Illustration Archieven - Aurora Concepts

Ontsproten :: de botanische trend op ShowUp 2017

In het kader van bewust leven en duurzaamheid is de term ‘Creativism’ een heel interessant gegeven. Het is een versmelting van het woord Creativiteit en Activisme, aldus JanTrendman (Show Up, 2017 in Vijfhuizen). De term wordt gebruikt met betrekking tot sociaal- maatschappelijke kwesties, maar in dit artikel wordt het begrip vooral gelinkt aan de botanische trend die tijdens ShowUp is gespot. Het verbinden van Creativism aan duurzaamheid en botanie is niet zonder reden. Om de planeet gezond te houden en zijn voortbestaan te garanderen is innovatie en technologie afgeleid van de natuur pure noodzaak. De definitie van een trend en zijn niveaus Bewust leven en duurzaamheid passen binnen een trendontwikkeling die de komende vijftig jaar van belang zal zijn. Beide zijn megatrends en hieronder valt de botanische trend. Deze laatste wordt door heel veel waarden gevoed, legt de hedendaagse mentaliteit bloot en is daarom een zogenaamde macrotrend. De botanische trend is daarmee ook een parapluterm voor kleine microtrends, die zich manifesteren als zichtbare producten en diensten op de markt. De volgende vier microtrends vallen dan ook onder de macrotrend: botanie: –Botanic craftmanship in modern- and urban society. -The flower as the new messenger. -Green interior design. -(Etno)botanical design. Waarden als […]

feb 10

by Donata van der Rassel in Art, Blogging, Illustration 0 comments tags: baron von fancy, blog, mercury, retrograde, seo, website

We are live! (Mercury was in retrograde)

Welcome dear souls on my new website and blog! I’m very happy to finally show you all the result of many months of work (and lots of almost-losing-it-experiences). For now the site is in Dutch only, but I’m working on incorporating a language plugin so please bear with me. There are some small bits that need adjusting and a newsletter plugin that needs to be set in place, but we’ll see to that too! This site has been a Process. From mapping out my new professional business to working on the actual site, I have learned a lot! I couldn’t have made this site without the invaluable WordPress help of Nina, the SEO crash-course of Saskia and countless others who have behind the scenes have been mostly incredibly enthusiastic about my new adventure. Those who weren’t were, I know, just warning me for being idealistic, naive and vague, in short they warned me for being me. So publishing and trendwatching is an unlikely combo, but hey, I’m here to show the world how this creative agency dedicated to conscious living can rock the world. In life we do have to follow our dream even if our dream brings us to […]

aug 26

by Donata van der Rassel in Accessories, Art, Children, Decorating, Design, Fairs, Illustration, Lifestyle, Papergoods 0 comments tags: de krantenkapper, flowers, froy & dind, mo man tai, showup, vlinder&vogel

ShowUp (again)

I felt really inspired after visiting ShowUp this weekend. After I saw all these creative people living their dream by ‘creating’ I thought more about my creative dreams and about finding a way to do something with them. The problem with me is that I like so many different things. I like photography and fashion, design and illustration to name just a few. And then there is this whole ‘spiritual’ side of me (which I rarely share here). How can I ever choose one thing? Sometimes I feel I’m doomed not being really good in anything (creative I mean). “The difference between them and you is that they just do it.” Nina said to me and she is right of course although she’s putting a little bit too much trust in my talent… Having the guts and just going for it! Not being over analytical and critical! Not being an absolute perfectionist! The art of letting go… and just doing it! {1. Flower by Vlinder&Vogel / 2. Belgian made cute retro style by Froy & Dind / 3. Candles and more beauty by Mo man tai / 4. Two sisters living the dream (and making amazing stuff while doing so: […]

ShowUp 2014

I had the best weekend! On Saturday I was one of the models for one of Holly’s gorgeous bridalshoots *blush* with the amazing photographer Anouschka Rokebrand (more on that soon) and today I went to the ShowUp trade fair with Nina from Paper Stories. We saw a lot of beautiful stuff and on top of that it was just really nice to be inspired together with a friend. I will pick some brands to blog about in the coming weeks, but here are just some inspirational photo’s I made. I made them with my iPhone.. my little boy dropped (yes, I did say dropped) my Nikon camera this morning and now it’s kind off not zooming anymore.. In fact it’s not doing much anymore.. Any tips for a good camera are more than welcome! As far as highlights go: THE VENUE! The trade fair has grown so much! {1. Ferm Living via Kolk & Kolk Agenturen // 2. Mimi’s Circus Fiep Westendorp via Nordic Child Agencies // 3. House of Rym via UnikDesign // 4. Anny& Esmé Hofman}

Flavourites Live 2013

I really enjoyed my visit to Flavourites Live. This time I also went to the business section where you could attend lectures and workshops by MamaMarketing and Ocher a.o. I really love the atmosphere with all the little shops but I must admit that maybe I’m becoming a little spoiled since I didn’t really see any new stuff. I guess this has something to do with me attending quite a lot of fairs and events…I did buy a great new hat by one label Yellow108 though. They are being sold here by webstore VivaLaVida and the story behind that brand is such an inspiring one. They take leftover pieces of material and recycle them into beautiful hats. Do make sure to check out the sustainable webstore VivaLaVida Lifestyle too run by Ilse and Jeroen, they were so very nice! Here are some pictures of my favorite stands with original products. {1. Kaartje of Kip – I really like their style / 2. Studio Saartje – O, how I wish I could sew… / 3. Ien en Mien – self-made bags / 4. De fabricage – Vintage furniture – love}

