DIScourse

It's Sunday and I'm in Rotterdam since Monday is a National Holiday in Belgium and everything will be closed tomorrow. Unfortunately, I didn't really think about it and all the galleries and museums are closed in Rotterdam tomorrow.

Friday was a good day for me in Antwerp though. I mailed the current issue of Plazm magazine to Ann Demeulemeester's publicist in Paris and it looks like I may actually get to interview her for the forthcoming issue of Plazm. After going to the post office on my lunch break I rode my bike to the Demeulemeester boutique to see if there was anything left from the sales that I "needed" to get. Surprisingly there were still things left in size XS but I was a little disappointed that everything was still only 30% off. While I was there I was speaking to some of the staff and one person mentioned that they are looking for another sales person for the store and that he thought I would fit. While sales are not really my strong point, the employees at the shop also help with the runway shows, sales, etc in the company which seems really exciting to me. Anyway, immediately all these thoughts went swimming arounf in my head and I was trying to figure out a way that I could come back to Antwerp and work for Demeulmeester in case the job at Theo doens't work out. While I was in the store I also heard a John Parish song from his new album which made me really happy since I don't hear his music in public very often and I always like hearing music from friends.

When I got back to work after lunch I had an email from Vice magazine in my mailbox. I'm really not sure how they found me or why they wanted to contact me but it appears that they've seen my website and this blog. So, who knows if anything will come of it but it's nice that my website and blog are being viewed by people other than close friends and family.

Friday after work I went to STAN salon for a cut and color, my second since arriving in Antwerp and most likely the last time during this stay. I went for a shorted cut and got rid of the purple-ish red in favor of brown and black. As always it was a good experience and afterwards I was asked if I'd like to be a hair model for the salon. Of course I'd do it but I originally thought they'd just want me to come in and to be photographed but apparently they do a photo shoot or show twice a year and I might not be in Antwerp during the next shoot.

New Hair

After I was finished at the salon I called my American friend, whos sister was visting from Montana, and her husband came to pick me up for dinner at their home in Mortsel. So, we had a nice evening eating some of the seasons first mosselen (mussels), listening to music, drinking wine, having conversation and watching a great version of the "Ice Ice Baby" video.

Saturday was a pretty uneventful day. I slept in and when I woke up it was raining. I made and ate breakfast then watched some television and went grocery shopping. When I got home I fell asleep again. Later when I woke up it was still raining and I got dressed. By the time I was dressed it had cleared up and I decided to go back to the Demeulemeester shop. Half way there I got caught in a thunderstorm and downpour. I had my umbrella with me but still got soaked up to my knees. When I got to the shop the pair of pants I was thinking of getting had been sold. I tried on another pair of pants but decided that I should wait to see the fall collection before I bought anymore clothes. I also had brought in a jacket that I'd bought in Tokyo a year or so ago and had it marked for alterations. In the shop there was a blackened silver necklace/belt/bracelet from last fall that I'd been looking at that was still in the case and I decided I was something I "needed" especially since I couldn't get the necklace I saw in NY (which I still want). So, I got the accessory and went on my way home.

I ended up deciding not to do anything Saturday night since I didn't want to be tired for my trip to Rotterdam.

This morning I woke up really early and watched cartoons on television. It was my first time seeing the Smurfs (den Smurfen) on television in Belgium but it was some new version with a grandpa Smurf (he had yellow pants) and Gargamel had a boy assistant who I don't remember seeing. One thing that crossed my mind that had never crosses it before in my years of watching cartoons, is how do the Smurfs keep their shoes and pants so white even though they are walking on dirt and grass most of the time? If anyone knows the answer to this I'd like to know.

Rotterdam

I got to the train station about 1:00 and bought my tickets for Rotterdam but I has some time to kill to I had my first Belgian waffle from a cart and a cip of black coffee. The train to Rotterdam only takes an hour from Antwerp so I was at my hotel by 3:15. I put my things, plugged in my computer (€22.00 for 24 hours of internet) then went out to explore the city a little. Rotterdam seems much larger than Antwerp but it's a very new city having been bombed in the WWII. That said there is a lot of boring if not ugly architecture in the city. However, most of my favorite furniture/product design and architecture is coming from Rotterdam or the Netherlands in general, so things are getting better here. I noticed a lot more contemporary public in the city as well.

Rotterdam





















Since it's Sunday most shops are closed and the ones that were open today were closed by the time I got to them. I did manage to make it to a couple of small galleries and found a restaurant to have dinner at. After dinner, I walked around some more and ended up walking through a park before going back to the hotel.

