Hasta La Ideas

So this little package with the most delicious chocolate is on it's way to the TimeOut Singapore head office – why? – because they gave us some really nice press coverage in their latest issue. I'm of course thrilled  and as a long time reader of 'TimeOut Anywhere' and understanding I think the kind of content they are after I feel it as a huge compliment they like our space too!

To be honest ever since we moved into our space in Tiong Bahru we have been getting so many nice responses from people just visiting and obviously also for the press. 

So thank you Singapore for welcoming the Bloesem Creative Space so warmly to your city! 

I couldn't think of a better way to thank Benita Lee, the author of our little press coverage then giving here some delicious and gorgeous looking chocolate, homemade in the Netherlands.

Van der Burgh Chocolaad was founded in july 2011 by Joyce and Richard van der Burgh as a result of an extensive search for handmade chocolatebars. They are convinced that chocolate must be created from only Fairtrade cacaobeans, but also that, for reaching the ultimate taste of chocolate, the process of making great chocolate has to be done in small quantities … and I belive that too and that's is why we are happy to say Bloesem is stocking these gorgeous bars in our space … come over and get one before my husband eats them all! 

ps. of course it was the packaging that made us want to try these bars!! ans we can tell you the inside is just as perfect 🙂

.. TimeOut Singapore
.. Van der Burgh Chocolaad

It's been a very rewarding two weeks here at Bloesem's Creative Studio. We kicked off with our very first Bloesem Classes! ABC's of Calligraphy and Decorate like a Pro and after 5 days of workshops we are more convinced that inviting international teachers to Singapore is what we LOVE to do. It is so much fun to learn from these experts in totally different fields and getting to know so many interesting and friendly students from Asia.

Today we would like to share some highlights of the ABC's of Calligraphy, with the wonderful Maybelle Imasa-Stukuls. It truly feels like the first step of an amazing journey. We couldn't have asked for a better way to start off this new Bloesem venture!

Maybelle came to us after spending a few days teaching in Japan. We are lucky that Maybelle is a very experienced teacher. We definitely picked up a few things while watching her during the class itself. 

Her impressive calligraphy portfolio is enviable … wedding invites for stars, projects for Martha Stewart's magazine, have all been checked off Maybelle's to-do list. We got a glimpse of her projects which she talked briefly about during the class. Our favorite was one of her first projects for Martha Stewart, a beautiful map for her magazine editor's wedding. Maybelle shows us calligraphy is more than just pretty writing for wedding invites, she even had some tea towels screen printed with gorgeous calligraphy. The potential for calligraphy is extensive! 

 Maybelle brought along personalized kits for every student (all 3 classes!). In the kit you can find a bottle of ink, a pointed tip pen, a special Maybelle-designed practise book and the best part, a pen and ink holder made personally by Maybelle's husband.

We realized that we were getting alot of enquiries about the kits and whether we sold them, so after some discussion, Maybelle kindly agreed to send over some kits. We will soon be selling the kits right here at Bloesem!

Along with the class, our students enjoyed some snacks and drinks while they were busy practising their new skills. Maybelle demonstrated then walked around and helped everyone. It was fun to see everyone enjoying themselves, talking and getting to know each other. And when they needed a little break, they stood up, walked around and looked at all the Bloesem.co merchandise in our showroom. Or they could grab a piece of lemon cake and some coffee or tea. 

Doing calligraphy feels as relaxing as practising yoga … we noticed ourselves when we got a private session one night after clearing the studio and making sure we were all set for the next full day of classes. 

Of course a class in Singapore isn't a complete experience without good food … I sometimes joke how Asian people talk about food like we talk about the weather … so it was a must for Bloesem to make sure we catered delicious food for our guests.

After class, we all sat down for some homecooked nasi lemak lunch and prosecco. So yummy and a great way to end the class. It was a nice relaxing thursday morning and some of our students even made their way back to the office once the class was over! All the catering, from cookies to cake to lunch, was courtesy of Make my day Zoet. Definitely one of the best parts of the class was the scrumptious munchies we had through out the day. We know it's not just us who have fallen in love with the food because everyone was reaching for the fudge spoons and lemon cake, so that's feedback enough for us!

We hope everyone who came had as great a time as we did organizing it. We want to thank Maybelle for being such a joy and being an awesome first teacher, you for joining us for the class, and thank you to all of you who were here in spirit, supporting us through instagram! All you kind words really put a smile on our faces after all the preparation and planning paid off.

Fun to see how much instagragm became a part of this class everyody wanted to share … So do continue to keep up with us on our instagram feeds, Irene at @bloesemblogs and Zara at @zaaras to see what we're up to! It's always great to hear your feedback and hopefully you get to join us in one of our future class. We have so many plans for classes already!

We are so sorry to everyone who couldn't get a space in the 3 classes and to everyone who emailed us hoping to get a space. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We have some very good news for you … We will be organizing more classes with Maybelle here in June and probably in Amsterdam in October.. so make sure you stay tuned!

 .. Bloesem Class

"Simplicity is king in everything we do. Fashion isn't." …  according to Alexander + Zuzanna. The founders of the ThisisPaper shop and the creative brains behind the gorgeous artsy magazine that was founded in 2012. 

