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104

by on Dec 15, 2012 • 1 Comment

Last Sunday I visited Paris and had a beautiful day there. Cause I’d already done all the tourist attractions (some multiple times) I thought I’d look for stuff I didn’t know about yet.  And so I finally took a look at Hermine Van Dijck‘s Paris journal. Hermine is a textile designer who makes some truly wondrous stuff and is now residing in Paris for her internship.

And so I discovered about 104, an arts centre of sorts in the 19th district of Paris. As you can tell from the outside photo, it is one huge enormous building and houses lots of different spaces. I don’t think we got to see even half of it, that’s how gigantic it is.
104 houses a bookstore, secondhandstore, café, restaurant, practice spaces, modern museum and more. It’s aimed at everyone and, unlike a lot of similar initiatives, it actually attracts all sorts of people.
The atmosphere is cosy, grand and no-nonsense. And you can actually get a pretty cheap, decent meal at the café. And all of that in Paris! Who’d have thunk it? Not me, in all honesty. A truly unique space (even just for the architecture), I felt, and most definitely worth a visit.

 

Last three photos by Jean-Louis Zimmerman

Brussels, Ghent and Hamburg through my eyes

by on Apr 3, 2012 • 3 Comments

Just like the title says…

Among these my MJ suitcase in Brussels, snow in Ghent, a sleeping Daniel / Ital, wigs in Hamburg and lots of the botanical garden in Hamburg (recommended!).

Russell’s Clapton

by on Oct 7, 2011 • 1 Comment

My blog hiatus wasn’t really a hiatus as I’ve got some free time right now to tell you all about something. I’ve never been for the whole advertising thing on blogs – not deliberately anyway. If you feel passionate and enthusiastic about a place / a band or artist / a product or brand then please, spread the word! But the whole advertisement business on blogs is not something I personally support.

However, I’d like to spread the word about a bed & breakfast, which is not something I thought I’d ever be doing. My first three days in London were spent with my mom by my side and I’d been trying to find a nice place to stay using Google. It seemed there was no such thing as a nice b&b until I stumbled upon Russell’s of Clapton, which is run by Annette. Now, the website immediately spoke to me cause it had amazing illustration and the overall aesthetic was just beautiful. You could tell she really puts a lot of thought into detail.

Not only that, Annette also turned out to be someone who used to work in music as a manager and working at magazines – which really spoke to me. For the four months I’ll be spending here, I’ll be interning in music you see.
So I didn’t take a risk and emailed her immediately! And though the rooms aren’t super cheap, the rates are definitely reasonable and you get quite a big discount when you join the mailing list.

(our room with kingsize bed)

So, our actual stay then. I have never slept in a bed with sheets so soft! And the same has to be said of the towels. Everything was really good quality and Annette has impeccable taste and a thing for vintage furniture which resulted in warm, homely yet quirky rooms. I felt right at home!
She does good breakfast too – though we didn’t try the full English (not our thing at all + I’m a vegetarian).

(Annette’s dog Reggie on the sofa in the communal area downstairs)

All in all, this is maybe my favourite place I’ve ever stayed at. Annette has a warm personality and, unsurprisingly, a great taste in music so I got to hear some good tunes whilst there. I’d truly recommend it to everyone – trust me, you won’t find somewhere better to stay in London. And it’s in a great area too – close to all the fun stuff East / Hackney has to offer.

Italy & beyond through the eyes of Jonathan Clancy

by on Sep 19, 2011 • 1 Comment

I love everything Jonathan Clancy does and you know it (you must remember my talk about both his own project His Clancyness and his band A Classic Education) so a while back I asked him if he wanted to participate in this project and he gladly accepted the challenge!

Now as you might notice, something seems to have gone wrong with the photos… From what were 26 shots (if I remember well, there about anyway) only 13 seem to have actually turned out well. There were just no other photos on the negatives which I found very odd. I’m afraid there’s always a chance something goes wrong with a cheap disposable camera so that must’ve been what happened.

