bloesem world tour

for all you world travelers out there
...go check out bloesem blog

lots of tips from us and another great little gem in Barcelona called Duduá
Thanks Irene!

Talking about world tours, today we can all go look at the Olympic opening ceremonies in China

Enjoy the summer

We had our last brunch on Sunday the 3rd of August before strutting off for our summer holidays.

We will still be around online with some news and info we would have loved to share with you before, but as we were busy busy busy inside vonblum...we had very little time for the blog world.

So this month we will update with some fun things that happened the past weeks, some news of what will be coming in September and as always some fun links :)

So stay tuned........

Ohh check out our music section on the side, lykke li is a great swedish musician, cant stop hearing her! Thanks Nicole for the tip

Coluored paper umbrellas just like in our window display now
from www.colourlovers.com - very inspiring web page go see for yourself!

Congratulations ink&peat

We are really happy as Pam from housemartin - has opened her shop in Portland!

We have been following her from across the ocean and can't wait for more picture updates on the blog.

All the best for Ink& Peat

rebajas

Summer frenzie has arrived!
While most of us are getting ready for our summer vacations packing, organizing our tickets and places to stay very very last minute .....the sales hit the town!
In Barcelona they actually started on the 1st of July and the whole town was jam packed with people, we are following a bit later behind and have some of our lovely items on sale now as well. The cool supermarket trollies - only 2 left - candle holders, flower vases and some of the bijoux.
If you can come see for yourself......for those of you further afield we will be updating our big cartel shop soon.

its sunday again

It has been a while since our last post. For those of you who are following us through the internet - much has happened in this time.

Apart from our second brunch today....
we are not melting in vonblum anymore as we have a super super potent new ufo like aircondition installed and
we have new people working with us ..... Welcome Nuria and Fernanda!

Bruna is now also giving on site instructions at vonblum how to fold those little lucky stars we have close to the till - can you find our jar in the photo above? ;)

Today, tough I came across the best origami site via swissmiss, for those who just don't seem to get all that little folding right, enjoy instant origami!!

open on saturdays

you wanted more & we listened - now vonblum is also open for breakfast on Saturdays
from 10:00 to 13:00
Today we also completed 2 months!!
To celebrate i will share with you these beautiful series of photographs taken by VON of our chairs.
ENjoy

post IT

How much joy a wall full of post its can bring!
The bright colours on the wall, followed by the great incentive messages left behind!
keep it coming......

Curious?

SO now that the surprise gifts have arrived at their final destination......we are free to post what the lucky winners have won!

For those of you who had been patiently waiting, this is what they got!

A nice chocolate from the cool barcelona label wawas, a sample of revolution tea, our lucky stars, and the evil eye bracelet!

Our new image gallery is up on our website, so that you can see more of vonblum. We would like you to participate as well. If you have photos of yourself in our space, or an image which goes well with our concept, please contact us, and we will arrange to include it as well!

Looking forward to seeing you there!

After a month and a half, our café is working well, with lots of clients and friends coming by each day to eat vonblum style. The shop is now coming along nicely too. We are working with new designers, and that side of the project is growing.

The newest additions to our space is the work of two lovely girls in Barcelona, Monica and Cuca.

Monica is an illustrator, who makes magnets with local photos and her girls drawn in. She has had success in her gallery, and is now also available at vonblum. You can see her work in: her site and her blog.

Cuca is a jewellery designer working with images of women who have inspired us. We are tempted to wear her creations ourselves, but are making efforts to leave some so that you can buy them too! You can see her work in: her site and her blog.

and the winners are ......

celeste and maggie you will be receiving our little surprise package soon from Barcelona :)

Surprise gift

little reminder - post a comment and be chosen as one of the winners for the vonblum surprise gift!!
we will send it to you wherever you are :)
leave comments below the post of the 1st of may!

Slurp

Today its Mothers day in Spain, but as our mothers live in other countries, an enticing blog post of what is yet to come shall do.

Thinking about my mother, couldn't stop grinning as I thought that this time I would actually get away with a good SLURP.

SLURP is a fantastic book as a mothers day gift or if you like, for yourself.

The pictures in the teasers for the book are so enticing that imagining summer and these recipes is just a step from reality...

Great job Paul - we at vonblum will have one of your books at our kitchen counter for sure.

If you would like to have the book go here if you want to know more about Paul Lowe enjoy his lovely blog

first of may

As we start feeling the smell of summer in the air...we would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you.

vonblum is becoming more of that space we imagined.

Not only for the food as many of you have already savoured, but for a great place to hang out and enjoy.

and as we continue learning how to make all of this space a treasure for you to unearth

YES... we will be having the terrace soon, and it seems like the downstairs might be ready for use in a month time!

we would like to celebrate with you with a giveaway of a surprise package with some vonblum treasures for two blog readers.

