About the author
Every now and then I spot them: hand in hand, laughing about an inside joke, looking like an American Apparel commercial. Although I’m a happy single, I do sometimes envy these good-looking couples who are often artistic and interesting individuals that found each other in this crazy little swamp we call Amsterdam. Why is it that so many successful people also have a successful relationship? Does coolness bring people together, or, do cool people attract each other? I will try to find an answer to my quest by doing several interviews with some ridiculously cool couples.
It’s a hard knock life for single women in Amsterdam. Especially if you are highly educated, in your mid-twenties, and slightly picky. At most social gatherings I’m surrounded by women, most of them well-dressed and not at all hideous. While I see them looking around with desperation glancing in their eyes, realizing that there is only one guy at this party that might be OK, they go on their (fruitless) hunt. Often concluding that: 1) The guy is just single for a really, really good reason making him impossible dating material, or, the big one, 2) He is in a relationship.
STERRE & MATTHEW
Meet Sterre (27) and Matthew (25). They live together in hipster-village De Pijp, in a 35m2 apartment together with a really fat cat. Matthew is a ballet dancer for the National Ballet, Sterre is a writer. They met 3 years ago at an afterparty of Amsterdam Fashion Week. Both a little lost in our crazy capital, they found each other, fell in love, and started an interdisciplinary artist collective Furthur Labelz. Read and swoon over their 21st century love story..Every now and then I spot them: hand in hand, laughing about their inside jokes, looking like they just walked out of an American Apparel commercial.
So what happened after you met?
Sterre: “Matthew left the ballet, I quit my job and we both gave up our apartments. For a year we travelled around the world like gypsies. We decided we wanted to work together creatively. We had all these ideas for projects and we were really excited about the fact that we work in different disciplines and see things from a different angle.”
Matthew: “When we got back in Amsterdam, I rejoined the ballet and Sterre finished her masters and started a writers collective (De Jagers). We both really like the idea of mixing poetry and academic theories together with dance and modern pop-based music. Right now we are very busy with a project for Nuit Blanche.
Is it necessary to have a partner that has common interests and ambitions? For example; do you think you could have a relationship with someone that works at Albert Heijn?
Matthew: “I wish I could! But it’s more about little things I guess, we both have this dream of having a Volkswagen that runs on vegetable oil. We love the idea of renting out our apartment and living of what you can live off, you know? You look into the same direction and you have the same future point ahead of you. I guess for me, ambition is really important. Even if she worked at Albert Heijn, but she would have the same ambitions, I would still love her!”
You look so disgustingly happy, what about your future plans?
Sterre: “Matthew wants to have some goats and I want to have bees. A few chickens maybe. We could have goat cheese with honey, it would be perfect. But that’s a really more of a long-term plan. For the moment, we are really involved here. Matthew is working for the ballet, I just started writing a new novel. We want to see that through. Maybe in a few years, we’ll drive off in our vegetable-oiled Volkswagen to our self-sustainable goats and bees farm!”
Photos courtesy of Faye Lui
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