Lotta Jansdotter's Åland Workshop Retreat

Lotta Jansdotter regularly gives workshops, and this time at a very special location; Åland. This archipelago is situated between Sweden and Finland and was the home of Lotta in her youth.

In November 2014 Lotta Jansdotter's newsletter announced this workshop and immediately I knew that I wanted to go! A workshop from Lotta, a designer I admire, in Sweden during summertime at a small island ... what more can anyone wish for ...

So finally it was July and I was on my way. My trip started with a visit to Stockholm. Three days I strolled around in this beautiful city (more about this in my previous blogpost). Wednesday very early in the morning the ferry to Mariehamn left from the center of Stockholm. Leaving a city at a huge ferry offers you a special view over the streets, quays and parks. In the soft morning light Stockholm slowly faded. For hours we sailed through small afforested islands, with typical Swedish houses. Dreamy spots within reach of the city, in the forest at the waterside.
Six, or actually five hours later we arrived in Mariehamn, which turned out to be Finnish. Another timezone, a Euro zone and another language, although most people speak Swedish. The archipelago is an interesting mixture of Swedish and Finnish influences with her own unique culture.

Mariehamn is the center of the 6.700 islands. The ferries from Sweden and Finland arrive here and most of the 26.000 people live here. The first day we saw very little of this mini-city, because we left immediately by bus. A few days later however we were back. Visiting this provincial town with some nice stores and a lovely lunchspot Bagarstugan. We had a very good lunch over there and we should have gone back for some delightful pie. Maybe next time :) In the post office I found some lovgely cards, hand drawn with special Åland stamps.

We were lucky to be there at the time of the Åland Sea Days. At the harbor we saw beautiful wooden boats, visited a nice craft market and had some good beers.

More about the Workshop in my next blog ....

Visiting Stockholm

Stockholm in summer is lovely! This colorful city, abounding in water, invites you for long walks or bike rides. The people are friendly and the city has a lot of secrets to reveal. Of course I visited the hotspots from the many Stockholm city guides, but I had a lot more fun just strolling around, taking pictures of the many colored houses, climbing hills enjoying the views and walking at the waterfront, listening to the water and the tinkling of the ships laying at the quays.

My favourites

Djurgården, the green museum island is a beautiful green oasis in the middle of the city. I went there by boat from Slussen … as recommended in the guides, but unfortunately that was very very busy. The view at the city tough was wonderful! Liljevachs Kunsthalle, one of the many museums at Djurgården, was a nice start of my day. A day later, the ferry to Åland revealed more of this wonderful green island in the middle of the buzz of the city. It is a great place to walk at the waterside, escaping the city for a few hours.

The same ferry that brought me to Djurgården hopped me over to Skepsholmen, the other museum island. It was lovely to stroll at the quay in the sunshine, enjoying the views at Stockholm and the beautiful moored boats. The sceneries from the island are great and the atmosphere is easy laid back. A good place to enjoy your picnic or drinks on one of the many benches.

Looking for a nice lunch? Try Blueberry; organic, healthy and delicious. They have several stores in the city center. When you are in the city center don’t forget to visit Ilhums Bolighus … although the shop in Copenhagen is much more beautiful … NK is also a must visit big shop. In the cellar they have some of my favorite shop in shops; Ordning & Reda, Bookbinders Design and Design House Stockholm. Looking for some good food … this is also the place to be! Oh and they have a super COS, if you are interested in cloths. In Rotterdam we have a COS as well, but not like this one J I bought myself a beautiful scarf.

Some nice shops to visit in other parts of town; Papercut, magazine heaven for addicts like me, Konst-ig for art and designbooks. Walking around in Sofo means hop in one nice shop to another, but I also had a great time climbing up to Sofia Kyrka and seeing a lot of locals enjoying the sun. This small green place reminded me of Parc des Buttes-Chaumont in Paris. A green laid back area with great city views. A good place! A little out of the shopping area lies Ersta Kyrka. From this place you have the best view at Stockholm city center and Djurgården. Then hike back to Slussen via Katarinavågen to prolong the good views.

