My analog camera is with me all the time these days and I so enjoy to capture pictures that are less perfect and not so clean. And much more spontaneous. So here you go for some behind the scenes shots from a recent production at the studio.
I’m shooting so much these days that I haven’t even shared most of the analog photos from July with you yet. And as I’m moving soon things have been a little extra chaotic than usual but I’m so excited to give you a glimpse of my new space soon.
And I’m incredibly grateful that I found my own space in Berlin, which feels like winning the lottery these days. There is a bit of renovation work to be done and of course I will share it with you here :) So more updates soon!
But now I’m excited to share this new recipe that Nora made two weeks ago with you! It’s a gluten-free vanilla loaf cake topped with matcha-meringue and chopped pistachios and it just tastes SO good! Nora is just the best baker and as always you would never guess that this cake is gluten-free. It has a light fluffy consistency and of course you can eat it also without the meringue and just add a simple lemon icing.
Just scroll down for the recipe - happy baking!

Vanilla Cake with Matcha Meringue

4 eggs (for the cake)

3 egg whites (for the meringue; size M or L eggs)

100g olive oil

200g Greek yogurt

180g sugar (for the cake)

200g sugar (for the meringue; preferably a fine-grain variety)

1 pinch of salt

1 pinch of vanilla

250g gluten-free flourmix

2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp lime juice (optional)

5g matcha, plus extra for topping

40g pistachios (preferably salted)

Preheat the oven to 180°C/360°F (top and bottom heat). Grease and flour a loaf pan. Whisk the eggs, then stir in the olive oil and yogurt; next, add and stir in the sugar, salt, vanilla, and lime juice. Finally, fold in the gluten-free flour and baking powder. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 45–50 minutes (test for doneness with a toothpick). After 15 minutes, carefully remove the baked cake from the pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack. Beat the egg whites for about 30–60 seconds, then slowly add the sugar and beat for 10 minutes. In the end sift in the matcha powder and briefly mix in at low speed. Fill the matcha meringue to a piping bag. Cut the cake into slices and spread the matcha meringue onto them. Garnish the cakes with a little matcha powder and chopped pistachios.

When the first memories of being sexually abused as a 12 year old came back last summer I would have never ever thought what came up for me this summer.
I never thought of it as such a long process. Looking back at it now, I can see how my system just carefully gave me the memories back in little pieces.

I remember how last summer I thought to myself - wow now I’m working through this, I process this and I will come out of this so much stronger! Hopefully I will feel whole again, hopefully I can finally transform this feeling of disgust that has been with me and internalized for so many years now. And I pictured myself one summer later as a more calm woman. As more healed. With less panic. And finally able to drive my car alone again, without panic.
I imagined a slower summer, one full of joy. And even though a lot of these imaginations didn’t come true, one has - I’m feeling more whole even though I find myself still sitting in the middle of the pain sometimes. But somehow there is so much light within it. Or to say it with Maya Angelous words - there are so many rainbows in my clouds.
But let’s start earlier:
When the first memories came back, I thought to myself - this is crazy challenging but also it finally allows me to move through this - to get to the root of all my panic attacks, that had reached a point that simply felt insane. I remember one day where I had to stop my car in the middle of the road and started to walk home.
I didn’t even bother where the car was parked, all I knew was that I needed to get OUT. And away from the car. As soon as I felt my feet on the ground and started walking, stared into the sky and the trees around me and could notice my breath again, really breath again, it slowly got better. A bus passed me and stopped and the driver asked if I wanted to get in - I said no but the bus driver insisted in a polite way and somehow again, there was a rainbow in my cloud, there was help. There was kindness.
Once I had to start thinking about how to get my car back, I felt so ashamed though.
The shame part then started to take over and I pushed myself for the rest of the year to drive as much as possible - to “practice” - so I could finally feel normal again.
But obviously (at least obviously for me one year later now) it just got worse - and I can say with great confidence that enforcement and healing are definitely not something that work well with each other. Which was a lesson I needed to learn I guess. Patience, tenderness and kindness on the other hand are the best companions in any healing process. Something that feels so challenging though to cultivate when a big part of you feels shame.
But that was my journey this year so far - to encounter my shame with patience, tenderness and kindness whenever possible - and also with a lot of curiosity.
And that allowed me to slowly notice more. To slowly be more present with my tense body. To slowly notice what my body wanted to tell me in the car the whole time. So I could finally realize it was never about stopping the car, it was always about getting out.

I’m writing this, after the most intense July I could have ever imagined.
Today I accidentally cut my knee on a rusty nail in the garden and went into a full blown panic attack, the cut mimicking a physical violation and taking me far away from the present moment. Just feeling a much deeper wound. Feeling an insane amount of pain in my body that had nothing to do with the cut itself. Flashbacks immediately starting to come, a nervous system that completely shut down.
And yet something shifted. The panic might be still there as a reaction, like last summer, when I cut my finger and had a panic attack in a hospital.
But now I have clear language for what happens in my body. And language means power. I have words. And I’m not silent any longer. And I’m just one of many who expierenced the exact same thing. It makes me not unworthy or disgusting - the word rape makes the perpetrator all of that! It’s an act another person did and not something that describes me or my worth in any way. It doesn’t make me less whole and most importantly it does not define me.
It does not victimize me, but it makes me a survivor. And I’m proud, lucky and grateful about that. Because it has had an absurd and devastating effect on my life to this day. And I think every rape survivor understands that! And yet the amount of blessings and rainbows in my clouds have been equally strong!
I feel so much support in my healing journey - opening up to the people, friends and chosen family around me was the most scary and most healing thing. I remember speaking with my godmother two days after the word rape crossed my lips for the first time in front of my therapist. I was feeling so ashamed and blended with a part of mine that certainly felt and thought my godmother could love me less when she finds out. That she could finally get a proof that I was not whole, that I am disgusting.
But speaking for that, sharing exactly these feelings and parts so openly with her was the most healing experience ever!

