As I’m currently spending the majority of my time either behind the camera or behind my computer, I figured I’d show you a glimpse of the kind of projects I photograph for a living. Last winter, I shot the brand new hearing center Foon in Leuven, designed by Edith Macken (who I’ve worked with before here) and Pinkeye Design Studio. Having hearing protection made to measure is not exactly the most pleasant experience (been there, done that), but it’s certainly no punishment when it takes place in an interior like this. So if you’re ever in Leuven: take care of those ears of yours and enjoy this beautiful interior while you’re at it.
If you’re in need of a new haircut but don’t feel like wasting time sitting around waiting for your hairdresser to be done with the previous client, I recommend you to pay a visit to De Kapbar in Leuven. Owner Lisa might still be young, but she damn sure knows what she wants! This gal launched her very own hairdressing salon, where you can enjoy a drink in the bar while you’re waiting for your turn. Sipping on your cup of coffee surrounded by brick walls, white wooden floors and vintage furniture, you’ll feel at home instantly, but most important: Lisa won’t mess up your hair. I wouldn’t dare to recommend something I haven’t tried for myself, so I took the plunge and let Lisa work her magic on my hair. I can honestly say that you’re in good hands with Lisa, so if you’re locks need some help, De Kapbar is the way to go, and while you’re in Leuven anyway, give these places a try too.
De Kapbar, Naamsestraat 55, 3000 Leuven - facebook
Monochrome and marble paradise LIV in Leuven is yet another place in this city that I wanted to share. Those who know me in real life, know that I prefer to go through life dressed in black and white, so this bright and beautiful store owned by the like minded Evelyn had to be included in my city guide of Leuven. Providing you with French and Scandinavian brands such as By malene Birger, Anine Bing, Samsoe&Samsoe, The kooples, Vanessa Bruno athé and L:A bruket, LIV never fails to disappoint. Sure, this stop is not for those with a small budget, but if you value quality over quantity, LIV should definitely be on your schedule for your next trip to Leuven or your next round of web shopping.
Whenever Existenz Maximum takes place, I always try to make some time to see what the first Master of architecture students in Leuven have achieved, and it’s never a disappointment. I’m just showing you a few fragments of last year’s edition in an abandoned school building (above left you see my photos at the expo about 20 years of Existenz Maximum) in hopes of getting you excited about the upcoming project week filled with architecture related lectures, workshops and good times. Looking at the program that they just released, discovering this year’s edition is a must if you’re spending time in Leuven next week. And while you’re at it… try visiting these places too.
If the combination of white walls and marble already makes your heart flutter, try adding some pink terrazzo and an abundance of plants to the mix and you’ll end up in the wonderful world of Thelma Coffee & Design in Leuven. Former dentist Katrien Vandenberghe always had a passion for interior design and was already freelancing left and right for interior projects, when she decided to follow her dream. As of today she is treating the city of Leuven to a new hangout that blends coffee, design and fashion into a perfect mix. Thelma, named after her daughter, offers a collection of foremost Belgian and Scandinavian brands (with something for everybody’s budget) in a beautiful bright space, created with the help of Lino from that other Leuven gem Koffie & Staal. After spending all your money on LN Knits, Sternum necklaces, Phyt plants (remember the beautiful home of owner Sofie?) and Serax, you can take a seat and enjoy a cup of Mok coffee, a bowl of soup or some granola.
If I haven’t convinced you yet, just take a look at the pictures below and you’ll find yet another reason to plan a visit to Leuven. Need another push? We’re handing out a gift card worth €50 on instagram!
After living in Leuven for five and a half years, I owed it to this tiny but lovely city to gather the best spots in town for a city guide. Leuven might not be big, but it does have a lot to offer, whether you’re looking for modern or historical architecture, fashion, design, music, art or nature. So pick a date for a visit and take this city guide along with you! (As always there’s a helpful map at the end of this post and I’ll update this guide whenever I discover something new.)
Even though I’ve lived in Leuven for more than 5 years, I somehow never managed to make it to the Kruidtuin, the city’s botanical garden. When I recently spent a weekend in my student city with my friend Paulien, we had to pay a visit . Leuven’s botanical garden is the oldest in the country, dating back to 1738, when it was founded by the university for its medicine students. Nowadays the garden with its beautiful greenhouse and orangery is the perfect spot to escape the city, take a relaxing walk between the plants, have an indoor pick-nick in the orangery or simply enjoy the sun and the view on one of the garden’s benches. A must if you’re spending some time in this city! If a visit to Leuven isn’t for the near future, you can discover more botanical gardens I’ve blogged about here.
