Handmade Luxury Home is owned and managed by Marga van der Vet and Paula Kuitenbrouwer, two sisters.
As children, they created a neighborhood magazine called Sea Lavender . Decades later, after raising their families, they began working together again. Between those periods, they each developed their skills and experience independently. The death of their last parent required them to collaborate, and this partnership continued, leading to Handmade Luxury Home, which combines their former Etsy shops.
Marga and Paula will invite other artisans to join them. They like to offer a broad collection of homely art, decor and more artisan products. Everything on this platform is one-of-a-kind, except for printed art cards. Each item is handmade, crafted with expertise, experience, and care.
Marga and Paula value practical art. They prioritize practicality combined with comfort and aesthetic. As William Morris stated: "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." This principle guides their work and defines Handmade Luxury Home.
Marga van der Vet
Marga van der Vet is a woman of many talents—so much so, it might be easier to ask what she doesn’t do. She keeps horses, enjoyed a career in modeling, and is a skilled textile artist.
She’s the author of a short book about her heart surgery, runs the book review blog Boekenrecensieblog, and serves as an ambassador for the Bernina website. A Jill of all trades.
Her expertise extends to crafting exquisite historical costumes and designing decorative home textiles.
Paula Kuitenbrouwer
Paula is the fine artist behind this website. She is passionate about drawing and painting, and has taught art to both children and adults. Her website, www.paulakuitenbrouwer.com, is filled with essays on art, art history, and art-making.
While Paula holds an M.A. in Philosophy—which she appreciates—she often reflects that, in hindsight, she wishes she had studied Art History instead. She like nothing better than making art and reading about art.
Collaborations
We believe art-making thrives in collaborative studios—spaces where skilled individuals come together, much like the creation of Europe’s medieval cathedrals. These grand structures were built to last, admired across centuries, because they were the result of collective effort. Around each cathedral, diverse studios flourished: stone masons, blacksmiths, window makers, wood carvers, and architects. Each contributed to a vision they might never see completed -after all it took 200-300 years to complete such impressive building-, yet they 'saw' the fully finalized cathedral in their mind’s eye ready for countless generations to enjoy.
We love this same spirit of collaboration. Even on individual projects, we seek each other’s advice and that of our artisan friends, valuing the strength that comes from working together. Visualize Handmade Luxury Home as all these small studios around a grand cathedral and the artisans happily working and working together.
AI & US
Everything we create and sell is handmade by us. When it comes to photographing our products, however, we—like many artisans—rely on tools like Photoshop, Canva, and even Le Chat to help us along. Our home studios are brimming with painter’s easels, portfolios, fabrics, yarn, paints, and brushes, with just a small corner set aside for photography. Sometimes, that space is simply too cramped, so we turn to our laptops for assistance. These tools save us time, allowing us to focus on what we love most: making art, not just photographing it.
Marga van der Vet & Paula Kuitenbrouwer