happy 2011

happy 2011, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Today is the last day of 2010 and I am used to the space between 20 and 10 on the clock. The year has flown!

Yesterday Pippa was my personal assistant on the last flowerday of the year. In the morning we went to the flower auction for flowers & bulbs. When we arrived at Villa we first had lunch with Naïma in the marketcafe.

We brought all kind of bulbs for the shop and some cute four leaf clover plants for happiness in the new year!

Wishing everyone a happy 2011!

christmas day

christmas day, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

[keep it simple] christmas

[keep it simple] christmas, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Finally it's 'Christmas' in our home. After making lots of trees for other people and working on the Christmas decorations at Villa Augustus, it's about time!

The 'old tree' is standing outside at the front door and my grandmothers old drying rack as a Christmas tree was not quite a success, so we made a fresh tree for the livingroom.

A couple of tealights and some colored decorations in the tree. Light a simple red candle et voila, ready!

[rosa lieve] & sapiens

[rosa lieve] & sapiens, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

I am so happy with the new vertical bookshelf Sapiens. Yay, space for 2 meters of books!

The pink wood & word sign I made for Nina's sweet newborn daughter Rosa Lieve.

a merry x-mas and a very happy new year!

a merry x-mas and a very happy new year!, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

volkskrant woud

volkskrant woud, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Due to a publication in the Dutch newspaper 'de Volkskrant', these wood & wool x-mas trees are now en route to the readers who ordered one.

there's a snake in my boot

there's a snake in my boot, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Sometimes I consider to add a F.A.Q. to my website. Even if it was only to answer all the questions about my boots. Monthly dozens of women (no kidding) ask me where I bought my star boots.
Actually I bought them years ago ('secondfeet' to be exact) and they are made by the Spanish brand Sendra. These star boots probably are no longer in the collection, but I'm sure there must be similar boots.

Big Toy Story fan as I am and having a weakness for Woody, I'm almost crazy enough to have ANDY on my soles.

Aside from the fact that they are super cool, these boots are made for walking...

[no whining]

[no whining], originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Some of the text requests for a sign are so cool.
I can imagine the [no whining] sign ends up on someone's desk...

united colors of the x-mas trees wood

wood & wool x-mas trees wood, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Want to take up a tree from the wood & wool x-mas trees wood?

chocolate letter chandelier

chocolate letter chandelier, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Yay! Sinterklaas is back in Holland.

The chandelier in the restaurant of Villa Augustus, we decorated with traditional chocolate letters (milk, dark and white chocolate) last week. Oh and watch out, if you can't resist to take a bite; the red ones are in vintage metal flavour.

hartjesslinger

hartjesslinger, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

I made a D.I.Y. design for 101 interior magazine.

Start by making the hearts for the garland and then pull them on a thin piece of sisal rope.

The ♥ pattern you can find here step by step. Piece of cake!


Deze hartjesslinger staat in de 101 zelfmaakspecial, een bijlage van het decembernummer, dat vanaf 23 november in de winkel ligt.

Eerst haak je de hartjes voor de slinger en vervolgens rijg je ze aan een dun stukje sisal- of kokostouw.

De werkbeschrijving van de gehaakte hartjes vind je hier stap voor stap. Piece of cake!

the green x-mas tree

the green x-mas tree, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Want a 'green' x-mas tree?

Though it's only November and it may seem a little early to think about Christmas, it's never too soon to order a wood & wool x-mas tree.

autumn in antwerp

fiskebar, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

A visit to Antwerp always feels like a mini vacation.

This time the M HKA is the main reason for our visit. A long walk through the 'other' Antwerp, brought us to wonderful places. Walking across the Marnixplaats, I fell in love with the terrace of the Fiskebar. On the other side of the street is Vitrin, also a very nice café. And I had my first Bionade at Bitter Zoet after the museum visit.

woody & wool stool

woody & wool stool, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

A new limited edition design. The wood & wool stool xs.

