I thought I’d leave you for the weekend with some images from Amsterdam: Made by Hand. I hope they inspire you to come to this incredibly city. And if you are already here, then I hope to inspire you to take a wander with the book and explore some of these beautiful boutiques and studios. And if you are not in Amsterdam, then perhaps you can take a moment to wander around your own neighbourhood and get to know some of your local artisans. Whatever you do this weekend, enjoy.

For those who are staying in for the weekend, I think this awesome project to make your own book could be super fun, and it’s perfect for left over paper and fabrics. And don’t forget the blogs in the spotlight in the sidebar – if you are not able to explore outdoors, then perhaps you can explore the neighbourhood around the (blog)house. I’ve also been adding some new neighbours in my blogroll as I’ve come across them.

Thank you for all your comments and conversations this past week, it’s been fun catching up.  Have a wonderful weekend! See you next week, mes amis.

xx

Some of you may have noticed that a few months ago I added a little sparkly widget at the bottom of my (blog)house sidebar, with the words “guitar” “tone”  “overload”.  And then some of you may have then thought, “wtf?” because you would know that my blog has nothing to do with guitars, or tones… although there is plenty of overload to be had.

Well, now I have a moment to tell you all about it! At the beginning of this year, my partner Romain – who you’ve all come to know here as french boy – launched his very own blog. It’s called, obviously,  guitar tone overload and it focuses on his “endless quest for The Guitar Tone” using effects, amps, and all sorts of other guitar equipment (that I have no idea about but he knows lots about). Last year when he first told me he wanted to start a blog, I asked him, “if you start a blog, what are your expectations?” and he said , “as a musician,  I’ve taken so much information from the internet over the last 15 years that now I’d like to give back”.  I thought that was pretty much the perfect answer…

this is a corner of our houseboat, filled with guitars and guitar stuff.

So at the end of February he launched his blog in both English and French. I love that he focuses on boutique equipment (that being, pedals and such that are made in small factories or by hand) and that he explores the guitar tones of various famous guitarists  – so far he’s featured Robert Smith from The Cure, Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani and just last week, John Butler. He not only writes about what each guitarist uses, but he also makes demo videos to show his readers how to get ‘the tone’ with certain equipment. It’s pretty clever stuff.

While researching for guitar tone overload the other day, Romain came across a video of legendary guitarist David Gilmour’s houseboat/music studio located on the Thames.  It is the most awesome floating musical space, and I just wanted to share it here, for those of you out there who love the idea of houseboat living, and those who love making music like we do. It is a clip from the BBC series three men in a boat, check it out…

Can you imagine? So very cool. For us, this would be the ultimate houseboat. Our little houseboat doesn’t have nearly as much music gear as David Gilmour’s, but it still manages to rock out when the mood strikes.

Anyway, I just wanted to say a big congratulations to french boy for getting out there in the blogosphere and creating such a great space for guitarists. Please pass on his blog to your guitarist friends. Merci!

xx

…little treasures at dusk, in my garden…

I still cannot believe my luck in being reunited with my bike! I have never heard of anyone finding their bike here after it’s been stolen, it’s some sort of miracle.  I would really love to know what happened,  if only my beautiful rusty bike could talk. Today I took it for a little ride around the neighbourhood, it was like we were never apart. I will be sure to buy it some flowers, or a new light, or something, just so it knows how much I love it so.

Aside from my bike being stolen and found, life for me so far this summer has been full. on.  With the Amsterdam: Made by Hand book release and my current book deadline all happening at the same time, it’s been ‘nose to the grindstone’ all the way. Last week I thought I was going to explode so I went for a jog to see if i could release some of the tension. I lasted about 30 seconds before I started hyperventilating. The next day my shins were crying out in pain. I’ve never been a jogger but you know it was one of those things where other people make it look so easy and enjoyable. It’s like high heel shoes – every few years or so I get seduced by some fabulously leggy woman strolling past me in heels and I think “wow, I really must get my heels out and wear them like this!”, to which I do and then after about 25 minutes my lower back screams out in agony.

