It’s Jillo!

I’m a 30-year-old, Antwerp-based, and absolutely crazy creative.

I love to combine playful aesthetics with impactful educational projects, pushing boundaries to create awareness and bring some extra vibrant color into this gray world.

I love to use positive provocation and try to infuse every project with positivity, even when it’s a subject that is hard to swallow.

My work and social life is super busy so creating illustrations or working in my studio is a moment of peace of mind and pure focus.

A moment where I can finally stay still in one place for longer than an hour and go into hyperfocus until I notice my coffee has turned cold.

But as any other artist will tell you, I really want to spend more time creating, since I started my own company it’s been a madhouse.

So whenever I spot any scene I find remotely interesting, you’ll see me grabbing my phone to take some quick photos.

The combination of an interesting image and a simple illustration style is where my mind finds some peace.

I try to keep my drawings simple, aesthetic and bright.

I hope I can create the same feeling when people look at my work.

Physically I don’t have a shop anywhere, but there will be some exhibitions coming soon!

I love going to Rush Rush, Andy’s, Funk, and the list keeps on going.

I get my coffee at the Rush Rush, Kolonel or whenever I travel I tend to grab some coffee on the way.

I’m always so happy to be able to hold a freshly printed illustration in my hands.

Getting a digital artwork printed into a physical illustration is one of the best feelings, it makes everything so real.

I love to get the freedom to create an image without restrictions, but on the other hand, I can really enjoy pushing the boundaries of an assignment with very specific guidelines.

I really discovered my illustration style when I started illustrating some steamy nudes.

My first project “Noods” is the project where I really started testing my own way of illustration and who would have expected that I would really create my own style of illustration from some random nudes?

I didn’t expect that outcome at all.

"I’m gonna grab a coffee now, ok bye."

Thanks for having us Jerry!

We are a small family roastery in the heart of the Slovenian Alps.

We all do our share to provide the best customer service and beans around this area.

We like to offer different beans a few times a year; that way, we can explore the interesting coffee world together with our customers and are never bored.

Not that much - the covid situation resulted in fewer customers at the coffee shops our coffee is at.

But we do have more customers who buy our coffee through our webshop so we’re very excited about that!

It’s like our air.

It is where my brother and I (Polona) grew up and spent a lot (a lot) of time, skiing, snowboarding, and hiking.

We can’t imagine living without the sight of the beauty that is the Alps.

We are famous for our honey, mead (a spirit made out of honey), poetry (France Prešeren, our most famous poet lives a few km away from our roastery) and many other writers - we consider that a treat too.

There aren’t a lot in the area.

There are more in Ljubljana, our favorite one is Čokl.

“We’re very excited we can be a part of your story.

We love your sense of aesthetics so just keep on doing what you’re doing.

Thank you!”

It has stayed with me till my mid-20s when I discovered that coffee also needs to be roasted.

Terminologies and chemical reactions which I knew happen with food also seemed to happen inside this tiny seed.

Curiosity turned into a hobby which turned into a full-on obsession.

The more I applied myself the deeper the abyss of what coffee is.

With finished studies, and no job or career I decided to bite the bullet and make a business out of my hobby.

It is very hard but I regret nothing.

The more I roast the better I come to understand the whole system.

All the variables that make up the roasting process are compounded by the variables of sourcing and brewing.

There is an undeniable or better yet, indistinguishable identity that coffee has.

From the olfactory to gustation to the tactile.

Everyone can recognize when a cup of coffee enters a room.

This is the result of people across nations, cultures, and backgrounds laboring in pursuit of greatness.

The better the coffee is the more work was put in.

It had subtle notes of lemony grass and cardamom. Perfect!!!

Particularly letting people enjoy coffee in their way.

If they want milk…perfect, sugar…awesome, lungo…why not.

We must understand that everyone has a unique baseline when it comes to how coffee is drunk.

In the same way in roasting, you’ll change one variable it also applies in drinking coffee. People need to make up their minds.

Grab a bike and explore the city.

Just wander. It’s the best.

Also, there are a lot of festivals and events happening year-round.

Self-discovery and a wonderful community."

I'm glad to hear you've enjoyed our coffee.

Colombia has a rich coffee tradition with over half a million families directly involved in coffee production, which amounts to about 2 million people, roughly the same population as Slovenia.

Coffee has been cultivated in Colombia for about 300 years, mainly consisting of bourbon and typical Arabica varietals.

The country's location, sharing a latitude with Ethiopia where coffee originally originated, has been conducive to coffee growth.

Additionally, Colombia's three mountain ranges in the Andes offer diverse altitudes for coffee cultivation, ranging from 1200 to 2200 meters above sea level.

Typically, higher altitudes lead to more intense flavor development.

Furthermore, in the early 20th century, there was a government initiative to break up large coffee estates and distribute them to individual families.

This approach has enabled small, family-owned plots of land to thrive in coffee production, fostering a tradition of quality control and meticulous care in the process."

I often feel like a sailor who was born at sea but decided to experience the ocean from the shore.

I hail from a high-altitude Andean city, situated at 2700 meters above sea level.

My family hails from the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, specifically the towns of El Cocuy and Guacamayas, which are located over 3000 meters above sea level.

These towns sit near the endless snow-capped mountain peaks, reaching heights of 5800 meters above sea level.

When you're riding a wave, you don't truly see the wave itself; you need to go ashore to observe how it rises and vanishes.

This metaphor encapsulates how I feel in Ljubljana, living in the lowlands where I can witness the majesty of the Alps.

In the Andes, you are immersed in the mountains, and you never truly see them from a distance."

They're like silent giants, their presence evolving subtly through the seasons.

They tend to reveal their grandeur more prominently on sunny winter days compared to the summer.

And in Colombia, within the Andes, the landscape is a breathtaking tapestry of vibrant green, displaying a wide spectrum of colors.

If these flavor profiles vanish, so too does the rich culture and picturesque terrain responsible for their creation."