When I was invited to spend a weekend in Leuven, there was one place on the top of my to do list: Koffie en Staal. This coffee bar with its beautiful interior had popped up on my radar a while ago, but I hadn’t managed to visit it yet. With delicious coffee from other Leuven favorite Mok and a focus on biological and local food, it’s not that hard to make it onto my to do list, but that wasn’t the main reason for my visit. Creative couple Nouchka Nemes and Lino Van Molle have created a gem of a coffee bar that offers quite a bit more than your regular flat white, as the name Koffie en Staal – coffee and steel – implies. Not only your taste buds will be satisfied by coming here, but so will your eyes!
Nouchka (graduated as an interior architect and furniture designer) and Lino (skilled at steel welding and wood working) prove that sometimes one plus one really does equal three, as they are combining their forces to create beautiful furniture under the name of Nono. Their creations are not only shining in their own bar, but before I ever heard of Koffie & Staal, they already caught my eye at several other places, including Bar Stan and even my favorite Lisbon hangout Café Tati. (It seems like we’ve got a past in my favorite Portuguese city in common.) Their furniture is for sale in the bar, but if that doesn’t tickle your fancy, you still don’t have to leave empty handed. That’s right, Koffie en Staal not only sells beautiful pieces of furniture but also carries Nusj, Nouchka’s jewelry collection. Reasons enough to put Koffie en Staal on your to do list, I’d say. With the combination of running an eco-friendly coffee house and designing, making and selling both furniture and jewelry, they’ve not only managed to create a lovely hangout, but my dream job as well. Jealous, who? Me?
When Accor hotels invited me to spend the weekend in Leuven, it felt like the perfect opportunity to rediscover my former hometown. I’ve lived in Leuven for five years during my architecture studies and even though it felt too small after my return from Lisbon, I’ve always loved living there. While Leuven really is small, it also has a lot of things to offer. There’s a lively creative scene with talented musicians and artists, each year the architecture students of the first master turn an abandoned building upside down for Existenz, while the students from Loko do the same for Ithaka, you’ll find lots of beautiful architecture – both old and new – in the streets of Leuven and (not unimportant) food and drinks are quite affordable thanks to the many students here.
Paulien and I stayed in the Hotel ibis Budget Leuven centrum, which turned out to be the perfect starting point for our weekend as it is located next to the city’s train station and close to pretty much everything. (And for architecture lovers: it has some pretty interesting concrete detailing on the facade!) As the big draw was taking place in the city during that weekend, it was the perfect moment to stroll through the streets of Leuven and admire the many beautiful drawings in the shop windows, take numerous coffee breaks, explore the antique and artisan markets, devour delicious vegetarian hot dogs, get a new haircut and enjoy the sun and beautiful plants in the botanical garden.
We discovered a lot of interesting new places that popped up since I left the city (I already blogged about one here), so I’ll soon share them here in a city guide and highlight my favorites in their own blogpost. For now I already wanted to share a few fragments of the atmosphere in Leuven and inspire you to book your very own getaway to this lovely tiny city.
During our weekend in Leuven, my friend Paulien and I stopped by Animaux Spéciaux. This beautiful shop had only been open for two days and owner Jeroen Lemaitre was still getting used to his new surroundings, moving things around, asking my friend to hold a stuffed parrot so he could screw it into the wall and discussing possible future alterations to the shop with us. At Animaux Speciaux you can get a peek into the fascinating world of taxidermy and see Jeroen’s work and work process up close. While stuffed animals might be seen as creepy curiosa by some, Jeroen succeeds to take taxidermy to a higher level. With the right frames, backgrounds and sometimes even a layer of gold paint, he turns animals that would otherwise have died an inglorious death into intriguing pieces of art. That’s right, most of these animals are either roadkill or died from disease or age.
It’s not a craft that is easy to start with, and that is what makes Animaux Speciaux such a fascinating world of its own. Intrigued with framed butterflies, Jeroen learned how to treat insects through youtube videos. Thanks to enthusiastic reactions from friends and family, his newfound hobby soon turned into a passion and he was eager to learn how to stuff other animals as well. After his job contract ended, Jeroen decided the time was right to follow his dreams and landed an internship in the Netherlands with an experienced taxidermist.
