Who are we?

 

Dusan Swalens

Born in Zlin, Czechoslovakia *1974

Graduated from a film college with a specialization in photography and camera. Worked in regional television and also as a cameraman for Czech Television (national public television). For several years he was the official photographer of the International Film Festival for Children and Youth in Zlin. He was a photographer and editor of the quarterly magazine Zpravodaj published by the Czech Compatriot Association "Beseda" in the Kingdom of Belgium. He organized creative photography courses. He published photographic books and large-format calendars in several languages in his own publishing house, copies of which are also kept in the Royal Library in Brussels, Belgium. These include the macro photography books ELEMENTS, BIO and PUPPETS. The last mentioned was created together with the museum director Mr. Dimitri Jageneau in the unique world collection of the Royal Puppet Museum Peruchet in Brussels. The artistic details of the flora, in addition to the nature of several continents, were created in collaboration with the world's botanical gardens. He has had dozens of international exhibitions, including Belgium, and has been represented by the prestigious Agora Gallery in New York, exhibiting there in Manhattan and giving a lecture and screening on his work.

It should be mentioned that living in Belgium, in addition to his position as an international cinematographer, gave him a taste of working as a wood craftsman in interiors. He also worked as a souvenir seller, was the manager of several shops in the centre of Brussels and eventually became the owner of chocolate shops and shops selling handmade souvenirs and clothing in picturesque Bruges. There, he and his wife Katherine Swalens Hejd founded and ran an art gallery. Local and national newspapers, such as Het Laatste Nieuws (https://www.hln.be/brugge/ondernemer-tovert-souvenirwinkel-om-tot-galerij-ik-wilde-niet-wachten-op-een-faillissement~a92264bf/), covered this important venture in the challenging year 2020.

The impact of the coronal crisis forced him to gradually close all brick-and-mortar branches and also to close the tearoom, café and cultural centre abroad. From their home, they broadcast interactive art workshops for children and parents focusing on the traditions of the seasons around the world. They also promoted healthy eating and exercise, history and important personalities. The broadcasts were enriched by interviews with associations from different continents of the world.

Despite creating financial literacy programmes, Dusan even became, among other things, Regional Director for BeNeLux and France at Ibis in Gold, the European market leader in investment gold savings for citizens, companies and cities. He is a promoter of smart diversification ensuring abundance.

Lifelong hobbies include growing cacti, succulents and exotic plants. With his vegetarian approach to healthy living, from yoga to eating organically grown food, he encourages reflection on human relationships and man's attitude towards nature and the universe. In doing so, it raises awareness of peacebuilding and inspires solutions to global problems.

Katerina Swalens Hejdova

Born in Zábřeh na Moravě, Czechoslovakia *1989

To the sound of jingling keys during the Velvet Revolution (the end of communism and the beginning of capitalism again in Czechoslovakia) in 1989, a future versatile artist was born. The creative genes from her father and grandfather showed in her bones. So the obvious choice was the Ceramics School in Bechyně, followed by the Faculty of Multimedia Communications - Classical Animation at the Tomas Bata University in Zlín, both schools in the Czech Republic. She co-founded a regional TV station in Mělník and worked briefly as an editor and presenter at TV Nova (the most watched national TV station).

Among her craft and artistic achievements we would certainly include several unique large nativity scenes for towns and villages near the national mountain Říp in the Czech Republic. Especially the Podříp crib, where she and her colleagues built extensive craft workshops. Worth mentioning is certainly the blueprint, which is listed as an intangible heritage under UNESCO.

Kateřina also enjoys creating props and set design for film, cultural and commercial purposes. She has been honoured with the realization of the exhibition of the period Hláska in the museum of the town of Roudnice nad Labem or the scenography of cultural events at the water castle for the municipality of Budyně nad Ohří. He has his own portable art workshop for schools and associations.

She has lived in the Kingdom of Belgium since 2020, where she worked as an interior designer for Chocolate Bruges. She and her husband Dusan Swalens founded Gallery 26, where they organized exhibitions and fashion shows of her original work.

She loves folklore and nature themes, which is often reflected in her sculptures, paintings and body painting. She is extremely active, and her skill is also evident in styling, makeup artistry, hair design, modeling, restoring and reupholstering antique furniture. She imaginatively creates and designs interiors and exteriors.

Together with Dusan, they have set up an audiovisual studio and in Halle, Belgium, for example, they are documenting the creation of a major Hallelujah project at a local basilica with a touch of history thousands of years old. It was at St. Martin's Basilica that the statue of the Black Madonna and Child Jesus inspired her to do a photo-art project with local women and children. The wider public knows her from her volunteer art work with the Don Bosco School.

In 2024, she founded the Katka Therapeutic Salon-Atelier, where in addition to creating artworks, she helps people to be fit through therapeutic services - non-invasive, relaxing treatments such as lymphatic massage, biodynamic cosmetics and paraffin wraps. People can relieve musculoskeletal pain, headaches, excess pounds, cellulite and relax at the same time (www.Katka.be)

WHAT WE CAN DO

We realise that it may seem like a lot to some, but we lead such a varied life because we are creatives at heart. Within our company Sweet Life bv Belgium we run:

- Photography - all genres

- Filmmaking + post-production (editing, sound, effects...)

- Set design and props for cultural, museum, film and commercial purposes

- Paintings and sculptures for interiors and exteriors

- Face painting, bodypainting

- Design of formal dresses (+ hand painting), theatre costumes

- Make-up artist (daytime, formal, film, theatre)

- Hair design

- Fashion shows

- Organizing exhibitions

- Art and photography work-shops

- Graphic work

- Publishing of books, calendars

- Interior and garden design

- Lecturing and educational activities in the field of financial literacy

- Customized chocolates for VIP clients - chocolate business cards, private-label packages

- Therapeutic services (non-invasive, relaxation treatments)