A new camera.

Woah I need to slow down. After a brief period of inner struggle and strife it is time for some changes. One of them is taking on a different way of observing and photographing. I've decided to spend some more time doing analogue photography, with an instant camera. Instant fun/gratification + considered photography = pleasant distraction + switching current train of thought. So today I finally picked up a camera that I've had my eye on for quite a while. It's MASSIVE. This handsome heavily built bastard's name is Fuji Instax 210. Fuji released it sometime last summer and it's the latest member of the Instax family. This wide brother is superb, for an instant camera anyway. (See last 3 images below for images found on Flickr.) It has the same features as it's predecessor Instax 200 but this limited -?- edition's professional black rather than ugly grey/blue. It comes with a strap, a 45 CM close-up lens, 1 pack of Fuji Instax wide color film and 4 AA batteries. It has 2-zone focus, low light auto-flash and a handy LCD screen to display settings. It produces images of 99mm x 62mm. If you're thinking of buying one yourself, don't get it from the lomo shop. Just hit Tottenhamcourt Road or Ebay and get it for half the price. As far as films go, Ebay is the way; £25 for 40 films makes this medium almost affordable :) -x-

Flickr findings:

All images copyright Jose


Image copyright Jose


Image copyright Sengsta

Remedies.

So. Uni has started again and it's been timeconsuming and brainwrecking in the best way possible. Decision, decisions! I'm exhausted to the bone and like a lot of you I've had to overcome the horrendous autumn flu. These are some of the niceries that helped me get through it:

- Lots of glasses of hot water with slices of lemon, raw ginger and a scandalous fat chunk of set honey. The best immune system boosting and throat soothing elixir imo.

- Ofcourse oranges and punnets galore of whatever was on sale.
- 2 tubes of Bonjela.
- Lovely txts, BBM chats and e-cards.
- Definitely NOT running in skimpy trackshorts. *ahemstupid*

Audio/visual sexyness (click on images for more information)

- A stack of media including: 2 Lovers, Atonement, Brideshead Revisited, Perfume and new Dexter episodes.

- The new autumn&winter 2009 issues of:

The prospect of going to the highly anticipated ADE with friends: (oh come come come along if you can)

Jiggy Dje's:

Lucious feelgood London vibe supporting tunes like these:

Redlight - Feel So Good


Gracious K - Migraine Skank

Yann Arthus-Bertand's amazing Home Project
(watch it on the biggest screen you can find)

Thoughts of white beaches, clear seas, roots and this itinerary :)

-x- love -x-

5 Years of Party&Bullshit in Photographs

So after 2 weeks of touching base, enjoying the sun and getting sorted at the other homefront, I'm back in London. I'm one week away from starting my 2nd year at uni and regardless of how much fun I've had, I can't wait. One of the necessary things that needed to be done was to organize the contents of my laptop, discs and hard drives. I found out that I have more than 10.000 images on one of my harddrives alone! I got a request to gather all the pictures that I took and that were taken of my Dutch friends over the past years; a hommage style artwork is in order. So I set up a Flickr account, 400 images so far and counting. Looking over the series, a very predictible pattern of hanging, partying and bullshitting occures and I know, how many photographs can one take of a bunch of slackers getting smashed before it gets boring and repetitive, right? It's not at all the case, they're memory generating images of awesome people having fabulous times and as I can see ourselved growing progressively older, slower, fatter and wiser an eyewatering feel of nostalgia creeps up on me. So for those who haven't been around (for long) I've posted some previews of what's taken place in my world the past 5 years. I want to thank all of those in the Netherlands, the UK and New Zealand for contributing but above all praise to those who would allow me to steal their souls! Bedankt mensen, me love you longtime. -x-

Unfortunately summer's almost over but good vibes are all around still. Here's to old and new friends, family, weird strangers, good times, inspiration, hooking my moms up with her first iPod loaded with 55 years worth of music, getting things done, charging batteries and having my pills popped. 1love

And we're back haha.

My 1st internship.

Click on images to see more.

Here's a bit of nostalgia for you. As I'm preparing to go back to the Netherlands for a holiday, I thought I'd show you this video that I found a while back. A couple of years ago, one of my favourite Dutch beatbuilders Kubus and in-your-face UK rapper/spoken word poet Bangbang started a collab and produced an album called Pie & Mash. Their track 'Camera' features one of my alltime favourite Dutch rappers Sticks (ex Opgezwolle member, current Fakkelbrigadier) who I've had a major -lyrical- crush on since 2001 - Spuugdingen Op Die Mic'. It's about stigmatization and the role of the media in several conflicts. This video was shot in the Netherlands and these visuals brings back mad memories of my old neighborhood West1 in DenBosch (NL) where I lived with my moms from 1988 untill 2001.

Banksey revisits us

A while back I was taken to the opening of Banksey's show at the Flower Cellars Gallery (which is by the way a gorgeous space) in Russel street. Rare and original Banksy works including plenty of architectural pieces from the last 8 years were on display. This time the catalogue was on sale... £££££

A is for Awards

"The A is a new physical award, created by creative agency YCN to be periodically presented to emerging creative talent. Through consultation with industry figures internationally; practitioners from specific disciplines will be identified - and surprised with a physical A created in a pertinent material or process."

We got given some invitations very last minute to this free booze art show which made for a pretty amusing night at Village Underground in Shoreditch. Thanks a lot and congratulations! Check YCN for more information.

I made a thing.

My first internship is coming to an end and this is the result of 2 months of 9-10 hour work days, millions of emails, phonecalls, pushing limits, breaking boundaries, cutting and pasting, pictorial decision making and learning shitloads of photoshop and indesign tricks. It's said to be the freshest and bestest edition of Edge magazine so far. Now I know what you're thinking, it isn't exactly Vogue, but try to keep in mind that previous issues were crammed into dull, manque templates and that not so inspirational photography of middleaged women in flower patterned patato sacks set the tone for the whole zine. But the creative director said; "Unexperienced Naive Intern, Let There Be a Promotional Fashion Supplement That Hath The Feel Of A Magazine." And so with the idea in my head that this is a magazine for the contemporary Jewish woman reader and that Jewish women too deserve more than patatos sacks, with a fresh pair of eyes I put my Conde Nast hat on and tried my best to spice this biatch up and the CD scratched his head and saw that it was surprisingly good. What more kudos can this humble design student ask for?
Also I recently found out that my boss, the creative director, used to work at the Village Voice in New York in the 70's and that he designed adds for iconic NYC club CBGB together with CBGB's owner Hilly Kristal and that through Kristal he supported acts like the Ramones and Blondie with his own band. He's still good friends with Kristal's daughter Lisa, who's now married to Dutch photographer Ger Burgman. Rock&Roll mang.

