House of Thol News - What's going on - HOUSE OF THOL

The latest newsletter - This Sucks.

24/3/2020

About the suckery of it all

We just sent out our latest newsletter.
Just in English this time, because we only have a limited amount of time to focus on things, with two boys running around the house.
(any typo's? also blaming the concentration-challenges ;-))

But we'll stay in business! Read all about it in the newsletter.

Read the newsletter here

Taking a moment to say: this sucks

21/3/2020

F this Sh*t

Although in the Netherlands we might think we're in the middle of the Corona Crisis right now, we're actually at the very beginning of this.

Since the end of January i've been following the news ever more frantically. Watching dark clouds gathering and slowly moving towards us.

The past weeks i've personally been sharing stories, warnings from places the clouds have already reached.
I've shared well-conducted research from experts patiently -yet ever more desperately- explaining the situation and stressing we should follow the strict guidelines they laid out.
I've been in discussions about this being more than just a flue with more people than i cared for.

Coping mechanisms

We seem to have almost reached consensus about the gravity of this virus in the Netherlands, although the jury on the way we sould respond is still out.

Faced with this evident crisis, i noticed my coping mechanism is to devoure even more information, trying to make sense of it all. And -judging by my FB timeline- i'm not alone in this.
Other people cope by finding a reason, someone or something to blame. (please stop doing that: this is nobody's fault and nobody's masterplan - people are dying. Don't be a dick)

Getting through this

We will get through this. There will be an 'After'.
And who knows, with all the lessons we're forced to learn, it might be a better After than the Before we're leaving behind.
But we're not there yet. Not by far.

So while i'm trying to find a new normality for the family, i need to take a moment to acknowledge:

This sucks, people!

Things that Suck.

It sucks that people are getting sick and dying.
It sucks that those Heroes in the hospitals have to work so damn hard every single day, dealing with inhumane situations, forced to face choices nobody wants to ever face.
it sucks that society is coming to a near stand-still.
It sucks that businesses are toppling over.
It sucks that kids can't go to school and see their friends.
Not being able to get work done with children in the house, Sucks.

It sucks that some people have to go to work, even though they have a high chance of being infected.
It sucks that i can't visit my 70+ parents and give them a good long hug.
It sucks to have to explain to the nearly-5-year old that we can't have a Birthday party with friends and family.
It sucks that we're defenseless.
It sucks that healthcare will be stretched to beyond its limits
It sucks that people are getting sick and dying.

The lucky ones

There are so many reasons why we're the lucky ones.
Although our healthcare system isn't nearly as good as it is in France or Italy (it really isn't), it's still in considerably better shape than for example Iran's.
Supermarkets have enough food (and toiletpaper) to last us for a while.
Teachers all over the country have managed to create homeschooling materials within a week.
We can call or Facetime our loved ones as much as we like.
The Dutch government is trying to provide information and does what it can to help people in need.

But i didn't write this post to put things in perspective.
I wrote this to acknowledge that THIS SITUATION SUCKS.

The sooner we allow ourselves to live through that emotion of suckery. the sooner we can get our heads clear for the next round and get to it.

So feel free to, just for a moment, let yourself wallow.
It's ok to be sad about this.
It's ok to have a slightly queasy feeling in your stomach.
It's alright to be annoyed by your life being turned upside down.
This Sucks! Covid-19 Sucks!

That said...

We'll adapt. We'll learn to make this new reality work.
All the while looking forward to the brighter days that'll come.

Practically: of course we'll continue working, the much-needed child-proof office space is almost ready and our workshop is on site.

Our House of Thol webshop is open for business and we're very happy with your order!

I wrote this, because in this crazy situation we can't just act like it's business as usual.
Future posts will be all about House of Thol business again.

- Stay safe everyone!

Jana

Super proud of this lovely film by ABN AMRO

16/3/2020

The Gamechangers on film

Last year we were part of the ABN AMRO Gamechanger experience.
With the help of ABN AMRO we developed the Poma/Olera series, which we got to showcase at the central Ketelhuisplein during the Dutch Design Week.

A few months later ABN AMRO got in touch again to see if we would be willing to be part of a short video about the banks' sponsorship approach.

We had an exciting day of filming back in January (click), and we're super happy to be able to show the first results!

Film & Credits

Film made by Freek Zonderland together with wirtzfilm

This film is also made with passion by:
Composer Mark Pütz
VO Sharon Harman
Sound Design & Mix Freek Philippi
Editor Kees Riphagen
Light, Grip & additional camera Stijn Jonkhart
Sound Sam Huisman
1st AC Jk Dibbets
2nd AC Joost Kelderman

and there's more...

