Tales from Studio Karel.enStudio Karel (C) 2026 Mon, 07 Sep 2026 06:07:01 +0000https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?option=1In househttps://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20230120-01The yearly Yulemasfest for 2023. Only in digital format for the Yulemasfest card junkies. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20230120-0120/01/2023https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20220108-01The yearly Yulemasfest card is ready again and will soon be sent to family and friends. Another alternative card with some 3D objects from the past. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20220108-0108/01/2022https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20210114-01To make hot water, at home in the 1950's, you had to boil it in a kettle. We had no electric or gas boiler at that time. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20210114-0114/01/2021https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20210113-01Dad's 'comfy' chair from the 1950's was a traditional Liberty chair, known as a 'rookstoel' or smokimng chair. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20210113-0113/01/2021https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20210111-01Washing up in the 1950's was done by hand, there were no dishwashers in the homes I remember, they came in the 1970's and 1980's. We had a metal washing-up bowl ('afwasteiltje') and used a 'zeepklopper' (soap saver or soap shaker) to make suds. Warm water came from the kettle, the boiler only came in the 1960's. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20210111-0111/01/2021https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20210110-01I never had many toys in the early years. Initially the usual set of soft animals, including a bear, a monkey, a lamb and a pig. However wooden blocks and LEGO were a good part of my early toy world. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20210110-0110/01/2021https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20201229-01Preserving garden produce goes back centuries. These Weck' " jars can be found all over Europe and we used them at home for produce we received and bought. Dad had made a large store in the cellar where they were kept cool. There was also a large wooden box for potatoes. We still use Weck jars for the produce from our own garden. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20201229-0129/12/2020https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20201228-01The wall-mounted coffee grinder ("koffiemolen") always fascinated me when I was very young, It was fixed fairly high up on the cooker surround and it took a number of years before I could help out grinding, but I had to stand on a chair (or on the table). Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20201228-0128/12/2020https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20201227-01Most Dutch kitchens in the 1950's had one of these, a 'petroleumstelletje' or paraffin stove and some still. You can still get them quite easily. Of course they were also common here in the UK and no doubt elsewhere in the world. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20201227-0127/12/2020https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20201222-01At home we used to have a traditional aluminium 'pruttelpot', better known in the UK as a stovetop coffee percolator. I've made one. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20201222-0122/12/2020https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20201220-01Another small item in the kitchen was the teapot warmer or tealight. It's roughly based on a photo, but dimensions and details are all guesswork with a certain percentage of certainty. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20201220-0119/12/2020https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20201215-01 Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20201215-0115/12/2020https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20201213-01A few more images from the 3-D model of my old house. Of course the devil is in the detail and that sort of detail is just too much work for this project. It is just a recreation of memory space, the rest I can fill in myself. However we will keep adding to this model. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20201213-0113/12/2020https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20201201-01The yearly Yulemasfest card is ready again and will soon be sent to family and friends. A little different this year with less travel and many things closed because of Covid-19, but here we are again ... card number 24 in the series. This year with material from trips to the Netherlands and Scotland. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20201201-0101/12/2020https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20191218-01A few years ago I started with model of the house I was born and grew up in in the Netherlands. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20191218-0118/12/2019https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20191216-01Photographs of an old van at Prora. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20191216-0116/12/2019https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20191215-01Here is the digital copy of this year's Yulemasfest Card, our version of the traditional Christmas and New Years wishes. These cards are a lot of work, and I often grumble, but it's nice to see them printed every year even though the printed version often turns out a little darker then planned. Everything on these cards is made fresh, often based on notes and sketches I make during holidays. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20191215-0115/12/2019https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20181209-01The 2018 Yulemasfest card. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20181209-0109/12/2018https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20171230-01The 2017 Yulemasfest card. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20171230-0130/12/2017https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20161230-01Here is the digital copy of this year's Yulemasfest Card, our version of the traditional Christmas and New Years wishes. These cards are a lot of work, and I often grumble, but it's nice to see them printed every year even though the printed version often turns out a little darker then planned. Everything on these cards is made fresh, often based on notes and sketches I make during holidays. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20161230-0130/12/2016https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20151230-01Here is the digital copy of this year's Yulemasfest Card, our version of the traditional Christmas and New Years wishes. These cards are a lot of work, and I often grumble, but it's nice to see them printed every year even though the printed version often turns out a little darker then planned. Everything on these cards is made fresh, often based on notes and sketches I make during holidays. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20151230-0130/12/2015https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20141230-01Here is the digital copy of this year's Yulemasfest Card, our version of the traditional Christmas and New Years wishes. These cards are a lot of work, and I often grumble, but it's nice to see them printed every year even though the printed version often turns out a little darker then planned. Everything on these cards is made fresh, often based on notes and sketches I make during holidays. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20141230-0130/12/2014https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20131221-01Here is the digital copy of this year's Yulemasfest Card, our version of the traditional Christmas and New Years wishes. These cards are a lot of work, and I often grumble, but it's nice to see them printed every year even though the printed version often turns out a little darker then planned. Everything on these cards is made fresh, often based on notes and sketches I make during holidays. