Poodle Soup

Moved

2011-11-27T14:10:00.001+01:00

This blog has moved to poodlesoup.tumblr.com.

can your iPhone take a beating?

2011-11-03T20:41:00.005+01:00

De Freddy de Kerpel onder de iPhone cases.

Marital stress

2011-08-28T13:57:00.005+02:00

'My husband sees naked ladies at work every day'.

Summer love

2011-08-28T13:56:00.001+02:00

'De rest van de vakantie sliep ik in zijn tent.'

Fout is lekker

2011-08-28T13:55:00.001+02:00

Why bad habits feel good.

Perfectie is passé.

2011-08-28T13:54:00.002+02:00

Perfection is out of style.

Shoes

2011-08-28T13:54:00.001+02:00

Candytown

2011-08-28T13:42:00.007+02:00

For a touristic guide to cities renowed for their candy making.

Marilou

2011-06-09T11:21:00.001+02:00

For a brand new baby girl.

doodle

2011-05-02T21:52:00.004+02:00

kamasutra.02

2011-03-16T22:35:00.005+01:00

Some names have been altered, merely for my entertainment.

Kamil!

2011-02-24T13:10:00.000+01:00

On a man's mind

2011-01-23T12:51:00.003+01:00

'50 things you need to know about men', according to Thom Arisman, like "even if we try really hard to think about something else, we still think about sex."

Don't shoot the illustrator.

We're all animals

2011-01-23T12:39:00.003+01:00

For an article about our inner animal.

Aleix Plademunt

2010-12-14T20:51:00.004+01:00

Check out his wonderful work here.

Arrogance attack

2010-11-09T12:25:00.002+01:00

For an article that teaches you how to deal with arrogant people.

Look like a woman, live like a man

2010-10-17T22:50:00.004+02:00

To divorce or not to divorce

2010-09-28T21:34:00.006+02:00

For Flair magazine.

Arthur!

2010-09-25T21:24:00.001+02:00

poodle soup's favourite movie title sequences

2010-09-19T11:34:00.019+02:00

'Catch me if you can', designed by Olivier Kuntzel and Florence Deygas. Wonderful illustration, yummy typo accompanied by a sweet & exciting John Williams tune. So good.

'Up in the air' by Shadowplay studio (the same folk that made the opening sequence for 'Thank you for Smoking', also a good one). Simple and elegant with timeless aerial photography, clean typo and a zesty 'This land is your land' cover by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.

Bond movies traditionally have rocking opening title sequences, but 'Goldfinger' might just be my favorite. It's classic Bond: simple, elegant & thrilling. And, as far as opening songs to Bond movies, Shirley Bassey can't be beat.

'Barbarella', simply because no-one can sensually strip out a space suit in zero-gravity like Jane Fonda can. Watch it here.

'Seven', by Kyle Cooper. It looks a bit dated now, with all the layer work and the scratchy-scribbly typo, but back in 1995, it was thrillingly innovative. For me, it was a definite kick in the butt, sparking my aspiration to become a graphic designer. The reason why it lost its original impact, is simply because it has been copied a gazillion times ever since.

Claire Morgan

2010-09-03T11:12:00.002+02:00

View her work here.

Annoying boyfriends

2010-08-28T23:21:00.000+02:00

Privileged

2010-07-19T12:41:00.003+02:00

Just as you think this debate will turn into the usual designer blah about sleepless nights, the 'downside of succes' and all that BS, Oliverio Toscani intervenes, totally steals the show and talks sense.

via iancul

2010-07-16T23:17:00.010+02:00

Yes, I have a problem with Ikea.

Not because of their products, mind you. Sure, some of them are just cheap imitations of design classics, but overall, their design policy is respectable, and their products offer quality that's acceptable for 20 dollar bookshelves and 200 dollar beds. Their flat-pack concept is smart, there's no question about that. And even with the mistake of ditching Ikea Sans (a customized Futura) for Verdana, their visual identity is nothing to be ashamed of.

It's not the shopping experience either. Like all sane people, I resent it, but I'm fast, focused and never find myself with anything I didn't really need afterwards. It's a matter of mindset, courageously withstanding a tsunami of clever attempts to get you to buy stuff.

