12 Countries Spotlight in Holland : Nina van de Goor

Last year, I travelled to the Netherlands, visited Amsterdam, and made a day trip out to Den Bosch to meet  Nina Van de Goor, a delightfully talented Dutch mixed media artist. I took the above photo of Nina and her daughter Rosa in Nina's lovely, colorful apartment.

This is a more recent photo of Nina with a swinging Rosa made only a couple of weeks ago. Yes, Nina is now pregnant with baby number two, due to arrive this month, congratulations! Or maybe the new baby is already here? How time flies...

Nina showed me several examples of her gorgeous ceramic work, which she creates using vintage ceramic pieces and her own screen printed illustrations and designs.

We had tea and cookies while I marveled at Nina's delightful cups and tiles

sometimes personalized

sometimes whimsical

and sometimes incorporating the vintage designs with the new.

Nina also creates cheerful illustrations, posters, and cards

and even adorable children's clothes (lucky Rosa!)

Every corner of Nina's apartment is thoughtfully composed

each shelf with its own character

 

the window sills brightened by still lives

an eclectic mix of modern design and antique furniture

and me busily trying to get photos of it all.

I had the privilege of peeking into Nina's home studio

and seeing first hand the collage method of how she creates her designs

as she demonstrated her interesting work process.

We had a lively conversation throughout our interview, then we took a stroll through Nina's hometown of Den Bosch

where I admired the historic architecture

the cute boutique shops

and the peaceful atmosphere outside the local cathedral.

Nina insisted that I try the local specialty of Den Bosch, called a "Bossche bol" - a cream filled pastry shell covered with dark chocolate! It was huge, so we agreed to split one.

Rosa was not impressed, but I will admit that the Bossche bol was very decadent and delicious.

After our treat, I said goodbye to Nina and Rosa, my head still spinning with sugar, and I took the train back to Amsterdam. 

I had some time to gaze out at the vast sky and open spaces, and I was reminded of the many Dutch landscape painters of the past. I could understand why they were inspired to capture these views in paint, breathtaking in their depth.

*****

You can connect with Nina on her popular blog, pinterest, and Flickr, then see more of her work in her Etsy shop. 

You'll also find more of Nina's artwork and many photo tours of her inspiring home on IKEA Family, sfgirlbybay, decor8, apartment therapy, and artists who blog. Nina was even featured on a Dutch design tv show - you can see the video here.

Thank you Nina for your time and generous hospitality in Den Bosch, and I am wishing you lots of love and joy with your growing family!

xoxo

Stephanie

12 Countries Spotlight in Holland : Dana Komjaty

Meeting artist Dana Komjaty in Amsterdam was a special treat. We drank tea and chatted for a long time in a local cafe. Dana's sense of humor and whimsy is a delight to experience in person and in her work.

Dana studied art and fashion design, and she never ceases to amaze me with the variety and amount of artwork she produces. Her latest collection is much more monochrome than in the past, and includes a lovely series of monoprints, such as her Black Braided Girl an original work found in her LeiLiLaLoo online shop.

I also especially love Catching the Feather

You and Me

The Carnival

and Diamond Mountain.

She has also been creating new, poetic ink drawings like I travelled many miles

and with collage elements The rain dried my tears.

New in the shop are hand printed, naturally dyed, one of a kind scarves, like this one

and this one, more in her shop.

There are also whimsical pillows

and lovely, unusual embroidered drawings on linen.

Wow, Dana, you have been busy in 2012, congratulations on all your beautiful artwork!

You can connect with Dana on her wonderful blog, on Pinterest, and Etsy.

Read more about her story and our meeting in Amsterdam here.

xoxo

Stephanie

12 Countries Spotlight in Austria : Manuela Buxer

Manuela Buxer, the co-creator of the young Austrian label good morning - midnight was another talented designer I met up with while in Vienna. Manuela has been busy creating lots of beautiful new designs in the meantime, and showing regularly at design fairs and shows.

The latest collection is called "i color the sky with you" and you can see more behind the scenes about this collection on Manuela's blog. I especially love this dress in tones of gray

and in white. 

Both dresses (and more) are available online in the good morning - midnight Etsy shop and on Dawanda.

Manuela getting everything ready with her model at her latest photo shooting.

The lovely photos were taken by Hanna Tögel.

Another recent collection has the appropriate title "daydreaming through another winter."

One the good morning - midnight website, each piece has a poetic title. For instance, the dress above is phrased: "i seem to have forgotten the warmth of the sun"

"hiding in the park"

"everybody's trying to make us / another century of fakers"

"our aspirations are wrapped up in books"

"with the lights out, we sing"

"i'm romantic by design"

 

"always waiting for the summer sun"

"kiss before the credits"

"could you tell me what it means to plan"

There are even stylish shirts and pants for guys, such as

"summer ends"

"je pense de temps en temps d'une vie d'aventures"

"here's an alibi. we love the voices don't know why"

Don't designer pieces like this make you want to go out and redo your wardrobe? 

I'm usually a person who wears a lot of black and/or bright colors, but the good morning - midnight collections make me think that I might need to start expanding my personal palette to more grays, whites, and neutrals.

To connect with Manuela and her creative, expanding new label, you can visit her shop, blog, facebook page, and twitter.

Thank you Manuela for taking the time to meet up with me! More about our conversation in Vienna last year, plus a selection of Manuela's favorite blogs here.

xoxo

Stephanie

Next up: we'll visit Amsterdam and Den Bosch to visit several Dutch artists and crafters!