I will never forget the amount of panic that moved through my body when the sensations came back. When my body started to trust me enough to stop numbing me. And how bringing that up in a therapy session was the most challenging, overwhelming and yet most transforming experience ever - the fear and panic to work through that, to really be with what had happened was so huge that my whole body was covered with marks and bruises of my fingernails that took weeks to heal afterwards. I remember saying to my therapist in the midst of the panic that I have no idea how I can ever be with this.
And yet we were. We stayed with it. And to simply let that wave move through me with another human that holds the pain with you in love and compassion was the first step into acceptance, into healing and ANGER! I had glimpses of anger before but I was not prepared to feel so much anger in my whole body. A feeling that felt familiar and that I felt after I started eating again with 19 years old after being anorectic for years after the rape. I just had no idea why there was so much anger back then. I had no words for it. And continued to numb my body in other ways once I started to feel it.
It’s simply insane to me, that rape survivors punish their own bodies for something that someone did that would deserve the actual punishment.
The reason why I’m sharing all of that is connectedness and acceptance. When I understood that I had been raped as a 12 year old, when the first memories came back, I was far from sharing that with anyone - it felt like something you could never ever share. And before putting it into words, my system allowed my body to share it in a therapy session first. I went to a trip to Sweden after that session, the first time in a long while traveling alone without being completely overwhelmed by fear and with me in my luggage I had “ Being Peace” by Thich Nhat Hanh.

It felt to me this would be the exact book that would feel healing and soothing now. Never ever did I expected to encounter the word rape in there.
I was at the sea, in between soft grass and rocks, my friend I was visiting a little further away, playing with her dog. And there it was - the word for what my memories showed me. In a book about peace. He wrote it because this is what happened to a 12 year old girl. She didn’t had any help, any rainbows in her clouds. The 12 year old girl drowned herself in the ocean. I felt waves of compassion in my heart and waves of gratitude about my rainbows. For my possibility to heal. To experinece life with a body again that is able to be without tension. That is my hope. My goal. And I have a deep knowing that this is possible. And that’s why I share this here - because it was so healing for me to encounter the word - to get my power back and not hide it. To say it out loud and with that let go of the shame and disgust that never belonged to me.
Because no one should feel the shame and the need to stay silent when such a horrible thing has happened to you - who ever reads this and feels the same - you are not alone! You are beautiful, worthy and whole and deserve all the love in the world, especially your own. What still shocks me incredibly is the amount of women (and of course also men!) this has happened to and is happening to every day and there are still so many questions inside of me - one of the biggest: how can you rape anyone? How can you rape a child? I have no answer to these questions but more and more I come to the conclusion that when we can encounter our own suffering and don’t hide from it, we are also more open to the suffering of others. But this is a whole other topic.
I guess what I just want to say for now and with this text is that no one should ever hide out of shame and that you are not alone. And that healing is possible.
What helped me a lot and continues to be a powerful companion during panic attacks is poetry, especially Mary Oliver’s wonderful poems. A woman that has also worked through her sexual abuse childhood trauma and to say it with her words '“got saved by the beauty of this world”. So I want to end this text with one of my current favorite Mary Oliver poems, because it’s full of hope and power and about noticing all the little and mysterious wonders of being alive:

Starlings in Winter
by Mary Oliver

Chunky and noisy,

but with stars in their black feathers,
they spring from the telephone wire
and instantly

they are acrobats
in the freezing wind.
And now, in the theater of air,
they swing over buildings,

dipping and rising;
they float like one stippled star
that opens,
becomes for a moment fragmented,

then closes again;
and you watch
and you try
but you simply can’t imagine

how they do it
with no articulated instruction, no pause,
only the silent confirmation
that they are this notable thing,

this wheel of many parts, that can rise and spin
over and over again,
full of gorgeous life.

Ah, world, what lessons you prepare for us,
even in the leafless winter,
even in the ashy city.
I am thinking now
of grief, and of getting past it;

I feel my boots
trying to leave the ground,
I feel my heart
pumping hard. I want

to think again of dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings.

June feels like paradise in the garden - the climbing roses are really showing off and seeing them in full bloom always goes by way too fast. I sometimes can’t believe that just six years ago the whole garden was filled with weeds and didn’t even had grass in most parts. I often sit on the stairs with my morning coffee, in total awe of this beautiful example how things can change, grow and transform in the most beautiful way. We did this table setting for ABASK and as the light was just so beautiful that day I quickly took these analog shots on Kodak Porta 400 in between.
Nora made a fresh and tasty arugula-fennel salad with roasted potatoes and green asparagus served with some refreshing elderflower drinks - such a wonderful and light combination for a warm summer evening outside! Just scroll down for the recipe and you can find a little interview about how to style the perfect imperfect table over on ABASK. Happy cooking!

Arugula Fennel Salad with Roasted Potatoes and Green Asparagus

Serves 4
Ingredients:

Arugula and Fennel Salad

120g arugula

1 fennel bulb

1 apple

50g walnuts

salt & pepper

3–4 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1–2 tsp maple syrup

1–2 balls of burrata

Roasted Potatoes

800–1000g small potatoes (unpeeled)

20g butter

salt

A few sprigs of fresh oregano or similar (optional)

Green Asparagus with Pecorino

1–2 bunches green asparagus (min. 500g, thin stalks preferred)

olive oil

salt

1 pinch cayenne pepper (or use chili-infused olive oil if available)

A little fresh lemon juice

50g Pecorino or Parmesan

Recipe:

Roasted Potatoes

Scrub the potatoes with a vegetable brush, boil in water until tender, and drain. Then, cut them

in half lengthwise. Melt the butter in a large pan, place the potatoes cut-side down, and roast for

about 5 minutes until the underside is crispy and brown. Season generously with salt. Top with

fresh oregano.

