Okay, so not every company wants the world to crash and burn. We’ve already spoken about how big companies are trying to make a difference (hello plastic-free supermarket aisles), but in the Netherlands, it’s also the smaller players that are changing the world for the better.

Many of these inspiring Dutch startups use circular design. What is it? Here’s a quick recap: circular design represents a way of designing products in a way that is — you guessed it — circular.

Instead of going for the standard produce use throw away, they are, so to say, “closing the loop” by making products that can be reused, recycled, or upcycled.

This reduces the use of resources and prevents their overexploitation. Our society is still unfortunately very much a throw-away one.

But circular design helps ensure that we live in a world where we don’t just use up all our finite resources at once. So what is it exactly that these startups do to make the world a better place?

1. Fruitleather

Based in Rotterdam, Fruitleather is an initiative that develops fruit waste into leather-like materials for fashion, footwear, and furnishings.

The whole process is very eco-friendly. Not only is fruit waste being reduced, but ultimately it serves as an alternative to real leather, for which over one billion animals get slaughtered every year.

The possibilities are endless with this product. Incredibly cool, huh?

They even made a tent from mango waste (263 mangos to be precise)! If you took that to a festival and told people that your tent was made out of mangoes, they’d think you’d already drank all 20 of your beers.

2. Bluehouse World

Have you ever set out to buy sustainable clothing, home decor, or beauty products just to give up your search a few hours later because it was impossible to find products that are actually good for the environment (and don’t just say there are)?

We’ve been there too. Bluehouse World is a brand-new eco-friendly platform that connects people with a large network of ethical producers.

They make sure that every vendor who sells through their platform adheres to so-called Blue Labels — a set of Bluehouse World’s different sustainability standards.

Fairtrade and cruelty-free are a must, but you’ll also find products that are recycled, circular, or aimed at waste reduction.

3. Mud Jeans

MUD Jeans produce jeans in both an ethically and environmentally friendly way. Their cotton isn’t conventional, their mills are GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and BCI (Better Cotton Initiative) certified, and the trade is fair.

On top of that, every pair of old MUD Jeans is recycled by being shredded into pieces and then blended with new cotton to make an upcycled pair of new jeans!

The jeans also have a cool little touch that they’re named after their previous owner. So if you want your name to make a claim to fame, don’t forget to recycle your old jeans and that might just happen.

Just look at these pieces — they look brand new, but I wonder how many owners they’ve had? So cool!

4. Kromkommer

Kromkommer is the business that saves all of the “ugly” vegetables from the bin and turns them into something lekker.

You’ve probably noticed how all of the wonky vegetables get left in the supermarkets. I spent a couple of years working in a supermarket, and I can vouch for the fact that people just don’t want to buy wonky veggies.

Well, Kromkommer uses these wonky vegetables and turns them into soup, which then gets repackaged and sold back to us! No more excuses to overlook that wonky veg.

5. Fairphone

Let’s be honest with ourselves now, nearly every single one of us has a junk drawer. This is the drawer where we just chuck any old stuff that we what nothing do with. Sometimes, this includes an old mobile phone that we keep JUST IN CASE.

I’m guilty of saying that at one point I actually had four just-in-case-phones. (Editor’s note: that’s crazy Emma, we need to talk about this).

Fairphone recognised that this was an issue — but what they also saw was potential. That’s why they are now recycling these old phones (ethically and environmentally), so we can use them again!

This helps reduce all of the issues that come with phone waste, such as pollution and the mountains of e-waste that gets shipped to poorer countries.

6. Dick Moby

When people decide to go plastic-free or try and reduce their plastic usage, they typically don’t think about items such as sunglasses.

Well, Dick Moby, a business that sells sunglasses, has created a way to make even our sunglasses guilt-free. In collaboration with Mazzucchelli, they created black sunglasses frames from 97% recycled acetate.

The other 3% is literally just black ink. This way, we aren’t just producing plastic for the sake of it. A lot of us are guilty of buying cheap throw-away glasses without thinking about the impact.

Look how nice they are! Now you can look like the trendy sunglasses emoji AND do that knowing that you’re using recycled plastic.

7. Wasteboards

We all know that plastic pollution is a HUGE problem and it’s only getting worse. We may have seen the terribly upsetting David Attenborough documentaries showing how plastic is killing animals in the oceans and also recognize it littering our streets on a day-to-day basis.

