Jan de Haas began Studio Hergebruik as a hobby four years ago.  He knew a few designers and artists who were working with recycled materials and wanted to create a platform for them to sell their products as well as to develop their creations further.

De Haas had just retired from a highly charged  job as business consultant and project manager and had time, and some money, on his hands.

“I started this shop as a complete amateur. I did not know anything about art and design or how to run a shop,” he says.

Studio Hergebruik began in a small location, but after a year De Haas found a large space in a building ideally located between Hofplein and the bustling shopping streets of Rotterdam city centre.  The building is earmarked for demolition and is part of the Dutch anti-kraak (anti-squatting) scheme through which landlords rent out their property at low prices to ensure that they are occupied by ‘legal’ tenants until they decide what to do with the property. 

Over four years, De Haas has created a substantial network without resorting to extensive advertising or marketing. Word of mouth is working for them with artists, designers and companies contacting them rather than the other way around.

“We started with five designers and we now have over seventy different designers in our network,” says De Haas. He shrugs his shoulders and grins. “It just happened.”

Certainly, De Haas’ retirement plans seem to have fallen by the wayside. His initial idea of starting a project that he could maintain through working a couple of days a week has turned into a full-time six-days-a-week schedule.

“I think I will continue like this for a year or so before starting to withdraw myself little by little,” says De Haas, who, besides the artists’ network, has several staff members who assist him in running his studio and shop.

Educating and inspiring

De Haas emphasises that one of the most important goals of his design studio is “to inspire people”, “bring them together” and to operate as a platform from which to exchange knowledge from the ‘playground’ he has created.

Studio Hergebruik offers internships, educational workshops--for groups of six up to as many as 80 people-- and exhibition spaces to Dutch art academies and universities, along with team-building events for companies.

De Haas observes that art schools are increasingly focussing on different ways of using materials and the artists and designers in his network are only too willing to lead workshops.

“We had Chinese, Indonesian and Indian students visiting here today. They are staying in Rotterdam as exchange students, and have been here to discuss and learn about sustainability,” he says.

“One of the funniest things we did recently was to build rockets out of soda bottles with very simple ingredients. You can launch your self-made rocket up to 80 meters high. Another popular workshop is re-creating poems, which is especially useful for teambuilding as you get to know your colleagues in different way. Creating jewellery or collages are also popular amongst the students,” says De Haas.  

 
The designers

Given that several designers contact Studio Hergebruik weekly, De Haas needs to be selective. “When choosing products for the Studio, the recycling of material is a prominent factor,” he says.

But what makes recycled material attractive for designers?

“The challenge,” says De Haas without hesitation.

Most of the designs you see in Studio Hergebruik are simple and stylish.
“It is actually a hell of a job to find the right kind of material, select it, clean it and then figure out how to get it into the right form,” says De Haas.

 ”The designers are usually more interested in the materials than the green movement,” he admits, which is one of the main differences between the buyer and the creator; most of the Studio’s clients are vigilant about the recycling of waste at home and in their workplaces.

The customers

Since De Haas launched the studio, he has soon a significant increase in people’s interest in recycled material.

He describes Studio Hergebruik clients as “people, who are adventurous and like fashionable objects”, and his studio as “representing the avant-garde stream in taste."

He adds, “Our typical customer is an over thirty, highly educated urban woman.  Even though many students love our works, they can’t afford to buy them.”

De Haas lists Scandananvian countries, Germany and Austria as being amongst the places  leading in this fast-growing recycling trend; something which has caught on in other countries across Europe to varying degrees. “For example, you would see there is actually very little recycling in Belgium as compared to the Netherlands,” he says. 

International reach

Due to having both the Dutch tourist office—VVV—and several hotels located in its vicinity, Studio Hergebruik attracts tourists as clientele, particularly Italian, German and Spanish. “Especially during Rotterdam’s major events, such as North Sea Jazz and International Film Festival our sales climb,” says De Haas.

Paradoxically, the financial crisis has had a positive effect on Studio Hergebruik. “Our customers are spending just as much money as they did before,” says De Haas, “however, the mindset has changed. People consider more carefully whether they should invest in design products or not. They are also more interested in the origin of and the quality and craftsmanship of the product. People aren’t only willing to pay only for the label; they also want to know the story behind the product.”

Studio Hergebruik is situated at Coolsingel 53, Rotterdam.

For more information visit www.studiohergebruik.nl

Text and pictures: Kati Noordhuizen