Mer-chan was at Khatt Kufi & Kaffiya: Symposium on Arabic Visual Culture in Amsterdam’s Openbare Library. Our biggest discovery: others agree that shopping and culture can be the same thing. We waited and waited in line for an exhibit, only to find out it was a store opening! We were pleased. This is our photo diary…

Faux shoppers browsing the wares at the el hema/mediamatic opening — nothing could be sold at preview night (how arty!)




The el hema logo. The red color makes Katy think el hemaglobin.



Designer-chocolate.



The beer line: all sales final!



Art sausages for sale.



Eating halal as a performance.



Chocolate based on the new Arabic fonts from the Typographic Matchmaking Project — super thanks to Bernardo at FabLab for giving Katy a tour of the manufacturing process!



Can Alibaba stop 40 thieves when nothing’s for sale?



Extra value, but no extra small.



Thoughts on the future of fashion.

Next up, we look at other designy things in Amsterdam, check back into the states and scratch a Zurich!