a carpet with your name written all over it

MARVELOUS MARRAKECH - You are invited to the ultimate Marrakech trip.

One of the many magical places in the Medina is the carpet souk. The best way to see the old carpet trade traditions, is to visit to the daily auction of Berber Carpets. And guess what? We have included the carpet auction in the program, because you simply have to experience this beautiful tradition. Big chance you will find a carpet among all the thousands of carpets, with your name written all over it.

Do you want to join us us in October?

Perfect if you want to travel alone, but also a great trip to make with your friend, mother, daughter or sister.

Marvelous Marrakech! Seven days in Marrakech with a distinctive workshop program.

Explore Marrakech every day in a different way. We have combined new places and topics with the best from our programs from previous years.

Together we will explore the authentic Marrakech in a special and unique way.

Off the beaten tracks with workshops and exciting adventures while discovering Marrakech and surroundings. Where everyone else goes to the right we go to the left. By showing you the real beauty of Marrakech, your visit to the Red City will be a much more precious experience!

Price € 795,00 per person (excl. tourist tax € 2,50 pppn)

The price is based on a shared twin bedroom and excluding flight tickets.

INCLUDED:
- transfer from airport Marrakech to Riad Chambres d'Amis (v.v.)
- shared twin bedroom (6 nights) including breakfast in Chambres d'amis.
- 2 dinners & 5 lunches (drinks are not included)
- 4 workshops and a daytrip to the desert

CRAFT-WORKSHOP & CARPET AUCTION
Buying wool, cotton and yarns in the souk. Moroccan craft class in the open on the colourful Place des Epices, where Aisha will teach you characteristic Moroccan craft techniques (materials are included). After lunch we will continue the Moroccan craft class with Aisha in The Secret Garden. (Needless to say, I will give a crochet class aswell.) At the end of the afternoon we will visit the Carpet auction in the souk, an unforgettable and colorful experience!

GARDENS WORKSHOP During the workshop we will visit and explore all kinds of gardens in and around Marrakech; an Arabic garden, a botanical garden, secret city gardens, hidden courtyards, an art garden, museum gardens and vegetable- and herb gardens.

INSTAGRAM-PHOTO WORKSHOP
Street photography in the medina. Learn how to anticipate the moment, to identify locations with suitable subjects and develop confidence in photographing on the street. Learn to select and frame a moving subject and explore color to create impact. A visit and lunch at Maison de la Photographie.

VEGGIE COOKING WORKSHOP
Vegetable shopping on the locals markets in the Medina and souk. Cooking class by Moroccan women under the banana trees at Chambres d'Amis. Home cooked lunch on the rooftop terrace.

A DAYTRIP TO THE DESERT
A daytrip to a the desert with a fabulous Moroccan lunch in the shade of a berber tent. Imagine a charming bivouac with a couple of berber tents and a view to completely unwind. You don’t often find yourself at such magical surroundings that it makes you wonder… Is this a movie set? The light, changing skies and views are astonishing! A day in the Agafay desert is a great way to experience the Moroccan desert without having to travel too far!

DAY OFF
Halfway the week we have planned a day off! We can suggest a visit to the luxurious Beldi Club, a visit to Jardin Majorelle and Yves Saint Laurent Museum or you can use the day for shopping in the souk (optionally with personal shopper). This week is a real treat for travellers, who would like to discover the real and authentic Marrakech. An adventurous journey, you can make on your own, while you will be 'pampered' and only have to enjoy and relax.

7 DAYS IN MARRAKECH OCTOBER 2020
Arrival : Wednesday 7th of October 2020
Leaving : Tuesday 13th of October 2020
The workshop will start with a welcome dinner on the rooftop of Chambres d'Amis at 7PM on Wednesday. For early arrivals Chambres d'Amis can offer you a small program on the first day.

Each morning will start with a traditional Moroccan breakfast on the roof terrace at our base camp Chambres d'Amis.

If you would like to join one of the workshops, please send an e-mail info@woodwoolstool.com

I will send you an application form and more information about the travel workshop.

The Marrakech travel workshop 2020 is a collaboration with Ank van der Pluijm, my friend and owner of hotel CHAMBRES D'AMIS, oasis in the Medina of Marrakech and our wonderful green 'basecamp' during the workshops week. You will, of course, be overloaded with impressions in Marrakesh, and Hotel Chambres d’Amis will be your quiet home to return to. Our street Derb Moulay Abdelkader is located in a very quiet and safe residential area, and very easy to find.

