The Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam has been open for...I think about 20 years. After many years of trying, some people here finally convinced David Kennedy to come visit the office/city. I think he is happy he finally did—if for no other reason than the Sicilian mussel dish he ate Sunday at Koevoet. That dish alone may make him come back to our little city for a second visit.
We'll just have to wait and see.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. That dish comes later in the post.
I am very lucking to be part of a small handful of people in the Amsterdam office, who knows Kennedy from my time in Portland. He arrived in town on the weekend, and so, I got to spend Sunday with him showing off our city, before he got whisked away to
office meetings come Monday.
Sunday
Sunday morning Cari Vander Yacht (another former Portland studio designer) and I met David at his hotel, and took him to Greenwoods for breakfast. The same Greenwoods I went to last weekend. I just can't get enough of this place. So delicious!
After breakfast Cari had to take off to work, but she was able to join us again later for dinner. So, after breakfast we met up with Alvaro Sotomayor for a ride on his boat. Alvaro is a Creative Director that has spent roughly the last 16 years trying to get David over here.
And he finally succeeded!
Le Cruise: We took Prinsengracht out to the Amstel. Went south a ways, got out to see a windmill. Headed back up into town, got out to go to the Rembrandt house. Cruised over to dinner, and then had a nice evening cruise back to the hotel after dinner. Nothing like traveling around the city via boat!
It was a lovely day for a boat ride. A little overcast, but still very warm. And there was no rain. So that classifies as a good day in my book.
Just as we got into Alvaro's boat, this guy came cruising by:
Alvaro and David chatting about sculpture, while walking up to a figure of Rembrandt:
With Kennedy in front of De Riekermolen mill:
Hard to see it...but the below boat has a grand piano on it. I wonder if it plays after all this rain we've had. Even if it was covered, I'm sure the moisture is killer. The couple sitting in the back, although not playing the piano, were singing. How nice.
Driving:
Photo Credit: Alvaro Sotomayor
Spotting Kennedy's favorite bridges:
Once we made out way back up the Amstel, we visited the Rembrandt House:
Short clip of church, and Kennedy getting excited about passing under one of the
old wooden bridges:
Can you spot the smiling man at the bottom of the screen?
On our way to dinner we stopped in the Noorderkerk–a beautiful 17th century protestant church in the Noordermarkt square. The protestant churches in Holland have very plain interiors. No decoration. Very elegant and beautiful. The floor inside the church was made of these really old slabs of stone worn and cracked from hundreds of years of foot traffic. Just after the below shot was taken, a dutch woman approached us and explained how people were buried under the slabs of stone. So, we were walking on graves. The courtyard in front of the church used to be a cemetery, and people are buried there as well.
For dinner we went to Koevoet. I came here a couple months ago with Rachel and Jessie, and so I was very happy to have an excuse to return.
Kennedy's meal was served wrapped up in paper. Maybe to keep the flavor from the steam of the mussels trapped in? The below shot is the aftermath of the mussel pasta. This dish may get Kennedy to visit Amsterdam again.
Alvaro, Cari and Kennedy, post a very amazing dinner:
Quiet boat cruise home:
Tuesday
On Tuesday the agency gathered in the main foyer to hear Kennedy speak about his work and regale us with stories of the early days of the agency. He showed us the work he has done for the American Indian College Foundation (AICF) over the last 20 years, as well as personal work. Below he is talking about the sculpture he made referencing American Indian typography.
Kennedy retired in 1993, but you'll still see him in the Portland office all the time
working on AICF.
Quote of the day: "I retired 15 years ago but couldn't find the door."
Sounds like someone else I know... (eh Nana and Gramps?)
After work I met up with some work folks and Kennedy at a comic shop to hear the tales of David Collier. David Collier is a cartoon artist/storyteller that decided to join the Canadian armed forces at the age of 40, to document the experiences of the military and war from an inside perspective. He talked about his recent comic book he published, as well as his artistic process, and some side stories.
Nacho chatting with Kennedy about typography:
Toby Morris, W+K creative, drew a picture a day for a year, he then compiled all these pictures/accompanying stories and published a book last year. Kennedy happened to pick up his book and buy it. Once he learned it was Toby's book, he asked Toby to sign it. And what was Toby to do? Draw Kennedy's portrait in the cover of course!
Toby drawing Kennedy:
Some work folks, and some comic shop folks. David Collier is a little cut off,
but he's behind Alvaro:
Photo Credit Jennifer Hambleton
After the comic shop some of our work crew went with Kennedy to Proef for dinner. The restaurant is set in a really old building in Westerpark, that they re-purposed for a restaurant.
It had a nice open kitchen:
Alvaro giving us a thumbs-up across the restaurant (not really visible).
You get a sense of the space with the worn walls though:
The centerpiece for the table, just a big 'ol decorative wad of fennel.
Delicious white beat soup. Pansies seemed to be a theme of the restaurant:
Piles of food:
Some sort of caramel toffy pie (with a pansy on top):
We said our goodbyes,
and he was off the next morning.
'Twas a good visit.
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