It's not the fact that it's founder, Ingvar Kamprad joined and fundraised a fascist Nazi-sympathising group in Sweden during WWIII. When that well-kept secret came out, Kamprad immediately apologized for his involvement and claimed it was the biggest regret of his young life. He also wrote to every Jewish employee on his staff to issue a personal apology. That could all have been marketing, but hey, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe him when he says it was the biggest mistake of his life.

It's not even because of the 2007 scandal when Ikea admitted that some of its suppliers in the developing world used exploitative child labour and others were involved in illegal logging which destroys protected forests. Ikea never took full responsibility for those, but they did form Ikea's Social Initiative, working with Unicef and Save The Children to end child labour. They also work together with WWF to promote responsible forestry and to fight illegal logging. Moreover, Ikea came up with 'the Never-Ending Job', an in-house program that commits them 'to help create a world where we take better care of the environment, the earth’s resources, and each other'. This program includes e.g. the printing of their catalogue on Totally Chlorine Free paper and moving to renewable energy for electricity and heating of their stores.

So, all good then, right? I mean, what could you possible have against a company that makes more or less good products and commits themselves to make the world better? With all the programs they seem to be supporting, it makes them look like a freaking charity.

And that's exaclty what they are. Ikea is charital organisation. Now, it gets interesting.

In 1982, Kampvard's ownership stake in the company was given to Stichting Ingka Foundation, a Dutch charity. The charitable foundation was reported by The Economist to be technically the world's wealthiest charity – with an estimated value of at least $36 billion in 2006, which is larger than the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The charity’s goal is “to promote and support innovation in the field of architectural and interior design,”, but it’s unclear how generous its support is. Unlike the Gates Foundation, Stichting Ingka does not publish its records. It’s been confirmed that the foundation has given 1.7 million Euros a year to Sweden’s Lund Institute of Technology for some time, but even that amount seems fairly stingy in light of its gigantic endowment. It seems this charital organisation is a clever way to avoid paying taxes. In 2004, Ikea pulled in a 1.4 billion euro profit, but since it’s owned by a tax-exempt charity, it didn’t pay a cent.

So, if Ikea is owned by charity, how does Kamprad, listed on n°11 of Forbes' list of Richest People in the World, get his money? Through another cleverly designed bussiness structure, it seems.

While the charitable foundation owns the IKEA stores, it doesn’t own the IKEA trademark or concept. These belong to Inter IKEA Systems, a private, for-profit Dutch company. Inter IKEA Systems collects franchise fees from each IKEA store; according to The Economist, these fees amounted to 631 million euros in 2004. However, thanks to a multi-national system of ownership here, too, the company ended up paying a mere 19 million euros in taxes on this huge sum. Who owns Inter IKEA Systems and its maze of parent companies? Nobody knows. Since they’re private companies incorporated in various locations, their ownership is kept secret. Let's not call each other sissies, here. It's probably Kamprad and his family.

In 2007, the Berne Declaration, a non-profit organization in Switzerland that promotes corporate responsibility, nominated IKEA for one of its Public Eye Awards, stating "Ikea’s tangled network is unlawful and should be dismantled. Furthermore, a responsible corporation states clearly who profits and where those profits are realized and taxed. Ikea lacks transparency and publishes virtually no figures, except of course for the prices in the Ikea catalogue."

So there it is. My trouble with Ikea is that it's a greedy monster in disguise. It looks like a fresh and clean company that's responsable, aware and environmental-friendly. And it a way, it is. But they're not doing enough. As the world largest charitable organisation, they should be pumping sh*tloads of money in all kinds of programs and projects. Donating 50 million dollar to Unicef may sound grant, but next to Gates' $10 billion for vaccine development, it's peanuts. I want to see more. When you're making this amount of money, and not paying taxes, you'd better change the world.

Sources: mental floss blog, wikipedia (Kamprad), wikipedia (Ikea), the Economist

Love doesn't conquer everything

2010-06-16T23:12:00.001+02:00

For Flair magazine.

