urlaub Archives - Pagina 2 van 2 - Ellen Vesters Illustrator

Hello Etsy 2012

oktober 30, 2012/11 Reacties/in art, business, etsy, humor, inspiration, urlaub /door Ellen

This weekend I was one of the lucky ones attending Hello Etsy 2012.

I was blessed with stomach flu the day before.
So I fit my lovely bordeaux stockings perfectly.

The day looked even brighter when in the train me and compadre Femke Veltkamp found out that our telepathic skills had made us dress completely compatible.

Oh my, the world problems us modern girls have to deal with.

Everything was forgotten when Janine Vangool opened her mouth. How one shy woman can silence dozens of people telling us all to just follow our hearts.
Actually, the whole day could be summarized with this sentence.

When you hang in there, doing what you love, staying true to what feels right to you, you will find success.

Call me (and a whole Piet Hein Eek factory filled with people, for that matter) unrealistic, but I am a strong believer in this mantra.

The reason that I love Etsy so much, is because they are not just about commerce. Etsy is truly dedicated to supporting a new economy, a world where big companies have less power and relationships amongst people will be more important again.

(Okay, after three talks from people who seemed to have had the same workshop in storytelling I felt some allergies kicking in, but hey, the higher message is cool!)

Matthew Stinchcomb told us that at every Etsy event they try to include speeches that trigger social awareness.
This group of Etsians had the honor of meeting 87 year old Satish Kumar, former monk and peace activist, sharing his inspiring views on sustainability.
The energy this dude had!
87 Years old!

The man deserves a gif don’t you think?

Watch all the different Hello Etsy talks below. Be sure to check out the inspiring speech of Satish Kumar, all the practical advice for starters by Diana van Ewijk from MamaMarketing (a MUST follow) and by my mate Kim Welling, and the fantastically sobering talk by master Piet Hein Eek:

If you have the time to watch, you may stumble onto this particular funny scene…

***I have met so many lovely New York people the past weekend. My thoughts are with them in this storm. I really hope everyone is safe…***

A home for Urlaub!

oktober 23, 2012/8 Reacties/in business, graphic design, inspiration, logo design, shop, urlaub /door Ellen

~~Coke!~~

~~Champagne!~~

Proseccooo!

Loooooots of cake!

Fireworks!

Really really cheeeeezzzy house music!

One hundred high fives!

Life changing papers were signed yesterday!

Urlaub found a home!

If everything goes according to plan Urlaub – illustration and concept store – will be opening up in the first quarter of 2013, in Utrecht, right next to Tivoli de Helling, where a new creative breeding ground is built.

Urlaub will be located on the first floor surrounded and influenced by other supernice creatives: Welmoet, Leentje, Rosa, Renee and Bas.

Bas very kindly built us girls a 3D preview!

And now for the best part to begin: choosing products and deciding on decoration!

P.S.

Coincidence or sign from a far away Marsian: on the ground floor a diner will be opening up called Klein Berlijn = Little Berlin…!

http://www.immerurlaub.nl

The truth about The Woonbeurs

oktober 16, 2012/1 Reactie/in art, business, graphic design, illustration, inspiration, urlaub /door Ellen

So. The Woonbeurs.

The truth about the Woonbeurs…is that after all the craziness and mania that is called Woonbeurs, for a week I lived like a zombie.
From different sides I had been told that this was completely normal post-fair behaviour.

Wowza!

“Never mind”, I told myself, “the enjoy-your-succes-part will soon arrive”. Unfortunately when the end of the zombie era came in sight there were some nasty family circumstances to deal with. And well… at that point in time super-grumpy Ellen kicked in.

My recipe: a nice night with friends and a walk with Mr Rockstar through the always welcoming city of Antwerp. My clearer head told me: circumstances can’t be changed and no one wouldn’t want me to enjoy my success.

So. I gave myself a good kick in the butt to have a little Woonbeurs blog party tonight.

Even though the Woonbeurs is a subject that’s already long gone in blog country.
Even though everybody has already moved on to write about autumny stuff.
Even though I really have to start working on me OD’ing you guys on exclamation marks.

I’m turning back time two-and-a-half weeks, when:

I got to build my own little living room together with friend Kim Welling.
I got to work together with a very talented designer I admire: Femke Veltkamp!
I got to meet so many online friends, which for me, always is the best part of events like these.
We were a huge success with people calling us a fresh breeze after all the hardcore designs out there. Woohoo! Exactly what we were hoping for!
The whole reason I dreamed of having a shop was to see for myself how people react to my work, to meet and interact with like minded people. That was exactly what happened. We had such fun!
My favorite magazine published an interview with Urlaub on their blog!
And then afterwards… over 15 blogs rewarded our hard work with lovely pictures and words about the shop! (check http://www.immerurlaub.nl for links)

Yaaaay for The Woonbeurs! Thanks everyone! ;)

Check out these cooooool pictures (and the nice blogs they originate from)!

A good friend of mine was just there as this nice lady bought three of my prints all at once:

Enigheid:

And for the Grand Final a big thank you to the friend that was watching me the whole fair and offered a welcome little break every now and then. (Look at it! I so so so wanted to take that gorgeous thing home!)