The creative industry: Yeesh. On one hand, working in it can result in the most un-careery of all careers; an endlessly fulfilling extension of what you love into what you do. On the flipside, that same industry can be the ultimate soul-smoosher; a creativity killing monster leaving utter suckness in its wake.

If you’ve worked in it, chances are you’ve experienced both sides of it. The ideal client, the idol client, the client that shouldn’t even be a client because they should be out of business; they’re everywhere, and we’ve each developed our own way to deal with them. But when times get rough, we need reminding of why we’re in it in the first place– and when we need reminding, we need Joshua Gajownik.

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Sometimes video games get too complicated. We all need to take a break and remember those simple days of NES or Gameboy. Veals and Geeks is the Mecca in Brussels for the return to retro. They house vintage media, from records to magazines and video games. While they definitely have some games you might be familiar with, this world of vintage video games is old school — like Russian handheld bear hunting games from before we were born. I sat dumbfounded as the store clerk ran through game after game thinking “who knew Russia made video games in the 80s?” The shop also features a rotating local artist gallery. I saw a series of pantings featuring Rambo fighting Greek gods that fit in perfectly with an old school video game shop. No online sales, this is a in Brussels only luxury.

One of the great things about traveling is getting to see some of the local design products. The instant I saw Remake Design’s wall light fixtures I knew I was looking at a gem. The light blocks break apart and plug into each other via magnetic plugs to create any block design you can dream up. Think building blocks but with lights and magnets. The light magnets are designed for optimal power distribution, and in most cases only one plug adapter is required for the entire structure. The lights come in various colors and look stunning. Check out the Remake Design website for some more examples of how to put these blocks together (including one by the del.icio.us guys?). The lights can be a little difficult to get your hands on. There is an online store, but we prefer them in the wonderful home design boutique in Brussels, Toit.

Belgium is known for its chocolate, waffles and beer, but there is only so much that your stomach can take. I had a fantastic meal at the Belga Queen. A renovated bank hosts an expansive restaurant featuring some of the best beers in Belgium, as well as amazing food. Head chef Antoine Pinto has won countless awards for his food and interior design, which is a double whammy for us. Have a look over their menu and drool, then book airplane tickets and go. As for their ‘mysterious’ staircase, we’ll leave that a mystery that you’ll have to experience on your own.

Their fashion is your rubbish. Using seat belts, tires, prison blankets, parachutes and fireman’s uniforms the design team Worn Again creates bags and shoes. Relying soly on recylced and resued goods, they are a kick in the butt for sustainable lifestyles. Virgin Atlantic has just teamed up with the eco line providing their old seats as material. Worn Again has created a special ‘Virgin‘ line of bags. The products are available in the U.K. at select stores and their online store.

The White Hotel in Brussels is a truely designer hotel. Belgium designers were each given a room to create, resulting 50+ rooms with a custom look that doesn’t cut any design corners. Obviously, things that are well appointed tend to be priced quite high, but the White Hotel has worked hard to keep theirs down. Rooms start from â‚ 85 and â‚ 185. But to keep the prices low they’ve had to make some compromises — instead of six fancy shampoos in every room, they put out a noteworthy breakfast. Instead of Pay-per-view TV, free WiFi. Take your pick — we prefer breakfast/WiFi to shampoo/T.V. Their focus is on the design, giving you what you need for a comfortable stay, and leaving the rest out.

What is a Thingamagoo? It is a little metal creature that’s more than just a toy, it is a beeping, zapping, bixxerfouping, anthropomorphic synthesizer monster. Turn the knobs and push the buttons to make crazy nonsense sounds. It has an audio out and a mini built-in-speaker to robot out. Plus you can customize it, and how fun is that? This is exactly what we all need on a Friday afternoon. Beep Labs will be at the Austin Maker Faire this weekend and is part of a group show at Gallery Lambardi taking place now. If anyone is in Austin and gets to play with one, let us know what you thought.