C is for Coffee / Ycono

Ycono

If you are intensively trying to avoid Ghent’s red light district, you are actually missing a lot of nice places these days. Beside El Negocito, Café Costume, and De Vitrine, you should absolutely go and discover Ycono, a small coffee bar in a styish design setting. Ycono is a unique place in Ghent, not only for its location, but also for its atmosphere, sense of humor and guts. Since Edward Hostyn is both owner and barista we were interviewing him behind the bar, in front of the oven which was spreading delicious apple pie aromas.  

Rosie & The Rabbits: Did you have certain expectations when you started Ycono in 2011? And, looking back on things, is it what you expected it to be?

Edward Hostyn (owner Ycono): I had a certain image in mind, yes. The original idea however was to make Ycono a lot bigger. I really wanted a gallery with an integrated coffee bar, but I just couldn't find an appropriate place for it in Ghent. 

Rosie & The Rabbits: That leads us to our next question regarding the location of the bar; we assume it was not strategically chosen? 

Edward Hostyn: No, it's rather a coincidence. Anyway, I live here so I wasn't "afraid" of this neighbourhood. It’s just an affordable and unique location at the same time. And since I don't want to focus on tourists - from a business point of view I don't have much affinity with them - so that's an advantage of this location. 

Rosie & The Rabbits: Did this place bring surprises as well?

Edward Hostyn: Yes, quite some, daily actually! Contact with prostitutes, or mainly their messengers. Stories. Romanian prostitutes who cannot understand I'm gay. We once had a reception with friends at the bar and I hugged some of them when saying goodbye. One of the prostitutes then said to me when I was closing the bar that day: "you hug them but you don't hug me?". And ever since she wants me to give her a hug before I go home. I didn't expect the contact to be so "smooth" let's say. But now I really take advantage of the location, businesswise, for the decoration and naming on the menu for example. 

Let's say ninety percent of the people still have to learn to appreciate this area. You have to accept that edgy aspect. Some would like the prostitutes to go away, but it actually gives Ghent a "metropolis" feeling. I'm really happy that this street is so diverse: we have an outstanding restaurant, a latino bar, Café Costume. And prostitutes and maffia. It is what it is, those contrasts are only interesting. I would never want to change locations anymore. 

Rosie & The Rabbits: Do you remember the moment you knew: “now I'm going to do this”?

Edward Hostyn: I had been looking for the right premises for half a year when I more or less gave up. One day I parked the car where I lived and suddenly I thought: why couldn’t we have the bar right here? I still had to request a license, but not even a week later I had already signed the contract. I didn't even have a financial business plan at that time.

Rosie & The Rabbits: You focus on design; is everything at the bar for sale? 

Edward Hostyn: Most of it is. You will only find things I like myself. We have for example a rather expensive vase; chances that I sell it are small, but I just like to show it.  Artists are welcome to show their work here as well. 

I have no problem with Ikea, but there are so many nice things that are not expensive but unknown to most of the people. There's so much nice work of young artists for, let’s say, 200€ and I prefer to buy those things instead of that typical Ikea New York skyline. That’s what I would really like to show and bring to others, but unfortunately I don't have enough space for that right now.

Rosie & The Rabbits: Is coffee, and perhaps more the cups and saucers, part of an interior?

Edward Hostyn: Yes, I think it is. In the beginning I was looking for china from Japan but it was too expensive for a small business like mine. We wanted the cups and saucers to be for sale as well, but I had to make choices unfortunately so today that's not the case.

Rosie & The Rabbits: If you would have had a complete different career, what would it have been like?

Edward Hostyn: I already had a big career switch from interior design to restaurant business. If I'm tired of the bar one day, then I'll close it, but the design aspect will always be present. I just don't get tired of it. One shouldn't be doing things that he doesn't like to do.

Rosie & The Rabbits: Do you actively look for artists who could show their creations at the bar, or do they contact you?

Edward Hostyn: It started with a friend who asked me, and then a couple of customers,  and then there was March, design month, when artists were looking for  a spot. For me, it could go even further than paintings or graphical work. If a fashion design student would like to organize a mini pop up store at the bar: be my guest! Another friend of mine is taking a course to be a florist and he doesn't have a very classical way of working; that would be an option too.

