Twin sisters Geertje and Roos Eek (24) are baffled after the burglary of their jewelry studio at Strijp-R on Monday night. Two burglars took the jewelry and all the stock. “They only get a few tens for it, but for us it is worth much more”, Geertje Eek tells sadly.
Geertje and Roos started their sustainable jewelry line four years ago under the name Tweek. They make the jewelry in collaboration with several high-tech factories with the goal of minimising material loss.
The building had been broken into shortly before the burglary, but nothing was taken then. Geertje: “At the time, we thought it was just vandalism”. The perpetrators taped off the sensor so the alarm would not go off during the burglary. “My father was at the property earlier this morning and saw that a window was broken. When he got to our space he saw that it had been broken open and most of it had been stolen”. Geertje still can’t believe what happened. “Everything we had, we put in this venture. We have nothing now”.
The estimated value of all the stolen goods comes to about €50,000. But according to Geertje, it is much more money. “We still have to make jewelry out of it, and if we sell it, of course it will be worth much more”.
That the burglary happens exactly during Dutch Design Week makes it extra sour. “My sister Roos is now very cool at the presentation at the DDW telling us what we do”, Geertje Eek says. The presentation is a bit “sparse” now, because most of the new collection has disappeared.
Unfortunately, the presentation for the DDW is not the biggest problem. Geertje: “We are still super young and only just started our business. That’s also why we are not insured”.
Still, they are holding their heads high. Although Geertje is still processing the blow, she also just has to move on. “We don’t know how we’re going to solve this yet, because we need money which we don’t have,” she says. And those solutions are needed quickly. “We do need to deliver to our customers and the cooperation with the factories continues as usual.”
The sisters did press charges and the police are going to investigate the case. That the perpetrators will be caught, the girls are not confident. Still, they share the security footage in the hope that the men will be recognised. Geertje wants to let everything sink in before she can continue again. “I’ll grab a drink tonight and then we’ll continue tomorrow”.
Watch the security footage below:
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
