It all started with a phonecall in June: ABN AMRO was looking for designers to come up with a sustainable solution for everyday situations, and if we could pitch an idea in July?

Since our House of Thol slogan is 'Durable products for easy green living' of course we had to participate!
We had a few ideas up our sleeve that could perhaps impact a marker like Earth Overshoot Day.

We took a close look at our own day-to-day and found plenty of things that we still can do better.
​One of the things that's a real problem, is food waste: with two young kids with fluctuating appetites in the house, we can't help but throw out food ever so often.
Such a waste! Not only because of the money, but also because of the resources we waste.

And this goes beyond our household: in the Netherlands we throw out 34 kilograms of food each per year, and globally one third of the food produced is wasted.
That's about 1.3 billion tons!
​
If we could save only a quarter of that amount, we could feed every hungry mouth in the world (source). 

Bringing it back to our own small household: what can we do to avoid food waste in our daily lives?
We noticed we often have trouble with fruits and vegetables: what is the best way to store them, so they stay fresh for longest and we don't have to throw out wrinkled bell peppers?

Turns out not every fruit and vegetable plays nice with others, so keeping them all together in one large fruit bowl might not be such a great idea: the ethylene coming from fruits like apples can negatively impact the taste or ripeness of other fruits in the bowl.
Anyway, learning about the best way to store fresh food involved a whole lot of research (spreadsheets, seriously) that deserves its own blog post soon.

Back to the process: We presented our plans in Amsterdam in July and the day after our meeting with the jurors we drove off to the Schwarzwald in a 42°c heat and two eager little boys in a car without airconditioning.

We spent two blissful weeks of summer break, and got the phonecall with the final go for our Poma/Olera project while en route.

These past months, ever since returning home from our break, have been all about Poma/Olera. 

The design changed somewhat from the first drafts and we created a series of round vessels specifically designed to store fruits and vegetables in a better way.

The making process involved a lot of sketching,computer drawing, 3d printing, mold making, clay casting, finishing, failing, doing it again, changing the molds, recasting, firing the kiln, glazing tests, new glazing tests, production, production, production.
​
Well, your typical design process, really.

We're super happy and proud to be able to showcase the first prototypes of our Poma/Olera series at the Game Changers Pavilion on the Ketelhuisplein during this Dutch Design Week.
We'd love to see you there!

Here at House of Thol headquarters we have quite a versatile workload: We might be stylishly setting up a floral arrangement for a photoshoot one moment and be sanding a wooden door the next.
Building cabinets, designing packaging, managing social media, preparing Waterworks-sets, producing terracotta cones, packing webshop orders, reaching out to partners, developing concepts and writing blog posts: it's all in a days' work.

Thomas and i have been happily sharing this work between the two of us, but now time has come for us to learn how to delegate.
That's why we're looking for TWO interns!  ​

Do you want to know what it takes to run an independent design brand?
Curious to experience how it works to design and market your own products as well as working together with brands and manufacturers?
​
Come see how we do it at House of Thol headquarters. We'd love to take you along for the ride!

We're looking for two positive people for the following internship positions:

You'll be working hands-on with Thomas on production, prototyping and model making.

You speak Dutch or English and love spending time in the workshop.
You're inquisitive, won't back down from a challenge and like to learn new skills. 
You'll work with a variety of materials and techniques, ranging from casting porcelain and terracotta to 3D-printing, woodworking and construction.
Knowledge of 3D modeling software would be great.

You'll be working closely with Jana on marketing, sales, pr and all things visual, including content development for website and social media.

You're adequate in English and preferably Dutch.
Social media has very little secrets for you. You love to create beautiful image and write fun, informative posts.
You're happy to communicate with shops and customers as well as with journalists and magazines from around the world.   
Knowledge of Illustrator, Photoshop and Indesign (or similar programs) would be appreciated.

