Tuesday, 27 January 2015 by Irene Hoofs
It has arrived: Volume 3 of the Bloesem Gazette! This issue is all about conversations as we we speak to some of our favourite creatives from around the world- from getting to know their personal lives to their work and dreams for the year. Take a peek into the life of textile designer, Mae Engelgeer, and her upcoming collections; be inspired by the story of our Bloesem Class teacher, Natalie Miller; get expert forecast from Studio Oink on interior design trends of 2015 and so much more! And of course, this issue is not complete with a travel guide of 3 cities in Europe by Trisha Toh and also a delectable dessert recipe for you to whip up at home!
Also in the Gazette: All the latest information about our upcoming classes -
4 - 7 Feb: Food styling and mobile photography
5 - 8 Mar: Gold foiling calligraphy for beginners
28 Mar: Marketing for Makers
8 - 11 May: Tapestry weaving
12 - 13 May: Macrame
You can grab a copy of the new issue at the Bloesem Studio or cafes in Tiong Bahru, Robertson Quay, Holland Village and more to come... For our international readers, we haven't forgotten you so here's our online version of the Bloesem Gazette for you to enjoy! Also, if you would like us to drop of some gazettes at your establishment feel free to leave us a comment on our social media or even and email and we'll be right over with the gazettes..
For the cover of this Gazette we took a picture of the fabulous poster by Michelle D'Avella from Pushing Beauty. We are big fans of this poster and we can highly recommend it hanging it in your office or workspace ... it will keep you motivated! Pencils are from Palomino and I added some vintage pewter!
We would like to say a huge thank you to the following sponsors for being part of Issue 3: The Ordinary Co, Whimsigirl, Scout, Enerfloyd, Woolf Works and Ohpopdog. And not forgetting Wit & Folly for the lovely illustration!
We are starting to look for partners for our next issue, if you would like to work with us please drop us an email at bloesemads[at]me[dot]com.
Download the Bloesem e-Gazette
Sunday, 4 January 2015 by Irene Hoofs
Looking back at 2014, Bloesem has so much to be thankful for. Importantly, for the first time in Bloesem’s history we now have a fully dedicated team with super talented and inspiring women, Zara and Mei, who have been shouldering an ever-growing number of Bloesem activities. Excellent work Ladies! And a special thank you to Anouk with whom we have been working closely on many exciting projects.
Yes, we have been very busy building the Bloesem businesses and brand – our concept store in Tiong Bahru has really taken off, the Studio is attracting very interesting freelance work and the Class is steadily growing its student numbers. Our next quarterly Gazette will be out early January and something to look forward to we promise you. We remain very active on all social media platforms and, of course, we stay true to our roots: Bloesem blogs, where it all began almost a decade ago.
But most of all, we owe a big thank you to all of you! Dear loyal Bloesem readers at B:Living and B:Kids who make it possible that Bloesem continues to grow. It is absolutely wonderful to see that so many readers worldwide believe in Bloesem (and me...), enjoying our taste for style, design and crafts.
And somehow it feels like we're just getting started… in 2015 and beyond Bloesem will continue to evolve into a full-grown creative studio. Committed to the success of our clients and fostering deep relationships with their businesses. Lookbook Styling, Sponsored Content, Travel Reports, Facebook and Pinterest Campaigns, Instagram Opportunities and In Store Promotions. We believe in The Art of Visual Storytelling.
Here’s to new collaborations!
Happy New Year ... may all your dreams come true! xoxo Irene
Picture in Top image is by Karin Nussbaumer.
The different products in all images are from the bloesem shop collection which you can find here at our online shop.
Thursday, 18 December 2014 by Irene Hoofs
We hope you enjoy reading the Bloesem Gazette as much as we enjoy creating it! We're currently working on a very exciting third issue (don't want to spill too much of the beans yet). Of course this time we will once again create an e-gazette for our international readers but for our Singapore readers, you will be able to get your hands on the Bloesem Gazette at many hotspots across Singapore.
The Bloesem Gazette is Free and we distribute 3,000 copies around Singapore. We are looking for partners to make the Gazette the best it can be. If you would like to work together with us please drop us an email at bloesemads[at]me[dot]com.
Once again it will cover design, travel and lifestyle topics and we can't wait for you to get your hands on this copy!