Rosie & The Rabbits: Do you still have future plans for the bar?

Edward Hostyn: I keep requesting a terrace for the Glazen straatje, but it's always declined because the fire department keeps disapproving it.

Rosie & The Rabbits: Aren't you afraid to become the new place to be in the tourist guides? 

Edward Hostyn: Could be. Until now I always got good reviews, but mainly locally and some in Holland. I prefer to keep it low profile and because of that I don't really advertise. Of course that slows down the start of the business but it begins with friends who bring friends. And because of these friends it's an advantage as well as a disadvantage of being the bartender at your own bar. A lot of people romanticize having your own coffee bar. Until they realize you can't go to Antwerp during the weekends (smiles).

www.ycono.com

www.facebook.com/ycono

Pictures: Ycono

Liesbet, the hairdresser who came to your living room

We've never been the type that visits the hairdresser monthly, not because of a hair-cut-o-phobia but because it's just so expensive. Actually we once cut our hair ourselves, but of course our hairdresser noticed that even five months after. You. Cut it. Yourself. Exclamation mark. She was disappointed, we were deeply ashamed.     Since Rosie & The Rabbits is all about nice initiatives and problems being solved, we are happy to tell you that Liesbet Laroy simply comes to your living room with her fully professional scissors and skills, whenever it suits you best and takes the time to cut your hair the way you like it for a very fair price. Woohoow!

Rosie & The Rabbits: When did you start as a "mobile" hairdresser, visiting your customers at home?

Liesbet Laroy (hairdresser and former teacher): I used to be a teacher, but in September I took a career break and in October I officially started as a hairdresser. Eight years ago I took a complete training course but I was already used to cutting the hair of my sisters, husband and children, so I thought: "why not go and learn the right technique?".  It actually never was my intention to turn this into my profession, I just thought it might come in handy and finished the evening course successfully. After eight years, I got too many requests to cut people's hair to keep combining it with a job. So to be honest I didn't start from scratch in October.


Rosie & The Rabbits: Until October you were a teacher. What made you take the decision to go far a career switch?

Liesbet Laroy: It's a passion, really, and it has been there ever since I was a child. It must have been triggered by the fact that one day my two younger sisters cut each other's hair. It was already quite late in the evening and my mother of course said they couldn't go to school like that. So I cut their hair a bit. I "dared" to do it and my sisters let it happen. And it went exactly like this in the youth organization too: I braiding the younger children's hair and so. During evening class they told me a couple of times they could really see I had done it before. Because of the fact I already had some experience and because I was a bit older, the decisive step was not that hard for me. My husband "pushed" a little bit however - he's an entrepreneur himself. I mainly wanted to do what I love, be independent but have time left to spend with my children as well. Sometimes I just take them with me so they can play and get to know other children along the way.


Rosie & The Rabbits: Did it turn out to be what you expected?

Liesbet Laroy: Yes, but I must say my expectations weren't that high. Word-of-mouth advertising is working quite well, as well as Facebook. Although my customers still always have some kind of link with friends, family or colleagues. It was quite difficult to estimate how fast the clientele would grow, but it's still increasing.

Rosie & The Rabbits: We love the idea of having a hairdresser coming over so we assume you get positive reactions in general? 

Liesbet Laroy: People do let me know what they think about the result, yes, via Facebook or text message.  It really does make a difference if your hair looks good because you simply feel better. A lot of people are also happy that their kids are not afraid anymore to have their hair cut, that it has become something natural for them. And a lot of customers make a new appointment immediately after, so indirectly that's a nice compliment as well.

Rosie & The Rabbits: Do you give advice about which haircut suits who and which doesn't? Do you tell when a certain idea will not work out?

Liesbet Laroy: Well, first of all I have a different clientele than regular hairdressers. Certain people have difficulties explaining what they want or expect and then of course I can suggest a certain type of haircut or model. But these types should always be adapted to the person and the face. I work in a rather careful way in order to get to a compromise and everyone can be happy with the result. It's a process.

Rosie & The Rabbits: Have you ever thought about having your own salon?

