Meet Brooklyn-based artsit, Leah Yerpe. As much as I love colour, I have to say, I also appreciate black and white figure drawings. Love the movement in these figures, not knowing where the drawing ends or where it begins on the paper. So they could be either floating figures or figures falling down?!. What do you think?

Artworks by NY artist, Leah Yerpe.
Find out more about artist, here

Ruby Sparks is a charming indie film about Calvin (Paul Dano) a shy, self-absorbed writer suffering from a writer block. Calvins therapist set him a task, “to writer something bad”. So he begins to write about a girl in his dream and falls in love with the character (his dream girl) his writing about and who then somehow becomes real? It might sound dull, but believe me, it is not!.

Ruby sparks directed by the husband-and-wife team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine – that already gives you an idea what to expect in this film. However, in its own way, the film is very charming, romantic, funny and with some seriousness. The love between Calvin and Ruby is so undeniably pure and honest and really fun to watch.

The film has a great style, great shots and I love the soundtrack too. Ruby sparks oozes with tenderness, and vulnerability. The film is bursting of energy one moment and suddenly it comes to dark and quite serious moments. It’s impetuous, superbly written by Zoe Karzan, who dazzles with talent and style. So, did Ruby spark in the film? I say, she certainly did and I think you would love here too. Watch the trailer below.:

By the end of the season 8 of Project Runway (besides imitating Tim Gunn’s famous line “Make it work” ) Gretchen Jones managed to get everyone’s attention. Her rocker chic bohemian style is super cool! I can imagine her apartment, a place to want to hang around for a while and check out all the details, the decorations, the mix-match accessories hanging around the place.

Photos by  for refinery29.com. Yo can see the rest of the shoot here.

TEDxDelft will make sure to keep you young and inspired!

Just 1 days left till TedxDelft gets underway and I am so excited to be part of this very inspiring event! It will be a full day of BIG ideas, inspiration going on in little Delft.

So follow me Friday 5 October on twitter @susimenez as I live blog, tweet, film at the TEDxDelft.

This year TEDxDelft theme is ‘never grow up‘. Never stop asking questions, never stop wondering, always think of other ways to face challenges, always question why things are the way they are, keep wondering, keep on learning, always stay young, never stop dreaming, never stop doing, creativity by playing, work=play, gamification, living the dream, what do you mean, this cannot be done…inspired by Peter Pan

To give you a sneak peek of the line up, here are a few names I will be live blogging about.:

Pim van den Akker, Making everyday life extraordinary (presentation time: 12:42)

If you are into design, you don’t want to miss this presentation by the very talented Pim van den Akker. A Dutch designer who published his first book as his final thesis and then it went on to become an international best seller. Besides been recognized for his amazing floral design, he is also a furniture and lighting designer. I will be watching this presentation!

Arend Schwab – Why bicycles do not fall over (presentation time: 15:07)

Since I am not Dutch, but I do love riding my bicycle as my main mode of transportation in the city of Delft. I am sure there is more to discover about bicycle and why Dutch people can’t live without them.

Arend Schwab runs the bicycle mechanics lab and teaches mechanics at the Delft University of Technology. He has given academic talks related to his area of expertise in various universities all over the world. However, the concept of TED is relatively new to him.

Tom de Bruyne – I hate advertising and that’s why I’m in advertising (presentation time: 16:29)

Advertising is good and bad. How can I resist from such a title? Especially since I have worked in an advertising agency in Amsterdam and you can’t ignore that advertising is everywhere these days. Looking forward to sharing Toms presentation on advertising.

Tom de Bruyne, originally from Belgium, he studied clinical psychology, who ended up in the advertising world. He is passionate about making stuff with the ambition to excite people. Tom is founder and director at SUE Amsterdam, a start-up with the ambition to become an international creative agency for the digital era.

Spinvis – Cut up mini film stories disguised as pop songs (presentation time: 17:06)

Do not ask what the title means. I think we just have to listen to him and will figure it out by the end of his presentation. Erik de Jong, is better known as Spinvis, a one-man show using experimental and lo-fi (low fidelity) music. And has had great success in his home country, Holland… I don’t know if there will be much to blog about him during his presentation but I am sure it will be worth listening to while you are online.

Follow me on twitter @susimenez and to stay tuned with TEDxDelft.

Be inspired. Stay young with the live blog coverage of the TEDxDelft live, Friday 5 October.

There is always a room in your house that could do with a makeover, right?