Het Park





















So, now it's 11:00 and I'm watching The Gathering on television. Tomorrow I'm hoping to make it to some shops and if all goes well, to a couple studios of designers I like. In the evening I'm planning to meet a friend of a friend before I head back to Antwerp.

DIScourse - Amsterdam

It's been awhile since my last journal entry and a lot has happened so let me start with what went later in the day after my last entry, June 6. After work I rode my bike to the salon, STAN, and got my hair dyed. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with it other than making it darker so I let the woman doing my hair sort of do whatever she wanted. We ended up going for a dark reddish-purple with the front part dyed black. It pretty much looks black unless I'm under a light or out in the sun. I was worried about missing my train to Amsterdam but I ended up getting out of the salon early.

I rode my bike to the train station and got my bag out of the locker then went to a cafe and had a beer before getting on the train. The train ride to Amsterdam takes about 2 hours and goes by pretty quickly. I just listened to music and watched the scenery go by.

When I got to Amsterdam I got a taxi and told him to take me to Hotel Europa 92 and showed him a print out I had. I had a bad feeling that something was going to happen but the driver seemed nice so I just got in the cab and looked at the city. We finally got to the hotel but it looked different (nicer) than the photos on the internet, so I asked if it was the right hotel and it turned out that he took to my Hotel Europe which is a different part of town. He reset the meter and we left. When we finally got to the correct address I paid the driver and gave a good tip and got my bag and as I was going into the hotel he said that I owed him another 10 euros for the ride to the first hotel. I refused saying it was his fault since I showed him the print out and he obviously didn't look at it, then went into the hotel.

I checked in, put my things in the room and walked to the Paradiso, hoping that I wasn't going to be late for the show. In true Dustin form I got a little lost and what should have taken me ten minutes took me about 30, but I made it in time for the show, in fact I was early. The Paradiso is a legendary venue and I was glad to finally see a show there. When I arrived there was a dj playing music and a few people milling around, but it wasn't as crowded as I was expecting considering it was premier of a new Ryoji Ikeda piece. After about an hour Ikeda was on stage and I was surprised to see that he looked younger than I was expecting. The music and video projections were fantastic! It's amazing how loud something can be and not damage your hearing when the sound quality is good. After Ikeda played Olaf Bender (aka BYETONE) went on stage and played an almost equally good set. Once the show was over the dance party started. Some of the crowd left while more showed up. I wandered around the venue a little and found another dance party going on the first floor (second floor) which I danced at a little. Getting back to the main floor I danced on and off for awhile and then headed back to the hotel.

In the morning I got up and dressed and went down stairs for breakfast. I then headed into town to finally do some shopping and sightseeing. I found my way to the 9 Streets (a famous shopping part of town) and wandered around until the stores opened and took some photos:

When the stores opened I made my way to Van Ravenstein which opens a basement sale room on Saturdays. I tried on some great Demeulemeester boots but the pair I really wanted was too large. In the end I got a black tank top with the AMOUR print on it. I talked to the sales associates and they gave me some ideas on other shops to look at, including telling me where the Droog shop was, since I couldn't remember from my last trip. They also told me about another shop, Frozen Fountain, which turned out to be great.

So I walked and walked and walked...

It is amazing how many bikes there are in Amsterdam. Tens of thousands of bikes and all kinds of bikes: delivery bikes, bikes with kid baskets, old bikes, mountain bikes, tandem bikes, recumbant bikes, etc...

I ended up going to a shop, Ennu, that was recommended to me by the women and Van Ravenstein and found a new bag (my white leather bag is falling apart) and a scissor pendant that I had been wanting since the beginning of the season. The people in the shop were really nice and one of the owners was wear the Theo Brainwear frame, so I told them I was working there at the moment, to which they said "great, but you should move to Amsterdam." I've been told and I've noticed there is a lot of rivalary between Netherlands and Belgium.

After going to the Droog shop I stopped into a Smart Cafe and purchased my evenings activity, Philosophers Stones. I then did some more walking and eventually found my way to a bar called the Chaos Cafe, where I sat on a bench outside and enjoyed a La Chouffe while looking at a canal. I then headed back to my hotel and ate the Philosopher Stones along with some chocolate. The next 6 hours is hard to describe, but it was a trip.

Sunday morning I woke up feeling a little more tired than usual but got dressed, packed my things and had breakfast. I checked out, leaving my bag at the hotel, and walked around the city for about 4 hours, taking in the scenery, taking photos and finally stopping for a beer, Kwak, at a Belgian pub. I then caught the 2pm train back to Antwerp.