Notting Hill Carnival 2009

Since 1966, every August Bank holiday, west London streets turn from your average posh neighbourhood into an overwhelming colorful sea of dancing, laughing, shouting, pulling and celebrating people. With a 20 mile route, 40 earrupturing soundsystems, hundreds of carribean food stalls, 40,000 volunteers and over 1 million visitors this is the largest street festival you'll come across in Europe. Last year I arrived in London 1 day too late so I had my Notting Hill Carnival cherry popped today. Normally, just the word carnival alone makes me puke but this was beautiful, I don't know how else to describe it. The energy was extroardinary. There were masses of healthy looking people, having a dance, a laugh, a smoke. It's amazing to see so many people simultaniously letting go, no shame, no fear. And the weather was fabulous! And the food, ahhh.... I'm knackered, I lost my voice, my feet and leg joints are busted, I ate/drank more than I probably should (*EDIT* I also broke a tooth and when the bus broke down in the middle of the road on my way back home, I accidentally stabbed a guy in the head with one of my nails :s) but it was very much worth it, can't wait untill next year and you should come too! x

First LDN anniversary.

This weekend I celebrate my first year of living in London (and successfully making the deadline of the JCE magazine plus an unexpected tax return)! Education, independance, jobs that don't involve endless hours of nothingness and naive prospects, new insights, lots of laughter, input rewarded and no more being taken for granted. For all this I also have my friends and family to thank for, here and abroad, so thanks for your support and advice :) It's been an intense but blessed year and how else to mark the occasion than in London style. So yesterday, in spirit of reviving the passions and loving and doing as I please to the max I put on a 2004 drum&slag outfit for old time's sake and went to the Playaz Carnival Special with mutual eager mate. Amongst others Ed Rush, DJ Hype, Andy C, Grooverider, Fabio, Marcus Intalex, D-Bridge, Spectresoul, Stamina MC, Noisia, Fierce, Calyx and Prolyx were there to grace us with their presence. In spite of being too drunk, being groped by overconfident strangers too many times and getting too lost on several occasions I tried to capture the night as best as I could. It's possibly the most random and insignificant series I ever did haha. The night ended somewhere in the morning in the park by the Thames where we were joined by our new saviour with whom we had the most verifying conversation on fruit and safety in London. Good times. Next up is 2 days of Notting Hill Carnival with hopefully better photographs to follow. London I heart you. Yours truly x

Visual overflow.

After I woke up last thursday morning with a fossilized brain in a cantankerous mood I puked my guts out and expected to stay in bed with bottles of water and and a pile of magazines for at least 36 hours. Instead another lavish visual weekend was about to commence. First off I saw Coco Before Chanel at the Ritzy, a film I've wanted to see for a while. I thought it was ok, but can't recommend it to anyone who's not really interested enough in Chanel's life and work. It's easy to recognize how her early life has driven her to become the fashion pioneer that has inspired millions of us, and Tatou was a too easy pick for the lead role, being the talented petite fransaize that she is. But the storyline itself has too many little sub-plots going on that lack development and tension building. Also Chanel's affair with Capel is not convincing enough. Shame on you, Anne Fontaine. You have not stirred my emotions which is really not such a difficult task to do. You get one chance to make a portrait La Chanel and you fuck it up. Putain. I'm loving that poster though.

It's good to know people who have friends who know people that can get you backstage at musical events. I was taken to an opera festival in Hammersmith that offered contemporary experimental pieces in progress ranging from individual 5 minute lasting lighthearted intermezzos on location to heavier 1 hour lasting pieces. Amongst the highlights of the festival were 'Ride' by Osmat Schmool. This is a developing part of 'Drive Ride Walk', it's about love and the familiar movements in the lives of a group of young Londoners. 'Wallen', co-created an performed by brother and sister Errolyn and Byron Wallen. This very personal piece that brings together genres like classical and jazz is performed against a backdrop of images that takes the audience on a journey to Belize (their country of origin), London and New York; crucial marking places in the Wallens personal and professional lives. Their unconventional upbringing forced them to re-define and challenge notions of belonging, distance and boundaries, which makes for beautiful music. Another very intense interesting piece in progress that definitely has the potential to evoke obscure emotions was 'As I Have Now Memoyre' by Nicholas Brown. It concerns the relationship between the condition of the body and the sounds it produces. This project examines the effect of physiological changes upon a singer's psychology over the course of many years. It involves installations and the audience is free to roam around amongst the props. Very liberating! I had the freedom to take photographs and stage photography was something I'd never really done before, so forgive the amateurism ;)

And after that there were the substance fuelled semiotic discussions about 'Gayniggers from outer Space'...



and 'Salo, or the 120 days of Sodom'. That film still sends shivers down my spine but I can't get enough of Pasolini.

Speaking of perversity, check out this exciting blog I found. The author of the essay 'Horror Pangyric' (good read) speaks of a book called 'The Motherfuckers: The Auschwitz of Oz'

"This thing," I thought to myself, "out-Burroughs Burroughs." It did something I did not think possible: it carried the Boschian method of Naked Lunch to a new extreme, and it did that with exceedingly controversial subject matter. I almost didn't know what to make of it. Was this book an explosive new entry in the contemporary literary game? Or the feverish rapture of some British mind fucked up by the Blitz?

A novel that out-Burroughs Burroughs eh? That's a mouthfull... x

Hardcore never dies.

My cuz Alex and his 4 year old juggernaut stephdaughter Christel minutes before her first oldskool gabber rave. :D

Killing your darlings.

A new photo/graphic project in progress about the body, shape & transformation. Click here for more work. Sale & Cole thanks for your help!

and then you should listen to this, definitely the dopest track on Sine Tempus. I know, this Goldie fixation is getting well out of hand. But just do it, listen to it already, it'll make your acne vanish. Also watch part 2 of Classic Goldie!

"When feminism went nuts."

Interesting... But!

www.boyalatumahina.com is dead. Long live CARGOCOLLECTIVE.COM/BOYA

click on image to redirect to website.

BBC Proms - Evolution! Goldie

Last saturday Goldie's 'Sine Tempore' (BBC commission: world premiere) was featured in the BBC Maestro series at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The piece combines the same vocals and drums he played at Metalheadz in 1996, only 10 times slower and aided by the London Philharmonic Choir. And having been smitten with both drum&bass and classical music for many a year, my likkle heart went bonkers when I heard it. And this is a fucking awesome photograph.

*Watch Goldie compose his piece in Classic Goldie on BBC iPlayer now (if you're in the UK :) Available untill August 14.*


Photograph © The London Paper

My kosher internship.