It’s almost the end of the Woonbeurs Amsterdam  (interior Design fair), Sunday, 30 September is the last day. It’s a six-day event of interior design inspiration, ideas and trends. Unfortunately, I am not able attend the fair. So, to keep me (and you) updated and inspired, here are the latest images I found from one of the best Dutch interior magazine vtwonen.

[ images found via vtwonen] 

Over the weekend, the city of Delft (and around Holland) opened its door to the public for the event, Open Monument Day (open monumentedag in Dutch). It’s the only opportunity to see and discover historical buildings that are not normally open for the public.

I venture out into little Delft on both Saturday and Sunday. It´s hard to see everything, even if you have two days. The weather was unbelievably gorgeous that it was so hard to stay inside for too long. I discovered new places and revisited familiar places too. The water tower (see above images) gave me a new perspective of Delft, that I never seen before. I also noticed how green Delft is!

Inside the very spacious and beautiful, Oude Kerk (Old Church).

You can see the old church, sticking out in the back of the photo.

It was a hot day and these boys were having so much fun jumping off the bridge, into the canals.

If people were not swimming in the canals, they were sitting on the terrace.

Above and below, images of the Gemeente (town hall) It’s quite a small place but a charming building.

Remonstrantse Kerk (hidden church) the cutest church in Delft, secretly hidden away.


[ All photos by.: Susan Jimenez ]

So I leave you with the best secret treasure that I discovered on Sunday. It’s hidden away, outside the main centre of Delft. A great place to visit for a peaceful day out. If you are searching for a break from the city, and feel like being surrounded by nature, this is the place. Kruithuis (gun power tower) build around 1659  – I took plenty of photos of this secret spot, but will share it some other time. For now, this green Delft.


The Colosseum

Woody Allen on the set in magical Rome directing his latest movie, To Rome With Love

Trevi Fountain, aaaw my favourite fountain to hang out and dream away…

Love the backdrop here with the lovely Alessandra Mastronardi (Milly)


The Spanish Steps

Reading the Writing on Pomeii´s Walls

I find Jesse Eisenberg (Jack) a perfect fit for Woody Allen’s film. His like the younger modern version of Woody Allen.

[ Images via virtual history ]

After my love for Woody Allens film Midnight in Paris – on the contrary – I had absolutely no expectations for his latest film To Rome With Love. I went to see the movie with the idea of wanting to listen to some Italian, see and experience Italy all over again. The cast is great, but it was Penelope Cruz that made it easy for me to decide to see this film.

Although the film is somewhat predictable and silly at times, still, it made me laugh and enjoy my night out. I know I was not the only one. It also took me back to my first time in Italy, the year of 1993. I was seventeen then, travelling with my brother and his girlfriend (at the time, who remains a very close friend of mine) all through Italy, and I feel in love, with the Renaissance art.

If you want to enjoy the film, I suggest you don’t compare it to Midnight in Paris. Instead, just enjoy the scenery, the iconic backdrops of magical Rome. Escape from reality while you enjoy watching Woody Allen back on the big screen again….If you have seen the film, did it also make you want to hop on the next plane and go to Rome, Italy?

Perhaps a DIY project for the weekend?

The interior of the living room makes me want to get creative. Find old stuff lying around and give them a second chance. So if you can get yourself to the beach, try to create a luminous,  DIY beach glass wind chimes to hang out your window or patio. Or a pretty DIY dreamcatcher using recycled material.

Let me know if you make one…have a good weekend!

Living room image via anthologymag  DIY dreamcatcher  wind chime 
image.

Such an impressive work created by Parisian illustrator, Ugo Gattoni. The original is a 5 meters long drawing of the streets of London! I would love to see that. The book is published by Nobrow Press,  you can find more images and information about the book there. Or watch the BICYCLE video.

Inspired by the 2012 London Olympic Games, young artist Ugo Gattoni intricately illustrates a cycle race through the streets of London. From elite athletes to cycle couriers, commuters, bankers, delivery boys, mums with kids, youths on stolen mountain bikes to fashionistas and hipsters on fixed gear bikes – pretty soon you will realize this is no ordinary road race!

[ Found via Popshot Magazine, Images + Source: Nobrow, Video by camdurandrival ]

Paper furniture design by Pia Wustenberg from Germany. Pia designs are very interesting and fun, as she seems to experiment with a range of materials, textures and colours. Her work shows her diversity in product design from paper furniture, to textiles, ceramics, to jewellery and so on…

Here is a mix of her paper furniture products.

SideBoard Material: Birch Plywood and Dowel, Cotton Canvas, Paper

Cute paper mirrors, that look like they are going to jump around…any minute now.

[ images and source by Pia Wustenberg ]