I am lucky to have creative parents who supported me early on and sent me to art school on the weekends, where I was introduced to many different media including lino printing.

My interest in architecture and furniture design manifested itself at a young age as well.

This seemed like a no-brainer when it came to choosing a career.

Though I am still passionate about architecture, I think I lack the patience to work on large time-consuming projects and I really missed the creative freedom of just making art.

In 2018 I picked up lino printing again and joined a ceramics studio and recently I have been experimenting with oil paint and acrylics.

At the moment I don’t have just one room dedicated to my art, but rather several small corners in the house where I work on paintings or ceramics.

My easel is in the living room so in the morning I will add something to the painting and let it rest while I take a break or do some chores around the house.

The painting will always be in my line of sight so my creative brain can keep working on it.

Then later in the day I will add more to the painting and let it rest again.

I’m not the most focused artist.

I do little bits here and there and sometimes a work can sit for weeks untouched until I pick it up again.

My more geometric works are inspired by architecture and more specifically modernism and postmodernism.

Architects and designers were less shy of bold colors back then. I find a lot of my inspiration through social media, which is both a joy and a curse.

I try to not compare myself too much to other artists and mostly want to learn from them and steal with my eyes to ultimately make work that is uniquely mine.

People can just contact me there to buy a piece or request more information about my work.

I do sell a small collection of ceramic works at LUX Lightstore in Ghent and some of my prints are sold in limited editions through the Buro Muro online platform.

I don’t really need it to start the day.

However, I do enjoy a good cup of coffee.

\I mainly associate it with the cozy feeling of a slow morning or taking a break from work and having a chat with my coworkers.

The smell of coffee reminds me of waking up at my grandparent's house and coming down for breakfast in the kitchen while the radio plays classical music in the background.

I get my coffee at different local coffee shops here in Ghent.

It can feel like I’m not doing enough or that I need to take my art more seriously.

But then I think about other artists who see my content and assume that I make a lot of money with my work.

I don’t.

And that’s okay.

I don’t depend on my art to pay the bills and that’s immensely freeing.

I want other artists to know that they are still artists even if they have another job, or even if they don’t work on their art every day."

Good or bad, we are always interested to find out.

When moving back to Belgium I briefly worked for Mok before moving to Berlin to work as Head-roaster for The Barn.

This is where my knowledge really took off.

I’m a real coffee nerd so in the end, most of everything I learned comes through my own research and experiments.

We believe that this is the true skill of a roaster and what sets you apart from your competition.

Our coffees will always be clean, vibrant and well-processed.

If there is any defective taste or if it’s overly funky and unbalanced, it will not make the cut.

Another thing that we see many people struggle with is roast consistency batch after batch.

I have struggled with this too in the past, but the Stronghold allows us to perfectly replicate the roast profiles that we have designed.

Expect some crazy flavors!

A few weeks ago we also released our collab with Dialect, we hope to do more things like this in the future where we can just have fun with like-minded people.

Focus on using good water(reach out to us on IG if you want to know our recommendations), and freshly ground coffee.

If you want to invest in equipment, invest in a grinder.

Our favorite way of making coffee at home is with a Clever dripper, it’s easy and consistent and you don’t need a fancy kettle.

Use 14.5 grams of coffee for 250 grams of water just off boil.

First, pour the water, add the coffee, stir and wait for 2 minutes.

Stir again, put the dripper on your server and wait for it to drain(you can use a fancy coffee server but a Duvel glass works just as well).

Stir your coffee before serving and you’re good to go.

I was stunned that coffee could taste like this, after that, I was on the hook for specialty!

And most importantly, cupp as much as you can, tasting a lot of different coffees really helps to get better.

We want to offer some well-roasted and balanced coffees for our customers.

I will compete again at the national roasting championship in Austria, I currently roast a lot of new coffees - pure joy!

I spent six months in this beautiful country and had the chance to visit different farms.

We will cup the new harvest soon and are looking forward to seeing how the coffee gets better in quality and taste!

I suggest going for a Sacher Cake with a Melange.

That is the most classic coffee drink here, Espresso Lungo with steamed Milk.

Do a walk through the City Centre and enjoy the historic buildings and if you are hungry try the iconic Wiener Schnitzel.

That is what we do and try to show our customers at the café, we are doing what we really enjoy - coffee!

we are a family roastery, everything started in 2011 after competing in the World Barista Championship, in Bogota.

It all started with my wife Ieva and me.

Right now we have a great team,  5 specialty coffee shops in Vilnius, one of them is Taste Map Sensory Room where we do everything that is around an exceptional cup of coffee.

A separate roastery with Loring S35 Kestrel.

During that time Taste Map has won all coffee coffee championships in Lithuania, some of them a couple of times.

Right now, Liveta is training for the World Cup Tasters championship next month in Chicago.

Of course some roasting workshops by world-known roastmasters.

But we believe the main instrument for creating great-tasting coffee is a CUPPING SPOON.

We cup a lot and that’s how we develop and test our roast profiles.

Also the smell of roasted coffee beans (1-2 days after roast).

The coffee scene here is thriving.

Then take a walk on Gediminas Avenue and Vilnius Street.

Visiting Cathedral Square and Gediminas Castle.

Also, the city of Trakai is very close to Vilnius, a great experience.

Hope that you’ll enjoy the coffee.

And don’t forget that:

Coffee is a Fruit.

So is knowledge."