Hester van Eeghen
Encyclopedia
Hester van Eeghen is a Dutch
designer
of leather bags, wallet
s and accessories.
She learned the technical craft of leather construction by working with a suitcase designer who encouraged her to perfect the smallest details. She scraped together money to buy small pieces of leather, and created bags, one by one, which she sold in local street markets. With each bag she sold she would buy more leather, make more bags, and so on, until she finally was able to open her shop at 37 Haartenstrat.
, the UK
, Japan
and the USA. She is regarded as one of the influential Dutch designers of the 20th century.
Happiness for Hester is being in her atelier—her studio—completely unrestrained and focused, experimenting with designs. When she is working, she surrounds herself with sketches she's made and hundreds of swatches of leather. It is like a silent dialogue, and leather is her muse. From her first discovery of leather, she has remained true to this innocent obsession. The touch, sight and smell of it fills her with a sense of wonder and surprise.
It is her intention to imbue this passion she feels into every design she creates. She wants her pieces to stir the soul, to uplift the spirit and to inspire joy. She wants her customers to feel what she feels when she is creating. Important in all her designs are beauty, passion, shape, color, and surprise. These essential elements are the essence of her vision.
Now, she designs all her creations in Amsterdam and personally oversees their construction in small workshops in Milan, Italy. She found the best craftsmen in the world who use time-honored tanning and finishing techniques and stay true to the old-world traditions.
Her designs are like her little children, each one has a distinct personality and character. And now they can be found not just in her little Amsterdam shop, but in luxury and museum stores throughout Europe, Japan and even New York City's Museum of Modern Art
.
Van Eeghen has designed collections for other brands such as Paco Rabanne
, Marlboro Classics
, Jaguar, Castelijn en Berens.
Her work was published in over 200 interviews in magazines (NRC Handelsblad,
Volkskrant, International Herald Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Trouw
, Het Parool
, De Telegraaf
, Het Financieel Dagblad – HP/De Tijd
, Vrij Nederland
, Art Aurea, Holland Herald etc..), television and radio. It is listed in an inventory of Dutch Design in the 20th Century (Ton Lauwen 2003).
Amsterdam, with the proceeds going to the Foundation Hester van Eeghen Leather Design. Every two years, the Foundation organises a competition in collaboration with the Museum of Bags and Purses
as a stimulus for designers who work with leather. The theme of the competition focuses on the historical collection of the museum, for example the 2010 theme is Dine & Date. The winner of the Leather Design Prize will have their design produced in a series of 30 pieces. It is an opportunity for the designer to become familiar with the entire process from design to end product.
In 2008, after 20 years of designing, Hester was made a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau
and given the decorations by the Mayor of Amsterdam
Job Cohen
for her contribution to Dutch Design
.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
of leather bags, wallet
Wallet
A wallet, or billfold, is a small, flat case that is used to carry personal items such as cash, credit cards, identification documents , photographs, business cards and other paper or laminated cards...
s and accessories.
Life
Hester van Eeghen was born in Amsterdam, the youngest of five children. Her family has been involved in the arts in The Netherlands in one way or another since the 17th century. She studied literature at the University of Amsterdam, and soon got involved with theatre, acting, and producing musicals. It was during that time she also started designing bags and working with leather. Although it was her passion, she didn't dare imagine a living could be made as a designer and so she began to study law. It was not long before it was clear that she needed to follow her heart and leave the law books behind.She learned the technical craft of leather construction by working with a suitcase designer who encouraged her to perfect the smallest details. She scraped together money to buy small pieces of leather, and created bags, one by one, which she sold in local street markets. With each bag she sold she would buy more leather, make more bags, and so on, until she finally was able to open her shop at 37 Haartenstrat.
Work
Her designs are for sale in over 150 museums and design stores over the world ands are sold in several countries like GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the USA. She is regarded as one of the influential Dutch designers of the 20th century.
Happiness for Hester is being in her atelier—her studio—completely unrestrained and focused, experimenting with designs. When she is working, she surrounds herself with sketches she's made and hundreds of swatches of leather. It is like a silent dialogue, and leather is her muse. From her first discovery of leather, she has remained true to this innocent obsession. The touch, sight and smell of it fills her with a sense of wonder and surprise.
