All posts filed under: The Squid Stories Address

Rick Owens_Image of the day #23

I love the work of Rick Owens. Rick’s clothing lines, fashion shows and furniture collections are always bold statements, very pure and have a provocative nature. So does his shops, temples of Owens pure and black philosophy. They all have one eye catcher in common: in every shop you have a life size wax version of Rick Owens. In Paris it’s standing on the counter desk and nearly every hardcore fan takes a picture with their idol, standing on the desk. But in Owens Milan store Rick’s wax figure is not visible in the store. You have to go into one of the two fitting rooms to see them. Did I already tell you Owens has a fine sense of humor and certainly a huge dose of self relativity? You have to see the image to believe the position he’s in… Besides the particular fitting room seats, the Rick Owens store is, as always, very minimal designed, and the entire shop is pure white in a concrete bunker. No window displays, the windows are closed with a white concrete …

The fabulous Fosbury & Sons workplaces

We all know the feeling. A last minute meeting in another town and no place to go. Yes, there are the horrible hotel lobby’s near the highway with expensive parkings, uninspired ‘design’ and bad coffee, or you join the local hipsters in a crowded & noisy coffee bar. Or take the new co-working spots: Nice, sometimes, but closed at 6 pm, no parking and not open for the typical nomad who rarely stays at one place fix. When traveling you do find great places to meet, brainstorm & work. Together with others, in a contemporary setting, with good coffee, healthy food and free wifi. Sometimes you pay for your workstation/meeting room like at Citizen M Hotels (London), and sometimes you work for free plus a drink (like in the lobby of the hip & happening Ace Hotel (Shoreditch London). Why was it so hard to find something inspirational in my region? Till I got a phone call from my friend Maarten Van Gool, a colleague from my advertising past. He had big news: he started together with partner Stijn Geeraerts and  project developer Serge Handcart of …

Tried & enjoyed: Crab Club Brussels (B)

Hip is Crab Club without a doubt. But that’s not the reason we visited. I adore fresh crab. Reason enough? I think so. Owner Philippe Emanuelli has Breton-French roots and chose to focus on fresh, surprising and rare seafood. You enter on the side of the restaurant, and pass by the open kitchen where a bunch of cool young people under the lead of chef Yoth Ondara (chef from the South of France with Thai-Chinese roots) is preparing the food. Don’t expect a fancy expensive designed location. Crab Club looks more like a tiny school refter or a small wine cellar of a monastery. The entire deco is rough, concrete floors and stairs, wooden vintage tables with benches and subdued light. We visited Crab Club with friends and we all liked the no-fuzz vibe, the ‘je ne sais quoi’ service and the ‘I did not care’ deco which looks rather poetic and 100% right. The main idea is to share the food that comes randomly on the table presented on large ‘grandma-like’ plates. We started with a gin …