Interested in being an intern at House of Thol?
Great!
Send your Dutch or English application with CV to home@houseofthol.nl 
Any questions or remarks? Don't hesitate to get in touch!

We'll ask you to be at House of Thol headquarters (Parksesteeg 8, Overasselt) from Monday to Thursday 09:30-17:00.
During fairs and exhibitions it would be great if you could join us on site if needed.

After weeks of summer adventures and waking up without an alarm clock, we brushed the boys' hair this morning and dropped them off at school with suntanned faces eager for a fresh year.

Recharged and with our hands freed again, we're ready to take on the coming months.
We might as well... there's loads to be done!

To get the new season off to a running start, we've set up a Back to School discount of 10%!

So get your Waterworks sets now and keep those plants alive, start growing your avocado tree, get yourself a Flower Constellation to stylishly arrange the cut flowers from your garden (even the ones with thicker stems) or simply stock up on presents for upcoming birthdays!

To receive the 10% discount, use code 'BacktoSchool19' at check-out and ten percent will be deducted from the total amount of your order.

The discount code is valid on all products up to September 8th.

Although our summer break was cut short because of the opportunity of a sudden assignment that we didn't want to miss (more about that later, i promise!), we still had two long weeks to unwind and relax.

Our last-minute planning brought us to the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) in Germany, a mere 5,5 hour drive from the headquarters.

We landed on a wonderful campground right next to a stream and a little waterfall. and together with the boys spent hours on well-made playgrounds and adventure trails such as the Black Forest Treetop walk (with a large slide going down) and a Barefoot path where we got to got to walk over pieces of broken glass (still pretty sharp).
We clambered accross Germanies' largest waterfall and walked a 60 meters high suspension bridge that slightly swayed in the wind.

Of course we had to play a round of adventure golf (guess who struck a hole-in-one) and we somehow visited two places where people were extremely serious about model-trains as well as to a museum of clocks, vintage cars and vintage vending machines (because what else in Germany on a rainy day).

Summer is a time for fun and adventures!

Since our children highly appreciate our company when they're not in school to share said fun and adventures, we've planned for a little time off during the dog days.

From July 26th until August 9th we'll be out of the office. E-mail will be read sporadically. All webshop-orders placed during our break will be shipped upon our return in August.
For super-important things that definitely can not wait, send us a message via text or WhatsApp.

A little personal heads up for those of you who got in touch with us in the past weeks and haven't heard back as soon as usual..
House of Thol is running normally, but we might be a little slow when it comes to answering e-mails.

Let me tell you why: One of us (me, Jana) loves to play football. I have done that as a sport ever since i was little.
For about 25 years, my most serious injuries were bruised ankles and a broken metacarpel: no biggy.

A week into the New Year and i'm so happy to be back in normal mode.
Don't get me wrong, i love the Holidays, and had been looking forward to the festive season since summer ended.
Yet after months of anticipation followed with weeks of joyfilled familytime, social calls and everything being so very special, getting back into the routines of the day-to-day feels so very refreshing.

Getting back to it, also means 'getting on with it'.
And i love what we'll be doing the coming months.

We already told you about our participation in Object Rotterdam in February.
We'll also be at the Tuin Idee gardening themed expo later that month in Den Bosch.
And to top it up the Driving Dutch Design DDW expo has traveled to Yksi Expo for the coming months.

But what we're most excited about this month, is the launch of the Wren & Kiwi lamps that we designed for socially conscious lighting label Ay Illuminate.

10 Days to go before the sustainable lamps will premier at Maison & Objet in Paris, and we cant wait to show you what we've been working so hard on the past year.

We didn't just take on the design, but the complete product development, including coordination with and many trips to the social workplace in the Netherlands where the lamps are produced by people with a distance to the job market.

The design is still under embargo for a few more days, but we'll be back with sneak peaks as soon as we can.

Every year i get asked for a wish list for the holidays, and every year i draw a blank, leaving it up to the other party to try and find me those hidden treasures.

However... not this year!