So how does Wasteboard fit into this? The clue is in the name.

Wasteboard creates handmade skateboards from recycled bottle caps which are collected by schools and companies. This means that every single skateboard is unique and they look super cool!

8. BlueCity

Another Rotterdam-based initiative, BlueCity is more of a community than an actual business. It’s basically a place where circular startups can all work together to help combat waste.

It’s described as a ‘playground’ for circular companies (like some of the ones we mentioned above).

Ever heard “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure?” Well, this couldn’t be more true in BlueCity. Waste from one startup is a treasure for another one.

It’s basically just one massive building block of getting the most out of everything we use and working together to make it happen.

We don’t know about you, but looking at what these companies do already makes us feel like the world is a nicer place!

What other inspiring Dutch startups do you know? Let us know in the comments below!

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in April 2018, but was fully updated in May 2022 for your reading pleasure.

Cleaning your house in the Netherlands: The chore most of us love to hate…

It’s the end of a working week, you’re tired, you’re wanting to sit down with a nice glass of wine and watch Netflix, but your house is in dire need of a clean. Cleaning your house is really not on the agenda, but it should be – you know it, I know it and your mother-in-law knows it. It’s okay to admit that you really don’t have time to do it and frankly, you just don’t want to do it (hey – we’ve all been there, those Netflix series aren’t going to watch themselves). Our lives are getting busier and busier and we’re all finding new ways to manage our time better.

What if someone could come and help us out with the cleaning? And what if finding a cleaner was easier than ever before too?

We teamed up with Helpling to check out how they’re helping people in the Netherlands find a cleaner in just a few clicks.

Cleaning your house in the Netherlands

No bias here, but living in the Netherlands is great (ok, slight bias). Many Dutch houses are, dare I said it, cute? However, whether you’re trying to get that new bed up those stairs or you’re trying to clean your house from top to bottom before your friends arrive, they just really aren’t that functional in that sense.

If you live in a Dutch house, you’ll notice that they like the minimalistic look. I regularly visit people’s houses and think ‘it looks like a show home, but I really love it.’ But then that leaves us no excuses to have a cluttered and unkempt house. More stress!

Actual footage of us whenever we attempt to clean anything (no, really).

Dutch houses (traditional ones at least) have giant windows – usually getting dirty from misting up from the rain or if you have a dog or cat, chances are they put their paws and tongue all over it. It’s also rare to find a carpeted room in the Netherlands, meaning that your regularly need to hoover, sweep and mop (in Britain we’d carpet the walls if we could – I wish I was joking). It’s all those stroopwafel crumbs, am I right? If you have a traditional Dutch toilet, that one might need a little extra scrubbing too. With the hustle and bustle of Dutch life, do we really have the time? The answer to that is probably no.

How can cleaning your house in the Netherlands become easier?

Get a cleaner in: Life made easier!

Back in the day having a cleaner was seen as pure luxury and way out of the price range of the average person, especially as women usually stayed at home and dealt with the chores around the home. If you did want a cleaner you’d have to scout one out by looking through newspapers and bulletin boards in the supermarket. Times are changing and there’s no need to juggle work and housework any longer, or even leave the house to find anyone. But where do you start?

Helpling: Who are they and what do they do?

The founders, Benedikt Franke and Philipp Huffmann saw how counterproductive it was to seek out a cleaner in the traditional way. If you want to save time having a cleaner – you don’t want to spend that saved time looking for one, which is exactly what happens. So they thought up an easy way to find a reliable cleaner in your area: an online marketplace! Think eBay, but for cleaners. A real ‘why didn’t I think of that?’ moment. It makes complete sense and gives people like us more time to relax.

Helpling is the largest online marketplace to find cleaners and their site can be used within 10 different countries – one of those being the Netherlands. Here you’ll be able to make appointments with a cleaner and manage it all online – making it quicker, easier and much more reliable. Here you can find a private cleaner, you’ll be able to see how much they charge and you’ll be able to see what previous clients ‘rated’ the cleaner. Easy, huh?

Finding a cleaner in the Netherlands: How does it work?

Using Helpling is easy and if your Dutch isn’t heel goed then you can choose to have it all in English. Once you’re on the site (click here for ease!) the first thing you’ll have to do it enter your postcode (I mean, you don’t want them going to a different house).

Here are can then choose whether you want the service weekly, biweekly or only once. You can then pick the date, time and duration.

