It was not a special day for us, more a logical consequence of … on July 1, 2016, we registered with the Chamber of Commerce! Today, Fabryk Design celebrates its fourth anniversary.
Swapping fancy clothes for old jeans
For some time we, my husband Sytze and I, had been in the process of establishing Fabryk Design. What began as a hobby soon began to grow into something serious. After Sytze made me a wooden bench with a steel base and I posted it on socialmedia, the fence went up! “Can you make a bench like that for me, too? Can you also make a dining table? Or a coffee table?” Soon we were working night after night in the shed fabricating beautiful items. With my, then busy job in a clothing store, I traded my fancy clothes in the evening for a pair of worn-out jeans and dust jacket. I loved it, tackling a tree trunk with hammer and chisel after a day’s work, making something out of nothing and making people happy. At the same time, being busy and doing something with my husband worked therapeutically for me. A family with young children, a busy job and a social life. You probably recognize when I say that finding time and making time off to do something together as partners is pretty scarce.
Getting started with hammer and chisel
Soon it tasted like more. The entrepreneurial blood that was still hidden somewhere began to flow and I made a choice with my heart. I said goodbye to my job and threw myself into the deep end. A choice made with my heart, but with the goal of making a living. This was more than a hobby, more than just getting to work with hammer and chisel.
Now, four years later
I still use that hammer and chisel now, four years later. Even if it is no longer physically in the workshop. I keep hammering, scraping and hammering nails. The past few years have been like a wild roller coaster ride. I faced enormous challenges and hellish chores. From one pitter to a business with staff. From garage to a real fabryk with machines and whatnot….
We have celebrated wonderful successes such as the founding of FBRK-Werkt!, the mighty VT wonen fair (standing as an ieniminie among the big giants in housing land), the cozy parties in the fabryk (“what happends in the fabryk, stays in the fabryk”) guiding students, coaching employees and reintegration participants.
Growth and automation
Now, after four years, we once again face some considerable challenges. Stores at home and abroad are discovering our assortment and FBRK-Werkt! has also taken a renewed path. So we are going to mentor more and more young people who could use a helping hand or a loving kick in the butt. Processes within Fabryk Design are being automated to accommodate growth. We are already physically short of space and that means we will be moving into another shed and we have more surprises in store for FBRK-Werkt! too!
He, I and the Fabryk
Sytze has dedicated himself to Fabryk mostly on weekends and evenings in recent years. Night after night he worked with Lars, preparing orders and doing an awful lot of work. Over the past year, he was also increasingly to be found in the fabryk on weekdays, and starting this summer, Sytze will also be found in the fabryk full-time!
It’s nice to grow our business, as Sytze and I envision it, to keep hammering and honing. To spar together and sometimes clash vigorously. Sytze downstairs in the workshop and I upstairs in the office, each our own department. Exciting it certainly is, but both of us are optimistic by nature and eager to get this job done as a couple as well as business partners.
To celebrate our 4th anniversary today, everyone who orders from today through Sunday will get a gift from us with every order!
Much love, Esther