It is possible to book extra nights, before or after the workshop (info@chambresdamis.com)

iffr - international filmfestival rotterdam 2020

Rotterdam - Tuesday 28th of January

Today we went to Rotterdam to visit the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)

Yesterday I booked tickets for Little Joe.

Scientist Alice (Emily Beecham, winner of Best Actress at Cannes) develops new plants for a commercial bio company. She is very proud to have come up with a revolutionary innovation: an eye-catching red indoor plant that gives off a pollen that makes you happy. The plant works like Prozac: if well cared for, it increases the owner's sense of happiness.

Breaking all the company rules, Alice, who spends so much time in the laboratory, secretly takes home a prototype of the anti-depression plant for her lonely child and names it after her teenage son Joe.

Visually everything is just right about Little Joe, a film by Austrian director Jessica Hausner. Sets, costumes, hairstyles are tightly aligned of bright colors. The bright red petals of flower 'Little Joe' as a dramatic centerpiece.

Elegant and absurd film! Stunning science fiction house plant theme and the style and colors sometimes reminded me of Wes Anderson.

We are planning to see another IFFR film this weekend. Tips anyone?

new cool crochet project

This weekend I've been working on a new cool crochet project.

After a crochet break, it is so much fun to start something completely new!

The newest crochet project is still in the development phase, but I think it will be cool!
You know I always like to take crochet to the next level.

Think Crochet 2.0 - a more complicated version of the chevron pillow.

More on this soon...

d.i.y. tuesday & french toast

Pippa will move to a new place soon.
An old house in the city center, currently being renovated to make it habitable.
Nowadays it's very difficult for young people to find an affordable home in the Netherlands.
She has been waiting for so long and finally will have a place of her own soon.
In March she's moving in together with her boyfriend Joe, if all goes well.

Pip is looking forward to decorating her interior and has her own style, which is nothing like ours haha...
And that's exactly how it should be, right?

We are planning DIY Tuesdays for the coming weeks and I love to help.

Today the first preparations;

Filling up the golden pouf from Marrakech, which she bought almost 3 years ago...

Foam flakes all over the place! (including my woolen sweater, and it won't come off)

After cleaning up the mess, we went to the hardware store for tools and paint. Choices, choices, but we found just the right color.

Time for a break. I made French toast for lunch. In Dutch called 'wentelteeftjes', Pippa's all time favorite.

Back to work. We settle in my atelier (Pip's bedroom after all), so boucherouite carpet on the side, banana leaf curtains up and get started.

Together we carried our old heavy baroque mirror from the attic to clean it and paint it 'Flandres grey'.

Pippa handles the paint brush like a pro and she was very satisfied with the result.

We had such a fine day together and will continue next week...

marvelous marrakech - october 2020

Marvelous Marrakech! Seven days in Marrakech with a distinctive workshops program.

You wanna join us?

Explore Marrakech in a different way every day. We have combined new places and topics with the best of our programs from previous years.

What's Marvelous Marrakech about? An immersive travel, creative & culinary experience to sate your wanderlust.

We will stay at Hotel Chambres d’Amis, an oasis in the Medina, located just a stone’s throw away from the beating heart of old Marrakesh, the Djma el Fna Square and the Souks! Despite this, it’s as quiet here as if you’re in the countryside, greenery and birds all over the place. We want you to feel at home in this green oasis, right in the middle, but far away from it all. Chambres d'Amis is exclusively reserved for participants during this retreat. This intimate, week-long retreat will be open to only 12 guests. You will stay there with an international group of women, from all over the world.

We have composed a week-long retreat with a different theme every day, the perfect way to explore Marrakech in an authentic, special and unique way.

Let’s get away together for an entire week to recharge, with relish and delight for a slow living, creative escape!

The longer stay is designed to provide you with ample time to explore your creative goals, soak up the red city, get to know your fellow travelers and find down time to recharge or explore on your own. This promises to be a transformative, once-in-a-lifetime journey. The Marvelous Marrakech retreat is a unique opportunity to be both restored and inspired.

Off the beaten tracks with workshops and exciting adventures while discovering Marrakech and surroundings. Where everyone else goes to the right we go to the left. By showing you the real Marrakech, your visit to the Red City will be a much more precious experience!

