A while ago we were super hopeful that the world would be open for business again around the end of winter.

Alas, the new varieties of Covid are interfering, and thrown back into uncertainty, the ShowUP spring edition has been cancelled.

Seems like sadly we'll have to wait a bit longer before getting to show our latest projects to an audience.

Still, i'm fully convinced that by spring, we will be on the road of recovery and have a few new shows on the calendar.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

What is that saying? 'The night is always darkest before the dawn?'
Well, although the vaccination programmes are about to start (or even have started, in the UK), with the dark months of winter ahead of us, the Covid situation will probably get worse before it gets better.

I'm sooooo done with this! I guess everybody is, by now.
That's why we've decided to gloss over the depressing coming months, and focus on what will happen when we're about to enter a new spring: ShowUP!

Originally planned in February, the ShowUP organization decided to better be safe than sorry and moved the trade show to March 14-15.
With the vaccination programme in the Netherlands in full swing by then, we're confident the trade show will take place and we're looking forward to meeting many of you there.

Would be great to see you in Vijfhuizen when the spring is getting ready to bloom!

In many ways, this years' ShowUP (fall edition) couldn't have been scheduled at a better place or time: the forced venue-move to Brabanthallen Den Bosch meant many more professionals from Belgium and Germany braved the trip to the Netherlands. 
Whereas if ShowUP would've taken place in the normal location of Vijfhuizen, the international guests might have skipped the fair altogether to avoid the -at the time- Covid-red district around Amsterdam.

And, let's be clear: the fair took place just in time. And i mean JUST...
Thomas and i dismantled our display Monday evening while listening to the new Covid-measures by Prime Minister Rutte in the latest Corona press conference.
I'm not sure if ShowUP could've taken place had it been scheduled a week later.   

But it did: we got to go there and lots of people showed up and we got to meet so many interesting entrepreneurs and professionals!
Great to see so many people are not letting themselves get knocked down: Even in these trying times, many shops were ready and even eager to place orders for the gift-giving season that's ahead.
We will be updating our store locator soon!

Here you'll find a few images of the presentation we set up and the novelties we showcased.
We even had an Expo movie made to give you an idea of the athmosphere. It turned out a bit orange, and somehow Thomas managed to duck the camera, but at least you get an idea about the athmosphere.
Scroll down to check it out!

Couldn't make it to the fair and would love to learn more about wholesale possibilities of our designs, don't hesitate to get in touch!​

It's almost time to show up at ShowUP!
The Brabanthallen in Den Bosch will turn into an indy-brand trade show on Sunday September 27th and Monday September 28th, and we'll be part of it!

We're so happy that this trade show for Home & Gift is going to happen!
(At least, i'm writing this with less than two weeks to go, and we don't know what the situation will be in a few weeks, but for now it's all systems go!)

While we're frantically designing the booth and getting everything ready for a showcase of the House of Thol collection, we wanted to officially invite you to the show!
​
Entrance is free, but: ShowUP is a Trade Show and only accessible for professionals from the segments Home Deco, Gifts, Lifestyle and Kids.
Click the link below to visit the ShowUP page and register. 
Please note: this time the fair is taking place in the Brabanthallen in Den Bosch, so don't accidentally drive to Vijfhuizen...

We'd love to see you in the Brabanthallen and reconnect.
These past months have not been easy for anyone, and it looks like we're going to deal with the current situation for a while longer.
It'll be great to just talk to people and see how everyone is dealing with Corona and making the best of it in these trying times.
Both Thomas and i will be there both days and are looking forward to having a chat!

Won't be able to make it?
We'd love to be in touch and send you our catalogue.
Prefer to meet face to face? We'd love to chat via a video-connection.
Just pop us an e-mail to set it up!

ShowUP @ Brabanthallen
Diezekade 2
5222 AK Den Bosch

Opening hours:
Sunday September 27, 09:00 - 13:30 and 14:00 - 19:00 hrs
Monday September 28, 09:00 - 13:30 and 14:00 - 19:00 hrs
NB register soon to get yourself the best timeslot!

