In the midst of our Dutch 'intelligent lockdown' we suddenly found ourselves in The Hague, albeit virtually.

The morning started with a frantic connection dance trying to get the video-calling to work, but by 11:00 we were all set for The Call.
Not just any call: The Call with Minister Sigrid Kaag for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.

We were honoured that Minister Kaag would take the time to have a little chat with us about the way we're impacted by the current situation, and in a graceful way officially pronounced us winners of the MKB Export Award.

Such a special moment!
Thank you to all parties involved: MKB Nederland, RVO, TNT, Language institute Regina Coeli and of course the Dutch Ministery of Foreign Affairs.

And we even managed to take a photograph with the minister. or.. kind of... 

The Jury of the MKB Export Award says in its (Dutch) press release we won because of the "beautiful combination of Dutch Design, sustainability and practical usability, that will do especially well abroad".

As a winner of the MKB Export Award we're receiving:
- A €15.000,- transport credit with TNT - giving us access to the worldwide shipping network on the road and in the air of TNT and FedEx Express.
- A one-year membership of MKB Nederland
- A Language course at language Institute Regina Coeli
- A Business Partner scan by RVO Netherlands  
And of course the exposure and PR attention that comes with winning this award.

Thank you very much MKB Export Award!
​We're aiming to work hard and make the most of the opportunities you're giving us.

Although winning the MKB Export Award in the middle of a global pandemic might not be ideal timing, we're confident that we will be able to share our work with the rest of the world, even if we couldn't make it to Milan this year. 

​In the conversation Minister Kaag mentioned possibilities of virtual trade missions. Which is something we would be very open towards. Not only at this moment of worldwide lockdowns, but also as a way to avoid unnecessary airtravel in the future.

With all large fairs cancelled, most prominently the Salone Del Mobile, it would be great if we could come up with an alternative to getting Dutch Designs out to the world.

The pandemic will probably influence our lives for the year to come, but with many countries adapting and economies re-opening all over the world, we're confident we'll be able to make good use of the award prizes.

We are looking forward to working closely with all parties involved to take the next steps and get the Sustainable House of Thol collection out there to a worldwide audience, making green living easier all over the globe.

<Read the official (Dutch) press release by the MKB Export Award here>

Download our press releases here:
<NEDERLANDS> // <ENGLISH>

For a while there we were hoping we could just hold tight for a few months and everything would be back to normal...
By now we are well aware this will take a bit longer to overcome, but we're not deterred in our international mission and signed right up for the Salone Del Mobile in Milan next year.

We are setting our sights to a new spring when the world will be slowly getting back to -what we hope will be a greener and more sustainable- new reality.

So hang in there.
We're looking forward to seeing you at the Palazzo in April 2021! 

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!

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!

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!

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!

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>

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.  

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!

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!

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.

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!

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

We're super excited that only one year after we launched them, the Flower Constellations are now available in the United States of America!!! Yeah!!

Uncommon Goods, webshop for unique gifts, home decor and more, picked up on our design a while ago, and after we sent over a few samples, the sales team gave their go and we shipped the first batch to the US right before our summer break.

So for all of you lovely people living in the US who can use a stylish tool for stellar flower arrangements or are looking for a flowery gift for a loved one , head over to UncommonGoods.com and order Flower Constellations now!

Not living in the US?
Our products are now being sold in 13 different countries around the world, so with a bit of luck there might be a store near you!
Check out our Store Locator for more information.

This Helios Constellation might be the latest addition to the Flower Constellation family, its idea is actually what started it all.

Years ago we designed a pit-frame that would fit a variaty of jars and glassware, and would make it easy to sprout pits and bulbs.
​Out of our hands, the idea got shelved by the large Dutch Gardencentre company that took to it at first. 

Helios lets you stylishly grow your cuttings and pits into a water-rooted leafy plant and gives you the opportunity to enjoy the plant in full: both the sprouting leaves leaning towards the sun as well as roots branching out to soak up water and nutrients.  

Read all about Helios here.

Don't forget: order one for that special dad this week and get a free Growing Card with our Fathers' Day special - read all about it here.

We participated in the MKB Export Award 2018 and are part of the Top 9!

The MKB Export Award is organised for the 6th year in a row by TNT Netherlands, The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) and Royal Organisation MKB-Nederland.
Of the more than 100 contestants, the Jury nominated us and 8 other companies. 
​
The winner will be revealed during the event 'Klaar voor de start? Export! ("Ready? Get set! Export!) on Tuesday March 19th 2019.

Who knows, we might be succeeding last years' winner Anne Pleun van Eijsden of 'On the Rocks' and go home with the prize: amongst others a transport cheque and business partner scan!

It all started with our participation in the Paris fair Maison&Objet last September, for which we applied for an Export Mission Voucher.

After the fair we got invited to join the MKB Export Award, and since we really think we can conquer the world with our Flower Constellations and can use a little boost to get us going, we applied.

In January we received a phonecall from the organization surprising us with the news we're on the shortlist!
Early February we got to show a small part of the jury around House of Thol headquarters, and tell them all about our designs, projects and plans for the future.
We had a lovely chat, as i'm sure they had with all other eight nominees.

Now all that's left to do is wait..... With our fingers crossed...
We'll keep you posted!

Fleur Magazine is the Belgian professional florists journal and is packed with great advice for anyone running a florist shop as well as pages filled with inspiration, new designs and background information about plants and flowers.

Personally i was pretty impressed with the overall look of the magazine and the articles, that are fun and interesting to read, even for non-florist me.
​
I love how the magazine provides the floral entrepreneurs with hooks and stories that can help sell more flowers and plants.

We are over the moon to be featured in this lovely publication with not only one, but two products. Check it out!
When clicked, the images should enlarge in a lightbox so you can read the actual (Dutch) text. 