One thing that has kept me in good stead though while I’ve been so frantic this past month (beside french boy, of course), is my kitchen garden. It has been wonderfully therapeutic – when I have a tea break I check the plants to see how they’re going, give them some water, make sure they are healthy. Some of them have been transplanted into bigger pots on the front deck of the boat – while inside I have basil, thyme, parsley, and rosemary, outside there are strawberries and lavender, and I even managed to grow lemongrass from a dried up piece of stalk I bought at the chinese supermarket! Gardening truly is so great for the soul…

And lilies – my dear friend Zoë planted some beautiful lilies in my garden last summer while we were prepping the boat for a Finnish tv crew who came to visit (I know, I still haven’t had a chance to tell you about that!). I thought the lilies would not last through the winter so I was stunned a couple of months ago when I saw them popping up and reaching for the sun! They are truly stunning…

So what else can I catch you up on? As you know Amsterdam: Made by Hand is now well and truly out there in the big wide world.  I want to thank everyone who has blogged about it since its launch, and those of you who have told your friends, colleagues, family and local independent bookstores about my work –  I really cannot tell you enough how much your support means to me, and how incredible your blog posts and conversations about my work have helped spread the word  – you guys are the ones who enable me to keep doing what I love.  thank you.

On my to-do list is to make a special blog page for Amsterdam: Made by Hand like I have for Paris: Made by Hand. I will create a list of all the lovely shops that are selling the book around the world so if you’ve seen the book somewhere, please let me know and I’ll include that store in my list. And the same goes for reviews and features in magazines and blogs – if you’ve seen one let me know so I can be sure to include them on the page.

Also on my to-do list is to update my online portfolio, it’s in desperate need of attention. I may have the oldest, most out-of-date portfolio on the planet by now. Oh well, it’s impossible to get to everything at once and right now I am devoting all my attention to you know what. Mes amis, I am so incredibly excited about what is transpiring, it is turning into an exquisite book and I am bursting at the seams to share it with you. All in good time.

Well, that’s pretty much my catch up post! Hope you are all having a fab summer and for the southern hemispherians, a fab winter. I have another ‘catch up’ style post coming tomorrow, so stay tuned for that one.

xx

Yesterday, while watering the plants and cleaning the outside of the boat, I glanced out to the disarray of bikes that line the street and realised with a heavy heart that mine was no longer among them. For the first time since moving to Amsterdam almost 3 years ago, my bike has been stolen.  Last night I was frantically trying to remember the very last moments I had with my two-wheeled friend, it seemed vital that I recall these very last moments  – I wanted to make sure we parted on good terms.

Even though I always knew our time together would probably be limited since having your bike stolen is just a part of life in Amsterdam, I’m still sad. For Amsterdammers, our bikes are like best friends – they go everywhere with us, they are there at scary moments, and there at happy moments. They take us to new exciting places we never knew existed. They wait for us, carry things for us, ride through snow & rain,  and get us around the myriad of biking tourists.

My dear bicycle was beautiful to me – old and rusty, but full of spark.  And it was only Friday, after getting lost with it through the back streets of a new-to-me area of the city that I thought about how truly lucky I have been to have such a fab bike.

Now, I will always be looking out for it, hoping that it has embarked on another exciting adventure, albeit in the hands of another. Of course if I do happen to see it again, I won’t hesitate to take it right back. And yes, I am a bit pissed about it, but no one – especially me – knows why humans do what they do.

Goodbye my dear two-wheeled friend, I miss you.

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update: guys you are not going to BELIEVE this! French Boy just went for a walk and came back with my bike!!!!!! I am beyond ecstatic. He found it hiding behind an electrical box at the end of the road/canal. It seems someone stole it but decided it wasn’t worth it! Woohooooo!!! I love my bike even more now, what a true treasure! This is a serious cause for celebration. Thank you for all your commiserations, but let us be sad no more!

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Bonsoir mes amis, I hope you had a fab weekend. I have lots to share with you this week! But first some inspiration. Above is a wall sculpture by federico uribe made from 200 second-hand books. Brilliant. I love it when people turn everyday items into extraordinary pieces of art. (found via mandy at 16 house, who found it via visual i.d.)…

…and this stunning photograph by roland bello. (via abundance).

Right now I can smell chili con carne… someone has been cooking up a storm in the kitchen, and that someone is not me. Truth is, I haven’t cooked a meal in what seems like forever.  I have said numerous times that I will get back to cooking meals sometime in the future when my workload subsides, but there is no sign of it subsiding. Meanwhile, I’m getting a bit too used to being catered for.

I’ll be back in the (blog)house tomorrow with lots of updates and info about what has been going on in my life (just in case there are those of you out there still interested in that stuff!).

Enjoy your evening.

xx