While working on the preparations for ShowUP Today, I stumbled upon a few old photographs and a blog-post from two years ago.
Turns out we officially launched the Flower Constellations on August 27th 2018. That's two years ago to the day!
Happy Birthday Flower Constellations!

On one hand the launch seems like Yesterday, while on the other i can hardly remember when we didn't have the Flower Constellations in our collection!
(Kind of like with kids, but without the actual humans growing)
(Come to think of it: hopefully without the terrible two's)

Over the last two years, the Flower Constellations brought us so much: not only a product to share with people all over the world, it also contributed to us winning the MKB Export Award last year and more recently to Thomas being able to quit his 1,5 day side-hussle as a teacher at the Willem de Kooning Academy and having both of us working (more than) full-time for House of Thol.⁣

Therefore we'd like to thank each and everyone of you who helped sharing the story of our Flower Constellations. ⁣
Together we can spread the love for easy green living.⁣
Thank you guys! On to the next crazy times!

To celebrate the Flower Constellations' birthday with you and help you spread the love, we've created a special discount code making it possible to order two Flower Constellations for €35,-: Keep one and gift one!

To get the discount, order your two Flower Constellations at shophouseofthol.nl and make sure to enter code '2for35' in the box on the bottom left at check-out.
Happy giving! 

Although at this moment it is not 100% certain ShowUP will be able to take place in September, we're very much hoping it will!
And we're hoping to see you there!

The organization set up a Covid-proof plan, there will be a route to follow, and visitor numbers will be managed.
Fingers crossed!

This is the first time the Tradefair will take place in the Brabanthallen in Den Bosch, which is a lot closer to the House of Thol headquarters than the Expo Haarlemmermeer. 

The fair will take place on Sunday September 27th and Monday September 28th, and can be visited by a professional audience between 09:00 and 18:00 both days.
More details will follow as soon as we know more about the fair happening!

For the latest news around ShowUP, check out <their website>.

Back in the Before, we shot this video for ABN AMRO with Freek Zonderland and his team. 
​We wrote this post about the 'making of', remember?
Oh what a different time it was: the middle of winter and no clue about Corona coming our way.
​
Some of the shots were already incorporated in this ABN AMRO promo that was launched halfway February.

After that Everything Changed, and ABN AMRO understandably waited for better times to launch the personal video's.
​
Although the current Corona mayhem is far from over, we're all looking forward fresh starts and positivity, which is why ABN AMRO released this video Today!

We hadn't seen the final cut before this either, and we're very happy with the way our sustainable House of Thol story comes across even in this short clip.
Also, the kids are super excited they're in this.

Many things changed since shooting the video.
In the world, obviously, but also at the House of Thol headquarters.
Out of necessity we upgraded the computer station to a full office (with a door), the workshop isn't nearly as organized as it was, and Thomas' hair grew to his shoulders.

We can't wait to be able to get to full working weeks again and steam on.
​This film coming out now, is a perfect boost for that.
Thank you ABN AMRO and everyone involved!

In the midst of our Dutch 'intelligent lockdown' we suddenly found ourselves in The Hague, albeit virtually.

The morning started with a frantic connection dance trying to get the video-calling to work, but by 11:00 we were all set for The Call.
Not just any call: The Call with Minister Sigrid Kaag for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.

We were honoured that Minister Kaag would take the time to have a little chat with us about the way we're impacted by the current situation, and in a graceful way officially pronounced us winners of the MKB Export Award.

Such a special moment!
Thank you to all parties involved: MKB Nederland, RVO, TNT, Language institute Regina Coeli and of course the Dutch Ministery of Foreign Affairs.

And we even managed to take a photograph with the minister. or.. kind of... 

The Jury of the MKB Export Award says in its (Dutch) press release we won because of the "beautiful combination of Dutch Design, sustainability and practical usability, that will do especially well abroad".