It is her intention to imbue this passion she feels into every design she creates. She wants her pieces to stir the soul, to uplift the spirit and to inspire joy. She wants her customers to feel what she feels when she is creating. Important in all her designs are beauty, passion, shape, color, and surprise. These essential elements are the essence of her vision.
Now, she designs all her creations in Amsterdam and personally oversees their construction in small workshops in Milan, Italy. She found the best craftsmen in the world who use time-honored tanning and finishing techniques and stay true to the old-world traditions.
Her designs are like her little children, each one has a distinct personality and character. And now they can be found not just in her little Amsterdam shop, but in luxury and museum stores throughout Europe, Japan and even New York City's Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
.
Van Eeghen has designed collections for other brands such as Paco Rabanne
Paco Rabanne
Francisco "Paco" Rabaneda Cuervo, more commonly known as Paco Rabanne is a Franco-Spanish fashion designer. He fled Spain for France with his mother when the Spanish Civil War broke out...
, Marlboro Classics
Marlboro Classics
Marlboro Classics is an Italian fashion and lifestyle house. The Brand was established in the mid 1980s. It is produced and distributed by Valentino Fashion Group.-Today:Nowadays they have 2400 points of sales in 42 countries...
, Jaguar, Castelijn en Berens.
Her work was published in over 200 interviews in magazines (NRC Handelsblad,
Volkskrant, International Herald Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Trouw
Trouw
Trouw is a Dutch daily newspaper. "Trouw" is a Dutch word meaning "fidelity", "loyalty", or "allegiance", and is cognate with the English adjective "true"...
, Het Parool
Het Parool
Het Parool is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was founded as a resistance paper during World War II by Frans Van Heuven Goedhart and Jaap Nunes Vaz...
, De Telegraaf
De Telegraaf
De Telegraaf is the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper, with a daily circulation of approximately . De Telegraaf is based in Amsterdam...
, Het Financieel Dagblad – HP/De Tijd
HP/De Tijd
HP/De Tijd is a Dutch weekly magazine, published by Audax Publishing. HP/De Tijd was founded in 1990, after a merger of the Haagse Post and De Tijd. It is conventionally considered to be one of the four most influential written media in its sector, along with De Groene Amsterdammer, Vrij Nederland...
, Vrij Nederland
Vrij Nederland
Vrij Nederland is a Dutch magazine which was established during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II as an underground newspaper but has since grown into a magazine. The weekly magazine is generally considered to be intellectually left-wing...
, Art Aurea, Holland Herald etc..), television and radio. It is listed in an inventory of Dutch Design in the 20th Century (Ton Lauwen 2003).
Foundation
Both in 1998 and 2008 at the occasion of her first and second decade in design, Hester van Eeghen created a collection of 24 unique pieces that were auctioned at Sotheby'sSotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
Amsterdam, with the proceeds going to the Foundation Hester van Eeghen Leather Design. Every two years, the Foundation organises a competition in collaboration with the Museum of Bags and Purses
Museum of Bags and Purses
The Museum of Bags and Purses , located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, is a museum devoted to historic handbags, purses and suitcases. The museum's collection includes 4,000 items dating back to the 16th century...
as a stimulus for designers who work with leather. The theme of the competition focuses on the historical collection of the museum, for example the 2010 theme is Dine & Date. The winner of the Leather Design Prize will have their design produced in a series of 30 pieces. It is an opportunity for the designer to become familiar with the entire process from design to end product.
In 2008, after 20 years of designing, Hester was made a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau
Order of Orange-Nassau
The Order of Orange-Nassau is a military and civil order of the Netherlands which was created on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma of the Netherlands, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina. The Order is a chivalry order open to "everyone who have earned special merits for...
and given the decorations by the Mayor of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
Job Cohen
Job Cohen
Marius Job Cohen is a Dutch social democratic politician and former legal scholar of Jewish background. Since 2010 he has been the leader of the Labour Party and since June 17, 2010 he has been a member of the House of Representatives, where he also is the Parliamentary group leader of the Labour...
for her contribution to Dutch Design
Dutch Design
Dutch Design is a term used to connote design in The Netherlands, particularly product design. More specifically, the term refers to the design esthetic common to designers in The Netherlands. Dutch Design can be characterized as minimalist, experimental, innovative, quirky, and humorous...
.