New work : Food quotes




Inspired by all the great signs, lettering and wall art in Stockholm and Berlin I set up a little painting station in my hotel and painted a page of food quotes using watercolour. I liked juxtaposing a funny quote by Woody Allen with the more serious of Brillat-Savarin. I plan to blow this up and turn into a mural.

Copenhagen


One of many "Shop signs'


Another shop sign: this one for a book binder


One of so many great bikes




View of my balcony overlooking the hotel's courtyard


Tranquil canopy bed


Cozy courtyard at the hotel with Rent-a-bikes in background.
At night the staff brought out twinkling lanterns.
It was so damn cozy (Or as the Danes would say : Hygge was achieved! - see notes below)

Design highlights: from Copenhagen

1. Bikes, Bikes, Bikes.
So beautiful I want to photograph them all

2. The houses. Sigh.

3. The 'identification signs' which hang over shops.
An old tradition which adds a sense of whimsy to each place of business.

4. My hotel!
Bertrams Hotel Guldsmeden
5 stars. Highly recommended.
I found this hotel on the internet and was taken with the unusual Bali influenced decor including a canopy bed, lots of wood, and fabulous rugs.
In person it did not disappoint!
The hotel and rooms were incredibly beautiful + tranquil - i think the nicest I've ever seen -- and the staff were great too. Upon arrival we were offered a welcome drink in the lovely courtyard café which I think is a very nice touch. They also had several bikes on hand which could be rented for a day or week. (Without a doubt the best way to get around Copenhagen!)
If you go I recommend requesting a room with a balcony that overlooks the courtyard.
See photo. Sigh.

And now a cultural lesson:
Every detail in the hotel was focused to create hygge which is a very important concept for the Danes.
Hygge is hard to pronounce and impossible to define precisely. Roughly translated, the word means cozy, but it's far more nuanced than that. Incorporating all things warm, fuzzy, and comforting, hygge is a distinctly Danish thing that embodies the highest aspirations of the culture. It's a kind of super-gemütlich state of well-being, an internal feng shui. It's the happy glow you get sitting around a fireplace on a winter evening. Drinking schnapps. Snacking heavily. Lounging in a woolly sweater on a soft Arne Jacobsen "egg" chair and sensing that there is, in fact, nothing rotten in the state of Denmark.
(From Conde Nast traveller)

Berlin: Some images


Plaques indicating where the wall used to be are all over the city.
(Very handy if one gets lost!)
ps. Yes I always wear the same shoes.


Jewish museum by Daniel Libeskind - Intense.


Fantastic cafe in Prenzlauerberg
Loved the gigantic bunch of flowers on the communal table, the seat cushions, and the dark wood against a pure white interior. Very welcoming.


Norman Foster's eagle at the Reichstag


All the bikes at the U Bahnhof


Photograph from Holocaust Memorial
This is photograph of a protest along the Kurfurstendamm after the war. Protesters wore their uniforms from the camps. wow.


Holocaust Memorial designed by architect Peter Eisenman


One of so many beautiful courtyards

Sanssoucci beauty

Berlin: Martin Haake and Olaf Hajek


Olaf shows me his portfolio while Martin works at his desk in background

Martin with one of his inspirational books (and mine): This is New York by Sasek

Olaf in the computer section of the studio

Olaf's paints and some paintings - beautiful!!


A rug created out of one of Olaf's paintings which hangs in the OLIV cafe in Mitte.

On Tuesday I interviewed the illustrators Olaf Hajek and Martin Haake in their wonderful shared studio in Mitte.
I will be posting my notes from our interview on Sunday but for now a few photos of their fantastic studio. ps. They are as nice as they are talented.