Lamps are something we all use. Edgar Heins, founder and CEO of Maretti Lighting tells MASTERS that they don't only supply individuals or installers, but everyone is welcome. "Where something seems impossible, for us the challenge begins. "Text: Bart-Jan Brouwer | Online Editor: Natasha Hendriks
Image: John van Helvert
"In my uncle's lamp store on Kinkerstraat in Amsterdam, I learned the tricks of the trade. I stood at the counter selling lamps - light bulbs, lampshades. Very gnarly. My brother-in-law had an interior design business and made furniture, cabinets and counters for many clothing stores. Lighting had to go with that. "Can't you do those lamps?" he asked me. Nice! I joined him as a lighting consultant and then made a lighting plan. We worked together more and more often. I saw its potential and wanted more. But my uncle wanted less. When the store burned down one day, it was time to make a move and start my own business. I did so with a good friend. We started in a small attic room and wanted to get customers by advertising in the Yellow Pages. To do that, we first had to register with the Chamber of Commerce. In September 1994 we formed a general partnership and two months later the guide came out. That's how we started our lighting consultancy. Every year we got bigger and bigger. At one point we advertised nationwide in the Yellow Pages. I had to go to Zeeland for a few lights... So we stopped doing that. After only a few months we had outgrown our attic room and moved to a building in Almere. That too soon became too small. We rented units, built a bigger building, had that made even bigger, bought the office next door... We were just building and buying. Every two years we expanded. Until a 20,000-square-foot lot became available. We bought it in 2008. Developed plan, built 10,000-square-meter building and in 2010 we moved in."
"Many companies in our industry deliver only to individuals or installers, with us everyone is welcome. We supply lamps to the end user, retailer, hotelier, installer, contractor, architect... We don't say no to anyone. And we supply the whole spectrum, from spotlights for the toilet of ten euros to a chandelier in the loft of forty thousand euros, and everything in between - for inside, outside, office, hotel. We have several of our own Maretti lines, represent brands like Tom Dixon and also make lamps especially for designers. In our building, everything happens under one roof. We have an R&D area, a workshop, a large warehouse, and customers can visit our showroom, which includes a hotel bedroom and six boardrooms, which have been decorated like small homes by architects and interior designers such as Marcel Wolterinck, Eric Kuster, Osiris Hertman and Mariska Jagt. To their specific style and with their mood lighting. They design those lamps, we produce them. Wherever in the world you buy a Piet Boon lamp, we made it. That results in a nice interaction. When Eric Kuster takes a customer to our showroom to show his style room, he automatically comes into contact with our lighting. It also works the other way around: Louis van Gaal was here a while ago to pick out a lamp. He walks into the Marcel Wolterinck style room and says 'how nice it smells here, I want that scented candle too'. After visiting us, he immediately drove on to Wolterinck's store in Laren. That's how a lot of connections arise here."
"Where something seems impossible, the challenge begins for us. We lit the new Van der Valk Hotel Amsterdam Zuidas, 90 percent of the fixtures we supplied - from the bedside lamps to spectacular custom-made crown in the lobby. That was a three-year project, really cool. We also have a lot of private clients. For example, we provided the lighting in a villa in South Africa with fourteen bathrooms. And we realized a lighting frame of 6 x 6 meters in a New York penthouse. We had to transport that frame there and also had to comply with American regulations: different plug, different fitting, different dimmer. That's quite a challenge. We produce on request, but also come up with our own designs. From lighting consultancy and supplier we have become more and more 'light designers'. Or rather: light architects. Because we complete the work of the architects by means of a good lighting plan, so that the building or interior designed by them is beautifully and skilfully lit. Making a lighting plan is really a profession. There are many factors that come into play that you need to consider as a lighting designer: What is the purpose of the lighting? Is daylight available? What atmosphere and look does the client or architect want? And then you have to take into account lighting regulations."
"We are close to the interior design industry. If we notice that bronze is coming into fashion, we adjust lighting accordingly. The trends I foresee for 2021? Matt brass, it may all shine a bit more and everything will be LED. In the past we still had limitations due to the sizes of fittings and the heat development of incandescent and halogen lamps. But LED is so small that the design can become more and more sophisticated. We used to assemble everything ourselves; we hung almost every lamp sold here ourselves. Now we have retrained a number of fitters as project leaders who supervise the installers. This allows us to handle many more projects. Moreover, we export considerably more. We are a one-stop shop for clients, we offer everything in the field of lighting and take care of everything from A to Z: free lighting plan, advice at home, lighting calculations, delivery and complete supervision. It doesn't get any easier!"
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