Showing posts with label Pia Jane Bijkerk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pia Jane Bijkerk. Show all posts

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Happily Ever After: Pia Jane Bijkerk


What happens if you wander the world, you live in Paris, on a boat in Amsterdam, in Australia? When you collect delicate little gems, transform vintage pieces into remarkable ideas for the home, have a refined sense for a romantic and eclectic style? Well, I haven't got an answer for you, but I have an idea what it would look like - like the work of the Australian stylist, photographer and author Pia Jane Bijkerk.


Earlier this year I've reviewed her amazing book here on the blog, and it is illustrated with that specific and unique style that she creates and captures magically with her camera. No matter if this is your style or not, I've learned one important lesson from Pia's work: to notice the little details. To acknowledge their beauty. And to create ideas that stem from just one tiny peculiarity. Like a dried flower. Or a wandering heart. Happy Friday!

Photography by Pia Jane Bijkerk
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Monday, January 2, 2012

Book Review: My Heart Wanders



Yesterday, while taking the train from Austria back to Munich, I finished reading one of the most wonderful books I've recently got between my fingers: 'My Heart Wanders' by Pia Jane Bijkerk. A book that truly touched my heart and that seemed so familiar and honest, I almost had the feeling I knew well all the words that unfolded before my eyes. Reading those lines full of emotions and thought, feelings and rationale, gave me goosebumps. Let me give you a little snippet of this moving heart travel. On the bookend cover it reads: "Four years ago something very peculiar happened. My heart wandered. It simply packed its suitcase and wandered away. I wrote it a letter in heart language but it never responded. So what does one do when one's heart wanders? Follow. For being without a heart is to be no longer alive."

This enchanting book was written by internationally acclaimed stylist, photographer and author specializing in interiors, still life and food, Pia Jane Bijkerk. With the book 'My Heart Wanders', Pia takes us on a very personal journey that is simultaneously so true for all of us. Pia is Australian and packed her suitcase leaving her homeland to live in Paris where she met her love. There, she discovered that sometimes we are tricked by our own ideas and ideologizations from time to time. Consequently, her heart wandered on to Amsterdam... She not only takes us on a wisely and carefully spoken journey along memory lane, but on an inspiring one, too. Through her artful photographies she manages to transmit a sensuous feeling of traveling, pondering, and questioning one's decisions over and over again. On the trip, we learn again what we've always known but most of us have forgotten or lost along the way. The importance of nesting, renewal, acceptance. The power of a sense of place, the importance of going with the flow to eventually find home. 

I warmly recommend this book. I have never found another book that weaves emotions, words and interiors so wisely and adorably together. I felt like taking off immediately after closing the book's cover. For I want to follow my own wandering heart. Do you?
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