Liesbet Laroy: Never say never, but I would certainly want to emphasize children friendliness and focus on families with kids. Going to people's homes however causes less stress for the parents: if their son or daughter can't sit still, they are not disturbing other customers. Another big difference compared to a traditional salon is that at home people are not "just a number". People are more relaxed and sometimes know better what they want.

Rosie & The Rabbits: Is your experience as a teacher an advantage?

Liesbet Laroy: I'm a patient type by nature and if children squirm, I simply move with them. In a salon they just tell them to sit still. I used to teach teenagers and now a lot of my customers are teenagers as well. They're very worried about how they look. I often aim for a compromise between what they want and what their parents want, because that's often something completely different. We take our time and go step by step.

Rosie & The Rabbits: Salons and staff rooms are often the place to be for gossip and little stories, is that the case when visiting your customers at home as well?

Liesbet Laroy: It depends on the age group the customer is in. A frequent topic would be children and education, but sometimes I get very personal answers, for example to a simple question like "how are you?". Gossip and scoops are not really my cup of tea. A lot of customers are more or less my age, in their thirties,  but I also have a couple of elderly ladies who are very happy I talk to them, compared to some youngsters at the salon.

Rosie & The Rabbits: We read that people can also host a "hair party" with friends or kids while you cut the invitees' hair?

Liesbet Laroy: Yes, there's a growing demand for it. In the beginning it was mainly on Wednesday afternoons for children. They would see each other's hair being cut and thought it was less threatening. From a social point of view it's fun for the mothers as well, so they are happy too. A party with friends is more about catching up during a cozy evening with a glass of cava and a piece of cake while the ladies can discuss each other's haircut. You see, it doesn't always feel like working!


All info and contact details can be found on Liesbet's Facebookpage:


www.facebook.com/KapsterLiesbetaanhuis

Chocolate Jezus: chocolate pusher

Chocolate Jezus logo

I don't go to church on Sunday

Don't get on my knees to pray

Don't memorize the books of the Bible

I got my own special way

Tom Waits found his chocolate Jesus in Zerelda Lee's candy store, but you can find it right here in Ghent. With Chocolate Jezus Julie Ragusa-van Schooten, chef by diploma with roots in photography, wants to offer you a high quality and special chocolate experience. She loves chocolate so much she calls herself a "chocolate pusher". Let's find out why!

Rosie & The Rabbits: How would you describe Chocolate Jezus? What's your elevator pitch?

Julie Ragusa-van Schooten (founder Chocolate Jezus): If people needed to get any impression I would want them to think it tastes very good and the quality is very high. The products are organic and dairy free but that is just aside. It's mentioned that everything is organic but I don't want to focus on that. I want it to be unique and delicious in the first place.

Rosie & The Rabbits: Why did you call it Chocolate Jezus?

Julie Ragusa-van Schooten: Music is a passion. I don't play anything but I go a lot to concerts. And my favourite song by Tom Waits is Chocolate Jesus. The only problem was: when typing it online you only find the song, so I changed the -s into -z and so now it's even spelled in Dutch.

Rosie & The Rabbits: To be honest we're not chocolate's biggest fans... How would you convince us?

Julie Ragusa-van Schooten: I'm very particular on white chocolate, because normally it's too sweet and people don't see it as chocolate. So my challenge is when you eat it you wouldn't say it's white chocolate. I often make a delicate ganache that is so smooth and people simply love that.

Rosie & The Rabbits: Do you need your daily piece of chocolate?

Julie Ragusa-van Schooten: If there's a day without, something is definitely wrong. But when working for hours on truffles I don't touch them. I call myself a chocolate pusher because I'm always pushing chocolate on people to get an objective opinion.

Rosie & The Rabbits: Your website tells us people can also host a chocolate party?

Julie Ragusa-van Schooten: Well, I always want to come up with something new; I don't want to make something over and over again and I want to surprise people. So a chocolate party is the ideal way to try out things. I have done two now, mainly to introduce people to my ideas. I don't only make sweet things as in desserts, but any dish with chocolate is an option.

Rosie & The Rabbits: Do you use Belgian chocolate in your creations?

Julie Ragusa-van Schooten: No, to be honest mostly chocolate from Germany because it's organic and dairy free, and if you want to mention another term: it's fairtrade as well. But I love Belgian chocolate from local stores, definitely. If there would be a local company delivering organic, dairy free fairtrade chocolate, I would definitely work with them. On the other hand it can be all this, but if it doesn't taste good, what's the point?