Verliefd op een ander

2010-05-27T21:38:00.001+02:00

For Flair Magazine.

happy

2010-04-16T10:23:00.000+02:00

Facebook

2010-03-20T17:05:00.001+01:00

For Flair Magazine, about emotional exhibitionism on Facebook.

windy

2010-02-18T17:16:00.001+01:00

My funny valentine

2010-02-17T15:45:00.003+01:00

Digital collage for Flair magazine; article about Valentine's days that didn't turn out the way they were supposed to.

streaker

2010-01-22T13:37:00.005+01:00

Cause I'm a freaky streaker like Winnie the Pooh
T-shirt and no pants and I dance the Boogaloo

www.poladroid.net

lift off

2010-01-19T20:09:00.002+01:00

For a friend who started out her own bussines.

1950s diet

2010-01-19T18:23:00.003+01:00

For Flair magazine; 'How women in the 1950s managed to stay slim'.

Happy without sex

2010-01-07T11:37:00.003+01:00

For Flair Magazine; article about happy couples who ...'rather go hiking than have sex'.

Family affairs

2009-12-17T21:51:00.001+01:00

For Flair Magazine; article about women who are having an affair with, for example, their brother-in-law.

S.o.s. schoonfamilie

2009-12-07T20:18:00.004+01:00

Illu for Flair Magazine; article about celebrating Christmas and New Years Eve with in-laws that you just want to run away from.

playboy

2009-11-18T19:27:00.006+01:00

For Flair magazine; 14 things every woman should know about sex according to our collegues from Playboy magazine; like 'Sex is fun' (top) and 'We can't help it, we just love blow jobs' (bottom).

Euh

2009-11-11T17:48:00.003+01:00

Illu for Flair Magazine; article about questions that are too embarassing to ask your gyneacologist.

change your man

2009-10-21T19:16:00.003+02:00

for Flair magazine; article about how you can change your man.

neurotic

2009-10-21T19:15:00.001+02:00

for Flair magazine; article about neuroses.

sweaty

2009-10-21T19:05:00.001+02:00

for Flair magazine; article about major let-downs in men, like sweaty arm pits.

kama sutra

2009-08-16T20:42:00.001+02:00

For Flair website.

doodle

2009-07-30T20:39:00.002+02:00

all in a day's work

2009-07-30T19:26:00.004+02:00

Some people bake bread for a living. Some other people handle people's financial papers.

I, apparently, draw little creatures having sex.

For Flair Magazine's new website, coming soon (pun not intended).

Idle

2009-07-26T23:31:00.002+02:00

For lllustration Friday.

kele

2009-07-21T19:59:00.003+02:00

My son. Trying out my new Fujifilm Finepix.

old stuff

2009-07-02T15:18:00.003+02:00

My first editorial designs...

For zap magazine.

company flow

2009-05-16T16:29:00.003+02:00

13-year old rapping altar boys from Pennsylvania may be cute and funny, and I reckognise the dude's talent, but he's got a lot of growing up to do before he can come up with rhymes like these guys. Their track 'patriottism' is one of my all time favourites - but hey, I'm done bashing the US now Obama's in charge :).

asher roth on jools holland

2009-05-16T02:39:00.004+02:00

Another kid who's got flow, regardless the fact he looks like a 13-year old altar boy. Makes me smile.

kid cudi freestyle

2009-05-16T01:18:00.005+02:00

Never would have suspected that the guy behind 'Day and Night' (not a bad song, but nothing jawdropping to my humble opinion) would have such excellent freestyling skills. The man's got flow.

city trips

2009-05-12T23:16:00.013+02:00

Illustrations for Flair Magazine's citytrip pocket.

Taboo II

2009-03-06T13:05:00.005+01:00

For Flair Magazine. Top: 'I'm going to do anything to steal my lover from his wife and I don't feel bad about it', bottom: 'I'm bullied by my coworkers and too ashamed to tell anyone'.

Mankind at its best.

Taboo

2009-03-04T22:25:00.003+01:00

Illustrations for Flair magazine.

From top to bottom: 'I(m inlove with my daughter's boyfriend', 'I regret having my children', and 'I betrayed my best friend.

