koninginnedag en amsterdam

queens day in amsterdam. april 30th.
think...

orange everything
party boats
beer
cheap no-tax junk
endless ear-blasting euro-music
ridiculous hats
drunk
happiness
crowds
loempia
friends

to some, this may seem like an unusual holiday. but it's the unusual ones that are always the best.

while some choose to start getting obliterated at 10 o'clock in the morning, i woke up casually and wandered the negen straatjes met mom. i've never bought anything on queens day that i absolutely loved, but this one was different. there were some great vintage dresses out and about as well as some fantastic hats! (i snagged two.) can't wait to wear them in the sunshine.

later i met up with one of best friends, riet. we dangled outside her window on the weteringschans, ate delicious focaccia, and drank some heineken (in true queens day fashion).

photos by me

Ooh Child

my dad has the most immense record collection i've ever seen. when i was younger, we would sit for hours just going through them, him playing all his favorite songs and telling me the memories that go along with them.

while we went through countless records, i will always remember this one specifically. valerie carter: just a stone's throw away. the album cover was enough to make me fall in love with it. and then i heard her voice. oh, that voice.

on another note, i'm packing to jet over to amsterdam this afternoon. in need of some serious mom-cooked food and a couple of beers while celebrating koninginnedag tomorrow.

ooh child, things are gonna get easier
ooh child, things will be brighter.
valerie carter

doodle

in all truth i haven't picked up a drawing pencil in a long time. and it's one of those things- once you stop for awhile, it takes that much more motivation to start again (cough, gym, cough). i forgot how soothing drawing can be.. just sort of forgetting the world around you. and it's just you, the pencil, and paper. instant mind therapy.

end of days at Sketchbook

Yesterday was my last official day at Sketchbook Magazine. I must say, I've never met so many amazing people in one place. The motivation, dedication, and love that goes into the magazine and pop-up shop is unbelievable, and I really can't wait to see Sketchbook grow into the name it deserves. I'm sad to leave but university work is so important to me right now and working at Sketchbook really is a full-time job.

I'll be posting some of what I learned there and some of what I worked on another time. For now, back to uni work!

photo by me.

dan in real life

You know why we have lighthouses? They keep boats safe and they help us from crashing into rocks because when you're out there and you're being tossed back and forth by those big dark waves and you think you'll never feel land again and you that you could just split into a million pieces and just sink down all the way down into the deep, it's the light that keeps us on course. It's the light.


i really enjoy this film. the first time i watched it, it was blah. the second time, much better. it's strange seeing steve carell out of his typical humorous element. but strangely refreshing.

dan in real life.

PETER JENSEN sample sale!!

Incredibly excited about this. I hope they have some great stuff (and i hope it's not expensive!) Peter Jensen makes me week at the knees. Work experience please??

http://peterjensen.co.uk/

Ed Templeton: Drinking The Kool-Aid

About a week ago, we decided to watch the documentary Beautiful Losers over some dessert in our lovely kitchen (which doubles as our living room). I immediately fell in love with all the people who took part and the art that they were doing: the perfect movie to inspire me to start some art of my own again. If you have not seen it, you must!

The next day, my friends had randomly heard about an exhibition of one of the guys, Ed Templeton, that had just opened up in London. They had gone that day and even seen Ed leaving the gallery space (pretty cool!) I knew I had to go and see the gallery. Photography is a huge interest of mine, and the gallery (both the art AND the space itself) didn't let me down.

Focused on skateboarding life and culture, Ed Templeton photographs a variety of subjects, from his wife to young kids who have an interest in skating. His photographs are incredibly personal and quite frequently sexually driven. All of them are telling some sort of story, whether it's a 17 year old boy who has a limited future in front of him or an intimate moment with his wife.


One of my favorite things about Ed's photographs is the little handwritten inscription he gives all of them. They usually state where it was taken and the subject and sometimes even tells the story of the subject itself.


The curation of the exhibit was fantastic. Photo montages were grouped together on the walls enclosed in wooden frames. The white walls seemed to fade away amongst the art, which all spoke loudly to the eye.

Elms Lester Painting Rooms, London WC2
Gallery is open until April 17th.

all photos by me