Rosie & The Rabbits: If your career would have been completely different, what would it have been like?

Julie Ragusa-van Schooten: I have done so many things, from documentary films, over photography to food. I think it would have been music related. With food however I have truly found my niche. I know I will always work with chocolate but I will push myself to always find something new.

Rosie & The Rabbits: On your blog you are very open and honest: you share your success recipes with everyone.

Julie Ragusa-van Schooten: I like to talk about chocolate, I'm an open book. I also see it as a compliment if people ask how I did things. Sharing recipes is also a way to bring people to my site and in the end: to my chocolate.

Rosie & The Rabbits: Do you see shops selling your creations one day?

Julie Ragusa-van Schooten: Oh, that would be lovely but I prefer to take one step at a time. When processing chocolate in huge quantities I would really worry about the quality. That would be my main concern, and actually it already is now. If I got this kind of demand I would of course be very happy but tormented at the same time. Anyhow, I should start thinking about taking it to a next level because it's coming soon. Right now vegetarian restaurant Avalon is selling my chocolate but I cannot keep up with the stock; it sells so quickly!

Rosie & The Rabbits: How different would it be for you to sell your chocolate in a shop?

Julie Ragusa-van Schooten: What I'm doing now suits me better: I need to go out and meet new people and it's totally in my nature to do that. In a shop you're waiting for people to get to you.

Rosie & The Rabbits: What do you like the most: the creative thinking part or the doing part?

Julie Ragusa-van Schooten: I must say it can sometimes be stressful to think of recipes; you're putting money, effort and time into it. When it doesn't work, that's always disappointing and it lowers self-esteem a bit.... But I learn a lot; it's a challenge to solve the problems. I'm not a chocolatier and will never claim to be so but I work really hard.

The fun part is putting it in its package and putting the Chocolate Jezus logo on it! Of course, seeing people trying my chocolate and enjoying it is very nice too. Perhaps I focus on the technical aspect too much, but you can't avoid being technical with chocolate, because if you don't, you make so many mistakes. For several months I have been trying and testing and at one point it started coming together.

Rosie & The Rabbits: If you look back, are things going as expected?

Julie Ragusa-van Schooten: Things are going surprisingly well, but I'm not sure yet what kind of direction I'm going to. I get such a wonderful response and I still don't really work on it full-time. So I think, if I would, the response would even be greater. So far it was mainly an experiment to see what orders I would get.

You can buy these delicious Chocolate Jezus creations at restaurant Avalon or host a chocolate party with some friends!

www.chocolatejezus.com

www.facebook.com/chocolatejezus

Pictures: Chocolate Jezus

AFt: smiles to think about

AFt − Smiling is contagious

During this cold and long winter even exceptionally optimistic people can feel a little grumpy when wandering through the city. If you are one of those people however, we have good news for you: keep your eyes open because you might see this lovely smiling lady anywhere! Perceptive souls will already have noticed some funny and cheerful objects in the streets that normally aren't there, such as colourful stencils and little painted figures. Street artist AFt, which stands for Art For Thought, has a lot of fun creating them and giving them a special place on the street; his mission is only accomplished if he can make people smile. Since AFt himself is just as mysterious as his work, we asked our questions via e-mail and constructed this interview without ever meeting our guest.



Rosie & The Rabbits: Was Art For Thought a slow process evolving gradually or did you wake up one day with the idea of restyling these little statues and giving them a new life?

AFt (street artist): It was a very slow process. Ever since I was a child I was interested in graffiti, but I have to admit I wasn't really good at it myself. It didn't go any further than a couple of forced tags. A new impulse only came when I was thirty: I was in Paris and saw mosaic figures from an old computer game popping up.  I thought it was a genius idea; it was surprising, original, new. The street artist behind these figures was Space Invader. I wanted to do something similar but it still took me a couple of years to shape my thoughts. 

Rosie & The Rabbits: Do you remember the exact moment when you were thinking: "now I'm going to do this"? 

