Interviews September 2022 | I KNOW JERRY FROM TORONTO

Who was in the September 2022 box?

Green, blue guys look at you from all sides.
We stay in Antwerp this month to celebrate the Antwerp Coffee Week.

Antwerp - Belgium

2Dirty

Green, blue guys look at you from all sides.
His style is very recognizable.
I think everyone knows him by now, even the fellas in prison.

You sign your works as 2Dirty, what is the origin of this name?

2Dirty the name has something to do with the lifestyle that I’m living, and where it all started, “those ‘dirty’ graffiti writers”.
It’s like a state of mind that I’ve got, 2Dirty ;)
It’s also a small reference to my original tag that I started graffiti with.

In your pieces you represent green/blue characters, with a touch of humor, how do you define your style?
What is your inspiration?

Funky, colorful walls, with bold clean outlines.
Everything that I see, that I experience in real life, I use as inspiration.
Things that society wants you to believe or do, and reactions to topics, … are all inspirations to me.
I always use humor to give my opinion/way of looking at it/them.
Nowadays, I try to combine letters with characters on my walls, so you get a combination of the two.
I started doing graffiti with letters, and during that time I also started painting characters.
Now, I try to mix both so I can do them together.
2Dirty-style ;)

Do you also believe like many street artists that art does not only belong in museums but also on the streets with the people?

Of course, graffiti started in the streets, and it will always be in the streets.
Without that, there is no graffiti/street art, and life would be pretty boring.
And no one will let that happen! :)

What’s your favorite (street) artwork?

That’s hard, there are a lot of great artists and awesome works, so really hard to choose one.
There are so many different artists and different styles, everyone has “their thing” that makes it dope, so it’s hard to compare them and choose one.
I have a lot of respect for every artist, old school & new school artists, and there is a lot of great artwork out there!
That’s why I can’t pick just one.

When you’re not painting, what other interests do you have?

Graffiti is the only thing I do.
Eat, sleep, paint, repeat.
24/7 :D

“Love & live life as you want to, and be thankful for it.
Do you, with all the respect for everyone else! ACAB <3"

Antwerp - Belgium

Normo

He constantly strives for better coffee in the world.
So doing better than, doing more than, the existing norm.
For most people, Normo needs no introduction.
It started as hanging around in coffee bars as a student product development.
In 2008, he started his coffee bar and in 2011 he began to roast his coffee.

How do you choose the coffees that you want to roast?

We are constantly on the lookout for coffee’s that can make a difference to our clients.
We cup samples and select coffee’s for their taste profile and background.

If you could change one thing in the specialty coffee industry, what would it be?

Be less elitarian!
It's just coffee!
It should bring people closer together not divide them apart.

With the Antwerp Coffee Week approaching, what activities do you have planned?

We will have some special coffee on our grinders for espresso and filter.

This event should grow into something big like Berlin, London or Amsterdam coffee festival.
Which people should get involved?

Traders, roasters, end clients, the more awareness the better.

“Love is only as far away as a coffee a day.”

Antwerp - Belgium

Kolonel Coffee Roasters

Under the great street artwork of Charlotte de Cock we find the roastery of the Kolonel.
His passion for coffee started at home with a second-hand espresso machine from the flea market about 16 years ago.
They also roast the heavenly blend of Kassete coffee.
Proud the have them in our Antwerp coffee week box!

How do you choose the coffees that you want to roast?

We work closely with a few coffee traders who supply us with samples and we select the ones that stand out for us.
Trying also to work a little closer with the farmers, we are going to try to visit Ethiopia this year but it will depend on the situation ther.

What did you do before you got into coffee?

I worked in hospitality and gave skateboard lessons and studied to be a private detective.

If you could sit down for a cup of coffee with any one person, alive or deceased, who would it be?

Daewon Song, such a creative and nice guy.

With the Antwerp Coffee Week approaching, what activities do you have planned?

A tasting of Ethiopian coffees, same farmer different processing (washed,honey,natural)

This event should grow into something big like Berlin, London or Amsterdam coffee festival.
Which people should get involved?

Everyone with a heart for coffee and especially the farmers

"Looking for relaxation?
Go canoeing in sweden!"

Antwerp - Belgium

Cross Roast

Located in the middle of Antwerp's historic city centre.
A micro roastery with a specialty espresso bar next door.
I was warmly welcomed here and my child immediately felt at home (this does not happen quickly).
I need to come here more often!
In their shop they have every coffee toy, it is a paradise for every coffee freak.

Could you tell us the story of how you started roasting?

In 2013 we started with our specialty roastery Cross Roast.
We always had a passion for food and drinks.
When we studied in Lyon, France, we discovered Specialty coffee and its complexity.
This made us very curious about coffee in general and that’s when we decided to start our own roastery.

What did you do before you got into coffee?

Before I studied business management and worked one year as sales manager for the catering in Kinepolis Belgium.

If you had to drink one single origin or blend for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Very difficult because I prefer to drink seasonal coffees.
Let’s say an Ethiopian coffee never disappoints me. :)

With the Antwerp Coffee Week approaching, what activities do you have planned?

We will start the coffee week with a Coffee Cocktail Throwdown in our Specialty bar Caffe Mundi.
It starts at 19h30 so everyone is welcome to support the participants and just have a nice evening!

From monday to sunday you can taste mystery coffee on a batch brew in Caffe Mundi.
You can fill in the form about the coffee and win a Sage espresso machine.

On wednesday we organize 2 barista training sessions in our roastery. (you have to subscribe for this event because we have limited spots available)

And also during the whole week we give a 10% discount on the Sage espresso machines & you can get an oatly based drink with 0,30 euros discount.

For all activities, please check the website of the Antwerp Coffee Week, there you can find all the activities of the other Antwerp roasters as well. (Cupping, latte art, brewing, …)

This event should grow into something big like Berlin, London or Amsterdam coffee festival.
Which people should get involved?

All coffee lovers!
Next year if the city wants to participate we can also do some visits at the warehouses with green coffee.
It’s something to be proud of in Antwerp!

"Let’s celebrate coffee this week! :)
(a bit more than we already do every day)"

we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists! we're the artists!