Fast forward to the present and it’s clear that Jeroen has found his calling. Although he finds it hard sometimes to sell his creations, he doesn’t hesitate to share his craftsmanship with others: on Sundays he teaches how to stuff baby ostriches. Curious yet? Have a look at the pictures below to get pulled into the Animaux Speciaux atmosphere, or head to Leuven to experience his world (including jungle sounds) for yourself.
With all of its nooks and corners where you can hide from other bar guests, the Metafoor in Leuven easily makes you feel as if you’re visiting a friend’s place. This pub is located around the corner of the busy Oude Markt, but feels much more laidback and relaxed than any place you’d find on Leuven’s most famous square. The Metafoor is the perfect spot to gather your entire group of friends around a table, indulge in long conversations and try the wide variety of Belgian beers that they offer. Locals love watching the people passing by from their terrace, spending a lazy afternoon playing boardgames or getting cosy into their sofa to read the newspaper. It’s up to you how you want to spend your time here, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!
With brands as Sessùn, Numph, Komono and Nudie, it’s inevitable you’ll find something pretty at Wear in Leuven. Here you’ll always find quality street wear, beautiful shoes and surprising accessories, and all of that for both men and women. I’ll have to warn you though, these photos have been taken almost a year ago, so if you’re heading to find items you spotted in these pics, you might be just a little bit too late. (Sorry!) However, this proves that it is about time I catch up with Leuven’s latest additions. Thus, in a few weeks I’ll be spending another weekend in Leuven to check out some new places and finish up the city guide for Leuven I’ve been mentally preparing for the past year. If you have some tips, do let me know! In the meantime, I’m already looking forward to checking out the new collection at Wear… The sneak peeks they regularly post on their facebook page look quite promising, so go check it out for yourself!
Wear Leuven, Van Benedenstraat 5, 3000 Leuven - facebook
When I was still living in Leuven, I was getting used to drinking coffee by adding lots of whipped cream and sweet syrups, so Koffie Onan was not my place to go for my caffeine sugar fix. However, I have thankfully learned my lesson by now and abandoned the whipped cream. Now I know that for a decent cup of coffee in Leuven, Koffie Onan is the right destination. They offer a large selection of coffee and tea, displayed in the large wall unit, and if you still feel that need for a sugar rush, you can get yourself one of those delicious brownies at the bar. If you’ve been exploring the shops at the Parijsstraat and don’t feel like having a disappointing cup of coffee at Leuven’s famous and thus often too crowded “Oude Markt”, Koffie Onan is the perfect place to take a break!
Giraffe 2 is the bigger and younger sister of Giraffe Records and Clothing, which has been the place to be for streetwear, spraycans, lomography and of course records for many years. Two years ago, owner Bram Wijgerde opened their second and bigger store on Leuven’s main shopping street. Here the women’s collections get a little bit more attention, but you can also find men’s clothing, sneakers and all kinds of accessories. It’s the place to be in Leuven if you’re tired of high street chains and looking to be dressed from head to toe in something new from brands such as Vans, Komono, Kling and Herschel.
Giraffe 2, Bondgenotenlaan 128, 3000 Leuven - facebook
Giraffe Records and Clothing, Diestsestraat 215, 3000 Leuven - facebook
In the two and a half years since micro-roastery Mok opened its doors in Leuven, they surely have left their mark on the city’s coffee culture. They started out as a roastery with an espresso machine to offer their customers a taste of their product. Since then, owner Jens Crabbé had to move the roastery to a bigger venue. At the original location you can now find a shop and a coffee bar, where you can try all the different varieties. (Or you can enjoy their product in the many places that have the delicious Mok coffee on their menu, like Bar Stan.)
Mok is located close to the railway station of Leuven (although you can argue that everything is close to the station in this tiny city), which makes it the ideal spot to start or end a visit to Leuven with. Their terrace, looking over the more quiet part of one of Leuven’s main shopping streets, is perfect for a sunny afternoon of people watching, or you can head inside for a cozy coffee break in their welcoming interior. Or, give Mok a go for after work drinks, because these busy bees recently launched their very own Mok Ale!
UPDATE: Mok’s interior has been completely redone by none other than Wøti, whose home you’ve seen here. Have a look at Mok’s instagram to catch a peek and make sure to visit Mok Brussels, designed by Wøti, Gijs Van Vaerenbergh and Nono & het Staal, who have all been featured on the blog before. Au pays des merveilles approved!
