I Love Belgium

0509 by Pascal François

Tom Tack — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:59:44 +0000

Pascal François is an architect who starts designing from inside out. Light, functionality, materialisation and detail are the fundamental basics for his architecture. The I Love Belgium team selected house 0509 to illustrate this way of conceptualization. A black saw toothed factory roof building with a bright white interior.

It may look like a converted factory, instead we have a newly constructed, steel cladded family house in Flanders. When the owners approached the architect, they we’re planning to transform an old industrial building into a loft. With al the impracticalities of a transformation, the owners decided to construct from scratch while keeping the industrial touch.

With its black colour and industrial roof, this house is a true eye catcher in an über suburban Flemish neighbourhood. So it wasn’t a surprise when some neighbours had a hard time adjusting to this contemporary style. Luckily the owners could take the reactions with a pinch of salt!

Inside there are two main divisions, one part is for the living spaces which have ceiling that go all the way up. The other part of the house has more intimate spaces such as bath and bedroom. One things remains the same everywhere: the abundance of light! An aspect perfectly captured by photographer Tim Van de Velde.

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L’Artisan Electronique by Unfold

Tom Tack — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:51:46 +0000

For L’Artisan Electronique, Antwerp- based design studio Unfold created a virtual pottery wheel in collaboration with designer/artist Tim Knapen. This pottery wheel gives visitors a chance to virtually turn their own forms. At regular intervals, a selection of these designs is printed, with their DIY ceramic printer, in clay and exhibited in the space.

In L’Artisan Electronique, pottery, one of the oldest artisanal techniques for making utilitarian objects, is combined with new digital techniques. The virtual pottery wheel was realsied by means of a 3D-scanner and digital design software. However, the installation still clearly refers to the artisanal process of working in clay. The printing process imitates the traditional technique used by ceramicists, in which the form is built up by stacking coils of clay.

L’Artisan Electronique was an installation commissioned by Z33 Art Centre for the exhibition Design by Performance and the I Love Belgium team had the luck to try it out! And we have to admit, it’s quite a clever project! To make it really clear we’ve added some videos, enjoy.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

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Delvaux strikes a pose

Stijn Verlinden — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:07:28 +0000

The world’s oldest leatherwear brand is Belgian, remember? Yes, it’s Delvaux. The I Love Belgium team already had the privilege to visit their workshops in Brussels which are just impressive.

Belgian’s leatherwear pride is finally getting the international recognition they’ve always deserved. And yes, we applaud that because every bag is a true example of craftsmanship. Fashion bibles Vogue USA and Harper’s Bazaar USA agree since they’ve both featured Delvaux’s emblematic Brillant bag in their March issues.

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Vogue USA – March 2012 iusse

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Harper’s Bazaar – March 2012 issue

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The bag featured is the Brillant MM Emeraude, from their Spring Summer 2012 collection. Check it out on their site, it also features a divine yellow ochre version of the Brillant MM in ostrich leather, very pricey but worth every penny. Check also out their mood movie featuring Belgian artist Arnaud Kool who gets inspired by their Spring Summer 2012 collection.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

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They’ve also developed a vinyl version of the Brillant in ruby red called the Brillant Chaperon Rouge (little red riding hood) for a mere 450 euros, no excuse there to get your self some Belgian heritage.

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New York Fashion Week by Hanne Gaby Odiele

Stijn Verlinden — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:45:45 +0000

The fashion weeks are hitting us in the face like the blizzards of the last few weeks. You can’t run, you can’t hide, the fashion pack is again on the move. The tents near Lincoln Center have been demounted and every important fashion editor, blogger, fashion victim or fashionista is in London as we speak.

Fashion is not all about glamour and glitter, champagne and star studded parties. It’s about hard work, not enough sleep and running from booking to booking. Just ask one of the hardest working girls in the industry: Belgian supermodel Hanne Gaby Odiele. The I Love Belgium team selected their favourite New York Fashion Week looks worn by Hanne. We’re sure we’ll see her in on the catwalks in London and Paris too serving us some supermodel realness. Go Hanne!

