Thursday May 17, 2012 we are joining Buitengewoon Kunst op Nienoord in Leek The Netherlands. Its an Artist Fair where about 50 artists and designers will show their work.

Plus coming weekend (and the next) we, among many more craftspeople, artists and designers will participate in the yearly Open Atelier Route Opsterland.
For more info please click here and here please.

This sculpture is by Henk Vos. He will also show his work at Buitengewoon Kunst op Nienoord.

So now I’m putting together a collection of jewelry to take to the Fair on Thursday. It’s an outside affair in the beautiful garden belonging to Borg Nienoord. Lets hope the weather will be sort of decent!

This small silver brooch, with the semi precious gemstone Agate, will be among many other pieces of jewelry we are going to show Thursday at Buitengewoon Kunst op Nienoord.

Each of them approaches the subject from a different point of view. Questions about identity, memory and portrayal of women are raised, as well as discussion about the ethics of over consumption of fashion and its consequences on our lives and on the environment.

Once upon a time …

This is the only old “out of fashion” garment I have saved over the years …

It’s a skirt with a lovely story to tell …

I was wearing this skirt when I met my husband for the first time!

To make the picture complete … I was barefoot and wore a white see-through blouse …

Through her project The Memory of My Wardrobe, Ida Taavitsainen looks at ‘fashion and the fashion system as something more than just a superficial act of consuming.’

Out of Fashion magazine will be published in London and Helsinki and an exhibition showcasing this work will be held at the Myymala2 Gallery Helsinki later this year.

Thank you Lois this is a grand idea!

If you also feel like participating, please send Lois a link to your blog post (or your photo and story) as she would love to share.

Gallery Terbeek, the location of our presentation is a gallery with a great ambiance. Our tables looked stunning in the large, beautiful space.

Therefore I had thought taking photos would be a piece of cake but it was not. For some reason the light in the gallery made ​​the pictures look dark and yellow. I hope these images still give you a bit of an impression … or else I recommend you’ll come to Beetsterzwaag coming weekend (April 28-29, 2012) and see our jewelry in real life! Click here for the correct information.

The homemade tables with our jewelry

Ceramics in Gallery Terbeek in Beetsterzwaag, The Netherlands

Me in Gallery Terbeek

For more pictures please click here.

The exposition takes place April 21-22 and April 28-29, 2012 from 13.00-17.00 hours in Gallery Terbeek in Beetsterzwaag, The Netherlands.

If you like to see a preview … please click over here to read the wonderful post Montserrat Lacomba wrote about our new line of brooches.

PS
Today I saw the first swallow … hooray… summer is on its way!

This is the recently opened Maritiem & Jutters Museum (Beachcombers and Sailors Museum) on the island of Texel, The Netherlands. It’s a great building I think.

The architects Mecanoo from Delft have provided the building with four interlinked, playful roofs. The thought behind this is that the peaked roofs, which seem to stab from the sea as waves above the dike, blend into the village roofs.

I see this farm many times on my daily walk with the dogs. Not very a very interesting building but I thought the shape of the roof would make a nice picture in the misty morning light. The farm is a typical farm from the northern region of The Netherlands, where I live.

This is a typical Dutch biking path in an even more typical Dutch landscape, under very Dutch skies. Often I walk along this canal with my 2 dogs … not seeing anybody for miles …

The weekend of April 21 and 22 and April 28 and 29 2012 we are showing our new series of Big Brooches, our latest rings and necklaces.

Invitations have been send out, a newsletter and press release are in the making, cheese and wine are ordered, our jewelry is labeled with petite hangtags and the 2 homemade tables are waiting in the barn.

The latest brooche Circles, silver and wood by Marion Pannekoek

Do you want to join us in this jewelry exposition?  You are very welcome, just sign up here and you will receive an invitation.

But when I tell them I have chickens too, I can see some people thinking: “Marion is a farmer too?“

And finally when I say I have 22 pigeons, everybody is totally flabbergasted …

I don’t need to explain the other animals (I think) but why in heavens name do I have pigeons? Pigeons are very peaceful and tolerant with each other, for me their cooing sounds very calming.

At the end of the day I sit down in the garden with a glass of wine to release my pigeons and let them fly. Pigeons always come back because they have a very strong homing instinct. And what they like most is taking a bath, they love to splash and float on the water.

Well I better stop explaining my love for pigeons … because I guess it will always be this way … most people hate pigeons and only a few fools like them.

Making tables for our upcoming SPRING PRESENTATION.
Always a challenge, to come up with something new to show of our jewelry!

We bought 2 thick oak planks, planed them smooth and put oil on them. As I write this Jan is making the legs underneath the table. In these pictures, it all seems like it will come to nothing but wait and you’ll see how beautiful the tables will become.

This year our Spring Presentation, will be at Galerie Terbeek in Beetsterzwaag, The Netherlands. Jan and I will show our latest jewelry on the weekend of april 21-22 and of april 28-29, 2012. (Jan and I will be present)

New this year is our series “Big Brooches”.

Brooches, often in geometric shapes made in silver in combination with different types of wood. Would you like to come to our exhibition and see our latest jewelry? Sign up here and we will invite you!

Update:
While writing this …
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So my wish list of countries and cities I like to visit is quite short and simple … Copenhagen, Helsinki, Cornwall in the U.K. and Scotland.

So while dreaming on the internet I came across this gorgeous holiday home on the Isle of Skye on the west coast of Scotland …

Their website says that otters can be found near to the sea edge in various spots close to the house. Doesn’t it sound just great?

This beautiful home is a design by architect Alan Dickinson of Skye based practice Rural Design. The images belong to them too.

Please take a look on their website for more rural homes by their design.
Via 

Via