I chose a random time and it showed a list of cleaners in my area. You can also choose an option to require ironing and to say if you have pets. When you click the cleaners you can see their rating, price, reviews and will show you if they have a police check and business license. You can then choose and pay for the cleaner (psst, we have a discount code at the end of the article). So quick and so easy.

So now you have that taken care of, you now have even more time to explore the Netherlands with all that free time. It’s a good job DutchReview has a shed load of city guides to keep you going.

Cleaning your house in the Netherlands is no fun and even if you are one of those people who loves cleaning, time is not always on our side. For once you can put your feet up and not run around like a headless chicken after work before your inlaws arrive. Netflix. Chill. And leave it to Helpling.

Before you go: In true DutchReview style, we have a discount code for you (we Dutch people sure do love a kortingscode). Enter: Dutchreview10 at the checkout!

(Psst, if you’re looking for a cleaning job, Helpling are always on the lookout for great cleaners too!)

Do you have any tips when cleaning your house in the Netherlands? Or experiences with finding a cleaner in the Netherlands? Let us know in the comments!

Feature Image: djedj/Pixabay

If you’ve never heard of an online supermarket (who are we kidding, cough Amazon cough) then we have some news for you. The online supermarket game is growing, in fact, the online supermarket “Picnic” is the fastest growing company in the Netherlands. 

The Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship, in partnership with Nlgroeit has released the latest findings of their yearly study on shopping. They list Picnic as the fastest growth company in the Netherlands.

The study ranked 250 companies and Picnic came out on top. The research is led by Prof. Justin Jansen, academic director of the Erasmus Center of Entrepreneurship and Professor of Corporate Entrepreneurship at RSM.

@picnic is the fastest growing company in the Netherlands! This is the conclusion of a yearly study by Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship together with @NLGroeit into the fastest growing scale-ups in the Netherlands. Check out the complete list: https://t.co/5Nd4zaFUaW pic.twitter.com/1zgl4qzmUJ

— ECE (@Entrepren_EUR) March 20, 2019

What is a growth company?

A growth company is one that generates significant cash-flow and creates employment opportunities. The companies in the Top 250 Growth Companies 2018 jointly created more than 32,000 jobs in the period from the end of 2014 to the end of 2017.

Growth companies usually have very profitable reinvestment opportunities for their own retained earnings. Picnic’s cash-flow had to increase at a dramatically faster rate than the Dutch economy to merit this top rank. For Picnic to be considered a growth company they must first be considered a leader in their industry. Picnic had a stronger level of growth than other companies in the same field.

Picnic created 1,697 new jobs and grew the fastest between 2015 and 2018. Jitse Groen, founder of Takeaway.com (winner last year), and academic director Prof. dr. Dr. Justin Jansen presented the Golden Grower to co-founder Michiel Muller during the annual event of Nlgroeit Business Boost Live in Ahoy Rotterdam.

Online supermarkets and the top 250 companies

The Top 250 Growth Companies consists of the 250 Dutch companies that grew the most in revenue and/or employees between 2015 and 2018. The Top 10 is based on companies that created the most jobs during this period and the highest annual average growth in staff.

These 250 companies created a massive 40,000 jobs in the Netherlands. In second place is last year’s winner, Takeaway.com. Since 2015, they have created no fewer than 2272 jobs with an average annual growth of 88%. The number three of the Top 250 is Rituals, you know Rituals, the skincare, and nice-smelling-stuff brand. They created 2880 new jobs and had an average annual growth of 38%.

The case of the stay-at-home-shopper is becoming more and more common. As Jeff Bezos plots world domination it’s nice to see Dutch companies owning the online-supermarket industry at home in the Netherlands.

Picnic: unsafe work conditions and lesser pay

It’s not all peaches and delivered-to-your-door cream at Picnic. They have been accused of violating several Dutch labor laws. The FNV said on Thursday it would take Picnic to court for refusing to pay staff according to the nationwide supermarket pay and conditions agreement (cao).

Of the 250 growth companies in the Netherlands, not all of them have disgruntled workers. Picnic is proud of its growth and the jobs it provides, despite complaints that it is not a safe work environment. If you’re interested in the rest of the Dutch growth-companies in the top 250 here is a full list.

Jute bags to promote happiness in a stressful world

The jute bag. A bag that was once used to ditch plastic, is now used for much more than just that. A jute bag can be a fashion statement and most of us have at least one of them designed with pretty flowers or something on it.

