bvba De Vroey
bvba De VroeyTer Rivierenlaan 16 Deurne 2100 Belgium
Meerspoort 33 Oudenaarde 9700 Belgium
Oscar Delghuststraat 60 – L4c RONSE 9600 Belgium
Acie’s Cabinet
Acie’s CabinetMore Info
Handmade. Unique. Belgian.
Hi!
Welcome to Acie’s Cabinet.
First of all, I would like to thank you for taking your time to visit my website. I really appreciate it.
My name is Amber. I’m a bookworm, cat lover and potterhead; I’m a creative soul and am a fan of nordic noir (or ‘noir’ in general, really 😉).
In 2017 I started my small company Acie.
In this digital cabinet, you can find all manner of accessories for yourself, your house or your family and friends.
After having received multiple trainings (fashion design, historical costume, leather works and bookbinding), I combine different trades in unique items.
View
There are certain choices I make for ecological reasons. In my personal life, this means I never travel by aeroplane (or, indeed, seldom travel at all), and in my professional life as well, I strive to have a low impact on the environment.
The number of items I produce out of one particular fabric is limited, and never will two accessories look 100% alike. Because I create items in small amounts, it is perfectly possible to create different kinds of accessories with one fabric. I design and make everything in my atelier in Belgium.
Most items are packed in upcycled boxes, and are shipped with pre-used packaging as much as possible.
Materials
The fabrics I use are purchased or designed in small amounts. Not only does this intensify the uniqueness of the accessories, it also means I have very little “waste”. I save all the scraps of fabric that are left from projects, to create new pieces with later on.
Furthermore, I buy from local shops and fairs and often go to factory sales, to rescue fabric that would otherwise be thrown away.
Linen is one of my favourite materials to work with. Linen is made from the fibres of the flax plant. This plant does not attract a lot of harmful insects, which means farmers don’t have to use pesticides to protect their harvest.
Flax needs very little water and produces a lot of fibres. Isn’t that just great?!
Leather is a material that is often not considered environmentally friendly. There are a lot of chemicals involved in the tanning process. However, there are a few steps we can take to make it a bit less harmful:
The leather I use to create bow ties with, are scraps from a shoemaking factory. The leftover pieces are too small to cut into shoe panels, but are perfect for the creation of bow ties! Zero waste fashion: check!
If I need bigger pieces of leather, I go to local shops to purchase leather that is already on hand. This means leather is never ordered or designed especially for me. Sometimes I even get the chance to find some second hand rescue leather, which always makes me very happy! The scraps from these hides are also saved to produce small items with, for example The Book Manager.
If leather is cared for properly, it will last many, many years. By buying less but better, we can all help a little in our ‘Save the planet’-mission!
Schooling
As mentioned above, I received multiple trainings:
Fashion design
Bookbinding
Leatherworks
Furthermore, I did courses in millinery, historical costume, and I learnt how to mend clothes.
I always continue to learn. I think it is important to keep improving your skills, and thanks to the combination of courses, I’ve learnt a few tricks of the trade. Or, rather, trades 😉.
Please roam freely! The pictures on this website show the kind of items I usually make. You can place an order in my webshop.
If you see an item you like, but would prefer a different colour or material, don’t hesitate to contact me for a custom order.
See you soon!
Amber
More Info
Ma première collection, je l’ai faite pour un marché de Noël à Jodoigne, le petit bourg où j’habite. Cette collection avait suscité de l’enthousiasme autour de moi, un vrai démarrage sur les chapeaux de roue !
Quand je repense à ces tout débuts, j’ai parfois la nostalgie d’une démarche très libre, instinctive, parfois bien téméraire face aux obstacles techniques.
Il s’agissait alors de chapeaux pour tous les jours, en polar, en velours, en lainages, même en tissu d’ameublement…
J’ai pu me sensibiliser aux formes et aux volumes et ainsi découvrir leur effet plus ou moins harmonieux
Très vite j’ai eu envie de créer un autre type de chapeau… Des chapeaux d’été et des chapeaux plus sophistiqués et originaux pour les mariages.
