Tea in the City

Abstract Neon with Teapot and Tea Cup (oil and gold leaf on canvas 40x40cm)

Sipping on a cup of tea right now, taking a moment to relax  is exactly what I need.  Constant chaos here in the house, the kids bustling in and out, friends visiting, finishing paintings that will me on show over the next few months at various locations in The Netherlands and Belgium. First exhibition of this year is already up and running at Tea in the City in Amsterdam.


Just moving to a new location, Tea in the City sells a wide range of teas and accessories to have your tea with style. Evelyn, the shop owner, one of my first clients has done a wonderful job with her new shop located in the southern part of Amsterdam on the Beethovenstraat.

Just inside of Tea in the City

My painting and products feel right at home! The exhibition features works highlighting the beauty of traditional Delft pottery, Asian ceramica, sweet cakes, and of course, tea! The paintings dot the staircase and are mostly shown in the salon upstairs.

While the exhibition is running, my pillows and trays will be brightening the window front against Amsterdam's grey skies!

Our New Window Display

Maybe just a sweet little tea tray to serve tea and biscuits on! Yum.

California Dreams: a week in pictures

touching picture of Meryl Streep and Colin Firth in the LA Times

I feel spoiled. I spend a whole week in California. Nooooo I have not been star gazing in LA during The Oscars (but could not resist watching it live on tv of course, especially being in the same time zone for a change). I have been hanging out in small beach towns North of San Diego. My daily routine started with a run on the beach. It keeps amazing me how many surfers are already in the water early mornings. What a luxury it must be to hit some waves before going to work. Californian lifestyle in these smaller beach towns is so laid back it just forces you to go in lower gear. And that is exactly what I did. A week of relaxing, thinking, planning, dreaming whith the soothing sound of the Pacific in the background. I even managed to finish a book that I bought at my favourite bookstore in New York, The Strand. An out of print book "Sonia Delauney: The life of an Artist" by Stanley Baron. It has been a fab week, California dreaming!...... and now back to the Amsterdam circus :))

In the Window of......Galeries Lafayette, Paris!

In Bloom Orange in the window (picture courtesy Galeries Lafayette)

 More bloom in the window (picture courtesy Galeries Lafayette)

What a start of the weekend! We just received these pictures from Galeries Lafayette. YES I am proud to see my designs in the windows of iconic department store Galeries Lafayette in Paris. What more can a girl wish for (besides the moon :)). Have a wonderful weekend, mine will be bubbly for sure!

"Almost Incredulous Feats in Mid Air....."

 

 Ingenious display @ Andrew Martin (Maison et Objet)

With The Zush @ NYIGF 

  Lamp Base by Dunes and Duchess

 (the yellow is just perfect with my dark grey walls!)

Happy to bump into Anna Spiro

Storefront Elizabeth Bauer

VaVaVooom from Paris to New York back to Amsterdam!
I hope I don't make you mad by just "flying by" occassionally nowadays. It is what it is, I do the best I can dividing time between creating my art and designs, building the brand, doing the trade fairs, make sure that my products turn out the way I want them to turn out and oh yes there are my children as well 13 and 16, lovely age :)). Hence this fabulous antique Circus Poster that was gracing the walls of Andrew Martin's booth at the Maison et Objet. It simply says it all!
[According to the Oxford Dictionaries  "incredulous" means "unwilling or unable to believe something" and a "feat" is "an achievement that requires great courage skill or strength"]. REALLY in all honesty I can hardly believe that I survived the last 12 months (and still absolutely LOVE what I do).

Paris was covered in my previous post and as far as New York is concerned, our second NYIGF was beyond expectations.  We have wonderful new stores on board (including one of America's iconic department stores!) which we will disclose on our list of retailers as soon as the products are delivered early Spring.
I was delighted to see Jonathan Adler (again :)), but I did not take a groupie picture with him this time (ha ha), the elegant Quintessence and Hamptontoes, wonderful client The Zush,  ELLE Decor, Canadian House and Home, Home Accents Today and many more (and I apologize about the lack of pictures, there was hardly any time...). I also took some inspiration home from the fair. A wonderful lamp base designed by Dunes and Duchess. I just can't wait to design a lamp shade to go with it but in the meantime it already looks superb as an ornament!
After the show I had a day of meetings (of course :))}} but also some time to play so I finally managed to see Elizabeth Bauer's store whose eclectic style is right up my street. The cherry on the cake was bumping into one of my favourite designers Anna Spiro!

Travelling the World

A quick update as I am busy travelling the world with my designs in tow. After spending a week in Paris for the Maison et Objet I had less then 24 hours at home in Amsterdam before flying to New York to set up for the New York Internantional Gift Fair. One wonders what the hell the organisers of these fairs are thinking when they plan these shows so close together considering quite a few exhibitors do both shows. But let's not complain. Travelling the world has its absolute perks (besides being slightly exhausted). In Paris I stayed with my team in an appartment, courtesy of one of my clients, with a fabulous view, having too many pains au chocolat and well deserved dinners in great little places. And now in New York the view from my friends' appartment isn't bad ether :). As I have promised myself for this year That I will spend more "self" time. I will get in to my running gear NOW for a run along the Hudson riverside before heading of to my first day at the NYIGF and wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

2012 HERE WE GO AGAIN! Kicking off with shows in Paris and New York

 Ikat & Fish tray based on a hand-painted design (Mariska Meijers) made in Scandinavia out of FSC certified birchwood

to be launched at the Maison et Objet and NYIGF

Oh yes the wonderful circus has started again. In full preparations for the shows in Paris (Maison et Objet 20-24 Jan) and New York (NYIGF 28 Jan-2 Feb). I am excited, nervous and still have a massive list of "Things to Do", but I Do I Do love it!
Today I received a letter from the organisation of the Maison et Objet that 'Mariska Meijers Amsterdam'  has been selected by their Committee to receive the label of Special Archi Designer which according to the letter "you receive for your know-how, your recoginized expertise and your custom-made production for large-scale projects". A wonderful reward for all the hard work last year!

