When I look at the frequency of my blog-posts I see it’s going down… From +40 post to -20 post a month this year. And since I want this blog to grow bigger this isn’t a good thing.

My problem with blogging these days is that I don’t have the time to find enough high quality stories to publish. I’m becoming more critical; there is so much out there, but it’s all too much and too much of the same. It is, in some way, a good thing that pure quality is rare but it seems to become almost exotic.
Where are the exceptional handcrafted, handmade luxury products, the restaurants with extraordinary service and the brands who want to stay small, to keep the controle over the quality?
It has something to do with passion. There is a lack of passion for the product and service and too much passion for the money. When you are truly passionate about your product/service the money will follow. But when you are passionate about money, you product will become mainstream… That is what is happening these days.

So, hereby I invite everybody to submit stories, links, products, basically everything that has something to do with this lost beauty…

Keep on creating the best, the highest and the most sublime!
Joachim

Great agency, gorgeous photographers! New Blood Agency.

Beautiful paper cuts by Robert Ryan

I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. — Rita Rudner
:-)

Amazing illustrations by James Gulliver Hancock. James is an artist that crosses as many mediums as he does borders. Living out his middle namesake ‘Gulliver’ James is constantly on the move, having been involved in artist projects and residencies in Indonesia, Austria, France, the U.K. and America.

Love this great tool to make/read collections of blogs, find best designs and designers and get inspired!
The purpose of OPENnetwork is to help everyone who is interested in design getting a thorough overview of this fascinating area.

New issue. Oakazine No. 2 From Oak NYC

Old, but still cool! (thanks edson)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSdhDyPhyiU&hl=en]

Did toys turn into furniture or did furniture turn into toys? And who is in the middle?
The pieces of furniture are the main characters in this Tableau Vivant. A small change on the convention of chairs has granted them a life. This change mainly consists of removing the rear legs of the chairs and sometimes the addition of feet. The chairs become dependent on each other and their environment, with wich they interact and exist in numerous ways, creating all sorts of different situations.

Makes me smile. A nice project by Lucas Maassen / New EindhovenDesign

Beautiful new work by Lenneke van der Groot in the Amsterdam Metro.

So inspiring, so creative, so good: The work of London based graphic designer/art director Damien Poulain.

Beautiful jewellery, beautiful presentation: Karen Walker Jewellery

A nice project by Nina Katchadourian: The Mended Spiderweb series

Designers unleash their imagination and individuality on publications and promotional materials in the latest publication of Victionary.

I just got back from this amazing country, crossing the dessert with two old 4×4’s, two drivers, a cook and a guide, seeing rockart older than 12.000 years, experiencing 52 ºC, and coming back with sand everywhere! The pictures I’ve shot will form a new photo-book (will hopefully being released somewhere end 2008)

To Libya.
Will return the 12th of may.