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The Wheelbarrow of MASTERS EXPO exhibitor Mariska Jagt

She designs high-end environments: from luxury villas and penthouses to beautiful canal houses and insane hotel lobbies. With her eponymous studio, Mariska Jagt turns dreams into reality and a house into a home. She has been doing this successfully for eleven years. This week Mariska Jagt tells MASTERS how she started her successful career and who has been her proverbial wheelbarrow.Image: Mariska Jagt

What was your very first job?

"When I was young I did a lot of sports: tennis and horseback riding at a high level. In addition, I was very creative. I wanted nothing more than to spend all day drawing and creating. Gladly I wanted to go to art school, but due to circumstances I made other choices. I studied Tourism and Psychology and started working in the hotel industry. That detour brought me exactly what I needed to get here. In my current work, the worlds of psychology, hospitality, travel and creativity come together."

How did you end up in your current job?

''Out of an intense desire to provide others with an environment that feels like a warm and welcoming home, I took the step 11 years ago to follow my heart and start my own design studio. I started at the kitchen table, but now there are twelve of us. Together we get to realize most wonderful and inspiring projects for very nice people."

In that, who was your wheelbarrow?

"From my own strength, I built my career. However, I did always have dear and fine people around me who believed in me and with whom I could spar in a valuable way. One of those people is Daan van der Vorm. He is enormously loyal to his partners and gave me the opportunity to do his high-end projects at an early stage. There are also the "oldskool real estate guys," as I call them. It was always good to spar with these established real estate guys over lunch or drinks. They really had an advisory role in my career, as did Yves Gijrath."

What is your greatest passion in your profession?

''The glint in clients' eyes when they see what we have designed for them. Or when they come into their home and see what we have realized for them. That's what makes me intensely happy and what I do it for! The great thing about my work is that I get to meet new people every time and get very close. It is wonderful to be able to translate their wishes into a unique, custom-made design that really feels like their home to them."

What has been the biggest learning moment in your career?

"Combining love and work! You should never do that! Out of love I sometimes made clumsy choices, losing my independence. It's really true that love makes blind. Now I keep business and personal life strictly separate and that works fine."

What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?

"Keep dreaming and don't think in limitations. Believe in yourself and what you want to achieve. In my opinion, the road to adulthood is sometimes really a dream killer. How wonderful it would be if we all encouraged each other to keep that young, open and uninhibited view of the world. That's where the best ideas come from."

Have you been a wheelbarrow for anyone?

''I once called Jan des Bouvrie and Piet Boon to have a talk with them. They both responded very positively. Now startups call me to talk about the choices I've made. Then they ask for tips and tricks to help them pursue their dreams. I'm happy to help them and I hope to be a wheelbarrow for some of them.''

Visit Studio Mariska Jagt Investments at MASTERS EXPO. From November 18 to 22 in RAI Amsterdam: MASTERS EXPO - The Forward Edition. Ticket sales start this month.