Hoje apresento-vos uma artista holandesa que encontra na cerâmica e no papel as bases para um trabalho extremamente inspirador! Cor, alegria, beleza e pensamentos positivos são algumas das expressões que caracterizam o trabalho de Ninainvorm. O conceito da reutilização está presente no modo como Nina se apropria de peças de cerâmica vintage para as recriar à sua própria maneira e lhes dar uma nova e feliz vida! Leiam mais e vejam se tenho ou não razão.
Mas antes... o tão esperado resultado: consultem o update no final do post da semana passada, com o anúncio do vencedor do giveaway The Dancing Cat! Muito obrigada a todos os participantes e... Parabéns art.soul!
Não se esqueçam de seguir {the interview series} no facebook e de reler todas as entrevistas aqui.
(Por motivos óbvios de extensão e compreensão do texto, tanto pelos entrevistados como pelos potenciais leitores do resto do mundo, a entrevista segue em inglês.)
Não se esqueçam de seguir {the interview series} no facebook e de reler todas as entrevistas aqui.
(Por motivos óbvios de extensão e compreensão do texto, tanto pelos entrevistados como pelos potenciais leitores do resto do mundo, a entrevista segue em inglês.)
Today I present you a Dutch artist who finds in ceramics and paper the foundation for an extremely inspiring work! Color, joy, beauty and positive thoughts are some of the expressions that characterize the work of Ninainvorm. The concept of reuse is present in the way that Nina appropriates vintage ceramic pieces to recreate them in her own bright way and give them a new and happy life! Read more and see if I'm right or not.
But before... the long awaited announcement: read the update at the end of last week's post with the announcement of the winner of the giveaway The Dancing Cat! Thank you to all participants and... congratulations art.soul!
Don't forget to follow {the interview series} on facebook and to read all the previous interviews here.
1. Let’s pretend we don’t know each other and I’ve never heard about Nina. Tell us a bit about yourself.
Hey, I'm Nina, 28 years old and living in the Netherlands. Here are a few things about me:
* I'm a lover of all things beautiful and creative.
* I collect as least as much as I make, and I spend way too much of the money I make with my etsy shop buying other things on etsy again (sssh... Don't tell my boyfriend! ;))
* I have this little shop called Ninainvorm, where I sell my handmade ceramics and prints, collages and postcards.
* I'm the mom of Rosa (7 months old) and the girlfriend of Helmut.
* I have a hard time living a regular 9-to-5 life and therefore I love having my own creative business and being able to schedule my own work hours. My best work hours are the early night hours, which is a little bit problematic now that I have a baby that wakes me up at six in the morning (and a few times during the night)!
2. You describe yourself as a “design, art & craft lover & maker”. How was this creative passion born? Was it part of your academic background?
No, in fact I just (finally) graduated from University in Social Sciences/Philosophy, so my academic background isn't creative at all. But I've always been creative, and while studying at university, I started to become more and more interested in art & design, and I also felt that I needed a creative counterbalance for the intellectual emphasis at university. So while I should be studying big books, I started making things! I did all kinds of courses in making ceramics, printmaking/screenprinting, photography and so on, and I started a blog to journal this creative journey. Also, the apartment where I lived in became some sort of playground to try all kinds of interior decoration ideas, and this became a subject for my blog as well. Then all things started to roll, and within some time I started my shop and lots of lovely things happened!
3. Your creations are based in ceramics, but you don’t handmade them yourself, right? Tell us about the techniques you use to decorate your ceramic pieces.
I have also been making my own ceramics in the past, but right now I don't have a good studio space where I can make my own ceramics (you need quite some space and tools for that!) so I work with vintage ceramics. I use ceramic screenprinting and collage techniques to create one of a kind pieces. I mix the old patterns of the vintage tableware with my own designs, which gives you endless possibilities for creating new designs.
4. I bet you have a wonderful ceramic collection at home! How and where do you find the pieces you use in your work?
Yes I do! My house sometimes looks like a ceramics warehouse, especially since I not only collect the ceramics that I work with, but also lots of things that I love for my private collection! Well, it's all lots of thrift shopping and visiting flea markets, actually. It's not always easy to find beautiful stuff, but I'm always on the lookout and sometimes I'm lucky to find the most gorgeous stuff.
