rothschild & bickers

as my interests are beginning to lay in mixing materials and bringing back old styles it was these vintage inspired lamps, that quickly caught my eye. the design duo rothschild&bickers, grads from the royal college of arts, mix materials and combine traditional glass techniques with contemporary design.

love.

snowing in eindhoven

so i promised a few i would put up the photos of the snow in holland. it was some sort of freak snowfall that lasted only a day...but it was a bit of home for me and daniel! On a busy day where Daniel was cutting up garbage with Mike, Susana was making models (and burning herself with the glue gun) and I was desperately trying to come up with genius ideas...it began to snow.


Snowing in Eindhoven from heather daam on Vimeo.

daniel's latest endeavor

here's my boyfriend in his silver screen debut. well technically it's only his computer screen debut, but it's funny!


Back from the Future from Emmanuel Tenenbaum on Vimeo.

working with metal

Untitled from heather daam on Vimeo.

This trimester was my first time truly working with metal! Other than the crash weekend i spent watching james skillfully put my chair together, it was my first time. I began to really love welding once the amperage differences was explained, and once i got to use the torch! 

andre helped me make the most effective mold, and after a lot of practice i came up with a system to basically mass produce my scalloped edges! and i'm happy to say my mentor dick actually asked me if i had found the metal already like that...

a day in dordrecht

Daniel and I took a lovely cold day trip one saturday to Dordrecht. It's an old city in the Netherlands that claims to be the oldest (this seems to be common for cities here...) But oldest or not, its really beautiful! We didn't expect it, but even despite the chill and the grey, the center of the city was quite quaint. We also found a christmas outlet store--hence the toting of the christmas tree! And as icing on the cake, we found the ultimate poffertjes, mini pancakes. These, unlike the ones we found in delft, were truly fresh, melting in our mouths, and delicious. Jealous Dad? Anyone who visits us will be brought to this gem of a city and cafe!
With my new discovery of the pictobrowser, i'll be putting up photos of when my parents were here, and my daytrip to amsterdam soon!

much love

bokja

while trying desperately to focus on getting my final presentations ready, i came across this really beautiful fusion of iconic western furniture with the textures and colours of the east. The tastefully eccentric furniture by boyka are a bright, and as they say haute-bohemian, breath of fresh air!

Riitta Ikonen

Ritta Ikonen is incredibly whimsical, clever, and i really just feel like giving her a hug. Her series done with photographer Anja Schaffner called "Bird and Leaf" has the ladies assuming the characters of a leaf and a bird in an attempt to reflect on their sentimental yearning to 'get back to nature'.  See what i mean by give her a hug?

My other favorite project is her Mail Art. From 2004 to 2006 she mailed around 100 postcards to Margaret Huber from Japan, Spain, Finland, Russia, and England. “Hair, fish, a sachet of white powder, a piece of broken record etc. were sent to test the postal system. Only three cards never reached their destination, and each one is incredibly clever. 

Her portfolio is definitly worth checking out. The series Bird and Leaf are on display in the Designhuis in Eindhoven as part of the show "Talent" a collection of European talent from 2008 graduates, curated by none other than Li Edelkoort.

eye jewelry

I have been doing a lot of searching through jewelry designs lately, finding it an incredibly powerful way to express yourself. This design i stumbled upon is totally extreme, but there is just something about it that is breath taking, peaceful, beautiful and striking. 

It's basically a contact lens that becomes jewelry.  Its "a concept by Dutch designer Eric Klarenbeek, who explores the potential of jewellery as an integral part of the human body. a combination of a pair of contact lenses and a string of tiny crystals makes a jewel that joins the movements of the eye and eyelid."

our first photo!

it's official. me and my precious little 'niece' have had our photo taken together! nicola and matthew finally took the plunge and got skype, which put the biggest smile on my face! i can't wait to meet the adorable little bundle, and give nicola and matthew long overdue hugs of congrats!

love.

the lion run

so aurelien, cho and i teamed up during out video workshop when we had to make a one minute movie with only one take. this was the result. 

reunited!