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Alexander Wang

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Thakoon

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Michael Kors

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Derak Lam

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Proenza Schouler

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Jason Wu

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Weekend Find : Sky High

Tom Tack — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:44:48 +0000

A Belgian gesammstkunstwerk, that’s what we discovered this weekend ! To explain, we start with an all-Belgian list. Illustrations by Eugene and Louise, realisation by Birg, production by Nouvelle Cuisine, song Sky High by post-rock band Marble Sounds. Yes, all these young talents joined forces for one of the most beautiful visual and lyrical narratives we came across in a long time.

Sky High is a true testament to the passing of the seasons, to the all-encompassing nature of reverie. It’s a place where a sword in a stone, a cone-mouthed giraffe, a purple peacock and a desirous man coexist. A world where a wobbly card house is home to a windable music band. Just a perfect song for a cold, windy day!

The I Love Belgium team wants to see more of these collaborations in the future! Advice for our readers: play it over and over, each time you’ll discover more and more.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Le Berger

Stijn Verlinden — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 22:08:43 +0000

The I Love Belgium team spent its Valentine night in a very special place. We’ve made you excited on our Facebook page and Twitter about it and here’s our report. Built in 1935 as a hotel de rendez-vous, the Hôtel Le Berger in the rue du Berger in Brussels is the talk of the town.Decorated in art deco style, in an intimate atmosphere, the hotel retained all of its décor up to the time it closed on 31 December 2009 to commence renovation. It had been run with quiet professionalism over a period of forty years by Freddy Martens, who is the living memory of the property and has loads of juicy stories we suppose…

The spirit of the renovation was to retain as many of the typical elements as possible in order to reconstitute the almost film-like atmosphere of the 1930s decoration. The characteristics of a hôtel de rendez-vous are being preserved: double lifts so that guests do not inadvertently run into each other, open bathrooms, suggestive decoration, mirrors on the edge of the bath, etc. Each room bears a woman’s name that evokes the period: Chloé, Matilde, Elodie, Lola, Camille, Manon, Antoinette, Ambre, Blanche and Jeanne,…

The decoration of the rooms reflects the tastes of bourgeois apartments in the 1930s. During that period, people liked rooms that were intimate, tasteful and colourful, that had reassuring wainscoting and were warmed up by thick and lively wallpaper fabrics in intricate and rich patterns. The wallpaper was bought at Priem in Ghent, a leading specialist in the subject. Priem, a wallpaper shop in Ghent, has been existing for over 81 years. All of the rooms, including the ceilings, which was the fashion during the 1920s and 1930s, have been recovered.

So if you’re looking for a hotel experience in a unique setting, you’re at the right place in Le Berger. Their bar and restaurant serve a fine cocktail and a tasty burger but don’t let that hold you back to go outside and discover the neighbourhood, you never know who’d you run into to take back to your hotel…

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The Reference – Cuberdons

Tom Tack — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:01:31 +0000

You can recognize a country by the food they serve. Everybody knows Belgian chocolate, but what about the cuberdon candy. For many Belgians a beloved childhood taste, but unknown outside our frontiers. The recipe, that dates back to the 19th century, is a well kept secret only known by a handful of confisiers (aka candy makers). You can recognize a classic cuberdon as a violet collared sugar cone containing a thick raspberry syrup.

How does it get that way? Well we know that cuberdons are hand-made with carefully selected ingredients, among those are gum arabic and raspberry aroma. All of these go into a copper pot to cook, the obtained mixture is poured into conical forms to be dried in an oven during five to six days. This kicks in the crystallization process of the outer layer, while the core stays liquid. The restricted durability of fresh cuberdon (three weeks) is caused by the sugarization of the core. One of the main reasons that this sugar-rush-giving candy is not exported!

Biting off the top and sucking out the syrup is the classic way to devour a cuberdon, resulting in a volcanic explosion of liquid raspberry-scented sugar. Today you can get more than 25 different perfumes, going from apple to liquorice. All this sweetness was almost lost in oblivion as the second world war knew a lack of gum arabic import. But some passionated confisiers, that remembered the unwritten recipe, restarted production in 1946. Today the cuberdon entered the culinary world of star restaurants. The cuberdon inspired desserts of Roger Van Damme are praised by foodie idols such as Ferran Adria of El Bulli.