Being a creative entrepreneur myself, i recognize the hard work that goes into bringing a product to market independently. 
​Fellow designers: we recognize your hard work and the risks you take by bringing your own designs to market and we salute you!

To support our friends and colleagues who design and market their own work, i’ve put together this gift guide full of affordable products by independent Dutch Designers that could be on your wishlist, (and are definitely on mine!).

What we did is try and find designs that cost less than €30,-, (preferably less than €20,-), are designed and developed by the designer/design studio and can be bought directly at the designers' webshop.
To make it super easy to go and get those goodies, we linked directly to the respective webshops where you can purchase on-line.

New Kintsugi kit
The beauty of an imperfect ceramics repair

The art of embracing damage.
With New kintsugi Humade combines this lovely old technique with new technology. By messy mending you emphasise the marks and scars of a product, giving it a new perspective and beauty while offering it longevity. 
You can use the kit mutiple times. 
​
€27,- | ​Get it here

Porcelain pen holders
handmade porcelain pen holders

Mix & Match penholder-set

€15,- to €30,- | ​Get it here

Small Storytile 10x10
Catch of the day

ONCE UPON A TILE…
​Ceramic tiles have been made in and around Delft, The Netherlands, since the 16th century. StoryTiles continues the tradition by creating miniature art-on-tiles.
​All tiles are baked in traditional Dutch ovens at a high temperature, what makes them heat and water resistant. Each design is unique, as it is hand baked and designed.

€27,50 | ​Get it here

Shopping bag
Eco friendly long-lasting bag

The New Shoppingbag by SUSAN BIJL is a long-lasting, lightweight, sustainable, super strong, waste reducing and water repellent bag.
The New Shoppingbag by SUSAN BIJL is made from 100% bluesign® certified eco-friendly ripstop nylon with a waterbased coating.

No matter how creative and innovative men is, there is no force as colorful and powerful as nature. And what better match for SUSAN BIJL’s environment-friendly and sustainable products than the deep and rich colors found in minerals?

€23,90 | ​Get it here

Plants are friends
art print
​
€20,- | ​Get it here

FCK Art print
sometimes the F-word is the only answer

€12,- A4 / €22,- A3 | ​Get it here

The following products by Dutch designers narrowly missed the cut.
Either because the designer is not actually selling the product in a webshop of their own, the design was in fact made for a brand or label, or it's priced slightly higher than our €30,- budget.

Zeepbootje (Soap Boat)
By Floris Hovers
​for Design x Ambacht

€9,95 | get it here

Did i miss any designs or designers?
Please let me know!

A little something i'd like to add: we did not receive any compensation from, or have affiliate deals with anyone on this list.

We made this gift guide / wish list to showcase the beautiful and affordable designs that are made in the Netherlands and to give a shout-out ot all those hard working independent designers out there.​

​While scouting for this list, i came across a lot of designers who make beautiful products, but don't have anything in their collection that costs less than €45,- or even €150,-. 
Which we totally get: we know how difficult it is to produce for an affordable price when you're on your own. ​

Even more reason to support those designers who are trying to bridge the gap between mass-production and design-art, and design and bring to market well-made products that are available to a wider audience.

This coming Weekend the Flower Constellations will have their national debut at Dutch tradefair ShowUP, which is by all means a great fair that definitely  attracts professionals from abroad as well as the Netherlands. 

A great way for us to test the waters before diving in the deep end: Maison & Objet in Paris.
THE international tradefair that takes place at Paris Nord Villepinte every 6 months and attracts business from across the planet.

​We actually visited the fair for the first time a year ago, back when Pols Potten chose Paris for the Thol lamps launch.
​At the time we were thoroughly overwhelmed by the magnitude of hall after hall of designs ready to hit the shelves from Texas to Jakarta.

We definitely did not think for a minute we'd be exhibiting our own products there anytime soon.

