Galerie Louise Smit (Art Jewelry)

I discovered this gallery on Prinsengracht that features contemporary jewelry design from around the world. My favorite is Australian native Helen Britton. One of her pieces is in the top left and is titled, "Cloudland". I love her work because it reminds me of found object sculptures I had done in the past and even building forts as a kid. The materials, textures, shapes, and colors are beautiful and rich. When you look at it, you know there is a story there, or you want to make one up! Clockwise from top left, the other artists are Christoph Zellweger, Iris Eichenberg, Evert Nijland, and Jacomijn van der Donk. Check out the links for the gallery website.

Jon Burgerman

Went to this store called Concrete on Spuistraat. They sell a lot of Nike product, Indie and Metro footwear, as well as apparel. They also sell limited edition t-shirts, Maharishi apparel, magazines and toys. The most interesting part of the store is the ever-changing exhibition space that is currently showing a Jon Burgerman installation. Nice work.

Comme des Garcons Guerilla Store

Photos from the new Comme des Garcons guerilla store in Den Haag, Netherlands. The store, cafe, and exhibition space reflect the brand identity. Set in an old factory in an industrial area, the space is raw, textural, and layered. The more interesting pieces that were on exhibition was a collection of vintage items that had been stripped down to the minimal structural elements. See the two photos at the bottom.

Amazing Color!

Spotted this as I was walking home today. I have never seen a flower like this.

Space Invader

Before I started my blogging today, I checked Dave Roulo's Tokyo pod blog and found a couple of Space Invaders there too. Check the links for Dave's site and the Space Invader site.

Innovation? Part 2

A factory we visited near Florence that makes shoes for Cole Haan. I was told by our factory manager that this is one of the best factories in Italy. They make only 5,000 pairs a month. The time, hand work, and details put into making these shoes are amazing. You can see some of the processes in the short videos I have attached.

Sole Stitching


Forefoot Lasting


Embossing


Emboss Detail

Innovation?

A last factory we went to near Florence. They make the most beautiful lasts for the pinnacle brands! It would definitely be an advantage to build our lasts here. We have the relationship.

Museo Salvatore Ferragamo

To be honest, I never really thought much of Salvatore Ferragamo. After visiting his museum in Florence, I realize he was a brilliant stylist and innovator. When making shoes, he would meet with clients personally to look at and measure their feet to insure the shoes would fit perfectly (customized). In the 30's when material was scarce due to the war, he used candy wrappers wrapped around metallic thread to craft woven uppers (considered). When metal was scarce, he invented the cork wedge. Light weight and abundant, he carved the cork into layers and glued them together. Many of his unique products were created from innovative problem solving. The film and collection of his sketches and prototypes are definitely inspiring. I believe Caprice has brought back a book from the exhibition. Check it out.

Puma......

Saw this in the Puma store in Florence. In the store the same time as the "Rivalry". Guess they are really coming after us. Wouldn't that be classified as "Shox" technology???

The Duomo

The most inspiring thing I saw in Milan was the Duomo.

Pattern

This pattern was applied in a form of vinyl sticker in an outdoor hallway. I think the sign says, please do not place your bike in the hallway.

Post

I think it's a post office. This caught my eye as I was walking around. Don't know if it was that it felt so sterile or that it had interesting color and texture combinations.

Red!

Red used in many different ways. Nice combination and dynamic proportion on the car, in high contrast as a warning on the barriers of the construction site, the color of the demolition equipment, notice that the inside of the building being torn down is red, and even the demolition worker wears red!

Building Elements

Some really cool building elements found around town. I love the crest or whatever it is on the right. Also notice the bronze deer mounted on the tops of the buildings.....

The Frozen Fountain

This is a great store, with a great name. There was a very nice collection from Droog Design. All the products came in very simple boxes with no printing. A sticker on each box told the story of how the product was inspired. The title, Every Product Has A Story, and all the stickers were in a hand written font as if it was personally written by you. Check the links for the Droog Design page.

As printed on the wineglass doorbell box:

Hi,
Have you ever thought about what a horrible sound your average doorbell makes? Me neither, until I heard Droog's invention, this doorbell chimes! It celebrates your arrival and what a wonderful welcome it is. Not only that, but you can see every part working, no secrets here.
Cheers to that!

The Apartment

These are photos of Berenstraat and the apartment there. It's the second and third floor above the BREE shop. I quickly adjusted into the European mentality when there was a mis-communication and delivery of the key to the apartment. As I was sitting in the cafe across the street, the owner offered a simple solution, "Might as well sit down and have a coffee". You can click on the photos for a larger image.

About Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the capital city of the Netherlands, located in the south of the province North Holland. The city was founded in the late 12th century as a small fishing village at the mouth of the river Amstel. The name Amsterdam literally means Amstel dam. The historical centre with its concentric canals was largely built during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century. As of January 1, 2006 the city of Amsterdam has a population of 743,027 inhabitants and is by population size the largest city in the Netherlands.

Amsterdam is the home town of football club Ajax. Its home base is the modern stadium Amsterdam ArenA, located in the south-east of the city. The team shares that facility with the Amsterdam Admirals, an American football team in NFL Europa. In 1928, Amsterdam hosted the Games of the IXth Olympiad. The city also has a baseball team, the Amsterdam Pirates, who play in the Dutch Major League. There are three field hockey teams, Amsterdam, Pinoké and Hurley, who play their matches around the Wagener Stadium. There is also a basketball team, the Amsterdam Astronauts, who compete in the Dutch premier division and play their games in the Sporthallen Zuid, near the Olympic Stadium.

Introduction

Why and how does European culture inspire and define fashion, art, music, and life?

The goal of this six-week immersion is to better understand those choices. For five weeks of the immersion, I wll be living in a small flat in the "Nine Streets" area of Amsterdam. I will also spend a couple of days in Milan, travel to Florence to visit one of the best shoe factories in Italy, attend a wedding in Tuscany, go to the Bread and Butter show in Barcelona, and hopefully make a short trip to Berlin. Truly the only way to really understand any culture is to experience it. Thankfully, I work for a company who understands this.