Green Asparagus with Pecorino

Wash the green asparagus. Roast in a pan with olive oil over medium heat—adding a pinch of

salt and cayenne pepper—for 5–10 minutes, turning to roast all sides (adjust time based on

stalk thickness). Finish with a splash of lemon juice. Arrange the asparagus on a platter or plate

and top with grated Pecorino.

Arugula and Fennel Salad

Wash and dry the arugula. Halve and quarter the fennel, then slice it finely. Cut the apple into

paper-thin slices. Combine the arugula, fennel, and apple in a salad bowl or on a serving plate,

and top with the coarsely chopped walnuts. Season with salt and pepper. Mix a dressing using

the olive oil, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, and maple syrup—ideally by shaking the

ingredients together in a small, sealable jar—then pour it over the salad and toss to combine.

Finally, place the burrata on top of the salad.

How can it be July already?! This summer is just flying away! I can’t believe I haven’t been to Denmark last summer and I’m so happy I finally made it again this year! Thanks to a photoshoot I had in Copenhagen I could extend a few days and Nora joined me as well. Nora and I are currently in the final stages of an exciting renovation project, something we have been working on for quite a while, something that has changed form and concept several times over the past years and is now finally coming to life this winter! We will start sharing images and progress from the construction site with you guys this month and are so looking forward to finally reveal the whole project with you! Anyways this trip and visiting our dear friend Niels was the perfect timing and inspiration. Together with our friend and wonderful photographer Paolo we drove up to Niels beautiful countryside place and enjoyed a very hot summer day in the garden and by the sea. Nora and Niels cooked a tasty summer dinner - a fresh salad, potatoes with herbs from the neighbors garden, grilled corn and some flavorful melon - the perfect summer evening!
All images are shot on Kodak Gold, which kind of turns into my favorite color film this summer, and the black and white images are shot on Ilford Hp5 Plus.
I hope you guys enjoy these quick and spontaneous summer captures! I also spent a few days in Sweden and will share more summer moments with you soon :)

Nora made many gluten-free carrot cakes over the years but it has come to a point where she created the ultimate perfect gluten-free carrot cake recipe and I’m excited to share it with you guys today! We also served it at The Gatherists last weekend and it’s needless to say that there was not a single piece left! Also we’ve been shooting this beautiful bed for our dear client and long term collaborator Matri in April and I couldn’t resist to do some analog captures too that I’m happy to share here with you.
Spring is really treating us with the most wonderful and sunshine filled days here in Germany and on a long walk with my little darling Carry I found these gorgeous branches - perfect for this little breakfast in bed scene and I absolutely love the subtile yellow tones. I hope you guys enjoy the recipe - happy baking!

Carrot Cake Recipe

Ingredients for a 24-26cm springform pan

Cake

200g olive oil
150g walnuts
250g carrot, peeled
3 eggs (medium or large)
250g cane sugar
1 pinch of salt
200g gluten-free flour mix
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon

Frosting

250g cream cheese
200g mascarpone
70g powdered sugar

Topping

Walnut halves
20g chopped pistachios

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Line the bottom of the springform pan with baking paper and butter the sides. Finely chop the walnuts and grate the carrot (using the coarser side of the grater). In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, raw cane sugar, and salt. Combine the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon, then whisk into the wet ingredients. Fold in the grated carrots and chopped walnuts, then pour the batter into the springform pan and smooth the top. Bake the carrot cake for 45 minutes, then turn off the oven, prop the door open slightly with a wooden spoon, and leave the cake in the oven for another 10 minutes. Let it cool completely on a wire rack. Stir the mascarpone by hand (no mixer!), then stir in the cream cheese, and finally, briefly in the powdered sugar – do not stir too long, otherwise the frosting will be too soft. If necessary, refrigerate to firm up. Spread the frosting thickly over the cooled carrot cake. Decorate the carrot cake with walnut halves and chopped pistachios.

I’m excited to share some analog captures from last weekend with you guys today! After hosting The Gatherists at St. Oak last year, we decided to host another edition, this time at my apartment in Berlin. Marieke, the founder of The Gatherists, is one of my closest friends and it’s always such a joy to work with each other. Even more when it involves bringing people together and what a lovely group of strangers, that left as friends, this was! Nora baked two delicious cakes, this coffee Swiss roll and a gluten-free carrot cake for which we will share the recipe with you in the coming week. It was a wonderful slow and long late morning with many interesting conversations, good food and coffee around the table. One of the guests was so kind to bring homemade scented candles, that he also sells in his own onlineshop , for everyone - such a precious gesture. If you want to attend next time mark October 24th in your calendar and if you don’t want to wait so long, check out Marieke’s Events in Copenhagen next month. A big thank you goes to all our guests who made this day so special and also to our dear collaborators Audo for the prettiest candle holders, Kinto for the gorgeous ceramics, New Works for the beautiful vases and Frama Cph for our favorite chairs. We hope to see you next time!

1. Hi Marieke, please introduce yourself:

My name is Marieke Verdenius and I live in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I moved here for my studies in Fashion and Marketing and never left. I’m drawn to the rhythm of the city — its vibrancy, but also the quietness found in hidden streets and courtyards. I live in the museum quarter, where there is always something to explore, yet it still feels calm and grounded.

2. In which room do you spend most of your time?

I love my home, which was built in the 1930s and still holds many of its original features. I enjoy every room, but I spend most of my time in the ensuite space that connects the living room and dining room. It has windows on both sides, filling the space with light throughout the day — something I deeply appreciate.

