333 2 ashanti richardson

Ashanti Richardson                                                      

Amsterdam    This  is  the  grand  city,  the  city  of  dreams.  Yet  it  doesn’t  feel  bigger  than  my  own  back  yard.  That’s  probably  because  it  isn’t  that  much  bigger  than  my  figurative  back  yard  (no  one  actually  has  a  yard  here).    We  live  in  a  small  town  atmosphere  with  a  big  city  image.  It’s  funny  to  see  people’s  reaction  to  the  words  “I’m  from  Amsterdam”.  A  little  gasp,  big  eyes,  and  a  quick  smoking  gesture  with  a  smile.  “You  smoke  weed  huh?”  I  guess  I  do.  But  the  city  is  so  much  more  than  weed  and  whores.  Many  tourists  probably  just  don’t  remember  it  because  they  get  so  high  that  they  don’t  remember  most  of  their  stay  here.        For  me  Amsterdam  is  a  friend  on  every  corner,  some  real,  many  fake.  It’s  passing  the  canal  I  once  jumped  in  to  get  my  girlfriend  to  stop  crying,  luckily  with  success.    It’s  that  one  whore  that  always  used  to  wave  at  me  on  the  way  to  my  dancing  school  when  I  was  ten.  Completely  innocent,  both  of  us  in  our  own  ways.  It’s  the  wrinkled  old  men  drinking  Jenever  and  beer  in  their  local  pubs.  Laughing  way  too  loud  and  flirting  with  their  waitresses,  who  truly  don’t  seem  to  mind.  It’s  an  unending  collection  of  stories  worth  hearing  and  those  yet  to  be  lived.  It’s  home.                                  

Bells  Of  Youth    The  Bells  of  youth  is  a  band  of  four  charismatic  girls  you  should  keep  an  eye  on.  Already  nominated  as  ‘one  of  the  bands  to  watch’  in  2014,  this  Amsterdam  based  girl  band  is  now  performing  worldwide.  From  Paaspop  to  Sziget  they  are  blowing  their  audiences  away  with  their  indie  pop  vibe  and  rocky  edges.    Creating  their  music  from  scratch  and  making  their  own  rules  along  the  way,  every  one  of  them  is  a  true  rebel  at  heart.  The  world  is  theirs  for  the  taking.                    

Cristal  Ball    Cristal  Sjimons  is  another  one  of  our  local  talents.  With  her  handmade  jewelry  line  Cristal  Ball  she  sets  the  bar  high  with  her  enchanting  unique  pieces.  Her  work  gives  you  the  nostalgic  feeling  of  being  pulled  into  a  fairytale.  Using  the  finest  crystal  as  well  as  animal  bones  her  pieces  are  breathtaking  while  at  the  same  time  being  slightly  disturbing.  Check  out  her  new  line  on  www.cristalball.com.                  

Nana  Prins    

Nana  Prins  is  our  local  little  princess.  But  don’t  let  her  pretty  looks  fool  you.    She  is  the  founder  of  Mrs  Mokum  which  she  singlehandedly  put  on  the  map  within  a  few  months  time.  MrsMokum.com  gives  you  a  constantly  renewed  overview  of  what  is  going  on  in  this  beautiful  city.  From  the  best  coffee  shops  or  art  exhibitions  to  the  hottest  guys,  if  you’re  looking  for  it  MrsMokum  is  the  place  to  be.                        

The  ranting  of  a  teenager  (2009)    Just another sleepless night. Wondering about, about everything. Remembering that losing my childhoods best friend, together with the illusion my mother would surely live to see eighty and that I had found the love of my life, just to lose him (all within one month) had felt like having my heart ripped out of my chest, stabbed with a dozen knives and then tried to be stuffed back in to my steadily bleeding wound, without success and therefor being thrown into the modern-day gutter of lost innocence, hopes and dreams.

I thought I would die then. But I didn’t. Instead I learnt that change is the only thing constant. This I learnt at the cost of truly being able to bond with anything that supposedly ‘is’ now and anything that might be in the future. (What actually ‘ís’ if not one human mind can truly conceive ‘the truth’ for your truth can never be that of another, so what is ‘the truth’ other than something we can’t conceive, yet sometimes try to, in vain). Leaving me with dreams I refuse to let go of, yet without being able to allow myself to truly hope for anything, with the realistic knowledge that everything or anything could be gone tomorrow, together with my hopes that with newfound knowledge may be replaced by others. Yet having my childhoods worst nightmare come true has left me with the self-knowledge that I will overcome either way. That losing what is most important to me now, in the future will present itself not to be as devastating as I had expected it to be, apart from the emotional importance I allow it to have.

Just another sleepless night. Wondering, not about things events or even emotions. But wondering why I should wonder about them if in the end they will all prove themselves unimportant in the great scheme of things. Wondering what actually ís important, if anything really is.