A Sunday at Museumplein

Here are a few photos from the Museum Market at Museumplein in Amsterdam. They show a glimpse of our stand, some of the pieces we brought that Sunday, and the little details that go into how we set everything up. Browse a small selection of what we showcased at the market and get a peek into what a market day with us actually looks like.

Every third Sunday of the month, we pack the car with boxes of ceramics, wrap ourselves in whatever the Dutch weather demands that day, and drive to Amsterdam for the Museum Market. By now we've done this so many times that the routine feels automatic. But somehow it never actually feels routine once we're there.

Dylan is nine now, and he's been coming to markets with us since he was seven. These days he's not just tagging along, he genuinely helps. He knows where everything goes on the table, he can wrap a mug in tissue paper better than I can. Watching him grow into this, from a little boy standing next to me at that very first market in Amersfoort to a nine-year-old who takes his job seriously, has been one of the quiet joys of doing this as a family.

What still gets me, every single time, is watching someone's face when they pick up a piece for the first time. There's a specific moment, right after they turn it over in their hands, where something shifts. Maybe it's the weight, maybe it's a small imperfection in the glaze, maybe it's just the fact that it was clearly made by a person and not a machine. Whatever it is, that moment is the whole reason we keep showing up.

And then there are the people who come back. Not just once, but market after market. Some of them we recognize before they've even said hello. They tell us their mug from six months ago is still their favourite way to start the morning, or that the bowl they bought last spring has become the one they reach for without thinking. Someone recently told us she'd bought a piece as a gift and the friend she gave it to now asks about us every time she visits. Hearing things like that, straight from the people using what we made, never stops meaning something.

That's really what this market has become for us. Not just a place to sell what we've made, but a place to hear, in person, what these pieces end up meaning to people. Numbers on a screen can't tell you that. A conversation at a market table can.

If you're ever in Amsterdam on the third Sunday of the month, come find us at Museumplein. Dylan will probably be the one who says hello first.

Christiaan