The other day I walked past a shop window in Utrecht that read, “Buy here and make the world better.” I won’t repeat what I felt like throwing through that window, but let’s just say a passing glance wouldn’t have done my frustration justice. And that frustration wasn’t just about the tone-deaf message, as if consumption ever makes the world better, but because that same frustration has been showing up more and more often lately. After reading Reint Jan Renes’ opinion piece in de Volkskrant from June 26 (dutch only) “We need a mental Ozempic for our urge to buy,” it became painfully clear. This isn’t simple. It’s not a matter of an injection, a pill, or a clever sentence on a shop window. Reality is more messy. The urge to consume runs deep, and the system that creates it runs even deeper. What we call “good” in this context is often just a less harmful version of the same problem, packaged as moral progress. As if buying “consciously” suddenly exempts you from the damage. But even second-hand platforms like Vinted operate on the same logic as fast fashion: rotation. Quick purchase, quick resale, dopamine rush, environmental impact ignored. [ Continue reading ]

Only minutes after meeting Bart Zwanenburg, the man behind the impressive Dutch brand JANYAN, we began talking about his youth in Waldorf education—Joachim also being a lifelong expert and me being a newcomer, having indirectly encountered it through my daughter over the past few years. At the age of 12, Bart made the conscious decision to attend a school based on the alternative philosophy created by Rudolf Steiner, despite the 90-minute commute it required. Looking back, he took many things from that experience. Across the spectrum, it introduced him to design, manual crafts, Shakespeare, singing in a choir, and—not to forget—the practice of holistic movement: eurythmy! It gave him a somewhat gullible sense of what real life is like. But at the same time, it instilled in him an unstoppable drive to explore and an almost naïve belief that whatever he sets his mind to, he can make happen. To envision it is to create it. Which is exactly what he’s now doing with JANYAN. [ Continue reading ]

Shots from the road by Joachim, taken along the Aegean coast while shooting the Atelier Munro Spring/Summer 2025 Signature Collection with Wendy and Milan in September 2024, which officially launched this week. The shoot mostly took place at a villa with a view of Mount Olympus, where we learned that the sunrises and sunsets in that part of Greece must be among the most beautiful in the world. While staying at a neighboring all-inclusive resort that reminded us of the movie 'Aftersun', it was one of the more streamlined shoots (and the last of its kind) we did for Atelier Munro—thank you to everyone involved! (And special mention to one of our fellowship members, who is currently in a very good position to cash in the favors he's earned with a very, very powerful person.) [ Continue reading ]

One of our favorite discoveries of 2024 was a small brand from the Netherlands called De Dam Foundation. While still in the early stages in terms of the products it has released, it already offers a fascinating perspective on the Netherlands and clearly demonstrates its high ambitions for the future through a sophisticated design language and significant depth in storytelling. In a world full of merch brands, De Dam Foundation strives for something more meaningful. However, being independently run, it can only take a step-by-step approach to reach its full potential. To learn more about this intriguing brand, we sat down with founder John Ro. When we spoke with him, we learned that despite the entirely “Dutch” framework of De Dam Foundation, it was actually created with an outsider's perspective. [ Continue reading ]

Photography and art connoisseur Roderick van der Lee was kind enough to write an introduction for our ANOTHER CANVAS collaboration with Sergei Sviatchenko. Inspired by the fundamental question behind the project, he shared his insights in an essay where he offers his perspective on how images have come to move through culture at the highest possible speed, but not without losing their ability to impact it, one way or another! [ Continue reading ]

What is the residual value of an image shared on the internet in today’s volatile visual culture? This fundamental question served as the starting point for our collaboration with contemporary artist and architect Sergei Sviatchenko, known for his pioneering work in collage—a partnership more than ten years in the making. After producing numerous images while working in-house for Atelier Munro over the past three years, we found ourselves questioning: What truly remains of this work once the images are no longer actively used? And what have people actually seen and will even be remembered? To explore this, we invited Sergei to use our publicly available earlier work as the foundation for a new series of art. For which photography and art expert Roderick van der Lee wrote the introductory essay. [ Continue reading ]

Some shots from the launch of our collaboration with Sergei Sviatchenko; ANOTHER CANVAS, which took place at the Cristel Ballroom Gallery in Amsterdam. A massive thank you for everyone that came out. And an even bigger thank you to Sergei and Roderick for the collaboration on this project that marks the beginning of many new chapters. In the words of Sergei; it is rare to feel a sense of belonging when working with people who are of like minds — this project did just that on different levels. [ Continue reading ]