3. What’s your favorite oldest interior piece and your favorite latest purchase?

My favorite older piece is a small wooden cabinet that once belonged to my father, where he stored his dentistry tools. Each drawer contains neatly arranged instruments. I rarely open it, but it holds a quiet and very precise memory.

One of my latest and most loved pieces is the Moragas lamp on my dressoir in the living room. I’m drawn to its solid wooden base and the softness of the cotton lampshade — a balance between structure and lightness.

4. What’s your favorite book or what are you currently reading?

I recently bought a book by artist Herman de Vries called All This Here. He creates beautiful installations using elements from nature. His work feels very pure and attentive — something I find deeply inspiring.

5. Does art play a role in your life?

Art plays a significant role in my life, though I experience it in a very broad sense. For me, art goes far beyond painting or traditional disciplines. I’m equally drawn to architecture, sculpturing, hand-stitched Japanese embroidery, ceramics, product design, or even gardening — anything made with care, attention, and human hands. What fascinates me most is the process: the craft, the ateliers, the materials, and the time it takes to shape something. There is something deeply meaningful in how people translate an idea into form, whether that is through objects, spaces, or living environments. Through photography, I try to capture not just what something looks like, but the atmosphere and intention behind it — the quiet dialogue between material, light and the people who shape it. Photographing artists and their environments is one of my greatest joys.
My own creative expression currently lives mostly in photography, but I feel an increasing desire to work more with my hands — drawing, painting, or mixed media. I once followed a course based on The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, where we explored different practices: making a leporello, learning Japanese bookbinding, and creating collages using photography and various papers. There isn’t a clear direction yet — and I’m learning that it doesn’t need one.

6. How would your dream living situation look?

I would love to live in a space with high ceilings and plenty of natural light — perhaps an old school building transformed into a home. I’m drawn to places with history and character, where original details have been preserved. A space that feels calm, lived-in, and connected to its past.

7. Which interior piece do you want to buy soon?

I’m not entirely sure yet, but on my wishlist are the J39 chairs by Fredericia, a wooden cabinet by Bautier, or a Z-chair by Rietveld. I’m drawn to their honesty in material and their timeless, understated design.

9. If someone gifted you a second home, where would it be?

That’s such a lovely question. I imagine it would be somewhere in another country — perhaps Italy, Denmark, or Mallorca in Spain. I feel especially drawn to cities like Copenhagen. As long as there is a sense of community and a certain rhythm of daily life, I would feel at home. A place to slow down, work, and stay connected to a local environment.

10. What’s your next travel destination?

Next up is Berlin, where I’ll be hosting The Gatherists with you. In May, I’ll travel to Copenhagen for work, where I’ll be organizing a gathering and a creative workshop.

11. What’s your favorite music at the moment?

I’ve been drawn to instrumental music lately — calm, atmospheric sounds. I enjoy artists like Okonski and Matthew Halsall. I like music that leaves space; it helps me focus and observe.

12. If someone visits Amsterdam for the first time, where should they go?

I would recommend visiting my favorite bakery, Louf, for a cappuccino and croissant. For museums, I love Huis Marseille for photography and the Stedelijk Museum for modern art. My favorite park is Beatrixpark, which also has a medicinal herb garden.
For shops, I enjoy Vlieger for paper and envelopes, Juki for vintage design furniture & objects, Misc for pens and office supplies, and Athenaeum for magazines. For a drink I recommend Café de Pels and for dinner, I would suggest De Kas, Café Binnenvisser or Calisto.

I can’t believe it’s the end of March and this is the first recipe I’m sharing with you. Things have been a little wild as Nora and I are planning to finish a renovation project this summer that has been in the works for years now and I really can’t wait to share it with you guys! We are just about to plan the last details and I will take you to the construction site very soon. But back to the recipe - every year in spring I’m craving pistachios for some reason. Maybe it’s the fresh green color, maybe it’s the taste, I have no idea but I just love them each spring! We had a few weeks with several client productions in the studio and it’s always nice to have a little treat in the afternoon, so Nora made this very delicious gluten-free pistachio cake. I love that it’s not too sweet and the lemon zests are such a great combination with the mascarpone topping. It’s quite easy to make, the only pain are the pricy pistachios. If you don’t want to spend so much money you can also exchange them for ground hazelnuts or almonds, in that case you obviously won’t get the beautiful green color but I promise it will be equally delicious :) I hope you guys enjoy the recipe, scroll down for all instructions.

Recipe - Pistachio Cake with Mascarpone Cream

Ingredients:

5 eggs (size medium or large)

1 pinch of salt

180g sugar

1 pinch of ground vanilla

120g olive oil (we use this one from Gridelli)

1 (organic) lemon

250g pistachios (ground the pistachios in a high-speed blender)

50g gluten-free flour mix

2 tsp baking powder

250g mascarpone

200g whipping cream

65g powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 180°C/360°F (top/bottom heat). Line the bottom of the springform pan with baking paper and butter the sides. Wash the lemon, grate the peel or zest it, and squeeze half a lemon. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites for 30 seconds, then add 90g of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form for 1-2 minutes. Set aside briefly. In a second mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks together with the remaining sugar, salt and vanilla for 30 seconds until creamy. Then whisk in the olive oil and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Combine the ground pistachios, flour, and baking powder and stir into the egg yolk mixture in 2 batches using a silicone spatula (the batter will be quite firm; this will change with the addition of the beaten egg whites). Now fold in the beaten egg whites in 3 batches – don’t overmix, just until the beaten egg whites are no longer visible. Pour the batter into the springform pan and bake for 50 minutes. Then let cool down completely. Prepare the mascarpone cream. Place the mascarpone and whipping cream in the freezer for 20 minutes. Then, in a mixing bowl, beat the mascarpone and powdered sugar together for 1 minute on a hand mixer at low speed. Then, slowly add the whipping cream and increase the speed to high. Whip the cream for about 3-5 minutes until stiff. Then, depending on the consistency and whether the cake has cooled, use the cream immediately or refrigerate it for up to one 1 hour to firm up a bit. Spread the mascarpone cream over the cake and garnish chopped pistachios and lemon zest.

