Conservatorium Hotel, Amsterdam

As I mentioned on Monday, I was in Amsterdam at the weekend, attending the 2nd meettheblogger event which was held on the Saturday afternoon at swanky new Conservatorium hotel.  To avoid banging on for too long, I thought I'd share my highlights of the hotel itself in this post and leave the tales of our groups revelry for next time.

Firstly the fabulous hotel, built in the late 1900's in the museum quarter of the city, was built as a music and events venue and has also been home to Dutch bank Rijkspostspaarbank.  Purchased in 2008 by The Set Hotels, and with the help of Milan based designer Piero Lissoni, they restored the building to its original glory.

 

The jewel in the buildings crown is the Conservatory with its huge glass atrium, marking out and closing off the courtyard from the elements to create an impressive entertaining area - the modern, minimalist glass panes reach as high and as wide as the period building itself, cocooning guests whilst they enjoy dining in the swish contemporary brasserie or reading and socialising in the airy yet comfortable lounge area on a combination of italian and scandinavian designer furniture.

 

The huge stone brickwork combines effortlessley with raw metal panels and thick glass sheets, that form staircases, lifts, walls and windows throughout the building.  Floors have antique tiles or marble or are made from reclaimed wood. The floor of the Conservatorium, however, is made entirely from mis-shaped pieces of concrete.  Everywhere you look, there's a visual feast to excite the senses.  The skies were very grey on our visit, but the sunshine that would filter through on a bright day would I bet be beautiful and thus create a stark yet intriguing contrast to the dark, mysterious corridors of the main building.

All this industrial chic is softened with rich leather and opulent fabrics on furniture and wonderful mismatched antique asian rugs, plus statement flowers and shrubs, huge mirrors and lighting, and pure white ornaments.

Unfortunately, we did not stop over or eat here, apart from the macarons and patisserie we were served at coffee break, although we did have a decent glass of wine in one of the glass events rooms overlooking the lounge. I imagine there's a great atmosphere here in the evenings, one for my next trip to The Dam.

Chalk and Cheese and Glass

As I mentioned in Friday's post, we were in a studio in London on Saturday shooting a project for one of our corporate clients.  The story centred around a face-off between a heavy metal drummer and a brazilian dancer, one of them had to be the winner, prove their respective skill is most impressive and have more staying power than their opponent.  It was incredible seeing the light and shade in their performance and the juxtaposition.  With some fantastic lighting skills from my hubby and faultless directing from James Tonkin, it made for an incredible little film.  It's always interesting being on-set and although I've done this before, I've not experienced the process from start to finish.  So I played the chief-cook-and-bottle-washer come production assistant on the shoot, as well as helping our dancer and friend, Sara into her barely there costume.

The film is currently in post-production and once it's gone public, I'll share it with you.

Here's a couple of stills from the shoot, images of both Sara and Kobi.

Check out Sara's costume.  I have to say that I was a bit disappointed at first as I thought it would be a really colourful number but it did suit the style of the story.  Those intricate glass beads and silver sequins sparkled beautifully in the light as she moved her hips.  All dainty and beautiful with a bird-like poise compared to the grungy, down and dirty look of Kobi.

Image credit - Emma-Jane Richards

And being an interior design junkie, Sara's costume inspired me into thinking about glass embellishments for the home, the sort of items we can easily add to our interiors to make a big statement and add some delicate sparkle and sheer glamour.  Check out these latest bespoke lighting designs in glass by UK artists, a bit pricey I assume but you get the idea.

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It always amazes me how the possibilities are endless when creating things in glass.  Beautiful.

Enjoy!