For those of you who didn't know yet, about a month ago I got offered a work placement at the a Jewish Newspaper ;) (And recently got offered an extension :) I'm one of the very few Gentiles working here but am treated very well and I'm learning lots, design wise and Jew wise. It's a good place to be at, a very warm and gentle distraction from the recent emotional pains that I've had to go through, to say the least. I was invited here to do the layout of their seasonal promotional magazine (read: articles and features on loads of expensive Jew&Gentile fashion/lifestyle brands that no-one can afford-at the moment) but often also work on their weekly newspaper (which can be quite stressful but is challenging and exciting all the same.)
What is involved is a lot of photo-selection and editing, structure layout design, application design, up to 11 hour work days, a proper London boy style chief editor with a "fucking" tick who talks a lot to himself in unfinished sentences which is always super helpful, a New York creative director with a lot of baggage, Jews with a lot of "Oye's" and hand gestures, loads of (kosher) food and quiet Friday afternoons as a lot of them go home early for Shabbat. (The fact that I sometimes see people standing by the trafficlights waiting for someone to push the button on Saturday finally made sense as I got told Jew's aren't allowed to do a lot of things including operating machines during Shabbat, which almost made me fall into a laughing fit.)
They take their safety quite serious, being Jews and all. I can't stand outside smoking without Ken the doorman screeching some warning about how it's a no stopping zone through the megaphones at some cabdriver who's trying to turn his cab around. With a huge sign with thei name of the paper hanging outside the building they may as well have a huge fuckoff sign hanging at the front door that says 'Loads of JEWS up in here if you would like to commit a terrorist attack'.

Ps. To the International Homies with Broad Shoulders League, those of you who did know but hadn't seen the photographs yet, thanks for all your rooting and support :) Much Love.

31/07/09, 18:30, High Holborn, The Staple Inn Buildings Courtyard, Bench 1.

DPH: ...

BNZL: ...

DPH: ...

BNZL: ...

DPH: See them leaves?

BNZL: What about em?

DPH: They're magnificent, well greener than last week.

BNZL: Emo.

DPH: Piss off, they look fit, don't you see it?

BNZL: Haha fit leaves? Fuck off. Would you like another cigarette?

DPH: I'm serious.

BNZL: What man?

DMH:They will look fit to you sooner or later,
probably sooner than you think.

BNZL: Haha.

DPH: ...

BNZL: ...

DPH: ...

BNZL: ... :)

DPH: ... :)

Fanzine II.

They ended up in the Wonder Room in Selfridges. A massive thanks to everyone who bought one, backorder copies are on their way! 1<3>

CSM BAGD Show.

For everyone who's missed the show due to heavy drinking, catching planes, losing their ostercards, etc ;) x

Fanzine.

I did this A2 foldout poster for a fanzineproject. It's called 'An Ode to Organic Geometry' and it's about my phobia for / perverse fascination with organic shapes. Copies of this fanzine will be on sale on 12 June at the Fanzine Sale at Southampton Row. Get in touch if you want to order a copy.

Hank.

The past few days I kept thinking about a bird and how wonderful it would be to have a large cage attached to the ceiling with a bird of paradise in it (that doesn't eat/shit/wake me up in the middle of the night with annoying sounds like the peacocks that sometimes run around at night in my stephfather's garden do) to keep me company and then 2 nights ago I dreamt about running in a bizar forrest whilst being followed by a big flamboyant bird so I had to draw him, his name is Hank and he's very friendly and wise.

I'm posting another flashmob type ad that made me smile and so that you can call me an idiot again. T-mobile came up with a new advert for they 'Life's for Sharing' campaign. They had 13.000 Brits gather at Trafalgar square and made them perform an (impromptu this time, I believe. Not that it matters though) sing along to "Hey Jude" by the Beatles. This one mady me feel all fuzzy up inside too, it kinda also reminds of waaay back when my mother and I once sang this song together really loud while she was cooking. God I love this place. Fuck yes, London makes my pills pop. I <3 LDN. x

Dazed & Confused Gallery

... And on our way back from Magnum we ran into the D&C gallery, it was a blessed day!

Magnum London office.

Aaaaaaah thankssomuch, a dream came true. :)

HotBed @ MacBeth 25-04-09

It's been a while since my last cameraclub move, I kind of grew tired of it. But this time it was a request of brilliant Margareth Tatcher lovin' Margot Bowman and Bip Ling (the beautiful daughter of renowned fashion illustrator Tanya Ling who recently produced the prints for the 2009 Cruise collection for Louis Vuitton.) who organise a monthly clubnight called Hotbed held at Macbeth, Hoxton Street which according to Bowman is "basically the least pretentious thing you've been to all year, loud music, good music, good people, cheap drinks and cheap entrance and that's Hotbed. It's gonna be like fire yeah so make sure you're wearing nice underwear". On the decks: STUNNERS INTERNATIONAL, RATTUS RATTUS from grime, dubstep, hip-hop, DnB & reggae collective URBAN NERDS, BEENY ROYSTON and WHITE KIDS. I didn't regret taking the opportunity to take my bigboynikon out for a night on the town, it was a super sexy/lovely/dirty/shithot night, I met some cool kids and witnessed a colorfull crowd breaking it down to some heartwarming oldschool tunes I thought I'd never hear again. It's all about being young, bright and brilliant in London baby. (I'm talking about you!) The rest of the series should be featured in the parties section of www.readplatform.com soon. Mwah x.

Home...

it's been 7 days since my return from a 3.5 week lasting springbreak in the Netherlands. It started of with a crazy busride from London Victoria Station to my hometown Den Bosch, including loud bagpipe&kilt rocking Scotsmen on a mission to Amsterdam to attend the football match that once again proved that Scotland can't beat the Netherlands (just give up, wankers), a drunken teenage Ozzie who threw up on the bus and a Maroccan busdriver who completely lost it after he'd discovered Ozzie threw up on his bus. Maroc's mouth was foaming and he was determined to leave him behind along the road in Calais and everyone including a mentally unstable Belgian woman went nuts. After every bus trip I tell myself NEVER to make use of the Euroline services again and every time I do end up travelling by bus and something dramatic happens. I solemnly swear I'm flying next time. Fucking Eurolines. But my holiday was great; those few weeks were all about my homeboys, my cats, my parents, getting smashed, putting things in perspective, maxing and relaxing in the sun and it was fucking lush. It was summer of 2004 all over again; sunshine, familiar faces, the skate park, sneakers & spliffs, party & bullshit. Also, hiphop wise things are going rather well for DenBosch, very good to see. I think I've finally come to terms with the fact that I'm really really, like really living in 2 countries now. And that goes for actually physically and mentally being in the Netherlands too. yes I have two homes and I feel rather blessed now. I love the fact that I've found that peace again. It puts an end to some of the familiar violent thoughts that I've grown rather weary of. Anyway I'm fine with having to spend time in both countries now, which is a first for me, it took a while to get used to it. The transition phases still slightly seemed to be getting to me but as soon as I arrived in either destination everything felt more natural whereas in the past it took me several days spent sedated and in solitude to get back on track again. I got off the bus, smoked a fag, looked around me, took a few deep breaths and made my way home. For once I could let go of the tension and constant observation and look past the criticism. Babysteps mang, I'm uptight and anal retentive like that. I'm not perfect like you. :)

Last day of term.

It was an amazing term. Thanks for the knowledge, the enlightment, the bullshit, the fun, the critique, the bigups, the catfights, the the tolerance, the lunches, the dinners, the parties and a special thanks to Mr. James Quintessential Norris for closing it off. Sampson, I'll never forget how you melancholically shouted in my ear that Jarvis' Cocker's 'Common People' is my song. It's yours darling! Happy holidays and safe travels all, word to yo moms. XBX

CSM BAGD 1 Football tournament.