As a winner of the MKB Export Award we're receiving:
- A €15.000,- transport credit with TNT - giving us access to the worldwide shipping network on the road and in the air of TNT and FedEx Express.
- A one-year membership of MKB Nederland
- A Language course at language Institute Regina Coeli
- A Business Partner scan by RVO Netherlands  
And of course the exposure and PR attention that comes with winning this award.

Thank you very much MKB Export Award!
​We're aiming to work hard and make the most of the opportunities you're giving us.

Although winning the MKB Export Award in the middle of a global pandemic might not be ideal timing, we're confident that we will be able to share our work with the rest of the world, even if we couldn't make it to Milan this year. 

​In the conversation Minister Kaag mentioned possibilities of virtual trade missions. Which is something we would be very open towards. Not only at this moment of worldwide lockdowns, but also as a way to avoid unnecessary airtravel in the future.

With all large fairs cancelled, most prominently the Salone Del Mobile, it would be great if we could come up with an alternative to getting Dutch Designs out to the world.

The pandemic will probably influence our lives for the year to come, but with many countries adapting and economies re-opening all over the world, we're confident we'll be able to make good use of the award prizes.

We are looking forward to working closely with all parties involved to take the next steps and get the Sustainable House of Thol collection out there to a worldwide audience, making green living easier all over the globe.

<Read the official (Dutch) press release by the MKB Export Award here>

Download our press releases here:
<NEDERLANDS> // <ENGLISH>

For a while there we were hoping we could just hold tight for a few months and everything would be back to normal...
By now we are well aware this will take a bit longer to overcome, but we're not deterred in our international mission and signed right up for the Salone Del Mobile in Milan next year.

We are setting our sights to a new spring when the world will be slowly getting back to -what we hope will be a greener and more sustainable- new reality.

So hang in there.
We're looking forward to seeing you at the Palazzo in April 2021! 

Ok, officially it's not summer from June 16th to 21st, but the weather will hopefully be sunny and bright around the summer solstice.

With nothern Italy being one of the first Covid-19 epicentres of Europe, all major events for the coming months have been cancelled or postponed.
As is the Salone Del Mobile, originally planned April 20-26th, it was rescheduled two months later, to June.

Let´s hope the virus will have withered out when the temperatures start to rise and in June we'll have nothing more to worry about in Milan than where to get the best antipasti in town. 

Being born and raised in Loon op Zand, where the first official Dutch patient is from, and with a large part of my family living there, Covid-19 is already closer to me personally than i had hoped.

The fast spread of the virus is worrying, but the spread of the fear surrounding it, might be more dangerous still.
We're quite remote at the headquarters so it'll be business as usual here.  
We had a small delay with a brass delivery from Hong Kong, but thus far, that's all we noticed.

We're hopefull that come June, we'll indeed be enjoying a Milan summer breeze! Looking forward to seeing you there!

The one downside to being at Passagen (click) in Cologne, was that we couldn't also be at Maison & Objet in Paris, taking place around the same time a few hundred kilometers away.

It would have been great to be in Paris while our friends from Ay Illuminate launched the new bamboo versions of the Wren & Kiwi lamps.
We worked our hands to the bone finishing the series in time for the show and are super happy with the response so far/

What we love most about the Wren and Kiwi lamps is that they're all handmade in the Netherlands with sustainable materials.

The series started out with perforated strips of recycled aluminum, which turns a surprisingly sustainable corporate material into an unexpected warm glowing centerpiece.

The new bamboo lamps added to the series are more of a bridge between the contemporary first series and the airy eclectic athmosphere Ay Illuminate is so well known for.  

The lamps are out now via Ay Illuminate, and will be added to our website and -shop soon.

We're bringing all Wren and Kiwi's with us to Object Rotterdam and are hoping to be able to shoot a few nice pictures in the gorgeous industrial HAKA building.

​We'll update the website and add more photographs soon!

It was a first for us: being part of the Designers' Fair during Passagen 2020 in Cologne. And truth be told: we didn't know what to expect from the exhibition and whether we'd have to be there all days.