Featured in this film are: Fay van Baar , Kay Lee de Sanders, Ruben Spaargaren, The Veggie Week, Jorrit Croon, Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT), and the Ajax Vrouwen.

Super excited to be in a film together with all these lovely people! (i mean, come on, the Ajax vrouwen!).

But that's not all: the filmmakers are also preparing several portraits each about one of the subjects.
Coming soon!

Watch the film and read the full ABN AMRO sponsoring story here

All about Corona

16/3/2020

#staythefuckhome

At this point in time we're all united in fighting the virus and trying to keep our heads sane in unprecedented circumstances.
⁣
We share the responsibility of helping those heroes working tirelessly at hospital beds by simply laying low for a while.

We can do this!⁣

We will reach the other side of this.⁣
And it'll be sunny when we do.⁣ ⁣

Meanwhile, at the House of Thol headquarters we try to get as much work done as we can, while keeping two boys entertained during the day.⁣

We're blessed with an enormous garden and two boys who love to be outdoors, so hopefully they'll get the hack of playing without calling out for mom and dad every fifteen minutes, soon....⁣ ⁣

Our webshop will be open as usual for as long as the postal sevices will deliver mail (from a safe distance)⁣
So please don't hesitate to place your order, we can use the business!

Keep safe everyone!⁣ ⁣

Lovely & practical: Plus magazine about Helios

2/3/2020

"Beeldig en praktisch"

We're super happy with this sweet mention of our Helios Constellation in this months' Plus magazine.
With a 65+ target audience, feature in this magazine goes to show that we're all united in our love for growing things.

Thank you for featuring our design Plus magazine!

photograph of course by Masha Bakker Photography

<Get the Helios constellation here>

<Check out all publications here>

Covid-19: Salone del Mobile 2020 postponed till June 16-21

1/3/2020

A summer breeze in Milan

Ok, officially it's not summer from June 16th to 21st, but the weather will hopefully be sunny and bright around the summer solstice.

With nothern Italy being one of the first Covid-19 epicentres of Europe, all major events for the coming months have been cancelled or postponed.
As is the Salone Del Mobile, originally planned April 20-26th, it was rescheduled two months later, to June.

Let´s hope the virus will have withered out when the temperatures start to rise and in June we'll have nothing more to worry about in Milan than where to get the best antipasti in town.

Being born and raised in Loon op Zand, where the first official Dutch patient is from, and with a large part of my family living there, Covid-19 is already closer to me personally than i had hoped.

The fast spread of the virus is worrying, but the spread of the fear surrounding it, might be more dangerous still.
We're quite remote at the headquarters so it'll be business as usual here.
We had a small delay with a brass delivery from Hong Kong, but thus far, that's all we noticed.

We're hopefull that come June, we'll indeed be enjoying a Milan summer breeze! Looking forward to seeing you there!

Proud & excited - we made it the MKB Export Award top 3!

28/2/2020

Ready to conquer the world...

As House of Thol we design the things we need: durable products that help us with a sustainable and green daily life.
We're super excited that products so close to our own heart receive such an enthusiastic response from all over the world.

These past years we've expanded our portfolio and purposely created products that are functional, durable, affordable, gift-worthy and ready to ship all over the world.

Slowly but steadily our reputation for easy green design is growing, both within the Netherlands as well as beyond our country's borders.
We're ready to accelerate that growth by purposely setting our sights to our neighbouring country: Germany.

We've had a great German test-run during Passagen Cologne this January. It was the enthusiastic responses of the Cologne crowd that made us decide to participate in the MKB Export Award 2019: an extra push would come at the perfect time!

fingers crossed....

The winner of the MKB export Award will not only receive a year long membership of MKB Nederland and a RVO business scan, but also a €15.000,- export cheque by TNT Netherlands and a language course at the 'nuns of Vught': language institute Regina Coeli.

From the 125 submissions we made it to the last 9, and after a visit at the House of Thol headquarters of a small committee, we are now part of the top 3!

The winner of the award will be anounced at the 'Klaar voor de start? Export!'-event in Vught on March 19th.
We'll be keeping our fingers crossed... and keep you updated!

'A Star-sign bouquet' - Anthurium.info on the Flower Constellations

18/2/2020

4 languages of Anthurium galore

Anthurium are lovely flowering plants with an exotic origin that are grown in all types and varieties in greenhouses across the Netherlands.
The plant is a great air purifier, with long lasting flowers coming in a large variety of shapes and colors.

