Thank God It's Friday
Anke de Jong
The podcast of Anke de Jong is called Zogenaamd Succesvol, but she should probably change that name to Behoorlijk Succesvol. Because everything Anke looks at grows. After running and rocking magazine ELLE, it's now time for the brand Anke de Jong and all extensions like Broodje Gerard, the podcast of course, and her podcast empire that has emerged from it, and as a final achievement: her own line of blazers: Blaze by A.
Dear Ank, if you could give your life a score at this moment, what would it be and why?
Funny, we talked about this in the podcast recently. I gave my life an 8 to 8.5. Not a 10 because there is room for things like love, but also financial stability. An episode later I reconsidered. In the week after the recordings, I thought a lot about it and suddenly found it so silly that I still think I need those things to really make it a 10. So I'm going to say it here too: my life gets a 10 at this moment. And everything that will come next makes it a 10+, but it's already great now.
You can picture yourself in a power blazer. It gives you strength, you've said before, and it fits your je ne sais quoi aura. You are pure, not too much fuss, and above all nice and quick and efficient. Did I summarize that well? And does the blazer fit you like a glove because of that?
Haha yes, I really love blazers. It's an item that makes me feel stronger immediately. Whether it's over a tracksuit or on a red carpet, you can go in any direction with it and it always provides an upgrade. So it was very logical that my first collection ever had to be a blazer collection.
How did this collaboration come about?
I followed Blaze Amsterdam because I found the jackets very beautiful and timeless, but also because they are all made from vintage blazers. This makes each jacket unique. There is so much fabric in this world, enough for generations; we need to come up with ways to reuse old fabrics and make that more popular. Lucca (the owner of Blaze) sent me a DM at the beginning of this year asking if I wanted to have coffee and if I had ever thought about a collection of my own. I was immediately mega enthusiastic. I made a mood board with the most beautiful jackets I had ever seen. From there we started sketching. Eventually, we came up with five styles, and each style is named after one of my friends. Because I think that just like a good blazer, friendship never goes out of style.
Okay, back to this column. It's Friday afternoon at five o'clock. I assume you're somewhere at Broodje Gerard having a white wine. Is that correct?
Haha, Broodje Gerard closes at 4 PM and unfortunately we don't serve alcohol. I just came from the tennis court at 5 PM and I'm racing to Arie for drinks with Pim Spoor and Guusje Verhoef, my dear ex-ELLE colleagues. After that, I'm going to have dinner at 7:30 PM at Izakaya with my new friend Danique Bossers. I really recharge from her energy.
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What does your ideal Friday look like?
Coffee at Broodje Gerard, podcast recordings, tennis lessons, and then enjoying some wine.
And does your dream Friday come close to reality?
I'm having a lovely Friday, but I do miss our recordings for Zogenaamd Succesvol. Julia is on vacation for a few weeks, so we've worked ahead and thus have no recordings on Friday.
Describe Anke's Saturday in detail.
Ending a walk, coffee at Broodje Gerard, or organizing a fun activation at Broodje Gerard (for example, Jan Smit just had a bakery rave there), being with family or friends. It's also lovely to go to Friesland and I enjoy attending a sports match. If I can, I also like to read or do a puzzle.
What music do you listen to on the weekend? What do you think will be at the top of your Spotify Wrap this year?
My taste in music is quite broad, but I really love old 90’s, dance, and piano music. Nothing Like the Rain by 2 Unlimited is on repeat for me now, Stronger by the Sugababes, one of my favorite songs remains Never Tear Us Apart by INXS, but Liberation by Harold van Lennep is also one of my favorites. Quite a delulu taste as I write it down.
Does Sunday look different from Saturday? If so, how is that day filled this weekend?
On Sundays, I always work on Zogenaamd Succesvol. We edit the episode for the coming week, select snippets, and think about what would be fun for social media that week. And if I can, a nice massage.