Anyway, you can see the shots that came out well underneath but I’ll let Jonathan provide some info first. I asked him where and when they were taken and most of them were in Italy (where he lives). First one is Jonathan in front of his Bologna HQ, then two shots from a show in Genoa, Fred from A Classic Education on the road and then shots from the Adriatic sea in Ravenna and the beautiful Garda Lake.
Oh, and if you see part of a body that looks feminine then it’s most definitely his photographer girlfriend Giulia.

TAKE ME BACK TO SUNNY ITALY PLEASE!

To accompany looking, listen to A Classic Education’s most recent song Baby, It’s Fine:
A Classic Education – Baby It’s Fine [mp3]

When in London…

by on Apr 7, 2011 • 1 Comment

Those who follow me on Twitter probably noticed that I took a short trip to London last weekend. It wasn’t much of a tourist-y visit – I was there to meet up with people mostly – but I did come across a couple of things that I think you should know about too. Londoners, please look away.

Broadway Market
My biggest tip for sure. I don’t think I would’ve ended up here if it hadn’t been for my friend Kasper-Jan. He was living there for a couple of months at the end of last year and I payed him a visit. Him and his girlfriend were off to Broadway Market on Saturday and asked me to join which I’m still very grateful for. Though Broadway Market isn’t super big, it offers the widest range of good food, at reasonable prices. From sausages, cheese and bakery to clothes and books. I bet it’s even better in summer.
Make sure you walk there via London Fields and spot some dogs. Afterwards walk to the canal and just take it from there. The best place to be when the sun is out, perhaps.
Broadway Market, Hackney, E8

(photo from here)

Shelly’s
Shelly’s is a quirky shoe boutique that sells colourful, cute – you guessed it – shoes and the ladies working there are real sweeties.
Right there, on Broadway Market

Franzè & Evans
This delicatessen place where you can have breakfast and lunch (both in and take-away) is located on Redchurch Street in Shoreditch, right by Brick Lane. It’s rather small but full of good looking and tasting Italian food. I’ve had lunch there twice now and both times were absolutely delicious. I like how there’s a daily menu as well as some fixed dishes plus all kinds of Italian specialities. The best thing is how it’s all for you to look at behind the counter.
101 Redchurch Street, E2 7DL

Kate Kanzier
Miss Kanzier makes some really, really great shoes. I’d spotted a pair at some fashion blog a year or so ago and had the shop bookmarked on my laptop ever since. What more is there to say than: the following beauties are now in my posession
67-69 Leather Lane, EC1N 7TJ

Paris je t’aime aussi

by on Dec 7, 2010 • No comments

This is long overdue. At the end of October I went to Paris for an afternoon and a day. The afternoon was spent in the company of a friend so nothing to report there and in the evening I went to see Veronica Falls (exhilirating as ever) and Twin Shadow (ok album but so over the top live). The next day I walked around Paris on my own which was jolly lovely. I won’t get into detail about the people I met or the sights I saw but I thought I’d give you some recommendations – if you were ever interested to go.

These are in no precise order so the shifting between locations will probably not make too much sense for a real Parisian. Sorry!

Coiffeur: this is my biggest tip for sure. A tiny secondhandshop in one of the tiny streets of Le Marais. One of the only vintage shops where the prices are actually very reasonable to cheap. For example: they have a selection of amazing jumpers and they’re all 10 euros! Go on weekdays though, it’s mental on a Saturday.
23 Rue Des Rosiers, 75004 (Le Marais)


(doesn’t the terrace of Point FMR look lovely on a sunny day? Photo from here)

Point Ephemère: the venue where the bands played on the first day. A great location (right by Canal du St. Martin), friendly staff, enthusiastic crowd, awesome dj’s (girls!) and the best programming around town, probably. Though La Flèche d’Or comes close. The only downside: gross toilets. But hey, that’s just a detail. PS: apparently you can get on the roof. I wish I had when I was there, view must’ve been great. For less daring people: there’s a bridge nearby that probably gives just an amazing panorama.
200 Quai de Valmy, 75010

Tombées Du Camion: basically the shop out of my dreams. Tombées Du Camion means ‘fallen off the truck’ and you get what you’d expect with that name: colourful bits and bobs, odds and ends, all very old looking. Though not all that old. Prices are ok. I bought my new favourite brooch there (and that’s saying something as I have a huge collection).
44/47 Passage de Panoramas, 75002