The cover is made of colored pieces of wool knotted together, like the wood & wool hangers. The mint green stool is a little smaller than the usual stool.

I call it Woody.

Since this week another supermarket campaign started. After shopping I got a free wrapped Toy and was hoping it would be Woody. In the car I unwrapped the paper and felt like a little child. Yes, I got WOODY!

photo opportunity

photo opportunity, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Yesterday I walked into the hallway and saw this.
The morning sunlight, the gladiolus at its best and my coat and new handmade scarf on a pile.
Quite trivial maybe, but the still life was too good to not capture.
A photo opportunity.

off to see the world

off to see the world, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Pippa has just helped me to choose 3 winners of the ‘ wood & word sign Pink Ribbon supporting give away’.
Here they are in random order:

[de rotbende]
[perfectly peachy]
[wood if I could]

We both agreed Orange Farmhouse should have two signs
[digger] and [orange farmhouse]

Please send your address to info@woodwoolstool.com and the signs will be send to you straightaway.

Last week I received an awesome 2cv from Annabelle of Three Red Apples!

The car appliqued and freehand embroidered is a classic French Citroën 2CV. It’s fully loaded with suitcases on the roof ready to cross borders and explore.

The body of the car is made from a blue pattern printed in the heart of the Welsh countryside and appliqued onto natural Irish linen. The suitcases are made from various recycled and new fabrics.

Absolutely love the 2cv with the upper suitcase in my favorite color orange! I have not yet found the right parking place, so until then my brandnew ducky is parked on the stairs.

more wood & word signs

more wood & word signs, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Oh, the sweetest and funniest "wood & word sign" requests I have found in my mailbox this week.

A lady from Germany ordered even 3 signs at once to surprise her husband on their wedding day. How romantic!

A shop ordered a [we are open] sign. The back of the sign I stamped with; [sorry, we are closed]

This is fun, fun, fun and offers endless possibilities.

The 3 most original entries get a free "wood & word sign".
To support Pink Ribbon I will donate the money of the signs.
You can join until next Sunday.

wood & word sign

wood & word sign, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

In most cases my handmade stools get a personal touch, by stamping the name of the new owner on the bottom of the seat frame. Everyone is reacting excited about this addition.

Sometimes I label a piece of recycled wood with a personal text or message to send it along with the chairs.
Because of the nice comments and the surprising success @ the Woonbeurs, it seems a good idea that everyone can order a favorite text.

The recycled wooden label is from now on called a WOOD & WORD SIGN.
You can order your own custom made ‘wood & word sign’ with whatever text.
(keep the text short, otherwise it does not fit on the sign)

Imagine almost anything is possible;
[your name] [just a word] [a message for your lover] [love] [something stupid] [something funny] [your life motto]

Use it as a 'postcard' and it will be sent to the address you want.

The price for a sign is € 10 including shipping costs for the Netherlands and Europe. (shipping costs at any other country will be € 2,50 extra).

indian summer

fly agaric, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

a walk in the woods
sunshine
signs of autumn everywhere
lakes where it is forbidden to swim or swim naked
in short:
Indian Summer

(l'été indien by Joe Dassin used to be my favorite childhood swoon ballad of the album 'vive la france')

hemma haakcursus

hemma haakcursus, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Yvonne and I are hosting a crochet course for beginners in our studio in Den Bosch.

You can read all about it (in Dutch) on our joint website/blog Hemma.

lloyd hotel

lloyd hotel, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

wood & wool stool @ woonbeurs were two fantastic days!

It was very inspiring and fun to do some 'wood & wool stooling' in the 101 woonideeën house. Tuesday I spend with Thalé (Pippa D) and Wednesday with Jane (ATLITW) and I enjoyed their company.

Fun and surprising @ the Woonbeurs are; 101 woonideeën house, Sjakies, Neef Louis, Spectrum with Dutch masterpiece 'girl with the pearl earring' by IXXI and the VT Wonen house. The wool unit in front of the checkered 'villa augustus' hallway wall is awesome and was one of my favorite items.

