Matthias
de
Vogel

Which place do you currently call home and where do you work on your projects?

My whole life, I have lived in big cities like Paris, San Francisco and Amsterdam and I never wanted to live outside the city. 13 years ago, I launched my studio FAULT LINES, the space became essential, and living in the city became too challenging. We found this architecturally interesting house with a huge garden and space for a studio, which made it easier to make the decision to leave the city. My studio is looking out on a lush garden which provides a lot of privacy and space to reflect and meditate.

Are there any projects that are personally important to you—whether recently completed or currently in progress?

Usually I would tell you about a creative project connected to Fault Lines, but this year a personal project needed most of my attention. We are renovating and almost completed a full renovation of a very special house in Spain. It’s in a picturesque place called Sitges 20 minutes south of Barcelona. We have been going there for the last 11 years and totally fell in love with the free spirit and culturally inspiring environment.

I always thought that one day (ten years from now) I want to live and work there full-time, and then this great opportunity arose earlier than expected! We invested ourselves a lot in this project, trying to find local craftspeople and materials to design and renovate this house. It has been a blast!!

Do you have a favourite place in your area where you like to relax and linger?

What I love the most about living in Amstelveen is being surrounded by nature. I am a long-distance runner, for me running is meditative and a relaxing activity. I love to go on early runs when most people are still asleep. Running through all the diverse landscapes of tall trees, lush green fields and serene rivers without any distracting noises. The visuals, sounds and smells change with each season, and it keeps inspiring me!

Are there any urgent political issues or problems in your region?

The main issues that we hear and talk a lot about is the lack of housing or the cost of housing. Amsterdam is small, and you can’t really enlarge it anymore to build more houses. Amstelveen still has, however, vacant land on the outskirts of the town, which could allow for the construction of further buildings and the expansion of the city. Unfortunately, money and time are always an issue in the creation of these badly designed structures. It would be a great shame if this beautiful landscape were to make way for more housing developments like these.

In your opinion, what has developed well in the last 5 years—and what has not?

Most countries have been focusing on globalization and in the last 5 years you can see the influence of this in big and small cities. While it’s fantastic how it’s so much easier to move abroad to study or work, it can also take away from the traditional spirit of a place. I like visiting places where I don’t speak their language and I can eat their food and learn about their traditions and customs. I remember 20 years ago I traveled a lot for work to Japan and every day felt like I had discovered something new and original. Last year I went back to Japan and I could feel and see a massive change. Shops and restaurants were less authentic. They felt more familiar. Hidden areas and gems were more crowded with tourists as they heard about it through social media. I guess I just miss that feeling of discovering something new and unexpected while traveling, which will become a luxury.

Do you know a hidden gem when it comes to local manufacturers—whether it’s arts and crafts, sustainable products or food?

As we are decorating our new home in Spain, I am really into vintage objects and furniture. Van dijk en Ko’s recycled and upcycled furniture was always one of my favorite places to visit on the weekends close to the NDSM kade. Unfortunately, they moved to Zaandam not a long time ago. Still, the NDSM kade has a great local vibe with good food, markets and art!

As for Amstelveen although not hidden but still often forgotten, the Cobra Museum is a small place but shows nicely curated exhibitions.  After a nice long walk around the lake “de poel” with my dog, I love to go for lunch at Sunday’s, which has great views of the water.

ANNA is a local brewery inside a beautiful old church. A tasty beer with some vegan “bitterballen”, Dutch at its finest. Great place and vibes from live music to a bingo night where you can meet the locals of Amstelveen.

Is there anything particularly innovative in your region?Also in comparison to other places you have already visited?

Not sure about the innovative part, but since moving to Amstelveen, which feels more like a village than a city, I love to see how a community comes together. The city, for me, felt like I could hide within the masses and live more anonymously, but experiencing and connecting with a community feels more sustainable and I hope  people will look for this more and more in the future. 

Do you have a secret restaurant tip that you would like to share with us?

Nowadays, it’s difficult to still have a secret dining place! We’ve never had a garden and luckily living in Amstelveen comes with outdoor space, which is wonderful for BBQ and eating outside in the garden. My husband and I love to cook, so we tend to go less to restaurants than when we were living in the city. However, our best friends invited us to dinner at 212 in Amsterdam, such an amazing experience which will touch all your senses. Not in Amstelveen or Amsterdam, but still amazing as the restaurant is decorated with my art, Azurite in Delft (great town to visit). A beautiful restaurant in an amazing building in Delft owned by two-star chef Mario Ridder. And still one of my favorites for its concept and food in Amsterdam, De Kas. Locally grown vegetables, herbs and fruits to create delicious food.

Is there a local shop whose products are only available in your region?

De Amstel tuin is a wonderful place for people to come together and taste the locally produced wines. When the sun is finally out, you get the feeling you’re tasting wines in the South of France. 

What are your 3 favourite apps that you use every day and couldn’t live without?

My 3 favorites are also the only 3 I use, as I try to be as little as possible on my phone. When I am, it’s mostly IG to place content and show the progress in my work, to connect with my audience, and to follow some of my favourite artists. Music plays an important part in my creating process, as weaving is all about rhythm and repetitions. Spotify so I have access to my playlist while weaving my days away.

Nike run club helps me to stay motivated and keep track of my runs! 

Do you have any favourite newspapers or online magazines? And how do you keep up to date with politics or social and cultural issues?

I am actually surprised that magazines still exist. When I was living in Paris, I had my own fashion label and to find out if I was mentioned in any magazines, we would spend hours in the magazine stores to check them out. It was inspiring, and you would spend a fortune on these magazines. Nowadays, we endlessly scroll through images of anything we would like to see or find.

As for the news, this is a tricky one. I have just come out of a period of watching the daily news from social media, local TV news to international news channels. I realized that this had a very negative influence on my daily mental state. Two weeks ago, I started a news detox and noticed a massive change which had a positive influence on my work as well. I still get the news but much more filtered, and sometimes it’s ok to just zone out!

Imagine you could be mayor for a year—what would you change?

Not that I have any ambition to become mayor one day, but if by mistake this was given to me for one year. I would limit the construction of bad designed buildings and create more opportunity for architectural innovative spaces. Make sure that nature will be preserved and maybe even explore the possibilities to locally grow materials, from wool for weaving fabrics to vegetables for locally made dishes.

Explore traditional crafts and try to find ways to reintegrated them in our everyday lifestyles.

One last question: If you could choose another place to live—regardless of financial or time constrains—which one would you choose?

Sitges, Spain without any hesitation!