Chez Mamie: the night before leaving I looked up some stuff on Unlike (did the same thing with Berlin, remember?) and this was one of my finds. A vintage shop with a basement, attic and groundfloor completely FILLED with vintage stuff. Clothes, shoes, jewellery, keyrings, cards etc etc etc. It was a joy to look around but there was far too much going on. And the prices weren’t exactly on the low side.
73 Rue de Rochehouart, 75009

Entrée des Fournisseurs: if you have a sister like me who’s into all things crafty, then you’ll soon get to know your way around the shops selling that kind of stuff. Believe me, I could compile you a huge list with those kind of shops from all over Belgium. In Paris, I happened to stumble upon one. Hidden away behind a small corridor, followed by a beautiful courtyard you can find Entrée des Fournisseurs. Everything for the sowing and knitting maniac. The thing that caught my eye the most though, was Liberty Fabrics. Such beautiful patterns!
8 Rue des Francs Bourgeois, 75003 (Le Marais)


(PARADISE! Photo from here)

Au Petit Bonheur la Chance: it happens quite a lot that I find a gem of a shop after strolling around a bit. However, I’d never found as much of a gem as this one. It is honestly one of the best places I’ve ever been to. It had all kinds of age old stuff, ranging from pencils to fabrics to cards to ribbon to pocket mirrors. Walking into this shop feels like walking into the house of someone who collects every little thing he comes across (especially old school and kitchen supplies). And maybe that was the case as the shop owner was an old man doing some painting. He seemed a little paranoid though, constantly looking at what I was looking at / touching.
PS: the name of the shop means ‘by accident’ which couldn’t be more appropriate as that’s the way I came across it.
13 Rue St. Paul, 75004 (Le Marais)

Guerrisol: you don’t go to Guerrisol if you’re looking for a cosy atmosphere. It kind of looks like a charity shop but slightly more grim. People are here to find bargains and they won’t leave without. So that doesn’t exactly make for the most friendly costumers but you could find really good deals. If you have time and like rummaging through not-so-fresh clothes that is. I was carrying a rather heavy backpack so I opted out.
17bis Boulevard Rochehouard, 75009

So that was my short day in Paris. I know they call it the most romantic city in the world but I didn’t mind walking around on my own whatsoever. So much to discover in Paris! And it’s the best when you make those discoveries yourself.

PS: don’t talk to strangers at the Sacré Coeur. Do visit that gorgeous church. Don’t go through the touristy part of Montmartre – it’s a nightmare. Do find the good places in that area that aren’t as crowded.

Bruxelles je t’aime

by on Oct 13, 2010 • 1 Comment

On Saturday I decided to spend a day in Brussels with my sister, as they’d predicted lovely sunny weather. And for once, the weather forecast was right. Brussels is my favourite Belgian city for sure: it’s multicultural and there’s so much to do and see. When I went to Brussels with a friend for the first time years ago I hated it. I disliked the people, the cold atmosphere, the mess a big part of the city is in. I couldn’t wait to be back home.

Overt the years I’ve realised that you have to learn to appreciate the city. Sure there are some bad bits – like in every city – but there are so many good places to discover as well. I highly recommend it!

First stop were the Marollen, a daily fleamarket on the Vossenplein (near the Brussels Midi station) where we strolled around for a bit and I got my sister acquainted with the art of haggling – can’t go without at a fleamarket

We weren’t exactly looking properly and went on to Foxhole, in the Rue Des Renards, right next to the square..
Foxhole is a lovely vintage shop (with another one in Brussels and one in Antwerp too) that’s packed with bags, clothes and shoes. It’s quite tiny but there’s something to be found in every little corner and there’s always stuff outside too. I found the most amazing shoes for only 25 euros (prices are very reasonable)! Very happy.
Just 3 houses to the right you can find a lovely shop full of beads and other creative stuff. Just what my sister was looking for (have a look at her jewellery here)!

We walked to the centre and paid one of my favourites, Lucien Cravate, another visit.
Got some ice cream (yes the weather was that good!) and looked into some of the other shops in the Rue Des Chartreux. Good stuff to be found but pricy pricy. Suddenly a gallery I hadn’t noticed before caught me eye.

