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De Huisjes: from Haarlem illustrations to gifts with a story of their own
2015
De Huisjes grew out of a smaller business called Haarlemse Huisjes. In June 2015, Renske Horn (designer and illustrator) drew Haarlem City Hall and posted it on social media. The enthusiastic response was overwhelming. People started requesting other buildings that they would love to see as illustrations.
Within a few weeks, a small series of illustrations of well-known Haarlem buildings had been created. Soon, people started asking: “Where can I buy these illustrations?”. With limited resources, Renske created a simple webshop to sell prints of her illustrations.
2016
A year later, in June 2016, Renske took part in a Haarlem market for the first time, selling framed prints. Through social media, awareness of the brand continued to grow and the webshop became busier. With the proceeds from the first sales, Renske was able to have cards printed and purchase envelopes to expand the webshop.
In 2016, Renske also came up with the Haarlem keychain. It features an illustration of a map of Haarlem, engraved and cut from bamboo wood using a laser cutting machine. A perfect keepsake of the city and a way to always carry a little piece of your hometown with you.
This year, Haarlemse Huisjes also made its first appearance at the famous Haarlem Comic Days and at the Haarlem Christmas market.
2017
The year got off to a great start with a wonderful article in Haarlems Dagblad. The exposure generated by the article led to many orders and countless requests from people who wanted to have their own home illustrated.
2017 was a year of many new products and illustrations. By then, the webshop was filled with posters, cards, keychains, magnets and mugs. Just before the Christmas market in 2017, the Haarlem calendar was also introduced.
2018
In 2017, Eva, Melanie, Edwin, Max and Renske worked together on a project. They enjoyed working together so much that they decided to join forces and work together on De Huisjes. With so many people contributing to the design, copywriting, webshop and social media, there is more room to develop new products and illustrations.
By this time, De Huisjes even had its own laser cutting machine. Thanks to this fantastic piece of equipment, there are many opportunities to develop new products and create more personalized items.
The rest is not history just yet. Would you like to keep following our story? Then keep an eye on our Facebook page and Instagram.