J’ai pu dénicher çà et là quelques moules à chapeau dans des brocantes… Utilisant « à défaut » seaux en plastique d’un diamètre correspondant à celui d’un tour de tête, plats en bois… Jusqu’au jour où j’ai eu l’opportunité d’acheter un lot entier de formes à chapeaux dans une maison de mode qui fermait…
Au fil des années, j’ai élargi la gamme de mes ressources… Passer du travail du para sisal, au tissu sisal, au visca, rami, buntal et bien sûr aussi découvrir le plaisir de « tirer des feutres » en hiver… De challenge en challenge, j’ai reculé mes limites techniques, consultant au besoin des modistes confirmées pour recevoir aide et conseil. C’est ainsi que j’ai appris la teinture, le travail du crin, de la toile élastique et de la sparterie, la maitrise des apprêts aussi…
Quand on me demande quel est mon style, j’ai souvent du mal à répondre… Oui j’ai mes goûts personnels et aussi ma patte, ma sensibilité. Néanmoins plus que mon style à mettre en avant, je me sens au service du style de ma cliente… C’est très moteur pour développer ma créativité de rencontrer les femmes qui porteront mes chapeaux… Tant de personnalités avec chacune, bien sûr, leurs palettes de couleur, morphologies de tête, de visage, de silhouettes. Créer chaque fois pour quelqu’un d’unique est un exercice permanent et donne un supplément d’âme à mon travail.
Dès mes débuts, j’ai travaillé avec un statut « d’indépendante complémentaire » compatible avec mon travail d’infirmière. Grâce à quelques expositions, j’ai eu mes premières clientes ensuite le bouche à oreille a fonctionné….
Ce dont je suis fière :
De la couverture du vogue américain, d’avoir été dans les coulisses par mes créations de certains grands mariages belges, de quelques expos-ventes à Paris (Carré rive gauche), mais par-dessus tout, ce dont je suis la plus fière ce sont tous les retours positifs de mes clientes qui me partagent par une photo, un petit mot, un coup de téléphone leur bonheur d’avoir porté une de mes créations…. C’est vraiment cette reconnaissance là qui dynamise mon travail !
Ce que je pense de l’avenir de ce métier.
Malgré la crise économique, je crois en l’avenir de notre métier. L’histoire de la mode témoigne qu’en temps de crise plus que n’importe quand, les créateurs sortent leur génie !
J’aime le slogan de la Grande Bretagne d’après guerre: « Go ahead, get a hat !». S’habiller avec recherche et fantaisie comme un acte de résistance aux difficultés et à la morosité ambiante !
Notre époque est intéressante dans la mutation qu’elle traverse… Nous sommes en occident inondés de textiles de fabrication asiatique….Une production qui n’est pas que « bas de gamme » mais qui est néanmoins marquée par la mondialisation et la production de masse. Dans ce contexte, l’article personnalisé, le « supplément d’âme » d’une pièce artisanale a de l’avenir ! J’ose croire que la crise économique va nous pousser à consommer moins et mieux…
En habillement, les accessoires ont de beaux jours devants eux….
De nouvelles attitudes se développent : telle la démarche de recyclage …et dans cette mouvance un concept qui m’est cher, le concept du « réchauffé ». Ce concept n’a rien à voir avec celui du « seconde main »….Dans le «seconde main », l’objet en passant de main à main perd de sa valeur… Le concept du réchauffé est tout autre chose… Il s’agit d’une réappropriation d’un vêtement pour en faire un autre … Ce processus donne une plus value créative à l’objet qui est revisité et réinvesti dans un cycle de vie…J’aimerais pouvoir développer ce concept plus particulièrement pour mes chapeaux d’hivers, une ligne « streetwear » poétique…
Rue de la Grande Montagne 5 Jodoigne 1370 Belgium
Anke Tacq
Anke TacqSint-Hadrianusstraat 29 Wijgmaal 3018 Belgium
Isabelle Baines
Isabelle BainesMore Info
Isabelle Baines lives and works in Brussels. She graduated from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the costume design section under Mme. Mary Prijot, and worked for theatres in Brussels, Paris and Geneva. Prior to presenting her first knitwear collection in 1985, she worked for Ann Salens in Antwerp and M. Baron Industries in New York City. Isabelle Baines opened her first boutique in Brussels in 1986 and launched the knitting workshop in 2003.
Atelier
All Isabelle Baines designs are conceived and developed at her workshop in Brussels, where an artisanal, handcrafted approach reigns supreme.