Anthurium.info was created to showcase the many beautiful Anthurium species cultivated by Dutch breeders.
The website doesn't only offer information about all kinds of Anthurium in 4 (FOUR) languages, it also aims to inspire with original content about anything that has to do with caring for and styling with Anthurium.
Read about the sustainability of Anthuriums, how to best care for the plants or learn how to create an Anthurium Kokedama.
A visit to Anthurium.info is definitely worth your time!

The Flower Constellations in English, Dutch, German & French

We're super happy floral designer Bob wrote a lovely piece about our Flower Constellations and how to use them.
Check it out here in <English> / <Dutch> / <German> / <French>

Anthurium info about the Flower Constellations | design by House of Thol - photograph by Masha Bakker

english

Anthurium info about the Flower Constellations | design by House of Thol - photograph by Masha Bakker

Nederlands

Anthurium info about the Flower Constellations | design by House of Thol - photograph by Masha Bakker

Deutsch

Anthurium info about the Flower Constellations | design by House of Thol - photograph by Masha Bakker

Francais

Keep your fruits fresh: Patera Magnus available now

2/2/2020

Get your Patera Magnus

It's there!
Patera Magnus can now be ordered via our webshop.

After launching the prototypes late last year, we received so many requests from you about when the Poma/Olera series would be for sale.

And we listened! The Patera Magnus can be ordered on our webshop now.

We're currently producing the Poma/Olera series by hand in our studio in Overasselt (near Nijmegen), so take a lead time of 3-4 weeks into account when placing your order.

Other pieces of the series will be added in due time.
The Poma/Olera series will not be available for wholesale (yet).

Read all about it here
and
order here!

New design, same happy plants

2/2/2020

Waterworks NEW / Design & photography by House of Thol

Something's changed...

Waterworks is the first official House of Thol product, and pretty much what got us started.
After a successful Crowdfunding campaign on Dutch Design Starter, we launched the product back in 2014, and ever since, the design kept spreading, up to the point where it's sold in shops all over the world.

And now we're about to take the next step: we made two changes to the design in order to re-launch it ready for true world domination.
An added bonus: the system will be easier to hack, and the set costs less than it did!
Read on to learn about the changes we made.

Waterworks NEW - design and photography by House of Thol

1. The Reservoir

Probably the most eye-catching difference: no more cork.
We added it back in the first design to make it easier to clean the glass bulb, but we noticed two things:
1. the reservoir is easy to clean with a bottle cleaning brush with or without the hole.
2. it was difficult to explain the hole was not designed to fill the reservoir. In fact it needs to be shut air tight at all times to keep the vacuum in place and avoid the reservoir draining too fast.

We thought long and hard about it, but decided to skip the hole and the cork, which is better for the function of the system all together.
Added bonus: since we're using fewer materials, we can lower the price of a Waterworks set to €27,50 incl VAT.

2. The Cone

Waterworks is a stylish solution to keep your plants happy and watered all the time. But when you have a lot of plants to care for, it can take quite a budget to buy full Waterworks-sets for all of them.
That's why we slightly altered the diameter of the terra-cotta cones. The cones now fit most smaller bottles, meaning you can use any bottle on top of your cone to keep your plants happy.
And if, after a while, you want to add the stylish reservoir, that's possible too: the reservoir is now also available in the webshop separately.

Waterworks NEW - manual // Design and illustration by House of Thol

Be the first

The new Waterworks-sets are now available in our webshop.
Please note: the official new Waterworks-boxes are scheduled to arrive in mid-March, but we still have the old Waterworks boxes that we don't want to go to waste.

That's why the first series of new Waterworks-sets will be packaged in the -slightly altered- original boxes, and only be available directly via us.
Meaning: by ordering online in our webshop, or buying a set at Object Rotterdam (click)

Be the first: get the new Waterworks now

A Bamboo bird: Wren & Kiwi bamboo launched during M&O

29/1/2020

Sneak peak of the bamboo sisters

The one downside to being at Passagen (click) in Cologne, was that we couldn't also be at Maison & Objet in Paris, taking place around the same time a few hundred kilometers away.

It would have been great to be in Paris while our friends from Ay Illuminate launched the new bamboo versions of the Wren & Kiwi lamps.
We worked our hands to the bone finishing the series in time for the show and are super happy with the response so far/

What we love most about the Wren and Kiwi lamps is that they're all handmade in the Netherlands with sustainable materials.

The series started out with perforated strips of recycled aluminum, which turns a surprisingly sustainable corporate material into an unexpected warm glowing centerpiece.

The new bamboo lamps added to the series are more of a bridge between the contemporary first series and the airy eclectic athmosphere Ay Illuminate is so well known for.

