Belgium’s Mythical Hallerbros Forest

This fairytale forest turns into a mesmerizing sea of blue flowers every year. Located just outside of Brussels, Hallerbros, also known as Bois de Hal in French, the 552-hectare forest is consumed by a thick layer of bluebell flowers sometime during April or May. Kilian Schönberger, a German landscape photographer, recently captured some stunning images of the spectacle.

This post by Ross Brooks via INHABITAT

The magical hats of Christopher Coppens

 

A Belgian artist living in Los Angeles, Christopher Coppens - designer, artist of all trades - from visually offensive (for some) to shocking to funny to smart to sophisticated .... Christopher's work is extremely eclectic and includes many different mediums. Usually very colorful, cringeworthy and sarcastic "in your face" visuals ... I have to admit a weakness for the more sophisticated and toned down poetry of his hats.

Trained initially as a theater director, Coppens started his own label as an accessories designer at the age of 21, a career that would span over 20 years with several outlets, international press following and buyers the world over, and that he would combine and nurture with his first stunts and solo shows as an artist. For more on his incredible journey, click here. 

But 2012 would mark a very important episode in his career, when, after 21 years of making work on the edge of art and fashion, Coppens decided to close his company to focus exclusively on his work as an artist. At this point his label was sold in 140 shops worldwide, his name was heard among fashion connoisseurs and he had become arguably one of the most celebrated milliners in Japan.

Part of this post via Wikipedia

http://www.christophecoppens.com/

Heerlijkheid van Marrem - A farm for short-term rental

The small Belgian town of Wevelgem in West Flanders was once devoted to flax cultivation (weavers would soak their crop in the De Leie river running through town). Today, the area, within biking distance of the French border, is known for its old churches, WWI cemeteries, cycling and walking trails, and Heerlijkheid van Marrem, a historic farmstead available to rent.

When owners Natalie and Dominque purchased the farm in 2007, they leaned on their remodeling and interior design experience to renovate the property, which was built in the mid-18th century but has parts that date to the 15th century. First, they tackled the caved-in stable walls in the gatehouse, then the carriage house, the square main farmhouse, and so on, preserving all of the original features and artfully mingling them with spare modern rustic designs. Heerlijkheid van Marrem, Dutch for "The Glory of Marrem" (marrem refers to the marshland in the area), accommodates 20-23 people in four buildings—it's available only to one group at a time and is ideal for families or groups of friends. The couple, who live at the farm with their three young sons, have also added a flock of floppy-eared black and white British Suffolk sheep, some donkeys, and a Belgian draft horse. Come have a look.

This post via Remodelista

Heerlijkheid van Marrem
Marremstraat 1,
8560 Wevelgem
Belgium

http://www.heerlijkheidvanmarrem.be/

This is Belgium - the guide book

If you are planning on visiting Belgium, instead of reaching for the same old redondant guides ... try the fresh and edgy "This is Belgium".  You will experience a hip and insider look a Belgium's best kept secrets and areas of charm  and 'plein d'esprit' only the few of us know about ...

"A 164-page guidebook with the best Belgian-only Art, Food, Photography, Music, Travel and Neighbourhood tips from the magazine’s team of editors.  Part useful guide, part passionate love letter, This is Belgium captures one of the world’s true superpowers at its best, boldest and bravest."

You can order the guide @ http://thewordmagazine.com/specials/this-is-belgium/

Devaere Interiors

Need I say more?

http://www.devaere-nv.be/

Boulevard Leopold Bed & Breakfast

Going to Antwerp? In such a stylish city so full of life, creative stores and delicious restaurants - why not stay in a stunning Bed & Breakfast such as Boulevard Leopold. Situated in a 19th Century house, located in the old Jewish neighborhood of Antwerp, this charming location was renovated with flair, warmth and typical Belgian minimal elegance. They do not accept credit cards so bring cash or organize a bank transfer before you go - other than that little hiccup for international travelers, if you can get over that, check them out!

boulevard-leopold.be

Japanese Influence - Belgian Style

 

East meets West at an entrepreneur’s historic estate in the Belgian countryside, with interior design by Axel Vervoordt and grounds by landscape firm Wirtz International. Via Architectural Digest.

Growing up in Belgium (in my early years) and being exposed to the work of both Axel Vervoordt and Jacques Wirtz on a regular basis, I never realized the impact it would have on me as an adult, and how staying in beautiful places designed by these two men had profoundly influenced my sense of style. Any time I see the work of Jacques Wirtz - for example - the open and minimal landscapes bring me back to the summers spent in my grandmother's garden amongst others.  I just love the pictures because I read images better than I read text, but you can read the whole article here.

Photography by Jean-Pierre Gabriel

http://www.architecturaldigest.com/decor/2011-08/axel-vervoordt-wirtz-international-belgian-estate-article

http://www.axel-vervoordt.com/
http://www.wirtznv.be/en/intro/

Ann Van Hoey Ceramics - Social Clay

 

Ann is a Belgian ceramic artist who transforms clay into highly modern pieces while still retaining the raw and simple aspect of this humble material. This series has a deep message but also tons of humor!

"As ceramist we practice one of the oldest professions in the world, yet we live in a fast changing society in which technology controls our daily lives.

Nowadays the existence of smart phones and tablets allows that the digital world and its social media to intrude upon the inventive live of the artisan. It is a challenge to integrate the modern, very fast, technological lifestyle into the slow, meticulous craft of ceramics. I made a series of work, attempting to reconcile the two worlds."

This post via Ann's website

http://www.annvanhoey-ceramics.be/social-clay.html

Dominique Goblet Drawings

Old (2002) and New (for those of us who are just discovering or re-discovering) these drawings of typical Belgian landscapes and architecture by Belgian (Graphic Novel) artist Dominique Goblet.

Souvenir d'une Journée Parfaite by Dominique Goblet
("Remembrance of a Perfect Day"), color. Belgium: Fréon, 2002.

The 'comics' work of Belgian artist Dominique Goblet is immediately striking in that it not only ignores, but in many ways seems utterly uninfluenced by the usual conventions of comics. Goblet is a multi-talented artist who works in comics, painting, and photography, as well as installation art that combines all of those forms. Her visual style, often mixed-media, can leap, page by page, from agitated and scratchy drawings that seem to mar the paper they were created on, to gentle and lyrical images with the placidity of watercolors. Like her graphic style, her comics themselves are multi-faceted and intensely personal. Souvenir is a complex story that combines both fiction and autobiography and, more urgently than telling a specific story, reveals to the reader an intimacy and personal voice rarely found in comics

This post via http://www.indyworld.com/

http://www.dominique-goblet.be/