These captures are from our last The Gatherists X St. Oak Event in autumn. As it was such a wonderful experience and we had so much good feedback we decided to host another edition, but this time in Berlin. It will take place on April 18th and if you want to join us for a cozy and long morning around the table, you can get your tickets here. We can’t wait to get together again and share cakes, coffee and creative ideas and projects with each other. We will also launch the dates for the next St. Oak Pop-Up Café soon, but more about that in another post. Happy weekend!

One morning during this crazy, intense and cold winter the sun finally came out, so I grabbed my camera and my favorite Kodak Porta 400 film and captured a few shots from this slow morning. For the first time in many years we had snow this winter, quite a lot actually! It seems like that everyone I speak to and all my friends agree with me, that this winter really did have a certain intensity. So whenever possible I tried to take it slow, something that doesn’t come very natural to me and something that I definitely want to cultivate more this year! I guess this is one of the reasons why I love reading so much, because it really slows you down. I simply love the smell of the paper when you open a new book. And the sound of turning a page, the precious moment when something catches your attention so strongly that you want to underline it. I have this bad habit though, to start 3-5 books at the same time and then it takes forever to finish one! Moving back and forth between the countryside and Berlin isn’t particularly helpful with this habit, because now there is a stack of books in my Berlin apartment and one here in the countryside. Anyways, I really hope to finish at least one of my 10 books this month, which leads me to my current reading list. So here are a few of my current favorites for you guys!

Knife-Woman: The life of Louise Bourgeois
A Biography by Marie-Laure Bernadac that just got translated into English by Lauren Elkin. I’m totally diving into it at the moment and almost manage to put everything else I’m reading aside. I’m a big admirer of Louise Bourgeois work and somehow it always accompanied me through so many different moments of my life. There are a lot of photos in the biography too, which I love! So far a very interesting read.

The Waves - Virginia Woolf
An old favorite I come back to again and again (how special and precious are these books you come back to?! It feels like a dear friend almost!) and yet I actually never finished it yet. So that’s my plan for this month and that’s the book I’ve been reading on that sunny winter morning you see here. One of my favorite lines which is also on the back of the book: “I’m made and remade continually.”

The Correspondent - Virginia Evans
A dear reader (thank you Christine!) recommend this and it’s on top of my stack of books in my Berlin apartment, so after finishing the biography of Louise Bourgeois and “The Waves” this one will be next! Has anyone of you read it yet?

Stillness Speaks - Eckhart Tolle
I love Eckhart Tolle and will never forget when I read “The power of now” on my second solo trip when I was 20 years old to Vienna. But somehow this book never made it into my selection until now. My dear godmother gifted it to me for my birthday and I’m so enjoying it. I have a thing for books that you can just open at any page and read a few lines and “Stillness speaks” is such a book for sure!
Two (of many) sentences I have underlined so far:
”When you make friends with the present moment, you feel at home no matter where you are. When you don’t feel at home in the Now, no matter where you go, you will carry unease with you.”
”The present moment is as it is. Always. Can you let it be?”

I’m kind of hesitant to ask, because as you can see I have more than enough to read for the next months but as there can be never too many books: Do you have any recommendations? And what are you guys reading right now?

When I moved in at the end of October my plan was to have a super cozy place by December. Well, here we are in March now, but I couldn’t be more happy!
The place really feels like home now and I so enjoy to spend my time here.
I have two big rooms and recently just changed the whole layout which makes such a huge difference! Where you the see sofa standing now, was the bed before.
The living and dining room feels pretty complete and I already celebrated my first little birthday party here. The bedroom still has some details missing, so I will share that in another post soon.
What really made the place more cozy are the beautiful linen curtains from by Mölle - they add so much texture and create the softest light in the rooms.
The beautiful Boho Rug from Nordic Knots separates the sofa area from the dining table and is the most comfortable rug I can imagine! For the sofa I was looking for something cozy yet beautiful with enough space for a few people to sit on. Also I wanted to add a subtile color and I found all of that with the Eave Sofa from Audo. And Carry approves it too! Though her favorite spot is the gorgeous Ingeborg Lounge chair. Who can blame her - I’m happy if I’m lucky enough to have my morning coffee here, if Carry allows me to sit on it too :)
The only things I took to the new apartment with me were my bed, and my beloved little Frama Cph desk and Frama Cph dining table, that used to be my office table. I added a few more Frama pieces like the beautiful Farm house coffee tables (I love the organic shape!), my favorite Frama book shelf and my all time favorite Frama dining chairs. I can’t wait to slowly fill the book shelf with more books in the coming months - so far my all time favorites made it in there, like a wonderful coffee table book with photographs from my biggest inspiration - Gisèle Freund and then of course poems by Mary Oliver, some Virginia Woolf favorites and then some vintage Morandi books I was lucky enough to source. As spring fully arrived here in Germany, I can’t wait to get some plants on my balcony soon and also to finish the bedroom. So you guys can expect an update soon!
And a huge thanks goes to my dear friends Line and Niels - the place wouldn’t look as it does right now without your generosity <3

Product details:

Paint: Quiet by Bauwerk Colour
Curtains: By Mölle
Desk: Frama Cph
Desk Chair: New Works
Vase: New Works
Sofa: Audo
Sofa Tables: Frama Cph
Dining Table & Chairs: Frama Cph
Shelf: Frama Cph
Rug: Nordic Knots