Well, Zalando came up with an awesome idea of running a competition to create a Jute bag design that will have a positive impact on your happiness. Think about it, they are used for many different purposes – to put your groceries in, to put your lunch in when you’re on your way to work, to carry your schoolbooks if you’re heading to university. If there was a design that made you feel a little happier with the stresses of adult life, then that can only be a good thing, right? The theme is Work-Life Balance so anything that would make you step back and take a deep breath. Adulting is hard, man.

The Zalando Lounge Design Competition

Calling all designers, creative folk and students to apply! If you’re interested in creating a jute bag which will enhance your happiness, then this is the competition for you. Your design should be super creative, practical and relevant to the theme. The design can also be anything, from a comic strip, to an illustration of yourself.

The prices are great as well (who doesn’t want an extra 1,000 euros in the bank?), plus you’ll have your symbol of joy.

The three best entries will be rewarded with prizes and vouchers:

• 1st Place: € 1000, – + Zalando Lounge voucher with a value of € 300, –
• 2nd Place: € 500, – + Zalando Lounge voucher with a value of € 200, –
• 3nd Place: € 250, – + Zalando Lounge voucher with a value of € 100, –

Make sure you apply before 31st August 2019! For more information, head to the Zalando Lounge.

Will you be applying? Let us know in the comments!

*we’ve teamed up with Zalando to bring you this post

Feat pic: @kyawthutun - Unsplash

One of the best things you can gift a loved one for the holidays is a useful, yet thoughtful present. And what could be more useful than a high quality rain poncho for that wet Dutch winter. Enter The People’s Poncho – an affordable, practical and credible protection from the rain. Not to mention that it looks quite stylish for a poncho.

Why would I need a rain poncho in the Netherlands?

If you’re actually asking yourself that question, then you haven’t lived through a single winter in the Netherlands. Not only does it rain all the time, but using an umbrella in many occasions is just useless. Not only is the rain here pouring like crazy, but the winds are also so strong that most of the time you can’t even hold your umbrella up straight.

Not to mention that if you’re cycling (and pretty much everyone does in the Netherlands) then there is no other option. You NEED a rainproof poncho in order to stay dry. That is why if you’re buying one, you want to make sure that it’s of very good quality. That way the water won’t seep through, and your poncho won’t tear up from the gusts of wind. That is why your best option is The People’s Poncho!

Why should I pick The People’s Poncho?

Simply put – it’s your best option. You have adult’s and children’s ponchos, and you also get to choose from a selected amount of colors. The poncho’s are good for all sorts of activities, or in their own words:

“Cycling, travelling/backpacking, camping, dog walking, hiking/trekking, festivals! You name it – we got you covered.”

But just in case you need some more convincing, we decided to test out The People’s Poncho ourselves. Here is what we have to say about it.

Good material

The ponchos are made out of very good, thick, rainproof material. However, it does not feel heavy in any way. On top of that it’s very good at keeping you warm. As soon as you put it on, you start feeling warmer, so you know for sure all that much needed body heat in the winter stays where it should be – near the body.

It has a visor

Unlike most ponchos with hoodies, this one also has a visor! It comes in super handy when you’re cycling in the rain, because it prevents the raindrops from beating on your face. Anyone who has had the pleasure (or not!) of cycling in the rain would know how handy a hoodie with a visor is in these type of situations.

Many, many buttons

The People’s Poncho has multiple buttons and straps all over the place. This makes it super adjustable! So if you need it to be a different shape or size, whether you’re walking, hiking, or cycling, The People’s Poncho can always be adjusted to suit different activities.

Reflective strips

With the days getting shorter, we find ourselves walking or cycling in the dark a lot more. That’s why it is important to have reflective strips on our clothing or backpacks. However, often times we end up covering up the reflective strips by putting on top of them a rain poncho. However, The People’s Poncho has reflective strips of its own, so you don’t have to worry about your safety any longer.

Bicycle handle straps

If you’ve ever cycled in the rain, you would know that your rain poncho often rides up, leaving your legs exposed and eventually soaking wet. However, The People’s Poncho has special straps that you can put around your bicycle handles, creating a kind of umbrella over your legs. Goodbye soggy jeans!

