miss Elmlid,

Where the wild Raspberry grow.

Elmlid — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:06:52 +0000

Old Amsterdam

Elmlid — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:07:39 +0000

Cream toned window bars. The glossy black iron. The burgundy bricks.
Amsterdam is inspiring, also for New York apperently.

Amsterdam makes me miss NYC. Please take me there in September.

The search is over.

Elmlid — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:06:02 +0000

It took 2 years and I think we will get along well. He is now pimped up with a vintage saddle, leather handles, suitable bell, latex straps and traditional pedals.

Thank you Ido for helping out!

And thank you Mapa for the Xmas present.

And thanks Niels for taking him with you in your car to Berlin.

I can’t wait…

This is no time off.

Elmlid — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 06:10:48 +0000

I just woke up. Grab your computer. It is Wood Wood Showroom in Amsterdam.

But it still feels like holiday.

Enjoy your day.

I will.

How do You like your bed sheets?

Elmlid — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:44:10 +0000

When I was in Kindergarden, and around 5 years old, our teacher asked us how you know that someone is a really good friend of yours. My friend gave him the answer straight up.

“When you know what type of bed sheet someone likes, then you know it is a good friend. I like mine to be really soft, but Malin likes hers to be crispy and mangled.”

I liked how she was thinking. And it has stayed with me.

Since all my inherited linen has wrong measurements for modern living I got silly excited when I visited Gent the first time. Flandern is known for it’s flax and linen production and for achieving the perfect bleach (ok, I can hear how nerdy this might sound). Anyways, in a small shop in the center they sell the linen with handcrafted Belgian lace. It is actually a group of old retired women in the city that produces the lace. I have asked them why they do not sell online. But they just don’t.

They are closed on Mondays.

Kloosterstraat 2, Antwerp

Elmlid — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:45:33 +0000

In the same street you find a number of great vintage stores, both interior and clothing. The interior has its price and bargins you make somewhere else. The city seem to have a love for Eams lounge chair and Swedish countryside furniture from the Gustavian period ( 1772-1785). The Gustavian colortones goes in a light gray and white scale and follows ideals from the Antique. Very swedish and I got to like it. The prices are insane high.

Sweden is one of the countries with no restriction on exports of antique furniture and it hurts a bit to see them here. At the same time I guess it is better that people that understands their value buy the sofas for 8000+ euro and hopefully treat them with respect and save them from being re-painted by some tv-show inspired person back home. (I have done it myself in 1991 when I was 11 and everything around me needed to be navyblue. It sucks today.)

To make the trade complete I do the same here and fill up my luggage with lovely treasures at the flee market down the street. Paintings, Trays, Books, Vases you name it. My home is filled with Antwerp. Last time, in May, when I was here I bought a surprising box with a hidden secret. I thought it was dutch, but it was actually a militaty box from the Nazis. Fee and I packed him into the car and brought him back home to Berlin. It is now used to store my oils and cosmetics.

Kloosterstraat, Antwerp

Elmlid — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:13:01 +0000

Every visit to Antwerp contains at least one lunch at RA. Excellent is all I can say. Anna and Roman has done a great job.

rue de Flandre, Brussels

Elmlid — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:41:24 +0000

Another address not to miss is this small street in the Flamish district of Brussels. Celine from Mapp gave me the tip in January. Try “le Pré Sale”, the fish restaurant with white tiles. Really nice. When I was there in March I sat next to a very very old woman. She was dressed up in her fur and her diamonds and just enjoyed a lunch on her own. That is what I hope I will do too when I am 90+. She spoke to me in french and I answered with mimic and the maybe 10 words I know in french. Bruxelles belle ville, oui oui! Berlin tres bien!

Around the corner you will find stores like Margela (Vlaamsesteenweg 114), Stijl (74, rue Antoine Dansaert), Hunting and Collecting (17, rue des Chartreux) as well as Mapp (5, rue Léon Lepage) of course. Opposite for Stijl there is also a very sweet shoe store that usually has a nice selection of Costume National shoes.

Blaesstraat, Brussels

Elmlid — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:34:56 +0000

The best Vintage shopping I ever experienced, has been in this street. Please do not miss it. And if you, like me, prefer the Belgian bedsheets and need to find pillows that suits the cover I can really recommend the interior shop in the beginning of the street.

I have no Idea where you would eat in the area, and since I tend to have food on my mind all the time this says something about how much there is to see here.

Belgium

Elmlid — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 09:53:38 +0000

Like most people I have a place where I forget time and space. A place where you do not really want to live but where you connect with something in yourself that you really really like. Where you do not mind spending weeks with no friends around you. Where the butterflies in your stomach plays tricks on you and where you find yourself smiling for no reason. When I was younger, it was NYC. I guess it will always kind of be.

But then I found Belgium. And most of all, Antwerp.

Belgium is like a black hole for me right now. I forget the world outside. It is my fairytale book. And next week you will find me there.