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20131221-0121/12/2013https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121222-01Here is the digital copy of this year's Yulemasfest Card, our version of the traditional Christmas and New Years wishes. These cards are a lot of work, and I often grumble, but it's nice to see them printed every year even though the printed version often turns out a little darker then planned. Everything on these cards is made fresh, often based on notes and sketches I make during holidays. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121222-0122/12/2012https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121203-01On Google this morning ... "The Internet has connected more than two billion people around the world. Some governments want to use a closed-door meeting in December to increase censorship and regulate the Internet. Join together to keep the Internet free and open." Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121203-0103/12/2012https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121112-01I'm just reading the Taschen booklet on Walter Gropius (see image), which I have on loan from my son. If you haven't seen much of Gropius or Bauhaus architecture, this is not a bad start. An illustration on page 37 shows Hinnerk Scheper's Colour Orientation Scheme for the new Bauhaus building in Dessau, opened in December 1926. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121112-0112/11/2012https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121111-01Herbert Bayer was commissioned by Walter Gropius to design a typeface for all Bauhaus manifestos. He produced the sans-serif 'Universal', based on simple geometric shapes and angles. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121111-0111/11/2012https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121107-01Karyllanian Alpha is the result of a short study made of early Slavonic and old Romanian alphabets during a trip to Romania in May 2012. The shape of the characters in Old (Church) Slavonic books and official documents from the 16th century till about 1860 is fascinating and often used in a very imaginative way. It is just something that you don't see too frequently in Western Europe, so forgive my ignorance. Of course there is much more out there in the Slavonic palette if we quickly glimpse through some Paleoslavonic, Old [Church] Slavonic, and Glagolitic scripts. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121107-0107/11/2012https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121104-02These are some PMS colours used by Tate. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121104-0204/11/2012https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121104-01These are some PMS colours used by Historic Scotland. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121104-0104/11/2012https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121029-02This logo was designed for our Scandinavia trip earlier this year. We never used it, but perhaps its an idea someone else can make use of in one way or another. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121029-0229/10/2012https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121029-01Just had a quick look at the pdf of the new agreement between the VVD and PvdA to form a new government, published today. Not that I have a major interest in Dutch politics, but there is always something to glean from these official documents. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20121029-0129/10/2012https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20120621-01This was a special private commission to create a corporate ID for Pictomatic. I can't say much else about this project and there is no point searching the web either. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20120621-0121/06/2012https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20111230-01Here is the digital copy of this year's Yulemasfest Card, our version of the traditional Christmas and New Years wishes. These cards are a lot of work, and I often grumble, but it's nice to see them printed every year even though the printed version often turns out a little darker then planned. Everything on these cards is made fresh, often based on notes and sketches I make during holidays. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20111230-0130/12/2011https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20101228-01The 2010 Yulemascard was quite a challenge. I was inspired by a poster made by Cees Dekker in the Verkade Paviljoen, part of the Zaans Museum near Zaandam. Usually the cards are printed as a one colour litho job, but this one had to be done as a 3 colour letterpress on a Heidelberg T Platten press. Setting up the separate plates manually was something else. Although I often hand separate 2 or 3 colour jobs, this one was going on separate nylo plates and on the fly corrections were not an option. Cost was another factor. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20101228-0128/12/2010https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20091230-01Here is the digital copy of this year's Yulemasfest Card, our version of the traditional Christmas and New Years wishes. These cards are a lot of work, and I often grumble, but it's nice to see them printed every year even though the printed version often turns out a little darker then planned. Everything on these cards is made fresh, often based on notes and sketches I make during holidays. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20091230-0130/12/2009https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20090206-01I had done some lettering before, but not with any great knowledge of what to do and where to start. Not that I am an expert now, far from it, but it's still nice to hack away at the sometimes daunting task of creating a consistent set of letters for private use. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20090206-0106/02/2009https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20081230-01Here is the digital copy of this year's Yulemasfest Card, our version of the traditional Christmas and New Years wishes. These cards are a lot of work, and I often grumble, but it's nice to see them printed every year even though the printed version often turns out a little darker then planned. Everything on these cards is made fresh, often based on notes and sketches I make during holidays. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20081230-0130/12/2008https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20071230-01Here is the digital copy of this year's Yulemasfest Card, our version of the traditional Christmas and New Years wishes. These cards are a lot of work, and I often grumble, but it's nice to see them printed every year even though the printed version often turns out a little darker then planned. Everything on these cards is made fresh, often based on notes and sketches I make during holidays. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20071230-0130/12/2007https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20061230-01Here is the digital copy of this year's Yulemasfest Card, our version of the traditional Christmas and New Years wishes. These cards are a lot of work, and I often grumble, but it's nice to see them printed every year even though the printed version often turns out a little darker then planned. Everything on these cards is made fresh, often based on notes and sketches I make during holidays. Please read the rest of the article in your browser.https://www.studiokarel.com//blog/blog.php?blogid=20061230-0130/12/2006