Just leave us a comment and we will post the winners on the 14th of may when we complete a month of our opening!

We have completed two weeks of work at the café. It has been exhausting, exhilarating, and fun. Lots of great food, fresh fruit juices, friendly faces, and many visits. We have also launched our website, www.vonblum.com. Please come and see us in person if you can, and definitely virtually, and let us know what you think.

Working can be FUN

How to Work Better by Fischli/Weiss (1991)

We have had a great start in vonblum this week, and nothing better to sum it all up than this lovely find thru swissmiss
To all of you who have joined us this week, thank you for your patience
and for those of you who have not had a chance....COME!

P.S. and of course for those of you that live too far away pics will be posted soon

open

A very quick post to let you know we finally opened our doors...
and have not managed to stop since then!
Its great to see vonblum so alive
More news this weekend
Thank you all for making it happen!

Juices, juices, juices

Most of you dont know, but we at vonblum are a general mix of nationalities.
Predominantly we all have BRASIL in common.
Having told you that, now you might understand our excitement when we stroll thru a supermarket, and find a proper papaya, or a mango that is truly ripe.
Even encountering frozen acerola becomes a party.
We have been researching places to find all these fruits here, looking for new fruit combinations, keeping friends books for more info on what fruits to use for what function ( thanks TRUDE)
So, from Monday onwards for Breakfast, do try a fresh start with us :)

ladies and gentlemen

We are proud to present you two of our most illustrious vonblummers.
As many things you will find in vonblum, they will not only make sure you do not get confused in case you forgot the female/male symbolism.
They, will also keep you entertained with a lovely story if you happen to have to wait.
Come find out for yourself who and where they are.

interior inspiration

our found chairs after some paint and some inspiring decor ideas for vonblum
looking for a long table for the downstairs area

mixed tape

while we make sure vonblum will be opening its doors in a week,
sit back and relax while listening to a good old mixed tape!
Thanks swissmiss for posting about it.
If you want more music go check hers as well!

Happy Easter from Barcelona

Enjoy your Easter Sunday!
we are off on an egg hunt

photo from VON

Chair masters

Installation for the 8th International Istanbul Biennial
2003 by Doris Salcedo

We have finally managed to gather a whole bunch of chairs
thanks to our "chair masters" ( you know who you are!!)
so today we would like to thank you with a little bit of art knowledge.

Introducing Doris Salcedo, a Columbian artist, she creates sculptures and installations that re-contextualize everyday domestic items as she alters their physical properties.

Using mundane objects and transforming them into something magnificent.

The artist is a member of a new generation of young South American artists who are gaining international recognition while remaining in their home countries.

some more about her here and here

The menu...

As opening day gets closer and closer, there are many preparations to be made. "To do" lists are passed around, items crossed off, new items listed on...
The menu is getting its final touches before ingredients are ordered and our graphic designer sends it all to print. We would like to ask you to suggest names for our salads and sandwiches. We need a list of 12 names, or a category which you think we can look for ideas in. Something fun, which reflects what you would like vonblum to be.
The clock is ticking, and we count on you for suggestions!

Alimentaria Barcelona

We spent our Friday morning at Alimentaria ( the big food fair that happens here in Barcelona)
we made a fantastic order for vonblum, which we will tell you about in another post.
Found some very interesting breads, dressings, packaging.
The best of all was actually to watch how people loose all their poise when there is free food.

one hundreth post

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At vonblum we always find a reason to celebrate, today it's our 100th post!
So we got you a little something...
Click on the image above and save it to your computer on the size that fits your screen best.
Then you will have your very own vonblum Barcelona desktop image.
Enjoy.

P.S: Thanks Diego

If you would like to use the image for any other purpose than private do let us know
by emailing to info(at)vonblum(dot)com

Its our day

Congratulations to all of us
Photo from VON

Paper cut outs

Received this beautiful work as a forward email today.
Thought I should share it with you, but wanted to make sure about the work and where it came from. This interesting story followed:
Initially, and through the email these images were identified as part of a contest put on by Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art in Washington, D.C.
It hasn’t been until recently, through blog updates and corrections, that Peter Callesen has gotten proper credit for creating all the artwork displayed.
Clever viral marketing or luck? Nevertheless great work Mr. Callesen!

Stick to these plates

For the plate collectors between us, these are the plates that have been missing.

These plates are the great idea of designers Ahnlund & Karlén
These are wall stickers that can be stuck on any wall and moved around as you wish.
Got one ourselves in Stockholm and are hoping to have them in vonblum for sale as well.
Ours is hanging at home between our paintings and family portraits!

Salad Satisfaction

we have some questions for you today.....is a salad enough to satisfy you at lunch time?
do you always eat bread with your meals?
oh and our favourite question - do you like the sauce already mixed into your salad or on the side?
Would be great to hear from you

photo Barbara Allain