ShowUp August edition 2013

Last Sunday I went to ShowUp for the second time and I saw a lot of beautiful new brands (and old) in Amsterdam-Noord. I was pleasantly surprised the fair had grown so much, it’s such a great initiative and I think its success proves that. I made photo’s of a couple of my favorites, like the incredibly talented and quirky De Krantenkapper, the environmentally conscious NikoNiko and designs by the lovely Bibi de Lang alias BL-ij and her initiative Little Black Book a collaboration with Yvette Jacobs. (we are kindred pastel sisters I’m sure). I loved the ceramic cups by Alissa + Nienke (you can buy one at Restored!), the taxidermy (you know I have a thing with that) by Luxury for Nature just to name a few. Keep your eyes out too for the new collection by Kidsonroof and check out the new papergoods at WowGoods. See you in February for sure! {1. Kidsonroof / 2. BL-ij / 3. Alissa + Nienke / 4 & 5. Wowgoods / 6. Studio NSybrandy / 7. Almedahls via 0031 designs / 8. Little Black Book / 9. Luxury By Nature / 10. De Krantenkapper / 11. Ompak tree / 12. Cards by NikoNiko }

nov 07

Book: talking dress

As promised here, I would like to tell you about this great book I published recently. It’s called talking dress and discusses fair fashion and lifestyle in great detail, it has loads of practical tips and DIY’s, interviews and a fair shopping guide. About a month ago we had the book launch and it really was a huge pleasure to see the end result (the book we had all worked so hard on) and to celebrate. Actress Sanne Vogel came to receive the first copy of the book and we had great music by Mees. If you would like to see photo’s of the launch please check the FB page of talking dress (and make sure to like it!). And of course I would like to recommend you buy the book (for all Dutch and Belgian readers) and / or buy the app (also available for Android)! Talking dress was written by Marieke Eyskoot with beautiful full-colour illustrations by Koosje Ruijgrok. The book design was by Bonny Smit and it was printed on FSC qualified paper with eco ink. Although it was a time consuming project, it has really been a labor of love by all of us and it has been great […]

sep 27

by Donata van der Rassel in Blogging, Decorating, Design, Illustration, Lifestyle 0 comments tags: beauty, drop-by, ellen vesters, immer urlaub, keecie, kim welling, liesbet milort, sanoma media, snurk beddengoed, studio de winkel, tas-ka, woonbeurs

Woonbeurs 2012 #1

This year for the first time I was incredibly fortunate to attend the Woonbeurs as press. I never thought of myself as press although now in a way I sort of am. On Tuesday I attended the bloggersmeeting hosted by Sanoma Media. I saw a lot of other inspiring bloggers there and was so impressed by their passion and enthusiasm. We were welcomed by the editor in chief of three (!) magazines by Sanoma. She was a true inspirational lady and she had so much energy! She talked about how we all were busy branding ourselves and that one blogger was a whole magazine into oneself. I thought it was very interesting she said you should always stay true to yourself. I couldn’t agree more. This is why I only blog about things I think are worthwhile. This blog is my personal view on beauty (and it is sort of pastel and if possible eco-friendly, because these are things that reflect who I am). My blog isn’t as much about trends (although a good eye always discovers trends I think), but it’s about esthetics. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This blog is my ‘eye’ and I do […]

jul 09

by Donata van der Rassel in Illustration, Magazines, Photography 0 comments tags: bliss magazine, etsy, hanke arkenbout, interview, kristie webster, photgraphy, zuzana mitosinkova

Magazine madness #4: BLISS

I have to confess I’m a true Etsy addict. I love browsing and looking at all the different treasuries. I love the uniqueness, the handmade and vintage vibe. On one of my Etsy-hunts as I like to call them, I stumbled upon Bliss. Bliss is an initiative of fellow Dutchie Hanke Arkenbout and essentially is a magazine about photographers and their motivation. It highlights some of their work combined with an interview; a simple but elegant formula. The thing about Bliss is that it features mostly young novice and more experienced photographers from all over the world which makes for an interesting blend. The magazine also is beautifully designed and features really promising photo’s. It really is a labor of love. Make sure to buy a copy of Bliss here, not just because it’s worthwhile to do so, but also because these kind of initiatives need all the encouragement they can get! {The spreads from Bliss #2 feature work from Slovakian photographer Zuzana Mitosinkova and the Australian artist / photographer Kristie Webster }

okt 16

by Donata van der Rassel in Art, Books, Illustration, Literature, Travels 0 comments tags: art, books, Frankfurt Buchmesse, illustration, new releases, Penguin, Phaidon

At the Frankfurt Fair – 2011

Yesterday I returned from the annual Frankfurt Buchmesse. I really like going there as part of my job (acquiring rights for new bookprojects) but it’s also really inspiring, for anyone who loves books. You get to see a lot of of recent and new releases just before they hit the bookshops and you can wander endlessly through the different halls (divided by country) with all kind of different topics. EVERY book that you can order is represented there. It’s fantastic! Just below I’ve included some pictures so you can get a taste for yourself and books that I thought looked really pretty. I really like craftbooks and childrensbooks because of the illustrations. I like the abstract design of these classics and I always go by Phaidon with their beautiful artbooks. I can’t wait for next year!