My last day in Stockholm was a short one, because I had to catch my plane. I visited some hobby shops, such as  Kreatima and Slöjd-Detaljer. And last but certainly not least I really can recommend Iris Hantverk. There was some extra luggage I had to carry home ....

Prien's Newsletter about your own logo at your notebook

Last week's newsletter was all about your own logo at personalized notebooks, binders and other stationery. Although it is in Dutch, I didn't want to withhold it.

If you want to receive Prien's newsletter on a regular base, you can subscribe at Prien's website.

New Studio and Swan Market Antwerpen

Sorry sorry sorry for my long absence! It's been crazy over here!

Especially the period around Whitsun was very very busy. On Whit Sunday I was at the Utrechtse Fabriek in Utrecht. Going to a market always means working extremely hard the week before. You have to supplement your stock, decide what you will show at the market, iron your tablecloths and a million other things that always come in mind last minute.
The Utrechtse Fabriek was a nice cozy market, with friendly visitors and fellow exhibitors. Unfortunately it was such a beautiful day, that is was a bit too warm to stroll around in the sun. I guess a lot of people chose the beach that day ...

The next day, Whit Monday, was even warmer ... and that was the day I choose to move my gear to my new studio. It was also the day we discovered that I had collected a lot of stuff and machinery. So it was quite a heavy day ... that almost started with a ticket for parking on the sidewalk. After a long long intense conversation with a city guard I wriggled out of it ... but it was close ...  Since I had so many things, large things, we had to drive four times and in the afternoon there was this major event in the city called Roparun ... which meant a huge traffic jam ... but at the end of this long, warm day everything was in my new office!

The weeks after that were filled with tidying and finding my way in this lovely new workspace. In between I had a lot of nice assignments ... photos will follow on the blog later on. First more about my new office: It's super centrally, literally in the middle of the city, which gives an enormous vibe! I share my workspace with Kim from Papiermonsters. She makes amazing stuff as you can see at her website: http://www.papiermonsters.nl/
Together with Karin from Lecarpentier, Quirine from QS Grafisch Ontwerp, Monice from Monice Janson and Olga from Ontwerpkeuken we share an office. I am so glad to be here and to work here!!

This week is partly devoted to the preparations for the Swan Market in Antwerpen. Prien was already there in May and that was such a wonderful day! The weather was perfect, the people were very friendly and the entire atmosphere was truly that of a festival! I am looking forward to Sunday! Hopefully the weather will cooperate! At the moment the weather reports contradict each other ... and when it will rain that day, I won't go .. because my booklets can't handle the moist ... so my fingers are crossed and I hope to see you in sunny Antwerp this Sunday!!

Utrechtse Fabriek 8 juni 2014

Next Sunday, Prien will be at the Utrechtse Fabriek in the Griftpark in Utrecht. This creative and relaxed outdoor market offers a wide range of unique products. There will be 55 webshops presenting their finest products, you can attend workshops and there is enough space to enjoy a nice picnic :)

Hopefully it will be a sunny summerday! Hope to see you next week! Until that time I am working very hard to replenish my stock :)

Swan Market Antwerpen - Sunday, May 4th

The Swan Market goes international! This Sunday is the international kick-off in Antwerpen. Prien will be there as well. Curious to explore this new area :)

Hope to see you in Antwerpen this Sunday! The weather forecast is great, sun, little wind and 15 degrees ... an ideal day to wander around in this great city. Of course you can visit the Swan Market at De Grote Markt, a super central location. When you are in the mood for more shopping, this is the ideal Sunday to visit Antwerpen! Normally the shops are closed on Sunday, but this day it is Spring Midseason sale and the shops will be open!