Tuesday night we had dinner at Fifteen and stayed at the Lloyd hotel.
It was great fun and I was pretty exhausted after two days. Thanks everyone for visiting!

wood & wool stool @ woonbeurs

wood & wool stool @ woonbeurs, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Next Tuesday, September 28 and Wednesday, September 29, I am invited and 'wood & wool stool-ing' in the 101 Woonideeën house at the Woonbeurs in Amsterdam.

last bit of summer

last bit of summer, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

autumn comes

autumn comes, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Some weekend flea market finds:

The rusty red dotted enamel jug turns into a beautiful 'autumn' vase and the floral plates from Intermezzo fit perfectly in the vintage rack. The enamel jug and plate rack are good finds from De Korte's Kuriosa, a flea market nearby.

room 6

room 6, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

To celebrate our joint 134th anniversary, my mother, my daughter and I had a festive stay at hotel Villa Augustus.

flowers from beerlala

flowers from beerlala, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Julie Hendriks makes unique paintings. I've found her work at Orange Farmhouse and fell in love with a little painting of colorful flowers against a bright red(!) background.

Julie's work called Beerlala (after her son Beer) is so fresh and the colors are so bright.

Art for a nice price you can find in Julie's Etsy shop Beerlala.

de wereld van witte de with

witte de with street, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

This weekend in Rotterdam: The world of Witte de With.

'dutch' editions de paris

'dutch' editions de paris, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Nederland, mijn interieur (Netherlands, my interior) is the newest edition of the Japanese interior book Editions de Paris.

The book contains twelve 'handmade' interiors in the Netherlands, including ours and some interior design shops and fine places.

The Japanese texts are indecipherable for me, but the photos and layout are a feast for the eyes and do compensate entirely, thanks to the creators Masami, Miho and Naomi.

post from lithuania

publication geros idejos, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Today there was an envelope in the mail from Lithuania. My work has been published in the creative interior magazine Geros Idejos. Some months ago the editor Giedré asked me whether she could publish my work. In the list of unreadable publications it's a nice and colorful addition. Something to be proud of.

But what made me really proud today was Minne's report in the newspaper. Minne has applied as a freelance reporter and yesterday, his first assignment from the AD sports editor, was to report a football match. The funny thing is, he still has his other job and had to deliver his own news in his paper round this morning.

I've never had so much fun reading a football report.

a small soft baby blanket and a big tough weathered barn

a small soft baby blanket and a big rough weathered barn, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

In the countryside near my home I found a green barn.
Not just a barn.
A large barn with sliding doors in all shades of green.
Green weathered wood, so beautiful and rough.
The best possible background for a sweet, soft and colorful wood & wool baby blanket.

greek delights (final part ten)

paint it white, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

part ten: paint it white

The Cretans know all about atmosphere. White houses with blue painted doors. Good and simple food with fresh ingredients. Taverns almost located in the waves.

Life is good in the south of Crete. An ideal place to make stools.
I miss the relaxed way of life and the sun and Bobbie. I'm officially homesick.

greek delights (part nine)

modern shepherd, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

part nine (actually it is more a relief): Transport on Crete.

Fortunately, the trucker strike ended and there is enough petrol for everyone; for the modern shepherd, the yellow Beach Beetle, the orange Datsun Sunny, the blue oldtimer & -driver the Parks Department and even for Nobody's car.

greek delights (part eight)

ligres beach, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

part eight: the quiet beaches of South Crete

greek delights (part seven)

weathered wood, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

part seven: weathered wood

Beauty comes with age. Beautiful peeling paint. Faded colors. Old wooden doors, not only in blue, but in all kind of colors. I've seen so many potential stool legs...

greek delights (part six)

fishing boat, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

part six: greek fishing boats and especially the sight of all the colorful stuff on board

greek delights (part five)

fresh tasty vegetables, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

part five: fresh tasty vegetables

The greek food is simple but very tasty and you really taste the difference. The sun and earth give so much flavor to the vegetables and fruits. Pip discovered that the cucumber had a strange taste. 'Yes, you are absolutely right, it tastes like cucumber'.

