Oh what a year!

What a year, what a year…. Both in business and in our private lives we have not been idle, a move from Makkinga to beautiful Bakkeveen meant a lot to us. Building a new life in my childhood home seemed easier said than done, after all, you leave 15 years of Makkinga behind you and for Sytze even his entire life! The children had to find their feet again, and for Brent it also meant a new school, new classmates and making new friends. Between lockdowns and curfews, we moved to the farmhouse where we hope to live happily ever after. There is still work to be done, but we will not be deterred by this.

DIY and remodeling fit us like a glove (well, actually Sytze most). Over the past year, I have thrown myself into the vegetable garden and started landscaping. Our daughter Elise was able to fulfill her girlhood dream, her horses are at home and here she is every day. Horseback riding, grooming and also mucking out the stables is part of the job. Brent, our son, now has a flock of sheep and helps where he can: mowing grass, feeding and helping with the renovation. It is so nice to be able to live “outside,” within 500 meters we are in the woods of Bakkeveen. We realize very well that it is a privilege to be able to live and live like this.

Corona also plays a role

Still corona plays a big role in our existence, we as a family have so far been spared and still corona free, but colleagues and relatives of have already gone through several quarantines. This means constantly adjusting and shifting schedules, deadlines and appointments. It sounds crazy, but you even start to get a little used to it after two years of corona in our country.

We are moving along nicely!

Fabryk Design and FBRK. Works go on nicely. We have gained new colleagues at FBRK. Works and some great collaborations are planned for the coming year as well. Unfortunately, corona still leaves a mark on our work, participants who cannot come affect us the most. Early this year, lumber prices flew through the roof and it was difficult to get wood.

Workshops were also difficult last year, it’s not like we’re used to! Entertaining groups of ladies (and the occasional gentleman) from across the country to have a fun evening is not what it used to be. Despite that, we were still able to provide a couple of great workshops with Love Emma (rope lamp knotting) and Doetie (arm knitting XXL).

5 years of Fabryk Design

In July, we celebrated Fabryk Design’s fifth anniversary in a big way with a garden party! The weather was beautifully beautiful and together we had a wonderful evening. Beautiful words, gifts and being together was wonderful! It makes us proud that in 5 years we have grown from a sole proprietorship to a full-fledged company with diverse offerings.

During the summer vacation, in addition to vacationing, we also took care of the showroom. We can now host guests and showcase our product range. Also, the studio is already proving too small and we will soon expand.

Christmas was a great success

Fall is all about Christmas starting in October! Hundreds of Christmas orders went across the country. Sometimes products turned out to be such a success that we couldn’t work against them and even had to sell no. The cool thing is that some of these products were designed by our interns, how cool is it that you get to design a product that then turns out to be a resounding success!

For a dozen companies, we were able to provide Christmas packages, completely customized. Personalized tapas boards, Christmas baubles and so on. Everything is and will be locally and sustainably produced, which makes it fun to make and to get.

And now we are already in the last week of the year, it is unimaginable how quickly time flies. With highs and lows, because on a personal level, it was quite tough at times. My back and body do not always work the way I would like them to, and with periods it is so painful that working is almost impossible. We are now several examinations further on and I am at the beginning of a rehabilitation period that I am somewhat dreading, but also looking forward to slowly but surely getting my old life back and going full steam ahead!

On to a new year

I am so proud and grateful that we have a great team of colleagues around us, colleagues you can build on and trust. Together we are making great strides and becoming more and more professional in our offerings. We work continuously to optimize our products to give them a true Fabryk stamp!

Something we will certainly do more of in the coming year, because we have big, beautiful and special plans for 2022!