But cuberdons stay a people’s candy. You don’t have to visit a fancy restaurant to try them out, instead you can buy them at your local market our quality candy shop. So hop on a train, take that plane and enjoy your Belgian cuberdon!

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I LOVE BELGIUM

Stereoclip

Sanae De Coster — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:21:20 +0000

Maxime Merkpoel is a young Belgian artist born in 1989 in Brussels. Stereoclip, his scene name, is a self-invented word, but we do think it sounds good! His passion for music came from listening to English rock bands such as Oasis, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Radiohead. His interest for hip-hop, soul and rap music came at a later stage when he particularly listened to Lords of the Underground, Mobb deep and Nas.

He kicked off his music career by doing freestyle rap, soon performing at a few gigs in Brussels. His interest in electronic music gave his career another turn.

Easy field was the first track he produced in which you will recognize the beat from Moby’s In my world. After Easy Field came other successful tracks such as Tramway, If I die and Scarification. Tramway is a song that he created with his friend, Joséphine who has a fabulous voice, check out her vocals!

He creates his own music with his Korg and Roland synthesizer and then sometimes mashes them up with other songs such as Big jet plane by Angus and Julia Stone and I’m feeling good by Nina Simone. Maxime is a self-taught artist with no degree in music making him sometimes even more meticulous than trained artists.

As people start to know him, his fan group is growing slowly but steadily and his concerts are attracting more and more people. Stereoclip has a versatile style making it very cool to listen to in your car as well as in a club. You really don’t need to be a huge electronic music melomaniac to listen to Stereoclip!

Just listen to the tracks we’ve lined up for you and we’re sure you’ll appreciate this young Belgian music prodigy as much as we do!

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Click here to view the embedded video.

I LOVE BELGIUM

Click here to view the embedded video.

I LOVE BELGIUM

Cliché Valentine

Tom Tack — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:50:36 +0000

Don’t panic! You just forgot Valentine’s day? Then the I Love Belgium team has you covered. We provide you with two great ideas: flowers and chocolate. Yes, it might sound cliché but don’t forget that we know where to shop. So ignite your car, jump on the subway or start biking to the two following Brussels-based addresses as it will save you from kitchenware projectiles!

We begin with chocolates! In general Belgian chocolates are known for their great quality, so no problem there. Instead we’re looking for that little extra. The Pierre Marcolini shop on the Sablon offers just that! This year Pierre came up with the idea of a minimalistic chocolate, heart-shaped, red powdered box. Inside you have Marcolini’s emblematic raspberry ganache heart chocolates. And we promise you, just like the chocolates, you’re partners “you forgot Valentine” feelings will melt-away!

After some edible love, you create some flower magic! Thierry Boutemy‘s flower arrangements will provide the necessary va va voom! Thierry is known as the floral designer who provided a floral backdrop for a Lanvin catwalk, created majestic arrangements for Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette movie and assured Grace Jones of a pretty pink stage setting. Yes, he’ll make sure that one of his romantic yet modern creations will win your partner heart over!

Have a great Valentine’s day!

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8bit Desert Blonde

Tom Tack — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:02:31 +0000

In the Nevada desert you can find the Goldwell Open Air Museum started by Poland-born Belgian sculptor Albert Szukalski. Back in 1985 he started the sculpture park near Rhyolite, also referred to as “The Gateway to Death Valley.” Next to his own work, you’ll find works of other Belgian artist such as Dr. Hugo Heyrman, who created this Lady Desert.

And yes, the I Love Belgium team fell in love with the beauty of the Bit Lady! Standing slightly up the hill, this seven and a half meter tall cinder block woman titled “Lady Desert: The Venus of Nevada” is overlooking the empty desert. The Lady’s popping yellow hair and pink skin are eye-capturing in this land of brown and gray. Although placed in 1992, the Lady Desert still has her radiant pinkness thanks to a restoration and paint job in 2005.

Being an internet pioneer, Dr. Hugo says that the pixels used in his electronic 2D art inspired him to pixelize a nude woman. To understand the doctor, we end with the poem he wrote for his digital reality:

I’m the darling of digital space, a 3D model or reality,
sharing my feelings with the magical desert,
showing my naked beauty to the virtual future.

