Yesterday citizenM officially opened its first hotel in the USA, just off the corner of Broadway and 50th street citizenM Times Square the next chapter for the Dutch hotel chain was just opened. With its 21 floors and 230 rooms this is the biggest citizenM till date. The hotel with a city view boasting rooftop bar, a beautiful terrace and a sky gym including an outdoor yoga space, continues its persistent offer of affordable luxury and everything seems to be in order to succeed once again in delivering just that in New York. The lobby of the hotel has the familiar citizenM cosiness, and is open for guests and visitors, with the canteenM open 24 hours a day for quality food, coffee and even cocktails. The Times Square hotel also shows the continuation of the creative partnerships of citizenM. These include the involvement of architecture agency concrete, Vitra, bookstore MENDO and the amazing art collection one finds throughout the hotel. [ Continue reading ]

During our recent visit to London we stayed at the on July the 4th opened citizenM Bankside hotel. A choice that wasn't made in vain. The hotel, part of the Dutch citizenM chain, houses on 20 Lavington Street in Southwark and offers 192 tastefully designed and furnished rooms. When approaching the front of the hotel the words Another World is Possible greet the visitor from above the entrance, and almost feels like a personal welcome. [ Continue reading ]

We are very grateful for everyone who had a share within the very first Our Current Obsession as without them we couldn't have realized it. Having introduced the main collaborator GERTRUD & GEORGE, some of the artists involved (with more to come), and ,The World of Black' in our space has been extended long and wide onto the online Our Current Obsessions environment, now it is time to give a proper insight into the other partners with which we’ve created the core of the extraordinary black selection of products for sale in our space on the Schippersgracht in Amsterdam. As these stores offer only the finest in their particular specialty we’ve named them Holland’s Finest, to which we owe a sincere debt of gratitude and feel honored to have collaborated with. [ Continue reading ]

Staying online is becoming almost a necessity while on the road. With services like Data Roam we can stay online 24/7, wherever we go. This makes the moments we are offline, out of reach of any transmission towers, with the nearest WiFi days away, real unique experiences.
Those moments are different than the one complaining you’re ‘out of reach’, in a tunnel or in a corner of a building where the coverage is just a little bad. It’s a complete different experience, and something that is rapidly becoming more and more uncommon. Thanks to the online world ‘getting lost’ lost its adventurous and sometimes dangerous feeling. But when you are at a place out of any cellular reach, we still can have the real ‘lost’ experience. [ Continue reading ]

For me, traveling means collecting stories, sounds, fragrances and images. Not in the big statements--the overwhelming music or megalomanic architecture--but in details. I'm attracted to the details: the small stories behind one image, the sound of a city awakening, that tiny shop around the corner and the subtle smell of flowers along the way. It is those details that make my travels so inspiring and addicting.  [ Continue reading ]

For CitizenMag of the Citizen M Hotel I wrote a little piece 'On Why I Travel'. Here's a little excerpt: "Spruce magazine once had the legendary payoff. "Turn heads. Set the tone. Be informed. Have it first." It inspired me in my work, in my private life -- basically in everything I do. It also helped me in my way of travelling, exploring new cities and places. When people ask me how I plan my travels, how I find those nice products, those sweet places to dine and those perfect spots to shop, the secret lies in this quote. It is the hunger, the craving need and the faith to find those unique and special places. But more important it feeds the fear of missing anything. And last but not least, it fixes the problem of feeling ‘naked’ when visiting unknown places. [ Continue reading ]

While planning my next trip to London we’ve just received these really nice guides by Herb Lester Associates featuring old bookshops and new coffee shops, park benches and dive bars, hat shops and haberdashers. Basically the world according to Herb Lester. At this moment maps of London, as… [ Continue reading ]

CitizenM asked me to contribute to CitizenMag’s 5th edition focussing on beauty. What exactly is beauty? We like to believe that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ because it celebrates the fact that everybody has a different opinion about it. [ Continue reading ]