5. Tell us now about your graphic work: you create postcards and art prints, using collages and such. What other mediums do you use? Would you share your creative process with us?
Yes, I mainly work with collage, but I also like screenprinting, which I'd definitely do more if only I had the time for it! To be honest it's hard to tell you about my process, cause I work quite intuitively without much of a process or plan. I just need some nice music in the background and lots of beautiful scraps of paper... And then I'll just see what happens!
6. You enjoy representing birds… you use lots of color and you transmit positive thoughts! Would you share with us all kind of things that inspire you to create?
I guess it's a boring thing to say that anything can inspire me... Colors, prints on paper or fabric, beautiful typography in the paper or the leaves and the trees in the park... I like simple shapes, bright colors and repetitive patterns, and when you have a bit of an eye for it you see those things everywhere around you, so you get inspired all the time! I never find it hard to get inspiration, but I do have trouble to really sit down and make all those things that I have in mind. It can be hard to focus when there's so much to make and do.
7. You where already featured in so many important design blogs and your creations travel all around the world! What means do you use to promote your work?
In fact I don't do any promotion at all, I like to think that my work does it's own promotion! ;) What I do is that I have a blog that's regularly updated with posts about lots of subjects, including my work. And I try to take attractive product pictures, that people like to use in a blog post or magazine. I think nice pictures (and nice products of course! ;)) are super important for your promotion: magazines want to use those and other bloggers will like to show them on their blogs.
8. What is creating for you: a profession, a passion, a necessity, a life style or a hobby?
I think about all of those! It is my profession, but also all those other things! And yes, I think it's definitely a lifestyle, when you make things yourself you become more and more sensitive for buying and making almost everything handmade, unique and creative. You start to see the possibilities of all that you can make yourself, the creative recycling of things and how lovely it can be to buy & make people unique and handmade gifts.
9. Would you give us a glimpse of your working space? Describe it and tell us what you love most about it.
Right now it's a big warehouse and it's a bit messy! I haven't been working much during my pregnancy and the months after my baby was born, so now I'm just getting started again and I still have to make some room again!
I like it that it's a place just for creativity and creating, that's what the place represents for me. It's filled with all the things that I need for making ceramics, and besides with plenty of nice things that always inspire me and bring me in the mood for making.
10. I’ve read that you’re a recent mummy. How has this been influential in your creativity?
At first it wasn't such a good influence: during my pregnancy I somehow wasn't creative at all! And also the first few months after Rosa's birth there was just no place and time for it. But after a few months it all started to come back and now I feel so inspired, but I just have so little time! I must say that is sometimes pretty frustrating... But it's good to have all these ideas again and the lust to start doing it, now all I need is a baby that sleeps longer hours! ;)
11. Would you tell us a bit about the place where you live?. Do you think that the time and place where you live have great influence in your work? Would you like to live anywhere else?
I live in the south of the Netherlands, in Den Bosch, a nice historical city. We live in an apartment pretty close to the city centre, but also near a big park, a really calm and convenient place to live! I'm happy here, I'm in no hurry to move somewhere else, though I sometimes think that a house with a garden would be nice now that we have a baby. Of course I sometimes dream about living somewhere completely different, like in a sunny meditteranean country. But I don't think I could get much work done there, the sun makes me lazy! So yes, it's probably better for me to stick around here. I must say I don't feel particularly influenced by where I live, but I often hear people say that I have a particularly 'Dutch' decorating style, so maybe I am more influenced by the country where I live than I'd think?
12. If you could live in any historical era of your choice, what would it be? Why?
I like it here and now. I did study History at University for a while, and no era seemed that appealing to me. I would have liked to visit Woodstock though! ;)
13. Share with us your other passions… What else are you passionate about doing?
I read a lot, I like to travel, I love cuddling and playing with my baby girl. And I love good food, I'd behappy to eat & drink out each day if I could afford it!
14. What advices would you give to someone who would also like to become a designer/artist?
Stay close to your own style, don't try to be something that you're not. I've always been crazy about colors and prints, and though I can admire artists with a super quiet and subtle style, I would become very unhappy if I'd try to do their thing.