We went in to have a look and I really liked what I saw: an exhibition called Chaosmos. Big, colourful works by art collective Hell’O Monsters . I’d never heard about them before but I just went through their Flickr and turns out I basically love everything they do. Here is one of their recent works that I think is great:

Is There Really Something Between Us? by Hell’o Monsters

We went on to the main shopping street and then homewards. But there is one last thing I definitely want to mention. Last time I went to Brussels properly was during summer with my friend Jacoba who showed me a lovely little park called Kleine Zavel. A true gem to find some peace and quiet in this always busy city.

 

Hey Brussels, I love you!

Philip Seymour Hoffman

by on Oct 6, 2010 • 2 Comments

No, not the actor. Philip Seymour Hoffman is Noah.

When I went to Berlin end of June/early July we also went to see Beach House at the Lido, as blogged about back then. We sold one of our tickets (it was completely sold out which made for a lot of desperate people) to an Icelandic guy from the band Who Knew? He’d been talking to another big fan without a ticket: Noah. He got in as well and we talked to all of them for a while. We later came across Noah again at the Morning Benders show. He told us about his musical project but these days everyone’s in a band so we didn’t pay much attention to it.

(hi there Noah!)

Until I stumbled upon his blog The FMLY by coincidence mere days later.

And now suddenly everyone’s talking about his musical project Philip Seymour Hoffman. So I decided to give it a listen and I’m really glad I did. Neu Magazine got the exclusive, here’s the SoundCloud stream of Sleep Tight and Sweet Dreams:

I can’t stop listening to this. It’s really good, just take my word for it.

A Fashion Party

by on Oct 2, 2010 • 1 Comment

Somehow I ended up at some sort of fashion party (it was London Fashion Week for a reason) on Tuesday night. It was coming to an end which is how I managed to get in. Another Argintenean called Nyco snapped some pictures. I taught him the word ‘tummy’ mere hours later and he also learnt what shooting from the hip is (and that the term is frequently used in the film Blow-Up). A technique he immediately mastered by photographing girls’s underwear. Here’s a couple to give you an idea:

Basically, a fashion party plays nineties/early noughties hits (Gala!), gives out goodiebags (mmm Jelly Bellys, special Ferrero Rocher, Vitamin Water and other useless stuff) and is full of people that like to have their picture taken.

I was supposed to be in these myself as evidence of actually being there but I just wasn’t fashionable enough. Although I now realise these photos make it look like a freakshow. Ah well, I guess we could say fashion is a little bit like a freakshow, no?

Stuff to think about.

 

All pictures by Nyco Dyszel. Thanks again Nyco!

London Day Four

by on Sep 30, 2010 • No comments

As soon as it started, my time in London came to an end. I felt a little sad but I was in for a treat later in the day. I finally got to meet the infamous James Penycate at Rough Trade Records where I had – you would never guess – a latte. A good one in a really nice cup. James was really wet due to heavy rainshowers (I luckily got to borrow a jacket that once belonged to a member from Canadian band The Organ – felt pretty cool walking around in it) but super nice. He brought me some good music treats. And as if that wasn’t nice enough, who do I suddenly see walking into the record shop? Mr. Jack Hudson himself!

(a recent illustration Jack did for Anorak Magazine)

Yes, that’s right, my favourite illustrator just walked in! He’d told me he was coming to London on Thursday and I’d given him my number but apparently he couldn’t reach me. So to have him walking in there right that minute was pretty much fate – like he said himself.
Not only is Jack a great illustrator, he’s also probably the nicest person ever. Really easy to talk to and so good to finally meet him. It’s always great if you finally see someone after having emailed back and forth for a long time. And when they turn out to be that lovely, well then it’s the best thing ever basically.

I went into some shops in Brick Lane and had a jolly time walking around on my own, acting as if I knew London like the back of my hand. I bought a super nice alpaca wool cardigan at Rokit Vintage and a little black dress at Laden Showroom. Both good catches.

 

I had some homemade pizza, shared a birthday brownie with James and Max and then it was time to return home. But London, I promise, I’ll be back soon.

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