Front pocket

One of the worst things about ponchos is that they either do not have pockets, or if they do they are often times not equipped to hold your valuables, such as a phone or wallet. However, The People’s Poncho has this amazing (and I’m not over exaggerating) front pocket. Not only is it situated near your chest so you can always keep an eye out, but it’s also very deep so you can but quite a few things in there. Oh, and the best thing of all – it closes up with a zipper!

Comes in a bag

And last but not least, The People’s Poncho comes in its own bag. Even though this may sound silly, having a separate poncho bag is very important. This way you don’t have to put your wet poncho in the same bag as your other items, and it’s also neatly folded away for the next time you may need it.

Check out their website to order one and not hate yourself when it rains. Added bonus, use DUTCHREVIEW as the couponcode to get a 10% discount!

Many times people asked us: ‘Oh dear DutchReview, why aren’t you selling more merch on your website so we can totally buy and support your writing adventures?’ Well, the answer to that is that we’re writing folk that doesn’t understand all that hustle, but we do know we like wine.

Lots of it. And especially with the holidays.

So when Joost and Bas from Baltazar asked us to team up with them to bring you English-speaking readers some holiday wines – I knew enough!

So what’s this Baltazar winebox then?

Joost and Bas started out a few years ago. Their mission was to bring you a monthly dose of good and original handpicked wines. They would go to young smallscale wine producer themselves, handpick their best bottles and bring them to their customers.

All of this nicely packaged; 3 wines per box and an awesome booklet with pairing suggestions, stories about the wine-farmers, recipes and all kinds of other nice stuff without getting into snobbish behavior as most wine companies do and all for a fair price.

And finally all available in English now!

However, that awesome leaflet only being available in Dutch was the thing that was keeping us back from constantly trying to seduce you with fine wines. But with the holiday’s approaching, Baltazar and DutchReview teamed up and translated the whole shabang to English. So you too can now surf to their English page and order a swanky winebox with a custom written brochure in English (sounds so natural, but only a few companies have any English service in the Netherlands, what’s up with that?).

Why you want this Baltazar x DutchReview winebox

What ya get? First of all, and most important, three different wines – a red, a white and a bubbly one for New Year’s Eve (yes, no more hoping the Albert Heijn is selling you one at the 31st). The wines are by no means ordinary ones, all boutique wines from independent wine farmers here, all of them with an original story. And like we said before, all of these stories are bundled in English booklet and come with recipes, pairings and a little custom content written by the DutchReview crew and Baltazar together.

There’s more! You get the box delivered to your door, odds are that it is by one of the two Baltazar guys themselves. You like a wine and want to order some more for the holidays? Just order extra online! All of it for the fair price of 39 euro which might be more than your supermarket wine, but considerably less than other premium wine offerings out there.

But wait, there’s more to it! If you use the couponcode of DUTCHREVIEW you can get a discount of 2,50 euro for the DutchReview x Baltazar winebox. (sadly, only delivered in the Netherlands folks)

Also presenting you with the first ever offline DutchReview event! The DutchReview x Baltazar x VetGezond winetasting!

We keep bringing more good stuff to the table! At the 13th of December we’re organizing an international winetasting event at ‘VetGezond’ in Leiden. From 8 till 11 in the evening we’ll be guiding you through night of fine wine, fun, cheese and meeting the fabled DutchReview crew! All will be done in English of course. You can buy tickets right here.

A good old juicy FB event is coming in this week!

So jump on board, help a few guys out and don’t sponsor the Supermarket for once and order that Baltazar x DutchReview winebox!

A few promises:

If there’s enough of you we’ll turn it into a fully fledged permanent English thing on a monthly basis.

If you need any help with the ordering process we’ll gladly help you out!

Life’s too short to drink bad wine! Proost!

 

Dit bericht bekijken op Instagram

 

Chilling, sunshines and wines @baltazar_nl – #Summertume #Korevaartstraat8 #Leiden

Een bericht gedeeld door DutchReview (@dutchreview) op 21 Jul 2018 om 6:02 (PDT)

Do you want to rent a bicycle in the Netherlands but have no idea where to even begin? We hear ya, renting a bicycle in Amsterdam or any Dutch city can be a daunting prospect. Well, DutchReview has the fastest and easiest solution for you when it comes to renting a bike in the Netherlands- BimbimBikes! But first, let us get started on why renting a bicycle is the perfect way to discover a Dutch city.

Why would I need to rent a bicycle in the Netherlands?