Launch Wren & Kiwi bamboo by Ay Illuminate @ Maison & Objet - photograph via Ay Illuminate's Instagram

The lamps are out now via Ay Illuminate, and will be added to our website and -shop soon.

We're bringing all Wren and Kiwi's with us to Object Rotterdam and are hoping to be able to shoot a few nice pictures in the gorgeous industrial HAKA building.

We'll update the website and add more photographs soon!

Kiwi Bamboo / Design by House of Thol for Ay Illuminate // photograph by House of Thol

Kiwi Bamboo / Design by House of Thol for Ay Illuminate // photograph by House of Thol

Wren Bamboo / Design by House of Thol for Ay Illuminate // photograph by House of Thol

Wren Bamboo / Design by House of Thol for Ay Illuminate // photograph by House of Thol

XL Bamboo / Design by House of Thol for Ay Illuminate // photograph by House of TholPicture

XL Bamboo / Design by House of Thol for Ay Illuminate // photograph by House of Thol

In front of the camera - adventure on film with the kids

27/1/2020

Our passion for the things we do - caught on camera

We had an exciting day of filming at our studio last week.
Since the (very) short film commissioned by ABN AMRO is all about passion for the things you do, the film didn't just include our work situation, but also the everyday we get so much inspiration from, including the kids.

The crew was super laid-back and friendly, and after getting the work-related shots done before lunch, we went on shooting a few more homely scenes when the kids were back from school.

Xam (7) and Ebbe (4) were both thorougly impressed by the large camera's and lighting set-ups, and didn't mind the filming at all. On the contrary: they had loads of fun with it.

We didn't just stay in the house and studio, but also went on a little adventure outside, for which the film crew brought a super over-the-top dolly to be able to shoot moving images.
Imagine the fun the kids had running and cycling up to the cart.

We're very much looking forward to seeing the footage and the final film. I know they shot way too much, si i'm super curious about what will make it to the final cut.

Of course we'll share the result as soon as we can!

About Cologne: Passagen 2020 is a wrap!

21/1/2020

Vielen Dank Cologne!

It was a first for us: being part of the Designers' Fair during Passagen 2020 in Cologne. And truth be told: we didn't know what to expect from the exhibition and whether we'd have to be there all days.

Well, we soon found out that we shouldn't miss a day.
We loved the response of the Cologne visitors, and got to brush up on our German while getting away with english most of the time.

We presented our Flower Constellations, Waterworks and Poma/Olera series during the fair, and all our designs were very well received by an attentive audience that's very much into sustainable living.

So well indeed, that we've set our sights on Germany once again. We're so close to the border, we might as well hop over it, once in a while. After all, Germany is still part of the EU... So we went ahead and signed ourselves up for the MKB Export Award again. We'll keep you posted about that adventure!

Here to the right there's another picture of our exhibition on the first day, and above a photograph of the (inside of the) lovely designed shopwindow at Salon Zwei.

Thank you Claudia! We had a blast and will definitely be back in Germany.
Hopefully sooner rather than later!

Happy 2020 - let's get to it! (newsletters)

6/1/2020

Did you get our latest newsletter?

We just sent out our latest newsletter. With of course New Years wishes, but also our plans for the coming months.

Missed it? No worries! Click on the images below to read the Dutch or English version.

click to read the English newsletter by House of Thol

<click for English newsletter>

Klik om de Nederlandse Nieuwsbrief van House of Thol te lezen

<klik voor Nederlandse nieuwsbrief>

Want to be the first to know the next time?

<sign up for our newsletter here>

Time to HAKA again: Object 2020 is coming

2/1/2020

Rotterdam for Design lovers

Last year we thoroughly enjoyed our Object experience (read about it here). Not just the beautiful (yet chilly) setting at the HAKA building and the many interested visitors, but also very much the company of all other designers and artists showcasing their work and the warm and caring people of the Object organization.

That's why we'll be back in Rotterdam this year!
Come join us and a lovely troupe of talented Dutch Designers and makers in the HAKA building between February 7th and 9th (Fri-Sat-Sun) for an all new Object Rotterdam.
Check out the Object website for all participants and practical information.

Would love to see you there!

ps. we have a few free entrance tickets available. Interested? get in touch!

HAKA building, Vierhavenstraat Rotterdam - Via Dudok

Practical information

House of Thol @ Object Rotterdam
7-8-9 February

HAKA building (2nd floor)
Vierhavenstraat 38-42 - Rotterdam

Fri-Sat-Sun: 11:00 - 19:00
NB opening with drinks on Thursday night - invite only

Entrance Fee: €12,50 (at the door only)
Free entrance for children under the age of 12

<More on the ObjectRotterdam webste>

A german adventure: see you in Cologne 13-19 January!