Especially when I saw these seeds, I wished I had just a little more space (and Greek sun) in my garden, to grow my own tasty vegetables.

sweet thirteen

sweet thirteen, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Today is Pippa's birthday!

She is thirteen years old now and has been waiting for this day so long. As promised a long time ago, today is the first 'earring day' of her life and she is shining from ear to ear.

Happy birthday sweet thirteen!

greek delights (part four)

agia fotini beach, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

part four: the small bays of south Crete

greek delights (part three)

taverna, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

part three; enjoy a drink in a typical greek tavern

greek delights (part two)

greek yogurt with fresh fruit and honey, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

part two: greek yogurt with fresh fruit and honey

greek delights (part one)

summer love bobbie, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

part one: summer love bobbie

i'm going on a journey and take with me

i'm going on a journey and take with me, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

passport
bikini (scored at H&M sale for € 3,50)
sunscreen factor 50
Ray Ban (seems to be the best investment of 2010; bought out of boredom, during an 'ash cloud' delay at London airport)
a small library
Mr. Hook (you never know)
map of Crete
lots of good courage (for there is no drop of fuel left on the greek island and we need to drive with a rental car from the airport to holiday destination)

seize the day

tea-plantation, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

This time of year I pick all the flowers from the garden of Villa Augustus on my weekly 'flowerday'.

There is so much in bloom in the garden right now and it's not necessary to get flowers at the flower auction.

It's a little party to take the pruning shears and walk through the garden to pick flowers legally. Sometimes I see people watching from the terrace with a glance and hear them think; is that allowed?

August is the name, because it's the best harvest month and if you plan to ever visit Villa Augustus, this is the moment!

warm and soft

wood & wool blankets, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Sometimes I receive special orders with personal and beautiful stories and requests. This happened a few weeks ago. Lianne, mother of two, asked me if I wanted to make a comfort blanket.

They just had to say goodbye to their sweet and faithful Labrador Bodie and put his blanket with him in his grave.

She liked the idea of a comfort blanket for her children. I was impressed by this request and started the next day with the blanket. One night when I was working on it and watching a movie at the same time (women can do that). Actually I started in the middle of a movie and found it quite striking that the main character was a Labrador. The film has an emotional final 'blanket' scene in the garden.

The Bodie blanket was made in no time and I packed it with mixed feelings.

Yesterday Lianne sent me this sweet note; "Warm and soft, like Bodie, it feels like a comforting blanket..."

happy holidays

wood & wool picnic blanket, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

p for

minne photographed by pippa, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Profile;
His 'little' sister Pippa made this beautiful profile photo of her big brother this morning. She wanted to have a nice picture of him, because he will be in Italy with his friends for the next 2 weeks and she's really gonna miss him.

Propedeuse;
Wednesday Minne received his Foundation Course Certificate. He finished his first-year study journalism and I'm really proud of him.
The text on the screen 'I can listen to others' is Minne's quote.

Paper round;
During the tropical heat of this week, I discovered Minne sleeping in the garden, early in the morning. After he finished his newspaper round (to finance his Italian holiday) he decided to have a nap in the garden instead of jumping back in his bed. Such a sweet sight!

wood & wool picnic blanket

wood & wool picnic blanket, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

suzanne with the beautiful eyes

suzanne met de mooie ogen, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Last week in the shop window of OXO in Den Bosch there was this cheerful orange plant showcased. I told the saleswoman and my friend Yvonne, I remember my daddy used to call this plant 'Suzanne with the beautiful eyes'. Since then I have visited a few garden centers to buy my own Suzanne, but didn't find her anywhere. Yesterday Yvonne stood at my door with two surprising suzanne's! She made me laugh showing me the label on the pot; thunbergia alata - suzanne met de mooie ogen.

quadruplets

quadruplets, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

strawberries for the eyes

strawberries for the eyes, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.