In my dreamtime I’m feeling the heat of the light,
on my yellow hair, on my naked body, on my square breasts,
turning around with the world, not afraid of being myself.

I’m the Venus of Nevada, inventing the colours of joy,
sharing my interactive memory and
my background of love with all living things.

Traveller, say good-bye to my system and move on

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Weekend Find – Dombrecht Miyoshi subwoofer

Stijn Verlinden — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 14:55:29 +0000

The sad news of today is the passing-away of Whitney Houston, one of the greatest singers of the past years. Despite all the gossip and trash talking about her lifestyle, we will remember her as a true diva. That’s why we dedicate this weekend find to her because we will be playing her songs over and over again for the next few days.

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Good tunes sound so much better on a good loudspeaker and if the loudspeaker has an innovative design, what more can we ask for? That’s why we present you the Bass-Log, a subwoofer designed by Corentin Dombrecht and Rokko Miyoshi. Most of our readers will remember Corentin as one of the designers of the Designed in Brussels selection in 2011. Corentin has as a thing with music. For his graduation project he designed a Rollsrolex, a case-study on the ergonomics of deejaying and in 2010 he presented the Megaphone loudspeakers.

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His new loudspeaker design is a 60W RMS subwoofer made of blue cedar which is technically still alive. As the wood dries, the sound gets better and the log starts a second life. We’ll end this post with Whitney’s first performance on Belgian television in 1986, singing the beautiful All at once. Rest in piece Miss Houston.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

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Transparent living

Tom Tack — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:26:04 +0000

When we first laid our eyes upon this one story house, we had a flashback to the case study houses program. The clear lines, opens spaces, glass curtain walls and the patio worked as immediate references. It was architecture firm hvh-architecten who designed this elegant house upon an elongated building plot.

At the start of the project, and by request of the client, the architects immediately included landscape designer Patrick Verbruggen to integrate the house fully into its surroundings. Within the architecture this translated into a glass-walled one story floor plan which allows the exterior to be present at any time. The stretched volume of the house is divided by internal patios. These patios don’t only divide the functions of the house but also serves as a orientation points within the house.

Inside you have slick white interiors which contrast the black brick used outside. The house is also richly surrounded by water elements, being it the pool or the minimalistic pond. Yes, this house is clearly an example for the perfect balance between in-and outside! We love it. And just like the Case Study Houses were captured by legendary photographer Julius Shulman, here the beautiful pictures were taken by Tim Van de Velde.

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Achraf Amiri for Sorapol

Tom Tack — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:48:31 +0000

I bet you still remember the macabre yet gorgeous fashion illustration of Achraf Amiri. Well, we have some great new for his fans: Achraf collaborated with the new London-based fashion brand Sorapol.

For his first spring summer collection, titled “true Colours”, designer Sorapol was mainly inspired by nature and the story of Coccinelle, which he wrote himself. The story describes the transformation of artificial beauty into inner beauty. And who’s better than Achraf to illustrate the story?

To our surprise we didn’t catch any ladybirds on the print, instead Achraf translated the inspiration into a stunning, well positioned composition of crawling colorfull insects. This silk hand-made limited edition scarf is now available online! So catch one quickly, before the insect run off!

Yes, the I Love Belgium team wants to see more of collaborations of Achraf in the future. We love it!

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A Second Life Not To Be Wasted!

Sanae De Coster — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:07:20 +0000

If you’re green minded, if you’re an (aspiring) artist, if you have good ideas and if you care to recycle then the No-Design Collectif is the place to be!

In the era of ecology, the I Love Belgium team met up with the surprising artists of the No-Design Collectif. They have heaps of amazing ideas to make different stuff based on waste. Their ideas : to transform objects that no longer have any use and to put some huge boxes in the city to retrieve waste and useless household things such as cans, caps, cardboard, magazines, …

Collectif member Ania’s work is inspired by the tags she sees while walking through the Belgium cityscapes. She is reproducing these on a background of gold leaves. She applies these on bags, t-shirts, tables and others, calling them luxury tags!