1/1/2020

Passagen Designers Fair

Passagen Interior Design Week Cologne is Germany's largest design event. It's pretty much the 'Fuori Salone' event of the huge IMM furnishings fair that takes place in the Koelnmesse in the same week.

A few years ago we met sweet Claudia Schaaf during the Dutch Design Week and she invited us to showcase our work in her lovely Salon Zwei during Passagen 2016, as part of the Ehrenfeld Design Parcours.

With a taste for Dutch Design, Claudia presented a different Dutch Designer in her shop during Passagen every year for the past 6 years, and now it's time to bring it together.

Dutch Design Cologne revisited

For this years' Passagen, Claudia teamed up with Buro Sabine Voggenreiter to curate an exhibition about Dutch Design at the Designers Fair at the Pattenhalle in Ehrenfeld.
We're super happy to be part of the line-up that also includes Studio Lorier, Foekje Fleur, Nord Interior Design and Mo Man Tai.

But that's not all! Our designs will also be part of the colorful 'We love Dutch Design' presentation at Claudia's homebase Salon Zwei.
And from Passagen onward, Salon Zwei will be a House of Thol vendor!

Passagen 2016 @ Salon Zwei

The when and the where

<Download the Programme and citymap here>

Dutch Design Cologne revisited
Passagen Designers Fair @ Pattenhalle
Christianstrasse 82
50825 Koeln - Ehrenfeld

Open 13 - 19 January
Mon-Wed: 12:00 - 20:00
Thursday: 12:00 - 23:00 - drinks from 18:00
Fri-Sat: 12:00 - 20:00
Sunday: 12:00 - 18:00

6 years Dutch Design
Salon Zwei
Gutenbergstrasse 2
50823 Koeln - Ehrenfeld

Open 13 - 19 January
Mon-Fri: 12:00 - 19:00
Sat-Sun: 12:00 - 16:00
NB drinks on Thursday 16.1 from 18:00

New year, new.... shipping rates

1/1/2020

It's that time of year again...

We happily ship our packages and letters with Dutch Postal service PostNL, which is usually pretty reliable (unless sometimes during the Holiday-period).
PostNL updates its prices every once in a while, and January is the time to do that.

That means we're updating our shipping costs as well.
Find out below what that means for you.
Please note: within the Netherlands we offer free shipment for orders from €75,-, order for more than €125,- for free shipping within the EU, and for more than €250,- for free shipping in the rest of Europe.

Within the Netherlands

Up to 100 grams (letter): €2,73
100 - 350 grams (letter): €3,64

350 - 600 grams (mailbox-parcel): 4,75
600 grams and up (parcel): 7,25

International letters
(for Bee Happy Flower Cards / Flower Constellations)

Up to 100 grams (letter): €4,50
100 - 350 grams (letter): €7,50

International parcels

Belgium, Germany: €10,-
United Kingdom, France, Austria, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden : €13,50
Rest of Europe: €18,50
Australia, Canada, Japan, Russia, USA (Rest of the World): €25,-

Looking back at 2019 - a year in pictures

30/12/2019

2019: a recap in photographs

As always, the last months of the year have flown past like crazy. It seems like it was Yesterday we had our summers' break yet suddenly the New Year is about to start.

And boy, what a year it was!

Just for our own re-cap, here's what happened in 2019

January

A Blooming & Green 2019

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

Last years' New Year cards were printed on Growing paper: recycled paper containing wildflower seeds.
We love that you're not only sending a sweet message, but also a delayed bouquet of flowers, and many more Flower Cards followed.

<Read about the first growing card>

Wren & Kiwi

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

Last year in January, Social Dutch lighting label Ay Illuminate launched our designs Wren & Kiwi at Maison & Objet in Paris.
We were so happy happy to finally be able to share the lamps that are both sustainable as well as socially produced in the Netherlands

<read more about Wren & Kiwi>

Maison & Objet

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

We drove to Paris for a quick toast and a happy hello.

<read about our M&O visit>

And this story is still very much going on: This January, Ay Illuminate is set to launch a new version of the Wren and Kiwi, including the XL version.
In a month we'll tell you all about it!

February

Object Rotterdam

Jana of House of Thol @ Object Rotterdam 2019 - photograph by Roza Schous

Object Rotterdam (February 8-10) was a whole lot of fun and something we're already set on doing again in 2020. Would love to see you there!

