In Amsterdam, with just a hint of good weather, people frantically go outside to do stuff. Like bbq-ing. When I was searching online for a hammock I came across this little fellow. A campstove by BioLite. It reduces your carbon footprint, because it produces less carbon monoxide, less smoke, and uses less wood. And it even charges your gadgets while you grill something tasty on it. You might think this doesn’t add much to the equation, but BioLite also produces HomeStoves to bring cleaner energy to the developing world. The campstove can be bougth at Bever Amsterdam – it excludes the BBQ-weather, for that matter.

There are several great jeans brands. And new ones keep popping up. Yesterday I came across this label while cycling in Amsterdam. Hema. Hema is seamlessly part of Dutch culture and category-wise comparable to Target. And though Hema is a lovebrand it’s not the first brand you think of when thinking of jeans. That’s why the big logo is quite boldly chosen. It reminds me of the Zeeman (a store that has invented cheapness) t-shirt hype. But who knows. Maybe these jeans too become a hype this season. And yes, it was a bit awkward cycling behind this girl and taking a picture of her butt. It made me feel like a dirty old man. But it’s all for the good cause of hopefully inspiring you a little.

In the city of bikes creativity is everywhere. Like on this bike. There is a whole architectural construction on it to transport and protect a beloved pet. I didn’t see the owner of the bike, nor the pet on my run through the park last weekend. But the pet could be anything from a dog, a bunny, to a parrot. Probably not a Mogwai considering all the windows. Then again, it protects against the rain, which is helpful too. The construction of the windows hint towards The Amsterdam School style of architecture, like The Ship building in the Zaanstraat here in Amsterdam. Speaking of ship, the window construction almost looks like the bridge of a ship. Does that make the pet the captain and the driver the first mate? It’s remarkable what people do with their bikes to modify it to their needs and create a style of their own.

Christmas is a time of giving presents to others. A nice way to surprise yourself is curated.nl. Members of this site get a gift every 3 months, selected by well known Dutch bloggers who are experts in the area’s of innovation, food, design, sustainability, lifestyle, literature, beauty, kids and coffee. The site is in Dutch, but the gifts are pretty international. On Curated it’s Christmas all year round. Happy Holidays.

You could say this is tasteless design. Or you could call it a smart design solution. But what is it exactly? Recently the municipality of Amsterdam has prompted houseboat owners to connect to the sewer system to ensure cleaner canal water. Which is a good idea of course. You rather see ducks and swans float through the canals than someone’s excrements. Most of the time the connection between houseboat and dock is made  in a straight line. But here the connection has a double function. It is also a railing. A weird idea that when you hold the railing someone’s poo could be running through the tube. On the other hand it could be a nice and warm hold in the winter.

A year ago Jeroen Timmers gave away his Lowlands Festival Ticket for free. He hated the fact that black market tickets were sold to die hard fans for exorbitant prices and decided to make the first step towards his ideal world: a world in which the act of giving is more important than making money. This year Lowlands asked him to do something with that thought and he (and his team) came up with the Give Shop. You can give anything away from a torch or a car to some service you provide. Your gift will be symbolically wrapped, tagged and randomly given away to one of the Lowlands visitors. The receiver of the gift is able to connect with the giver on a special online platform. Apart from the fact that giving is good for your karma and that it seems to have become a trend (even for some brands), what I like best about the “Giving is All we Have” project at Lowlands is the element of surprise; receiving a random gift out of nothing.

The Urilift is a pop-up toilet for when it’s busy on the Amsterdam Thorbecke square. It is supposed to clean itself. When I saw it the lift wasn’t working perfectly yet. It has three sides. And the roof has the same bricks as the rest of the square. So the Urilift is almost unnoticeable when down in the ground. A design attempt to diminish ‘wildplassen’ – literally: ‘wild peeing’.

Simon Wald-Lasowski is an Amsterdam based freelance photographer and art director with a unique mind, style and eye. Check his inspiring work here.

The shop manager of DIY store Hubo on the Wittenburgergracht was frustrated by the amount of plastic cups he and his colleagues were using. That is why he made these cup holders on the wall of the store. Using mugs would even be more environmental friendly. But every bit helps.

I really love this gallery concept of Hansje van Halem. She has a 1930′s showcase cabinet from Germany in her living room slash studio. Every now and than she invites artists to show their work inside the cabinet and opens her place for visitors. She calls her gallery Schrank8. It refers to a small handwritten label on her cabinet which says: ‘Schrank8′. It makes Hansje wonder where the other seven cabinets are. On April 20th Schrank8 presents Koen Taselaar, from 5pm till 8pm. You are invited at the Wagenaarstraat 331 in Amsterdam. After this the exhibition opens by appointment, until May 20th, 2012.