I'm not here to judge.

truth or dare

2009-03-04T22:22:00.003+01:00

Card design, a naughty game for Flair magazine.

flawed

2009-02-04T22:29:00.006+01:00

Illustration Friday's topic is 'flawed'; so here's an unfinished illustration that will be part of a series about people that made a mistake, have a secret, or did something they weren't supposed to.

apple and tree

2009-01-31T08:20:00.006+01:00

My son's art. He loves to draw, just like his mum :).

I might be prejudiced, but I think he's incredibly good at it too.

RIP 2008

2009-01-17T13:56:00.004+01:00

2008 was the year of the rat, according to our Chinese friends. I'm not a natural born optimist, so I try to avoid watching the yearly news overview. I always do, though, knowing very well that all the wars, dying babies and natural disasters will make me believe that every year things are getting worse, that our planet is doomed and mankind is on a one-way path to selfdestruction.

One big, shining bright light within al this misery, though, was Obama's election. Let's all hope this is truly the beginning of the change this world desperately needs.

great advice 02

2009-01-10T17:30:00.006+01:00

Just a little something in between to test my blogfeed on facebook. On this note, I would like to congratulate those facebookguys with the first application that doesn't involve ranking 'my cutest friends', sending virtual hugs or friendship fairies, finding out what my mob name would be or what kind of christmas decoration symbolises my personality.

2008-11-29T14:32:00.004+01:00

This week's Illustration Friday's topic is 'balloon'.

I love balloons. They're funny as well as poetic. They grasp the elusiveness, if you will.

great advice

2008-11-25T09:05:00.002+01:00

The great advice series, picking up where I left it years ago.

More to come.

Terrible two / IF: opinion

2008-11-24T11:19:00.008+01:00

My son turned two last week. He's a sweet kid, the best in the world, not at all a little ennoying brat like the one I drew here. But you know, even the sweetest kids get tantrums sometimes, preferably in the supermarket. So this one goes out to all the mums and dads trying to get the groceries in a bag while the wee one is crying their lungs out, climbing mum's leg or pulling dad's pants. We've all been there...

Raising kids is hard, and everyone seems to have a different opinion on parenting methods. New parents get flooded in well-ment advice, tips and techniques, supernanny-alike methods, and then some. Seems to me this information overload makes it even harder to find your way in parenting-land.

Chi Neng Institute

2008-11-01T21:56:00.004+01:00

koeniepaint

2008-11-01T21:05:00.006+01:00

birthcards

2008-11-01T15:18:00.008+01:00

Made some cards for kaartjeshuis.be. It's a project that aims to be an alternative for the boring old birthcards and wedding invitations you find in those books at the printer's.

homeless dude

2008-09-20T23:14:00.005+02:00

Old picture I took for school a couple of years ago.

I was taking pictures of a deserted boat in the harbour (adventurous as I am) while this guy appeared out of nowhere. He said he lived there. He also said he was possessed by the devil. Weird experience.

gentlemen

2008-09-18T18:54:00.011+02:00

published

2008-09-18T18:54:00.009+02:00

Hurray! Thank you, Alex and the people at Creatief Schrijven.

poodle power

2008-09-03T21:29:00.008+02:00

Yes, the power of the poodle is growing. We already have followers so loyal they are spreading our name. Check this out.

the little things

2008-08-23T13:10:00.004+02:00

Little things that make me happy:

my first espresso of the day, watching my son dance, the smell of rain in the summer, running into koen de bouw and almost fainting, picking up a batch of new prints, nice waiters, a well-ment compliment from a total stranger, waking up and realising my son slept through the night, finishing a project and thinking it's the best I ever did - for like 5 minutes, my second espresso of the day, fresh food from de broers van julienne, a home made mojito, a new word my son learned, my third espresso of the day, watching project runway.

Chineng Qigong

2008-08-22T12:48:00.004+02:00

Making a brochure for the Belgian Chineng Qigong Institute.

Say what? From what I understand, it's kinda like Tai Chi. A lot of solid breathing and waving arms in the air ;). A more professional explanation can be found on their website.