Yet we are!
Dutch Design Collections approached us in early spring to see if we would be interested in taking part in a joint presentation as one of three Dutch independent brands.
Seeing this would be the perfect timing for an international Flower Constellations launch, we happily agreed to participate.

We're super excited (and a bit scared) about this wonderful oppportunity to showcase our designs to shop owners and other professionals from all over the world. 
​
We'd love to see you there.
Visiting M&O? Let us know when, so we can meet!

Maison & Objet
Paris Nord Villepinte

Dutch Design Collections
Hall 4 - stand H.104

7-11 September 2018
Fri-Mon: 09:30 - 19:00
Tue: 09:30 - 18:00

<click for more information>

A few weeks ago we spent a good part of the day with the lovely folk of Renault life, shooting an episode for their Renault TV Youtube series focussing on sustainable innovations and design.

We had so much fun working with the professional crew and experiencing an official film shoot including clip-on microphones, lighting set up and (more than a few) retakes.
Our self-consciousness about being in front of a camera quickly faded while working with the skilled and friendly team. (thank you David, Tom & Vincent!)

Us working through the night getting the studio cleaned up and film-ready was definitely worth it.
​Although if you look closely it did result in a few bags under our eyes while filming.

Not being used to seeing ourselves on film, you can imagine we had no idea what the final result would be and we kept pretty silent about the whole thing in eager anticipation of the premiere.

Well, the time has come: This afternoon 'our' Renault life episode premiered on Youtube!

We love the beautiful images of our workspace and green surroundings the Renault team shot,  and how they did not only catch our story but also made us look pretty comfortable in front of a camera, just being ourselves.

Check out the full episode below and let me know what you think!

Want to know more about the projects in the video?
Check out Waterworks here (or buy here), and read all about the Flower Constellations on this page (pre-order here).

Renault life made more episodes with sustainable and innovative designers that are definitely worth checking out. 
Find their official YouTube channel here and make sure to give this video a thumb's up while you're at it.

We love football, and enjoy watching the big games.
Since the Netherlands is not competing in this years' World Cup, the country has not been taken over by the pre-cup frenzy like (long) before.
That's why it kinda snuck up on us.
 

All of a sudden... the tournament is kicking off!
To make it a bit more fun, we wanted to set up a little poule amongst each-other.
And since we couldn't find an easy poule-sheet to download, we created our own.

Feel free to join in the fun and download here

Saturday evening we were enjoying a little peace and quiet, when all of a sudden, there it was:
The pledge.
That one more pledge we needed to reach our crowdfunding target.

First of all: we want to thank each and everyone of you for helping us along, either by pledging or sharing our story.
​
Thank you!
We would've been nowhere without your help.

This is only the beginning: The crowdfunding campaign runs until Saturday May 5th, 21:00 CET, so still a while to go.
​
We're determined to take this success to the next level and create a worldwide audience for the Flower Constellations.
​Are you on board? 

We have a few stretch goals lined up that we'd love to meet, and have a new professional reward tier in preparation especially for shops who want to be first  to sell the Flower Constellations.
Also, we have a little thank you surprise in store for you that we'll tell you all about soon. 

Now, since its a sunny Sunday, we'll get back to entertaining the kids and watering the wildflowers.
We'll be back behind our desks tomorrow, getting into details about our big plans and next steps. 

Again: Thank you so much for your help so far.
Let's make this big together!

Three days into our campaign and i'm finally finding the time to tell you a bit more about our Flower Constellations and their back story.

I'll be posting other updates about aspects of our design and production-process in the future, but for now, let me tell you a bit about the journey preceding our Flower Constellations crowdfunding campaign.

After designing and successfully crowdfunding Waterworks, bringing our natural watering system to market turned out to be less straightforward than we had hoped.

We learned a great deal about running a business that first year and started to craft a strategy about the way we would develop House of Thol further.

Working best while coming up with solutions in our own living environment, we focus on keeping our designs close to ourselves.
We aim to create durable products that add value to our daily lives and help us maintain a green lifestyle.