"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work*."

Colin Powell 

*and in my case also tears sometimes Mr Powell :)

Bye Bye 2011, Hello 2012!

with my kids Annemarth and Mauk (26 december 2011)

For the last few weeks I have been quiet on all fronts: Blog, Facebook, Twitter...... Mid December I just crashed. Exhausted, in bed with the worst flue in years. My body forced me to take a rest, but my mind kept wandering, especially about all the things that have happened last year and how to go forward.
2011 has been a year of enormous growth. We did our first trade shows in Highpoint, New York and Paris, added more product ranges and designs, received great media coverage. I met inspiring people, including Jonathan Adler and Maxwell Gillingham. More designers and retailers support the brand Mariska Meijers Amsterdam and last but not least the social media support has been fantastic. But in between successes I had many doubts and insecurities as well. Am I good enough, can I keep up with the pace...... I have had days that I felt I was all over the place, losing focus. I just so much admire colleagues who just seem to manage everything effortlessly. I could make a long list of do's and don'ts for 2012.....I could but I won't.....

What I envisage for the New Year is that I will continue to believe in myself. I will continue to do my best every day to the best of MY ability, whether it is being a mother, (girl) friend, daugther, sister, artist, designer, marketeer, employer.... I will not worry (too much) about what others say about me. I will continue to trust my heart and gut feeling and be grateful for all the support and positive feedback I receive. I will continue to embrace life with all its ups and downs and be happy with the choices I have made.

Thank you for your support and patience and I wish you all a wonderful 2012, making time to chase your OWN
dreams!

"Man, alone, has the power to transform his thoughts into physical reality; man, alone, can dream and make his dreams come true." Napoleon Hill

The 2nd edition of HeartHome magazine has arrived!

Huge compliment for editors-in-chief Carole King and Arianna Trapani and art editor Daniel Nelson for yet another "tour de force". The 2nd edition is filled with fabulous (holiday) inspiration and interviews with even more fabulous inspiring people like bird of paradise Zandra Rhodes, Design Sponge's Grace Bonney and ELLE Decoration's newly proclaimed Designer of the Year Mr Lee Broom!!!
pssssss For this issue I worked with the HeartHome team on a feature on my wonderful hometown Amsterdam (on which I will do a separate post).
It is a must read so click here and absorbe!  Note: all pictures in this post are via HeartHomeMag

Museum Talk

 Charles in a Striped Jersey (Henri Evenpoel, 1898)

Mauk in a Striped Jersey (hallway @ home)

 

new facade Stedelijk Museum

 

inside the new exhibition hall @ Stedelijk Museum

One of my Eclectic Interiors (100x100cm, oil on canvas)

on show @ Wereldmuseum Rotterdam 

Last week was all about museums for me both as visitor and exhibitor.

VAN GOGH MUSEUM AMSTERDAM

At the Van Gogh Museum I saw Snapshot. Painters and Photography, 1888-1915 an exhibition that zooms in on artists' everyday live. On show are phothographs and paintings by George Hendrik Breitner, Pierre Bonnard, Maurice Denis, Henri Evenpoel, Henri Rivière, Felix Valloton and Edouard Vuillard. The exhibition gives an great insight on the creative process of these painters. 

My favourite of this exhibition is a painting (and matching photograph) by Evenpoel "Charles in a Striped Jersey". Dated 1898, but looking so unbelievably modern and touching (Charles was his illegitimate child). I went back twice to study this wonderful painting and made me laugh at my own attempt a few years back to paint a portrait of my son Mauk (in a striped jersey). I guess I will never become a portrait painter....
The exhibition will run from 14 October 2011 to 8 January 2012 at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam(and in Washington from February to April 2012, and in Indianapolis from June to early September 2012).

STEDELIJKE MUSEUM AMSTERDAM
Our "MoMa" closed for many years for extensive renovation, to be re-opened in 2012. I was lucky to get a sneak preview last Friday when the spectacular white main entrance façade of the Stedelijk Museum was officially revealed by means of a lightshow (and meeting the architect Mels Crouwel of BenthemCrouwel).

WERELD MUSEUM ROTTERDAM
In connection with the exhibition Future Pass two of my paintings will be on show and the Museum store has added my designs to their collection. The exhibition will run from December 8 to March 11, 2012.

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend. I am flying off to London!

 

Black Friday teams up with the Weekend Proffer

Being Dutch I am not really familiar with Black Friday. Wikipedia says: "
Black Friday is the day following Thanks Giving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas Shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season.
So Black Friday teams up beautifully with my recent tradition of the Weekend Proffer. I am offering my giclees and screenprints (any design) normally €170 (ex shipping) for €120 (including shipping, even international!). If you are interested send us an email at info@mariskameijers.com.
For more designs check our webstore but to receive the deal order by email! Wishing you all a Black but Happy Friday!