Well, we soon found out that we shouldn't miss a day.  
We loved the response of the Cologne visitors, and got to brush up on our German while getting away with english most of the time.

We presented our Flower Constellations, Waterworks and Poma/Olera series during the fair, and all our designs were very well received by an attentive audience that's very much into sustainable living.
​
So well indeed, that we've set our sights on Germany once again. We're so close to the border, we might as well hop over it, once in a while. After all, Germany is still part of the EU... So we went ahead and signed ourselves up for the MKB Export Award again. We'll keep you posted about that adventure!

Here to the right there's another picture of our exhibition on the first day, and above a photograph of the (inside of the) lovely designed shopwindow at Salon Zwei.

Thank you Claudia! We had a blast and will definitely be back in Germany.
Hopefully sooner rather than later!

Last year we thoroughly enjoyed our Object experience (read about it here). Not just the beautiful (yet chilly) setting at the HAKA building and the many interested visitors, but also very much the company of all other designers and artists showcasing their work and the warm and caring people of the Object organization.

That's why we'll be back in Rotterdam this year! 
Come join us and a lovely troupe of talented Dutch Designers and makers in the HAKA building between February 7th and 9th (Fri-Sat-Sun) for an all new Object Rotterdam. 
Check out the Object website for all participants and practical information.

Would love to see you there!

ps. we have a few free entrance tickets available. Interested? get in touch!

Passagen Interior Design Week Cologne is Germany's largest design event. It's pretty much the 'Fuori Salone' event of the huge IMM furnishings fair that takes place in the Koelnmesse in the same week.

A few years ago we met sweet Claudia Schaaf during the Dutch Design Week and she invited us to showcase our work in her lovely Salon Zwei during Passagen 2016, as part of the Ehrenfeld Design Parcours. 
​
With a taste for Dutch Design, Claudia presented a different Dutch Designer in her shop during Passagen every year for the past 6 years, and now it's time to bring it together.

For this years' Passagen, Claudia teamed up with Buro Sabine Voggenreiter to curate an exhibition about Dutch Design at the Designers Fair at the Pattenhalle in Ehrenfeld. 
We're super happy to be part of the line-up that also includes Studio Lorier, Foekje Fleur, Nord Interior Design and Mo Man Tai​.

But that's not all! Our designs will also be part of the colorful 'We love Dutch Design' presentation at Claudia's homebase Salon Zwei. 
And from Passagen onward, Salon Zwei will be a House of Thol vendor!

Dutch Design Cologne revisited
Passagen Designers Fair @ Pattenhalle
Christianstrasse 82
50825 Koeln - Ehrenfeld

Open 13 - 19 January
Mon-Wed: 12:00 - 20:00
Thursday: 12:00 - 23:00 - drinks from 18:00
Fri-Sat: 12:00 - 20:00
Sunday: 12:00 - 18:00

6 years Dutch Design
Salon Zwei
Gutenbergstrasse 2
50823 Koeln - Ehrenfeld

Open 13 - 19 January
Mon-Fri: 12:00 - 19:00
Sat-Sun: 12:00 - 16:00
NB drinks on Thursday 16.1 from 18:00

A month ago Today, Eindhoven was the worlds' epicenter of design, and slap bang in the main square of all Dutch Design Week festivities was a large white box stating "Design bepaalt de koers", Dutch for "Design sets the course".

​The box was a temporary building designed to represent a blank sheet ready for a the first draft of a new design, and was commissioned by Dutch bank ABN AMRO.
​For 9 days this pavilion was the home of 4 Game Changers: designs that can help us live more sustainably daily lives.

​One of those Game Changers: our Poma/Olera series.
Brandbase and ABN AMRO gave us the opportunity to come up with a solution for everyday fruit and vegetable storage. 
(More about the origins of Poma/Olera can be found here)

Our design was accompanied by the Transformer table (getting better with age), a candle using fat from a water sanitation plant and a filter that takes out the micro-plastics from your washing machine waste water.  

