“Responsible Living with:...." is a range fun and informative blogs. These blogs feature both entrepreneurs and people with inspiring interiors. I hesitated for a long time to start this series. I wrote these "interview" blogs before several years ago, which I thought was super fun. Then about people who independently remodeled their homes. But now that my whole concept revolves around interior reuse, I couldn't help but adapt this series. In the spirit of "a good start is half the battle," I'm starting with one of my favorite entrepreneurs; Johanna's Trading House. Who I discovered through Instagram and I love because of the industrial furniture they sell.

Responsible Living With: Johanna's Trading House

As always, I begin by introducing the faces behind the responsible company. You may be thinking, "You can't miss that, this lady must be Johanna then." So no, she had me wrong there too. Johanna's Trading House is run by Roy and Monica. Johanna is Monica's baptismal name and Handelshuis stands for more than one product.

With their business they are located in an old factory building in Eerbeek, where they sell raw factory furniture. These unique items are robust, all have a history and deserve a second chance. They are solid and durable because of the materials they are made of. If you had to assign a style to the products they sell this would be industrial are.

"We literally pull out factories, schools and other spaces. Then we take away workbenches with the ashtrays still on them, the tools still lying just as they were when the employee had left the workbench after a long day's work. Even the Locker cabinets 9 times out of 10 are still full of care items, clothes, photos and cards from loved ones." Vintage finds also get a place in Johanna's trading house.

Unique Furniture Pieces With Character

Apart from being durable and solid, they are not made like this in today's time. As Monica says, "Anyone who sees the beauty of used items and knows how to apply this in their interior, store, catering establishment but also just in the office, is truly a massager! Every piece of furniture tells a story, every dent, scratch or rust spot acquired in a career within the rough and tough industry. How cool! I always joke that our furniture may be retired, then live on for many more years and then only be beautiful. My opinion is that it is precisely the solidity and the lived-in that possesses more character and soul than all that "13-in-1-dozen stuff. Where someone else says; "what old junk!", my enthusiasm actually starts to flow even more." This I can only agree with!

A Refurbished Locker Cabinet

That's where it once started. Monica was inspired by a friend who had refurbished it for her interior and later made a nice penny from it when she sold it. "That's quite a trade," Monica thought. Then through Roy and his trade, she came across places where more than pallets were being traded. Whole inventories of cool factories were going out of there. "I was staring my eyes out!"

Thus, she then bought her first 3 locker cabinets from some money she had earned from Marketplace sales. It didn't take her long to sell these. With the proceeds she bought some more small items, "but nothing significant yet," she says. After searching for a while, she stumbled upon and very cool batch of old locker cabinets. "No less than 150 of them! So this was the moment I/we started for ourselves."

Muscle, Brains & Creativity

"It was on April 2018 to be exact." Monica is officially registered with the Chamber of Commerce as a sole proprietor, but in practice they run the business together. Roy is the one who handles the physical power and transportation. Monica is there for the creative stuff, like maintaining the Instagram, Facebook & Marketplace page. Had they not had each other, the business would not have been such a success. "I can say that over the years we really are a team. Which went pretty organically actually, it was there all of a sudden".

The same goes for the business, she says. The first few years alongside our jobs and our young family. Monica has worked for 15 years within youth care, from regular to juvenile detention. Which was a wonderful time for her. But eventually just before corona decided to go full time for Johanna's Trading House. This was also true for Roy, who was self-employed and then still hiring himself out as a logistics manager at a company doing greenhouse construction. "They were tropical years, and the focus on one thing.... it had to be. We had given ourselves six months. If things didn't go the way we envisioned, we would quit and go back to working for a boss."

"Fortunately, Roy has an entrepreneurial heart and a huge courage, I on the other hand am of the safe base, I am not so Daredevil". The past 5 years went with ups & downs, but they also got to visit amazing places and meet beautiful people. In September 2022, they crowned their great teamwork with a joint location.

Previously, Monica and Roy were about a 45-minute drive apart. "When fuel prices nearly killed us, we decided to find a suitable property that we could move into together." Upon viewing the ca. 1900 paper mill, Monica and Roy knew immediately, this had to be it.

It was a year of very hard work. They started by removing all the old machinery that was still in the building. Everything was left as if the previous owner could return at any time. Even the floors they had to have cleaned because they were so greasy from the kerosene.

Monica and Roy are still going to turn the loading dock into a porch. This will have a large table and a swing where coffee can be enjoyed in better weather. This part of the property can then also provide additional fulfillment as a photo location. Finally, they want to give something back to nature. By creating an extra piece of garden with insect hotels, hedgehog houses, feeders and nesting boxes.

With Both Legs On The Ground

When I asked Monica what she learned while running their business I got back a beautiful but unexpected answer. "Running my own business is already a whole new discipline for me and that has come through trial and error. I come from the team security, clarity and knowing where you stand. Well entrepreneurship is anything but certainty. That uncertainty can still look me deep in the eye, especially in erratic times like these." Fortunately, she has her better half to put her back on her feet and calm her down.

As mentioned earlier in the piece, Monica is the creative one of the bunch and she finds her peace and pleasure in that. That is also important to her, having fun in what you do. "Unfortunately that is not always possible and you also have to remain realistic and there are also downsides to entrepreneurship, but you also have that when you work for a boss."

Monica is very thankful for the fact that by having their business she has the freedom to take her children to and from school every day. "My wealth lies in the fact that as a mother I can raise my own boys, they actually experience vacation and freedom during vacations. Sometimes they have to come with me to Eerbeek, but we explain that, that we can all eat there and do fun things." But the boys also find it a treat to be allowed to do odd jobs with them and they have all kinds of adventures at "the Eerbeekse Beek" that flows next to the property, she says. Finding the balance between motherhood and entrepreneurship was also really something she had to learn.

Nothing More To Do About It!

At Johanna's Trading House, as little as possible is done to the furniture. First of all, because it allows them to keep their prices considerably lower than other vendors, but also because their customer base is not up to it. "Our customers are also real creative people, who know how to use the furniture in different ways. The workbenches are a clear example of this. Outdoor kitchens, industrial kitchen units in a house, sideboards, counters for stores and sinks are made from them."

If a piece of furniture calls for a needed repair it is certainly not shied away from. Monica tells us, for example, that her father enjoys doing odd jobs with their Saturday/holiday help and they learn a lot from each other that way. "Who knows, maybe I will do something with that in the future? Still combine my care experience with youth with my work now. Dreams must be kept hey..."

A Colorful Loft Living Favorite

Johanna's Handelshuis is featured as a favorite in our store directory. An overview of all responsible home furnishing stores in the Netherlands. Curious about the other favorites? Then get your entrance ticket now and discover the world of reused furniture and materials!