In preparation for tomorrow’s wander, I have drawn a little map of the area, complete with ‘made by hand’ destinations to give to each of my fellow wanderers. Tonight I’m busy creating little booklets as a momento for our adventure- in each one I’m including some snippets of pretty papers used for the window displays along with the wander introduction and some extra little treats. Each booklet is unique and handmade, and each one can be added to  – so as my fellow wanderers collect business cards, leaflets, or even fallen leaves along the way they can attach it to this loose leaf booklet. It will be like a petit handheld moodboard from the day, hopefully something that will inspire and encourage more ‘made by hand’ wanders…

I have no idea what the weather will be like but you know what? I really don’t mind – it is going to be such a delight to wander in and out of these special hidden places that it really doesn’t matter… what better way is there to spend an afternoon?

Now I’m not going to promise I will take photos of the event but let’s hope that someone brings a camera and that they are happy to share their snaps with you here in the (blog)house next week.

Have a wonderful weekend,  mes amis!

pretty flowers on my windowsill from Jolijn at Juffrouw Splinter – thank you Jolijn!

Last night at the very quaint English Bookshop we hosted a private book launch for the boutique owners & artisans featured in Amsterdam: Made by Hand. It was wonderful to see all the boutique owners and artisans meeting each other and enjoying themselves. Some of them had not yet seen the book so they were eager to leaf through it and find their work amongst the pages. The evening was a roaring success, thanks to Liesl and Karen from The English Bookshop who made sure everyone was looked after with books, nibbles and wine…

In one of my previous posts I said I’d take photos of the evening but I’m here to tell you that it’s quite clear now that if I ever say that again, you will know better to believe me. After the last few events, I’ve now realise that I am incapable of hosting a party and taking photos at the same time. However, French Boy does know better because I noticed he’d taken my camera out of my bag sometime during the event and was snapping photos – what a hero! Except it was my canon 400d and not the canon g10 so he had no idea what to do with the settings. Regardless, he managed to snap this fab shot above! All the other photos were too dark unfortunately but I think this one is terrific.  So a big thank you to French Boy for taking hold of the camera and snapping this lovely memory. And thank you to everyone who came along and bought lots of books! What an awesome bunch of people you are.

xx

As many of you know, I have quite a number of wonderfully creative and talented friends. I’ve featured them here in the (blog)house from time to time, some have  stayed as guests, and some are by my side when I have special events. These fabulous people inspire me daily, and Leslie Oschmann is one such friend who never ceases to inspire me. For those of you who already own a copy of Amsterdam: Made By Hand, you will know that Leslie is one of the incredible artisans featured in the book (please turn to page 55 for reference).  For those of you who don’t yet own a copy of the book, click here to read a bit more about Leslie’s work and background.

one of Leslie’s reclaimed objects made new, click here for more examples of her work.

Leslie’s work consists of reinventing and manipulating found objects. One of her recent series was “oil paintings on chairs” – a collection of old chairs made new by covering them in vintage oil paintings. Her juxtapositions are stunning, the effect: spectacular, and her chairs have not only featured in magazines around the world but were bought by renown retailers Anthropologie.

Last year Leslie made an incredible window display at Restored (also featured in Amsterdam: Made By Hand, page 19)  – her chairs were hanging from the ceiling by dozens of ropes, cascading down to the window ledge.

The other day at lunch, Leslie showed me her latest creations and I’m thrilled to be able to share them with you here today – consider this an exclusive “seen here first” peek at her new collection…

Made with vintage oil paintings, Leslie has fashioned a series of beautiful carry bags with leather handles. Each one is unique and handmade, and each one, I can tell you, is exquisite…

A combination of portraits, landscapes, and still life vignettes juxtaposed with patterned paper and fabric inserts (as seen above).

I’m smitten. I love every single one of these bags and I know they are going to walk out her door (almost all of these shown above are already sold!).  Leslie is in the process of making more so if you would like one (or ten for your store), email Leslie directly for more details.

Thank you Leslie for giving us a sneak peek at your latest work. I can’t wait to see what you create next!

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all photos except for the first and third are courtesy of Leslie Oschmann from Swarm. The other two are courtesy of me and The Little Bookroom, for Amsterdam: Made By Hand.

For this display I decided on long strands of ribbon with matte print outs of the book cover combined with handmade paper flowers. Irene from van Rossum made the lovely row of canal houses, aren’t they gorgeous?

She cut it all by hand, I love her detailing of the tiny canal house windows and rooftops. I printed out some A3 posters from photos I took for this post to put on the bottom shelf. So the window is all ready for our wander on Saturday. Yay! I am going to hang some extra garlands out in the courtyard for our afternoon tea.

And for those who can’t make it to Saturday’s wander or afternoon tea, there is one more event that you can catch me at – the ABC Urban Arts Festival which is on Saturday, June 26th! Perhaps some of you already spotted the new little link in the sidebar of my blog?  It is going to be a lot of fun – imagine the whole square outside the American Book Center full or artisans and design & craft enthusiasts – all making, doing, crafting. Like one giant open atelier – cool huh?! Indeed!  I will tell you more about it very soon.

I am very excited to announce another rather exclusive event that will be held in Amsterdam this month in celebration of the worldwide release of Amsterdam: Made by Hand…

With many thanks to boekhandel van Rossum , I’ll be taking 15 willing participants on one of my favourite wanders in the book on Saturday, June 19. yeah!! We will start at van Rossum bookstore, hop on the tram to de pijp and wander through the pretty backstreets to visit with some of the boutiques and studios featured in wander 10 (page 150). This is your chance to meet the artisans and shop owners directly through me, get a glimpse at what is on their worktables, buy little handmade, one-of-a-kind treasures (there will be many temptations!!) and be inspired. Along the way I’ll take you into some of my other secret boutique stops (that are not in the book!).

After that, we will head back to van Rossum bookstore and enjoy some afternooon tea out in the courtyard…

Excited? me too! If you would like to join this exclusive wander, please reserve your place by letting me know a.s.a.p by sending me an email as there are only a limited number of places left. We will rendez vous out the front of van Rossum at 2pm on Saturday, June 19 and I estimate the wander to be around 2 hours. For those who can’t make the wander but would like to join us for afternoon tea, we can meet you back at van Rossum at around 4pm.

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What? join me on an exclusive wander to visit some of the boutiques featured in Amsterdam: Made by Hand.

Where? meet me at van Rossum bookstore, Beethovenstraat 32 | 1077 JH Amsterdam | Tel.: 020-4707077

When? Saturday, June 19 at 2pm.

Cost? free! except you need to pay for your own tram ride.

Please note: this wander is only available for 15 people so to reserve your place you need to send me an email and I will send you a reply to confirm your reservation. This event is “first come first served” so be sure to reserve your place pronto.