Four years on, we have established a worldwide network of supporters and shops, and have sold almost 5000 Waterworks-sets.
​
We are ready for a new green product to add to our House of Thol collection.

​A large Dutch Garden center opted to produce it, but ran into management-issues and production stalled.
​Last year we took matters back into our own hands and developed the Flower Constellations: based on the same flat-pack multi-fit principle, but for flowers and with an improved design. ​

A perfect fit, not because we're into astrology that much, but because we love that millenia ago, people tried to make sense of the skies and created the constellations as some kind of memory aid. 
Telling each other stories so their order of things would not be forgotten.

The code is valid this whole week and can be used for all products in our webshop. ​

​#whatsyoursign

Urban Jungle Bloggers is a global society of plant lovers, at least that's what's stated on the Urban Jungle Bloggers website.

The website is a mix between a blog and a platform and was founded in 2013 by Igor Josifovic (Happy Interior Blog) and Judith de Graaff (JOELIX.com) with the idea of bringing more green into homes and blogs.

Judith and Igor are now head of an enthusiastic army of green-interior-lovers hashtagging away with #urbanjunglebloggers from all parts of the planet. (Check it our on Instagram)

It was only a matter of time before these two would turn their blog into something less digital, and indeed: in 2016 their first book, aptly named 'Urban Jungle', was published in both English and German.
​
The book showcases beautiful green interiors from around Europe and offers loads of ideas and information to help you create your own urban jungle.

And two languages wasn't enough: last fall the book came out in French, Czech and Dutch as well.  

And we're in it!!!

Well, not 'we' exactly, but Waterworks is!
And not with an actual photograph, but in the text (fast forward to p. 168 <Dutch version>).
And we're pretty damn happy with that.

It's a gorgeous green publication, and to have our Waterworks adviced as a handy tool to water your plants (which it undeniably is), is making our week.
​
Thanks Urban Jungle Bloggers!

Happy New Year!
      Good intentions, fresh beginnings, new leaves and all that nonsense.

      Truth is: the Holidays are over (i had a blast), yet i hardly even made a start on all the things i planned to do during my break, and the new year is knocking on my door -loudly- while the relationship-status between me and my alarm- clock is still... well... complicated.  
(don't tell me you can't relate)

      It seems like the last months of 2017 (read blog) were more about keeping up with the workload in my inbox and less about entrepreneurial vision and strategically prioritized goals and projects.

Well...enough about bad habits and hesitations: let's get to it!

In order to be on top of my priorities in this fresh year, i created this easy to use productivity planner which helps to prioritize your projects and plan your work-week accordingly. 

A couple of things i'd like to add: 

1. No, you don't necessarily need 9 projects in your to-do list, i'd advice a maximum of 4 or 5, but with the 9 slots you'll have scribble room for the easy to forget smaller tasks that are part of the work-week and have a tendency to pile up over time.

PS. Please note: The baselines in the planner have a thickness of 0.25pt, whereas Adobe Acrobat usually previews a minimum of 1pt.
​      In other words: Don't be fooled by the adobe preview, the planner will print with thinner lines similar to the image on this page.

      We started with a farewell to the seaside and a move to (literally) the other side of the Country. We quickly got settled in our new rural home located about 75 minutes away from Amsterdam (which is considered a huge distance in The Netherlands only), and started on a home-improvement journey that will probably span most of the future decades.  

     2017 Was also the year we got official with Solidworks and upped our business game; we sold our 4000th Waterworks-set; had our lamps launched by Pols Potten; we reconsidered our entrepreneurial stategy (a couple of times) and updated our online appearance with a new website and a better use of online media.
(did you notice?) ​  ​

And now...

​Well... we're not quite ready for 2018 yet!

We'll be taking a small break and get back to you in the 2nd week of next year.

Have a great Holiday period and awesome 2018.
​We'll see you soon!