<read about Object 2019 here>
and <about Object 2020 here>

Tuin Idee fair

House of Thol @ Tuinidee Den Bosch 2019

TuinIdee in Den Bosch (February 21-24) was great, but not as green as i had hoped. That said, i did have great company while in the Brabanthallen, so we still had a few great days.

MKB Export Award

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

Last February we also received the great news that we were nominated for an MKB Export award.
Even though we ended up just shy of the top 3, we're still super honoured to be part of their top10 and receive a nomination.

<read about the MKB Award here>

March

One woman down

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

Short story: A ball hit my head, the resulting concussion is an experience i can highly recommend you to miss out on.
<more here>

Happinez full page

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

Still something to be Happy about: Dutch magazine Happinez featured the Flower Constellations in a gorgeous way.
<check it out here>

April

fresh photoshoot

Photographer Masha Bakker getting the perfect Picture at her studio | design by House of Thol

Super happy with the new photographs by Masha Bakker in April in a shoot that included the new Helios and Ophiuchus.
<read all about the shoot>

Ophiuchus - design by House of Thol | Photograph by Masha Bakker Photography

Ophiuchus - design by House of Thol | Photograph by Masha Bakker Photography

We'll definitely be back for more new photographs in 2020!

Flow publication

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

Flow spotted our Flower Constellations and wrote a lovely piece about it.

<Check it out here>

May

Trading spaces @ Rijks

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

We really did not take enough time to enjoy this: We got to turn (Michelin starred) Rijks Restaurant into restaurant Locavore during 5 days for an event and did that by suspending hanging gardens of weeds and wildflowers above the dining tables.

Open House Kunstroute

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

Final Weekend of May also marked the Kunstroute Heumen and Open House at our studio.
Missed it last year?
No worries! There will be an Open House again in the first Weekend of June.
Looking forward to seeing you then!

Ophiuchus launch

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

You asked, we answered: in May we pre-launched our Flower Constellation XL: Ophiuchus.
Perfect for larges vases and thicker stemmed flowers.

<read all about Ophiuchus here>

June

Helios: here comes the sun

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

June marked the launch of the Sun: our growth constellation Helios.
Just in time for Fathers Day.
<Read about Helios here>

Bee Happy flower cards

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

We actually already added the first Bee Happy Flower Cards to the collection in February, but launched special editions for Mothersday in May and Fathersday in June.
<read about them here>

No Ordinary Tales

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

No Ordinary tales wrote a lovely post about our Flower Constellations.
<Read it here>

July & August: designing a solution for food waste

We were almost getting ready for our <Summers' break>, when we got invited by ABN AMRO to come up with a sustainable solution for everyday life.

Since our House of Thol catchphrase is 'Durable Products for easy green living', we were eager to get on with it and thoroughly started researching something that we ourselves can use a little help with: food waste.

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

Did you know a third of the international food production is wasted each year??!

We pitched our idea for the Poma/Olera in late July and got the ok to go on in August.

<Read about the Poma/Olera process here>
This really feels like Yesterday....

September

Masterly The Hague

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

We participated in Masterly: Festival with Dutch Masters & Dutch Design.
We loved the setting so much we'll be back with Masterly in Milan 2020!

<read about Masterly Den Haag>

Poma/Olera production

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

Trip to The Hague aside, September was mainly used for Poma/Olera production and involved a lot of trial and error.

<Read about the road to DDW>

the filmcrew

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

We had a complete take-over of our studio with the video-shoot for the Game Changer promo which can be found here.
(can't believe i didn't share this on the blog before)

October

Poma/Olera launch

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

After months of very hard work and preparation, we were super happy to launch the first prototype series of Poma/Olera during the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven.

<Read all about Poma/Olera here>

DDW Game Changers

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

Did you visit the Game Changers pavilion at Ketelhuisplein during the DDW? It was a true experience with a voice-over leading visitors from one Game Changing design to the next. Did you know we were even on the radio?
<Read all about the DDW here>

Helios Pit Prep how-to

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

With the Helios out there, we got a lot of questions about how to prepare your avocado pit for the growth disk.

We made a super easy how-to, <which you can find here>.

November

Grote NL Kunstkalender

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

We're in next years' Grote Nederlandse Kunst Kalender!

<read all about it here>

Volkskrant Magazine

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

Our Helios was part of the Volkskrant Magazine Gift Guide
<check it out here>
We were also happy with a small mention in a Trouw article about food waste.
<click to read the article>

Helios packaging

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

And we got the Helios ready for gift giving just in time, with not only a nice giftbox (click), but also a choice between two new kinds of special Helios wrapping paper (click)

December

Holiday flower cards

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

We added this new small series of Bee Happy Flower Cards to the collection just in time for the Holidays.

