Official Opening of "Lambiek" Galerie, Stripwinkel & Stripantiquariaat

This evening (Friday 28 Jan 2005) was the opening of Lambiek at its new location at Kerkstraat, Amsterdam. I've been going to this place since I first came to Holland and lived in Eindhoven (I dropped by Lambiek everytime I came to Amsterdam, that is). That would be 1998. When I moved to Amsterdam (in 2000), of course I visited this place more frequently, at their original location, their very first store and gallery. I got acquinted with the people over there, who are always so helpful and resourceful - concerning comics and all that are relevant to it, of course. You'll see rightaway that they're the kind of people who knows what they're talking about.

My relationship with this place was most intense in the year 2002, when I and some Indonesian comic-artist friends were preparing "Madjoe!" - an Indonesian comics exhibition in The Netherlands - as a part of the Stripdagen Haarlem. Lambiek played a big role here, since we found our contacts, who made everything possible, through Lambiek website. Morerover, Lambiek has a collection of old Indonesian comics that are very rare and priceless; we've got the honor to be trusted and had the permission to borrow them for the exhibition.
Around the same year, Lambiek has also developed their website with a vast Comiclopedia: a list of comic artists from all around the world. I am truly amazed by their generousity in spreading information and knowledge concerning the comicstrip world.

Due to the damaging condition of the old building, they had to move for a while to a smaller space, still in the same street. But it didn't take long until they moved to this new, wider space, still in the same street! Coincidence or not, it must have taken a lot of efforts, hard works and an elaborate process to come to this point. Not only the point of accomplishing such a fortunate accommodation, but also to be able to survive for tens of years, to be trusted by customers - who usually turn to be regular 'droppers-by'.

Somehow I think that going to Lambiek has become an addiction for me: I feel secure to know that whenever I yearn for more, it's always be there, as reliable as ever.


Here's Lambiek website: http://www.lambiek.net
Here's a website about Madjoe! (it functions as an archive): http://komik.scriptmania.com/