AFt: A bottle of good Scotch can work miracles! One evening some friends and I were talking about street art when suddenly I knew what I wanted to do. The idea of painting the little statues was born. In this early phase Pieter De Kegel, a friend of mine, editor of PostrMagazin and notorious connoisseur of street art, had an undeniable role. He really convinced me to actually go through with it; at that moment I was (and still am) quite uncertain about my work.  It's so valuable to have someone believing in you then. 


Rosie & The Rabbits: Where do you find these typical statues?

AFt: It's a plague! In Flanders we definitely have more of these figures than inhabitants. Flea markets, thrift stores ..., you can find them everywhere. At home, when the children are asleep, I "tackle" these statues: I cut pieces out, add details or accessories, paint them, add text, etc. It depends on the moment.


Rosie & The Rabbits: What inspires you most?

AFt: The world we're living in is crazy enough. We take things for granted all the time but if you look around in an an open-minded and unprejudiced way, you get inspired by pretty much anything. I'm lucky to be travelling by train a couple of hours per day; gives me lots of time to think. What else inspires me? Literature, indignation, critical journalists (PostrMagazine), the internet, my job, art, my wife and children, irritation ..., but most of all: my own imagination! I want to send the world a positive message, pleasantly surprise people and perhaps make them reflect on things. Most of the people are living incredibly well here and still a lot of them are complaining, nagging, negative and bitter. What I'm doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean, but at least it's a drop.

Rosie & The Rabbits: Does the work of other artists inspire you as well?

AFt: At first I didn't know very well what was going on in the street art scene. I knew Banksy and a couple of Ghent graffiti artists like Bue The Warrior and ROA, but that was about it. In the meantime I got to know the work of Isaac Cordal, C215, the Pothole Gardener, Max Zorn, Sara Conti, ... All very interesting artists and immersing yourself in what they do works very inspiring. Recently I discovered My Dog Sighs, a British artist who paints funny faces on crushed cans to leave these on the street. Isn't that great?

Rosie & The Rabbits: Does the anonymous aspect give you a kick?

AFt: It's more a necessity really. Even if the "illegal" aspect is quite small in my case, I don't want to get one of these local administrative fines. It gives me more freedom as well: I can kick people in the shins, break taboos and express my opinion in an uncensored way, without having to worry about the reactions. Moreover I don't think I as a person matter. My work should speak for itself, the person behind it is not that important. 

Rosie & The Rabbits: In what respect would your work be different if it would be shown in a museum?

AFt: Funny question. First of all I don't think my work will ever be shown in a big museum, but it is a "tension field" to which contemporary artists are confronted more often these days. Within short I will be participating in an exposition and that was a challenge. The street context unmistakably adds an extra dimension to your work, but how do you reproduce this effect in a gallery or exposition? Recently I started to cooperate with a very talented photographer (Hanne Lamon) and she succeeds perfectly in capturing this extra dimension in her pictures. An advantage for myself is that I can keep a tangible souvenir of my work when it has been taken away by someone. 

Rosie & The Rabbits: Do you sometimes hear from people who found a little statue of yours? 

AFt: Unfortunately not... I'm curious about it, that's for sure, and via Facebook I asked for it already but without any result. The work of street artists is more and more taken away by people who think they can make money out of it. Banksy is a well know example, but I cannot imaging that in my case that would be the reason. 

Rosie & The Rabbits: Do you sign your work?

AFt: It always has AFt written on it and because I don't want the statues to fall on someone's head, I always glue them quite thoroughly.


Rosie & The Rabbits: Do you leave your creations out there when travelling abroad or in other Belgian cities?

AFt: Yes. You can (or at least could) find my work in Ghent, Antwerp, Ronse, Berlin, Glasgow and even South Africa.

Rosie & The Rabbits: You also use stencils. Who is the mysterious smiling girl on these stencils?

AFt: First of all: working with stencils is great! I prefer minimalistic stencils with one or two colours. I was looking for a powerful image that would make people feel better instantly. And then I bumped into a picture of a friend of mine who has one of the most expressive faces I have ever seen. In the past she was quite well known so people have the feeling they have seen here before but they never know exactly where. 
Recently I heard a story of a little girl who saw one of my stencils and said to her mother: "when I see that lady, I immediately want to smile too". That must have been the nicest compliment I got about my work.