The other two members, Saoud and Stéphanie, transform waste into coasters, lampshades, pins, etc… The organised workshops take over a month and help you to develop your own talent or create wonderful designs with the assistance of one of these three artists.

Stay tuned for their first exhibition in April in the city of Liège. If you want to have a closer look : just ring the bell at 102 Franz Merjey street in Brussels!

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Tim by Wim

Tom Tack — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:57:22 +0000

We all know the famous tattooed pigs by Wim Delvoye. But did you know that Wim also tattoeed Tim? This 32-year old Zurich man is the only person in the world tattooed with an original Delvoye drawing. Although the tattooing started with the pigs, it was always Delvoye’s goal to realise the same on a human back and hence stretch the boundaries of the acceptable to the maximum!

The tattoo on Tim Steiner’s back was recently bought by a German art collector for €150,000 in a deal coordinated by the Zurich gallery De Pury & Luxembourg. Not only the gallery and artist but also Tim took a cut of the money. In return Steiner is required to exhibit the work three times a year in public and private shows.

The sale agreement extends further, stating that after Steiner’s death the tattoo and its skin canvas will revert to the new owner, contemporary art collector Rik Reinking. Turning the young man into a work of art! Sociologically it’s interesting: donating organs to save a life is legal and noble. Mixed with art the gesture lose its usefulness but sets an example. Delvoye manages to put his finger on a glitch in the system.

Steiner’s tattoo of the Madonna surrounded by Asian and African ritual symbols began as part of an art performance piece in 2006 and was completed in 2008. We don’t have any problem with donating our flesh for an original Delvoye! We would love a Beauty and the Beast tattoo…

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images copyright Studio Wim Delvoye

Brutal Luxury

Tom Tack — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:16:45 +0000

What is brutal luxury? It’s luxury meets Spartan minimalism meets concrete meets money. This warehouse conversion was entrusted to Atelier d’Architecture Bruno Erpicum & Partners. It’s now the home of a couple with a passion for architecture who were keen to make one of Düsseldorf’s rare ruins their own.

As the house miraculously avoided damage during the many bombings of World War II, the reconversion was closely overseen by the administrative authorities. The architects reflected the cities history in the glass panels as a reminder of the building’s heritage. A façade made entirely of glass stands completely independently of the old structures, showing off their immense scale.

Inside, the 600 square meters are characterised by vast white spaces, the existing brick pilasters and the concrete ceiling showing off the wear inflicted over time. The architecture unpretentiously magnifies the materials. Outside you’ll find a day and night patio, ensuring the natural entrance of daylight in the closed structure.

Yes, Bond would opt for this house when having adventures in Düsseldorf!

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Weekend Find – Winter Hats

Stijn Verlinden — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:34:01 +0000

Frosty the snowman finally arrived in Belgium. Temperatures have been below zero for a few days and there even was a snow storm. The I Love Belgium team loves the snow and that’s why we went for a long walk in the snow. Fresh air, sunshine, crispy snow under your feet and…a warm winter hat to keep our ears from freezing. We made a selection of our winter hats, we hope you like them!

Chauncey – cables beanie - 100% cashmere (still on sale in their webstore!)

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Lamon-Nuytens – fur pompon hat - 100% mink (we hate the styling but the hat is so glam!)

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Christophe Coppens – fake fur chapka with glass stone trimming in front (on sale in his webstore!)

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Howlin’ by Morrison – midnight blue beanie (we love the white speck in the colour!)

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The New Mondriaan

Tom Tack — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:30:26 +0000

“It is my intention to make poetic work and to be as simple as possible.” We have to admit, he’s succeeding in his intention. A.T. Biltereyst‘s plywood paintings evoke a flashback to the Dutch master of modernism Mondriaan mixed with the Geometric Abstraction and Hard-Edge paintings of the sixties!

If these movements were about pure painting, A.T. Biltereyst’s abstractions evoke references to contemporary everyday life. The raw wood on which he works, the deliberate errors in the geometric shapes and the inaccuracies created while painting refer to graffiti art dynamics.

With a background in graphic design, Biltereyst is fascinated by the vividness and struggle of commercial and other signs in the public arena. A poster, a design on a truck, logos, ads out in the street,… all these signs are part of an everyday idiom, blurring the lines between culture and subculture. You can see where he gets his inspiration on his Blogspot!

