De Campus // Boulder Gym Accessories

As most of you might have noticed already while following Maaike on Instagram, she has gotten herself a new hobby. The past year she discovered climbing and has been bouldering in a local boulder gym in The Hague. Since she is having some insiders there, they asked us to create some party gear for their kids birthday parties and events.

Graphic design is not really part of our main business anymore but for this time obviously, she couldn’t say no. De Campus is a place that also makes an awesome birthday outie for kids. For these festive occasions, they needed a little stash of party stuff. So we created some cool placemats, flags, and a fun table cloth to dress us those birthday party tables.

The table cloth was made with a climbing wall print that is also available on fabric in our Spoonflower shop. The backdrop of this print is in the typical wooden color most climbing gym walls are made out of plywood. And these colors make the table cloth not too crazy patterned. For the placemats, that are also used for other occasions we used one of Maaike's photographs. They make a perfect and colorful abstract visual. The outdoor flags are designed in the typical De Campus blue tones with some subtle geometrics shapes underneath the white contrasting logo. It’s a fun result, right?

If you’d like to find out what it is we can do for your business, please send us a message.

Little Smilemakers Studio Moved // New Address

Finally we're all settled in and ready to focus on work again instead of scoring that perfect ochre carpet, shopping for some lush green in one of our local shops in our new street, or searching for that perfect cabinet to hold the printer we only use for doing taxes. Anyway it is back to work again! And we have moved into the best place to do so.

The new studio is located within an old swimming pool building. The facade has it’s original Art Deco detailing and signing from 1920. Back then the swimming pool was the largest in-house pool in Europe. But it closed up in 1995. 5 years ago De Nieuwe Regentes opened it’s theater doors. There is a main stage, built above the old swimming pool. Under this main stage area is the 'under water' area, still in tact. With it's old tiles and diagonal floor. This is an area for presentations and also used for art exhibits. You can still see the showers and changing rooms, original details are still there, making the place one of a kind. The building has transformed into a cultural hotspot and new parts were added to the old structure.

"4 years ago, I started doing volunteer work in the theater. Working from my home was driving me bonkers and I needed to be around people. I work as a volunteer, behind the scenes on our kids mornings. And I love being around the creative buzz that is constantly going around. So when my colleague asked me if I would like to move into the building with the studio everything screamed YES!"

We are working in the old changing area that is turned into three offices. As you can imagine, working inside of a theater can be hectic. Suddenly a woman starts to sing opera, practicing for her performance later that day. Kids run around finding their way to our weekly toddler concerts. Watching dance rehearsals during lunch break. Every day is different. And that is exactly what is needed to keep creatively inspired.

Feel welcome to visit us in our new office! We have a great tearoom to host and meet up with clients and some proper coffee to get you through the day. Or check the the website to see what's going on in the theater.

Happy Holidays // Merry Christmas and an awesome 2018 // Warm wishes from our studio

It is that time of the year again. While the snow is falling, making the streets white and soft a quiteness falls over me. It is the time of the year to reflect on what has happened. And it has been a lot. Are you ready for a new year? While the media is making 'best of 2017' lists we are reminiscing over a fruitful year ourselves and closing up for a well deserved break.

The year started with a renovation. Decorating and opening a shop with Little Smilemakers fabrics and products was a dream come true. I never thought having a shop would be so much fun! People dropping in giving feedback, seeing those smiles on those customers faces. And I got to travel again, work on new exciting projects with clients from all over the world. New designs, new in depth researches and new trend reports. In September we found a new place and moved the studio, getting a bunch of new colleagues to work with. So much fun!

I have met some amazing new people this year while I was part of the creative hub of The Hague: Makerskwartier. Being part of a street full of creative entrepreneurs is so uplifting! All walking the same path, building a creative business from scratch. So much fun! So much has happened this year, business wise but also personally. Looking back 2017 has been a challenge but it hasn’t been half bad. It was a rollercoaster with unforeseen bumps in the road that only lead me to a clearer path and adventures to come.

There are a whole bunch of new plans for the future. We will be starting a search for a new account manager in January. And I will be exploring new ‘waters.’ But first it is time to celebrate and enjoy Christmas time with friends and family. Have a good toast to the new year and leave 2017 with a big bang. See you all in the new year!

Have an awesome and creative new Year!

We are just back in the studio and would like to wish you an amazing new year full of joy, creative opportunities, love and warmth. This year so many things will be changing. We are busy starting up our exclusive fabric production, collaborating with a new partner, finding the right producer, we are settling in our new studio space and are finishing up our brand new brick and mortar store here in The Hague. It has been crazy hard work, testing our patience, learning something new every day. But very much worth it. Hopefully by the end of the year we can see our hard work pay off a little. We'll be opening our shop soon, we are planning new sewing workshops, so many things to plan and start. So as you can imagine I am very excited to start this new year. Hopefully 2017 will bring you bliss and laughter.