If you’ve ever lived or studied in Leuven, you’re bound to know De Werf. This babbel en knabbelcafé (“babble and nibble café”) is every student’s favorite. With its quirky interior, filled with construction tools (referring to their name, which translates as “the construction site”) and retro knick-knacks, combined with the huge terrace where everybody gets their own blanket, it’s hard not to love this place. On top of that, their menu and the presentation of the dishes matches perfectly with the quirkiness of the interior. The food at De Werf is served in lunch boxes, plastic children’s cups or paper bags and their coffee comes in a giant thermos flask, perfect to share with friends. If you ask for freshly squeezed orange juice, you get oranges, a glass and your very own juicer: do it yourself at it’s finest! De Werf offers the choice between “tomato soup with meat balls” and “meat balls with tomato soup”, depending on which ingredient you like the most. Also recommended are their their delicious desserts and their tasty herb bread with feta cheese, my personal favorite. It’s nearly impossible to leave this place unhappy, so if you’re in Leuven and in need of a little pick-me-up, you know where to go!
De Werf, Hogeschoolplein 5, 3000 Leuven - website - facebook
Four locals were convinced that Leuven was still missing something, so they decided to fill the gap themselves. And they were right, as Bar Stan was an immediate success! I regret that this place only emerged in Leuven after I moved to Antwerp, but whenever I’m in Leuven, I try to stop by to enjoy their living room atmosphere. Bar Stan is located in a more residential area of the city and makes you feel at home right away with their picture perfect interior, filled with artwork by locals. You can come here any time of the day, as they offer breakfast, coffee, lunch, after work drinks and dinner, and you can even borrow a picnic basket and blanket to enjoy your order on the grass on the other side of the street. What’s not to love?
A new academic year means a new Existenz team and new Existenz cafés. Since I don’t live in Leuven anymore, these cafés are the perfect excuse to go back and catch up with old friends. (I even wished I could fly back for an evening of Existenz festivities when I was living in Lisbon.) This year’s opening event was called Kaffee Weltevree and took place in the courtyard of our beloved castle (the home of Leuven’s architecture department). The combination of the fairy tale like surroundings, the live music, the friends I hadn’t seen in a while and the obligatory beers resulted in a great evening. I’ve called this city home for five and a half years and nights like this remind me why.
(You can find Existenz on facebook here to stay up to date with their activities.)
Here’s an analog diary of what I’ve been up to these last months, from the first ‘terrasje’ of the year (drinks outside on a terrace), to a Float Fall concert in bilbo for record store day (listen here), to M-idzomer festival in Museum M, the stairs of Leuven’s central library where I have been studying the past weeks, to a rooftop barbecue in Antwerp literally hours after I got back from Paris (best welcome back to Belgium!), to everyday sights in Leuven (like the plant filled windows that I pass almost daily, another confettismiley that I discovered only now thanks to a friend and the castle of Arenberg where our design studios are located) and one last view at Museum M, when I went to see my photos for the first time with my sister. I might have complained a lot about missing Lisbon and being back in same-old Belgium, but looking back, this doesn’t look so bad now does it? All thanks to my wonderful friends who make Belgium feel just a little bit warmer…
Some of you might know that during the past academic year, I was chosen to represent my faculty (engineering sciences at the university of Leuven) as an artist in residence. Together with the other ‘faculty stars’ (each in their own discipline), I got to attend workshops and had the chance to display some of my photos in the halls of the university. However, the cherry on the cake is our current exhibition: me and the four other photographers have our work up on the walls of museum M! I’d love to hear what you think, so if you’re in the neighborhood, stop by to take a look at our photos in the entrance hall (that means it’s for free, so no excuses!) and check out the museum too, the rest of the collection ain’t that bad either. (Our photos will be displayed until August 11, so you’ve got a week and a half!)
Now that I have your attention: I’m also looking for an affordable room in a fun house in Antwerp as I’m leaving Leuven behind in September (or even at the end of August if I find something sooner). If you’ve got some tips, shoot me an email!
Here’s a bonus photo of me looking very proud in front of my photos:
Unfortunately, it’s that time of the year again: the exams are coming up, so us students are locked up behind our books and not allowed to think about anything else, like… let’s say blogging. Which means it’s probably going to be (even more) quiet here in the next few weeks, especially since these are the last photos I saved up to share with you. Today I’m sharing a little bit of randomness: my favourite boots on the grass during that first day of spring back in march, some impressions of Antwerp during a school trip (luckily on one of those other rare spring days), the view on Leuven from the top of this year‘s Existenz location and Portico Quartet in the AB, one of the few concerts I’ve done since I got back (I’m saving up to go back to Lisbon!) but definitely one worth remembering. There were very few tickets sold, resulting in a very intimate concert in the AB club covered in twinkling lights and a little talk with the super friendly band afterwards. I’m ending this with ‘Ruins’ by Portico Quartet, because even though I loved how intimate the concert was, they deserve a much bigger audience!