15. What are your plans for the future? And your most unrealistic dreams?
Rebuilding my business again after a long pregnancy/maternity leave, I have so many ideas for new products and things! My most unrealistic idea is probably starting a little children's fashion label: first I need to learn to sew properly, but I've been trying for so long and it seems an endless story!
Hey, I'm Nina, 28 years old and living in the Netherlands. Here are a few things about me:
* I'm a lover of all things beautiful and creative.
* I collect as least as much as I make, and I spend way too much of the money I make with my etsy shop buying other things on etsy again (sssh... Don't tell my boyfriend! ;))
* I have this little shop called Ninainvorm, where I sell my handmade ceramics and prints, collages and postcards.
* I'm the mom of Rosa (7 months old) and the girlfriend of Helmut.
* I have a hard time living a regular 9-to-5 life and therefore I love having my own creative business and being able to schedule my own work hours. My best work hours are the early night hours, which is a little bit problematic now that I have a baby that wakes me up at six in the morning (and a few times during the night)!
2. You describe yourself as a “design, art & craft lover & maker”. How was this creative passion born? Was it part of your academic background?
No, in fact I just (finally) graduated from University in Social Sciences/Philosophy, so my academic background isn't creative at all. But I've always been creative, and while studying at university, I started to become more and more interested in art & design, and I also felt that I needed a creative counterbalance for the intellectual emphasis at university. So while I should be studying big books, I started making things! I did all kinds of courses in making ceramics, printmaking/screenprinting, photography and so on, and I started a blog to journal this creative journey. Also, the apartment where I lived in became some sort of playground to try all kinds of interior decoration ideas, and this became a subject for my blog as well. Then all things started to roll, and within some time I started my shop and lots of lovely things happened!
3. Your creations are based in ceramics, but you don’t handmade them yourself, right? Tell us about the techniques you use to decorate your ceramic pieces.
I have also been making my own ceramics in the past, but right now I don't have a good studio space where I can make my own ceramics (you need quite some space and tools for that!) so I work with vintage ceramics. I use ceramic screenprinting and collage techniques to create one of a kind pieces. I mix the old patterns of the vintage tableware with my own designs, which gives you endless possibilities for creating new designs.
4. I bet you have a wonderful ceramic collection at home! How and where do you find the pieces you use in your work?
Yes I do! My house sometimes looks like a ceramics warehouse, especially since I not only collect the ceramics that I work with, but also lots of things that I love for my private collection! Well, it's all lots of thrift shopping and visiting flea markets, actually. It's not always easy to find beautiful stuff, but I'm always on the lookout and sometimes I'm lucky to find the most gorgeous stuff.
5. Tell us now about your graphic work: you create postcards and art prints, using collages and such. What other mediums do you use? Would you share your creative process with us?
Yes, I mainly work with collage, but I also like screenprinting, which I'd definitely do more if only I had the time for it! To be honest it's hard to tell you about my process, cause I work quite intuitively without much of a process or plan. I just need some nice music in the background and lots of beautiful scraps of paper... And then I'll just see what happens!
6. You enjoy representing birds… you use lots of color and you transmit positive thoughts! Would you share with us all kind of things that inspire you to create?
I guess it's a boring thing to say that anything can inspire me... Colors, prints on paper or fabric, beautiful typography in the paper or the leaves and the trees in the park... I like simple shapes, bright colors and repetitive patterns, and when you have a bit of an eye for it you see those things everywhere around you, so you get inspired all the time! I never find it hard to get inspiration, but I do have trouble to really sit down and make all those things that I have in mind. It can be hard to focus when there's so much to make and do.
7. You where already featured in so many important design blogs and your creations travel all around the world! What means do you use to promote your work?
In fact I don't do any promotion at all, I like to think that my work does it's own promotion! ;) What I do is that I have a blog that's regularly updated with posts about lots of subjects, including my work. And I try to take attractive product pictures, that people like to use in a blog post or magazine. I think nice pictures (and nice products of course! ;)) are super important for your promotion: magazines want to use those and other bloggers will like to show them on their blogs.