Love,
Maaike

Open Monument Day // Top 5 historical places to visit in The Hague

As you may know already: nothing is more terrifying to me than doing the same thing day every day. Living in the same city for over 7 years now is quite the challenge too. So thank god for Open Monument day. One day in the year all Dutch Monuments are open to public. Amazing old buildings and historical landmarks open their doors for the public. A great day enjoy some new things in the city.

Usually I miss these kind of events that take place and only ready about it afterwards but this year, although it said Sunday on my calendar, I made it this Saturday! I love to explore new things and Open Monument Day is a great way to get to know your own city. The Hague has a lot of impressive architecture and a great history of politics and of course traces of the Royal Family. I think over the years I have gotten to know The Hague quite a bit. I try every new lunchroom that opens in town. Go to the galleries, museums and try to enjoy it to the fullest. This is a great day to explore the city without spending a crazy amount of money. So here is a little top 5 of places to visit while staying in The Hague.



1 Pulchri Studio // Art Gallery
This Art Gallery is my all time favorite in town. This well known art society dates back to 1847. Run by artists and art lovers this place keeps buzzing. The gallery is located in the beautiful historical district of The Hague and doesn't look too bad itself. Downstairs you can find some original interiors and upstairs the large glass panel roof brings in the daylight. You can see and purchase paintings, sculptures, photographs and, well, everything that meets 'Art' you can find here. Pulchri Studio has new shows every few weeks, is free of charge and is open for public 6 days a week. If you are passionate about art this is a great place to look around, find some new inspiration and enjoy a glass of wine on the terrace. If you would like to know what's going on check their calendar on the website.

2 Paleis Kneuterdijk // The Council of State
The Council is one of the High Councils of State regulated by the Constitution, which carry out their tasks independently of the government. The Council is situated in Paleis Kneuterdijk that was build in 1730. The palace was the home of several generations of Royal Family and changed into government offices around 1937. So the building itself is like a patchwork of architectural diversity. A must see is the gothic hall that was built around 1840. A room with stained glass windows and a dramatic arched roof.

3 Hotel Des Indes // Luxerious grandeur
This elegant hotel in the heart of The Hague was built in 1858 and first in use as city palace before becoming a hotel in 1881. The luxurious hotel has welcomed royalty and celebrities from Dalai Lama to Rolling Stones. The hotel is like a story book where great ball room dances took place and history was written.
The ground interior, lounge and restaurant is an extravagant place filled with colorful patterns and golden detailing, with vaulted ceilings and elegant draperies. If you want to experience the one of a kind atmosphere make sure you book a high tea or sit down for a glass of bubbles in the salon. You can also watch the Dutch documentary that was made about this iconic hotel.



4 Regentes // Art Deco swimming pool transformed into theater
This Art Deco building was built in 1920 and was the first indoor swimming pool in Europe at the time. Nowadays it is the home of Theater De Regentes. The interior still has typical swimming pool elements. Little signs with typography, the large pool is transformed into a lounge that still shows the original pool tiles and in the main theater you can still see the little dressing rooms on the side of the hall. I am a big fan of theater and performing arts and love to see what happens behind the scenes. The building is a fun mix of Art deco and creative energy. If you want to look inside, go see a play.

5 Kloosterkerk // Protestant church and concert hall
I am not religious but I enjoy seeing churches and temples where ever i go. The Kloosterkerk is a protestant church members of the royal family like Princess Beatrix visit frequently. The church has a dramatic exterior and the original foundations of the building date back to 1540. If you are curious to look inside you can attend a sunday service or visit one of their musical concerts.

> Finished project | Beach yoga & Massage | Flyers | Strandpaviljoen Zuid Den Haag

For Diana van Gelder Yoga & Meditaion i have designed a series of flyers, posters and prints for a new season of mindfulness on the beach. Every week on Fridays and Saturdays you can relax and relieve some stress on the beach in The Hague during the warmer season. If you would like to join her and her partner in crime Anja Preusser take a look and find out when and where at the official website of Grote Markt Den Haag. All sessions will be held at the Strandpaviljoen Zuid beach club. Depending on the weather either on the beach in the sand or inside the beach club.

> Raspy Stone video & photo shoot

by Maaike Boot

Busy week at the office. Time for a quick post! Just wanted to share this one with you. I was on the video shoot for the new Raspy Stone song this monday. The result of this will be released soon. But here are a few photo's for you all to just have a quick peek! I love the background art. Some people really worked their asses of to make this video work. If you would like to see how it all turns out. Go visit the Raspy Stone facebook page and like!

> Like Little Smilemakers on Facebook!

My facebook page was getting confusing. After having too much 'likes' i could not change my page into the full business name. So the only option (after a year of working as a little smilemaker) was opening my new business page! Visit, like and join! http://www.facebook.com/LittleSmilemakersStudio

> Back to school in stores!

all images by Maaike Boot

> Alkaloid live

Last Friday Alkaloid was playing live on the Anti Lounge CD/DVD release party. It was quite a show! Playing bass guitar with his bow. You can see the entire review on the 3voor12 website.

In this photo: Rob Kanters live on february 26 2010

Catch of the day