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!)
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.
Actually these photos were taken a long time ago, when the Belgian summer showed it’s face a little earlier than expected (and disappeared for way too long after that!) Leuven can look so good when the sun shines!
Last week, I showed you the beautiful gardens of the Carthusian monastery, and today it’s time for the inside of this abandoned building and the artwork displayed at the festival. I don’t remember the artists, but if you’re interested, you can take a look at the ithaka website.
Last week, I visited Ithaka, a visual arts festival in an abandonned building in Leuven, organized by students. This year, Ithaka celebrated its 20th anniversary and occupied the old carthusian monastery. When I arrived at the monastery, I was mind blown by the fact that such a beautiful location existed in Leuven and I wasn’t aware of it at all. So today, I have a few photos of the gorgeous garden for you, and next week I’ll flood you with lots of photos of the inside and the displayed art. (More information about ithaka and the monastery here.)
Yesterday I showed you how amazing the Existenz Maximum location looked this year, today I’ll give you an impression of what happened there at night… There was a lot of dancing, making new friends (preferably with tiger socks), dressing up to do the lindy hop, cosmic leggings and surprised people gazing out the window at the construction workers who started destroying the other part of the building while we hadn’t made it to our beds yet. What a week!
Remember this? Like every year, the Existenz Maximum week took place in an abandoned building in Leuven, this time the old management buildings of Stella were the place to be. Unlikelast year, I’m no part of the Existenz team anymore, which meant I could fully enjoy all of it! Of course I never let an opportunity pass by to take photograph or two, so here’s a first small (hmm) selection!
I told you I would keep an eye out for more confetti smiles! I discovered three more confetti smiles in my city Leuven. If you want to see them for yourselves: the first one was in the Parijsstraat, on the side facade of the Metafoor, the other’s are in the Charles Deberiotstraat on the left side of the parc, in the parc on the backside of the stage and in the Leopold Vanderkelenstraat, next to Museum M. Such adorable street art, this surely turns a smile on my face every time I cross one of these!
I’m done with interior design and photography deadlines, but the next 5 weeks will be spent behind my books, studying for my exams. I’ll try to update regularly though, once in a while I need a break after all! Luckily I have something to look forward too, as I’m going to Morocco for a week when I’m done with my exams. Should be good! (And warm… Yay.)
This photo was taken in my city Leuven, somebody is decorating the city with happy confetti smiles, which cheers me up every time I cross it. I’ll try to document as many smiles as possible!
YARD is a lovely boutique / gallery in Leuven, offering gorgeous stuff from various young designers and artists, so if you’re looking for a unique addition to your wardrobe, an original gift or a one-of-a-kind piece of art, this is where you should be! For more info, you can take a look at their website or webshop.
My apologies for being so absent on the blog lately, I’ve been having some trouble with settling down now my lessons have started again and getting everything done that needs to be done. But I’m back now! Last Sunday, ‘Dag van de architectuur’ took place in Flanders, on this particular day several buildings (both public and private) open their doors for lovers of architecture, and I was given the opportunity to photograph for the organization. They wanted photos that would show how much of a success this day was, portraying lots of interested people, but of course I couldn’t resist taking some photos of these beautiful buildings as well! These photos are from the openbaar entrepot voor de kunsten, a building belonged to the customs and now is the new home for several cultural initiatives, with rehearsal rooms, a theatre and a café. The industrial vibe made it one of my favorites!
This is ‘our castle’, where our design studios are located, and those are my fellow students enjoying the first day of the summer break and playing rugby. A lovely day it was.
No ‘things that make smile’ post today, since my ‘things that make me smile’ folder has disappeared… If you miss it, you can always take a look at my previous sunday posts here.
Instead, you get these photos from the lovely picnic me and my friends had during the summer. Good times.
Another museum! It seems like I spend all of my freetime in museums, buth I have to admit, all of these museums I have visited for the architecture rather than their collection, and most of these visits were for one of my courses! That aside, I really enjoy these visits. Anyway, this is Museum M, Leuven’s pride.
photos by me