Bethnal Green, sunshine, footie, drinks, food, smokes, hoodlums, a thief and about 40 sophisticated artfags. Yay!

Live Brief 2 - Duke Street

I also did another brief. The client this time is Duke Street, an industry leading private equity group, with offices in London and Paris. They recently moved to modern refined offices and require inspirational artwork to adorn the walls of their meeting rooms.  The aim of the project is to complete photographic images or illustrations based around the theme of London. Duke Street would choose students whose work they think best represents their brand.

I undertook this mission with Emmanouil Zahariades, a greek fella in my year, who taught me some nifty Photoshop tricks and delivered some brilliant photographs used for the project. We came up with the idea to create multi exposure images consisting out of photographs of well known and less familiar sites of London and tried to merge the contemporary with the past, putting the emphasis of Londons colorfull, hectique, energetic and intricate vibe, keeping in mind that these images need to work as decorations in a professional environment as well as making a creative statement. We wanted to have the final results displayed as Duratrans. We submitted a variety of work; 1 panoramic image, 6 square images and 2 single wall filling images of London skylines. 

The final hand in was yesterday as was the prizegiving supposed to be. But the jury decided to postpone the prizegiving and instead shortlisted a handfull of winners of who they're almost 100% sure that they want their work displayed in the London W1 office... and we're two of them, yeahboy! 4 of our 6 square images were selected for display. Unfortunately the lightbox idea isn't gonna to fly due to Health&Safety Hazards ( meh booh!), but they loved our images and would like to see them printed on proper photographic paper. If that's going to work, which I'm sure it will then our work is guaranteed a place on the walls in 2 of their meeting rooms.

Unfortunately I'm not yet in the position of showing you these 4 selected works but here are 2 of the squares and the panorama that didn't get selected for you to get a feel of what we've done. Once the project is finalised I'll show you the chose images.

Rule Brittania! Vivat Londonium! Bigups to Manolito, well done homeboy!

Live Brief 1 - Hugo Boss

Remember the Hugo Boss competition? the brief was to design a Christmas concept which included a window display, mailing material, give-aways and packaging. Due to circumstances (having to find a new flat, moving, other briefs, coursework, eating, sleeping, wanting to stay sane, etc.) I decided that it was best to leave this brief for what it was and dropped out. I did manage to make it to round 2! It was a good experience, but it hurt, dropping out was necessary but a difficult decision to make. 

My initial concept evolved around unity through the use of geometry and light, taking into concideration German Design and Hugo Boss' clean and modern appearance. Here's a sketch for a window display, the idea was to have translucent panels hanging from the ceiling that could be backlit from behind. (Yeah, the idea is obviously more elaborate) and 2 prototype mailing design considerations which are basically thin cardboard fold out cards. Everything was done with good 'ol grid/tracing paper, scissors, ruler, and pencil. Goodluck to all you remaining competitors!

Vintage Lecturis magazines

A gentleman from Cornwall sold me these graphic magazines for almost nothing. They remind me of the Netherlands. They're part os a documentary series that were produced under the editorial supervision of Wim Crouwel. It was assigned by printing company Lecturis bv in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Copies were spread free of charge amongst relations. 

Part 4: Readability. An attempt to describe the coherence between reading, writing and printing. Written by Johan Dirken. Designed by Wim Crouwel. Published July 1976.  

Part 9: About Magazines. This issue consists of a dialogue about magazines between designer Anthon Beeke and author K. Schippers. Published in August 1979. 

You know what?

Fuck you and the shoredouche hipster showpony you rode in on. Call me a sell out, call me commercial, call me a twat, I don't care. These commercials are fantastic and they make me feel good. Enjoy!

Loud man.

I was visiting Buckingham Palace and walked past these 2 men who were having an argument, I think. One of them was being loud. Like really, really loud. I have no idea what they were talking about, I think it was about some biscuits, or something. I don't know if this guy was angry or if this is just his way of communicating, but you know... I just couldn't help laughing.

Rye Lane.

I shot these for a uni assignment. I was to do a photo essay titled 'A Day in the Life of...' I chose to spend some time in a street called Rye Lane in Peckham Rye, the first neighbourhood that I lived in when I moved to London. Peckham is a traditional London working class community that now coexists with communities that have their origins in Bangladesh, the Caribbean, China, India, Ireland, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey, Eastern Europe and Vietnam. Rye Lane used to be one of the most important shopping streets in south London. It's not exactly a high street shopping area anymore but for the residents the street is still a vibrant source of everyday household shopping. There are also a variety of markets, barbershops and nail salons. I didn't quite know what to expect but most of the people that I tried to photograph reacted shy and humble, as if they were taken off guard. I was surpised by how friendly and collaborative the merchants were. I love this street. It's crowded, colorfull, loud, smelly, hardcore, honest; alive.

Violet May

Ok so this was never meant to be a look-what-i-found-on-the-information-superhighway type of blog. But as I'm a bit of a geek (with a bad habit of always having to spend time looking for / losing / forgetting essential shit such as keys or phone in a million bags as my boyfriend describes it :) and own a media player, 2 mobile phones, 2 laptops, 2 digital cameras and shitloads of film cameras, I'm always on the lookout for practical purses, bags, pouches and sleeves. (It kind of stimulates my bad habit, I am aware of that.) Speaking of which, my boyfriend gave to me this super sturdy, indestructible laptop bag (ballistic nylon black version) for Christmas, yay! I'm by the way not a total anti-fashionista and I'm all for the elegant, sophisticated, female protagonist type look so I must feature Violet May, the London based fashion brand known for their ultra luxury laptop bags, sleeves and blackberry purses. *Saliva uncontrollably falls from the mouth* Beautiful. So sexy and so expensive. One day...sigh.

Aidan Kelly

My friend Aidan Kelly is an Irish photographer who's in the process of creating a book that he hopes to publish, called 'Studio'. It's a collection of incredibly inspiring photographs of artists' workplaces and surroundings. Aidan for president, may his dream come true. 

Dear friends of mine.