<read about it here>

Milledoni gift guide

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

Milledoni spotted our Helios design and added it to their extensive online gift guide

<Read more here>

Amsterdamsche Kerstmarkt

House of Thol: 2019 a year in pictures

We spent the final Weekend before Christmas at the Amsterdamsche Kerstmarkt, which was a lot of fun and got us ready for thoroughly enjoying a very low key Christmas with the Family.

That's it for 2019
On to 2020, where new adventures await....
Have a good one!!

Check out our pre-Holiday newsletter in Dutch and English

17/12/2019

Read all about it

We just sent out a newsletter about Holiday-prep to mailboxes all over the world (though mainly in The Netherlands).

Missed it? Read the Dutch or English version by clicking on the image below.

Don't want to miss any newsletters in the future?
<Sign up here>

Read our English pre-Holiday newsletter

read our English pre-Holiday newsletter

Lees onze Nederlandse pre-feestdagen nieuwsbrief

Lees onze Nederlandse pre-feestdagen nieuwsbrief

Bee Happy Flower Cards now available in a gift-set!

10/12/2019

Bee Happy gift-set: post cards you can sow / design & photograph by House of Thol

Just in time for the Holidays

Postcards are always a fun gift, and cards that can grow into flowers even more so.
That's why we created the 'Don't worry Bee happy' gift set containing 6 Flower Cards and three envelopes in a nice box with growing paper wrapper.

Compose the set exactly as you like it: choose the 6 cards you like best, or go for one of the mixes we thought up.
You can even choose to add more envelopes or buy the set without envelopes and save a euro.

The set goes for €15,- including 3 envelopes.
NB If you were to buy the 6 cards and envelopes separately that would add to €19,50, so this might just be a great gift for yourself as well :-).

<Get the Bee Happy gift set here>

Helios spotted by Milledoni!

6/12/2019

Helios featured on Milledoni

Gifting a little love

Dutch online platform Milledoni is all about gifts.
Gifts for anyone, for any occasion and any budget.

We're super happy one of their scouts spotted our Helios and added it to their guide of gifts!

Remember this website: The next time you have no idea what to get your friend or colleague, visit Milledoni for the best ideas.
Good to know: all featured products link back to the original webshops where you can make your purchase

Trouw on the downsides of a full fruitbowl

29/11/2019

Poma/Olera in the newspaper

When launching our Poma/Olera series during the last Dutch Design Week (read all about it here) we had a lovely chat with journalist Jasmijn Missler of Dutch newspaper Trouw.
Although this hasn't boiled down to a 'real' article in the newspaper yet, we're happy to get a little mention in this piece about food waste.
Check it out here:

Not the whole story (yet)

In the article the Poma/Olera is mentioned briefly and described as a fruit bowl making it possible to keep different kinds of fruit and vegetables in separate compartments to avoid them being subject to the ethylene gas emitted by ripening fruits like apples and bananas.
Which is, of course, very true.

But the Poma/Olera series has more dimensions than just separating different fruits.

The fruitbowl also has multiple presentation platters for fruits that should be eaten first, while also serving as a lid keeping the stock below in a dark and slightly cooler (due to evaporation cooling) space.

Also part of the series is ripening bowl Patera Maturus which uses ethylene gas emitted by certain fruits to speed up the ripening process of other varieties like avocado or mango.

Read article (online)

Read article (PDF)

The reason we're expanding a little on the subject, is because later on the article mentions a couple of things you can do to keep fruit and vegetables fresh for longer and Poma/Olera pretty much covers them all.

Happy to know our extensive homework during the research phase paid off ;-).

<Read all about Poma/Olera>

Poma/Olera series - design & photograph by House of Thol

Best DIY gifts - Helios in Volkskrant Magazine gift guide!

26/11/2019

The Volkskrant Gift Guide

Super happy and proud to have our new Helios Constellation featured in the Holiday gift guide of Volkskrant Magazine last Weekend.

It's only a tiny mention, but judging by the extra webshop orders, people are definitely noticing :-)
Also, we're joined by a pretty decent collection of other great-to-gift goodies, so if you can use some inspiration, make sure to check out the full gift guide in November 23rd Volkskrant Magazine!

Find more about the Helios Constellation here
or
Order Helios in our webshop

Jingle bells and Sing Alongs: De Amsterdamsche Kerstmarkt

21/11/2019

Westergas, 20-23 December

This season we're going to try something new. We'll be participating in a Christmas Market!
And not just any Christmas market: the Amsterdamsche Kerstmarkt, to be precise.

