I'm the founder and owner of Valuable th’Ing, a company where I combine all my skills and interests. I love my family and my cat, music, and history. In 2023, I launched Valuable th’Ingas a valuation and consulting firm specializing in leather goods. But I increasingly found myself drawn to worn-out bags in thrift shops—bags that, with a little care and craftsmanship, could be perfectly usable again. That discovery brought me back to my old love: conservation.
Today, I combine appraisal and advisory work with the restoration and repair of leather objects, and sharing my specialized knowledge of leather in both historical and contemporary applications. At Valuable th’Ing, leather bags and utensils are preserved and repaired with an eye for detail, respect for the original object, and a deep-rooted love of craftsmanship and materials.
I once attended fashion academy but my heart was with old rather than new. I studied textile conservation at the State Training Centre for Conservators in Amsterdam and worked as a textile conservator for a while.
After five years, I found a new challenge at the Dutch Leather and Shoe Museum, currently known as Shoe quarters. As a curator, I immersed myself for more than 25 years in the fascinating material leather and in the history of leather processing and shoe making. Shoes and bags are beautiful products; a lot of craftsmanship is involved in their manufacture. But leather has been manufactured and used for all kinds of applications for thousands of years, and I also find those applications very interesting.
Over the past 15 years, leather has come under increasing scrutiny due to its animal origins and the environmental pollution caused by large livestock populations and the tanning process. Significant time and money is invested in developing so-called vegan leathers—but even these materials are often less sustainable than many consumers think.
Als consumenten moeten we echt zorgvuldiger omgaan met materialen en mooie producten. Met Waardevol d’Ing draag ik graag mijn ecologische steentje bij door de waarde van leren voorwerpen inzichtelijk te maken. In mijn blogs gun ik u een kijkje in de wereld van luxury goods, duurzaamheid, materialisering, conservering en hergebruik. En ten slotte ga ik voor u op zoek naar tweedehands schoenen, tassen en andere gebruiksvoorwerpen waar nog ‘muziek in zit’ — en die het verdienen om opnieuw gebruikt te worden.
Looking forward to seeing you,
Photo credits: Nina Vrieswijk (photography) & Myrthe Specht (art direction) |