It's been so long! It's already February 2009, so it's definitely time for a new post. So yeah I'm back, with new, short hair and RSS feed pimp-up for me blog (SUBSCRIBE Y'ALL). What's new? Well, I nearly got rid of my appendix, my 1st term academic tutorials were quite satisfactory and I got a brand spanking new compact digital camera from my parents; the sexy black version of the 14 MP Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX150 with Leica lens and HD video. I absolutely adore the thing and I highly recommend this camera. The Christmas holidays that I spent in the Netherlands were a mixture of sweetness and awkwardness. I loved being with my Dutchies but it felt so damn good to be back in London afterwards, still can't say why, actually loads of my foreign-london acquaintances seem to be experiencing the same thing when coming back to London. About a week ago London was completely shut down for a day and covered in fucking decimeters of REAL snow, none of that grey mushy shite that nobody wants (ofcourse it happened while I was in the Netherlands -again-, sitting inside doing fuck all with my boyfriend). Oh and not to mention, I became the proud Mama Ani (godmother) of Mahar Manuhutu, daughter of Johan and Vita Manuhutu. Johan is a maternal cousin who lives in Maluku, Indonesia. I've not even seen a photo of Mahara, nor have I met Johan or Vita for that matter. But I'm going there at the end of the year! I can feel that the time to go there is approaching anyway. Just goes to show that these things happen naturally. Apart from all that I'm still struggling with certain 'same old shit' but at least there is a vague sense of progress in my own personal development; my creative juices are flowing, I've grown some cohones and decided to enter a (Hugo Boss) design competition, slowly but surely I'm letting go of old fears, I'm still letting myself discover what's worth it and what's not, what makes my heart race and what makes me shit my pants. And I'm loving every minute of it. It's because of a chain of random accidental catchups with friends that I haven't been in touch with for a while that I owe you this post; 2 nights ago I had a long and intense conversation with my friend Barbapopo who I don't get to see or talk with much but with whom I always end up going deeper than the conversation before. And he has the incredible ability to make me (and basically every one else that he knows) laugh like no one else does. (He's also getting better and better in making raw ass beats). Yesterday I ran into my bestest kiwi girl-friend Natalie aka DJ Excelle on facebook (man that sounds e-tarded), she was there for me when I hit rock bottom. She's going through an intense period of highs and lows, more or less on her own but is standing tall. I miss her and I wish I could be there for her. Much respect. Today I had a chat with the lady Emily Tullet who I met in New Zealand whilst experiencing the most frustrating creative block. She's a creative ozzie/kiwi/brittish multitalent whos new ventures (and blog) put a smile upon my face. Also, I spoke with my vague Irish friend Aidan Kelly, a very talented photographer from Candy Collective who I will feature in another post. He said he could do a mini feature on me in candy magazine, if only I had something new to show, which I fucking don't. So yeah all these conversations were one massive reality check, a pleast one tho. Been feeling sort of offbeat, weird and low lately. (I'm not depressed or anything and haven't smoked that much, honest) I just can't explain why. But after having spoken with these people it all became clear again. No explanation needed. Thanks guys :)

J.J.A, Thanks for that lovely 1st in 2009 get-smashed-get-together by the way, you're fabulous.

Shake&Pop.

The Across The Pond - CSM Design show was advertised as follows: 

'This night Across The Pond is presenting a special art event, showing selected works made by students at Central Saint Martins 2nd year of the design department. We also got Robert Agren (Sweden), Jonatan Strøm, Jens Tandberg, Victoria Violent, Grandma, Bjørnar + a special guest on the decks

-

Tonight is a night for art by talented Central Saint Martins students! You dont want to miss the latest up and coming from londons creative lung accompanied by some wicked tunes. woho party party!' 

Right, uhuh. So yeah it turned out to be a wicked night, unfortunately apart from one person, no-one else bothered to put their work up, which was a bit of a let down, but hey.... "I like electro, I like retro, I like ghetto, house and techno." Here's to all you oddballs out there.

Homework.

Here's some of the stuff I've been working on during the past 2 months.

Food.

Over the past year I've lost a lot of weight, hair and energy, and after having walked around with a 'jerked-off' face for 6 months, as my stephfather so blatantly put it, I'm gaining weight and strength again. A lot of it has to do with being in the right place doing the right things. But most of it has to do with being in he right place and EATING; Dicho's moussaka, Jade&Ikers Spanish ways of eating around the clock, sushi for lunch, 2:00 AM dimsum gettogethers with Jan and Andreas, exotic lazy sunday Brick Lane lunches, organic (I still don't taste the difference) dinner parties, international tea&cake brunches...

A gift.

From a former satisfied Cordings customer. Good karma came back to me in the shape of an Art Nouveau style decorated biscuit box... <3

Another month has passed, what more could I wish for.

Typography classes.

Mr. Porky's.

New friends with intuitive insight.

Late-night illustration sessions with food and laughs.

New cakes.

Rediscovering the (ir)relevance of violence.

Effortless being.

Old friends that know exactly what's what.

The freaking guy with the cello.

Being in London.

Being shocked and gaining from it.

BBC iPlayer.

Meaningful literature.

Sleeping, waking up and falling asleep.

Bulgarian hospitality.

Cheap bus tickets.

Sainsbury's cold chick pee salad.

Photography revisited.

Markets that don't make me vomit.

Walks by the water.

Fireworks.

Useful shit.

The girl with the silver hair.

Hampstead Heat.

New musical knowledge.

Being admired without making an effort.

Pancakes.

Seeing friends fall in love.

A flatmate who picks you up at 2 AM with his taxi.

Being understood.

Dreaming about Saldjoe.

Next level discussions.

Being drawn (for the 1st time) by people with skills.

Feeling worthy.

Free fags.

New inspiration.

Knowing what's best for me.

Letting go.

Central Saint Martins II

I'm entering my third week at CSM and thought it's about time to give you a brief (visual) update on where I'm supposed to spend the next 2.5 years of my life at. I'll try to keep it short this time as I could go on forever and ever. Actually, I think I'll just stick with a few photographs for now. There'll be more ranting about studying there and life outside of uni later this month. (I think.)

Aurora Borealis.

For me coming to London is not just about getting that degree and having shitloads of fun but also about determining goals. Here's a little something I wanted to share with you. I've wanted to see the Northern Lights for as long as I can remember and after having watched 'Joanna Lumley finds the Northern Lights' on BBC TV iPlayer (a least 5 times haha - Unfortunately it's no longer online and unavailable to those of you outside the UK anyway) and discussing them thoroughly with my Scandinavian classmates I'm determined to see them before I die, no matter what. The documentary is about Joanna Lumley travelling all the way up to Norway to find them, she read about the lights in an illustrated childrensbook whilst living in the tropics in Indonesia and has wanted to see them ever since. Here's a small snippet of the documentary that captures the moment when she finally get's to see them. Beautiful. The soundtrack is Peer Gynt's 'Solveigs Song'. Enjoy :) 

South London.

Now that I live above the river I thought I'd dedicate a tune to the grime, the smells, the edginess, the rubbish, the cheap shit, the dodginess, the warmth, the protection, the tough love, the families, Hussain the PR HSBC employee, the street preachers, the hacklers, the dealers, the packs, the gangs, the music, the reefer smell and the hidden beauty.

Evol Intent - South London

From South to West to East.

