Pirouette 10 questions game:

Q&A between 2 players – 5 questions & 5 answers each. Both players are interviewer and interviewee. This time Alexandra Klever (A), Photographer/Publisher of KINDA magazine invites Emily Swaeb (E), agent to INDEE, Marcelo Burlon and DIADORA kids at RITS agency to ask her 5 questions then answer 5 of her own. Let’s go!

GO!

Alex asks, Emily answers…

A: You travel a lot for work. Do you have any favorite things you do when arriving in another city (or country)?
E: When travelling for work I’m mostly following a tight schedule the day of arrival at the destination, because I have to set up the booth or showroom to get everything ready for the clients to come. But what I love to do in another country is to find a nice little coffee bar and order me a flat white while taking in the environment. Nothing too fancy, but I like to travel as if I am a resident in the country, and having a nice coffee at a cute place is one of my favorite things to do even in Antwerp.

A: What makes a kids brand stand out for you, and which traits do you look for when choosing new brands to represent?
E: A brand stands out for me if it’s identity is clearly visible. More so, I think a brand stands out if they really OWN their identity. Nowadays styles and hypes get picked upon so quickly, that you will find a lot of brands adding the same details or subjects in their collection. If you can translate the fast moving trends into your own language and still keep your main storyline and identity in the fronseat, I think you’ve created a strong brand.

You have to understand their direction and universe in order to find the perfect client for it… But I feel you also have to fall a little bit in love. So I kinda like to choose new brands as if I’d be getting married.

You need something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue in the collection :).

A: If you had one year off, what would your plans be for that time?
E: I already did a great deal of travelling, I even lived in Central America for some time. But if I could have a year off I would rent the nicest finca in Ibiza, learn how to ride a horse western style, make some pretty big charcoal drawings and do an expo with them, do a restorative yoga course to add to my practice, swim every day and enjoy the sun, the ocean and end the day in the arms of my love Lieven watching the sunset together.

A: Which outfit(s) from the kids SS 18 collections would you like to wear yourself if it was available in your size as well?
E: INDEE had the calabria bristol knit, an off white jumper with a rainbow on it, I loved it! Not in my size unfortunately :( However, all of their sweaters go up to a size 18 so I get me some of those and squeeze myself into them as I am quite tall :). I’m wearing an INDEE sweater in my picture actually.

And I would definitely get the black 3D tiger sweater from Marcelo Burlon. That’s just way too cool…

A:  You live in the beautiful city of Antwerp. Could you share a few of your favorite insider tips with us: Things to do or places to see which are interesting for families visiting the city?
E: Of course! I would start the day with some lovely breakfast at BARCHEL.
The food is amazing, the interior is so pretty and fresh and the girls that work there are so friendly. Afterwards I would go to the VOGELTJESMARKT, the weekend market (I assume it’s a Saturday) and have a little stroll through the SINT-JORISPOORT, one of the pretitest streets in town where you can buy some second hand furniture as well as at IVONNE, where they have an all year round garage sale. Take a stroll through our BOTANICAL garden in the Leopoldstraat and then I would have some coffee and a slice of homemade banana bread at the CAFFENATION. Afterwards, I would take a walk through the nicest street in the Zurenborg district, the COGELS-OSYLEI and finish the day with some Bio dynamic Leoni wine (homemade) and some amazing tasting (and also glutenfree for the allergic ones amongst you) pizza at ORSO pizzeria. When I travel, I like to adapt to everyday life as if I was a resident so not too many tourist traps for me, but you should not miss the cathedral and the Rubens house since you are here anyway!

SWAP!

Emily asks, Alex answers…

E: Starting a magazine takes a lot of courage, passion and persistence. When did you decide to take the plunge and start KINDA magazine?
A: I’ve been a childrens’ photographer for almost  20 years and I’ve always loved the wonderful feel of print magazines and how you can delve into them.

Sometime last spring, during a long afternoon talk with my art director friend Irma, I told her about my ideas of starting my own magazine and I decided to start the KINDA aventure so I could share my vision of kids’ fashion photography, (sustainable) lifestyle and travelling with my readers.
Browsing through a beautifully crafted magazine: the smell! – the feel! It just gives you a more thorough expericence than a click online (even though this offers you great expericences too, but on another level). However, digital is wonderful too: the connection with literally anybody anywhere in the world! – the constant change and innovation! That’s why we’ll have our own website coming soon. Plus, you can already follow us on our adventures @kinda_magazine.

E: What did you want to become as a little girl?
A: I fell in love with horses at the age of four (my parents were not too happy about it, as we did not live on a farm and they were rather weary of these big animals). So my dream was to become a jockey. I really faniced their bright-coloured outfits and the excitement at the races, even though I only watched them on TV. I figured it would be quite a clever way to be with horses all day long.

E: Which children’s brand (can also be decoration or lifestyle products)  is your favorite at the moment and why?
A: That’s a tough one to answer as there are so many intriguing and beautiful labels out there. If I have to choose, it would be Longlivethequeen, as they not only do amazingly beautiful designs, but they also use organic and upcycled fabrics in order to reduce the footprint they leave behind.
Yet, I have to give a shout out to Barn Of Monkeys as well (to read Pirouette One to Watch Award Winner interview click here), because I love their styles, their prints and the touch and feel of their materials (all GOTS certified organic).

E: If you could choose an alternative life what would you do for a living and how would your daily life look like?
A: I could well imagine being a landscape architect living in a southern european country like Spain or Italy. My husband and I would live in the countryside, so we could have some animals living with us. Definitely a few cats, donkeys and horses. I would travel quite a lot for work, supervising different projects. At home, I would spend my time horse riding, tending the garden and having lots of friends and family over.

Oh, and our place would be located quite close to the seaside, as we love spending time there. Me horse riding around the beach, Holger surfing.  And in the evening, taking a stroll together at the beach :).

E: What is the one thing you cannot live without? (this can be an object or a person :) )
A: This would be Holger, the love of my life. The one who really loves surfing :).

 

The End/Fin

Alexandra Klever Photographer/Publisher KINDA Magazine
Follow what Alex & her team at KINDA Mag get up to @Kinda_magazine
The second edition will launch during this Summer selling period, so keep a look out!

Emily Swaeb Agent to INDEE, Marcelo Burlon and DIADORA kids at RITS agency (website)
Follow what Emily is up to @emilyswaeb and @rits_agency 

Barn of Monkeys Q&A game