In 2023 I took an olive oil workshop in Tuscany with Bianca, a young grower on her own land, experimenting with new olive varieties. She explained what to look for on a label: a single country of origin, “extra virgin”, harvest date and why the best olive oil comes in a dark glass bottle. Watching the dedication and passion she worked with and talked about her farm changed how I saw olive oil for good.

Back in Amsterdam, I realised this city is full of people just as skilled: bakers, chocolatiers, potters, jewellers, fermenters, working small and rarely seen. There was just no good place to find them.

So I built Handworks: a curated selection of Amsterdam's best artisans, and a few hours with them in person, learning their technique.

Spend an afternoon with Moritz, shredding cabbage into your own batch of kimchi, with Paula at De Kaasserie, curdling fresh milk into cheese or with Margriet at Monsak, cutting and stitching a bag from leather the fashion houses rejected.

You will not learn a full craft in an afternoon. But you will leave with a skill you use again, and a story worth telling at many friends and family gatherings to come.