The ABN AMRO Game Changers exhibition was set up as an experience: up to 15 visitors accompanied by a host would be guided along the 4 different Game Changers with a professional voice-over and well timed lighting schedule.

This meant that as a visitor of the Game Changers Pavilion you really experienced design, rather than simply looking at it. Something very different to most other exhibitions and very professionaly executed.

Because of the voice-over directing the pace of the little tour, people didn't really have the time to linger around our work and take photographs to share online.
That's why we snuck in before the show started to get a few pics of the Poma/Olera presentation.

Having ABN AMRO backing our project meant that we reached audiences we probably would have missed otherwise.

We were very happy we got to tell about House of Thol to a professional audience during a Sustainable investment event and expanded our network tremendously.
​
Apart from an interview with a journalist from a national newspaper that will hopefully be published in a few months, we had a lovely chat with Francis of Sublime radio, which let into our 60 seconds of radio fame that you can listen to here.

Not being able to stand next to our designs was new to us, and made for a refreshingly laid back Dutch Design Week.

It also meant we missed out on a lot of direct response to our Poma/Olera series, and that's kind of a shame.
We love getting into conversation about our designs, to clarify the decisions we made and brainstorm about future possibilities.
​Luckily a lot of people still managed to reach out to us and tell us what they thought about Poma/Olera via e-mail and social media

Most heard response was: "When will the series be for sale?" and "Where can i get a Poma/Olera fruit bowl?".

​With so many specific requests, we're happy to get a move on: We'll be producing a small Poma/Olera series in house meant for direct sales on the short term, while at the same time diving deeper into terracotta production possibilities as close to home as possible.
We're not in this alone: Fonds Kwadraat is helping us with the next step.

We've currently set the price of a large Poma/Olera bowl (Patera Magnus) at €195,-. 
Production will take approximately 4-6 weeks.

Interested in keeping your fresh food fresh?
Get in touch!​

It all started with a phonecall in June: ABN AMRO was looking for designers to come up with a sustainable solution for everyday situations, and if we could pitch an idea in July?

Since our House of Thol slogan is 'Durable products for easy green living' of course we had to participate!
We had a few ideas up our sleeve that could perhaps impact a marker like Earth Overshoot Day.

We took a close look at our own day-to-day and found plenty of things that we still can do better.
​One of the things that's a real problem, is food waste: with two young kids with fluctuating appetites in the house, we can't help but throw out food ever so often.
Such a waste! Not only because of the money, but also because of the resources we waste.

And this goes beyond our household: in the Netherlands we throw out 34 kilograms of food each per year, and globally one third of the food produced is wasted.
That's about 1.3 billion tons!
​
If we could save only a quarter of that amount, we could feed every hungry mouth in the world (source). 

Bringing it back to our own small household: what can we do to avoid food waste in our daily lives?
We noticed we often have trouble with fruits and vegetables: what is the best way to store them, so they stay fresh for longest and we don't have to throw out wrinkled bell peppers?

Turns out not every fruit and vegetable plays nice with others, so keeping them all together in one large fruit bowl might not be such a great idea: the ethylene coming from fruits like apples can negatively impact the taste or ripeness of other fruits in the bowl.
Anyway, learning about the best way to store fresh food involved a whole lot of research (spreadsheets, seriously) that deserves its own blog post soon.

Back to the process: We presented our plans in Amsterdam in July and the day after our meeting with the jurors we drove off to the Schwarzwald in a 42°c heat and two eager little boys in a car without airconditioning.

We spent two blissful weeks of summer break, and got the phonecall with the final go for our Poma/Olera project while en route.

These past months, ever since returning home from our break, have been all about Poma/Olera. 

The design changed somewhat from the first drafts and we created a series of round vessels specifically designed to store fruits and vegetables in a better way.

The making process involved a lot of sketching,computer drawing, 3d printing, mold making, clay casting, finishing, failing, doing it again, changing the molds, recasting, firing the kiln, glazing tests, new glazing tests, production, production, production.
​
Well, your typical design process, really.

