b l o e m

Remember the massive neon sign b l o e m , written in italics with beautiful loops?

Bloem is the dutch word for flower, a word that suits me well.

My dear and very handy colleague Sjaak came to fix it on the wall this morning.

And look how cool it turned out!

I climbed on the kitchen counter to take this photo, with lousy November light, because I wanted to share the end result today, nonetheless.

A grand wall flower between the houseplants, Urban Jungle at the kitchen table!

b l o e m

b l o e m

I love typography. In all kinds, old neon, any cool vintage signs or letters at all literally.

We have collected a lot of vintage letters over the years. The huge R - the R of restaurant - one of the first lucky finds I can remember very well. We spotted it during our summer holidays on Île de Ré. So for us the R stands for Ré.

And over the years many letters have been added to the 'alphabet', a huge green G and random letters from A to Z, some double, but in different fonts and sizes.

Vintage letters are grateful interior objects, you can keep playing and writing with them.

B A Z A R in my studio has been on the wool cabinet for a few years, for it just makes sense.

Henk surprised me last week with a photo of an amazingly beautiful neon sign!
The word b l o e m, dutch for flower! Whether I liked it? 'cause he had reserved it for me... Yes I love it! Moreover, I can't think of any word more appropriate.

It's perfect, the word itself, typography, color, size, couldn't be more alluring. The neon lights are broken, but who cares?

So we made an appointment to pick 'the colossus' up somewhere on the other side of the country. The word consists of two separate parts, which simplified transport.

We've already figured out the perfect spot for b l o e m, on the kitchen wall near the dining table above the houseplant bench. Where the R is now, so we have to find another place for that, haha...

Soon it will be expertly attached to the wall by my colleague Sjaak (because heavy and tricky).

Until then, the mega 'flower' is parked in my workspace. And just because I am so happy with it, I wanted to show it. Needless to say; as soon as the neon sign is on the wall, an update will follow!

peony power

Never underestimate the power of peonies to brighten up the house.

Henk brought home no less than 3 bunches of pale pink peonies from the local Saturday market, to support the market vendors and of course to surprise me ;-)

Flowers do really alter the energy of a space in such a splendid way, despite the grey, gloomily and drizzly weather... (all weekend)

Have a good week y'all!

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?

second day of spring

On the second day of spring it was quiet rainy...
The garden doors remained closed.
The Fermob garden furniture looked bright anyway.

(photo is taken with my iPhone)

swoon maroon

Some flowers are so incredibly beautiful!
Look at this carnation with maroon color around the edges. (swoon)

Have a great week!

(photo taken with my iPhone)

ce matin

Picked this morning; a long zinnia from our backyard.

cigale wall vase

cigale wall vase, a photo by wood & wool stool on Flickr.

The cigale wall vase is even more beautiful with a parrot tulip.

fermob flower

fermob flower, a photo by wood & wool stool on Flickr.

The first time I saw a Fermob chair was years ago in Paris.

In Jardin du Luxembourg I was impressed by so many (mostly) green chairs in the park. These chairs are re-designed by Frederic Sofia and I'm the lucky owner of several pieces (two lounge chairs and a brand new bench)

This bright orange chair is inside the house and I love the flower pattern. This Fermob chair is designed by Harald Guggenbichler.

I'm a Fermob fan at heart and I'm highly honored Fermob USA used my 'Fermob images' to start 2012 inspired.

lieve briefjes

lieve briefjes, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Pippa writes notes.
As long as she can write,
about anything and everything.
Sometimes in the evening
I find notes like these on top of the stairs;
"Please, please can I have a dog?" (or kitten)
"Mom do you want to wake me up tomorrow at 7:00?"
"Sorry....... xxx"

But yesterday when I got home from work late,
she surprised me again with an 'old-fashioned' one.

"hi mom! ♥
look what i've made
for you at school, hihi!
see you tomorrow ♥
love you Pips!"

The same thirteen year old daughter,
who I sometimes caught late at night sending tweets to her friends
(while I was thinking she's already asleep for hours).

I love that pink flower but the sweet note even more!
(another one to keep)