♥ Christmas Favourites

With his 25 years, the founder of Nølson shirts, Niek Koedam, is already well on his way. With his own atelier in Shanghai, where the shirts are made using traditional craftsmanship to be the perfect fit. At his office and shop at the Singel in Amsterdam, Niek is working every day to make men happy with a new shirt.

No lack of ambition “I strive to have a Nølson shirt in every man’s closet, or better yet, wearing one.”

From a young age, Niek has had a love of Scandinavia. This grew during his studies at Nijenrode New Business School into a love of clean, modern design, but with a good price for quality. This was often very hard to find for him and his fellow students. To the question of what Nølson means, he answers: “I simply thought Nølson was a nice combination of letters, and everyone beliefs it’s a real Swedish name.” Because of the combination of Swedish design and traditional craftsmanship in Shanghai, the Nølson collection is both casual as well as formal. Perfect.

"A shirt is important for a man, it has to have a good fit and comfortable to wear. I prefer to wear a shirt every day, casual on jeans or more dressed with a suit." Nølson shirts are top-notch nice fit, the style is exactly what suits me, as Charly would say: a must-have for every man;) "

6 years ago, Katrien de Ruijter, founder of Mamaloves, stumbled upon a small jewellery shop in her favourite holiday destination Marseille. In this shop, you could personalise your jewellery by having your name engraved on the item.

“The idea intrigued me immediately, I had charms made with the names of my three daughters straight away. Jewellery with a story, so precious to wear close to the heart."

On a hot summer’s night, Katrien suddenly woke up with the idea: Mamaloves. “Being a mother is something that gives so much extra to your life, as soon as you become a mother, you gain an extra set of emotions, which makes you realise the love for a child is something that stays with you forever, that you always carry with you.” Which is how it started, designing jewellery on which you can have the names of your child engraved. Yes, by hand, which is what makes it so personal. In the Netherlands, the idea was such a hit that Katrien sold her current store and dove fully into Mamaloves. She doesn’t create the jewellery for mothers only, they are there for everyone: “the other day, I engraved two bracelets with “papa”, for two girls who had just lost their father. Knowing that our jewellery can help someone, even if only a little, makes our work extra special.”

"I am a big fan of a beautiful piece of jewellery, especially if it has a valuable meaning, for years I wear a gold chain with my name, I am very attached to it." My sister Isabelle and I also share a beautiful piece of jewellery, the wedding rings of our parents processed in a golden ring - so precious! Mamaloves has made a necklace especially for me with my baby: Charly Cares. Since I received it I wear it every day. The quality is perfect and the style & shape are very stylish, I think it's a wonderful gift for the holidays - enjoy it! "

Fathers Jochem Hes and Sjoerd Trompetter knew not where to look when they found out that they could not find any babycare without harmful additives on the market. This was the start of their brand Naïf: a no-nonsense skincare brand for babies and children.

"Naïf is a reliable skin care brand without nonsense for babies and children. Pure quality, with only ingredients that a baby really needs. No chemicals, no bull ****."

This is how, besides the baby care, a skincare line for women was also created. Naïf wants no nonsense in her products and wants to help mothers, children and babies shine by cleansing and caring for the skin. Would you belief us if we told you that the products of Naïf contain avocado, tomatoes, macadamia nuts, sweet almonds and flax seed? Crazy, right? It’s true! The products do not contain any mineral oils, chemical conservatives or harsh chemicals and are made using only natural ingredients. Literal ingredients, the kind you can eat!

"The creams of Naïf are delicious! They contain plenty of natural ingredients and the skin clean and care is essential.The hand cream is favorite in our office, especially during the cold winter months.I personally think the body scrub is delicious, I'm really addicted. The line of Naïf Quality Baby & Kids Care is ideal for the little ones, I like to give them as a maternity gift - because I want to know that it's good for the delicate baby skins. "And the mothers - They just love NAIF!"