For our limited-edition ‘Atelier Collection’, we use only the finest quality Italian merino wools, in a carefully chosen palette of colors. All our garments are knit, hand-sewn and finished by us at our workshop – right down to the buttonholes! Some sweaters, made of very fine threads, are produced under our personal supervision by a specialist family-run workshop in the Marche region of Italy. We’ve worked for them for years, and they understand our spirit and standards. Your Size, Your Color! Ask about having your sweater custom-made.
Kristof Buntinx
Kristof BuntinxMore Info
Brussels designer Kristof Buntinx has already created a furore with his God Save the Queens shirts and gained international fame with a boxer short collection with which he targeted Russian anti-gay laws.
Protest and irony are therefore no strangers to Buntinx, but he also dresses Belgian celebrities in little bespoke gems just as much as he has children photographed as superstars. The exiled Sint-Truiden native has been working under his own label for more than a decade. An official introduction is called for!
Kristof Buntinx was born on 10 September 1975 in the Limburg town of Sint-Truiden. He quickly showed an interest in fashion and design and proceeded to draw from a model and attended sewing and pattern design classes. Buntinx completed internships with several major fashion labels such as Levis jeans and the Amsterdam fashion duo Viktor & Rolf.
His own image language
After his initial designs for the Cinderella Shop in Antwerp he sank his teeth into (and left his fingerprints on) a series of coffee mugs for Godiva. Soon Buntinx would tackle hats, a trick he was able to repeat in 2012 for Royal Ascot.
Shortly thereafter, the Pain clothing line followed, with its own photo series in collaboration with Stijn Vanorbeek. Still inspired by the world of image creation, Buntinx worked with filmmaker Ilke De Vries, this time to explore moving images. The film Vision was the result, in which the designer searched his own conscience by referring to a personal crisis.
Artist’s blood
Between 2008 and 2010 Buntinx focused on hats and a full line of accessories.
Triggered by his own life and personal developments, language associations and puns took up an increasingly important place in his work. Like any true-blue artist, Buntinx also creates from an inner drive. “I have always been crazy about fashion, but designing also proved to be beneficial for my mental health. It is my “therapy with a capital T,” the designer states.
Once Buntinx found his way, an increasing number of opportunities came up: in 2011 the Toga 125 Fashion Awards and a fashion show in which his design Ceci n’est pas un Advocaat shone. That same year Modo Brussels, the MIAT in Ghent and Hong Kong Design week also followed. A prominent fashion watcher from the UK even called Buntinx the most eccentric fashion designer of the Modo Brussels event.
The future is now!
Loved by the international fashion blog scene, Kristof Buntinx does not shun controversy. For example, he came up with a series of socially committed designs such as his answer to the Antwerp rainbow controversy, the God Save the Queens T-shirt’, his Russian boxer shorts, which even reached the American media and the crown jewels for King Philip.
During the last festive period Buntinx surprised friend and foe with a range of crisis jewellery, which questions material luxury. The Christmas dresses designed by Buntinx for Dana Winners’ Christmas tour and for Marlène de Wouters, the presenter at the Queen Elisabeth competition earlier in 2013, were, on the other hand, downright luxurious.
Kristof Buntinx certainly aims to let his designs speak for themselves in 2015.
Stay tuned!
More Info
About
After reading the book “The Emperor wears no clothes” by hemp advocate Jack Herer, Emilio De Baudringhien got inspired to start a company that would bring this amazing plant and all of its benefits, back to humanity.
Since hemp is a carbon negative crop we strongly believe it can be a key player in fighting global warming… think of it this way: we are growing a plant in 100 days that takes huge amounts of carbon from our atmosphere and stores it safely in the ground, actually increasing the fertility of the soil. After the plant is harvested we can use every single aspect of the plant for a different purpose, leaving no waste. All this with a minimum input of water and nutrients and no use of pesticides and herbicides.
1 acre of hemp takes in 10 times the amount of carbon compared to 1 acre of rainforest.
Emilio doesn’t consider The Ornament Hemp Co. a fashion company since we don’t follow fashion trends or seasons. Instead we see the company as a vehicle to support the hemp movement in all its forms.
