Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Holiday gifts

Looking for a perfect gift for the holidays? Perhaps these Volkswagen retro notebooks are exactly what you are looking for.

For every wish there is a notebook; lined, blank pages, thicker pages to sketch on, A4, A5, square, rectangular and not to forget the minis.

Handbound, firm and handy notebooks. Planning a nice long summer trip, use one of these handy booklets to write down your hotspots. Or do you have a lot of good intentions for next year, don't hesitate to write them down in one of the Volkswagen cahiers. If your not such a person for words, some of these notebooks are ideal for sketching. With pages of 115 gr/m2 you can use a marker or fineliner without making a mess.

Check out www.prien.nl for the details and the models.


Prien Notebook Volkswagen



Prien Notebook Volkswagen



Prien Notebook Volkswagen


Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Photos like fairy tales

wow ... that was the first thing that came in mind seeing these pictures. I wish I could do that ... those colors, the composition, the atmosphere of the picture ...

Oleg Oprisco is the maker of these fine art photos. He doesn't take snapshots, every photo is the result of hard work. First Oprisco sketches the image, than he starts looking for the props at flea markets and when everything is ready, the photo shoot takes a day or two. The photos might look fairylike, but they are the result of hard work.

I could tell a lot more about this Ukrainian photographer, but an image says more than a thousands word ... so just look and enjoy! I hope the situation in Ukraine doesn't have too much impact on this artist! Hopefully he will make a lot more of these beautiful fine arts photos. By the way the photos are for sale at his site.

Prien about Oleg Oprisco

Prien about Oleg Oprisco

Prien about Oleg Oprisco


Prien about Oleg Oprisco

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Irma Boom about the future of books

Last week book designer Irma Boom won the Johannes Vermeer Prijs, the Dutch state prize for the arts. In an interview with De Volkskrant Boom says that she sees the prize as an appreciation for the graphic arts industry in The Netherlands. This industry can use some encouragement, because fewer and fewer books are printed and bound.

Luckily Irma Boom believes that the book has a future, even in this digital century. She thinks that a book is more necessary than ever, to bring slowness and deepening in people's lives. A book slows, it makes you choose another rhythm. Boom sees a book as 'frozen information', with a fixed order, so that the reader can reflect and derive meaning from the design choices of the compiler. In contrast, internet is chaotic, without focus and temporary.

Boom says it is not only the order that gives a book extra value, but also the touch of the pages and the book edges. Her Chanel book is all white with blind printing, so you can see the content at floodlight, or you can feel it with your fingertips. The book edge of the Sheila Hicks book is frayed and feels like cotton.

The juryrapport about why they granted Irma Boom this big prize:
'In the world of the internet and virtual communication, Irma Boom's greatest achievement is that she has made the book a physical experience once more. She continues to impress with her ambition to push the boundaries with each and every book, her unbridled desire to reach beyond the original wishes of her clients, and her ability — maintained for decades — to deliver work of the highest artistic quality. For all these reasons, the jury has chosen her as the deserving winner of the Johannes Vermeer Award 2014.'

Just like Irma Boom, I believe that books have the future. I love to read and of course I own a e-reader and a tablet with hundreds of e-books ... but reading a real book remains the best! It is not only reading which is special, writing is as special as well. Making plans in your notebook, write down your most brilliant thoughts or dreams in your diary ... the hand bound book certainly has a future :)

Sunday, November 2, 2014

The beauty of Rust

Sometimes little wonders just happen. Do nothing .. be a bit lazy ... and ... tadaa ... the magic is there.

Last summer my father in law gave me a lot of iron heavy weights to press booklets and other stuff. The only thing I had to do was paint them, because they were really rusty. The cardboard I used as underground was put aside and forgotten ... until I found it again and was stunned by the colors the rust had left.