Studio op Stelten is an emerging home decor brand. From posters to pillows, shelves to vases, this brand has it all. I interviewed one of the owners, Debby van Seeters about the ups and downs of starting your own company as a creative entrepreneur. Read on if you're thinking about starting your own company one day, too!
Can you tell us a little bit about the history of Studio op Stelten?
Studio op Stelten started as Zolder op Stelten, a small photo studio in our shed. Here I did photoshoots of couples, children, and families. Although I liked doing this for a while, I missed creating something with my hands. The photoshoots included a lot of photo editing, something I got tired of doing after a few years. One day I got inspired to create an innovative way of ‘framing’ a photo and combined real photos with wooden blocks my husband created. We gave these blocks away to friends and family as a gift. They all responded so enthusiastically; we thought this might actually be a great idea. Then we stumbled across a Rijksmuseum contest and submitted our photo blocks. To our surprise, we got a call back from the museum! We got selected to create merchandise for an upcoming exhibition. That’s when we really started building our brand.
Why did you decide to start your own company?
I really wanted to have full creative control over what I was doing. I love working with my hands and not having to work according to rules someone else made.
What do you love most about your job?
I get to do what I love most and share my art with the world. To my excitement, many people are interested in what we create, and I’ve gotten myself a full-time job out of it. Besides this, I get to manage my time the way I want to. My work no longer keeps me from getting lunch with a friend or going on a spontaneous city trip on a weekday.
What are the biggest challenges you’ve had to face while building this brand?
Although I work full time and put a lot of effort into the company, there are days when you sell almost nothing. This can be discouraging. On those days, you really must motivate yourself to keep going and stay positive, no matter how hard that might be. When you’re not your own boss, you have someone who keeps track of what you do, and you have more security of having a stable paycheck at the end of the month.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned while building this brand?
Perseverance is the most important quality you need to possess when starting your own company. Especially when you are just starting out and no one knows about your brand yet, you shouldn’t give up, even though you might be tempted to. Stay positive and remember why you started in the first place and how much you love what you are doing. Also, spend your money wisely, don’t invest in equipment or materials that aren’t essential to your company when you’re just starting out. Whatever you do, follow your gut instincts and learn from your mistakes and successes.
Do you have any advice for people who are interested in starting their own company?
If you dream of having your own company, follow those dreams and make them happen. Through trial and error, you’ll learn how to run your own business. Better to have tried and failed than to always think ‘what if...?’ Just go for it!
Have you gotten interested in Studio op Stelten? Check out their website and Instagram!
