Who was in the December 2020 box?
At last we have the pleasure of meeting the pink monster in Rotterdam (NL), coffee with 3 generations in the white mountains of Bled (SI), Best coffee of Budapest (HU), to finish with a chat with “don specialty coffee” in Antwerp (BE)
Rotterdam - The Netherlands
Oxalien
Ox-Alien, can you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Where does the name Ox-Alien come from?
I am Ox-Alien and come from Rotterdam (The Netherlands).
I started in the late eighties by tagging my name on everything which came by, especially on places along the train tracks and places up high.
I switched to “street art” around the year 2000.
I created this pink flying head with one eye as an “O” and one eye as an “X”, because of this some people on the streets called it “Ox-Alien” and so a name was born.
I am also part of Lastplak Collective which won the People's choice award of the first Dutch Street Art awards.
Lastplak is a group of eleven painters with different backgrounds and diverse skills.
Our goal is to paint, no matter what surface, size or location.
Our work can be found all over the world, but our home base is Rotterdam, so that's where most of our work can be seen.
But I also participated in mural projects in for example Thailand, France and Greece.
Lately I am painting more on canvas, making prints and having shows.
What is the best thing about creating art on the street?
What is the best thing about creating art on the street?
I see the whole city as one big playground with canvasses, the thing I paint the most are the wood walls they place at construction sites.
They pop up all over the city and I use them as my canvas so a lot of people can see it.
Sometimes with permission but also without.
When and at what age did you become interested in street art?
When and at what age did you become interested in street art?
I think this is around the year 2000.
Do you also belief like many street artists that art does not only belong in museums but also on the streets with the people?
Yep, art can be anywhere for sure.
Art in a museum is nice but using the city as one big museum is better, people don’t have to buy a ticket to see your work.
What’s your favorite art work?
That will be the big walls painted in other countries, it’s always nice to leave your work behind in another country.
When you’re not painting what other interests do you have?
Traveling and exploring new places, although that’s kind of difficult these days because of Covid.
"OX-ALIEN!"
Schoten - Belgium
Wilfried Hoppenbrouwers (W!II!)
W!ll! is Jerry’s friend for quite a while now.
He was enthusiastic to cooperate and make this December box extra special, by hand-throwing and glazing the ceramic coffee cups inside!
Hello W!ll!,
did your parents really give you the name W!ll!?
How do you prefer we call you?
My parents still had doubts between Bruno and Wilfried.
The most beautiful names had already been used for my older brothers.
Everyone initially called me Wilfried, but over the years I also got Billy and Fitte as a call name.
Until my kids started calling me Willi.
That's what I am now called by my grandchildren.
So you can now call me Wilfried or Willi. I use W!ii! as a stage name, I like the typography of this spelling.
Jerry is always curious about how people became who they are.
Can you tell us something about yourself?
Jerry is always curious about how people became who they are.
Can you tell us something about yourself?
Gerd and I have 2 children, Sam and Maja.
I have spent my active career in special education as a screen printing teacher.
I have been enjoying my retirement together with Gerd for several years now.
We have a museum pass that we use regularly (if Corona permits).
With our Zoo pass we regularly go with our grandchildren to the zoo in Antwerp or Planckendael.
Together we also support 2 Afghan boys, of whom I used to be a guardian.
Are you a coffee drinker?
What is your favorite type of coffee?
Are you a coffee drinker?
What is your favorite type of coffee?
Yes, I have been a coffee drinker for many years.
It is a pleasure to try the local small roasters.
What lead you into working with ceramics?
And when?
Are you self-taught or did you learn it from someone else?
I studied ceramics for 4 years at Sint-Lukas in Ghent, where I specialized in pottery.
After my studies I was active for several years as a potter. 10 years ago I started again.
I learned by practicing a lot and attending some workshops where I learned a lot more from Rudy Delanghe.
How would you describe the style of your work and how did it develop?
I like functional shapes.
I like to use simple decorative elements inspired by Asian motifs.
If people love to drink coffee out of your cup and want to expand their W!ll!-collection, is there a place or shop where they can buy your work?
I occasionally give an exhibition of my work.
If interested, please send me your contact details
wilfried.hoppenbrouwers [at] gmail [dot] com
and I will keep you informed.
Which materials fascinate you the most, next to clay?
Are there any that you didn’t work with yet, but would like to try?
Besides clay, I find screen printing very interesting.
Not immediately ambitions to try out other materials.
Who is your favorite artist in general?
My favorite artists are: ceramist Bernard Leach and painters Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, Luc Tuymans, Panamarenko, Michaël Borremans
You were born in Borgerhout, right?
Which places do we definitely need to see in this neighborhood?
I grew up in Borgerhout.
Nice places are the Roma (where I enjoyed my first movie ‘Ben Hur’), Amor, gallery Zeno-X, Borger-hub, ’t Rivierenhof (Bar Starck), Krugerplein (Bar Leon), September lokaal, de Centers, het Laar (Friday market, Bar Bakeliet), Kattenberg 16 ‘were my mother grew up’, Kerkstraat Square near St-Willibrordus, ……….
"Enjoy your coffee, keep it safe and healthy!"
Bled - Slovenia
Kolektiv 22
In a small village under the Alps Jerry founded this roastery and after many many filters on his ski trip he decided to place them in the box.
Being run by a brother and a sister with a lot of help from their mother.
Kolektiv 22 brings exceptional coffees constantly.
Say something about your town/city.
Our roastery is located in the vicinity of a small town called Bled.
It is a beautiful place with a lake, a small island on the lake and a beautiful view of the mountains.
We like to say we live in the heart of the Alps!
Bled is quite popular with travelers and that’s no wonder; there is nature all around and that makes it a perfect escape from the big cities hustle and bustle.
We often take a stroll/run around the lake and we quite like hiking, so we really have a lot of options – all that almost in our backyard.
How did you start?
How did you start?
We started in 2017, just me (Polona) and my brother (Gaber).
We bought a roasting machine, nothing fancy.
I learned how to roast through lots and lots of YouTube videos and lots of trying and failing, and getting up again and trying again.
I am still learning today – every bean acts differently and we tend to import different beans so it never gets dull or boring!
How is the third coffee wave going in Slovenia?
How is the third coffee wave going in Slovenia?