8. What is creating for you: a profession, a passion, a necessity, a life style or a hobby?
I think about all of those! It is my profession, but also all those other things! And yes, I think it's definitely a lifestyle, when you make things yourself you become more and more sensitive for buying and making almost everything handmade, unique and creative. You start to see the possibilities of all that you can make yourself, the creative recycling of things and how lovely it can be to buy & make people unique and handmade gifts.
9. Would you give us a glimpse of your working space? Describe it and tell us what you love most about it.
Right now it's a big warehouse and it's a bit messy! I haven't been working much during my pregnancy and the months after my baby was born, so now I'm just getting started again and I still have to make some room again!
I like it that it's a place just for creativity and creating, that's what the place represents for me. It's filled with all the things that I need for making ceramics, and besides with plenty of nice things that always inspire me and bring me in the mood for making.
10. I’ve read that you’re a recent mummy. How has this been influential in your creativity?
At first it wasn't such a good influence: during my pregnancy I somehow wasn't creative at all! And also the first few months after Rosa's birth there was just no place and time for it. But after a few months it all started to come back and now I feel so inspired, but I just have so little time! I must say that is sometimes pretty frustrating... But it's good to have all these ideas again and the lust to start doing it, now all I need is a baby that sleeps longer hours! ;)
11. Would you tell us a bit about the place where you live?. Do you think that the time and place where you live have great influence in your work? Would you like to live anywhere else?
I live in the south of the Netherlands, in Den Bosch, a nice historical city. We live in an apartment pretty close to the city centre, but also near a big park, a really calm and convenient place to live! I'm happy here, I'm in no hurry to move somewhere else, though I sometimes think that a house with a garden would be nice now that we have a baby. Of course I sometimes dream about living somewhere completely different, like in a sunny meditteranean country. But I don't think I could get much work done there, the sun makes me lazy! So yes, it's probably better for me to stick around here. I must say I don't feel particularly influenced by where I live, but I often hear people say that I have a particularly 'Dutch' decorating style, so maybe I am more influenced by the country where I live than I'd think?
12. If you could live in any historical era of your choice, what would it be? Why?
I like it here and now. I did study History at University for a while, and no era seemed that appealing to me. I would have liked to visit Woodstock though! ;)
13. Share with us your other passions… What else are you passionate about doing?
I read a lot, I like to travel, I love cuddling and playing with my baby girl. And I love good food, I'd behappy to eat & drink out each day if I could afford it!
14. What advices would you give to someone who would also like to become a designer/artist?
Stay close to your own style, don't try to be something that you're not. I've always been crazy about colors and prints, and though I can admire artists with a super quiet and subtle style, I would become very unhappy if I'd try to do their thing.
15. What are your plans for the future? And your most unrealistic dreams?
Rebuilding my business again after a long pregnancy/maternity leave, I have so many ideas for new products and things! My most unrealistic idea is probably starting a little children's fashion label: first I need to learn to sew properly, but I've been trying for so long and it seems an endless story!
Now some quick question and answer game so we can find a bit more about you and your tastes! Tell us one:
book: The kite runner - Khaled Hosseini
music: Nina Simone
movie: Y tu mama tambien
personality/artist: Patti Smith
color: Aqua blue
object: a ceramic bowl, a simple perfect shape!
animal: bird ;)
drink: coffee
food: cheese
season of the year: summer
travel destination: the south of Europe
piece of clothing: dress
secret: my home is always so much more messy than on my blog photos! ;)
book: The kite runner - Khaled Hosseini
music: Nina Simone
movie: Y tu mama tambien
personality/artist: Patti Smith
color: Aqua blue
object: a ceramic bowl, a simple perfect shape!
animal: bird ;)
drink: coffee
food: cheese
season of the year: summer
travel destination: the south of Europe
piece of clothing: dress
secret: my home is always so much more messy than on my blog photos! ;)
Thank you for adding so much color and beauty to this series, Nina!
ganhei? juras? :D que demais!!!
ReplyDeleteadoro a Nina...
thanks for sharing ! Love her work !
ReplyDeleteThis is very creative. I bet she will start a trend.
ReplyDeletelovely interview, and beautiful work!
ReplyDelete