I ordered the magazine for our creative space here in Singapore and hope the SIngaporeans will enjoy this magazine just as much as I do. It really encourage us to have a look at the simple and basic things around us… appreciate and treasure them. 

Isn't it super cool that each magazine is numbered and there are only 1000 copies available in the whole wide world! We have 10 copies in the Bloesem Space … come down soon and get your number!

..This is Paper magazine
.. bloesem.co

{all images via de Styling Academy in Amsterdam – Artemis}

Since Bloesem.co went live last week, we have been getting so much feedback about our classes and we are so thankful for that. One of the questions that kept coming up though, was about styling. We realized not many people know what styling is, which might be perfect since we are bringing Jurianne Matter to teach us exactly that!

Having taught at the Artemis Academy in the Netherlands, Jurianne is totally up to the task of shedding some light on the questions around the word styling, and we will be using works from the academy artemis to illustrate the wondrous world of styling.

The word styling means so many different things to many different people. So what actually is STYLING? Let's go ahead and dissect this word.

Maybe you don't have a concrete idea what this word actually means.. but you can pick out images you think may involve styling….

Styling can really help you sell something, literally and metaphorically. If you style a house's interior really well, with great furniture and beautiful accessories, that can make you the sale. You actually SELL  the house. but styling can also help you sell something, in the sense of convincing people of something. Like in films, when wardrobe stylists pick out clothes to fit a characters personality or fit the time period the character is in, it sells us the story and makes us believe the actors really fit into that setting. Already we have mentioned two examples of styling, fashion and interior styling. There's also food styling, you know those irresistible shots of maple syrup dripping off pancakes or the juicy burger on the burger king ad. The food doesn't just look that way, it's all thanks to the food stylist, that our tummies are rumbling and our mouth over-generating saliva.

When you are shopping and walk past shop windows, the people who style the mannequins and the shop windows are visual merchandisers, they help sell the clothes, because when people see a nice outfit on the mannequin, they are inclined to walk in and have a look around, or more specifically, hunt down that outfit they are now lusting over.

Styling is everywhere in that magazine you were just reading. The fashion, the interiors, the products… a great deal of effort was put into how everything looks the way it looks.

So do you see now? Coming up with a great product or space or item isn't good enough anymore. Good styling bridges the gap between that and the item actually been sold. It's the step in the process that makes the buyer go :" ooh, i want that", it makes things look good enough to buy.

Though styling is a professional career for many, having the knack for styling can come in handy for anyone. Let's say for a mom who wants to makeover her kitchen, or her child's room, or even her entire home! Having the skill, though not at a professional level could still come in handy in many situations. 

Now that we have established some idea of what styling really is, (before this, whenever i mentioned styling, everyone would think I worked in the fashion industry, biggg misconception), and how important it can be, we now have to answer that big looming question: Can you learn styling, or does it come naturally? It's like the nature vs nuture debate: styling edition.

In styling, it's the small details that really make the world of a difference. You have to have an eye for it and look out for what little things can make a space look better. We believe that it's something you can learn to do, like anything else.. Watch the professionals, see how they do it and just practise practise practise. Trying out styling things on your own and slowly but surely, you too will get it!

Spreading the word and the fun of Styling has become one of our latest adventures here at Bloesem. With the launch of Bloesem.co last week, we are also excited for our latest class in March!

Also, thank you for the great response on Bloesem.co! So many have already signed up for the upcoming classes, we're thrilled! – Zara S. 

 ALL IMAGES via .. Artemis Acedamy Amsterdam

.. Portfolio Graduates from Artemis

_________________________________________________

Now you can sign up for a 'Styling workshop' by Jurianne Matter at Bloesem studio in Singapore. 

8 or 11 March from 9.30 am till 2.00 pm 

More info here at bloesem.co

After posting Masha’s gorgeous photography yesterday, we were kind of hesitant about what we should post today, but I guess the show must go on! And we can definitely learn a thing or 2 from her.

A little look at what we’ve been up to in the Bloesem Creative Space recently. Hard at work with the goodies that came in over the past month that will be in the shop. It’s so nice working in a space ‘”cluttered” with beautiful things, not the usual scrap paper and school books I used to have on my desk when i was studying. Definitely much better.

We popped by the market early yesterday and picked up this bunch of spring onion flowers (is that what they are called? I have personally never seen them. Irene spotted it with her keen eye for details and exotic groceries. ) They ended up coming in very handy!

Psst! We also shockingly spotted an Eames stackable chair, which we promptly shared on instagram.

Some product info for you:

The IKONIK series from Darling Clementine, Keecie‘s beautiful leather pieces, NALA stationery and Vintage items likes these numbers stamps … all available soon in our brick and mortar shop in Singapore AND our online shop!! We are still sourcing labels from all over the world … tips and ideas are very welcome 🙂 

We are looking forward to working more and more in the studio and welcome collaborations! So if you interested in working on something with us, please don’t hesitate to drop us an email. 

All images by Irene and Styling by Zara from Bloesem creative space.