neto in Museum Boijmans Van Beuning / Rotterdam, a while ago. Neto’s installations cry out like sirens to be touch, stroked, caressed, and entered….we all love to play with it.

and have a nice weekend…

Illustration – Agata Dudek

Agata Dudek (1984) is a young and super talented illustrator from Poland. She just finished her study at Art Academy in her hometown Warsaw. Agata is busy drawing for books and magazines, doing also photography, graphic and painting. You definitely should have a look at her wide portfolio out here agata dudek
Her talent amazes me, and I wish she would blossom even more.

 

all illustration with a permission from Agata Dudek