woensdag 31 maart 2010

Interview in Blink Magazine from London

King Adz from London Meets Merel Boers

Miss Blackbirdy AKA Merel Boers is an Amsterdam based fashion designer and illustrator. I hang out with her whenever I’m in town and she has just won the ‘Fiep Westendorp Stimulationprize’. The prize is meant to support young illustrators financially with special projects. Merel draws beautiful figures that she then sews into fabrics and turns these into dresses. She combines her illustration work with fashion design in a unique style.

How did you get into fashion and illustration?

When I was young I always drew little puppets on notes to my mother when I was leaving the house, and later on when I was in the fashion department of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie (Dutch Academy of Art & Design), I always made a little illustration book for my fashion collections. That was the thing I liked most: making stories about fashion.

Who are your heroes?

Piet Paris, a Dutch fashion illustrator from Holland; Fiep Westendorp, a Dutch children’s book illustrator; Karl Lagerfeld from Chanel; Elsa Schiaparelli – a designer.

What does street culture mean to you?

Street culture means to me a lot of different styles on the street with no one judging: I was once painting in a hall of a club with 20 other street artists in Amsterdam, everybody was very friendly to each other, and even the graffiti boys appreciated everybody else’s individual styles.

What is your favourite food?

Sushi and my boyfriend Chester’s Cheese & tomato salad out of the oven or steamed Pears with cinnamon (in Holland you eat them in the winter months or at Christmas).

How important is a healthy lifestyle?

It’s important as an illustrator, having your own business and working long hours to eat well otherwise I get a headache and no inspiration. Also I have a wonderful intern called Dina at my studio and together we make fantastic lunches...it’s the way we relax at the studio!

Where is your favourite place to eat?

I love places where you can eat outside, like in Bali/Indonesia near the beach... it’s wonderful. I went there in 2007 and in 2008 and I just love the food. Asian food really makes me happy!

dinsdag 30 maart 2010

video Storysewing by Merel Boers expo in the Gruuthuse Museum Brugge

00.00.25 min: Storysewing by Merel Boers



Detail storysewing

Apprentice Birgit took some inspiring pictures in the studio

Storysewing jewelry

Studio detail

Apprentice Birgit took some inspiring pictures in the studio

detail storysewing

Apprentice Birgit took some inspiring pictures in the studio

Leaf

Apprentice Birgit took some inspiring pictures in the studio

30 Maart 2010

Today we are working on Illustrations for a children's poetry book by Dutch publishing house Querido
we make: a violin, a glove and a sheep and more.....

Designer services/ Storysewing

donderdag 25 maart 2010

My inspiration for dress(4)

2 illustrations from my selfmade story book, Katy Wardrobe

Drawing with yarn 4, inspired by my illustrationbook Katy Wardrobe

Drawing with yarn 3 for the Museum Hendrikje

Fan for the Museum Hendrikje, of Bags and Purses in Amsterdam


Drawing with yarn 2

Drawing with yarn 1

My Little Studio in Amsterdam

About Storysewing

Storysewing

Merel Boers (1981) graduated cum laude from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam in 2006. During her course of study, she developed a love for fashion and illustration. Those two art forms were combined in her graduation collection; “A Journey to Miss Blackbirdy’s World”.
With that first Storysewing collection she won the prestigious BLVD Fashion Award 2006. A year later, Merel started Studio Miss Blackbirdy.

In the year 2007 she won the LancĂ´me Colour Designs Award with her first illustrative fashion collection for the category “Modern Femininity”. This collection was shown at the Amsterdam International Fashion Week.

Not only fashion reporters noticed her talent. The Museum of Modern Art in Arnhem and Museum Gruuthuse in Bruges (Belgium) were interested in showing some of her Storysewing work. Merel Boers work has decorated several magazine covers and was mentioned in international fashion books.

Merel is inspired by the world around her. She always tries to create a whole new world in an illustrative and fashionable way. With her illustrations and garments, an imaginative and enchanting image is created that is in total contrast with reality. Merel boers Storysewing illustrations and designs always have a fragile and girlish feeling with a touch of naivety.
From her Studio an idyllic, magnificent world originates; a world where black and white flowers, animals and imaginative figures exist. The World Fashion Centre in Amsterdam is where she is working on several projects and concepts.

Designer services:
Merel boers loves to work with luxury brands to create bespoke installations to compliment their designer products and brand identity, please contact: studio@missblackbirdy.com