I finally visited my dear friend Signe Bay over New Year’s on the lovely island Møn and it was so wonderful to finally see her beautiful old Merchants Farm that she carefully renovated over the last years. Signe and I will actually host a workshop there in June, but more about that very soon :) Spending some time at the sea and exploring the beauty of Møn in good company was such a joy. We saw the first full moon of the New Year over the sea and spent long hours at the beach finding stones and admiring the powerful cliffs of Møn. Thanks to Sigrid from Ark Journal we found the most wonderful ceramist - Kristine Vedel Adeltoft. Her work is incredibly stunning and I wish I could have loaded the full car with cups and plates. I will definitely show you more of her work soon!
After that crazy last year and some months without any proper time for reading it was pure bliss to finally get into some books again. I packed way too many for 4 days and obviously didn’t even finished one, but here is my winter vacation reading list for you guys:

• Upstream by Mary Oliver

  There always has to be a Mary Oliver book by my side. I tend to pack this one on every trip I go and always want to finish reading it, but I always get back to the essay about Walt Whitman, because it’s just so deeply touching and sums up so powerfully why poetry matters so much to me. So I end up reading it again and again, almost breathing in these deep words of understanding. Here is one of my favorite lines: “But first and foremost, I learned from Whitman that the poem is a temple or a green field- a place to enter and in which to feel. Only in a secondary way is it an intellectual thing - an artifact, a moment of seemly and robust wordiness - wonderful as that part of it is. I learned that the poem was made not just to exist, but to speak - to be company. It was everything that was needed, when everything was needed.”

• Wenn ich Eine Wolke wäre (If I would be a cloud) - a biography about Mascha Kaléko by Volker Weidemann
  I got this book as a gift for Christmas, the first book in German that I read since a very long time. I have a deep admiration for Mascha Kaléko and her poetry since my teenage years, one of my favorite poems is called “Recipe” which is basically about fear, life and trust, to sum it up briefly. Reading through her biography once again was really moving, though I would say I prefer the one by Jutta Rosenkranz. Still a recommendation.

• Anam Cara by John O`Donohue and Mind Beyond Death by Dzogchen Ponlop
  Two books I packed for this trip but haven’t really come far reading! Will start to really dive into it in the coming weeks and give you an update in my next book recommendation post.

What are you reading this winter? I’m happy about any suggestions, there can never be enough books!

I feel whenever you have no expectations life tends to be full of beautiful surprises. Somehow there was always an excuse not to visit my dad - too much work, the wrong timing and somehow also a bit of fear for a long list of reasons were in the way of me visiting. But often the best decisions are made spontaneously, so I jumped on a plane and finally went to Boa Vista this January. Escaping the harsh and grey Berlin winter was really the best idea and I hope to go on many more trips to the sea this year, as it’s always so incredibly empowering and calming at the same time. I loved to see how my dad is living there, get to know his place, his routines and life away from Germany. We looked at many exciting projects, met some of his kind neighbors and friends and will even work on a renovation project on the island together this year, as he and his wife will open up a restaurant, holiday rental and retreat space called “Fon Banana”. The place has incredible potential but a lot of work needs to be done. I’m super excited to support them with the interior design and photography and can’t wait to take you guys with me behind the scenes later this year. Next to making plans we spent the days exploring the island and of course went swimming every day. Most of the beaches were pretty empty and not touristic at all, during one walk we’ve even been completely alone. The sea felt so endless and open and the waves were so strong and wild, it was a very special atmosphere and powerful energy and I can’t wait to be back soon! For the first time in a really long time I shot with Kodak Gold 200 again, a film I usually not prefer or like to work with but the warmth of the sun was just absolutely ideal for the film and I’m so happy with how the tones turned out. I even played around with a few double exposures, which I normally prefer in black and white, but again somehow here it really worked.
I hope you guys enjoy these little travel impressions, scroll down for a list of my favorite places on the island.

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Where to stay, eat and what to see and do in Boa Vista:

Stay:

We stayed at Cà Nicola and I couldn’t recommend it more. The website looks not very promising but it’s so much better in reality. The owner is incredible kind and helpful and you are basically directly at the beach and can fall asleep to the sound of the waves. It’s been one of my favorite beaches on the island and staying there directly is just such a huge plus. The apartments are equipped with everything you need and the view over the sea is just the best!

Eat:

There are a few good restaurants on the island but one of my favorite ones was Bowlavista - everything is super fresh and healthy, mostly from their own garden.
We came for breakfasts, lunch and dinner once we’ve been there for the first time. Traveling with a vegan and me not eating fish either wasn’t the easiest during this trip but here you really have plenty of options.

Another nice place for lunch is the Bahia Beach Club - you can get fresh smoothies and salads and as I only eat gluten-free I’m always happy to find a place with good fries.

See & Do:

Kiting:
Most people come for kiting to Boa Vista, as the wind is ideal. Which is actually pretty nice in general, because it never feels too hot. The beaches are fairly empty and also the amount of people in the water is really not a lot, even though it’s high season in January. I loved to watch my dad kite while I spend the days reading at the beach and hope to be brave enough to go out kiting with him next time as well :)
The best kite spot is Kite Kriol.

Beaches:
A real highlight was going to “Praia Antonia” a beach filled with sea shells. You can’t even walk without shoes, as there are so many of them, it’s really spectacular!
Another favorite beach was Praia da Varandinha - there was not a single other person while we were there and the caves and rock formations were so impressive. If you walk or drive a little further you can go up to the lighthouse, where you have a stunning view over the sea.
The best beach for swimming is Praia de Estoril.

Small villages:
Povoação Velha and Fundo Das Figueiras were two of my favorite villages with very beautiful and charming houses. Povoação Velha has a very calm and strong energy and is also the place where Fon Banana is located. When we arrived there was no other sound than birdsongs - really magical!