We're super happy and proud to be able to showcase the first prototypes of our Poma/Olera series at the Game Changers Pavilion on the Ketelhuisplein during this Dutch Design Week.
We'd love to see you there!

Last weekend we spent 4 days in sunny The Hague at chique art/design festival 'Masterly The Hague' - Not only was the festival taking place in a beautiful setting, we were blessed with great weather and many enthusiastic and lovely visitors!

We were super happy with the great presentation of our work: the bathtub being flanked by this gorgeous 1930ties silk Kimono that was on loan from the Gemeentemuseum The Hague, and the over all high quality athmosphere at Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder.
Also not too bad to share a room with skillfull glass artist Geir Nustad and be a temporary direct neighbor of Orange or Red, Bibi Smit and Thed Konings.

And, lest i forget: we worked together with Ceramist Henriette Meijer to create a stylish floral setting at the entrance of Museum Bredius.

Since we were pretty much talking all the time, we didn't get to take that many photographs. 
Luckily plenty of others did!
Here's a few of the pictures we found online. All images link back to the photographer or account we found them.

Thank you Nicole Uniquole and the Masterly The Hague organisation for a lovely festival!  

This September will mark the second edition of Masterly Den Haag.
Masterly started out as a festival celebrating Dutch high craft in Amsterdam, and over the past years became a Dutch staple of the Fuori Salone programme during the furniture fair in Milan in April.

Nicole Uniquole, the initiator and driving force behind Masterly, has a love for things that are well made: both now and in history.
Situating contemporary Dutch Design in a classical environment creates an interesting tension between the 'now' and the 'then'.  The beautiful locations she uses as a backdrop are always worth your visit.

We're super happy to be part of the Masterly Festival this year, and proud to be coupled with the painting Jan van Ravesteyn made of Amalia van Somst.
​
Amalia came to Den Haag as a refugee at 17 and went on to marry Stadtholder Frederik Hendrik, thus becoming the original matriarch of our Dutch Royal family of Orange.
​In her married life, lady van Solms worked towards elevating the position of her husband and family.
​She showcased her collection of paintings and porcelain in refurbished or newly built grand houses and palaces with lush gardens.

In 1641, Amalia married her son Willem II to young Mary Henrietta Stuart, Princess Royal, making grandson Willem (William) III a true prince of Orange who would become monarch of England, Scotland and Wales in later life (but not without a battle).  

As lovers of Flowers, we're drawn to the beautifull embroidery lady van Solms is depicted wearing: showcasing the long love the Dutch Royal family has for flowers. 
A perfect match with our Flower Constellations!
Did you know descendant and namesake Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, has a tulip named after her?

Just a quick reminder that we'll be in Den Bosch these coming days.

We're not only bringing our Flower Constellations and Waterworks-sets, we'll also be trying out our very own line of plantable postcards and giftlabels as well as new seed-package labels.
I've had a lot of fun designing these, so i hope they'll be well-received. Fingers' crossed!

And that's not even all of it: Visitors to the fair will get a very first sneak peak pf the new Flower Constellations Helios (for pits and bulbs) and Ophiuchus (for larger vases and bigger stems)

​OBJECT Rotterdam has come and gone and it was super fun to be part of, and we met many wonderful people and sold quite a few Flower Constellations and Waterworks-sets and got great reactions in response to our ReCabinet and new Wren & Kiwi lamps, and we'll definitely be back next year, and we didn't take enough photo's but here are a few shots of the weekend, and you should have been there.

That's it.
​
​Bye.

Photographs by House of Thol, Roza Schous, Masha Bakker photography, Friso Wiersma

We participated in the MKB Export Award 2018 and are part of the Top 9!

The MKB Export Award is organised for the 6th year in a row by TNT Netherlands, The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) and Royal Organisation MKB-Nederland.
Of the more than 100 contestants, the Jury nominated us and 8 other companies. 
​
The winner will be revealed during the event 'Klaar voor de start? Export! ("Ready? Get set! Export!) on Tuesday March 19th 2019.