Done shopping after the Swan Market, it is also nice to walk around and sightsee a bit. There are a lot of beautiful buildings such as Onze-Lieve-Kathedraal, de Bourla and Het Steen. Looking for something more modern, then choose the direction of Het Eilandje, this former harbour district has been transformed into a bustling area centered around Het MAS. This extraordinary building accomodates Museum aan de Stroom, a gathering of several museums. I really can recommend this museum, both the architecture and the exhibits are well worth the effort to visit! Another tip is Het Fotomuseum at the other side of the city; 't Zuid. When you walk from De Grote Markt to 't Zuid, one of the best ways is to take De Kloosterstraat, the place for antiques and flea. And don't forget to visit one of the thousand terraces or to eat at one of Antwerpen's great restaurants!

Want to know more about visiting Antwerpen, check out: http://www.allesoverantwerpen.nl/
Coming by car, you can park at the Grote Markt parking: http://www.antwerpseparkings.be/CMS/

Hope to see you Sunday! Prien will be there with Kim from Papiermonsters ... hopefully side by side :)

Original Market Leiden

This Sunday you can find Prien's products live at the Original Market in Leiden. In the garden, around the Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde in Leiden you can find a lot of creative entrepreneurs. The product range is very divers, from clothing to vintage to accessoires and not to forget stationery. Feeling a little hungry or thirsty after all the shopping .... just look for a food stand and enjoy a nice cup of coffee or eat a delicious tosty.

Hope to see you on Sunday! The new vintage collection will be for sale ... not even on the site yet ... just a short sneak peak in the blog :)

Enjoy your weekend!!

Boekbindsbeurs Sint Niklaas

The Boekbindbeurs in Sint Niklaas was already on my wishlist for a few years. Curious if this fair is different from the bookbindfair in Leiden I wanted to check out this one, hoping for some new participants with new surprising materials or methods.

Since Sint Niklaas is situated between Antwerpen and Gent, two amazing cities to visit for a weekend, we chose Gent for our weekendtrip. We did some nice sightseeing, some shopping in between and we had good drinks and dinners, even the weather cooperated, so we also enjoyed some of the many terraces on the Gent squares and streets. Some of the nicest shops I want to share with you, just in case you pay a visit to Gent in the coming period - which I can recommend - :)
- Huiszwaluw                  interior and design products    
- Javana                            tea and coffee                        
- A.Puur.A                         cloths, interior and design      
- Le Pain Quotidien        lunch              
- Vintage                          wine and dinner
- Greenway                      veggie food        

In short we had a great weekend and in this relaxed mood we arrived at the Bauhaus in Sint Niklaas at the end of the morning. Unfortunately we weren't alone, we had to stand in line for more than half an hour to get in. We chose peak hour to arrive :(  Because it was so busy, we had a hard time trying to get a glimpse of the merchandise. Luckily the crowd decreased after a while and we were able to talk to some participants, such as the nice people of Louët. They are specialized in basic tools for bookbinding. Who needs big expensive machines if you can use the practical solutions of Louët. I bought myself a universal pricking gauge, so the pricking of the booklets will be so much easier and faster. Maybe in the future I will purchase the vertical plough as well. This stationery version of a plough makes really clean cuts for special editions.

There were not only participants selling bookbind stuff, but also some bookbinding and graphic design training institutes, such as TNA from Antwerpen, Syntra West from Brugge, the Academie from Genk and the Plantin Instituut from Antwerpen. The last one offers short courses and a longer curriculum for typography, its history and the practical use of it. Theoretical insights combined with the historical background, technical knowledge and practical skills of typography .... sounds amazing ... if I only had the time ... I would know !!

I also met some nice people from the 14 x 14 Boekbindproject (bookbinding project). This sympathetic bookbinding collective presents its project results in local libraries, on fairs and in a small inspiring 14 x 14 catalog. 

In comparison with the fair in Leiden, Sint Niklaas is smaller and there is much emphasis on leather and leather processing. Each time I see this beautiful and colorful material it starts to itch a little ... maybe I should learn how to process this material and give it a twist ... but I still have so many things to discover and working with leather is very expensive and the booklets bound with leather will also cost a lot more than the booklets I am making now ... so that means totally different customers ... so maybe later :)

For now the Boekbindbeurs in Sint Niklaas was inspiring and worth to visit ... but it is not necessary to visit both Leiden and Sint Niklaas ... one is enough :)  ... although the next one on the list is Keulen in October ... who knows :) ...

