EXISTENZ MAXIMUM 2013

existenz maximum via au pays des merveilles

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know my love for Existenz, the organization of first master students of architecture in Leuven, who make it their goal for the year to turn an abandoned building into a playground for everyone who loves art and architecture (and an occasional drink and dance), and this for only one week.  As every year, this year’s edition was a blast.  The location, the old bottling plant of Stella Artois, was breath-takingly beautiful (that light!) and I think the photos show it well, which explains the photo overload after the jump. (In case you can’t tell: I got myself a new camera (canon eos 650d) and I’m thrilled with its results!) 

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PRETTY THINGS: go green

pretty things: go green via au pays des merveilles

Since the Belgian weather isn’t really co-operating on giving us some spring, we have to do it ourselves, by bringing some green into our homes for instance.

  1. I love this ‘living wall’ created by urban landscaper Kari Elwell Katzander of Mingo Design.  Gives you some green, some light and some privacy.  Perfect.  More photos of this house here.
  2. These concrete planters seem like an easy DIY, but if you’re a bit lazy: you can also buy them at Joanna Wojtkowiak’s etsy.
  3. Jeremie Egry and Aurelien Arbet did a series called Underground, consisting of plants growing in the most unlikely places, such as these books, a cap and a jean jacket.
  4. You can use this mobile prism as is, but it is also the perfect size to hold air plants.  I’m kind of confused about what exactly air plants might be (or more exactly, what they live from), but it looks really pretty.  You can buy this ‘Himmeli’ (referring to the finish tradition of celebrating the winter solstice and serving as a means of good fortune for the future, Himmeli is swedish for sky, or heaven) here.
  5. Textile designer Isabel Wilson lives in a gorgeous home filled with plants, and -as they always do- freunde von freunden captured it beautifully.  More here.
  6. Beautiful hanging vases by textile and fashion designer Jurgen Lehl.
  7. These hanging copper and brass vases by The Workshop Gallery are handcrafted.  So beautiful.
  8. What about these wonderful concrete and steel vases that do a pretty good job keeping your single flower straight?

More ideas can be found in this and this old post, or in my pinterest.

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IMPRESSIONS OF HOME

via au pays des merveillescover of a magazine to celebrate the anniversaries of the Sint-Lukas schools of fine art, flyer for Doclisboa (documentary film festival in Lisbon) and a flyer for an exhibition by Kristof Luyckx and Tim Enthoven at the Alley gallery in Hasselt

After spending 5 months in Lisbon, I came back to the same room in Leuven.  Almost every wall in this room used to be covered with photo frames, postcards, posters and everything else that reminded me of beautiful memories.  Since I’m only living here for a few more months, I didn’t feel like spending hours putting everything back up (and taking all of it back down afterwards…), but the empty version of what had been my home for the past years, only reminded me of how much I missed Lisbon.  So I moved some furniture around and put up some different stuff, making it feel like I was living in a new place.  And it worked!

via au pays des merveilles

scratch world map I got for my birthday from friends (available at Urban Outfitters)  and a deer head from Tiger bought in Lisbon
photos of the ocean and the Tejo above my bed (I promise I will do a post about those later!)

via au pays des merveillespineapple postcard for the exhibition New York is an Island by Lucas Knipscher

via au pays des merveillesorigami bird I got from a guitar playing stranger I met at miradouro da Santa Catarina in Lisbon (a viewpoint seen before here and here)

via au pays des merveillesthrifted saucer, pretty rock from Morocco found by a friend, cd’s from bonobo, portico quartet, james blake, balthazar and the black keys (all new since I got back, oops, but I recommend all of them), graphic novel ‘Binnenskamers’ by Tim Enthoven (birthday gift from my sister), ‘It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be‘ by Paul Arden (recommended!)

via au pays des merveillesDIY lamp, reminding me of our amazing Existenz week

photos by me

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ITHAKA

ithaka via au pays des merveilles

Last year I was very impressed by Ithaka (a yearly exhibition of visual arts organized by students), so this year I had to check it out again.  Unfortunately I was a little bit disappointed, (maybe because of the location that wasn’t nearly as impressive as the one from last year?) but these balloons filled with colored pigment by Laurens Mariën kind of made up for it.

ithaka via au pays des merveilles

ithaka via au pays des merveillesphotos by me

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SAUDADE

igreja do carmo, lisbon via au pays des merveillesSadly, these are the last photos of Lisbon I have left to share with you… The only post, reminding of my 5 month Erasmus in this wonderful city, that I have yet to prepare for you, is an overview of all the amazing places I have discovered there.  The emails I’ve been getting from you, tell me that this would be very helpful!  (Although I’m still happy to share my thoughts and tips via email with you, so don’t be shy.)  Anyway, these photos are from the time the lovely people from Existenz (I used to be one of them, 2 years ago) spent in Lisbon, while travelling through Portugal.  I sacrificed one precious day of my last 2 weeks in this city to show them around (with the help of a friend who has some tour guide experience) and take them to my favorite places in the city.  Here you see glimpses of Igreja do Carmo (or at least it’s floor), Alfama and the breathtaking view from Miradouro da Senhora do Monte.

