Page 20 - VE Magazine - Issue 26

places
Our home for three days: The houseboat ‘Quinta’
Portof Amsterdam
With a host of events coming
up to keep you busy from February through till May; Woo Gilchrist kicks off with a taste of Amsterdam – hope you can join us!
AMSTERDAM
13th-14th February
In the port of Amsterdam There’s a sailor who sings Of the dreams that he brings From the wide open sea...
WITH BOWIE’S Jacques Brel song ringing in our ears, we are making our third voyage to Design Icons in Amsterdam this month and we’ve been looking forward to it all year – a bit like greeting an old friend. It’s very important to take time to smell the roses (or should that be tulips?) on your way through life, and that’s exactly what we do here at VE: we work hard – and we play hard!
The VE/Molecula team usually arrives in the Netherlands at different times: some leave the West of England at stupid-o- clock in the morning in a van packed full
of Molecula stock and boxes of magazines; others, including me, get a dawn flight from Bristol Airport.
The van, after a hazy drive as the sun rises, finally trundles off Le Shuttle with a whole itinerary of things to see en route to the final destination, usually involving stop- ping off at a few buying hotspots in France. Then, if time allows, it might be possible to squeeze in a slight detour to Kloosterstraat in Antwerp to rummage around the numer- ous antiques and vintage shops.
Having taken to the airways, I get to the city early morning, so have a whole day to explore! Amsterdam is absolutely full of vin- tage shops and there is nothing nicer than wandering the beautiful streets and browsing through them all.
After an evening of relaxation on the houseboat – this year the Quinta – our home for three days, it’s up again at dawn to make our way to De Overkant to set up for the show. Molecula creates a room set while VE puts together a display stand ready for the onslaught of eager visitors. ‘The trade’ comes in first, of course, to get their pick of the rarest items, and then the public.
Having attended many international shows in our time, we can honestly say that Design Icons is quite special. The atmos- phere is friendly and relaxed – there is no ‘furniture snobbery’ here, everyone just loves what they do and loves good design. The range available is fantastic, from top- notch design classics to affordable Scandi- navian jewellery.
So, if you haven’t been before, why not book a last-minute Valentine’s weekend away and visit this beautiful city and Design Icons at the same time? Come say hello – you can get a 20 per cent discount on entry with our voucher; so what are you waiting for? Book the dam’ thing!ve
20 / February-March 2016 / ve
www.vintagexplorer.co.uk
The Molecula stand at Design Icons Amsterdam 2015
WHERE: Design Icons Amsterdam,
De Overkant, Gedempt Hamerkanaal 231, 1021 KP
ADMISSION: Saturday (2-6pm) 10 euros Sunday (10am-6pm) 5 euros www.design-icons.com
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Turn to page 50 and you’ll find a coupon from our friends at Design Icons, offering 20 per cent off the price of entry to the fair in Amsterdam. Just take the magazine along to the show and give the coupon to the staff on the entry desk.