If there is one thing you need to know about the Netherlands, it is that everything in life happens on two wheels! Amsterdam itself is a bicycle paradise! Need to meet up with friends? Go with your bicycle! Need to go grocery shopping? Go with your bicycle! Don’t feel like paying for expensive car parking spots? Go with your bicycle! It is literally one of the easiest (and sometimes fastest) ways to get around Holland. Unless, of course, you hate being rained on while desperately trying to keep your balance against strong gusts of wind. But hey, it’s all a part of the Dutch experience! Here are a few reasons why you may need to rent a bicycle in the Netherlands.

#1 Renting a bicycle in Holland is the most touristy thing to do (but still chill asf)

Honestly, one of the most Dutch things you can do while visiting the Netherlands is exploring via a bicycle. Not only does it get you into the spirit of living in Holland, but it also helps you burn some calories while on vacation (so you don’t feel guilty eating all that cheese and potatoes). Of course, if you’re just visiting for a while, you absolutely do not want to buy a bicycle just for a short period of time. And while there are many places that rent out bicycles to tourists, you want to make sure that you don’t end up getting scammed.

The ‘OV-fiets’ is a solid option, but sometimes somewhat hard to rent for a visitor. We’re also into BimbimBikes! Not only is it an established company, but they are also global. So you can use their services even outside of the Netherlands.

#2 It is easier to go around the Netherlands if you rent a bicycle

That is correct! Cycling is the easiest way to go around any city in the Netherlands. Traveling by car, unfortunately, is not always the best option. You can get stuck in traffic, finding parking spots is a pain in the butt (and it’s expensive!), not to mention paying for petrol can also be quite costly. It gets even more expensive if you’re renting a car just for your trip! But having a bicycle eliminates all of that! No traffic, no problem with finding a parking spot, no petrol needed, and renting a bicycle in the Netherlands is a whole lot cheaper.

#3 Renting a bicycle in the Netherlands is a good alternative if you’re bike gets stolen

If you have lived in Holland for awhile, then you are perfectly aware of the pain one experiences when having their bicycle stolen. Not only does it ruin your mood for weeks, but your whole commuting routine gets flipped upside down. Not only do you miss your old bike, but finding a new bicycle in the Netherlands that is just as good takes time. And if you’re absolutely horrified of public transport and hate being squished in a small compartment among many other people, then you need a fast alternative solution.

In comes BimbimBikes, our rental partner Because who said that Bimbim Bikes is just for tourists? You can also use their services in your time of need, just until you find your new soulmate bicycle.

How do I rent a bicycle in the Netherlands with Bimbim Bikes?

Renting a bicycle with BimbimBikes is very easy! Here are the steps:

1. You go to BimbimBikes’ website
2. You choose your location and the type of bicycle you would like to cycle with
3. Their website then shows you a map of all the spots within your area where they offer Bimbim Bikes, as well as the prices for renting a fiets in a Dutch town

   

4. If you’re looking for renting a bicycle within a specific price range, you can always adjust that in the left hand menu. And if you’re not sure what you’re getting for the different prices, BimbimBikes offer you images of the bicycles and their price so that you can make the best choice possible.
5. Once you have chosen ‘the one’ Bimbim Bikes asks you to pick the time and date of your bicycle reservation.
6. BimbimBikes also gives you the option of selecting a gender, as well as filling in your height details, to make sure that the bicycle you get will be just the right fit for you (short people like me can relate).
7. After that, you just have to fill in your details, complete your online payment, and voilà! Now you have a bicycle!

If you happen to change your mind and decide that you’re in no mood to ride a bicycle around Holland, BimbimBikes gives you free cancellation up to 24 hours before pick-up.  So you don’t need to worry about wasting your money, just because Dutch weather decided to be…well, Dutch.

What makes BimbimBikes even more amazing, is that they are a platform that cooperates with more than 1650 bike rental partners all over the world. So if you enjoy cycling and staying healthy while visiting other countries, then renting a bicycle in the Netherlands with BimbimBikes is the perfect option for you!

* We’ve worked together with BimBimBikes on this article, if you rent a bicycle in the Netherlands through one of the links then we make a couple of cents so we can buy cheese and clogs – thank you very much. The DutchReview crew.

Many many times people ask us at DutchReview what they should get their loved ones during the upcoming holidays. With the Netherlands having both Sinterklaas and Christmas coming up, there are indeed a few gifting opportunities. And often people want to gift something Dutch too, well, at least the ones that ask us. Since clogs suck, we decided to kick off this little Dutch-holiday-gift-suggestion bonanza with a classy watch brought to you by internationals from Amsterdam. Pretty suitable, right? Time to meet KANE watches!

