Loving animals...

Living with animal is simply awesome. They are fun, cute, and give a light to our everyday life. From that point of view, converting boring objects to something animal-ish (or at least something fun, unexpectedly odd and fun) is the briliant idea, really. From my recent weekend trip to Berlin, (About 1hr and 30min from Amsterdam, isn't it great?!!, and so cheap (could have been much cheper) with the Easyjet and Transavia!) I've got this handsome hedgehock pen stand! which one of my friend responded like "not-so-Berlin" (=mere mass manufactured objects that can be found in anywhere in the world.) However, in fact, this boy happned to be from Russia! ok, this fact alone satisfied me and made me feel about him previleged and prestige feeling ;) The shop is located in the Mitte area:http://www.ok-shop.eu/

When I was falling love with this coat hanger bunny, I totally didn't think of the coming year, 2011 is the year of rabbit! (as I hate my animal, the wildboar (not-so-cute, rather aggressive and tough guy-looking), I have an unconscious non-isinterest to the yearly animal) That fact maybe made thsi purchase bit more special... There are so many other animals available, (such as duck, horse, sheep, rhinoceros, etc) in so many colors, but what makes so special to chosse rabbit out of these animals are not only its cutness, but rather its functionality. Because of the two long ears, it's enable to hang two coats! and when there is no coat to hang, it remains just as a peaceful cute little object. It can be found at: http://www.raakamsterdam.nl/

It's been on my shopping list for a while to get this when I go to Japan next time. I forgot when & where I saw this first time, but it's a sushi-USB stick!!! I personally think this is an AWSOME gift in general, of course it's so cute and funny, and it's super functional, like almost any form of sushi couldn't be more functional than it is.

D e s i g n + B e e r = A m s t e r d a m

When I was living in NY, I thought drinking beer basically is not so cool act, especially when you hang out with your friend somewhere down Lower east or Meat packing, I didn't want to imagine myself drinking Budweiser or Coors light etc. Well, but now, my fixed mind set has changed after I moved to Europe :)

 I just love the design culture here so much, because you can find really highly designed beer labels, which taste are  also nice most of the time!!! One of my favorite is Berliner Kindle, you can find different color and flavor, (those are for flavored beer, regular beer is also available, of course) and super-cute logo on the bottle and glass! which can be found exclusively only in Berlin.

Also Kriek bier is so nice, it's a Belgian beer, very cherish taste and the label is cute classic design...

I actually don't know where this beer comes from, but the left one is Mango beer that I found in the organic super "Markt", taste like, yes, Mango soda. The middle is Ij beer, which brewed at the windmill that located in Amsterdam East area, http://www.brouwerijhetij.nl/index_en.htm if you came to Amsterdam, please make sure you go there!!!!!!!
The brewery is locating by the canal, near the zoo, isn't it such an awesome location?!

and those slick design labels seems Amsterdam-original beer, but I haven't tried those yet.
How cool is that to have a design and beer culture combined at the cit like Amsterdam? The city is confined, but has all the great elements most of human would crave for the oasis for one's life!!!

A M S T E R D A M / Feb . 12 . 2011

"Rietveld-Nijntjestoel"... what a cuty! what a brave act! although this looks bit like quasi-Nijntje (Nijntje=(or known as) Miffy in Japan, moreless), I feel dutch pride/humor from this work! In fact, rabbits are seemingly found in many places in Amsterdam, I've seen 4~5 of them yesterday on the way home from work... yes, it's like those squirrels you see in most of the park in New York. (many people seems loving them, but they actually attacked one of my friend' mini-herb garden by the window... so, they are fluff and herb-lover.) So now it seems Nijntje was born in the right place, but what about Hello Kitty? Yes,  I brought my loving cat with me from New York (she is from Bronx, to be more precise) when I moved to Amsterdam, so I do love cat, and these loving animals are part of everyday life. Then, what is everyday life  here in Amsterdam? yes, there is so much to offer, so much to gain and love. Maybe Life is collective fragments of interesting things from different resources? Well, at least when I found this "made definitely in Holland" vibrator at the near by pharmacy, I really thought dutch people ARE the interesting people who worth share the living with.