Price € 795,00 per person (excl. tourist tax € 2,50 pppn)

The price is based on a shared twin bedroom and excluding flight tickets.

INCLUDED:
- transfer from airport Marrakech to Riad Chambres d'Amis (v.v.)
- shared twin bedroom (6 nights) including breakfast in Chambres d'amis.
- 2 dinners & 5 lunches (drinks are not included)
- 4 workshops and a daytrip to the desert

CRAFT-WORKSHOP
Buying wool, cotton and yarns in the souk. Moroccan craft class in the open on the colourful Place des Epices, where Aisha will teach you different characteristic Moroccan craft techniques (materials are included). After lunch we will continue the Moroccan craft class with Aisha and practice different crochet and embroidery techniques in The Secret Garden. (Needless to say, I will give a crochet class aswell.) At the end of the afternoon we will visit the Carpet auction in the souk, an unforgettable and colorful experience.

GARDENS WORKSHOP
During the workshop we will visit and explore all kinds of gardens in and around Marrakech; an Arabic garden, a botanical garden, secret city gardens, hidden courtyards, an art garden, museum gardens and vegetable- and herb gardens.

INSTAGRAM-PHOTO WORKSHOP
Street photography in the medina. Learn how to anticipate the moment, to identify locations with suitable subjects and develop confidence in photographing on the street. Learn to select and frame a moving subject and explore color to create impact. A visit and lunch at Maison de la Photographie.

VEGGIE COOKING WORKSHOP & BERBER CARPETS
Vegetable shopping on the locals markets in the Medina and souk. Cooking class by Moroccan women under the banana trees at Chambres d'Amis. Home cooked lunch on the rooftop terrace.

A DAYTRIP TO THE DESERT
A daytrip to a the desert with a fabulous Moroccan lunch in the shade of a berber tent. Imagine a charming bivouac with a couple of berber tents and a view to completely unwind. You don’t often find yourself at such magical surroundings that it makes you wonder… Is this a movie set? The light, changing skies and views are astonishing! A day in the Agafay desert is a great way to experience the Moroccan desert without having to travel too far!

DAY OFF
Halfway the week we have planned a day off! We can suggest a visit to the luxurious Beldi Club, a visit to Jardin Majorelle and Yves Saint Laurent Museum or you can use the day for shopping in the souk (optionally with personal shopper). This week is a real treat for travellers, who would like to discover the real and authentic Marrakech. An adventurous journey, you can make on your own, while you will be 'pampered' and only have to enjoy and relax.

7 DAYS IN MARRAKECH OCTOBER 2020
Arrival : Wednesday 7th of October 2020
Leaving : Tuesday 13th of October 2020
The workshop will start with a welcome dinner on the rooftop of Chambres d'Amis at 7PM on Wednesday. For early arrivals Chambres d'Amis can offer you a small program on the first day.

Each morning will start with a traditional Moroccan breakfast on the roof terrace at our base camp Chambres d'Amis.

We are happy to tell you, in the meantime we have received quite some very nice applications for this wonderful trip in October!

If you would like to join one of the workshops, please send me an e-mail; info@woodwoolstool.com

I will send you an application form and more travel information.

The Marrakech travel workshop 2020 is a collaboration with Ank van der Pluijm, my friend and owner of hotel CHAMBRES D'AMIS, oasis in the Medina of Marrakech and our wonderful green 'basecamp' during the workshops week. You will, of course, be overloaded with impressions in Marrakesh, and Hotel Chambres d’Amis will be your quiet home to return to. Our street Derb Moulay Abdelkader is located in a very quiet and safe residential area, and very easy to find.

It is possible to book extra nights, before or after the workshop (info@chambresdamis.com)

live life

Antwerp - 10 & 11 of January - to celebrate love on our 28th wedding anniversary.

Breakfast in our terrace suite, located on the upper floor of Hotel Pilar.

Art, Architecture & Culture at MAS - Museum aan de Stroom, with a breathtaking panorama of Antwerp at the top of this 10 storeys high architectural gem.

Citywalk & street art on Het Eilandje, a neighborhood oozing with nautical history and cultural treasures .

Lunch at Fiskeskur, where everything - like the old customs building itself - is pure and rock 'n roll.