Hello and again. It's been a hectic few weeks. First off, I moved out of the Peckham Rye mansion. The owner of the house moved back to the UK after losing her job in New Zealand and becoming gradually more mentally ill. She has now returned and has her 70-something year old mother look after her. I couldn't cope with the thought of having to deal with a manic depressive person as a landlord and with the mortgages going through the roof I decided it was time to move on. And so I found this place in Bethnal Green, 2 minutes from the tube, but this turned out to be a dodgy affair and when push came to shove, the retard landlord cunt decided not to let the room out to me (I think I asked too many questions and after speaking to the flatmates without having him around I found out he's an unreliable bastard, and I think he knew I knew.) So no loss there, if anything I was better off. Anyway, this meant that I had no place to live, as I was supposed to move into that flat the day I moved out of Peckham Rye. Luckily, I was able to spend a couple of nights at my mate's place in Earls Court, and within a few days I found this other place in Bethnal Green, 5 minutes from the tube, 30 minutes from frontdoor to uni. At first sight I got a bit worried as the interior of the place reminded me to much of my very first flat in the Netherlands and the last thing I could use at the time was having to live with annoying disrespectful people. But after a chat with Tristan, the Australian guy who's subletting his room to me, I knew it was going to be alright. I occupy a small double room with a double bed, a desk, cupboard space and it comes with a small storage room where I could keep a small family if I wanted to. I now live with 3 Bulgarian dudes; Dicho, he arrived a month ago and is studying really hard to learn English. He didn't speak a word of English when he arrived. (He's the big bloke with one eyebrow in the blue Adidas shirt.) Basically what he does, is sit in the house, he watches subtitled films, studies, cooks and cleans. He's very polite and thoughtfull and is trying really hard to explain to me what life in Bulgaria is like but when the place get's too crowded and noisy he rushes off to his room. These guys make excellent Bulgarian food. It's impossible to be hungry in this house as Des, a funny loudmouth bike courier (the bloke in the green tshirt) also loves his food and food wise, the general policy of the house is 'If iz on zhe table, iz foh everyone'. Then there's Nas, the oldest in the house, he's a barman who's well into anything eardrum-rupturing; Metal, Gabber, Techno and some other weird shit that involves a lot of crying, hysterical laughter and screaming. (He's the guy in the black Rammstein shirt) I found him quite intimidating in the beginning but he turned out the be a total sweetheart. Then there's a Spanish couple; Jade (obviously the blond chick in the photo) who's an interior designer and her boyfriend. (I keep forgetting his name, he's the gnome resembling guy in the yellow shirt) The last person in the house is Dave, an hyperactive Australian guy (the guy in the white shirt) who's addicted to his Wii and has snorted a few too many lines imo. He's incredibly intelligent and he's happy to fix my PC when it needs fixing but he lives in his own little world and very often doesn't give a fuck (about anything I reckon.) They all seem to be getting on well though, and everyone here seems to have accepted Dave for who he is. The other 2 guys in the photos are Kyro, he's French, used to live here and is into anything that contains breaks and beats and I have no idea who the oriental/french fellow is but they're part of some crew that shows up every week with a lot of illegal substances and booze. They're an energetic bunch, they all smoke, drink, work and love their rowdy times (lots of laughter, screaming, piss-taking and general wastedness) but at the end of the day it's all about respect and sharing. I feel very much at home here but not necessarily part of the household, I think I'm more like a rent-paying guest. I'm here only temporarily (until the end of my first term) and am still looking for the perfect flat on the perfect location. But for now I am content and this place will do. 

I'm no longer a corporate girl.

Here's a wee rant before I go to sleep. I've just stashed away my pencil skirts and stockings, as of 10:00 AM tomorrow my 9-5 office days are officially DONE. Alright, so yeah I had some fun in my days but I can definitely do without the databases, the filing and certainly the 'Oh and Boya, could you please see to it that I wipe my arse after I go potty?'s. Hehe, I'm only partially kidding, if I hadn't gone through the agony of office hell, I probably wouldn't be where I am today. So here's to my ex-bosses, colleagues and customers (that includes you useless fuckwits out there who couldn't tell your arses from your elbows); I thank you from the bottom of my heart, I mean it. (And make sure you wipe dem...) My course starts tomorrow and I'm thanking my lucky stars. Check out my new school uniform by the way; those of you who know me know this t-shirt was made for me.  

My first UK dental care experience.

I was just stuffing myself with delicious traditional English pastry thingies covered in custard and realized that I haven't told you about my first time with an English dentist. A couple of weeks ago I woke up in agony, my tooth was killing me and due to financial reasons I had only been able to see a dentist once whilst my 1 year and 8 month stay in New Zealand. And only for a consultation, not a treatment. I got up anyway, forced myself to man the fuck up and went to work after skipping breakfast and taking 3 codeine enforced painkillers. By the looks on the faces of fellow travelers in the tube I could tell this was not a good idea. I arrived at work and tried to act as if everything was OK, 30 minutes later I gave up and got kicked out by colleagues who forced me to visit a clinic. My GP directed me to the Kings Cross Emergency Clinic. So that's were I went and after having waited 40 minutes, 2 more painkillers and a semi-conscious conversation with a grumpy 70-year old Indian guy named Khan who apparently had been waiting in the overcrowded waiting room for an hour, I got called in by a nurse. Their treatment area consists out of approximately 6 half open cubicles with hardly any curtains, no privacy, and people everywhere. Fuzzy as fuck, I lay down and studied the stained brown ceiling. A fresh but remarkably young looking African dentist greeted me and during our chat I sort of gained consciousness and then fully realized where I was and what was going to happen. I was about to receive a rootcanal treatment by dental/med student with other students present for observation. A petite blond girl with a strong Slavic accent, who looked no older than 22, leaned over me and explained to me what was going to happen. She was nervous and kept stressing the fact that it was of utmost importance that 'I shouldn't be feeling anything after receiving local anesthetics because the treatment was going to be horrible.' Very subtle. I've been through the joys of rootcanal treatments before and they're nothing to be upset about, really. This time I was upset though. First of, she kept stabbing me with that needle because she couldn't find the spot which resulted in me having to walk around with a sore jaw for 1,5 weeks. Second, after a while the stabbing got annoying and painfull and I started moaning. Every time I made a sound she nearly burst into tears which unabled her to find the spot. It was a vicious circle. It took her about 30 minutes to get the infected nerve out and another 15 minutes to find a senior intern to check if the procedure was performed right. He was out, having lunch. Yeah it took me about half a day to get that tooth fixed but at least I didn't have to pay for it, nor was I charged for the antibiotics and the next appointment. Jah bless the NHS, proper healthcare is relative. The people in this country that complain about healthcare really need to cut the shit and get their teeth fixed.

A memorable night.

