report: New York

Back from a rollercoaster week in New York.
Irene (Bloesem) and I had an amazing week in many different regards.

Main goal was the New York International Gift Fair that I was attending.
Because of my work in the booth I didn't have time to see the city, walk around on the huge gift fair, or take any photo's.
The response on my work was overwhelming. The new Circles I launched in NYC caused a lot of American 'wooooows' which made me smile all day long!

Irene took this photo on our first day on the Show. I look exhausted and nervous

My neighbour on the booth Reineke Otten, with a very special customer

View from our apartment (skyscraper, 40st floor!) on Queensborough bridge

View from our apartment - this was such an everyday treat!

We had many visitors on the booth! Small boutiques, huge (museum)stores, press and collegues like...yes: Lotta Jansdotter! Want to know how she is in real life? She is just very S W E E T ! With capital letters.

Lotta Jansdotter - photo Laura Fenon

Irene and I did some sample shopping - a usual phenomenon during the last hours of trade shows -  at my neighbours Fog Linen (trays) and at Rifle paper (gift tags). I have a serious weakness for gift tags...bought some nice ones from Darrell from Sukie, who's booth was a couple of meters away.

The temporary tattoos (on the Sukie box) were a present from Tina Roth Eisenberg, from the well known blog Swiss-Miss. She launched her cool and funny Tattly's on the Gift Fair.

Our last hours in NYC were a kind of a 'surprise icing on the NY-cake': we attended the US-bloggers event of the year called Alt Summit which was held in the offices of Martha Stewart on 26th street!

It was so fantastic to finally meet Sweet Paul in person and Rachel Faucett from Handmade Charlotte who has been on my little bloglist here since the very begining. Tina from Swiss Miss held an impressive and powerfull keynote about entrepreneurship, balancing familylife-work and living life to the fullest. She's an amazing speaker and I think her words truly can make a difference!

This passed week in NY has been very important to me, not only businesswise, but also personally.

And therefore I thank you, Irene. Thanks big time for assisting me on the booth, for keeping an eye on the clock, for the fun we had together, for opening my eyes on certain issues, for connecting the dots and for your friendship. XXX

T H A N K S!

intermezzo

 

 

 

 

 

'our' voidokilia beach - 100 shades of blue

 

 

Hello dear blog-readers. Before I leave for New York tomorrow (International Gift Fair- Accent on Design, booth nr. 3762) I want to give you a small impression of our lovely days in Greece.

The area where we spent our weeks was quiet, hardly any tourists, beaches not at all crowded and it was hot: between 40 - 46 degrees C!. I enjoyed spending quality time with my three men, after another year of hard work.

happy summer

sun - part of my landscape pop-up poster

It's always a hell of a job to get everything done before the summer vacations, this time even more!

Directly after returning from my summer holiday I will have to pour the sand out of my suitcase, wash my dresses and leave for NY! I am really looking forward to the NY International Gift Fair, especially since my friend Irene Hoofs from Bloesem Blogs is going to join me!
In the meantime my husband Peter will help my European distributor & Klevering with the presentation of my (new!) designs for their stand on the Maison et Objet show in Paris.
Back from NY I will have a couple of days to prepare and build up my stand at the Dutch trade fair called Najaarsbeurs.

But first: Peleponnese (mainland) Greece, together with my three men and an e-book pile of books! Booked the flights already last year, I am curious what to find there, except for small white villages, see, sand and Byzantine culture...
Happy summer to you all!

fireplace

July in Holland: I am wearing socks and a winter cardigan while dreaming of a fireplace like these ones from Surfing Cowboys in California (do they really need fireplaces there?).

sneak preview: product in progress

Working hard (in the weekends and at night) to get my new product to the printer's next week.
I am not fond of showing half-products and sketches, but I can't resist today. On my work table there is this 'carpet' full of printed and hand cut circles, it looks so lovely, I simply had to share it!

The photo is a bit vague on purpose because it is a product in process and I have to keep you in suspense a little longer.
The new product will be presented at the New York Gift Fair in August and in the meantime I'll keep you posted here of course.

get some headspace

 

This post looks a bit off-topic, but it's not. It is about a small but important part of my daily life.
At times that everything (including me) in my world is crowded and noisy, I visit a 'room' in my mind where it is completely silent and peaceful. I meditate every morning and it makes me happy, strong and carefree.

My friend Sandra from BijzonderMOOI* gave me this link: Get some Headspace. Former Tibettan monk and founder of Get some Headspace Andy Puddicombe states: "Headspace is a project designed to demystify meditation. Using the wonders of science and technology, we make it easy-to-learn, fun-to-do, and relevant to your everyday life." According to the New York Times Andy Puddicombe is doing for meditation what Jamie Oliver has done for food.

Interested? See the video below, sign up at the website, give it a free try and get yourself some headspace online for the coming 10 days!
Have fun!

tried & tested (not yet by me)

photo's above from Petite Passport

I have had this 'problem' ever since I was a little kid: I am a dreamer. I dream about not being here and now, I dream about being there, later, somewhere in the future...

You can understand that planning vacations or business trips triggers this weakness big time. So when you all came up with emails full of tips, ideas, sleeping, eating, shopping in NYC I couldn't be happier! Thanks a lot!

Natasja (thanks!) gave me the link to Petite Passport: an awesome website hosted by travel journalist Pauline Egge. You can spend hours and hours browsing - dreaming - looking for the best hotspots (like in NYC, above) in the world, often tried and tested by Pauline herself.

photo's above from Air B&B

A couple of you also gave me the adress of Air B&B. What a great (web)concept! Private short stay apartements all over the planet, for all budgets, for all tasts. It is so much more fun to have a real house/apartment in stead of a hotel when visiting a foreign city. It gives you the feeling: Ich bin ein Berliner (or New Yorker, or Amsterdammer, or Parisien...)