that's right. me and my trusty sidekick are together again! after the longest month ever, and no doubt a loss in translation between myself and my dear aurelien, we came to the conclusion that he is the one safekeeping my darling camera.

this means only on thing for you trusty readers---more posts about me soon! now that i will have photos to take, there will be more interesting stories and adventures, and many more posts in my flikr site as well! keep checking back as they will be up soon!

much love.

beautiful in paper

In the spirit of friends and family gatherings, Wasara's elegant flowing forms create the most beautiful paper plates and cups i've seen. While their paperware is good for only one use, their "Paperware for spiritual enrichment" maintains and underlying legacy of the Japanese aesthetic. It's designed to minimize the environmental burden by usind reed pulp and bagasse (sugarcane waste) for its material.

"Wasara's, a one-time-only paper ware, plays a role in enriching one's mind, despite its ephemeral nature." 

A bold statement, but maybe it's their beautiful website, or well written concept story, but i believe it. I also wish i could reuse these beautiful plates....

climbing wall at work?

truthfully-who wouldn't want a climbing wall at work?

a chance to wind down, take a break, and challenge your biggest competitor (and hope they fall off??) ALright, so this one is at a fitness centre...but imagine one at your office!

Illoiha Fitness Gym had Nendo Japan design their new space which is two floors below ground. Nendo created the most beautiful climbing wall i have every seen to unify the two-story space. 

"To express the original brand concept of "becoming beautiful through movement", we chose the theme "rock-climbing on Omotesando" and developed a design that uses the mismatch between a rugged outdoor sport and Tokyo's fashion district to its advantage. Instead of the usual rough and outdoorsy climbing wall, we came up with the idea of using interior design elements like picture frames, mirrors, deer heads, bird cages and flower vases to create a challenging wall with hard-to-find holds and unusual finger grips."

he's here!

so it's official! Holland's newest citizen has arrived...safe and sound, computer in tow. i regret to say that my camera is still m.i.a, hence the lack of my personal posts. and well the lack of interesting design posts is probably due to my increase in work load and panic level!

currently i'm working through the wood project in which i have picked ebony and dealing with mourning and loss. big subject, but i have finally cracked it and am working towards my midterm designs. i'm getting together a solar project with my two italian teammates, and also trying to design a sturdy 6mm steel rod chair. let's just say life is exciting!

alright, i promise to get on blogging better this week, soon photos from my trip to the dump with mike and photos coming from the dutch design week!

much love. 

dutch design week

It is nearly upon us! Dutch Design Week fever is coming, and the students are getting excited. We have something brewing that will hopefully come together next week, so keep your eyes open for that, and i'm also working on a small project with my darling friend jose. It might be something as simple as a blog, but i'll keep you posted. Check out what can be found online for the shows, and if there's anything you want to see, let me know and i can go check it out with my camera!

love+hugs

amazing house

so this is officially my dream home. it actually caught my eye aesthetically, and then i realized that it is in fact made prefab from shipping containers! Composed of five recycled shipping containers, this beautiful home actually has a durable steel envelope that is capable of withstanding hurricanes in Florida and earthquakes in California. The embodiment of sustainability, this house also has FSC-certified woods, solar panels, rainwater recycling, and an Agilewaves resource monitoring system. Designed by the Lawrence Group, the prefab was fabricated in a month and assembled on-site in just 4 hours and 47 minutes!!



here's a video that's actually kinda long, but if you skip forward you can see it being built.

my new flat!

so finally after people asking and asking, the lighting was just right, and my flat was really tidy! i've put a few more photos up on flikr as well...so check it out! 

and i just want to say a big thank you to everyone who sent birthday wishes from all the way back home. it was so nice to not be forgotten and to feel so loved. thank you and i love you all so very much! 

love.

new kind of couch

this really has inspired me. as my mentor is making me question the purpose and the reason and need for coasters, i found this. the artist olivia lee made this extraordinary couch. her statement was:

"A Stream of Light is a reinterpretation of the classic sofa. It is based on a brief set by Vitra to produce a piece of furniture that is unencumbered by commercial constraints and takes inspiration from the latest Vitra Edition. This work was done in collaboration with good friend and colleague, Alienor de Chambrier"

droog: urban play

with carl and saara in tow (and jose refusing to wake up), off i went to amsterdam to check out droogs installation of urban play. we ran into mie and peter and few other DAE friends and went on probably the funnest opening i've been to! urban play is a series of installations meant to have people interact with their city.

the opening consisted of an opening speech by renny ramakers of droog, two bikes with big crates full of food and beer, and beginning at the stephen sagmeister text-based installation of 300 000 eurocent pieces, we embarked on a journey along the banks of the ij river and experienced urban play. it was all part of a large exhibit called experimenta design. it's a biennial event, the first time in holland, and now every other year in lisbon. there was a series of speakers this week which i couldn't make it to, and little shows around the city. 

there's more photos as always now on my flikr page. soon i will let you all know about the gijs bakker lecture from last week (have to go through my notes first!) 

much love.

tokujin yoshioka

while my mentor aldo bakker (son of gijs bakker) was telling us all about this amazing paper company takeo from japan, he started talking about a designer who made a chair using a honeycomb shape, out of paper. it's incredible. it actually folds flat, and when you sit on it, the paper supports you, but at the same time part of it almost molds to your body.

tokujin yoshioka also has done an amazing display for toyota, other incredible designs. check out his site, its also really beautiful. very maani brothers. (clean, and helvetica)

heather by satellite

so i thought it would be sufficiently nerdy to post a legend of my life. in a nutshell, an image that maps out the small vicinity in which i am currently resided. from time to time i venture out to the oriental market (thanks to chester!) and the albert heijn XL...which is cleaner, open later, and out of my little bubble. which is good to leave from time to time.

it's easy to get stuck here. lately i have gone on a few biking adventures at night just getting lost in neighbourhoods, and finding my way home sans map. it's kinda fun. and my legs appreciate it. tomorrow i am going to have my first bout at the gym! yoga. from 830-10pm. i was going to go today, but i got stuck at school for a woodshop explanation. so tomorrow is the first official day. could be funny. i'll keep you posted on the events.

wednesday we are having a presentation/lecture by the amazing Gijs Bakker. the founder of droog. i'll also keep you posted on that. 

tomorrow is my first time sitting down and talking/working on projects with my mentors. i'm really excited. and anxious. i have been waiting for this for months!! wish me luck.

love.

lookbook

i stumbled upon this really cool website. it's kind of like ffffound, but regular people can become a member, and post images of their own style! some of the photos are inspirational and amazing in their own right...and some just show amazing creativity. its inspiring for me to see the experimentation, texture, and settings. enjoy!

it's a girl!

i'm so excited, and so proud of my dear friends nicola and matthew for bringing into this world the beautiful rachel rose sweet. she's cute, healthy - and lucky to have a father who is a photographer. i can't wait to meet her. until now i have to live with being the cool european auntie heather. 

big hug for you three!

paris! (said in a french accent of course)

so...the joys of being in europe came to life this week. it went a bit like this:

heather: we have five days off!
dana+saara: we're thinking of doing something
heather: let's find the cheapest ticket and go!

(then plane and train tickets were expensive, so we took the bus to paris)

heather on the phone: hey jose, wanna go to paris?
jose at the bank: ya!

jose now at the academy: hey chester, want to go to paris?
chester at home: ya man, that sounds great


and then voila! our trip to paris was born. i made a flickr account so i can upload photos of stuff! paris is here, and there will be more to come! tomorrow my school officially starts, and i get my very first project! i'm itching to get started, so wish me luck!

axel peemöller

this is hands down the coolest site i have ever seen. i know i should be working on making my barbed-wire hangers...but this is just so much cooler. check out his signage for the parkade. it's the smartest use of type i have seen in a long time. its really refreshing.

love.

this is really cool. not only the interview, but the graphics are cool too. i think they go by a bit fast, but i suppose it gives you a reason to watch it again and again. john lennon has some really good points on peace and how it starts with the people. it's not the government doing this and that, because we allow it. anyways, make your own opinion i suppose! and let me know what oyu think...(comment!)

