Friday, 6 March 2015 by Irene Hoofs
In a few days, the Bloesem Team will be hosting our first class in Amsterdam so we wanted to celebrate this with a giveaway.
In partnership with Via Martine, a site which allows you to get your nicest Instagram photos printed into all different forms from posters to polaroids, we are giving away a collage poster to one lucky student of our Food styling and Instagram class in Amsterdam next week!
We've already heard so many good things from friends who have gotten their instagram shots printed by Viamartine - digital shots are nice but being able to hang them up on your wall is just beautiful..
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All you have to do to win is :
1) Sign up for our food styling and mobile photography class in Amsterdam.
2) Attend the class and put your best snaps up on instagram, hashtagging them #bloesemclass
3) Sit back and wait for the winner to be announced!
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Giveaway ends 24 March 2015 and we will contact the lucky winner via email!
More about Via Martine prints..
It's great to have a hard copy of all the instagram shots we make. Instagram prints are the polaroids of our generation I guess?
Like Martine says: "Makes your instagram photo personal"..
Beautiful prints in Martine's , of Via Martine, home. Love that you can even print your own calendars.. great idea to hang around the house with images of the family or your favourite images.
.. Via Martine
.. Join us for Food styling and mobile photography in Amsterdam 14 to 17 March
Tuesday, 24 February 2015 by Irene Hoofs
If you are a stationery lover (like us!), you will seriously fall in love Present and Correct, an independent stationery store, home to carefully curated supplies that evoke a certain classic vibe. In the recent issue of the Bloesem Gazette, we spoke with its founder, Neal Whittington, about the emotions he hopes to bring to customers through his products.
If you could choose a type of stationery to describe yourself, which would you choose and why?
Definitely some kind of paperclip, because it attaches itself to ideas and clings on.
How do you constantly keep yourselves inspired to create such fun stationery?
We are big fans of the internet! There is so much good stuff online, particularly old design archives, full of things to inspire. Also other people making stationery inspires in that it spurs you on to do your own thing. Travelling to markets and collecting as we go is another great source of inspiration. We have a drawer full of old ephemera, which we always look through for ideas.
More about Present and Correct after the cut..
Looking through your collection brings us back to the times in school. What kind of emotions do you hope your products bring out in your customers?
That’s good to know, we love old educational supplies. I think a feeling of nostalgia is nice but also a feeling of being organised. A sense that you are ready to get stuff done! Also if the things we supply bring a very basic sense of pleasure then that is great.
We find it hard to keep track of my activities sometimes. What products do you use to keep your life organised?
A good paper diary beats any kind of digital version. A notebook and a pen on your person will always mean you are ready and also a nice watch helps too.
With the shift online, so many people are using online calendars and other apps to replace physical notebooks and stationery, how do you keep your products relevant?
We like to think that a well designed product will always be relevant because it looks and feels good. Also humans are cyclical in that when a way of life swings so much one way it is almost an instinct to claim back the opposite. The antithesis of all that digital paraphernalia is a notebook and a pen. I do wonder whether younger people will feel the same at our age though, as they grow up in a schooling system with more and more technology.
Which Present and Correct product is a hot item and how does this influence your design and purchasing?
The current hot items are the desk caddy and also our paperclip chart and some pencil cases from Delfonics. They have been doing very well this festive period. Our purchasing strategy does not change ever. If we like it then it is in. The shop is our taste, objects we would want to have on our desk.
What’s in store for Present and Correct in 2015?
There are always dreams and lists of things we would like to do. A book would be great, we have one in the works but it is not about stationery as such. It would be great to make some more products next year and also think about a new or another space. We have filled our current shop already! And the website will get an overhaul too. The main thing really is that we keep enjoying what we do and other people enjoy it as well.
Images courtesy of Present and Correct.
.. Present and Correct
.. Read the Bloesem Gazette " The Conversation Issue"
Wednesday, 11 February 2015 by Irene Hoofs
We always love stocking products from new labels in our Bloesem Shop and even more supporting young independent brands. When we caught eyes on these beautifully printed notebooks from Malaysian label, Mossery, we thought no further and had to get our hands on them. With their notebooks exclusively sold in Singapore in the Bloesem Shop, we get to know more about the trio behind this fun stationery label in our latest issue of the Bloesem Gazette.
Tell us 3 little known facts about Mossery.
1. Our old logo is a chameleon and our latest logo is based on the chinese character - forest 森 which represents our responsibility to make the world a better place.
2. The tallest member is 193cm tall and the shortest member is 153cm. Venti, Grande and Tall.
3. We spent hours choosing hundreds of samples to get the paper right – so that it feels good to even flip it, smells good and works great with any writing instrument.
Tell us more about the team behind Mossery’s fun stationery.
We are a team of three graphic designers – a designer, a marketer and a printer with a passion to design and make things.
What is the Mossery style and where do you gain inspiration from?
We don’t know what is our style yet as we are still learning and absorbing different inspiration from everywhere. We try to get inspiration from other design disciplines like fine arts or architecture. Our latest batch is mainly inspired by the fashion world.
More about Mossery after the cut..
What is the Mossery Teams background? What were you doing before Mossery?
Jun: After graduating from local art college, I worked in a small design firm specialising in branding & print design. We got to work on corporate and wedding stationeries and brand identities for big to small companies. That was where I learnt about design craftsmanship and print production process. After that I started a company with a friend to work on a travel startup – that didn’t work out but I learnt a lot about life, culture and entrepreneurship and gain a technical skill in coding – which helps in the making of our new website.