Rosie & The Rabbits: Do your children know about your secret mission?

AFt: My children are a little bit too young to completely understand what I'm doing. Nevertheless, the eldest will definitely  "blab it out" one day: when passing by one of my figures he always says in a very enthusiastic way: "that's from daddy, right?".  Anyhow, in our house it's very obvious, it's one big studio, you can imagine how happy my wife is with that. Soon my godchild will drop by and he already asked once if he could make such a little statue as well and than go out at night to put it somewhere. I'm not sure whether this makes me a good or a bad godfather. (smiles)



www.facebook.com/ArtForThought

AFt: Stencils and little painted statues in Ghent
(Pictures: AFt)

Citypath: your personal city guide

Citypath logo

We haven't often felt so thrilled as when talking about Citypath. When describing the concept to others, we always introduce it as a genious business idea launched at the perfect moment. Citypath, founded by Bernard Van der Elst and Jonas Hamerlinck, is a new digital platform in Ghent connecting locals, merchants and tourists while guiding them through the city. And there's so much more to be revealed soon.

ROSIE & THE RABBITS: When did you start thinking about a platform like Citypath?

JONAS HAMERLINCK (founder & owner Citypath): More or less one year ago Bernard, as owner of a digital signage office, and I, owning a graphical office  (www.clouddesign.be), decided to do something together. The first plans for Ghent Digital were there and the city of Ghent was just one of several interested parties. There was a need for some kind of platform on which merchants could publish all their information and people could easily find this information back. Originally we wanted to develop a platform mainly for tourists, but in the meantime a lot has changed and locals will be involved just as much. We have big plans and there's a lot of interest from all kind of stakeholders, but first we want it to succeed on a local level and the main purpose now is for all 4000 merchants in Ghent to register for free on Citypath.be. The website is very user-friendly; our starting point is that anyone should be able to find any information in maximum three clicks.

ROSIE & THE RABBITS: Did you have the feeling Ghent was missing this kind of platform?

JONAS HAMERLINCK: Yes, we did. Of course there are tourist guides, but together with the deaneries and the umbrella organisations we indicated all the flaws of these existing concepts. The nice thing about Citypath is that the registered merchants can communicate with each other through the dashboard. The purpose is that they really manage their projects and events using our user-friendly system. Registering is always free; in the future there will be a commercial model behind it, allowing merchants to put special offers online. By rolling out Citypath we hope to boost local economy. 

ROSIE & THE RABBITS: There are big plans for Citypath; the official launch will take place on 19 March and an app will be added in June for example. Can we already get a glimpse of it?

JONAS HAMERLINCK: The city app will offer a lot of possibilities: tourists will be able to plan their complete trip on beforehand, for locals it will indicate parking spots, and much more. We are cooperating with museums, event organizers, cultural houses, etc. in order to make the information we offer as complete as possible.

On 19 March we also launch Mypath, a community which allows people to start exploring. More details to be given next week at the big launch!

ROSIE & THE RABBITS: Do other cities already have this kind of platform? Did you get inspiration for Citypath somewhere abroad?

JONAS HAMERLINCK: No, not at all. We're now launching Citypath in Ghent and are negotiating with other cities. But first we want to focus on Ghent, optimize Citypath here and make sure it’s feasible from a financial point of view as well. 

ROSIE & THE RABBITS: How do you reach these traders and spread the Citypath message?

JONAS HAMERLINCK: Everyone in Ghent with a VAT number received a letter about Citypath signed by alderman Christophe Peeters. On top we also have our own marketing via mailing, social media, etc. There will also be a lot of stunts and Citypath will be omnipresent: from Night Shift over Gentse Feesten to an oldtimer rally. And everyone liking our Facebook page automatically participates in our monthly competitions and offers so don't miss it!

Still not shaking on your chair? Come and have a look & chat with the Citypath people at Nightshift, a (party)event for young entrepreneurs on 23 March from 19:00 - 5:00.



www.citypath.be

www.facebook.com/Citypath

www.night-shift.be

MIEL: intelligent and honeyful prints

MIEL logo

You may already have noticed that we, Rabbits, like the written word just as much as we like carrots. We like it in books, on laptops, in the streets. And then one day we meet a stranger who loves words just as much as we do. That stranger is Éireann Lorsung, American writer and poet  (and so much more), who started up a small press in Ghent called  MIEL, together with publisher Jonathan Vanhaelst. Their website describes the MIEL mission as "difficult, interesting, intelligent, deeply felt supplies for readers and writers". How could we not want to know more about that?


