It opened last week and you might have already spotted some images of the new Amsterdam Apple flagship store. But these images by Thomas Schlijper just had to be shared. Amazing work. By Apple and Schlijper that is.
My friends over at THEY have created a really cool mobile app for the holidays: Avoid The Crowds.
We all know those days when you’re shoulder to shoulder in the main shopping streets and stores. This app aggregates all social checkins for these main areas and tells you whether or not you should avoid a certain area. At the moment its for Amsterdam only, but expect it to go to other cities and moments (e.g. Avoid The Beach)
Love the simplicity and the creative use of social data. Big compliments guys!
Yesterday I was invited by Creative Social to join their Amsterdam event and sit in on a presentation by Rafael Rozendaal. Very cool stuff.
Creative Social was founded in 2004, by Daniele Fiandaca and Mark Chalmers, as a collective of the world’s most pioneering interactive creative directors & business owners, a collective who recognized that collaborating in this digital landscape is the way that we’ll advance the industry and enjoy the life work imbalance even more. The aim from the outset has been to inspire, promote and educate the industry. Twice a year they meet up face to face, just 35 individuals each time, making it all the cooler that I was there.
The presentation I saw was by digital artist Rafael Rozendaal. An all round very inspiring guy. His fascination with online, and using it as an art platform has led to some amazing work. When Rafael has an idea, he executes it and buys a URL where this idea is hosted. This allows you to actually buy his work, making his digital art an exchangeable good, just like old school art is. Be sure to check out his work here.
Unfortunately I couldn’t be there today, but who knows, maybe this humble blogger will be there next time when it is hosted in some sunny city on the other side of the world…
I’d say keep your eyes on this collective and follow what they are up to (via their blog). Trust me, it is a very interesting group of people. And check out the book they published not that long ago on the history, present and future of digital advertising.
I while back I wrote about the opening of the Property Of… flagship store in Amsterdam. Now that the dust has settled around this opening, they have launched a special Amsterdam edition bag. As you know us Dutchies are pretty fond of our bikes. But finding a bag that is easy to go around with on your bike and that looks good can be hard to find. Meet the Amsterdam Messenger bag. It serves as a messenger bag (obviously) and doubles as a bicycle pannier. Smart design, thats for sure.
The bag is made from touch wax-treated canvas and waterproof tarpaulin to make it Dutch-climate-proof. Only 18 pieces the Amsterdam messenger will be made, so we can assume this will be an instant collector’s item. All pieces will go on sale exclusively at Herenstraat 2 starting October 15, for €238,-.
Cool stuff.
After yesterdays succesfull give-away, I’ll continue on the theme bags today. No freebies today though… But a brand that creates useful, well-made and considered bags will catch my attention and has to be shared, thats for sure. That’s why I was happily surprised to see that a flagship store of bag designers Property Of… opened in my hometown of Amsterdam recently.
The brand was founded by cafe owners Peter Teo & Richard Chamberlainin in 2006. That explains why the store still looks like an old cafe, and why they serve you with some great coffee while browsing the amazing collection.
Besides the understated, practical and tough bags (most of them made out of waxed cotton or canvas and fine leather) they have a nice selection of magazines and books that suit the brand philosophy complimented with other products that are made with similar care and passion.
A welcome addition to my ‘to visit regularly’ list.
Property of…
Herenstraat 2, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Images via Cool Hunting.
I’ve written about the augmented reality browser Layar before, which tracks your location trough GPS and built in compass, and allows you to see in real time what is in your surroundings by pointing your camera to it. There are multiple ‘Layars’ available currently including a real estate browser and one which allows you to track restaurants. However, the most controversial one is the so called BN’er Spotter (Famous People Finder).
This Layar allows you to track the houses of celebrities wherever you are. In the movie below the dutch crew of Beste Product uses a new Samsung phone to show how it works. And it works. They track down Brad Pitt in his house, who is obviously not amused. This truly reveals how invading these new technologies can be. Is our near-term future to be filled with people laughing maniacally while pointing their cellphones at each other? The video is in Dutch, but the reaction at 2 minutes and 40 seconds is a good example of how awkward it can get…
Good thing or bad thing? You tell me…
Artist Jan Vormann was tired of all the holes in walls, and decided to do something about it. And while at it he decided to add some colors to it: He decided to fill the holes, with Lego!
Vormann found Lego to be the perfect solution for fixing cracks, holes and crumbling corners. He fills them with the plastic bricks, calling the practice Dispatchwork. Vormann had already left a colorful trail of repairs in Berlin; Bocchignano, Italy; and Tel Aviv, when Platform21 decided to invite him to patch up some walls in our city of Amsterdam during a Dispatchwork workshop in collaboration with Amsterdam’s Centre for Architecture Arcam.
What a good idea! Check out the results below.
