This month the business magazine Quote devoted eight pages to an interview with the 80-year-old Jansen, a living legend in the field of shoes. Striking were the statements he made about Hilko and Kristel Hooijer, the couple from Oldenzaal that took over his brand a few years ago. 'After five minutes I knew: these are the people I have been looking for for 60 years.'
His 4,000 shoes, works of art in themselves, moved to Oldenzaal. The Hooijer Footwear Group now translates Jansen's ideas to the present time. “There is half a pair, so one boot, for which 5000 euros was paid. It is just pure art,” Kristel Hooijer tells AD.
She and her husband Hilko shine in the gleaming design space, at a high table in the shape of - indeed - a shoe. “Well, Jan Jansen,” says Hilko. “We're not getting much better financially yet, but it's a nice sign. A crown on our work,” he says.
Continue reading this article about Hilko and Kristel here.
Curious about Hooijer Group's collections? Visit showrooms 086, 089, 093, 098, 062 @ CAST.
Couple Hilko and Kristel are letting Hooijer Group grow: 'Sales doubled'
'Hilko and Kristel are the best thing that happened to me'. Was signed: Jan Jansen, the Amsterdam nestor of patriotic shoe designers. Hilko and Kristel are the faces of the Hooijer Footwear Group, leading shoe company, 'just' in Oldenzaal. Where 800,000 pairs of shoes await a new owner.
