Yesterday evening I dropped by the opening vernissage of Caterine Pellin's exhibition at my favorite little boutique Little Circus on Rue du Page in Brussels.
I was very much looking forward to this opening, and neither Pellin nor Teheux disappoint. Little Circus looked impeccable as usual and I was nicely surprised by Pellin's work. Her drawings are delicate, seemingly simple but on second look show you a world of imagination. Pellin brings her figures alive with a 'loving' stroke of her pen and colors are used rarely but effectively.

If you have a chance to drop by Little Circus one of these days I can very much recommend a visit. Both for the boutique as for Caterine Pellin's work (which is for sale as well).

(Photo's courtesy of Morgane Teheux, owner of Little Circus, and Caterine Pellin) Links: Caterine Pellin's Website | Blog | Little Circus Website | Blog


LITTLE CIRCUS
rue du page, n° 92
1050 Ixelles (Brussels, Belgium)
Tuesday - Saturday
11:00 - 18:00 h



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Hey there!

Just a quick message to all you Dutchies out there: I wrote another guest post for Etsy's Dutch Handmade blog! This time it's about Swishing! Enjoy!
Link: With love from Belgium: Swishing


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Time for another iPad Book Review, this time courtesy of the lovely folks over at Ink Robin - the creators of the 'Will & Kate' App for the iPad. Ink Robin is a new children's ebook production company based in Toronto.

Will & Kate: A Love Story tells the story of Prince William of England and Kate Middleton, of course. In the beautifully illustrated and interactive storybook, Prince William grows up from an ordinary little boy who always knew he'd grow up to be the king and meets Catherine, a very pretty small-town girl who used to dream of someday marrying a prince. They meet each other by chance one day and fall in love. And well... we all know how the story ends, don't we?

THE FUN'S IN THE DETAILS

Children can choose to have the story read to them by a charming British female narrator, or choose to read the book themselves. You move through the story by clicking the arrows back and forth in the bottom on the screen and there are enough distractions along the way to discover and play with - ancestors gasping, sheep bleating, birds chirping, fireworks popping - lovely. These interactive features are the highlight of the book, I'd say. They're incredibly witty and combined with the hilarious sound-effects and ambient background noises, they make for a very entertaining book. The application is very intuitive and it's quite easy to navigate and 'get' all the little jokes hidden within the pages.

A CONTEMPORARY FAIRYTALE

The illustrations in the book are really nicely done as well. The illustrations are done by British illustrator Adam Larkum and he chose to cleverly combine Quentin Blake-esque drawings of the characters with actual photographs of historical artworks, countryside landscapes, and landmarks. This makes for a fairytale story with a contemporary feel, which, let's be honest, is what Will and Kate's story represents, doesn't it?



WHERE'S THE DRAH-MAH? The only thing I was less impressed by in this adorable app, was the story. It feels kind of flimsy. It might be that I'm just the only person in the world who hasn't been completely blown away by this royal love story - but I would have liked to see more of a storytelling arch. There's no crisis. Little Prince William isn't unhappy with his fate to become a king and little Catherine isn't lonely. There's no moment of doubt before them getting married or mention of their famous breakup because of the pressures of living a life in the limelight. I'm missing a bit of drama here, which makes the story feel like Snow White without the evil Queen.


MORE PLEASE! Other than that - this is a delightful little app and very well suited for younger readers interested in the Prince and Princess getting married soon. The story is fun and happy, the drawings are lovely, and the interactive details had me laugh out loud (especially the talking paintings). Can't wait to try out Ink Robin's other book The Lollipop Lady Mystery. Great job, guys!


Links: Ink Robin's Website | 'Will & Kate' in the iTunes store


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RELATED POST: Book/iPad App Review: Oliver Jeffers - 'The Heart and the Bottle' Comment »

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A couple of days ago, as I was dozing off on the bus home as usual, I noticed these words painted on the window of one of my favorite neighborhood café's, Delecta.