Vivian: I was already interested in doing my own business while I was a student – I actually had six Etsy accounts in different businesses, as a student I really had nothing to lose – I sold digital prints, ceramics with my illustrations, digital cliparts, posters and bags. It was fun to explore these little creative projects and pay my rent with it. After school I joined a clothing design company and then advertising agency, and now I work for a publication company designing and directing the creatives for a food magazine. Trying so many different things made me realise that nothing else is as satisfying as working on Mossery. Hopefully in 2015, I would be able to just focus on growing Mossery full-time. I’ll share with you this quote from Nasty Gal’s Sophia Amoruso which I deeply resonated with, “I stopped feeling like I didn’t belong anywhere and realized that I actually belonged anywhere I wanted to be.”
Wai Lam: My family runs a printing business which is passed on from my grandfather to my father who is an engineer. When I left design school, I decided that I would use my design knowledge to run the family business in a different way – to make my own products. Before Mossery, I had a dream of collecting old recycled paper and starting my own paper mill business. I believe the world is running out of resources and recycling is the only way to go. Unfortunately – setting up a paper mill factory is too costly and hard to sustain. Now I live my mission with Mossery as a stepping stone.
Describe your creative process in coming up with new designs and prints for your stationery.
First we determine who we want to design it for – what does this group of people love? With a level of empathy, we approach things that they love and get inspiration from there. We imagine ourselves as one of their friends, and ask ourselves – what would we recommend them? For our latest batch of products, we designed it for chic and confident women – and we see what kind of clothes they wear and restaurants they go to. The rest is about exploration of materials, usability and designing the emotion it brings to the user.
We love how close you guys are to the actual production process. How do Mossery products get made?
When it comes to production, we have to communicate very clearly our expectations and vision to our printers as each process involves different people and machines, old and new. We also pop into factories to monitor the whole process from printing, binding, cutting to packaging. We think it is extremely important for designers to understand production and be very involved in the process. We comein between each process to pick out the bad apples for quality control.
If you could do a collaboration with any brand, which brand would be a dream to work with?
Jun: Playhound, a fashion brand from Thailand and Airbnb, a hospitality/travel startup from US.
Vivian: Fun British fashion label Lazy Oaf and Ceramic Maker Makoto Kagoshima (individuals are brands too, no?)
What kind of designs and illustrations can Mossery fans look forward to in the coming year?
Basic designs for serious long term users, accessories that supports our core products i.e. notebook casing, cover wise – maybe a theme from the universe - space, galaxies and planets, and a theme from Mother Earth – whimsical animal prints for our fun stationery.
Being a small and independent brand, what are your dreams for Mossery in 2015?
Jun: To make more high quality & awesome products for ourselves and our friends to use.
Vivian: To have a creative studio (with cats and dogs) to make products and grow to reach more people.
Images courtesy of Mossery.
We want to say a big thank you to Mossery for being a part of the 3rd Bloesem Gazette, The Conversation Issue. We are in love with their beautifully designed stationery and quirky prints... oh and the pugs notebooks had to be our pick! Which is your favourite? Shop them in the Bloesem shop!
.. Mossery
.. Read the Bloesem Gazette " The Conversation Issue"
.. Shop Mossery Notebooks in the Bloesem Shop
Wednesday, 11 December 2013 by Irene Hoofs
Just like last year, we have teamed up with our friend and graphic designer Jessica Nielsen from the Netherlands once again, to create a range of downloadable Christmas wrapping paper to spread the Christmas cheer!
We love the modern twist on Christmas wrapping, with her choice of brown and red instead of the usual red and green. But still keeping the iconic Christmas trees and other Christmas-y graphics to not stray too far from tradition. I mean Christmas is one of those times of the year that tradition really comes into play.
A gentle reminder to everyone to get all their shopping done as soon as possible, so you can avoid the mad rush on the last few days before Christmas. Also, if you like the wrapping paper, do download it and wrap you presents in it! It's almost like a Christmas present from Jessica and Bloesem to you... download pdf's after the break ...
Download BROWN free Christmas Wrapping Paper by Jessica Nielsen for Bloesem
Download RED free Christmas Wrapping Paper by Jessica Nielsen for Bloesem
Jessica created one more pattern specifically for Bloesem Kids! We had a blast setting up the shoot with all the little toys. It really brought out the big kid in us.
Sheng Yang a super talented photographer from Singapore was kind enough to help us with the shoot ... hopefully we will share you many more images by him in the future for Bloesem but in the meantime have a look at his online portfolio ... or have a look at his instagram blog ... very entertaining!
Other images by Zara.S
.. Jessica Nielsen
.. Jessica's Etsy shop
Tuesday, 8 October 2013 by Irene Hoofs
Jurianne Matter definitely is on a roll here ... first the gorgeous B&W paper collection for VTWonen and now these fabulous forest friends.
Forest is a mini fairy tale forest full of gold
speckled pop-up trees. Each package contains 10 different pocket-sized trees ... use them as an invitation for your party, a just because card for a friend, as
a special gift tag or a place card for a dinner.
If you love leather just as much as I do then you will understand what I like about ANVE ... my father used to teach me all about leather during our trips searching for shoes :) ... i think it is the craftsmanship that I enjoy about it.oh and yes of course the realness of the material just like I love wool and linen.
Also for my Bloesem Wear collection I would love to have a leather pouch to pack the necklaces .. working on that to be honest, hopefully soon :)
But in the meantime see what the lovely people from ANVE have created.