Prien at the Swan Market Sunday 23th

The kick off of the 2014 Swan Market season starts with a swinging festival in the Fenixloods. This robust, typically Rotterdam location is the place to be this weekend. Since it is inside, a little bit of rain now and then doesn't matter. There will be food and drinks and more important a lot of cool stuff. Looking for a nice present or something for yourself, don't hesitate and visit the market. It's for free! And there will be live performances as well.

Prien will attend the festival on Sunday. Where my stand will be, I don't know yet, hopefully next to Papiermonsters :)
I will have the new Spring Collection with me and the new Retro Summer Series ...
Hope to see you this Sunday! Enjoy your weekend!

Feel Good Market

The place to be this weekend is the Feel Good Market in Eindhoven.

Once again Strijp S will be the decor of a vibrant and creative market. Despite the beautiful weather of recent days, it is still early in spring, so the market well be indoors. There will be live music, a lot of delicious food and even more handmade and unique stuff to see and buy.

Prien will join this edition of the Feel Good Market. There will be new series of notebooks and other stationery. So come and visit Prien's market stall to see it yourself!

... just a few more days of hard work to get ready in time :) ... See you Sunday!!

http://feelgoodmarket.nl/

Vakpracht

Craft is the newest hottest thing in The Netherlands. A lot of Dutch Design, exhibitions such as Hand Made in Museum Boijmans van Beuningen and the event Meesterlijk in Amsterdam are examples of the new idea of craft, how to use it and how to value it. In recent years there has been an upgrading of the phenomenon craft. But what exactly is craft and who are the craftsman behind all these beautiful objects?

Vakpracht is a new Dutch website gathering all those craftsmen. At this site you can find craftsmen such as a soap boiler, an embroiderer and even a bookbinder :)
If you are looking for a specific product or genre, you can use Vakpracht to get in touch with the craftsman you are looking for. But connecting consumers with craftsmen is not the only purpose of this site, Vakpracht also supports craftsmen by sharing knowledge about doing business, giving workshops and by being a forum so craftsmen can share there knowledge, or ask questions at colleagues.

Want to know more about this practical site, take a look at www.vakpracht.nl. You can subscribe yourself to the newsletter, or you can follow the blog at the homepage. Of course you can also find Vakpracht at several social media channels, such as Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest. Since a few days Prien is also part of the Vakpracht community at http://www.vakpracht.nl/profiel/prien/ ... only in Dutch ...

Flavourites Live Business

Once a year it's Flavourites Live time. This sparkling event in Amsterdam, powered by MamaMarketing, offers webshop owners a stage to show their products 'live'. Located in the inspiring location 'De Overkant' this event hostst a consumers fair and a b-to-b event with workshops, lectures and providers focussed on b-to-b-products.

Since the schedule was pretty full, the first lecture was already at 10 in the morning. That meant an early trip to Amsterdam, to the other site of the IJ by ferry. After a refreshing and hasty - yes I was late again - walk to 'The Overkant' the first lecture  from Carlotte Mos/Ocher was about to start. Luckily a bit later than scheduled :) Carlotte told us a lot about branding. You are your brand! You and al your expressions. Ofcourse you know this stuff, and you heard it before, but she managed to tell these facts in such an inspiring way, supported by a beautiful designed presentation (you are your brand! :) ), that it really had an impact on me. ...I have a lot of work to do coming weeks ...

This vibrant start was followed by lectures about Pinterest (with some usefull tips), SEO (more good tips!) and content strategy. One other lecture that stood out was about trends in e-commerce, media & social media by Lieke Lamb. She is a true performer and speaker. It is wonderful to listen to her. Well founded facts and opinions brought with humour. The most important things she had to say; focus on mobile, desktop computer use will be replaced by mobile applications.

A lot of input, together with the inspiration from the course Blogging Your Way from Decor8, my head is full with new ideas and stuff that I have to improve in my blog and on my site....

