Gorgeous pair: Rick Owens and Michele Lamy in AnOther Magazine’s video portrait A Little Bit Eternal, directed by Danielle Levitt.

POOL is an interesting and nicely designed intercontinental (Warsaw-Tokyo-Vienna) artistic magazine, filled with beautiful photography, original stories and unpretentious interviews.

I really like the intimate feel of this magazine, with its conversations, stories, black and white photography, and interesting use of color (green). I especially enjoyed reading the interview with Helga Ruthner of the Vienna-based fashion label Wendy&Jim, and a lovely story, Prepubescent Dreams and Desires, by Lucie Stahl. Hello Tomorrow, a set of interviews with eight young women living in Warsaw, was an insightful look into their lives and dreams.

POOL is curated by Yosuke Demukai, a Japanese photographer based in Warsaw/Tokyo, and the Polish artist Marcin Zarzeka, who lives in Vienna/Warsaw.

Hope there are many more issues still to come.

The place to have an amazing cup of coffee: The Village Coffee & Music in Utrecht. In addition, there is Kusmi tea and really good cheesecake, plus super friendly service.

Usually rather crowded, this lovely coffee bar brings together delicious coffee, great tunes, art, and all of it in a nicely designed space which makes you feel as if you were at home. I wish they were also open on Sundays… (and they will be throughout the month of December, with the exception of the 1st day of Christmas).

Always a treat.

Voorstraat 46
Utrecht

One of the most interesting exhibitions I saw during this year’s edition of Dutch Design Week was Modebelofte 2011 – a presentation of avant-garde designs by fashion students from various Dutch art schools.

The showcased work was selected by fashion consultant Carlo Wijnands. Some of the clothes were interesting, but it was their unusual presentation that was especially unique – a “tableau vivant” designed by artist Bart Hess. Fans were placed on the floor, below the display, making the clothes move in the wind. A kind of animation or projection made the flat mannequins come to life with alien-like features, blinking or moving their lips. Brilliant execution.

Quite provocative was a pair of shoes with metal crosses under the soles designed by Lotte Mostert (KABK Den Haag). The lighting made the presentation literally dark and mysterious.

Modebelofte 2011 runs until 20 November. Definitely worth visiting.

De Krabbedans
Clausplein 10 (De Witte Dame)
Eindhoven

One of my favorite fashion labels, the Belgian design duo A.F. Vandevorst, was asked to design a paper bag (or “shimbun” bag) for the weekend edition of Belgian newspaper De Morgen.

Paperbag is an interesting concept inspired by the “shimbun” bag idea from Japan. De Morgen invited four designers – A.F. Vandevorst, Bruno Pieters, Dirk Van Saene, and Delvaux to create unique prints which De Morgen readers can fold to make their own stylish paper bag.

The designs can be found in the four consecutive weekend editions starting with the A.F. Vandevorst print on September 3rd. Folding instructions for four different bag styles can be downloaded from the project’s website.

Here is a nicely designed postcard and a poster I got at the Ann Demeulemeester Antwerp store.

The design on the poster corresponds with the pattern used on some of their clothes this season.

As always, beautiful, simple, and romantic.

‘t Hoogt in Utrecht is one of my favorite cinemas specializing in independent films and art house cinema. ‘t Hoogt also organizes retrospectives, lectures, and workshops. On Thursday mornings their film club shows sneak previews with introductions by various film connoisseurs. You can then have a discussion over coffee in the ‘t Hoogt cafe.

I also love the film program and cafe menu design – which on the back side is actually a poster. It was designed by Dietwee.

The discount card is nice too…