Wallpaper* Magazine and Bastiaan

[Warning: long post. I'm not kidding. Really long.]

For Christmas, Ben gave me a subscription to Wallpaper* Magazine. So great! I love this magazine, though it has been years since I've had of copy in hand. What a fantastic gift.

I was introduced to Wallpaper* by my friend and co-worker Bastiaan Rijkers when I was working at Ogilvy & Mather in Greece. At the time, our little family included just Ben and me, although I was expecting a baby. This was my first real job. I had barely finished college and was still mostly in the dark about anything outside of mainstream, middle American design. I remember Bastiaan asking me what fashion designers I liked and saying something like, "You mean, like, the Gap?" And then being teased mercilessly.



Wallpaper* had just launched at the time. 10 years or so ago. I remember my favorite article from the first issue. A beautiful piece on plywood floors. The floors were gorgeous and I was amazed to learn that you could make something beautiful from plywood — a poor material I could have sworn was no good for much of anything.

Bastiaan and I worked together with Dimitrios Petsas. Actually. They were a copywriter/art director team and I was their newbie. We were put together because we all spoke English and it was just about the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me. Because Petsas and Bastiaan were the golden boys of the agency and by working with them I was able to work on the best clients we had and gain oodles of experience.

Petsas and Bastiaan weren't possessive about the work at all. If I had a good idea, they'd pitch it with confidence, and they'd let me try my hand at anything. Because of their faith in my abilities, I had several successful campaigns under my belt in a short time. I remember thinking that Bastiaan was the first person I'd met that was truly open-minded — or maybe the first good example of what it meant to be open minded. About people, about plywood, about everything.

At one point I realized Ben and I were sort of ridiculous. Very young. Married. Pregnant. Far from home. Generally awkwardly dressed, because we didn't have the means or understanding to put together a good wardrobe, maternity or otherwise. What in the world were we thinking? But Bastiaan approached with an open mind. He had seen my portfolio before he met me and knew I was a good designer and just went with it. I remember watching Bastiaan pitch to a client in this super-funky lime green shirt and wondering if I'd ever be so brave or hip. (The answer is no if you're wondering as well.)

In addition to learning a million things about working in an advertising agency, I also got an education on style. Bastiaan and Petsas were fabulous mentors — on every cool thing. Where to vacation. Where to shop. Where to live. What to read. What to see. What to eat. I paid attention, soaked it all up — and still consider my short time in Athens as super-formative for my design sense — though I recognize I could never approach their cool-factor.

Bastiaan and Petsas were also wonderful friends to both Ben and me. They could see we knew hardly a soul in Athens and really took us under their wing. Helping me track down the one and only carrot cake in all of Greece for Ben's birthday. Taking us to vacation at Petsas' beach house. Driving me home from work when I was too pregnant-tired to take public transportation.

Eventually Ben and I came back to the states to have our baby. Petsas relocated to New York soon after that. (In fact, when we moved to New York a few years later, he was THE go-to guide for us. He walked us around the city. Made sure we didn't take a crappy apartment in a bad neighborhood. And helped in every way he could.) Bastiaan stayed in Greece for a year or so and then headed back to his native Netherlands.

With the craziness that came into our life with baby number 4 and 5, I lost track of Petsas and Bastiaan for awhile, but happily Petsas just made contact in November and I was delighted to see his email waiting there in my inbox.

But he had sad news. Bastiaan had passed away — a year earlier — a heart attack that had been mis-treated and turned into complete brain damage. And I had no idea it had happened. And then Thanksgiving and Christmas came and went, and I've still barely had two minutes to absorb the fact that Bastiaan is gone. Until I started flipping through my new magazine. And sat. And thought of Bastiaan. And had a good cry.

I originally intended this post to be just a head's up about Wallpaper*, but I think the magazine and my memories of Bastiaan are all wrapped up together in my brain. And since I wasn't able to attend his funeral, I guess I'm using this as a way to leave a little dedication out there for Mr. Rijkers. And recognize that the world is short changed to lose him so early. His girlfriend Sara, the mother of his 2-year-old son, and he were making wedding plans. . .

Ben said when he went to look for the subscription he didn't remember what the name was, but just knew there was this really cool magazine I had loved in Greece, he felt confident he would recognize it when he saw it. Hooray for Ben! Flipping through it the other day was so delightful. It really is a fantastic publication. I love every article, every recommendation. Even the ads are inspiring. You feel about 10 degrees more hip just holding it in your hands. I had flashbacks to my time working with Petsas and Bastiaan the whole time I read.

If you're unfamiliar, you can get a better idea of the contents by flipping through this slide show of 100 different Wallpaper* covers. Or you can see the cover thumbnails here.

I hope Bastiaan would like that I have a subscription.