Bikes and Books: Our Amsterdam Roadshow Recap

The Blurb Road Show (the spring edition) kicked off in April in Amsterdam. It’s a city we’ve long wanted to visit—and not for the reasons you might think. No, we wanted to hang out with a creative community nurtured in the world of Rembrandt and Vincent Van Gogh. Once we figured out that bikes literally come from every direction—a tough lesson when you’re jet lagged—we were good to go.

Our first event was a community meet-up at Wester Wijnfabriek, an ultra charming brickwork restaurant in Sloterdijk. About 50 of the Blurb faithful showed up, many bringing their own books. We fed them wine and beer and showed off some of our more recent products like Magazine and Trade books.

Once we figured out that bikes literally come from every direction—a tough lesson when you’re jet lagged—we were good to go.

Next up, we met with the fantastic Amsterdam Photo Club where our own Dan Milnor talked about his approach to self-publishing, something he often calls impulsive publishing. His main take-away? Just make something, people. It will change how you see your work as a photographer. It wasn’t just about talking and listening, the Sky Lounge is perched atop one of the city’s tallest buildings, giving everyone a chance to take panoramic shots of the city.

Early Friday morning we found ourselves with Creative Mornings Amsterdam. Seriously, if there’s a Creative Mornings branch in your city, check it out. We heard from the Backpacker Intern, Mark van der Heijden, who talked about the amazing round-the-world trip that formed the basis for his new venture, Wanderbrief.

Just make something, people. It will change how you see your work as a photographer.

Then it was time to pack up our books and ship them to London, the next stop on the Blurb Road Show.

Did you come to our Amsterdam events? Want the Blurb Road Show to come to your city? Let us know in the comments.