#3 Coffee and Fashion in Amsterdam

I love to shop! I'm like every other woman. A closet full of clothes and nothing to wear. Buying and consuming has never been as easy as it is today. We are able to purchase on the internet just about anything our hearts desire..clothing, electronics, food, books.. It's all out there, just one mouse click away. The downside is that fysical stores are having a hard time surviving. Especially in the crisis we are dealing with now. Well established brands, megastores and discounters will eventually define our street view. What a shame!

However thanks to a new trend there are new creative entrepreneurs that are redefining shopping. By cross selling and combining several product groups and presenting it as a concept of a certain lifestyle, they are making 'consuming' a new conscious experience. The collection does not represent what the mass wants, it represents quality, beauty, sustainability and consciousness. Hand picked items by local designers, limited edition coffea table books, hand made jewelry and bags.... and organic sandwiches and cakes. Slow retail.I love it!

These concept stores are popular with people like me that are visually orientated and sensitive to the lifestyle that they represent. I love to stroll around these stores,  feel the fabric of a clothing piece, know the story behind a certain design, seeing new things, and while i'm at it, drink a cup of good coffea, made with love.

In the old part of Amsterdam, on a canal, near the red light district and across from the Hash Museum is a little gem (and hotspot i'm sure!), KOKO Coffee & Design, run by two ladies, Caroline and Karlijn, with different backgrounds. They combined their passion for good Coffea, Fashion and Styling and started this inspiring shop about 8 months ago. They offer a platform for young designers and local fashion labels as Sanne Jansen and Femke Agema. But also unique (vintage) items and new upcoming foreign labels, like the Finnish label Samuji, exclusively available at KOKO.

Wander around, enjoy the atmosphere, get that unique item and have a cup of lightly roasted organic coffea. I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I do!

KOKO Coffee & Design

Oudezijds Achterburgwal 145

1012 DG Amsterdam

http://ilovekoko.com/

#1 Why?

Okay so I am wondering why on earth anyone should be waiting for yet another blog. Of the millions of blogs out there what possibly can i add? To be quite honest i think everything has been said... I mean really?! A blog about single motherhood and keeping the so called 'balance'...? Done millions already! A blog about favourite places to travel? Heeps! A lifestyle blog? Soooo many! Ouch. Nothing left to offer for me ....So...i decided to turn it around and not make it my goal to be found, to be read or to get any attention for that matter:-). I came to the conclusion that i just like to write. In my head there's a chaos of thoughts, images, interesting people, places to go to, questionmarks, etc, etc. I just simply want to get it down on paper (or in a blog in this case) to create some structure.

So a little about me then. In short i am a single mom of 3 kids, living in a vinex district of Amsterdam and unemployed. I know, doesn't sound too good:-). Before you decide to stop right here let me tell you there is also good news; the above does not define who i am, what my dreams are, where my ambitions lie and neither does this make me good or bad or even pathetic. And these circumstances have never made me a victim, because i believe that i have consciously chosen this path with every decision that i have made in my life.

And there is more good news. I try to make it an issue to live consciously and enjoy every single moment I have on this planet. My interests are wide which can sometimes be confusing because i can loose focus. But there is so much more to do, to see, to explore, to dream about... The things is, when do you stop with the dreaming part and translate it into action?

Well I guess, by starting this blog, and actually have the guts to publish it too, i took the first step! Yihaaa!

What to expect from this blog; interesting and beautiful places to visit, art, short stories, visuals, food for body and mind...and more.


photo: Paris 2010 - Hotel Les Grandes Ecoles