Dreaming, daring and doing
“Hey Es, in July Fabryk will exist 5 years hey! Do you still want to pay attention to this?”
Paying attention to it? We are going to celebrate this in a big way! Like the day of yesterday that Sytze and I drove to the CoC on July 1 to register our little company. What exactly we were going to make, the friendly lady behind the counter asked. We make home accessories in geometric style out of wood. At the time, that seemed like the easiest description of our product. She looked at us as if we were applying for a patent on new drug to be developed with a complicated name.
Geometric shapes?
Geometric shapes? And what should I imagine with that? Quickly I conjured up my phone and showed some examples. Somewhat dubiously, she enrolled us under the code: industrial design and manufacturing.
On the way back in the car, we had a good laugh about this. Many people had no idea what we were going to do or make. So we have learned by trial and error and, above all, tried out what suits us and what does not. From custom cabinets and tables to trunks on wheels. The latter in particular was a wonderful time, the requests kept coming and we didn’t have enough dry logs in stock. So then piles of logs in the house dried by the wood stove. A shrinkage or a crack was not a big deal; that was just part of it.
We received clients at home, and had coffee with them at the dinner table. Nothing was too crazy, a table to Amsterdam? Arrange it! The front room became my storage and office. The first big expense was a 700 euro PC, bought from my first earned money.
So far, it has been a journey of dreaming, daring and doing. And sometimes going really hard on your ass. It is a challenge every week to line up the team in the right position. To let everyone do what they do best. One in marketing, another in the warehouse and yet another as a supervisor of FBRK-Works.
You continue to learn and discover!
We are now five years on, and so much more wiser. But there is still so much to learn and discover! The right people around you to help you move forward, the “wise” old hands in the business that I learn a lot from. Keep reading, deepening and on edge. Especially last year, when corona was around the corner. I have written and told enough about it, a true nightmare where there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel….
We still notice the effects of corona, but it has also given us opportunities. We keep trying to see the beauty in everything. That our team, family and relatives remained healthy. That we are (almost) vaccinated and then we can go full speed ahead with day care. I miss the workshops and the customers in the showroom, the stores buying in and so on. But it has also given us time to take a good hard look at our business in order to lay out plans for the coming years.
From active collaborator, over the years I have become the captain of the ship, setting the route, keeping the course and making sure all hands stay on deck. A job that is right up my alley. And when I get tired of it, I walk to the workshop and go create something beautiful. Because you can still do that too!