As a sucker for Christmas tunes i'm very much looking forward to 4 days of Jingle bell cheer and gluhwein.
And since the market is open to everyone and has a fun programme for all ages, this is definitely a place to spend some time in the Weekend before Christmas.

Come find us, get your Holiday presents at our stall and i'll lovingly wrap it to make sure your gift will stand out under the tree.

<Read all about the market here>

Practical information

20 December 16:00 - 01:00 (market 16:00 - 22:00)
21-23 December 12:00 - 01:00 (market 12:00 - 20:00)
Free entrance, suitable for all ages

Westergas
Pazzanistraat 33, Amsterdam
(come by bike or public transport)

When we were game changers - looking back at DDW 2019

19/11/2019

Poma/Olera at the ABN AMRO Game Changers Pavilion // photograph by House of Thol

The blank page Pavilion

A month ago Today, Eindhoven was the worlds' epicenter of design, and slap bang in the main square of all Dutch Design Week festivities was a large white box stating "Design bepaalt de koers", Dutch for "Design sets the course".

The box was a temporary building designed to represent a blank sheet ready for a the first draft of a new design, and was commissioned by Dutch bank ABN AMRO.
For 9 days this pavilion was the home of 4 Game Changers: designs that can help us live more sustainably daily lives.

One of those Game Changers: our Poma/Olera series.
Brandbase and ABN AMRO gave us the opportunity to come up with a solution for everyday fruit and vegetable storage.
(More about the origins of Poma/Olera can be found here)

Our design was accompanied by the Transformer table (getting better with age), a candle using fat from a water sanitation plant and a filter that takes out the micro-plastics from your washing machine waste water.

Game Changers pavilion by Brandbase for ABN AMRO during Dutch Design Week October 2019 // photograph by House of Thol

Experiencing design

The ABN AMRO Game Changers exhibition was set up as an experience: up to 15 visitors accompanied by a host would be guided along the 4 different Game Changers with a professional voice-over and well timed lighting schedule.

This meant that as a visitor of the Game Changers Pavilion you really experienced design, rather than simply looking at it. Something very different to most other exhibitions and very professionaly executed.

Because of the voice-over directing the pace of the little tour, people didn't really have the time to linger around our work and take photographs to share online.
That's why we snuck in before the show started to get a few pics of the Poma/Olera presentation.

Patera Herba & Patera Maturus at the ABN AMRO Game Changers Pavilion // photograph by House of Thol

Patera Magnus at the ABN AMRO Game Changers Pavilion // photograph by House of Thol

Patera Dauci at the ABN AMRO Game Changers Pavilion // photograph by House of Thol

Reaching a new audience

Having ABN AMRO backing our project meant that we reached audiences we probably would have missed otherwise.

We were very happy we got to tell about House of Thol to a professional audience during a Sustainable investment event and expanded our network tremendously.

Apart from an interview with a journalist from a national newspaper that will hopefully be published in a few months, we had a lovely chat with Francis of Sublime radio, which let into our 60 seconds of radio fame that you can listen to here.

Coming to your house soon!

Not being able to stand next to our designs was new to us, and made for a refreshingly laid back Dutch Design Week.

It also meant we missed out on a lot of direct response to our Poma/Olera series, and that's kind of a shame.
We love getting into conversation about our designs, to clarify the decisions we made and brainstorm about future possibilities.
Luckily a lot of people still managed to reach out to us and tell us what they thought about Poma/Olera via e-mail and social media

Most heard response was: "When will the series be for sale?" and "Where can i get a Poma/Olera fruit bowl?".

With so many specific requests, we're happy to get a move on: We'll be producing a small Poma/Olera series in house meant for direct sales on the short term, while at the same time diving deeper into terracotta production possibilities as close to home as possible.
We're not in this alone: Fonds Kwadraat is helping us with the next step.

Order now

We've currently set the price of a large Poma/Olera bowl (Patera Magnus) at €195,-.
Production will take approximately 4-6 weeks.

Interested in keeping your fresh food fresh?
Get in touch!

HOUSE OF THOL
Durable products for easy green living

Thomas Linssen & Jana Flohr
home@houseofthol.nl
+31 6 4322 6443 / +31 6 4222 7220

Parksesteeg 8
6611KH Overasselt
The Netherlands

KVK: 59932694 | VAT: NL853700023.B01 | IBAN: NL19 TRIO 0197 9422 61 | BIC: TRIONL2U

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