Consol Solar Jar

The Consol Solar Jar harnesses the power of the sun to provide a lovely warm glow that lasts for up to six hours. This product is environmentally friendly because you can charge it with sunlight or even daylight! The lamp is handmade in South Africa where it employs more than 60 formerly unqualified men and woman from the townships Alexandra and Soweto.

You can use the Solar Jar in various ways. For instance as a little lamp outside while having a late summer dinner or party. You can use it for camping and of course when the power goes out... 

I had the opportunity to test out the Consol Solar Jar, which is a product that really suits me! 

Because of my addiction for greens I immediately thought of using it as a terrarium! I used a small succulent and placed it in the jar. I left the jar outside to charge in de sunlight and after 6 hours I had myself a new terrarium lamp!

You can get your own Solar Jar here! Discover more Consol pruducts here.

Pictures by Marij Hessel

Braderie de Lille

This year, me & Evert visited the "Braderie de Lille" for the first time. We were very curious about this event that dates back to the 12th Century and takes place on the weekend of the first Sunday of September. Luckily I did some research beforehand so we kind of knew which area's to go to. Funny enough, the neighborhood where we first started, turned out to be the best in my opinion! This was the area where most of the antique dealers where based at. But is was very interesting to see a big part of this gigantic market!

Our first find was a cabinet with a lot of little drawers, we loved it right away! This cabinet was originally from a garage where it was used for all kinds of small tools. We also found two  enamel tins and a clock! Tired but satisfied we drove home with our found treasures...

The enamel tins & clock are now in our kitchen, the tins I use for rice and tea. Unfortunately the clock is not yet working but we're hoping to find someone who can fix it for us! The cabinet was already beautiful but I decided tot paint it in Richmond Green by Le Noir & Blanc and I'm happy I did! The cabinet is perfect for my little office to store things like masking tape, stamps and other crafty things.

The small boxes on the wall I found at Xenos & the glass planters I bought at Flying Tiger. I'm very happy with my new wall, it really is an addition to my workspace!

Pictures by Marij Hessel

Opening First or Second

This Saturday I drove to Alkmaar to visit the opening of the First or Second conceptstore. The faces behind this great project are Jantine & Vivian (April and May) who worked very hard to restyle, furnish and decorate this beautiful store. The 1OR2 Villa is decorated like an amazing luxurious home where anyone would love to actually live in! Everywhere I looked I saw beautiful design, illustrations, art, accessories, vintage furniture, food and fashion! In the Villa, there's a Kids area & an Art area as well. At the 1OR2 Cafe you can sit back and relax, enjoy a cup of White Label Coffee and buy yourself some delicious chocolate. 

I'm very proud that a selection of the Costes collection is showed in the villa. For those of you who didn't know this about me; this is the fashion brand I work for! It's great that our collection is featured at this inspiring place...

It was great to be a part of this grand opening. I had to restrain myself from buying all kinds of things! But I'll be back soon...

Pictures by Marij Hessel

Today's Crush: The Home of Marthe

Thanks to the Blog Favorites of Desire to Inspire I came across this cute blog called Marsipan og Smilefjes. The Norwegian Marthe blogs about her lovely home full of cute corners and beautiful pastel details. Unfortunately I can not read her Norwegian blogposts but I can look at the pictures! I really like the mixture of vintage with modern design... I'm in love!