When you place an order in our webshop, our goal is to always have it out the door within 48 hours.
 
Orders placed on Friday and in the Weekends are dropped off at the post office the following Monday.

For shipment wihthin the Netherlands we rely on PostNL, which is usually fairly quick:
Both letters and packages are normally delivered the next working day.

Waterworks and Waterworks cones are always shipped as a package (because well... they don't fit in a letter slot).
Flower Constellations are either shipped as a letter (1 or 2 pcs), a package with or without track 'n trace code (3 pcs and up), or as a mailbox package for 3-6 pcs within the Netherlands only. 

Shipping costs vary depending on weight and destination and are calculated in the shop. 
To give you an idea, we've made this handy overview.
 
​Got any questions about shipment or would like to upgrade to express? 
Send us an e-mail and we'll get back to you at our earliest convenience.

Netherlands  1 to 2 working days
Belgium  letters: 5-8 wdays / track 'n trace package: 1-2 wdays
Denmark letters: 4-7 wdays /  track 'n trace package: 3-4 wdays
Germany  letters: 5-8 wdays /  track 'n trace package: 2-3 wdays
France  letters: 5-10 wdays /  track 'n trace package: 2-3 wdays
UK  letters: 5-9 wdays /  track 'n trace package: 2-3 wdays
Sweden letters: 5-8 wdays /  track 'n trace package: 2-3 wdays
US letters: 7-11 wdays /  track 'n trace package: 3-6 wdays
Canada letters: 9-13 wdays /  track 'n trace package: 5-8 wdays
Your country not mentioned? Here's the full list of PostNL 

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>

These last months have been all about getting the Flower Constellations ready in time for them to be shipped to our backers by the end of August. 

Well, the Flower Constellations are packed and will be sent to all early adapters this week.
Time for the next step: spreading the word.

Best place to start and nationally debut the Flower Constellations to stores, press, bloggers and other design loving professionals is undoubtedly ShowUP: trade show for home and gift.

So we're packing up our goodies and will be at the Expo Haarlemmermeer this coming Sunday and Monday (2+3 September).
​
Will we see you there?  

ShowUP
Trade fair for home and gift

Expo Haarlemmermeer
Stelling 1
2141 SB Vijfhuizen

Sunday September 2 2018, 10:00 - 18:00
Monday September 3 2018, 10:00 - 18:00

Only accessible for professionals
​Free entrance after registration

<Click here for more information about the fair>

November 23rd - December 21st
​¢ 6,5 - 9 cm

element:           fire
ruling planet:  jupiter
colors:                purple, scarlet, blue
birthstone:       topaz
houseplant:     monstera deliciosa
birthflowers:    thistle, carnation, peony,  dandelion

Sagittarius: the archer.
The ancient Greeks modeled the sign after centaur Chiron, a master archer, and mentor of Achilles in the era of the Trojan Wars. 
You might know the kind: wise and etherial, one with nature, yet untamed and violent when provoked. Centaurs in books and movies pretty much always follow that character (Hello J.K. Rowling / I see you C.S. Lewis). They're also usually very skilled archers, yet can be set in their way and difficult to live with.

Would the supposed character traits be similar to those projected on the mythological centaur?
​
Well.. Not really.

​According to astrologers, people born under the constellation Sagittarius are considered philosophical freedom seekers who love to travel and learn new things, but can be rather impatient and undiplomatic. 
Maybe a bit like the Chinese archer depicted on the packaging: a skilled traveler, roaming free in a foreign land.
​Talking about roaming free.. For this Flower Constellation we decided to not use the full set of stars, but chose about half of them to make the constellation a perfect fit for the brass base.

Have you seen packaging for the signs Aries,  Taurus,   Gemini,  Cancer,  Leo,  Virgo,  Libra & Scorpio? - Tomorrow: Capricorn

In the Netherlands, the name of this zodiac sign is 'Kreeft': which translates to lobster.
That's why it's pretty confusing for most Dutch people to see a crab instead of a lobster on the Cancer packaging. 
I did try to work both crustaceans into the artwork., but since the entire rest of the world apparently agreed we're dealing with a crab here, i gave up after having difficulties finding the right angle.

Cancers' birthflowers are not just rosehip, wild rose, lotus and magnolia: all white flowers are associated with the star sign.
I'm looking forward to setting up a bouquet consisting of gorgeous white flowers with the Cancer Flower Constellations.
​Which white flowers do you like most?

Have you seen our Aries, Taurus and Gemini packaging? Leo will follow soon! 

​May 22nd - June 22nd
​¢ 6,5 - 9 cm

element:           air
ruling planet:  mercury
colors:                yellow, light blue
birthstone:       agate
houseplant:     tillandsia
birthflowers:    lavender, lilac, lily of the valley

Remember the space age?
The Apollo missions that resulted in the moon landings in the late 60's wouldn't have been possible without the Gemini programme: the two-person spaceflight programme perfected space walking and paved the way for the successfull mission in '69. 
Now you know why we have twin astronouts on the packaging! ​  

Gemini or 'twins' birthflowers are lavender and lilly of the valley, and if you're born between May 22nd and June 22nd you might want to consider tillandsia (air plants) for your house.

Check out the artwork for Aries and Taurus, and check back for the next unveil tomorrow!

The Taurus is supposedly one of the most reliable signs. Since one half of House of Thol is a Taurus, i (the other half) can vouch for that. 
While researching all different Constellations and listing all things and traits associated with them, i also came across totem animals. , 

Funny thing: the totem animal for the mighty taurus, is the beaver.
Well... they can both fell a tiny tree.

Have you seen our Aries packaging?
Next up: Gemini