Decor8's E-Course Blogging Your Way

Last Friday the e-course Blogging Your Way from Decor8 started officially. We had to do some reading and update our profiles .... but today ... we finally start the course .. I am very curious! As you might have noticed, sometimes I was a bit lazy with posting new blogs ... but with the help of this course I am planning to give this blog a boost. There are so many ideas in my head ...with some discipline and new guidelines they should result in an interesting and beautiful blog about bookbinding and everything that inspires me and hopefully you!

Webshop Till You Drop

This Saturday and Sunday (October 12th and 13th) Prien will be at the Webshop Till You Drop Fair. The location is great! An old compound feed factory called DeFabrique in Maarssen (close to Utrecht). Come and meet Prien and dozens of other great webshops. Hope to see you this weekend!

 

For more info about the fair, the location or the directions:
http://www.webshoptillyoudrop.nl/
http://www.defabrique.nl/

Meet the Blogger

Today I will join Meet the Blogger Amsterdam. Interesting program and speakers...I can't wait ...

Swan Market Festival

This weekend the Rotterdam Swan Market will be a two day festival in combination with the World Food Festival. So there will be even more food (and music) - also in the evening - than on a normal Swan Market. It's not only about eating, but also about food knowledge; Stimulate your senses in the Future Food House and don't forget to shop some nice products at the market afterwards :)
Due to other commitments Prien can only join the festival on Sunday. The weather forecast is excellent, so I hope to see you this Sunday!
Have a nice weekend!

 

The day after 'Meet the Blogger Masterclass'

Yesterday I joined the Meet the Blogger Masterclass styling & photograpy. It was a great day!
I learned a lot of new things, and some already known photography basics were refreshed. Ofcourse the best thing were the other bloggers and webshop owners. Talking with people who are interested in the same things as you are is always inspiring! I met a lot of new people and I have a lot of new blogs to follow :)

In the morning we had to fulfill a styling assignment. First we had to create an 'Easy Winter' moodboard using some magazines. This moodboard formed the basis of our styling set. They made it a bit more complicated by adding the demand that we had to use a nice warm winter hat of YAYA and item of HK Living.The nice hat was a present, so I am ready for a cold winter :) Thank you YAYA!

 

Turning the moodboard  ideas into a good styling set was a strenuous but inspiring job. We were allowed to use everything that was exhibited at the Toonkamer. They have such beautifull furniture, so it was marvellous 'to shop for your set'. The nice and practical beige paper bags I used are from Uashmama.

It was a great day! Good to have been there!
- for more information, see my previous blogpost -

Meet the Blogger Masterclass

Tomorrow I will join the 'Meet the Blogger Masterclass Photography & Styling' in Utrecht.

This one day masterclass  has a focus on photography and styling. ANOUKB of ANOUKB interiors and Wendy van Woudenberg of BeeldSTEIL Photography and Styling will teach us the secrets of styling, photography and blogging. I am very curious!

The workshop will be given in the inspiring Toonkamer in Utrecht. The Toonkamer use to be the Pastoe furniture factory. Nowadays the Toonkamer is a platform where more than 30 Dutch and international Interior design brands present their new collections.

Goodie Bag item Webshop Till You Drop Event

I just sent some cool small notebooks to the Webshop Till You Drop Event goodie bag action.
October 12th and 13th Prien will join this event in DeFabrique. This beautiful, raw old factory is located at the edge of Utrecht.
At this event a lot of special webshops will present themselves offline. If you are looking for unique items or exceeding presents, join this event! If you want to go please sent me a message, so I can provide a discount card.

Workshop Pulp Printing - the pictures

Last weekend I joined a two day workshop at De Boekwerkplaats in Stedum. This little village northeast of Groningen is really picturesque. On holidays in your own country... De Boekwerkplaats is situated at the border of this village, next to the meadows, the view is outstanding and so is the hospitality!
The workshop was provided by Pien Rotterdam of Water Leaf Paper & Words. I learned a lot of new things and I gained inspiration for new booklets and opportunities. The workshop was about papermaking and printing patterns in the wet paper. Because of the used method the pattern becomes one with the paper, you don't feel the pattern, you just see it.