Stitches and Thrills

As European enamelware goes the Cathrineholm factory in Norway is very famous. But The Netherlands has it's own legendary enamel and cast iron producers : DRU (Diepenbrock en Reigers te Ulft). You might know them from the DRU Holland pastel coloured enamelware with the tulip logo, but my favourite series is this one:   When I started going to flee markets about 25 years ago it must have been one of the first items I picked up: a battered black enamel bowl with tiny yellow and red dots. There just was something so adorable about it. In the years following more of these bowls did pop up on my thrift store trips every now and then, and I was always drawn to them. Mostly they were as battered as the first one I picked up, but I started to be more selective: occasionally there was a bowl and lid in very good condition! Research learned that these enamel bowls were actually a Dutch design classic. The Confetti series was designed by Willem Gilles in 1953/1954 for DRU (Diepe...

This is my second post in a series about Bakelite. I had planned to write first about Bakelite jewelry styles, but a lot of you asked me about recognizing Bakelite, so I'll write about that first. (You can read my introduction to Bakelite here .) Is it Bakelite or not? Visually: If you see seams in the plastic or mould markings it definitely is NOT Bakelite. In the finishing process these were removed. The surface is generally very smooth, even after wear. Even if a bangle has been treated unkindly (on flea markets I often find them in boxes thrown together with other stuff) it will usually have a smooth patina of tiny little scratches. In case of a bigger deeper scratch (ouch!) it will show the same solid underlying colour. White Bakelite tends to get more cream coloured over the years. So if you find a sparkly bright white vintage 'Bakelite' piece: beware, and make sure you test it by other methods. Holding it in you hands: Bakelite is heavier than most mode...

It's time to make a confession. You might not expect it from a environmental conscious person like me: but I have a bit of an obsession with plastic. To be more precise: with Bakelite. My Bakelite collection: This truly can be called a big guilty pleasure . I am very aware of the impact of plastic on the environment, both in the production process as in the lack of biodegradability. What is Bakelite? Bakelite is the first fully synthetic plastic. It got it's name from the Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland, who was working in the US at the time. Bakelite is a resin, built from phenol and formaldehyde. The most important quality was its heat resistant properties. This made it useful in industrial applications like electric appliances. There already had been earlier discoveries of other plastics, like the semi synthetic celluloid, but these were extremely flammable. Beakeland did his discovery in 1907 and also patented the name Bakeliet. For me Bakelite always had been: b...

Last week I was on Schiermonnikoog, a small Dutch island in the Waddensea. It is a beautiful island and with beautiful sea views and walks in the dunes . I was on Schiermonnikoog as part of an Etsy Pop-Up Shop during the Wad&Design Festival. One of the participants of the design festival was the designer duo Soepboer&Stooker . They gave a new take on cross stitch samplers by enlarging the design. You could also participate in the project in a short workshop. In the city hall there was an exhibition of old cross stitch samplers to illustrate the traditional background.   Coincidently a couple of days after I got back two family heirlooms came back together: my aunt showed 2 cross stitch samplers my great-aunt had made when she was 10 yrs old. This great-aunt had later tragically died at the age of 19. Then my father said he had saved her box of needle work which had been at my great-uncles mill house. We all decided these items should be kept together f...

In my revamped Etsy shop AllFairness (previously called BonnetsByMissMinoes) I've added a fun new product: Wire Headbands. Although these headbands are already very popular in the US and Britain, they are still fairly new to the Netherlands.They are a prefect accessory for the trendy 1940s 1950s retro fashion of this season. The wire headbands that I sell are handmade by me, from either GOTS certified organic cotton, or vintage fabric from the 60s/70s/80s. What makes the wire headband so fabulous is you can wear it in so many different ways. I know there are already English YouTube videos around, but I thought it be nice to make one in Dutch, to show the different styling options.The sound is very soft though, as I filmed it with my compact camera. So you might have to switch the volume to 11. This is the first video I ever made... (For Big Bang Theory fans: I had to think about Sheldon and Amy's flag instruction video.) ;-)  Bunny Twist  Hairband ...

DAY 1: On the first full day we went to see the fabulous exhibition "David Bowie Is" in the Victoria & Albert Museum. Every aspect in the career of this talented artist was displayed (costumes, painting, lyric sheets, where he gets his inspiration etcetera). I love how the exhibition was put together. Tip 1 : If you travel by Eurostar train to London, you'll get a 2 for 1 discount at the Bowie exhibit, when showing your train ticket. Tip 2 : We were in line for 45 minutes, you then can buy a ticket for a later timeslot. But there is also a possibility to book your tickets on line in advance via the V&A website. Tip 3 : The V&A is free (but for special exhibitions), and would be perfect to spend a rainy day in London. While waiting for our timeslot we walked to the top floors to see the variety/entertainment/theatre costumes. Among other I saw Adam Ant's Prince Charming, but also well known costumes from cabaret and musicals. For Tuesday evening we h...