Joeri's favorites

Joeri is one of the three owners of MENDO. Below a selection of his favorite books.

Gotham City
This book is definitely my favorite of the moment. I love the photography and the mystic mood of the city the way it has been portrayed by Luca Campigotti. The lights, the atmosphere and the fact that the city appears to be abandoned, I like it. Sold book!

Babeth
This is a question we hear a lot: “What’s your favorite book?” The first book I think of is Babeth. It’s the book on my coffee table, plus it has a history. When we first ordered it we weren’t expecting too much, but when it arrived we were actually quite impressed. This Babeth, aka Elisabeth Dijan - French fashion editor, has worked together with the best brands and the best photographers in the world. This has resulted in a personal portfolio that is simply stunning and a book that surprises me time and time again.

Bill Gold
PosterWorks
Bill Gold is the living legend. Like Clint Eastwood said: “The first image you have of many of your favorite films is probably a Bill Gold creation.” This book is very special, not only because it is one of the few limit editions on graphic design, but also because it features so many of the unseen works and sketches he has made for numerous classic blockbuster movies. To me, they are just pieces of art. And that’s what I love about this limited edition - it comes with six poster prints, and I actually have those hanging on my wall.

Büro Destruct III
Ask my colleagues they will state I’m still the intern, so they will be surprised to learn I’ve matured enough to speak about ‘fond memories’. Büro Destruct is one of those memories. It is the design agency that rocked back in the days when I was at the Willem de Kooning academy. Meanwhile things have changed and graphic design has evolved so much, Büro Destruct is no longer that one of a kind mind-blowing agency at the top, but still I anxiously await every one of their new publications. And I guess that will never change.

Sublime
New Design And Architecture From Japan
As opposed to my obvious titles, like Babeth, there are the ones that not automatically come to mind, but definitely belong to my favorites. Sublime is one of those. I mean, Sublime is the purest form of eye candy, full of architecture and design from Japan. The book makes me happy and makes me want to go to Japan.

David Lachapelle
Artists & Prostitutes
Back in 2006 when I bought David Lachapelle’s limited edition in pre-order for € 1,250.00 it was the most excessive purchase in my life. I bought it because I loved the book, plus I had a hunch that it could be a good investment. Turns out, it is a fantastic investment - but a lousy one at the same time. Today the book is worth over € 4,000.00 but... I don’t want to sell it anymore. Then again, I don’t want to open the box either because it will lose much of its value. So here I am, looking at a cardboard box that is worth 4K.