Hi, we are Jazmarae & Kirsten
Our fernweh story began with Chapter Fernweh — our passion project where we explore, capture, and share the beauty of Europe’s capital cities (and beyond). What started as a creative outlet turned into something much bigger.
studio fernweh grew from that same love for storytelling. Here, we combine our skills in design, photography, videography, and social media to help small businesses bring their stories to life and build a meaningful online presence.
We’ve worked with over a 100 cafés, hotels, tourism boards, airlines, musicians, filmmakers, theatre creatives, and artists — but we’re always open to new and unexpected collaborations.
Kirsten | I’ve always been drawn to stories — in books, film and theatre. That passion for creativity and storytelling led me to study Media & Entertainment Management, where I explored everything from film art and artist management to film & TV production. I also completed a marketing internship at the Isala Theater, which gave me hands-on experience in the cultural world.
In 2012, I founded SERIEVISIE, an online magazine dedicated to television series. I later interned at the Amsterdam Film Week, where I researched how to improve the Amsterdam Series Weekend through side programming. That role opened the door to other festivals — including the Netherlands Film Festival, where I helped programme the television section and co-organised events like The Ultimate Binge and The Great TV Pub Quiz.
After graduating, I continued learning through online courses in Scandinavian film & television, modern art and ideas, InDesign, and languages like Swedish and Croatian. The first three especially helped me grow creatively and inspired me to think in new ways.
In 2015, I started the Instagram account @htspt_rotterdam. Rotterdam was my home, and the rise of new hotspots in the city felt like an opportunity I couldn’t ignore. What started as a hobby quickly turned into a successful business (HTSPT) with multiple physical city guides.
After years of freelance work (for clients like Annick Boer, Giraffe Coffee, and Xena Maria Evers) and building two successful businesses, I now bring all that experience together for studio fernweh — a place where creativity, storytelling, and design come together.
Jazmarae | After graduating from Central Washington University with a BA in Education and minors in Science and Music, I originally pursued a career in teaching.
But my passion for music led me somewhere unexpected — I was selected to tour with the National Park Centennial Band, celebrating 100 years of U.S. National Parks. That experience sparked a desire to dive deeper into the music industry and eventually brought me to New Orleans, where I built a career as a performing musician.
Along the way, I started helping fellow musicians with photography and media, which led to managing social media accounts and photographing concerts and festivals — including the iconic New Orleans Jazz Fest and French Quarter Fest.
Then life took a turn: I fell in love with a Dutchman. After years of long distance, I decided to close the gap and move to the Netherlands. While music had been the heart of my career, the COVID pandemic pushed me to explore a new direction. I combined my background in education, touring, and creative media to start something fresh.
Now, I work alongside Kirsten — and the rest, as they say, is history.
Kirsten | I’ve always been drawn to stories — in books, film and theatre. That passion for creativity and storytelling led me to study Media & Entertainment Management, where I explored everything from film art and artist management to film & TV production. I also completed a marketing internship at the Isala Theater, which gave me hands-on experience in the cultural world.
In 2012, I founded SERIEVISIE, an online magazine dedicated to television series. I later interned at the Amsterdam Film Week, where I researched how to improve the Amsterdam Series Weekend through side programming. That role opened the door to other festivals — including the Netherlands Film Festival, where I helped programme the television section and co-organised events like The Ultimate Binge and The Great TV Pub Quiz.
After graduating, I continued learning through online courses in Scandinavian film & television, modern art and ideas, InDesign, and languages like Swedish and Croatian. The first three especially helped me grow creatively and inspired me to think in new ways.
In 2015, I started the Instagram account @htspt_rotterdam. Rotterdam was my home, and the rise of new hotspots in the city felt like an opportunity I couldn’t ignore. What started as a hobby quickly turned into a successful business (HTSPT) with multiple physical city guides.
After years of freelance work (for clients like Annick Boer, Giraffe Coffee, and Xena Maria Evers) and building two successful businesses, I now bring all that experience together for studio fernweh — a place where creativity, storytelling, and design come together.
Jazmarae | After graduating from Central Washington University with a BA in Education and minors in Science and Music, I originally pursued a career in teaching.
But my passion for music led me somewhere unexpected — I was selected to tour with the National Park Centennial Band, celebrating 100 years of U.S. National Parks. That experience sparked a desire to dive deeper into the music industry and eventually brought me to New Orleans, where I built a career as a performing musician.
Along the way, I started helping fellow musicians with photography and media, which led to managing social media accounts and photographing concerts and festivals — including the iconic New Orleans Jazz Fest and French Quarter Fest.
Then life took a turn: I fell in love with a Dutchman. After years of long distance, I decided to close the gap and move to the Netherlands. While music had been the heart of my career, the COVID pandemic pushed me to explore a new direction. I combined my background in education, touring, and creative media to start something fresh.
Now, I work alongside Kirsten — and the rest, as they say, is history.