Monday, March 28, 2016

my swedish 'leftover' vacation homes

vacation house, sweden, authentic, woods, rental home

vacation house, sweden, authentic, woods, lake, rental home

vacation cabin, sweden, authentic, woods, lake, architectural

vacation cottage, sweden, authentic, near the beach, rental home

Most years I start making summer holiday plans already in winter. I search the internet and make long lists with links to lovely homes. I love doing this, it is such challenge every year!
Last December I thought we would end up in Sweden this summer. But I didn't book anything. Main reason: we will go to Northern Italy instead!
It would be a pity though not to share some of the lovely Swedish houses from my list with you.
From top to bottom:

1. house in the woods
2. red wooden house with large garden
3. architectural cabin at the lake
4. limestone cottage close to beach 

Apart from quiet, clean, green, spacious and within our budget, I want my vacation homes to have a SOUL (meaning build/furnished/maintained with love). 
I can get so sad in ugly (and dirty) interiors, or outdoor spaces with no green at all. 

If you have enough money it is easy to rent a beautiful furnished vacation house with a well-maintained garden etc for about € 2000,- per week. But it's my fun to find rental homes for at least 50% less that give the same luxurious feeling. Luxury for me is in the good taste and the love of the house owners and in the gorgeous location of it.

Thursday, March 24, 2016

we are hiring ;-)

algorithm, instagram, app designers

I have a dream for the future....an online platform like Instagram, that will keep one simple pledge: Never ever ever ever to interfere with the way content is shown to its users and stay algorithm-free.

We are all grown-ups, we can make our own decisions, and we really don't need anyone (or anything) to tell us which photo is more important or relevant than the other.

I am dreaming of an app for independent people, an app without threats of interference, a platform made and run by persons who respect their users. To download this app I am willing to pay a few dollars, of course. And maybe the other 400 million Instagram users are willing to pay for their freedom too... 

So, we - a community of 400 million people -are hiring!  ;-)

What we are looking for is a skilled app designer with moral standards (!!!) who wants to make a buck (like a couple of million of 'em).

What we offer is a strong and growing community of happy free people that love to share their photo's. 

Until this dream comes true please let Instagram know that following the algorithm plague from Facebook and Pinterest is NOT a good idea. Please sign the petition HERE. Thank you!




Sunday, March 6, 2016

insta winter

My winter pics on Instagram show that I am a winter child really. Especially trees in winter I find intriguing: their silhouettes, leafless, sleeping their winter sleep...I love them!

I had a busy winter: I designed many things (some didn't reach the production phase), sold piles of small and large paper angels, started to do my own photography and styling again and we opened our first consumer WEBSHOP!
That was a hell of a job, but worth it big time. It is so nice to be more in touch with what we (in wholesale land) call: 'end-consumers' or our target group. It reminds me of who I am designing for and I am thankful for and I feel honoured with every small (and big) order that comes in...