12TH OF DECEMBER

want to make your own Christmas ornaments?
we have a nice and easy one for you today.
you will need:
cloves ( as seen i the picture above)
and a ball shape ( either a orange, a lime or if you want a styrofoam ball)
toothpicks ( so you can punch in holes)

The idea is to pierce the ball shape with the cloves.
you can either fill the whole circle or do designs with them.

Then put it in a nice plate and use it as a centerpiece, or put a lace around it and hang it from your tree.

12 days until christmas eve

ELEVENTH OF DECEMBER

Bonan Kristnaskon kaj feliĉan novan jaron
that is just one of the many languages you can wish a merry christmas in follow the link
and say it in any language you would like.

TENTH OF DECEMBER

with only 14 days to go to Christmas eve...
in the north pole all hell must be breaking loose :)
to see it for yourself follow the great elfamorphosis from officemax and
and see how the elfs are doing it.

NINTH OF DECEMBER

Tried and tested by us from vonblum a quick and easy Christmas Recipe

Bratapfel (baked apples)

4 apples
50g raisins
40g brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
8 walnuts
50g miced almonds
2 tbsp milk
2 tsp sauce lemon
50ml cream
vanillasauce

Mix the raisins, sugar, cinnamon, walnuts, minced almonds and milk all together in to a thick bulk. If you like you can also add some Marzipan mixture into this bulk and change the sugar for honey. Clean up the core of the apple - preferably with a core removing tool. Preheat the oven to 180° Put the apples with the filling in the middle into a baking tray in a up right position for about 20 to 30 minutes. When taking it to the table add the vanilla sauce on top.

EIGHTH OF DECEMBER

Bring out the spirit from the past and read with friends and family!
We found the complete story on the internet or if you have it, take out your copy
and get into the Christmas spirit...
to read go here

SEVENTH OF DECEMBER

What to do with all those Christmas cards we received after the season is over?

Here are some ideas :

Cut shapes out of the cards in matching pairs. Hearts or simple Christmas tree shapes and even plain squares and circles. Stick the cards back to back and laminate them, then punch a hole in them and use to make a colourful and child-friendly mobile or “string” to decorate next year.
You could also back each shape with a plain-coloured piece of card or construction paper and write on it the date and name of the person who sent the card.

Make gift tags for next year's presents.

Scan your favourite cards into the computer – and some of your favourite messages from inside the cards as well – and make them into a Christmas wallpaper or screensaver with a photo program.

Make a collage out of the nicest one and laminate them into nice table sets for next years Christmas season.

What do you do with the cards? We would love some more ideas...

17 days left to Christmas eve

SIXTH OF DECEMBER

Today St. Nicholas' day is celebrated in many countries.

Many people still have the custom of putting their boots
or Christmas stockings outside the room the night before.

On the 6th they will either find small gifts if they where good and a bunch of twigs,
if they misbehaved!

The place where it is most celebrated is in the Netherlands,
where legend has it that Sinterklaas (Dutch name for St. Nicholas) arrives in the Netherlands by way of steamboat from Spain 2 weeks before his traditional birthday, December 6th, along with his helper, Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), who will help disperse the gifts and candy to all the good children.

Sinterklaas, along with the zwarte piets, will go abroad at night and stride about the countryside wearing his red mantle, his mitre, and his golden crosier and sporting a long, white beard. Referring to his book that lists all the good and bad children, Sinterklaas will deliver presents to all the good children, but watch out if you've been bad!
The bad children may be taken back to Spain with him.

We in Spain even have the day off today:)

HAPPY ST. NICHOLAS DAY!

FIFTH OF DECEMBER

You don't have to get the paper and scissors out
Enjoy your snowflakes while the others are working
follow our link and "let it snow let it snow let it snow"

FOURTH OF DECEMBER

If you thought you had heard all jingle bell versions,

we are happy to inform you that there are many more!
Follow this link and enjoy what we found "dashing through the internet"

THIRD OF DECEMBER

Have you ever wandered where the tradition of the Mistletoe came from?