After a long hectic week of changes, challenges and new impressions it was time to unwind. After a quick pint with equally knackered friends in a hidden bar I got a call from my friend Saline, who's man Menno is doing a MA in Industrial Design at the Royal College of Art; apparently the RCA was the place to get pissed. And so I washed that knackeredness right out of my hair and hopped on the bus. The college is situated in Kensington, one of the richer and prettier parts of London. For a small female like myself it's a reasonably safe hood to walk alone in but two very well dressed big drunken blokes decided it wasn't safe for me to be walking alone. On my way to the RCA I stopped for a smoke and to look at the beautiful houses and suddenly these two men popped up. Without warning one started to shout at me. "Heyyy darling, where you from!?" "Not from around here..." "Alright!? Listen yeah, we are Cockneys, and we're not racists!" (Although I find it unnecessary, I think it's highly amusing when white people choose to explain and defend their racial motives for no particular reason, out of the blue.) "Good for you man." "Oi, listen yeah, we have nothing against you lot, our best friends are black people yeah!" "Cool." "You don't believe us, do you!" "Yeah, I d.." "Don't worry love, we'll take you where you need to be." And so they taught me about cockney rhyming slang and the definition of 'real' pubs while walking me all the way to Hyde Park. Who says London ain't a safe place? After I arrived, Menno showed me around the college. All students have their own working space and they have an incredible private outdoor lounging zone. Yesterday was the first Friday of the academic year, hence a good reason for prospect and 2nd year students to get together. The festivity took place in their common room house, (LOL)DJs with familiar and not so familiar tastes in choons and copious amounts of booze and other substances were present and I was surrounded by numerous artists, designers and students. I met a few Dutchies; Katrien, from Gelrop of all places (Eindhoven de gekstuh) a (graphic) industrial design student who explained to me why the RCA is mostly suitable for engineers and a complete letdown for designers and Emile, a director who like me went to the HKU, who did some videos for C-mon&Kypski and Pete Philly. He's been broke in London for 3 months and we both agreed that coming to London during this 'financiele kutsituatie' perhaps wasn't the best decision, but a challenge all the same. (I'm receiving grants and loans from the Dutch government and the Euro is doing rather well, so I suppose I'm not doing too bad.) And then there were the 'locals'; Simon, a half/Filipino-Bristol boy, also an Industrial design student who explained to me the difference between studying graphic design at London College of Communication, where he graduated and doing the course at Central Saint Martins and Freddy, a funny, all-loathing northern fine artist that made me, a co-hater, look like little goody-two shoes. As the evening progressed and the beer kept flowing I started forgetting the names of people I met. But it was all good, I swerved from one conversation to another and everyone seemed to be in the same state of mind. Generally, it seems that with all the people I've spoken so far I share the same opinions about London as a home, a creative catalyst, an abomination and a blessing. No one's ever denied that London is a two faced city, it brings out the worst and the best in us like no other city can. But we know why we're here and what we're doing it for and last night made me feel at home in London just a little bit more. 

Central Saint Martins

w00t, I'm officially a student (again). I enrolled at Saint Martins yesterday. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!  It was also the first time I entered the gorgeous building but didn't get to see much of it, I was so overwhelmed by everything and everyone and things just went so fast. I arrived, showed some papers, signed some forms, registered and had a chat with Murray, the Registrar, who I never met before but with whom I had telephone/email conversations throughout the year, he turned out to be a total darling. It was nice to finally put faces to names. After I paid my fees I sat down with a black female course administrator to finalize the process. And as she looked for my IDcard she whispered "It's nice to see another person of color enrolling in the graphic design course..." Completely flustered, I stared at her and said "Pardon?" She repeated herself in an even more secretive way and I didn't really know what to say to that, so I mumbled "Ehrm ok, yeah so how many ehrm, people of color have enrolled in this course? Not that it makes a difference though." She shrugged and answered "In the past few years perhaps three or four..." Not knowing if I was slightly shocked by her answer or just the fact that I was having this conversation, I said "So, what does that say about the course, or this college for that matter?" She smiled and answered "Well, maybe it means that black people ain't really that interested in graphic design." I laughed and said "Ha, that's bullocks and you know it." (I can't believe I said that to a stranger, out loud anyway.) She smiled, looked me straight in the eye and said "You and me are going to have a little chat later on, sister..." I suppose things can only get more interesting. Either way. I'm finally there, I'm ready for it, another new chapter commences. 

Work.

My first job in London. Internet/sales/image/layout-slave at Cordings Ltd; a small shop right off the Picadilly tube on the corner of Picadilly and Air Street that sells 'Traditional British Clothing Since 1839'. (which includes shooting gear, suits, shirts, socks, hats, canes, overcoats, waistcoats, breeks, Bryn Parry illustrated books about sex in the country, cufflinks in the shape of cartridges, etc.) My boss Noll, who was kind enough to offer me the job attempts to run a tight ship but I reckon it's his PA and his 7 headed (international) miracle working staff that keep this madhouse running. Coincidentally, everyone who works here speaks at least 2 languages. Customers vary from members of the British Royal Family, to rediculously minted housewives, to bitter&angry highrollers, to actors, to hunters, to rappers (they're quite fond of the socks), to silly cunts that 'would like to speak to Eric Clapton' (as he co-owns the place). I sent a parcell to Claptons house once but haven't yet had the pleasure to actually meet him. (I was told he occasionally drops by for cups of tea.) Two other random facts: 1. That fabulous tall skinny Chinese gayboy from 'How To Look Good Naked' took a peep inside the other day. 2. I've lived in New Zealand for 1,5 years but had to fly all the way to London to finally see a flippin possum. Ok, it was dead but still. I was exploring the stockroom the other day and there it was, standing in the middle of the path, starin at me with that post-mortem look in it's eye. I'm not really into killing animals for the sake of killing them, I really do disapprove of it and somehow find it an unPC company to work for, nevertheless I had a very interesting time here. My Cording days are coming to an end though. I might end up doing part-time imagery/layout work for them but uni's starting next week so I'll see how I'll go. I'll really miss this place, I've had some great and not so great customers, learned some new tricks and met some bizarre people.

The London Design Festival 13-23 Sept 2008.

I've had several reasons to come to London and festivals like the LDF was one of them :) 11 days packed with 128 in- and outdoor exhibitions, installations and 48 talks spread over London covering Architecture, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Digital Design, Environmental Design, Cultural Design, Fashion Design, Crafts, Music, Photography, MA shows, Workshops, Future&Design and many more.  It just so happens to that I have a daytime job and my dear parents coming over this weekend; I have very little time to visit the exhibitions I want to see, but I am determined to see some. Most of them are free, some of them are not. To all of you who've missed out this year or are planning on doing the LDF in 2009; plan ahead, get the guide well in advance, get yourselves on mailing lists and pre-register on websites. It'll save you £10 entrance fees, you can get free books and gain access to exclusive master-classes and invitees-only exhibits. For me, it's a good excuse to see more of London and explore the wide range of design, it's a way of getting prepared for uni. 