.. View the entire 2nd issue of the Bloesem Gazette
Tuesday, 2 December 2014 by Irene Hoofs
Following our pop-up shop weekend we are happy to announce Bloesem's big End of Year SALE! All the usual favorites are going on sale. It's a great time to get those gifts, especially if you missed Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales and are still in the market for Christmas gifts. On top of that, we are extending our offer of complimentary calligraphy gift tags for all online orders! Order your gift and let us know what you would like written to that special someone. Even if you are not sending it directly to them, we'll send you the gift tag and you can add it to your gift when it is all nicely wrapped up.
.. Shop the mega Bloesem sale
We're having a sale on all our posters too! 
.. Bloesem.co
Wednesday, 17 September 2014 by Irene Hoofs
If you have not heard, we recently published the second issue of the Bloesem Gazette, this time it came along with an online version - the Bloesem e-Gazette!
Here's a sneak peek to one of our favourite articles in the latest Bloesem e-Gazette (click here to download it). Irene shares her love of ceramics with us in this article, introducing us to some of the big names in ceramics and letting us in on how she goes about collecting all the beautiful pieces we have seen both on the blogs and her instagram.
Read on: Coveting Ceramics..
// Text and pictures by Irene Hoofs
I have always been attracted to vintage ceramics. It combines all the things I like about design: prints, colours, illustrations and functionality. Not that I know much about the technique used in producing tableware, porcelain or ceramics in general. My only criteria is whether I think a particular piece is beautiful!
The variety in vintage ceramics is overwhelming, and the jargon can be confusing. I simply use the generic name ‘ceramics’ for all items made out of clay (or similar materials, if that is even possible). My own collection of vintage ceramics started out rather modest, consisting only of a few pieces I found at flea markets and garage sales on trips back to the Netherlands. But over the past few years, these humble beginnings are indeed a thing of the past and I am proud to say that I have managed to collect (or amass one might say) some great pieces.
Some of my new vintage finds from the Netherlands (including the ones shown here) are on sale in Bloesem Shop, if I can tempt you to drop by and have a look! Truth be told, collecting genuine vintage ceramics requires quite a bit of luck and persistence, in addition to a skilful eye. A collector-to-be must have a knack for patiently and relentlessly browsing through thrift stores in search of the holy (ceramic) grail. Ignoring raised eyebrows and funny looks while turning and examining every piece of ceramics, hoping to spot that cherished mark or logo!
Once you start searching for ceramics it is easy to get lost, it is a collectors’ heaven for sure.
Scandinavian and Dutch pieces are my true passion, so naturally my focus has been on designs from these regions. And the images you see in this Gazette are from my Nordic collection. Vintage ceramics are great pieces to add to your home to give the decor a personal and unique touch, creating your own personal museum. One iconic piece mixed in with some more modern pieces can make a world of difference. Use beautifully illustrated ceramics as centerpieces for your table, to give a little life and character to the space. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the world of ceramics. There are so many beautiful designs out there I just know you will have a great time looking out for the perfect ones!
.. Bloesem e-Gazette
Tuesday, 16 September 2014 by Irene Hoofs
The last week of August was dedicated to shibori dyeing with Arounna from Bookhou. Arounna and John reside in Canada but were here for a week's stay along with 5 classes - 3 shibori classes and 2 other water coloring classes.
The artistic couple took this chance to explore Singapore and do abit of painting too. We loved following their journey on Arounna's instagram account. They painted in the park and noticed all kinds of beautiful flora and fauna which we might have taken for granted.
Anyway, back to the shibori class.. it went swimmingly! With the shibori print being one of the hottest trends on the market (we've been seeing alot of it online for awhile now), it was fun seeing the students explore different techniques and coming up with different patterns. Arounna brought along some samples she had created previously for reference which really helped inspire everyone.
We also learned that the indigo dye is really powerful. Everyone left looking very contented but also looking abit dead with their blue finger tips! At least everyone had a great time!
Prepping their patterns by using marbles, rubber bands and ice cream sticks.. just some of the options.
Post-dyeing: The most satisfying part of the entire process - cutting away the rubber bands and revealing the pattern!
Food break!
Voila!
The aftermath..
If you joined us for the shibori class, thank you! And we hope you had as much fun as we did. If you missed it we are sorry to hear that but we always organize different classes so you might find something else you would enjoy as well.
Image credits: Mei Kwee - our lovely operations manager.
.. If you are interested to find out more about Bloesem Class
.. Class coming up: Be Insta Good with Jelito de Leon or read our post about the class here.
