The idea is to die young as late as possible. — Ashley Montagu — Thursday June 26th — —

I love listening. It is one of the only spaces where you can be still and moved at the same time. — Nayyirah Waheed — Thursday June 26th — —

“What art does — maybe what it does most completely — is tell us, make us feel that what we think we know, we don’t. There are whole worlds around us that we’ve never glimpsed.” Greil Marcus — Thursday June 26th — —

ellen:truijen store Maastricht

On the 12th of June, our friend designer Ellen Truijen officially opened her first brand store in Maastricht; the city where she resides and works in the far south of The Netherlands. The store sells, naturally, Ellen’s leather bags and accessories, but also clothing, lingerie and other must haves by other designers. Grown out of the store named mos, which housed in the same location and already sold Ellen’s products, the shop now truly sails under the flag of the ellen:truijen brand. Focus in the offered products lays on designers who still cherish locality, creating honest quality products like Ellen herself, such as POPcph, Brosbi, Lena Berens, the lingerie of Gent-based La Fille d’O, lipbalm by Kiyoko, the immaculate Mast Brothers chocolate and accessoires by Gabriel+Guevara and Lisanne Janssen next to Ellen’s own beautiful collection.

Ellen Truijen was born in 1976 in the little Dutch town called Boxtel. She studied clothing and fashion in Weert, after which she enrolled in the academy of visual arts in Maastricht. In 2000 she graduated and two years later she founded the ellen:truijen brand. From the very beginning of her career, keywords for Truijen’s designs have been timelessness, sobriety and simplicity. Bags made of beautiful leather varieties, often with rectangular shapes and fitting names. They are well thought through and have a refreshing simplicity, always featuring the characteristic two leather straps, creating multiple wearing options.

Detailing in her designs are always functional, but Truijen’s products are appealing nonetheless for their edgy elegance and emphasis on the varying leather qualities used. Made from soft goatskin to rough suede, her bags stripped down to their bare essentials. Truijen works with a muted color palette in all her products, creating beautiful accessories  for men and women who like practical, minimalist designs.

 Her designs are stocked in leading boutiques in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, the UK, Italy, Denmark, USA and Japan.

Make sure to visit whenever in the beautiful city of Maastricht!

The store is located at the Frankenstraat 195 in Maastricht, for more information see here.