ABOUT CHRISTIAAN

How do you combine an engineering study with a fascination for psychology? One way is to make shoes that grow flowers.

It wasn’t until my Master in Product Design at the Delft Technical University that I was able to combine my favorite subjects: product design, human psychology and social development. It was then that I discovered how products tell stories. From the clothes that we wear to the electronics we use every day: products show the world who we are and tell us how the world works. Products are extensions of our identity, of our culture and our beliefs. They are shaped by human culture, but they shape it as well. Just like stories. And just like stories, products can lift us up or bring us down, bring people together and tear them apart.

After graduation, I wanted to design a new story, to create a product that offered people a new perspective. The result was OAT Shoes: the world’s first biodegradable shoes that bloom. They were sneakers that you could plant in the ground and flowers would bloom from your old kicks. The shoes make the user part of the natural cycle of life. In stead of a linear take-make-waste product that you throw in a bin when they’re worn down, these shoes grow new life when you plant them.

After 2.5 years of development, we founded the company in 2010, launched in January 2011 and immediately won a prize at the Green Fashion Competition at Amsterdam Fashion Week. International press followed from Tokyo to LA, sales at the Bijenkorf, Wehkamp and many smaller shops, speaking engagements around the world. The product-story was a success: a dream come true in many respects. But it turned out owning a business was not what I enjoyed doing. I also wasn’t particularly good at it. In 2015 the company failed. A disappointment, but also a relief: I was free again to pursue new ideas, with the added wisdom of experience. I dove into a 3-year course in Jungian Psychology, while I started teaching product design at my alma mater. It deepened my understanding of human nature, the role of symbolism in society and reconnected me with the activities I enjoy most:

The creative process;
Working with people;
Developing ideas that build a better future.

Since then I have helped business owners, entrepreneurs and students build better brands and products by aligning their values and purpose to impactful products and services. My intimate knowledge of the design process, experience with the practical challenges of entrepreneurship and innovation, and my talent for human connection make projects run smoother and the results more effective.

My style is open, sincere, light and collaborative. I believe in terms like practical idealism and sincere playfulness. I am not a project manager, I am a process facilitator. I will not tell you what to do, I will create the conditions for you to discover what to do. Understanding your company’s purpose and brainstorming ways to maximize it’s positive impact is my favorite passtime.

Ready to get a taste? Book a free 30 min. brainstorm and find out how I can be of service.

Reference

EXHIBITIONS

Museum of Science + Industry Chicago - Smart House Exhibit (US)

Dutch Leather & Shoe Museum Waalwijk (NL)

Virtual Museum Zuidas Amsterdam (NL)

Museo do Calçado S. João de Madeira (PT)

Stedelijk Museum 's Hertogenbosch - Verkenningen Voor Een Collectie (NL)