First of all - Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a lovely transition into the New Year and some calm days during the holidays. I took a little time away from the internet which was so needed after a crazy intense November and December last year.
I just came home from a lovely trip and can’t wait to share more with you soon. It involves a new interior and renovation project, the first one abroad, and I will take you guys with me on as many behind the scenes as possible and share a little bit more about it in my next post.
But first of all I’m so excited to finally give my new Berlin apartment some love this month. What I liked most when I saw the place for the first time was the beautiful floor that has so much character. When I moved in I just took my bed and a desk with me and as I’m pretty impatient my plan was to fully furnish and decorate the place in December - but some things just take more time than expected and I’m so happy to finally move ahead now. I took these shots on a sunny December day when the first piece of furniture, this gorgeous chair from New Works and some little decorative elements like lamps and my favorite Blæhr vase arrived.
Also I got the two rooms painted with “Quiet” from Bauwerk Colour which made such a huge difference and creates a much more inviting atmosphere already.
Last week a sofa and a cozy chair arrived (my favorite new morning corner!) and in the next days most of the missing pieces will arrive as well, so you can definitely expect a full tour of the place in February!

Above the desk I just started to add a beautiful large pinboard for all my favorite photos and the most needed addition were beautiful linen curtains that just got installed before Christmas. In the coming week I want to finish the corner around the dining table (no chairs yet) and create a very cozy living room area. So a lot of updates to share soon! Happy weekend guys!

I photographed this Christmas setting, beautifully styled by Nora, already in October for a client this year. We wanted to create something that feels festive and christmassy and yet also not too traditional. So Nora got this beautiful silver eucalyptus and we focused on silver and golden elements for the whole table setting. The sun showed up in the most beautiful way and filled the whole room and table in the most glorious golden light. And this is exactly what we wish you for the holidays - a light filled, calm, relaxing and joyful Christmas. No matter if you spend it in the wonderful company of yourself, family or friends. Thanks so much for following along this new space that we are creating here with you. All your supportive comments, messages and reads meant so much and we can’t wait to finally share a very exciting new renovation project with you next year! Happy holidays!

Together with our dear friend and talented photographer Marieke Verdenius we hosted “The Gatherists” at the studio last weekend and it was such a wonderful and cozy day with a very lovely group of people. Marieke founded the Gatherists and initiated it to bring creative people together, to create a space where people meet offline instead of online and where real connections and even friendships can be made. We absolutely love that concept and it was a joy to host an edition together and meet so many kind and inspiring people around the table.
Nora baked the most delicious cakes - a gluten-free pumpkin pear cake and this incredible gluten-free cheesecake with caramel and hazelnuts for which we are sharing the recipe with you guys today, just scroll down. It’s really a tasty cake for the Christmas days, so festive and really just such a treat!
Thanks to our dear collaborators Lovely Linen and Kinto the table was dressed with the most wonderful table linen and the most beautiful table- and glassware.
Lovely Linen offers all our readers 15 % off their entire linen collection with the code FS15, so have a look if you are still in search for a beautiful Christmas present.
We hope you guys enjoy the recipe and we would love to welcome you at the next event at St. Oak Apartments.

Gluten-Free Cheesecake with Caramel and Hazelnuts

Ingredients for a 26cm springform pan
(Ideally, bake the cake the night before)

Gluten-Free Crust

200g gluten-free cake flour mix

1 tsp baking powder

65g cane sugar

1 pinch of salt

80g softened butter

1 egg (medium or large)

Quark Filling

600g quark (or farmer’s cheese)

250g mascarpone

200g sour cream

300g heavy cream

2 eggs + 2 egg yolks (medium/large)

225g sugar

1 pinch of ground vanilla

52g cornstarch

Caramel (with Gingerbread Spice)

200g sugar

200ml heavy cream

70g butter

1 tsp cinnamon or gingerbread spice (both optional and depending on the season)

1 pinch of salt

Topping

20-30 hazelnut kernels

Crust and Filling

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Line the bottom of a springform pan with parchment paper and butter the sides. In a mixing bowl, combine gluten-free flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut the softened butter into small pieces and knead together until crumbly. Then knead in the egg and, if needed, a few tablespoons of cold water to make the pastry smoother. Spread the pastry very thinly on the bottom and sides of the springform pan, pressing it down firmly. Briefly chill in the refrigerator. For the filling, combine all ingredients except the cornstarch. Do not overmix, then briefly stir in the cornstarch (overmixing will cause the filling to rise too much). Pour the filling into the springform pan and tap the bottom of the pan a few times. Bake the cheesecake for 50-60 minutes (it’s done when lightly browned). Then turn off the oven, place a wooden spoon in the door and let the cheesecake cool slowly until the next day or for a few hours.

While the cheesecake is baking or cooling, prepare the caramel.

Caramel

To make the caramel, melt the sugar in a saucepan, stirring gently only at the very end until completely melted. The liquid sugar should not darken, as this will make it bitter. Gradually and very slowly whisk in the heavy cream. Stir in the butter in small pieces and season the caramel with cinnamon or gingerbread spice and a pinch of salt. Simmer the caramel for 3-4 minutes, then let it cool for a few hours until thickened (if you’re in a hurry, place the caramel in a metal bowl in the refrigerator or freezer). On the next day, spread the caramel on the cheesecake, then decorate with finely chopped hazelnuts and whole hazelnut kernels.