The story of Kane watches

KANE launched right here in Amsterdam in January 2017. Within two years the company will surpass its goal of one million dollars in revenue. Today Kane is selling in over 100 reputable retail stores. And the brand has quickly gained recognition as the ‘affordable luxury’ men’s watch in its home market of the Netherlands. Next year the company will expand rapidly into Europe and North America through its online channels (check their Instagram, that’s some nice stuff going on there).

 

Dit bericht bekijken op Instagram

 

Friday’s well spent! Elevate your style this weekend with the Gold Rush collection and its radiant sun-ray dial watch fact. Available in 5 combinations. Tap to Shop! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ __________________ Gold Rush collection WWW.KANEWATCHES.COM ? @bootsandsuits

Een bericht gedeeld door KANE Watches (@kanewatches) op 12 Okt 2018 om 6:05 (PDT)

What makes Kane watches special for us at DutchReview is that they’re by expats/internationals in Amsterdam, avid DutchReview readers even! Christopher Rasker traveled from Amsterdam to Tokyo where he discovered Japanese minimalism. Inspired by the Eastern philosophy of less is more he designed an exclusive timepiece for men: KANE. Based on the Japanese way of life – known as ‘kaizen’ – each Kane watch is done through this idea. But minimalism certainly doesn’t mean shy, check out their golden mesh watch.

Besides slick looks and Amsterdam origins, what makes a Kane watch a good gift?

Of course, you have to like its looks, but that’s not hard to do, there are also plenty of different Kane watches to order on their website as well. Blue, gold, black – mesh or leather strap – you name it. The big upside for me was also that you could easily change the straps between the cases, so there’s plenty to combine, and straps are also pretty affordable (30 euro’s) – so that’s gift stuff.

Their locking system is super solid:

Furthermore, Kane watches feature stainless steel and the design is way sturdier than any of this price-category has any business being (love that click when I lock it, you know it’s not that made-in-China crap). They’re also showerproof (5 ATM) and got a nice anti-scratch layer (which I really need because a good watch is an all-day product)

They work together with the Japanese Seiko as well, so it’s all ‘Quartz’ and honestly, I’m not a watch-expert but the story they’re telling about precise timing and less parts = more sustainable and endurable sounds very logical to me.

Your Dutch gift for the season?

My better half also fancied it, but I guess it’s more apt to give it to a guy. The watches come in a nice and fancy box, so they’re already kind of in a gift set. Ranging from 99 to 129 euro’s the Kane watches are price more than reasonable. So if you’re stuck for a gift for your boyfriend, husband, dad or brother this Christmas, give this well-designed watch from Amsterdam a thought.

Check out Kane’s website

Our friends at Baltazar opened up a pop-up wine-shop in Leiden and it’s just what we need!

It’s that time of the year again, Christmas is just around the corner and you can’t for the love of god decide on what to give your loved ones. Well, the answer is really simple (and delicious) – wine! I mean who doesn’t love it as a gift? You can drink it, it’s classy af and even if you don’t like it you can always give it away again when the next celebratory thing comes around. So as the saying goes: wine is fine (totally made that up just now)

Why Baltazar and their wines are an even better idea

And then there’s Baltazar wine! Two guys who happen to be best friends with this writer (yes this post is drenched in favoritism and alcoholism) run an awesome wine set-up called Baltazar. Their main idea is that you receive a box of 3 bottles of wine every month. The wines are always original, creative and delicious (vintage! pun intended!) and all from up-and-coming wine farmers. They make a nice little booklet to go along with it explaining everything without that wine-snobism you usually get.

Het is aftellen tot de kerst. Wat ligt er bij jou onder de kerstboom? ??? #baltazar #baltazar_nl #kerst #kerstboom #kerstcadeau #wijnbox #wijnabonnement #wijnboer #foodandwine #wineoftheday #winestagram #instawine

Een bericht gedeeld door BALTAZAR (@baltazar_nl) op 14 Dec 2017 om 7:06 (PST)

And a Baltazar shop just opened up!

If you live in Leiden then you’re lucky (and about to get tipsy). Joost and Bas from Baltazar just opened up shop at the Korevaarstraat 8 in Leiden! You can get anything there: a wine-subscription, just a simple classy bottle for Christmas dinner, a box of wine and when you say the codeword ‘GEZELLIG WITH DUTCHREVIEW’  they will give you stuff to taste for free!

