The Fabriek van Niek (Niek’s factory) is the workplace of Niek Wagemans. Here he gives form to large and small ideas. Giving new life to old, used, and seemingly worthless matters – not only buildings and their parts, but also furniture and other objects.’

Niek Wagemans: “I enjoy working with materials, which are labeled as ‘waste’, and with empty buildings threatened by decay or even demolition. They are often far from being totally worn, but its just worn out or broken, or they do not correspond to modern requirements anymore. Thereby they seem to have lost their function, and are ‘worthless ‘ for others… To me they are just ‘valuable’ because of the traces of their history or by the quality of used materials and techniques at the time. All that is hidden under only a thin layer of dust, and under our normal negligence. I try to make visible those qualities again. “

“I start my projects often searching for stuff and material that people no longer want to have. Such search is also an introduction to a neighborhood, village or city, and of course with the people living there. Often doors will open that normally remain closed to outsiders. Usually I don’t know in advance how to re-use what I find into a new design. Only during the working process, the materials that I use, present themselves together in a new form – a matter of evaluating and appreciating the intrinsic qualities of the found. Instead of restoring everything in its original form or function I find it much more exciting, combining materials in unexpected ways, to add a new idea or to make strong contrasts. This creates new objects, with new features or uses. “