The light at the studio was one of the things that drew my attention when we saw the space for the first time. I’m used to northern or western light and creating a photo studio that is facing south seemed to be not ideal - but I’m glad we did it anyways, as every space is just so different and somehow here in this building it really works well and gave me the opportunity to do things differently than usual. Thanks to the oak tree in front of the window the sunlight is not too harsh so that summer day when I took these pictures, the light was pure magic and observing the shadow play through the glass vase was such a joy. When it comes to interior accessories like vases and table lamps New Works has been one of our favorite danish brands since years. We are longtime collaborators with each other and absolutely value the quality of their products and the timeless design that integrates so effortlessly in any space. Especially the Blæhr vase with its unusual shape and form is a true favorite and we do have it in almost every color by now. And of course it makes a great Christmas present too :) By now the old oak tree in front of the window has completely turned brown, I will share more current pictures from a lovely winter morning with you guys soon.

There are so many winter recipes waiting for you guys - later this week we will share a favorite new cheesecake with you - but the past weeks just flew by. As always at the end of the year it feels like time is running extra fast.
At the end of October our dear friend Owen Gale visited us at the studio. We haven’t seen each other for two years and it was so lovely to finally reconnect and spend a few days photographing and styling with each other.
One early autumn morning Nora styled this simple and beautiful table setting with these gorgeous and huge pear-quinces from my neighbors garden. It was just the perfect moment with the autumn sun peaking through the curtains, so of course I had to take some analog shots with my favorite film - which is the Kodak Porta 400 these days. Somehow I really start to enjoy shooting in color, which is such a nice addition coming from a heavy love for black and white.
Last week we hosted a wonderful event at the studio and I can’t wait to get my film back later this week and share more about it with you guys soon!

For every new reader, that is not familiar with the whole renovation story of the schoolhouse - I call it schoolhouse because it was a former school. And thanks to that the ceilings are quite high compared to all the other houses in the village. If you want to have a glimpse how it looked like before, you can check this post.
I would say we had quite a rainy and cold summer here in Germany, compared to last year at least. And I love to think back to my morning coffees looking outside the window into the rain with a subtle scent of the roses in the garden, that are always even more pretty after it rained somehow. Anyways so this autumn treated us with the most wonderful light here. I wanted to change a few things in the house after the breakup and added two new rugs from Nordic Knots , one of my favorite rug brands.
For the living room I chose the Boho cream mix, which is so soft and cozy that I sometimes end up sitting on the floor instead of the sofa :) And for the bathroom I wanted to add a rug since a long time and inspired by all the beautiful autumn colors at the moment I ended up choosing this beautiful red jute rug, which fits in so nicely with the dark wooden floors. Also can we just appreciate how incredibly beautiful these flowers are - they are from my dear neighbors garden and they really spoilt me with the most wonderful bouquets this autumn, so obviously they had to make it into almost every picture :) I hope the sun is shining for you guys today as well!

It’s quite a while ago, that I shared this text about my break-up: “How to navigate a break up without losing love”. While I still feel every word I wrote and actually sometimes read it again in moments that felt incredibly challenging, one thing has completely changed: the illusion that Nora and I both had in the beginning of not separating our living situation. While I heard of couples where this actually worked, and of course sometimes finances can force you into such a situation, we decided to stay living together out of fear of separation. Fear of groundlessness, fear of change, fear of insecurity.
Coming from a 13 years relationship that over covered so many fear parts and trauma it made so much sense how overwhelming just the breakup itself felt. So it seemed to be that staying at the same place somehow was postponing a part of the break up further. Even just subconsciously. There were so many reasons for it, not to fully separate our living situation, so many parts that made it sound logically and logistically better. But that it was just postponing a necessary step in this process of disentangling became crystal clear at some point. I realized it became a break up in parts, a slow break up maybe. Though in all honesty nothing felt slow about it.

The crazy thing is, and what I learned in general in the past two years, is that two things can be true at the same time. There came huge relief with the break up, for both of us. Growth towards ourselves as we did kind of lost ourselves in this relationship where it seemed like instead two persons we almost became one person. Without even noticing it in the moment. What felt so healing and tender and like pure love just didn’t seem to work anymore. I guess there is a timing for everything and we just outgrew this dynamic we had with each other - both of us! But still there is grief. Grief about losing a moment of your life, a connection with someone that felt so unique. And then again, I don’t even want to use the word “lose” because that sounds like as if you could win something, when in reality everything is constantly changing and in flow, so maybe a better expression would be to say our relationship just changed form.
Still, naively I never expected it to be that challenging. During summer it all felt like as if the strongest wave of grieve and letting go and heartbreak was over.
So that exchanging keys would cause not even just a wave, but an internal storm of fear and insecurity really hit me by surprise. And I can’t even say what eased that storm and what helped me through other than just noticing it. Noticing my racing heart, noticing my dizziness and my tense neck. And maybe to finally let the closet people in my life know when I’m struggling, something that isn’t coming very natural to me. Like I’m great at speaking reflected about challenging times when I’ve overcome them - but to really open up to another human in the moment of the storm - that is a new experience for me. And kind of a healing one.

So moving ahead I don’t want to pretend as if this move wasn’t challenging. It still is. For many reasons. But it’s also exciting and beautiful and full of possibilities and already brought in so many new connections to my life. So I’m excited to share more pictures with you in the coming weeks - so far I spend the first nights here only with my bed and a table and I can’t wait to fully furnish the place in the coming weeks and take you guys with me. Last week my painter already painted the rooms which already makes a huge difference, so you can expect an update very soon.
And I want to close this text with a poem that really gave me a lot of trust in the past days, a poem that I already wrote quite a while ago but I still feel it so strongly:

Space

Don‘t let fear take over in this giant sea of possibilities - the highs and lows will arise no matter how hard you try.

So greet them with kindness - all of them.

By seeing and accepting them for what they truly are,
moments passing by.

The next wave might come sooner as you are prepared for.
As preparing is never possible - and being aware of that ultimately guides you to the biggest gift - the present moment of this precious life that we are all able to live.

Trusting the waves of the unknown
floating in the ocean of presence
that circulates to the feeling of connectedness
through the hidden and deep wonders
of space.