Enter the studio: Nieuwe Heren

I'm all about following your dream and when I come across anybody who is pursuing their own distinct path, I can’t help but be inspired. Meet de Nieuwe Heren, who are stubbornly sticking to their dream and aesthetic…

Enter the relaxed studio of Nieuwe Heren (loosely translated as New Gents). The founders, Eric de Nijs and Tim Smit are funny and entertaining. These two young gentlemen discovered while they were still in school that they were a sort of golden duo: both having unique skills and both exceptionally talented at product design and both stubbornly independent. It was a natural next step to go into business with each other, and they founded Nieuwe Heren in June 2009.

When asked about their process, their singular reply is,

“In our designs we’re actually quite selfish, we design what we like. We just hope the rest of the world likes it too.”

Their creative ideas all have a story, background and a distinct meaning to them. Eric and Tim prefer to work with “bad-ass” materials, like leather, concrete and steel. Take the Lloyd lamp, for example: it is crafted from an ancient technique of hardening leather using water and molds, originally used for crafting leather armor.

Determined… stubborn

It’s a time-consuming process, but one which yields a high quality durable product. But precisely because it is a time-consuming process, it was, at first, a tricky endeavor for Nieuwe Heren. It’s not unusual for creatives to want to hold onto a beautiful idea, even though it may not be a profitable but Tim and Eric were determined to preserve the dignity of the process it took to create the lamp.

Luckily, they caught the attention of Puik Art, a Dutch agency who are dedicated to helping talented designers produce and distribute their work. Puik Art helped Nieuwe Heren define more streamlined production processes, while still allowing them creative ownership, and created a sales network for them, essentially taking the difficult business side of their work on for them.

Since this new partnership, Nieuwe Heren has distributed their product designs worldwide, at various international trade shows and in renowned design shops, such as Crowdyhouse, Mosey Home, Fonq and Houzz. They’ve exhibited at the Dutch Design Week and have been featured often on blogs and magazines, such as VT Wonen and Design Milk.

Growth mindset

They see expansion in their future, where they are hiring talent and coming up with more unique ideas to expand the range of their product and embrace new technologies. They’re prepared to follow their dream and stick to it. This means weathering everything that comes their way, which they know can be valuable learning experiences.

Eric and Tim may call themselves Gents but I have to say, I see them more as creative business warriors.