First of all some information for the gardeners between us.
Mistletoe is a partially parasitic plant which grows on trees and feeds on the nutrients of its host.

In the Middle Ages and later, branches of mistletoe were hung from ceilings to ward off evil spirits.

In Europe they were placed over house and stable doors to prevent the entrance of witches.

Kissing under the mistletoe is first found associated with the Greek festival of Saturnalia and later with primitive marriage rites.

In Scandinavia, mistletoe was considered a plant of peace, under which enemies could declare a truce or warring spouses kiss and make-up.

21 days to go

SECOND OF DECEMBER

Vanillekipferl

300 g Flour
70 g Sugar a packet of vanilla sugar
220g Butter
100 g crunched haselnut
6 tbsp. Milk

2 packets of vanilla sugar mix it with some confectioner's sugar

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl Heat the oven to about 180-200° TAke out little chunks ( about a spoon full) and make "half moon" shapes out of them. Place it on the baking tray take them out in about 15 minutes now sprinkle them with vanilla sugar and confectioners sugar ( better when still warm)

VOILÁ
Pack them as a gift or share them with your family

FIRST OF DECEMBER

We decided to start off with something very different, just like this tree that we found through the blog from designer undercover, this year you can have this upside down variety!

Only 23 days to go :)

countdown to Christmas

Tomorrow its official its the first of December!

The countdown
- for the ones who still believe in father christmas -
to wait for him to slide down that chimney!
And for those of us who wish we did still believe -
vonblum will be posting a little advent post on our blog everyday until the 24th of December!

the Arc de Triunfo

Today walking around the area, we thought that:
-hmmmmm, we never really talked about our surroundings to you.
So, This is one of the nice things in our neighbourhood!
We are very close to the plaza Tetuan and just five minutes away from vonblum is the "Arc de Triunfo" from Barcelona.
It was built as the entrance gate for the 1888 Universal Exhibition so it is not, strictly speaking, a triumphal arch as it was not built to commemorate any military victory.
Nevertheless, it is built and named as a triumphal arch!

If you want some more insider information on this touristic site, follow this link!

sneak peak

a sneak peak of the webpages of vonblum
more online soon

Monday spaces

MOnday morning and most of us are all struggling to get out in these dark winter mornings.
So to keep this day lighter we decided to add some nicely lit spaces

The last image comes from one of my favourite blogs :)
camilla not only has beautiful work but also a soooo cozy home!

Time flies

It has been a week since our last post.
We are now just about to start the constructions inside vonblum. We have taken out the fridges, the draft beer machine and are finding uses for many other things to be found inside the space now.
Hopefully, by next week we can start tearing the walls down and getting closer to what we imagine the space to look like.
Another reason for not having posted was a quick trip to the lovely city of Hamburg.
The Christmas markets where all being set up and you could feel that spirit all over the town.
Met up with friends and family, wandered the city in search of inspiring ideas for vonblum, and found some nice products to be part of our space.
Enjoy your sunday and we will be back sooner than later this time ;)

Happy Sunday

We loved what Matthieu Ricard had to say - so we thought you would too!

Have a lovely Sunday evening....

visualize

Remember the bird houses from the last post?
For the ones who couldn't picture it....maybe this sketch may help!

cuckoo

birdhouses are spaces prepared for birds to nest in and protect them from the winter cold.
There are many things to be considered when putting them up, such as their position and material to be used.

Why are we talking about birdhouses? No we haven't gone cuckoo

As we get closer to the details in the vonblum space and start considering which kitchen utensils are needed, the heights of counters, position of lighting, colours of the space... we thought of how a birdshouse has to be inviting to its "guests" - so that it will be chosen and used.

One thing lead to another and we decided to add some as decor in our space.

come by when we open up & peep....

the shape of things to come

If you clench your eyes a bit and sprinkle some imagination over this drawing you can see what vonblum will be like in some months from now.
We cant wait!

Winter is coming...

