MADE BY JOELIX + Description

This afternoon Limi Yamamoto opened en closed her Parisian fashionshow with a banner in the name of the children of Japan, which is still in recovery mode after a devastating year. Despite the seriousness of this message, the show was very upbeat. Not in the least because of the sparkling presence of Charlotte Free, the badass pink-haired model, Yohji's dancing & photographing friend front row and of course the very playful looks for the upcoming spring/summer season of LIMI feu.

Here are some of my snapshots:

I am blessed to be surrounded by people who are very good at cooking and absolutely love to do it too. That is why I rarely (read: never) cook. I like baking cookies or cakes though, but I must admit I'm not very good at it. Usually that's because I don't have all the ingredients needed. Last week I baked an apple pie (see photo below) with hand picked apples from the garden. It looked and smelled really good, but it tasted completely awful.



Besides eating (of course) & the occasional baking, I really enjoy looking at beautiful food. Bakerella is one of the first places I go for over-the-top sweetness. A bit more down to earth is the work of Yvette van Boven, a Amsterdam & Paris based illustrator and foodstylist. She recently launched the book HOME MADE. 
I really like the food photography on Not Without Salt. And did you see that gradient cake?
You can definitely tell Coco alias Caitlin has a background in graphic design: Roostblog is very pretty with a (huge) hint of romance.



Kinfolk is another gem. It's about the marriage of their appreciation for art & design and their love for spending time with family and friends. A guide for small gatherings. Love it! I also love how Meg Ray, owner of Miette Bakery in San Francisco tells about her breakfast habit: she eats cake every single morning.
And now I'm off having dinner! Bon appetit!

Two weeks ago I watched the excellent documentary by France5 "The secrets of the beehive". Of course it was all about bees & their hives but it also focused on the medicinal values of honey, the Royal Jelly and pollen. In the countryside beehives are dying because of the pesticides and it is said that the future of the hive lies in our cities. Rooftop beekeeping in cities is booming business as it is also a fun (and trendy) way to obtain an Ecolabel for your company's building. Anyway, I've always been intrigued by the ancient job of beekeeping. The unfortunate fact that someone close is allergic to bee stings, keeps me from becoming a beekeeper myself.



What is almost just as cool about honey are the endless options for packaging designs. Designing anything "honey" is a graphic designers dream project. Or at least for me it is. Inspiration is everywhere: the hexagonal honeycombes, the bees themselves, the flying swarms, the honey's texture and it's rich colors... One of my alltime favorite honey designs is by Ah&Oh Studio for Babees.



This is why I am so excited about this amazing new short film series called Made by Hand. Their videos celebrate the people who make things by hand: sustainably, locally, and with a love for their craft. The inaugural film, in which they visit the Breuckelen Distilling Company, is excellent. Go watch it!

During the month of august I was unable to harvest any of the zucchini in my (small) vegetable garden due to some pollination issues. To go short I loved the courgette flowers a little too much and the plant didn't have enough time to develop any zucchini fruits. But with a helping hand I will most probably be able to harvest a few yellow zucchinis later this month.



All this to tell you that at this very moment the vendanges (harvesting of wine grapes) are in full swing in the South of France. While in the US they're harvesting something else: super nice bags with the beautiful name of Hærfest. I always wonder if bags like these are made of organic or vegetable tanned leather.



With quality materials, balanced proportions and attention to detail, they will stand the test of time. These bags are definitely not a disposable product, but wouldn't it be great if these bags had a tiny ecological footprint to begin with?