Bart Brugman
Bart Brugman
"I'm still learning every day, but a lot of experience really makes the work more fun and enjoyable."
How did you get started as an agent?
Bart Brugman: "My father was already in this business. When I was young I often did vacation work with him. After high school I studied for a few more years, had other jobs and made music, but I kept coming back. In 1985 together with my father and my little brother I started Brugman in Landsmeer and in 2004 I started for myself in Aalsmeer. So I have been doing this work since I was young. By now my wife Margreet and our son Ben run our business and we have specialized in fabrics and wallpaper."
What aspects of your work do you enjoy?
"Working with beautiful stuff, that's very important in my case. I have to be able to tell something about each product, otherwise I don't find it interesting. We operate at the highest level in the market and there you deal with the nicest products and the nicest customers and projects. When you've been in the business as long as I have, you gain a lot of experience and that makes the work a lot more fun and enjoyable. I'm still learning every day, but it's nice to see something and then immediately know how or what."
Is there someone who inspires you?
"I am a big fan of Piero Fornasetti . He had a tremendous imagination and humor and possessed the ability to handcraft his original creations and designs from scratch himself. His incredibly comprehensive work is an endless source of inspiration. His legacy is very carefully and lovingly managed by his son Barnaba with whom our Cole & Son brand has created a wonderful wallpaper collection that we enjoy working with every day."
How did you end up at ETC.
"This center has been around for a long time. We decided in early 2011 to open a second showroom here, in addition to our showroom in Aalsmeer. As quickly, this proved to be a golden move and we actually closed our showroom in Aalsmeer in 2016. It is just very convenient for our customers to come here and visit several firms at the same time."
Why would you recommend that a stylist or an architect look at ETC.
"This is the ideal place to go because you have a lot of firms in one location. It's just very practical. Also, the level has been getting higher and higher and the overall offerings have been getting wider and more interesting."
What does the future of interior design look like?
"The interior design market has changed tremendously over the past few decades. There are fewer stores and more independent professionals than before. As elsewhere in the world, branded showrooms have become more important for interior designers and stylists in creating their interiors. ETC. is of course indispensable in this regard in the Netherlands, and at the high level it is also quite unique in the world. There are only comparable locations in New York, London and Paris, that's all I can think of. Our customers increasingly need our help and input and we are more than ever set up to assist them in this. Together we have to make consumers happy, and in a time when you can buy everything online yourself, that is a big challenge."