the foxy golden girl

Blanche, she's here!! Not shaped like an old lady, but like a mobile soundsystem.


We took a very boring grey walker, spray-painted it pink and kitted it out with alot of gear and now we can make alot of noise, everywhere! We stroll behind the walker in style while playing a happy mix of boogaloo, reggae, soul, dancehall, dub and all the other things that make you feel sooo good!!

It's all in our coconutsmix. Have a listen here.

To celebrate the birth of Blanche we will be going for a loong walk in Berlin this summer. We will hit every spot we can and keep you posted on everything that is going on. So if you're in Berlin this summer.. Come boogie with us!

Slightly Surreal

What to do on a (rainy) Sunday after one of the best nights out you ever experienced in your life?? That was exactly my question the day after the Warehouse Project in Manchester...

Well, after a sturdy breakfast of scrambled eggs, coffee and freshly squeezed OJ my boyfriend and I decided to drag ourselves to the Manchester Art Gallery for the exhibition Angels of Anarchy - Women Artists and Surrealism. They had great works on display by a.o. Francesca Woodman, Frida Kahlo and Meret Oppenheim. But my heart truly skipped a beat when I saw some collaborative pieces. They were made along the same principle as our drawings for the Freikörperkult t-shirts! I had never seen these before.

Y. Tanguy, Joan Miro, Max Morix and Man Ray (1927).

Andre Breton, Jacqueline Lamba and Yves Tanguy (1938).

Andre Breton, Paul Eluard, Nusch Eluard and Valentine Hugo (ca. 1930).

Andre Breton, Valentine Hugo, Greta Knutson and Tristan Tzara (ca. 1933).

I didn't know this 'game' had a name. It's called EXQUISITE CORPSE. The Surrealists used to play it with words as well, and exquisite corpse is taken from the first sentence that was produced this way: "Le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau.", which translates to "The exquisite corpse will drink the new wine."

The title of our t-shirts was sort of randomly picked after one of our favourite German words: Freikörperkultur, roughly translated as Free Body Movement, which advocates a naturistic/nudist way of life. We encountered the Freikörperkultur up close and personal at the swimming pool in Berlin this summer. The word suited our drawings perfectly, especially when we shortened it to -kult.

Anyways, I just thought it was so cool to see these drawings that I wanted to share them with you. I now know our drawings aren't just weird, no, they are Surreal!

NEW!! FREIKöRPERKULT t-shirts!

Woohooo, it's online! Our latest collection t-shirts: FREIKöRPERKULT!! Made in Berlin! The drawings are weird, but they’re weird for a reason. If you take a good look, you might be able to find out which game - from back in the days - we played. It is a LIMITED EDITION, there are just 2 shirts available per size. So hurry yourself to our webshop!

if you're not a seventies child...

In between hangovers, BBQs, chilling in the park, long bike rides and 'trödeling' we've been working on our 'tapestry'. The word itself seems to be a mystery to many people. We know it's a bit outdated (by three decades), but as you know we like outdated stuff. Perhaps the pictures below can enlighten you about where working on...

living on the edge (for the sake of art)

A couple of years ago the Dutch Dolls went on a road trip to Prague. We were driving in a 24-year-old Saab, which had a heater that was always turned on to the max; a sauna on wheels it was. After a pit stop in Berlin, we headed further South. But then in Dresden a TWAT who made an illegal U-turn knocked out our Saab with her Baby Benz. She kept screaming "Es ist ganz neu! Es ist ganz neu!", she didn't care about us and our ruined vacation at all. We never made it to Prague. We were forced to return to Berlin where we stayed for the remainder of our trip. We wanted to make an embroidered report about this disastrous adventure. But five years later it's still not finished... It probably was too painful...

But now we're back in Berlin WITH A MISSION!
We are finishing the tapestry!!