Emilio never started this company for money gaining purposes. All of the money that comes in is directly re-invested in creating more products made from hemp to help increase global hemp crop production and help create a world with more durable products made from replenishable crops such as hemp.
At the end of 2017, Emilio set up a crowdfunding campaign to set up his label. Thanks to 110 lovely backers, Emilio got his project funded and was able to take off.
Escuyer
EscuyerMore Info
Our Story
Escuyer is the destination brand for anyone who appreciates well-crafted items for men.
Escuyer’s vision is a simple one; we aim to be the go-to destination for men who are looking for functional and esthetic accessories. And for the proverbial man who has everything Escuyer provides the perfect gifts!
Our mission is to offer simple, necessary, beautiful and qualitative accessories that will enhance men’s daily dressing experiences. When using our accessories we want men to feel confident because they know they are wearing a unique piece made by the best craftsmen in Europe.
– Concept –
Escuyer offers subscriptions of socks, t-shirts and underwear for men who want more free time and quality basics.
WHY
At Escuyer we believe that most men prefer to do other things with their free time than go shopping for basics.
The name Escuyer comes from ‘Esquire in old french. As in the Middle Ages the squire was there to help the knight, today the brand Escuyer is there to help men by offering them quality essentials and more free time.
HOW
Escuyer is more than a conventional underwear brand.
We offer men an internet-based subscription program that makes buying premium quality basics easy. By choosing a subscription you will save precious time and continually have fresh basics delivered at regular intervals.
Escuyer does not only offer a selected range of well-designed basic apparels, we also introduce our customers into a particular world with our own lifestyle, culture and interests.
WHAT
Escuyer’s essentials are designed to be elegant, simple and perfect for everyday use.
We offer a unique internet-based subscription that will allow you to save precious time and continually have fresh basics in your drawers delivered at 3, 4 or 6-month intervals. If you prefer not to subscribe, Escuyer‘s items can also be bought individually.
The extra free time can be used to read the diverse topics on our website as well as experiencing them in reality.
– Product –
Escuyer basics are elegant, simple
and functional.
Our basics are made of the finest cotton, which makes them very soft and comfortable. Perfect for the guy who appreciates the mix of a quiet, clean aesthetic and top quality.
Escuyer is designed in Brussels. We handpick the best quality cotton from South America and produce our accessories at a great family-owned factory in Portugal.
– Brand Identity –
Escuyer’s brand identity
has been selected as one of the best identity
of 2014 by the Design Museum of London.
As its name suggests, Escuyer is dedicated to serve and facilitate the life of the busy working & entrepreneurial man.
Modern Practice has created a visual solution based on the heraldic system. This typographic reinterpretation of heraldry is not only strongly linked to Escuyer brand’s name, but also conveys the brand’s world.
While the “typographic heraldry” stands for Escuyer’s refinement, its multiple variations translate the flexibility and adaptability of the brand towards its customers.
Escuyer and Modern Practice have been nominated for “Designs of the Year 2014” (Graphics’ category) by the Design Museum in London.
Basicsneed Sprl Rue Africaine 2 Brussels 1050 BELGIUM
More Info
Ria’s hand-made hats
As a trained sculptor, Ria searches out different and surprising shapes, creating unique hats in her own style.
Which hat to choose?
A hat will fit on any woman’s head, but not just any hat. For each hat, we talk through the design with you to find the perfect hat to make your personal beauty shine through. We also mold the edges to give it that perfect finish. A hat that makes you look beautiful, complements the wearer and not the other way around.
Materials
Hat-making is a profession, a true craft. Felt, Sisal, Wool, Yarn and other fabrics; each requiring a different kind of preparation process to be then crafted using different techniques. Ria’s fashion training together with many years experince give her a natural advantage.
The approach
A hat worn for a special occasion requires a rather different approach than one that would be worn on a daily basis. A common starting point is taking a piece of material from the dress to be worn, with which Ria can start to colour match. A colour can then be used in just a piece, or for the whole hat. The shape, colour and fabric should form one entity.
Accessories
For those who aren’t really looking for a hat, Ria also designs various kinds of headwear (Tiaras, Diadems etc.) which are of course a must at any wedding.
Winter-hats
Besides winter-hats, each year Ria designs a selection of matching hat and scarf sets. The shape of which is of significant importance.
Sluizeken 29 Gent 9000 Belgium