Rafa-kids at Actus Japan

Three years ago we welcomed in Rotterdam a very special team from ACTUS Interiors from Japan.

 Last Summer the first shipment of Rafa-kids beds arrived in that beautiful country 

and was welcomed into NEW KIDS COLLECTION of ACTUS. 

This Spring Rafa-kids finally had chance to discover the world of our partner 

on the other side of the globe. What a life time experience! 

To begin we broke ice having a fantastic evening filled with amazing Japanese dishes and drinks. Next day we were guided to some of the beautiful ACTUS stores in Tokyo (from around 50 in total). They all have a bit different atmosphere and are located in different areas of the city. ACTUS has many years of experience in importing furniture and unique vintage pieces from Europe. 

The kids world is new in their collection, so seeing Rafa-kids beds exposed at the prominent places in the shops made us so proud. After running around the busy Tokyo we finished the day with an Interview for Milk_Japon. Between much laughter, interesting questions and direct personal translations from English to Japanese, it was such a fun to do! 

In the evening, tired but exited we were ‘gathering’ at the ACTUS Slow House in Søholm. 

What a special space! It is outside the city, located within a SLOW HOUSE interior shop and fronted with the fantastic water view. We just wished the time to stop and let us enjoy that evening for longer…

Thank you so much ACTUS Interiors for having us around and welcoming Rafa-kids with such a hospitality and kindness. 

our Tokyo - first days in Shinjuku

We are back! It was a long break on the blog but I hope you are still here with us.

 I’m trying to catch up with work, so please be patient with me. I have so much to tell you! 

Today a taste of Shinjuku in Tokyo. If you can imagine that Tokyo is the world’s most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 37.8 million people and the world’s largest urban agglomeration … well, don’t be scared, it is very easy to navigate around. Wonderful subway system will take you anywhere in few minutes! Tokyo is one of the safest cities on earth with the most kind and helpful people I had ever chance to meet. 

We were so lucky with the cherry blossom. If you ever plan to go there in around this time of the year I would highly recommend to take your lunch to a park and sit together with locals. Enjoy this amazing moment in the hart of the crazy busy city. You will just relax, watch the beautiful nature and festive vibe around you. Such a wonderful experience.  We got our lunch ( Bento box) at the beautiful store ISETAN. The food department in the basement is an absolute heaven to walk around. 

We decided to focus on 3 districts in Tokyo which we wanted to get to know more. First days we stayed for business at Shinjuku, close to Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. It is an office district with a lot of people waking in black suits but there are plenty of local restaurants and bars. At night you can just walk around the little streets and absolutely get lost in the mood, food and atmosphere…..

......to be continued

please wait here

We go to Japan!

I can’t keep this secret any more from you. 

We booked tickets to Japan!  It’s going to be Rafa-kids business trip to visit our partner there - Actus store, but we will also have few days to explore Tokyo and Kyoto. We are so exited! As you can imagine! We are going in Spring time, just beginning of April, so we have a little hope too see the Sacura blossom….I know I know….

It’s a very long time that we both Arek and me, love the Japanese culture. It is not only from our studies time at the university of Architecture, but for me since an early art school actually. It was always a dream to go to this unique place and touch it and feel it in real. When two years ago, we were contacted by the prestigious Actus store from Japan, with an interest in Rafa-kids design, we could not be more happy. I wrote a post about Actus kids collection here.  Rafa-kids beds are in their stores since half a year and we are so ready to learn more about our partner and their culture. 

If you have any tips for us, what we really need to see in Tokyo or Kyoto, please let me know. We are making plans as I speak. I think I will share a lot on our Rafa-kids Instagram in exactly 2 months time, when we will be there. I still can’t believe! 

KidZinspiration and Rafa-kids at M&O in Paris

We were so happy to collaborate with KidZpiration for the January M&O in Paris.

KidZpiration is based in The Netherlands and  distributes a range of high end, design driven toys and kids lifestyle brands to a wide variety of retailers in Europe. We met Maiko (founder)  in our studio to talk about the coming fair. KidZpiration  is carrying very beautiful products for children, from brands like:  Wee Gallery, Smiling Planet, Rock&Pebble, GreenLullaby, Fabelab and others.

Like you can already see on the pictures we clicked very well with KidZpiration and our Rafa-kids R toddler beds went to Paris. Danish textiles from Fabelab were presented on our beds, in two different corners. On one of them you could see our natural finish bed and L shelf with bedding and accessories with soft colours . The other corner was black&white and on our Rafa-kids XL shelf were presented amazing little toys from Rock&Pebble. We are very pleased to share our furniture with other brands, since we believe this way we can create new, fresh and inspiring content. 

Olive Loves Alfie - London

We are very exited to receive a fresh press material from children’s store Olive Loves Alfie in London.  

9 years ago they opened their first store dedicated to kid’s world and last year they have launched a new store Olive Loves Alfie East in London's newest postcode E20. Perching on the edge of the Olympic park they have found an urban idyll. The store is run by interior design lover Ashlyn Gibson , creative director of two interior books. I presented you one of them here:  Creative childrens spaces. 

Don’t you think our Rafa-kids R toddler bed look so representative and beautiful ?   If you are in London, now is the chance to see and touch our furniture in this inspiring space. We could not be more proud. Please have a look for more details:  Olivelovesalfie. 

LOKAL

Today I’m taking you to inspiring place in Helsinki run by photographer Kaja Hagelstam. 

LOKAL

 is a concept store for independent Finnish art, design and craft with themed exhibitions changing every month. You can find at LOCAL a mix of recognised and up-and-coming artists. It’s not only local, because there is also an online shop for smaller products and selected photographs, including some handmade and/or unique items. Should I say more ? I would love to go to Helsinki ….

EXHIBITION # WOOD

EXHIBITION # PINK

EXHIBITION #24/ MIKÄ MIKÄ