I thought I try explain where in Düsseldorf we live. Düsseldorf is the second largest city in the  federal state North Rhein-Westphalia after Cologne ( Köln) And Sevenths largest city in Germany.  With around 600 000 inhabitants. The city lies mainly on the east side of river Rhine. (Rhine begins in the southeast Swiss Alps and flows through the German Rhineland and ends out in the North sea from Nederlands.) Düsseldorf is close to Duisburg, Dortmund, Essen, Wuppertal, Cologne and also Venlo in Nederlands.  The city is divided in to 10 districts and we live in district 5 which is up north close to the 8 on the map below.  We live in Wittlaer a very cute and pretty fancy suburban area which is more like a village that have most things. It has shops, banks, pharmacy, a few restaurants, school, kinder-garten etc but also very much a feeling of that you are in the country-side. I often walk down to the river bank of Rhine and a lot of beautiful walking and bikin...

This is Mila 6 year old illustration I made for her birthday invitations this year or actually last year as she is born in December. We left for Christmas break in Sweden early December and mid November I realized that we should organize a birthday party here with her new friends in Germany. She has managed well in only four month that we have been living in Düsseldorf to find good friends to play with and feel more and more comfortable with. Other half Swedish kids living here that I have found from a Swedes in Düsseldorf page on Facebook and also a friends from Kita.  Also I have realized with all my movings that pretty soon you belong in the new environment more in away then the place and the environment you just left. Close friends will always or hopefully be there but the everyday social circle is in the new place and no longer in the old place.  She really wanted her party in one of those big indoor playgrounds. I know they are a lot of fun but no not this ...

I always have one or two sketchbooks ongoing that I am drawing and writing in. Sometimes one in one format and one in an other format. But I can't have more then two books as I want to have a chronological order in my sketchbooks. These sketchbooks I am mainly using to draw memories from my life and Team Nikolovski´s adventures like I have always done and what this blog is based on. I also like the process of creating the illustrations and then write a short text here on the blog explaining the picture. Lately (a couple of years maybe more) I have not managed to update here that much. Why? Well that is a good question. 1. First of all I would say Instagram as it is a forum which is quicker to publish - but there I am only writing a shorter text to the pictures as my idea has always been to keep the stories here but then not got around to write more here as it feels like I have already used the picture...  2. An other thing is that I have been writing more and more in Swe...

Happy new year 2019 ! Always exciting to welcome a new year and look forward to all what the new year has to offer, bring and what to make of the new year. Team Nikolovski are very happy to leave colds and ear-infections behind and to look forward and wish for health and happiness in the new year. We have just got back to Düsseldorf from a long christmas break in Sweden. This illustration is the family portrait I made for our christmas cards which I actually managed to send to some of our friends and family around the globe.