I'm blessed with good friends, most of them are bright and creative individuals.  But for several years I've felt dissatisfied. There was an attitude present that enabled 'creatives' to claim (out loud) that they do the thing they do because they know what they want and know who they are. For some reason I find it so presumptious. I've known some creatives who're are good at what they do but have been doing the same shit for years on end. They call it their signature, I call lack of growth. You know, it's all good... until they start criticizing someone else's work and subliminally try to force upon others the delusion that they have more knowledge and bigger balls. Once I found myself getting on that train of thought I knew it was time to move on for real. Do you know how you're backstabbing your ability to create by doing the same thing time after time? Getting bigged up for doing a nifty trick 100 times in a row? Whatever. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy they're happy, (you know, at the end of the day somebody's gotta be happy about something or we'd all be eating each others heads off) and I consider myself far from super creative and talented, but these questions keep burning in the back of my head... Are we dreading the thought of looking at what's happening outside our creative comfort-zones? Are we afraid of being surrounded by smarter opponents? Are we secretly scared of the fact that we MIGHT be exposed once we venture into the dark unknown? Perhaps I'm taking it too personal, maybe I bitch too much (I know I do), maybe I go over this stuff in my head way too much and maybe I should just shut the fuck up and let people do whatever they do for whatever reason they're doing it... but I believe that true originality, creativity and art (which ofcourse is in the eye of the beholder) do not just derive from talent but also from experimenting, striving to do better and a reasonable amount of pain and agony. Spiritual and creative growth never stops and contemporary knowledge of self is never sufficient... ANYWAY, to cut a long story short, I'm going to see these exhibitions to drench myself in other people's visions, to find out where I stand, what it is I lack, what I could do better, what I could be good at and perhaps I'll find out more about what I don't want. And maybe I won't find anything... but it's definitely worth a shot. 

The fact that the UK is going through a recession won't go unnoticed, the challenges it brings are food for thought. From what I've heard, read and been told about design over the past year is that there have been debates about profound changes in economic conditions. This years LDF has it's focus on these debates. Grant Gibson, this years LDF editor on the recession: 

"Earlier this year I was invited to the opening to a set of new rooms at a young persons' cancer unit at Queen Elizabeth's Hospital in Birmingham. The project had started many months before with a series of workshop days including the ward's patients. Following this the young, London-based practice Two Create designed three new spaces: a kitchen-cum-dining area, a library, and another room where the patients can relax. While obviously done on a budget, the new interventions felt youthful and contemporary and, importantly, never patronized their occupants. The opening, held in one of the hospital's waiting rooms, was hardly glamourous - consisting of orange juice and butties rather than champagne and canapes - but as the ward's head nurse spoke to thank everyone involved in the scheme and visibly choked as she talked about her patients, the emotion was palpable. And at that moment I remembered that design really can profoundly affect people's lives. The sector has enormous power. Sometimes you feel it just needs to be reminded how to use it properly. And perhaps that's the greatest favor a recession could perform."

For more information visit: http://www.londondesignfestival.com

A gorgeous installation set up at one of my favorite places of London; Southbank. Here's a( selective) list of events of which each I would've visited if it wasn't for obligations. They're definitely worth checking out, schedules and timetables on website.

The Arts Gallery - University of the Arts London

Spin - the art or record

An exhibition examining the art of record cover.

Central St. Martins College of Art and Design

Up all night

Annual showcase of post-graduate design work from CSM.

Create Berlin

Create Berlin goes London

Show presents the 20 best interdisciplinary projects on the thought about the city's allure after the fall of the Wall.

Gallery Fumi

Materialsm

Work by emerging designers who adopt innovative and refreshing ways of working with  variety of materials.

Viaduct

Touch & Reflect

T&R uses fabric, shape and shine to underline the importance of different materials in furniture design.

Centre for British African Carribean Studies

True Story - One Story

A journey focused on a group (BACs) engaged in redesigning their lives and identities. Ancient wisdom becomes innovative, as traditions are adapted to meet the challanges of the world today.

Heard Gallery

Young Guns - a gradate showcase competition.

An 8 week competition or new graduates to showcase their work

Standard Life

Roar!

An art and design exhibition, Top art and design gradates from Schotland's artschools.

Chaplins Furniture

Scubism by Nigel Coates

'scubism avoids coordination for it's own sake I combines miscievous imagination and traditional skills...'

Chelsea College of Art and Design

Steve Thomas: Big Biba and other stories

Steve Thomas' brand-identities for some of the biggest international names.

Flower Council of Holland (I'm an orchidophile)

Double Dutch -  A feast of flowers

Schemes from Dutch designers and curators that show how flowers can give design a new dimension.

Helen Hamlyn Center, Royal College of Art

Living Proof

This exhibition points to a more human-centered design future: an expo of research-led design project.

PM Galery&House

Bottom Drawers

The expo aims to look at why we colect the things we do and why objects become important to our lives, often with a value that goes beoynd their monetary worth. It aims to be about the feelings we attach to objects

University of Brighton, 

360° - Charting New territory in Sustainable Design Education

The title says it all.

The Mayor's Thames Festival 2008...

... Just another excuse to bust out the breakdancers and free oriental food platters. Apart from the London Design Festival kicking off that day, I wasn't really aware of what was happening and as I got off the tube there were suddenly hundreds of people blocking my path; eating, buying, doing and looking at all kinds of stuff. Boris even gave permission to use the 10m2 of 'beach' *cough* by the Festival Pier to create a festive atmosphere. The weather was brilliant, the food was excellent (mostly because some of it was free) and even though it was packed, no-one acted like they were caught up in a gridlockd-congestion-shitstorm at 6.00 PM on a Thursday evening. London... naturally.

See, I told you I wasn't gonna live in a box.

My house; a breakfast room, a kitchen, a freaky little cubbyroom hidden underneath the breakfast room that the owner of the house had built for her 13-year old son whom she lovingly calls 'her little sausage', my small bedroom and my small empty studio. (I'm still very patiently waiting for my flippin boxes to be released from the sodding Rotterdamn Harbour.) There are 3 other rooms in this house and they're yet to be occupied by tenants. My agency had this funny idea that the rooms should be let for £130 per week, plus bills. Hmmmyeah uhuh. Like that's ever going to happen with the Credit Crunch slowly but surely taking it's toll. The kind of people the agency is aiming for cannot be arsed living in this part of town anyway. If it wasn't for the deal I made with the owner of the house I wouldn't be living here, not for that kind of money anyway. I live in Peckham Rye, a pretty ghettoass neighborhood (and a place everybody seems to dislike) in South East London. I really do love living in this part of London, but that's another story. This house is the exception to the rule tho; it's hidden behind two gates, by a Georgian semi-green courtyard with palmtrees and a picknick table where no-one's supposed to throw parties as several gnomes were bashed last year. Oh, the audacity.

Dear everyone...

Right. I got requests to keep you up to date and so I've set up this blog to tell you about my ventures, fuckups and experiences. And perhaps in the future I'll spill a thing or two about my whereabouts and academic achievements, after all I did move to London to get a degree. I'll see where this ranting page leads to and how long it'll last. It's much easier than sending emails and making phone calls or sending texts with a creditless phone. Either way I'll try not to neglect you like I did when I lived in New Zealand. So, I suppose that now that the blog stands, it's official; I really live in London. (Or maybe it's a sign that I finally have noteworthy things to tell you, who knows.)Thank you all so much for the enthusiastic emails that I got from you. A girl needs to know who her true friends are! Just kidding, even though I have completely fallen in love with London (again), none of you are forgotten. Moving to London was my next big mini-step. Luckily, so far everything has been going well, however your kind words are much appreciated and really have contributed to settling in here. Take care, I'll be ranting soon.