Yes, the I Love Belgium team would love to see one of these modest, yet powerful, painting on our wall!

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Brussels Bookshops

Tom Tack — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:07:20 +0000

There are some truly magical bookshops in Brussels, you just have to know where to look. That’s why the I Love Belgium team selected a few bookshops which, next to a selection of great books, offer an unique setting. This ranges from 100-year old monumental spaces till small, well-organized newbies. Get ready to shop, cause here’s the list!I LOVE BELGIUM

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1. Let’s start in the centre of the city with Bookshop Tropismes. This booskshop is, since 1984, located in one of Brussels most beautiful places: The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert. This glazed shopping arcade, constructed in 1847, was once home to the famous sixties jazzclub Blue Note. When it closed it’s doors, the majestic mirrored dance hall was filled with the most beautiful books. The shop is internationally renowned for it’s French literature, human science and fine arts section.

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2. Just around the corner you have another 20th century gallery devoted to small bookshops. The Bortier Gallery was constructed in 1847 and opened the following year. Here you are guided through the gallery by the smell of old books. If you like bargain hunting, then you must take a literary pause in this calm and quiet gallery.

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3. After walking 10 minutes you arrive at the Belgian Centre for Comic Strip Art. This museum is housed in a magnificent Art Nouveau temple by Belgians most famous architect: Victor Horta. We’re not here to visit the exhibition, but to take a stroll in the lovely bookshop! Slumberland is the reference for comic bookshops, since 1989 they’ve opened six shops throughout Brussels. We have to confess, the one in the BCCSA, is the only one housed in a real masterpiece. If you’re with kids, it’s the perfect place. While they are flipping through a TinTin comic, you can gaze at the amazing art-nouveau curls!

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4. We move uptown, towards the fancy Sablon area. Here we find the Taschen bookshop. Over the last 20 years, Taschen became a household name in the world of art books. Brussels was one of the first European cities to be dazzled with the golden interior of Philippe Starck! Follow them on Facebook as they sometimes announce in-store fabric sales! Hey, we’re living in hard economic times.

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5. Our next stop is the posh neighbourhood of Place Brugmann. Here you’ll find one of the most compact bookshops of Brussels: Candide. Recently redone by architects Lhoas and Lhoas, the once small labyrinthine dark booshop is converted into a clear, warm, modern and functional space. Rough wooden element contrast with thin, slick, clean bright-yellow lackered metal. The best part? It’s open 7/7!

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6. Of course we need to mention Cook & Book. A booskshop the size of a supermarket, smartly divided in 8 spaces and a music section. Each with its own atmosphere and matching lunch/dinner space. Cook & Book offers a fresh approach to books, mingling the cultural and the convivial… Yes, we already wrote an article about them, read the full story here!

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7. We end in beauty with Copyright. Although not located in Brussels, the have a shop in Antwerp and Ghent, we couldn’t leave this bookshop out! Known for their well-selected Art & Architecture books, Copyright is the destination place for young or established designers, artists, architects and stylists! The minimalist black and white interiors are provided by renowned interior architect Vincent Van Duysen. So rent yourself a car and have a look!

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New Sensuality

Sanae De Coster — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:43:31 +0000

Choreography was her passion when she was a teenager but her interest for costumes led her to study fashion design at the HELMo in Liège. Captured by the past styles of elegant women, and their attitudes, Celine Pinckers started to design head to toe outfits. She later perfected her skills in the art of hat making with renowned millinery Elvis Pompilio and furthermore in feather working.

This a-typical path brings her to a magnificent alchemy of past, present and even future. Today she’s specializing in lingerie in which she uses shades of black, powdered colours and a material mix of lycra, lace, silk and cotton. Céline is creating dreams within dreams, stepping in the world of free and assumed femininity…

What could be more beautiful than the forbidden, the mysterious treasures that hide beneath the clothes of the most elegant women you can think of. If you feel like getting an impression of what romantic women in the 2020′s will look like, the I Love Belgium team found just the thing for you!

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Pictures by Liesje Reyskens