love (and peace)

the beautiful and talented mark van der gronden

one of my two mentors (conveniently both called mark) is mark van der groden. with his studio in an old brabantia warehouse next door to maarten baas*. I just thought what he was doing was cool. he did a collection of heavy duty household items. he was sick of dainty breakable things for the home and wanted something durable. the red handles are similar to the rubber coating you would find on the handle of a pair of pliers. there's also a pretty cool concept for a shelving system based on the idea that these storage containers are all different - except the base size is constant. neat-o!

his website isn't very comprehensive (at all!) but it has a cool tin cast of a gun. a project of him and the other mark. fun!



"The beauty of heavy tools is assembled from bits and pieces of metal plumbing, which makes a coffeepot or teapot indestructible and eternal."


"Storage with a colourful collection of recycled containers is organized in galvanized building blocks of metal."


*seriously.

settling down

hello my dear friends,

so things are starting to settle (i'm sure it will be some kind sporadic settling) but at least it means time to sit at my desk and write a few messages and work on some homework (already!) it also will give me a good chance to start putting things in their place. i have some shelves to put in yet, and put clothes in their own drawers (a project before bed..) and sort through stuff thats still packed!

a 'spiritual' and sort of meditative day today. our first assignment was to lead eachother around town blindfolded. something i've always wanted to do. and it wasmore amazing than i thought. cooler because i really didn't know the city at all, so it was like experiencing it with all my sense minus sight (obviously). we had to be creative and make really imaginative guides. like touching different textures, reading quotes from ulysses at opportune times, and really help eachother experience the vulnerability of being blind. it really heightened other senses, like i never smell when i wander around, before today. and to just let go almost gave me a sense of power in the vulnerability. by power i mean the strength in myself to absolutely trust, and just be. its an incredible feeling. (big thanks to anne-marije and cedric!)

then we did some really awesome shall we say body movements describing objects. kinda in the clouds, but there were moments when i closed my eyes and just pretended that no one was looking, and really got a sense for the rhythm of the objects, in an uncanny and unexpected way i discovered the history, the story and the dance to my little brown shoe.

more fun adventures to come. tomorrow a day with cardboard, tape and knives (only!) awaits. really. 8 hours in a warehouse with only those things. fun!

love.

new favorite item.

ok, so i admit i love absolutely everything in my new flat. right down to my 4 euro floor lamps from ikea. but my absolute number one favorite thing...is my new desk. I'll have some daylight photos up when i put all the photos from my place up this week (have to be taken properly first!) but i just had to indulge in a few previews.

things have been fantastic!! my internet curse miraculously vanished, and i got connected! this weeks school schedule is long...but its centered around the group getting to know eachother well (group cooking and dinners!) so it's really fun. and there are people from all over the world. i haven't done an official count, but i would guess there are over 15 different nations represented!! it's incredible. absolutely.

so far i have built a box, and made a plaster mould. our project this week includes a box for out tin object we make from our mold with a plastic lid and a silkscreened upholstery--a creative way of using every studio available. super fun.

ok, well its really late, and it's an early morning and a late night tomorrow! lotsa love, and next week (and probably this weekend!) i'll be in touch with you guys on a more personal level! but i read every message, and love you all to death!

h.

lack of internet

i have to apologize in advance...i still haven't set up my internet at my apartment. its one of those things that hates me. apparently it hates me all over the world (rachelle can testify it certainly hates me in edmonton) the internet doesnt like to connect to my computer. or something. anyone have any suggestions?

so i apologize for the dryspell of emails and posts that is about to happen. i have no clue when i will have it all connected. but i will get settled and connected soon (i hope!)

love.

today i found out that someone has graciously calculated the percentage of rain in holland. it is only 6 percent. i am assuming they did it because it seems like it rains about 89 percent of the time here, and maybe knowing it's really only 6 percent makes people feel optimistic. well that's what it has done for me, because now i have hope that maybe the one thing keeping me from completely loving this country isn't actually true. awesome.

love.