KAMIKAZE

2008-08-06T23:10:00.007+02:00

IF: Enough

2008-07-19T23:02:00.009+02:00

Outrageous story about Burmese Kayan. Read about it here.

Untitled

2008-06-28T22:56:00.006+02:00

New masters

2008-06-28T16:04:00.004+02:00

Went to the expo of the Masters in Art at Sint Lukas Antwerp.

Names to remember: Femke Van Grootel (above), Joris Gibbens (below) and Lien Boelen.

YK - More pen talk

2008-06-23T14:11:00.005+02:00

Work in progress. I used a Copic Multinliner SP Brush Pen for this one. It's similar to the Farber-Castell PITT, but the ink is more dense, and you can refill it with a new ink cartridge- thank heavens, 'cause it's kinda pricy.

Workspace

2008-06-20T19:13:00.002+02:00

Check it out, I got myself a drawing table. Second hand, cheap as f*. No more drawing on the wall, getting cramps in my arm.

Giant squid - Let's talk pens

2008-06-10T23:57:00.012+02:00

A little sneak peek of the giant squid as the one in my sketchbook posted earlier. It's not finished yet, but it's getting there.

I'm using my new Farber-Castell PITT pens, highly popular amoungst illustrators worldwide. The brush pen is nice and smooth, but a little soft for me and the ink is not as dense as I would like it. I'm not easily pleased when it comes to pens. Staedler Lumocolors are pretty dense, but bleed too much. Same for Zig Brush Pens. I've tried dipping, but I hate the fact I can't control the ink flow. Besides, metal nibs are too rigid for my hand, they make me draw too slowly. Bamboo pens are much smoother, you can carve them any way you like, but they don't hold much ink. You'll be dipping till you drop. Fountain Pens are great, I prefer Pelikans, but the ink is crappy. If only the people at Pentel would come up with a lightfast, waterproof version of the Tradio- a pen with the perfect tip as far as I'm concerned- I would be one happy camper.

Baby vectors

2008-05-30T23:48:00.013+02:00

Sketchbook

2008-04-30T21:51:00.020+02:00

I usually get uncomfortable when showing people my sketches, since they're unfinished, and a lot of them are just rubbish ;). However, the 'sketchbook' button is the first one I will click when I'm checking out someone's site - I often find them more interesting then finished illustrations or artwork. So it's only fair that I share a peek too.

More primitive robots

2008-04-25T13:23:00.006+02:00

I wasn't entirely happy with the previous one, so I made two new little paintings for my son. Kele is 17 months old and likes robots, bright colours and everything on wheels. Oh yeah, and he dances like a pro.

Illustration Friday - Primitive

2008-04-20T23:47:00.004+02:00

A rather primitive robot I drew for my son.

Inspiration

2008-04-15T18:24:00.016+02:00

Just some pictures that are hanging on my wall and some (old) books that are lying on my desk for the moment.

From top to bottom & left to right: something I tore out an interior design magazine / pics from Men and Machines, a booklet a found in a second hand book store that has awesome images from early 20th century machinery and factories (010 Publishers, Rotterdam) / still from 2046 (Wong Kar Wai) / De Gele Kruik (P. Atangan, Atlas Amsterdam), a ukiyo-e style comic / extract from The Look of the Century (M. Tambini), book about product design in the 20th century / the very first art book I ever bought: HR Giger ARh+ (Tashen) - I think I was about 11.

The sorrow of Belgium

2008-03-24T22:01:00.009+01:00

Hugo Claus died last week. Claus was the author of 'The Sorrow of Belgium' (Het verdriet van België) and is considered the best writer Belgium ever knew. He suffered from Alzheimer's and ended his life by euthanasia, a decision he took in an early stage of his disease. It is not hard to understand that a man who dedicated his life to literature and poetry, cannot bare to live when he's no longer even capable of speaking clearly. Some people say life shouldn't be valued by intellectual capabilties. I fully agree. That being said, I know I wouldn't want to go all the way down Alzheimer's road either. I've seen it. It's not just about not being able to speak or reason. In the end, it's the absence of any clarity in any way. Nothing left but confusion.

Food is a weapon

2008-02-14T20:36:00.007+01:00

Stencil -text added digitally.