A short trip to Paris, where it seems winter is closer than it is in Barcelona, and our kitchen is looking more and more like a reality. We talked to our chef, and friends who have a wealth of experience to share, and things are on their way! Organising our kitchen and bar space, designing our menu, and trying to make financial sense of the matter, is a lot harder than it seems. But with a lot of research, hard work, and a little help from our friends, the final results will soon be available for you to see.

Holiday swap

We joined in on the fun - and thought you might want to as well
( its only until tomorrow the 9th of November )
for more information go to cake& pie or freshlyblended.
Let the ornaments begin

Philosophical sunday

Its Sunday, and we have been talking about things that make us Smile.
A very important thing for us in vonblum is to keep a positive attitude in our daily lives.
Making the work space pleasant, having people we like around us, enjoying a nice plate of food or even just sitting and enjoying those last rays of warm November sun.
When looking through all those "secret" recipes and products we will be selling at vonblum, the choice is guided by the thought of a smile it will bring to someones face.
So as its Sunday and you might have some extra time to share, it would be great to hear what brings that smile to your face?


P.S. just click on the comments link below and let us know what it is :)

Rutger von Blum

As many of you know, we are located in Barcelona. To be precise, the space is located in one of the famous Eixample corners ( 45° corner blocks known as chaflanes)
at the crossing of c. Casp and c. Roger de Flor.

When we started choosing names for the space the first thing that caught our attention was the word Flower in the street name (flor is flower in english)
We researched a bit and found out that Roger de Flor was also like Jessica from German origins.
A pirate, a merchant, a Templars Knight, part of the Catalan company, married to the Byzantine emperors cousins daughter....turning him into a duke.
We have gone through diverse stories on the internet and through encyclopedias.
Some appealing and some leaving us with distraught on what a man he might have been.
Was he a bloody merchant? or was he actually helping fugitives get away from a massacre?
We only know what has been written and told by other people's opinions.

We have then decided to write our vonblum in one word, so that way we can give this name a new meaning. Yes, we will also want to be part of Catalan history, but in a very different way.

If you want to know more about Roger de Flor we have added a bibliography from the places we have searched in below.

• http://libro.uca.edu/chaytor/hac10.htm
• Wikipedia
• http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~kuijt/dba165/dba165.html

Feist

the music, the design.......we just cant get enough of Feists new CD
its already been added to our playlist

Jip and Janneke

When in Holland we where not only inspired by all the great designers and fantastic products we found, but also by the characters of Jip and Janneke.
They are a series of children's books written by Annie M.G Smith and illustrated by Fiep Westendorp
Initially a series for the newspapers, published weekly from 1952 to 1957.
The simplicity of the characters and their wit have made them into a national icon and of course caught our attention too. Strolling through some shops you encountered the large amount of merchandise dedicated to them, from stickers to children's wine, enticing any serious adult to join in the fun.

Want to join in the fun? start off by reading more on their website (link above) or about the author on this website.

Dutch Design Week

While we are still going through all the information received during Eindhoven's Dutch design week.
We thought we might give you a quick glance at some of the lovely things we saw.
We will be back with more detailed info of great works and very inspiring days.
If you are in Holland, its well worth going to have a look (on until the 28th of October).
Thanks to Agnes & Hjördis for showing us around.

Things are moving forward. And it's so exciting.

The future vonBlum cook came to Barcelona for a few days. In between discussions on the width of fridges, the position of grills and other architectural titbits, we strolled through the city in search of inspiration and ideas.

The next step is starting on the official website. This entails, among other things, starting thinking about our menu, the lovely things we want to sell in the store, the people who are going to be contributing to things, and how to put it all together. It helps, in our impatience to see the place open, to be able to start on some concrete stuff like this.

What ideas do you have? What things would you be tempted to buy while having a coffee, or light lunch?

and the winner is.....

Finally after a fantastic feedback from all of you we have the winning print.
It was a very close call between 1, 2 and 6.
For those who had trouble viewing on white - as a celebration to the winner we posted it now in CMYK
Thanks to all of you for the involvement.