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. 
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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.
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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. 
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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

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

Check out this lovely article by the Florist / Florist magazine.
We're so happy to be featured on a blog that's specifically aimed at a professional floral audience. 

Check out the full piece by clicking on the image or here.

Every year in April, pretty much the complete Dutch Design Community packs up and moves their newest designs to Milan for the International Furniture Fair.

With our International Crowdfunding campaign running on Kickstarter, a presence in Milan would definitely help our cause.

Luckily, one of our friends in designerland, Wisse Trooster, could use a little floral touch in the style room he created for Dutch sustainable label Cartoni Design.
​We were -of course- more than happy to lend Wisse a few Flower Constellation prototypes.

About Cartoni Design

Cartoni Design creates unique furniture collections from reclaimed, recycled and sustainable materials, working with different young Dutch Designers like, amongst others, Wisse Trooster.

It's a win/win: Cartoni Design brightens up their lovely exhibition with a stylish tool for a floral touch, and we're very happy with a little extra international exposure for our Flower Constellations.
​
If you're in Milan, make sure to visit the Cartoni Design Style room at Masterly and get a glimpse of our Flower Constellations in real life.

Masterly / The Dutch in Milan
Palazzo Francesco Turati
Via Meravigli 7, Milano

​more information on Fuori-salone site (+map)

Want to stay updated about Cartoni Design?
Best thing to do is follow their Instagram account, or, for your daily dose of design inspiration, follow Wisse Trooster on Instagram.

We just sent out a new Newsletter with a Superduperdeal you don't want to miss.
Check it our here:

We hebben net een nieuwsbrief verstuurd met een Superduperdeal die je niet wilt missen.
Bekijk m hier:

En als je dat doet, schrijf je dan meteen even in, zodat je in de toekomst geen House of Thol nieuws hoeft te missen.

Now that we've reached our Kickstarter goal in only 11 days (yeeaah!), we are not slowing down with our compaign.
No sir! No way!

Of course we took the time to sip on a glass of bubbles (or three), but now that we've made it this far, we're upping our ante:
​Let's go for stretch goals! ​

If we get to €8.000,- in funding, we'll be getting serious about the Propagation constellation:

​a brass tool similar to the Flower Constellations that is perfect for sprouting larger seeds and pits and for the propagation of cuttings. ​

Good to know, as soon as we've developed it, we'll prepare a Propagation Constellation prototype and add it as a Reward possibility for you to pre-order.

So if you haven't pledged already, do so now and unlock a new universe of possibilities.

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!

The Flower Constellations will make a lovely gift once they're out in the shops.
​
But why wait so long?
Many friends and supporters pre-ordering the Flower Constellations on Kickstarter, reached out to us to ask for gift vouchers. 

Well... You ask? We deliver.

With voucher requests coming in from all over the world, we had to create something that would be easy to print anywhere.

We challenged ourselves to create something that would exceed a flat printed leaflet.
It took quite some testing, folding, redesigning and puzzle-solving, but here it is: the official Flower Constellations Gift Voucher.  

The A4 free download can be printed at any home-printer (do NOT scale to fit) and folded into a little envelope with hardly any white sheet left in sight.
​ 
Aside from fitting a little personal note, the small pouch is perfect for a package of wildflowerseeds.
In case you'd like to add a little natural sparkle to your gift. 

We used the space underneath the fold of the envelope for a little explanation about the Flower Constellations and crowdfunding process, as well as our website address for more information.

The folding pattern should be pretty straightforward, provided you pay attention to the print on the sheet.

Here's a short video showing you the steps to create the Flower Constellations Gift Voucher Envelope.

How to download the voucher, you ask?
Simply click the large image and a pdf will open in a new window.

​Have fun folding and gifting!

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.
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Thanks Urban Jungle Bloggers!