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FRAGMENTS_ costa da caparica

costa da caparica via au pays des merveilles

My friend’s last day in Portugal (sadly he had to go back to Belgium too, but I was smart enough to book my flight one week later) was spent doing what he loved the most: surfing at costa da caparica.  It was the first time I went to this surfer’s beach (quite the trip as well with all the public transport problems we had) and it was really calm that day.  Not the best day for surfing (which I can’t, unless you give me a board with a sail and some wind), but the view was beau-ti-ful.  I still can’t get over how beautiful and fascinating the ocean is, and I wish I’d live closer to the sea here in Belgium.  (Although it probably takes as long to get from Lisbon to the ocean as from my side of Belgium to the coast due to the slow trains in Lisbon, but it felt different, it felt like you were constantly aware of how close it was.)

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PRETTY THINGS: light bulbs

pretty lightbulbs via au pays des merveilles

Despite – or maybe even thanks to?- the energy saving lamp, designers have been focusing their attention to the classic light bulb for a while, giving it new shapes or putting it in the spotlight with beautiful sockets.  I’ve collected my favorites for you!

  1. With some help from a talented grandmother, you might be able to make your own version of this knitted lamp from byBLINE, no?
  2. If you’ve got some swedish up your sleeve (or google translate on your side) you can figure out how to DIY this golden beauty.
  3. The beautiful Marble Light Collection by studio vit. (source)
  4. Small Spica by Iacoli & McAllister gives a beautiful light bulb all the attention it deserves.
  5. This mint version is my favorite, but Muuto’s E27 pendant lamp is available in many other colors as well.
  6. Noam Rappaport puts the light bulb in the spotlight with just some wood and plastic cables.
  7. I think I featured this one on the blog before, but Ferro Watt produces the most beautiful lightbulbs, based on Edison’s authentic design.  The beautiful packaging is a bonus.
  8. Base is a design from the NUD collection, and nothing more than a lightbulb with a beautiful concrete socket and a cord that comes in 44 colors.
  9. The atelier lamp by Frama is a beautiful twist on the regular lightbulb.  Available here.
  10. Eric Therner’s Diamond Light has been going around the blogosphere for a while, but I had to include this one!  You can buy a similar one here.
  11. This work lamp inspired golden girl is available here, but I have to admit I really like the classic work lamp as a design element too.  (It’s a pity I can’t remember where I have seen this being used…)

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THE OTHER SIDE

the other side of the rio Tejo via au pays des merveilles

Twice I ventured to the other side of the rio Tejo, this time for a friends’ goodbye party.  Naturally this went together with a picnic in one of the old ruins, accompanied by lots of live music (both on real and improvised instruments found along the road), cheap wine, a gorgeous view on Lisbon and a breathtaking sunset over the Tejo.  How I miss my beautiful city and my beautiful friends.

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PRETTY THINGS: DIY ideas

PRETTY THINGSI came home from my Erasmus in Portugal with no money and the good intentions of buying less and recycling/DIY’ing more.  A plan that is surprisingly easy to stick too, if only I had a little bit more time on my hands to execute every idea!  Anyways, I’ve already had a lot of fun creating birthday gifts and redecorating my room, so I figured it’s time to let you in on all the fun.  It wasn’t an easy task to limit this list to just 8 ideas, so feel free to take a look at my pinterest board and these old posts.

  1. This kit introduces you to the art of Japanese bookbinding, although I’m sure with a little bit of google work you can find the right tutorials and start without the kit.
  2. I’m obsessed with decorations in concrete and combined with gold, I’m lost for sure.  Beau-ti-ful!  (source)
  3. Surely I’m not the only one who’s having trouble keeping her jewelry collection in order (at the moment I taped my necklaces to the wall with bits of colorful washi tape, not for heavy necklaces though!), and this branch display seems like the perfect way to do it.  And it’s gold! (source)
  4. A simple shirt and some scissors make for this gorgeous cut out top.  Easy-peasy!
  5. Throw in some architectural references in an interior and I’ll love it, so this skyline made out of what seems to be electrical cord is surely a winner in my book.  (source)
  6. All you need for this is simple white mugs and a porcelain marker.  I’ve tested this myself as a gift for my sister’s birthday and it has been approved!  You don’t even need a really steady hand, there are tons of simple designs anyone can do.  I pinned a lot of inspiring designs on my diy pinterest board and miss Mangelmoes even devoted a whole board to painted porcelain, so no excuses! (source)
  7. More branches!  I already declared my love to branches in interiors years ago, and my opinion hasn’t changed.  How beautiful is this lamp ornament?  (source)
  8. If you’re too lazy, you can buy this black and gold clutch here, but this shouldn’t be too hard to have a go at yourself.

Enough rambling, go get crafty!

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PORTO

porto via au pays des merveilles

Our road trip ended in Porto.  I visited this city before, but this time the weather was a bit of a letdown, despite having had the most amazing weather during the rest of the trip.  But no harm done, we managed to get inside casa da musica (which wasn’t possible the first time I was there) and visited the museum and park of Serralves.  And of course the next morning, when we had to go home to return the car, the weather was wonderful again!

porto via au pays des merveilles

porto via au pays des merveilles

porto via au pays des merveilles

porto via au pays des merveilles

roadtrip via au pays des merveilles

porto via au pays des merveillesall photos by me

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