June 16, 2014

Hidden Gardens

Sometimes you're missing so much, while doing too much. I'm still in my 'what do I want' phase, but the year is already in half and I'm just doing a lot of things, great things, but no time to think things.
Good thing is that sometimes you have time to do something you didn't organize, like the "Hidden Garden" route in Rotterdam yesterday.
With a rented bike, me, Koen and two sweet friends living the good life in Rotterdam, cycled through the city. Adventure was out there! And hidden, green oases where out there to discover!

Courtyard garden in Rotterdam

Greenhouse in the middle of a neighborhood


Throughly hidden surprizes


Ikebana at the Japanese Cultural Centrum

Ladies relaxing in the sun

This morning, drinking my coffee, reading the newspaper, I was thinking about the great day and the things I missed. In May me and Koen de Wit organized a front yard competition in our neighborhood. Every garden was in the competition and every neighborhood resident could vote on their favorite garden. We also had a jury and different activities during the month like a pruning workshop and building bee hotels. When I was in Cambridge I received the flyer layout by Koen. And oh what a wonderful design it was. It made me very happy. 

Vanuit bed's Front yard competition 2014, design by Koen de Wit

It was a great project and it's so nice to give people prizes for having a beautiful, green, well kept garden. Could do that every week! 
But being busy with different projects, leaves less time to blog or to enjoy Batiks and Wax print designs. To my surprise Vlisco launched their new collection this week. I didn't even blogged about Vlisco's lecture at the Graphic Design Festival in Breda (NL). Which was great and quite funny. Roger Gerards gave a quick introduction on Vlisco and how they now focus on the designers, the makers of the Wax prints designs, and the stories behind those designs. He showed different examples like the famous fans and Michelle Obama's handbag. Normally only building get names by the public, but in the Wax print world every fabric design gets one. 
Roger brought a new, freshly wax printed fabric for us to see, but he didn't realize the crowd would be full of smartphone holding social media sharing listeners. So he couldn't show it and hide it under the speaking stand. Even I made a blurry photo of the small piece of fabric still popping out. Hidden fabrics are even more interesting! 
Designer Erwin Thomasse was Vlisco's next speaker. He is working for Vlisco 3 years now. And I felt a bit jealous. Maybe even a lot. He was working, and still is, as a visual artist in Eindhoven and was discovered by Roger. He invited him to design for Vlisco. First year he didn't designed, only learned about the proces, the technique and the archive. When he made his first design he was well informed and could easily combine his own handwriting with the Vlisco brand. 
What a great opportunity that must be. His style is very graphic and next to his previous designs, he added some new ones in his presentation. Which he than had to skip through really fast!
Well I knew than that the new collection would be graphic and I noticed a pattern in the Vlisco collection release. 
One collection is figurative, more illustrative and soft in style and color, the next one is more graphic with geometric patterns and stronger coloring like the new collection 'VoilĂ  for you'.
The previous collection 'Bloom' had a textile design landmark Roger told during the lecture. Vlisco is well known for their big patterns, but now they made a fabric, a Java print with only one figure: a big, fabric width, flower. And apparently its sold out (some color combinations are still available)!
My favoriete one of the previous collection is the hidden garden (I loved all the designs in this collection actually), what a synchronicity! 


Vlisco design from Bloom collection

 A magical hidden garden

VL051423.06, but no stock at the moment

Another pretty design from the Bloom collection


"If you know who you are, than you know how to communicate"
- Roger Gerards