Pretty Spring Pictures

Sitting room of fashion designer Nanette Lepore decorated my Jonathan Adler (ELLE Decor)

Bousssac Decoration advertisement

 

Va va voom glamour: apartment of Julie and Luke Janklow (Vogue ? 2007)

Hopped on my bicycle this morning to run some errands. Amsterdam is really at its best when the sun is shining. Everyone sitting outside enjoying a latte or something stronger. The canals are already filling with small boats. Came back home really inspired and ended up trying to order my boxes filled with magazine tear outs. Problem is that I do not always remember the origin of the tear out so I do apologize if I have it wrong sometimes. Here are three pages that I associate with spring!

The Fabric of Life

Just a quick posting today as I have been busy sorting out my new cushion production which I had to bring to the sewing atelier today. The production includes cushions from my current collection and some new models I am sampling. Here some pictures to show my not so organized studio. Thank got it is Friday!

Cherry Blossom Festival

Holland has very strong ties to Japan. For over 400 (!) years these two countries have trade relations. A large number of Japanese companies have regional headquarters around Amsterdam. Since a few years the traditional spring festivity Sakura or Cherry Blossom is celebrated in Amstelveen. The Japanese community gathers, cherry blossom trees are planted, traditional Japanese music, green tea, sake, kimono's, origami, one would not imagine oneself to be in Holland. I was invited to show my blossom designs. In this picture I am with former banker and Honorary Consul-General to Japan Mr Jaap Rost Onnes.

Inspiration: Purple & Yellow

interior design by Charles Rutherfoord (images WOI) 

    one of my purple & yellow inspired paintings Blossom & Waves (40x40cm, oil on canvas)

 Two of my silk pillow designs

Over Easter the colours purple and yellow have kept me busy. Egg yellow, like in the packaging of Aqua di Parma and deep shades of purple. I simply love their richness. In my files I found some old tear outs  from The World of Interiors showing some interior shots of a house designed by Charles Rutherfoord. Although I have used the colour combination before in my paintings and designs I feel I would like to use them again.

Women with Passion - Joan Sutherland & my mother

Dame Joan Sutherland (Maria Stuarda) with my mother Tine van Grootel (Anna)

Just came back from a wonderful weekend with my family. My parents live in a historic house in the South of Holland near Maastricht. It is filled with things they love and cherish. Everytime I visit my childhood memories revive big time. On the piano there is this black&white photograph by Jaap Pieper. I was about 4 years old when my mother started to study at the conservatory to become an opera singer. Single mum, 3 small kids, chasing her dream on just a scholarship. She was incredably talented but in "her" days opera wasn't particulary popular in The Netherlands.
In order to attract audience, the Dutch Opera Foundation would often engage opera stars from abroad for the leading roles. For the production of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda they engaged Australian born Joan Sutherland to perform the role of Maria. My mother was casted for one of the other main characters, Anna. She loved every single minute of her work with this beautiful star especiallly because she is so passsionate, down to earth, hardworking with a warm personality. After the production our family was invited to her house near Montreux (Switzerland). It was an amazing place,  I lost count of the amount of rooms when she gave us the house tour, but she made us feel very welcome.

Women with Passion - Carolle Thibaut Pommerantz

 

Carolle Thibaut-Pommerantz

 The book Wallpaper published by Flammarion

 She wrote a lovely dedication in my copy of her book.

An amazing Chinese wallpaper panel from Carolle Thibaut's collection

 

Carolle Thibaut-Pommeranz with "my" blue domino 

 

Carolle & moi in front of a fragment of "Les Monuments de Paris"

A week or two ago I wrote about my visit to the TEFAF, one of the world's most renowned art and antique fairs. It was a day full of wonderful encounters including one with the passionate, stylish Carolle Thibaut-Pommerantz. Carolle is an art dealer who specializes in vintage wallpapers from the 18th century to the art deco period, as well as fine contemporary artists' wallpaper. Her adventure, as she calls it, with wallpaper began accidentally in 1986 when she walked into an auction house in Paris. "I was dazzled and seduced by the variety of decors and the wealth of colours...". Well so was I when I walked into her booth. One of my absolute favourite pieces was a framed so called "domino" with blue flowers and acanthus leaves. As it happens it is also on the cover of her book WALLPAPER recently published by Flammarion. The book is an absolute must have for everyone who loves interior design. Thank you Carolle for introducing me to your beautiful world of wallpaper.

Revamping!

I have been playing a little bit with the lay-out of my blog today, in between errants, client visit, and shuffling a bit more furniture. I can't get the header quite right yet. Technical things are not really meant for me. In the picture a chair and moodboard patiently waiting to be repositioned. To be continued.....

The Kate Chaos Files - Spring Flip

My parents have always lovingly called me Kate Chaos. Yes guilty as charged. I am a creative chaotic soul, but once in a while I get the urge to create a new space for myself. At that point the beach towels come out of their hiding place as they are my tools for flipping round my furniture. A trick I learned from my mother. I am only a small girl and when I get the urge it has to be done yesterday and not tomorrow! So when there is no extra pair of hands around I am still able to move even the most impossible piece of furniture such as my oversized Empire cabinet, a family heirloom. Here are some pictures of my Spring Flip. Slowly my space is starting to look habitable again. I will share some more pictures once I have restyled in more detail.

Just an Impression

I was flat out yesterday. After a show I always feel a bit drained. So I had a nice quite Sunday by banning my Mac, strolling around Amsterdam with a friend from Stockholm who flew in for the show. Lovely dim sum lunch, a bit of shopping...
I promised pictures here are just a few taken before and at the beginning of popping the first bottles of bubbles. After that the camera was left unemployed on the table between the nibbles and the glasses. Anyway it gives an impression of how the work is displayed in the store. Thank you friends, fans and family for coming!

Showtime!

Absolutely no time to do a posting yesterday as I was busy hanging my paintings for my exhibition. In my next posting I will share pictures of my work in the setting of the gorgeous interior design store of Eveline Schmitz. For now I will just share some pictures of work that will be on exhibition (I am showing 20 pieces in total).