You don’t live in Leiden but still think that wine is a great present? Luckily you can order online as well! Visit the Baltazar wine shop online!

* I shamelessly wrote this blatant advertorial in exchange for a bottle of wine

How this Dutch Start-up combines innovation and (Dutch) design to help you solve problems you didn’t know you had

Netherlands is home to one of the biggest startup hubs in Europe. It takes a lot of creativity to run a successful start-up. In a survey, it shows that the Dutch clearly outpaced the UK and the US when it comes to innovation and design. Our innovative skills go so far that we even have invented robot birds to chase away their natural counterparts.

While the Dutch startup scene is mostly tech-related (makes sense since Netherlands boasts Europe’s fastest internet speed and the second-highest broadband penetration) I got excited discovering a startup that infuses innovation to your everyday product, such as the conventional powerstrip, and bringing some seriously awesome-looking products to today’s mobile individuals (yes you! That DutchReview reader!) Just three years into their establishment, they had already won the coveted Red Dot Design Award for their best-selling product.

The story of Allocacoc

I ran into the founders of Allocacoc, Yixia and Arthur, at the Dutch Design week (makes sense right?) and starting chatting about how they came up with their PowerCube (ironically with everybody around us fumbling with phone chargers and laptops).

Back in 2010 they just graduated as industrial designers, striving to come up with a revolutionary idea they sat down and brainstormed with their laptops only to be constantly distracted by kitten-pics (I can only assume) and bulky plugs blocking each when trying to use the regular power strip.

The PowerCube!

It wasn’t as easy as I make it sound. The founders told me that they had their Eureka-moment when they thought of a cube-shaped for it, instead of something tiny and rectangular.

Then they also worked in an USB-component, because that’s how you make things really work for you when a person owns 3.64 electronic devices on average.

The PowerCube Evolution

For the Tons of Devices That Need Plugging

The PowerCube |Extended USB| solves the plug-and-power problem. You can imagine that us DutchReview people work in tiny bars all the time with tons of laptops, cameras and other stuff that needs plugging. Working while travelling can sometimes get frustrating, we’ve all been there. Sitting in some coffee shop working before a flight AND charging both a phone and a camera is super easy with the 2 USB ports, a must-have for any photographer.

For the Traveling Folks Constantly on the Move

And just like you traveling folks we’re on the move constantly and have no special desire to carry a bunch of travel adapters along. The PowerCube |ReWirable USB| is the perfect gift for your friends who keep traveling to countries with foreign sockets. It comes with 3 super handy plugs for every conceivable power outlet in the world. Making sure that you’ve got the advantage of those 5 plugs everywhere in the world.

For Those Lazy Winter Nights

And last but certainly not least there’s the PowerCube |Remote| that lets you control your plugged-in devices through a little fancy battery-free remote from anywhere in your room. Pure magic (and science). Super-convenient!

What are you giving away this year with Sinterklaas?

Still looking for a great present for under the Christmas-tree or in the ‘Sinterklaas-bag’? Forget about photo frames or another coffee mug, the PowerCube is a gift that would really put a smile on anyone’s face. The kind of smile that says “I could use that”. Here’s the icing on the cake: get a 10% discount by using code DUTCHREVIEW at their webshop. You’re welcome!

Intrigued? Take a look at DesignNest

What also really stood out from my talk with Yixia and Arthur was their passion for design and how they translated that into the way their business is being run. Enter DesignNest, a unique initiative and opportunity for young creators to get their products onto the shelves of stores worldwide – and you know, actually created.

It’s more than a traditional crowdfunding service in the sense that they’ll help you to go from the initial idea to the actual selling of products in a store.

Make commuting effortless and fun with eScooter Foldable. Available now on Kickstarter. Save up to 45% if you pledge now: http://kck.st/2i7sPNH⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #escooter #electricscooter #ebike #urbantransport #urbanmobility #urban #city #fun #travel #commute #transportation #greenenergy #ecofriendly #lifestyle #sustainableliving #design #industrialdesign #allocacoc

Een bericht gedeeld door allocacoc (@allocacoc) op 13 Okt 2017 om 6:01 PDT

*we worked together with Allocacoc to bring you this article (and also because we’re really in a mess with all those powercords at DutchReview all the time)