Music and lyrics

Pure magic.
A weekend filled with good friends, wine, music, lyrics, poetry.
Wow, wow, wow.

Last weekend I hosted workshops at the very first Snorfestival, organized by my Moustached friends: de wereld van Snor.
The workshop crowd was as enthusiastic as I had hoped for and the whole day was just filled with smiley faces all around.
(including lovely lady Vlinspiratie, who helped me out at the Urlaub booth!)

This wonderful video was taken that day.
I can’t wait for the second edition next year!

 

My main hobby these days is sleep deprivation and this weekend was no different.

I had slept for just four hours, before making the drive up to the festival, but the night before was so so worth it.
If you’re Dutch and you’ve never been to THE Poetry Night… girl, you’ve missed out!

Wanting to be an intellectual growing up, I used to be quite the poetry groupie and went to this festival years on end. Dating a musician I kinda forgot about this first love.
This year, my main man Rufus lured me back in.

I won’t even try to translate the poems I heard, I’ll let Google translate come up with something creative for my English pals.
You can read them in Dutch below.

Personal highlights were Remco Campert (had never seen this giant live before!), Leonard Nolens, Erik Jan Harmens and Bart Chabot.
And then there were the most amazing musical interludes by Daria van den Bercken, Maarten Heijmans and of course Rufus Wainwright (sigh!).

The woman in the picture whispering a love poem in my ear is the ever inspiring Titi Zaadnoordijk.
Oh my, how she made me blush.

 

Ellen Vesters Illustrator bij de Nacht van de Poezie

 

Leonard Nolens
Opzichtige stilte

Bij u is het lijden algemeen menselijk, vaag
als bloed dat van blèrende flatscreens uw huizen in spat.

Hier is het hees en kortzichtig, een bleek gezicht
in een onafzienbaar witte rivier van gangen.

Hier is het een roepnaam verstomd in een doodstille kamer.
Wij spraken uw dagen met moeite te lang naar de mond.

Ooit was verdriet een methode, een traan die treuzelt
en schittert als de naald van een kompas.

Het wees ons de weg naar deze verdieping, hoog
en geheim als de hartslag van onze naamloze bloedgroep.

Stethoscopen betasten en testen ons ademloos
luisterend. Horen zij, weten zij veel hoe wij heten.

 

Erik Jan Harmens
Open mond

vroeger lachte je om mijn grappen
nu zet je ze bij de weg als gedemonteerde keukenonderdelen

ik kan geen rennende mensen meer verdragen
daarom heb ik iedereen neergeschoten

ben je bang voor trommelende dingen
dan zal ik mijn vingers maar bij me houden

ik kijk naar waar ik mijn handen wil leggen
jij gelijk hoppa je vest dicht

Girl Crush: Octavie

How I have grown to love the online community.

Yesterday I posted this on Instagram.

Even before I received Marloes‘s lovely gift, Octavie – who I never met in real life – touched me with hers.

 

I would wish for all of you to be Dutch. Just to be able to read Octavie‘s blogs.

In the commercial blog world, her non-commercial one really stands out. Sharing her beautiful drawings and her magical view on life. Such integrity, such sincerity.

 

I found the painting below in my mailbox after a little post on facebook that I loved her robin so much…

 

Thank you so much, Octavie (and Marloes and Anki, and all those others that give so much), you don’t know how much these things mean!!!

 

 

A lovely Sunday in Amsterdam

Starting your own business, or better/worse (*please delete as appropriate ) your own shop, can be compared to renovating an old house. If you would know up front what you’d run into, you would never think of starting it. But hey, as said you never know what will happen, so still moving along! ;)
Nevertheless, there have been a lot of deep breaths lately.

 

I deserved a break. So last week I donated myself some offline time, which culminated in a beautiful day in Amsterdam. I was invited to Ingrid‘s (aka Ingthings) booklaunch – at colourful shop All the Luck in the World in Amsterdam – and decided to combine this with a three hour breakfast on a sunny terrace at the area called De Pijp. I met my talented friend Nadine there which always makes for some good conversation.

 

I must say my distaste for Sundays is maybe, just maybe, slowly giving me less of a hard time.
I had a blast!

 

So many smiles: Dog Marley showing us her icebear moves, kids grooming guinea pigs (!) in the parc, Mikodesign‘s daughter being all excited about going to the best high school ever, this beautiful Frida she designed together with her mum and gave to me, and all those little gifts that Ingrid had layed out for all us guests to take home. She really knows how to throw a party (and must be the most generous person I have ever met…). I took home the little bird below (unfortunately my cat liked it as much as I did..!).

Check out Ingrid’s wonderful book, about thrifting, DIY, and foremost about enjoying small things, right here: Kringloopgeluk.

 

(sorry for all the filters, peeps, only had my iphone on me!)