ROSIE & THE RABBITS: Where does the name MIEL come from?

Éireann Lorsung (designer, creative director & editor MIEL): Miel is the French word for honey. It's unmistakably positive: in none of the languages it has a negative meaning or connotation and it doesn't mean anything in English.

ROSIE & THE RABBITS: What is MIEL today?

Éireann Lorsung: MIEL is a small press. We put out little books of prose and poetry. We also have a magazine called 1110 (containing one photograph, one story and ten poems) and stationary for intelligent, beautiful, challenging and interesting people who care about having a thoughtful relation with what they produce and with the products they use to do that. 

ROSIE & THE RABBITS: When was MIEL born?

Éireann Lorsung: We started up the magazine two years ago in the UK, when I was living there and Jonathan moved to England as well. More or less one year ago we started the press.

ROSIE & THE RABBITS: MIEL is not only about words, we see a lot of illustrations on cards and calendars as well.  Do you make these yourself?

Éireann Lorsung: Yes, I make the drawings myself and Jonathan helps with bookbinding, editorial stuff and all the financial things. It's not that easy, certainly not in Belgium with the taxes and so.

ROSIE & THE RABBITS: How did you get started? I imagine bookbinding requires a very specific knowledge.

Éireann Lorsung: I actually already had experience. I did a MFA (Master in Fine Arts) in the US; we had studio practice and it was required to do a second specialty so I chose bookbinding and printmaking, which is a more fine type of bookbinding.

ROSIE & THE RABBITS: Is MIEL something you were missing in Belgium?

Éireann Lorsung: Well, I have only been here since August, so I'm not sure. In the Netherlands there are definitely strong art movements. I really would like to meet other book artists or artists in general.

ROSIE & THE RABBITS: People don't use pen and paper that often anymore. Do you feel the consequences of the digital revolution? Do you feel a need to "restore" the balance?

Éireann Lorsung: It's a lot easier now to market things, because of the internet. There's more out there so it's more competitive as well but the people who are buying our things are not the ones who download 99 cent ebooks. 

One of the reasons why we started with small books is to approach people who are not familiar with literature: there's poetry and one piece of prose (14-28 pages) so you can just sit down and read all of it at once. An that's also a response to the immediateness of the information on the web; it's more relaxing if you can read it while sitting.  

ROSIE & THE RABBITS: Do you also print customized work?

Éireann Lorsung: We don't print on demand, no. The editions are numbered and if the edition is done we start new prints.

ROSIE & THE RABBITS: Where does your love for literature and poetry come from?

Éireann Lorsung: My dad used to pay me to memorize poems. When I was 7 I wrote a poem, my dad took it to work to make copies and still today he has a copy hanging above his work space.  Later on I studied English. My favourite poem is The Love Song because it's one of the first poems I memorized not as a child. It's so beautiful and moving and tragic at the same time.

ROSIE & THE RABBITS: What inspires you?

Éireann Lorsung: What doesn't? Everything really. When my attention is lively then I'm most able to work. It might be harder here because I'm not so connected to the literature scene. In the UK and US I felt inspired by people who love writing as well. 

ROSIE & THE RABBITS: How different is poetry from prose to you? Do you need a different setting for both?

Éireann Lorsung: No, not really. The best place to write in general is on the train, but in Belgium, unfortunately, there are no long train routes.


ROSIE & THE RABBITS: What are your plans and ideas for the future?

Éireann Lorsung: We're at an intersection right now. I really enjoy writing an teaching and the perfect place for that is university, but I'm not that comfortable with university as an institution. So an academical career would be one option, but other options are gallery use, café use, a teaching space and a kind of shop with precious things and supplies. People from the community could then use it and we could give class in it and support the work of writers. 



In February, March and April MIEL is organizing a couple of workshops. You can find more info on their Facebook page and website!


www.facebook.com/MIELbooks

MIEL - website

Pictures: MIEL & Zachary Carlsen