Who knows, we might be succeeding last years' winner Anne Pleun van Eijsden of 'On the Rocks' and go home with the prize: amongst others a transport cheque and business partner scan!

It all started with our participation in the Paris fair Maison&Objet last September, for which we applied for an Export Mission Voucher.

After the fair we got invited to join the MKB Export Award, and since we really think we can conquer the world with our Flower Constellations and can use a little boost to get us going, we applied.

In January we received a phonecall from the organization surprising us with the news we're on the shortlist!
Early February we got to show a small part of the jury around House of Thol headquarters, and tell them all about our designs, projects and plans for the future.
We had a lovely chat, as i'm sure they had with all other eight nominees.

Now all that's left to do is wait..... With our fingers crossed...
We'll keep you posted!

Only 1 (ONE) week to go before our presentation at Object Rotterdam should be ready to roll.
We're about to be starting prep on lighting and stands in just a minute.
Still quite a few final decisions to be made, i'm afraid.
But i'm sure we'll  make it work.

Before we head to our workshop however, i wanted to celebrate the Object PR-department for getting the expo out there.
We're super happy with our designs being part of some of the online press-coverage of Object Rotterdam.

Architectuur.nl wrote a lovely piece about Object and used a photograph of our reCabinet in their article.

Read the whole piece here (in Dutch)

Studio Perspective zoomed in on all sustainable designers at Object. 
We're ever so happy to be part of this list.

Check out their selection here (also: in Dutch)
​(ps. added bonus: you can win two tickets for the fair!)

​Alright now, time to get ourselves in the workshop and get things ready for Object.
Will we see you there?

After moving to our rural home in Overasselt two years ago, we (or i) immediately started fantasizing about our garden. 

I actually bought a permaculture book (bible) months before moving and started with big plans to turn our land into a lush and fertile eating forest.  
​With no prior gardening experience to speak of, you can guess how that went down the first year...

You guessed correctly: although we did have a decent strawberry and pumpkin harvest, our garden is not so much a fruit and veggie heaven yet.

However i have hopes that with a lot of time, practice and soily hands, we will get there eventually.
We made great strides last fall planting 16 fruit trees in the meadow. It will take them a couple of years to bear fruit, and i guess so do my gardening skills.  

However, gardening did become a new love of mine. 
And i'm definitely planning on freeing up more time this season to tend to my greenery. 

The TuinIdee ('garden Idea') fair in Den Bosch in late February is a brilliant place to start the season. 
And we'll actually be at the TuinIdee with our designs!

​Participating in the fair is kind of an experiment, and we have no idea how this will turn out. 

But even if our designs aren't a match with the visitors and we don't sell a thing, at least i'll be getting my fair share of gardening inspiration.

We'd love to see you there!

21-24 February
10:00-18:00 daily
Brabanthallen Den Bosch
free shuttle-service from the train station

<Get your tickets online with a discount>

It took some organizational skill and a lot of family help to schedule ourselves kid-free and in the south of the country on Saturday and be able to take a day-trip to Paris.

​That's making it sound a lot more romantic than it was: What it came down to, was us spending 9 hours in the car for 5 hours at Parc Expositions Villepinte (+ a short joyful stop at a hypermarché).

It was all worth it.
We brought Champagne and cheese to officially celebrate the Wren and Kiwi launch and shared a festive toast with Ay Lin, Casper and the Ay Illuminate crew.

​Seeing our designs displayed in the Ay Illuminate booth and how well they fit in with the rest of the Ay Illuminate collection made it all come together, and it was wonderful to experience the response of the M&O public.

After enjoying the company at the booth for a while, we did a quick (three hour) round of the fair that was way too short to see anything yet left us both with sore feet (11.000+ steps according to my phone).

All in all this flying visit took us 14 hours, and i'm so happy we went.
​Below you'll find a few more snapshots of the booth and our trip. 

​Have you been to M&O?
​What did you like best?