Of course I waited until April 4th to look up what the deal actually was, missing another awesome pop up store (yes, I have missed a couple before, and those were right on my street). Fortunately, the JOJO project, is much more than a pop up store and the project really grabbed my attention. So, let me tell you about it.

PART SHOE, PART BANDAGE

Matthieu and Christoph are two friends from Brussels and they sell shoes. Well, of course they don't just sell shoes. The shoes, based on a simple trainer they came across on heir travels through South America, are part shoe and part bandage, as they say on their website. Concerned with the overwhelming amount of issues our world is facing right now, Chris and Matt wanted to create a product that would be good and do good. Fix things, like a bandage, even if it's just on a small scale.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Matt and Chris responsibly produced a light canvas shoe that you can buy. They've got all different kinds of colors, all with the distinctive 'bandage' laces. When purchasing your pair, you can pick one of two NGOs JOJO partnered up with to receive your donation. Would you like your money to go towards planting a tree in Dosso, Niger, or would you like to contribute to building water pumps in Sierra Leone? After purchasing your shoe (and feeling pretty darn good about yourself), you can then go online and check in to see how the project you supported is doing. Consequently, you will feel even better about yourself.

TALK TO THE SHOE?

JOJO isn't just about making you feel good about yourself, though. What drew me into their project (besides the cute shoes), is their understanding of the concern most people of our generation have for the global issues at stake, and turning this (passive) awareness into a tangible, wearable, positive message for each consumer to convey. We're such an individualistic generation and society, focused on expressing ourselves and our values through what we purchase - why not actually turn these abstract values into doing good?

I think however pragmatic, Chris and Matt understand the way our spoiled happy little generation thinks and I really hope their bandages will turn out to help fix some of the problems our world will have to face sooner or later.


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My friend Benjamin Barrios, a costume designer and amazingly talented artist from Mexico, let me know a few days back that a wonderful design he's made is now part of the recently launched Moleskine Cover Art collection. Congratulations, Ben! Wonderful work! You can buy a Moleskine with his amazing design on it in the Moleskine store, or you can opt to download free cover templates and bookmarks in the template area (registration required). Links: Benjamin's Blog | Flickr | Moleskine Cover Art


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Good news people! Sandra Juto just updated her shop and her prints are back in stock! I have some myself and they're so worth every cent. And, now that she's successfully made her move to Berlin, shipping is cheaper, too! You can visit her shop here or get more info on her blog.
Links: Website | Blog | Shop | Flickr

Happy shopping!


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So, I know you all think I'm pretty great and all, but in fact - I suck. Let me tell you why. So I've been planning today and today's blogpost all week. My family was coming over, I did some fun crafty projects to share with you on Monday, I took some shots of my awesome Chrismassy interior, and I had planned my outfit carefully. I was going to ask my sweet, lovely boyfriend to take a picture of my fabulous self and my outfit and post all of it here including links to the shops where I bought everything.

So that's what you're not getting. Well. You're getting the links. And a carefully photoshopped image of what I wore. But not the real deal. I know. I suck. I told you.

Links: 1. Navette Chandelier Earrings from Accessorize | 2. Gypsy Mix Bangles, also from Accessorize (god, I love their stuff) | 3. Dogeared Camel Leather And Gold Plated Believe Mantra Bracelet from Asos | 4. Gallop with Glamor dress from ModCloth (it has an elastic waistband - perfect for big dinners) | 5. Men's watch by Diesel, borrowed indefinitely from my brother | 6. Le Vernis Particulière by Chanel | 7. Cognac Leather Boots from Sacha (my go-to shoes this fall and winter) | 8. A classic leather belt, not unlike this one from SuburbanLeatherworks. I paired it with some navy tights I don't even remember buying.


Otherwise, besides the fact that I failed at being a professional blogger and all that - the party was great. Great company, great food, great fun, and great gifts. Yay for belated Sinterklaas / early Christmas parties!
Hope you're having a swell weekend as well! Comment »

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