Eindhoven: Industrial City Turned Creative Hub

Eindhoven. A city with industrial beginnings best known for being the birthplace of Phillips, the architecture is functional, no-nonsense and at times even a little brutalist. Now steadily gaining a reputation for being a creative, technology & design focused city, when Eindhoven365 invited a bunch of us down to spend a day exploring Eindhoven (on bikes, no less!)  and visiting some of their fashion & design neighbourhoods, I jumped at the opportunity. You know me, I love to explore new places. 

I arrived late the evening before, so headed straight to my room, ordered room service & promptly fell asleep.

The next morning, bright & early, I awoke to my wake up call and sleepily dragged myself downstairs to have breakfast & meet the others. After brief introductions, our day in the city began.

MLY

Designer of all things colourful & patterned (mostly made using eco-friendly, biodegradable materials), the lovely Emily Hermans talked us through her creative process and had us regressing back to kindergarten children again with her design-your-own-shirt-pattern workshop, where we bonded over how bad we all were at being creative (and we call ourselves bloggers...pah). 

Carl and Andrea try to figure out how best to display our divine pieces of art...

Urban Shopper

An indoor marketplace located inside a former Phillips factory, it's the ultimate destination for all things urban chic, from vintage denim jackets to industrial furniture to design-your-own Converse to everything bicycle. There's even a barbershop inside.

Fun fact: that tiny blue house on wheels is actually a hotel room you can stay in!

Intellegentia Ice 

This place is divine. A small but delicious selection of ice cream flavours but the real hero is the chocolates - shaped like little spaceship discs, each one holds a fascinating surprise of flavours in the middle. From lemon and basil (I could taste both so intensely!) to strawberry and champagne to the bewildering soy sauce, sesame and red pepper; it's been a while since I enjoyed trying a new chocolate brand so much and they really had me wishing there was a store in London.

After lunch, we headed into town. The city center is very walkable - you'll find myriad cafes, boutiques, restaurants and the like. Some places worth checking out:

Lucifer

Good coffee, cosy atmosphere, love the name. Look no further for a decent flat white that isn't just coffee flavoured milk. A genuine worry of mine when I visit any small town.

Vielgut

"Raw, authentic, care for the world." Their slogan says it all - the brands they stock use many raw materials and most are sustainable. This Samsoe & Samsoe green coat felt like a warm hug from a fluffy cloud. 

If you're staying the night, I would happily recommend the Inntel Art Hotel. Located in the center of the city, it's a modern, boutique hotel with dark, atmospheric rooms, friendly staff and quirky design.

Food & drinks: We had fresh, no sugar added smoothies at Onder de Leidingstraat, a mini organic supermarket-cum-cafe; a light & healthy lunch at the uber cool Ketelhuis; and a delicious Spanish-style tapas dinner at Valenzia. I also had drinks later that night with an old friend at Berlin Bar 5611 - if you're a G&T lover like me, you'll enjoy their endless menu of gins on offer.

From left to right: moi, Beth, Andrea, Diana, Andy, Carl. Missing from this photo: Nathalie. Such an awesome group (especially enjoyed our precarious bike rides through the city). Thanks to Andy for sending this photo over!

A big thank you to Eindhoven365 for inviting me and taking me around the city. All words & opinions are my own.