Description: I have always been around antiques and when I was a child there were plenty of interesting and special pieces to be found at home; among them clocks from Limburg, about which my father wrote an authoritative book. Partly because of this I decided to study fine arts at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Maastricht, the Netherlands, followed by internships in Hasselt, Belgium; Canterbury, UK; and Toulouse, France where I finished my degree as a graphic artist in monumental art.
After I completed my studies I traveled a lot and then lived in France for a while. In Spain I walked the “Camino de Santiago” (the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela) where I, like many before me, had time for some reflection and thought of how I could make a living from my passion for fine art and my other hobbies. Little by little I started buying and selling among other things authentic shop interiors, big clocks from churches and railway stations and other unusual objects, like crystal chandeliers. The chandeliers proved to be exactly what I was looking for and from 2007 I have concentrated solely on chandeliers.
What I want is to get the chandelier back in its best original state possible and preferably with candles. A pure candle chandelier as a light source is a thing of beauty but as a compromise to modern times I often furnish my objects with subtle indirect electrical lighting from the inside, so the use without candles is possible.
Over the years I have built up an extensive network and I have traveled a lot adding unusual pieces, often in a terrible and/or neglected state, to my collection.
I am frequently asked for help with restorations, for example, recently the “Museum aan het Vrijthof” in Maastricht, for whom I restored a very unusual 18th Century Liege Chandelier. Because I am constantly trying to add to my collection and owing to a lack of time, I unfortunately can only take on very few restorations for others as I work alone.
Not quantity but quality is therefore my motto. |