New adventures will be captured in fabric, found objects, pictures, drawings, embroidery, scraps of paper, and what not. We'll be living on the edge these next couple of weeks to make sure this will become an interesting piece of art. Geeske is determined to eat some BUGS. Unnecessary nudity is already taken care of as well! We'll keep you posted on our quest right here on our blog. The pile of junk as portrayed above will be doubled in size next week, that's a promise! Should you have any suggestions for high voltage situations in Berlin, BRING IT ON!!

our website AFTER the plastic surgery

After a few weeks of hard work we finally saw some daylight again ... because our new website is finished!! Everything is new, it looks gooood, it has an actual navigation system and some impressive elements, such as drop down menu’s and a shopping cart. Oh jeez, we feel so modern and improved!

*** To celebrate this rebirth we offer you a free screen print when you place an order for € 25,- or more (ex. shipping costs) at our webshop!! ***

The print is filled with lame jokes, weird animals and even weirder: Patty Brard (Holland's most repulsive tv host, ex-popstar and survivor of a few medical experiments). It is signed by Dutch Dolls and it measures 42 x 29 cm. We printed it in red, black and dark gray on heavyweight paper. If you want some Dutch Dolls art on your wall, act now! We’ve only got a limited number of prints!

We're very proud of the new and improved site, especially since we made the whole thing ourselves (if art doesn’t work out Nanna could be a hacker-spy for the CIA or something). Nuff said, click on the image above to check our new website. We hope you like it!!!

"wie maakt me los?!"

Think local, act global! Being hundreds of kilometers apart doesn't stop the Dolls from working together and participating in all sorts of events. Take this Afrikaandermarkt-project for example...

Freehouse and Jeanne van Heeswijk asked us to join a project called 'De Markt van Morgen' (The Market of the Future). It's all about the Afrikaandermarket, a colorful, vibrant market in the southern part of Rotterdam. Local market vendors team up with artists from all sorts of disciplines to create new products for the market of the future. Dutch Dolls got assigned to a very friendly seller of BAGS. Especially for the occasion Nanna designed a brand new print (check the sneak preview at the top of this this post) and Geeske will be silkscreen printing it on canvas bags LIVE at the marktet, in the stall!!

This will take place this weekend, June 6th and 7th! So come on down to the Afrikaanderplein and get yourself one of these unique Dutch Dolls bags (act locally - death to the plastic carrier bags!!). The market will bustling with artists making designs on the spot and customizing clothing, up and coming local bands performing and students of the Willem de Kooning Academy styling the stalls. Of course there will be plenty of food. Dishes from all over the world, prepared with ingredients from the Afrikaandermarket. So think global, act local and travel South!

Bday ghetto gold

HAHA, look what my fellow Dutch Dolls made me as a birthday present! Dutch Dolls ghetto gold ;-)
Rad! Lots of props and kudos my homie!!

the ego-clash

Everyone that was ever a part of the 'screenprinting-industry' knows that this section of printmaking involves big muscles, patience and the ability to bear the maniacs that you always seem to run into in the workshop. Believe me, Dutch Dolls have had their share. Even though we have been screenprinting for almost ten years, the assistant at the workshop only seems to feel like a true assistant when he forces his methods on you. Probably very well meant, but ooh... the ego-clash.

That being said (I HAD to get that off my chest), I must admit that I'm pretty saiked about our latest print. It's an illustration that Nanna and me did together a while ago (you may have seen it in an earlier post), now printed on heavy off white paper in a dark grey ink. It will be for sale as a special promotion when we launch our new and superimproved website that Dutch Doll/whizkid Nanna has been slaving over for the last couple of months. It's going to be sooooo good!!!

I'm off signing prints now...

Rotterdam invasion

Dutch Dolls are invading Rotterdam!! First the NL10 magazine with our I ♡ Rotterdam-spread was all over town, now the streets are flooded with Dutch Dolls postcards! The cards are provided by our AGENT, Barkode Agency. Pick it up for free and send it to friends and/or possible Dutch Dolls lovers. Or keep it and frame it. Or just have it lying around somewhere...

An ode to kapsalons and poliopigeons

All you Rotterdammers: if you happen to come across one of those piles of NL10-magazines this week, make sure to pick up a copy (it's free :-), ‘cause we’re in it! We made an ‘ode to Rotterdam’: a spread packed with lame jokes about local heroes, likes, dislikes, and of course the poliopigeon. If you don't live in Roffa, or you're just too lazy to pick up the physical thing, you can click on the image above to view it in all its glory.