Brilliant sound / visual brilliance

250k

Do you remember, last year? That enormous stage for The Flying Dutch on the Ketelhuisplein? Everything you saw during this gigantic event was designed in the Klokgebouw. The designers from 250K have had their quarters there since 2009. But not for much longer. They will soon be moving to their new premises at Strijp‑T. A chat with Sander Reneman, Carlo Ruijgers and Kevin Walenciak.

You won’t find the three 250K owners together in the office very often any more. They travel the world for their customers, incl. Armin van Buuren. Sander: “The ball started rolling when we were in the VJ collective Eyesupply with a couple of other guys. What a DJ does with music, VJs do with visuals. At some point, we decided we had to tackle things more seriously. We saw opportunities.” Kevin: “We were given the chance to do the final show for Extrema Outdoor. That all came together at the same time. 250K was our first budget, that’s where our name comes from.”

Out of sight

Kevin: “It’s kind of unique that we are here in Eindhoven. At the end of the day, the entire scene is in the Randstad. We’ve been able to do our own thing here at Strijp‑S, out of sight from the competition.” Sander: “In the Netherlands, the name Eindhoven has a ring to it. People have come to associate it with innovation. That suits our company and it’s a lot sexier than renting something at the back of an industrial estate in the Randstad. It’s great that there are more facilities here these days, so we can take our guests out for lunch. And we’ll keep on doing that, because we’ll still be very close to Strijp‑S after our move.”

Velvet Music

Velvet Music, newcomer in the Urban Shopper, consciously chose Strijp‑S for its store at the beginning of the year. The record store is small in size, but sizeable in its selection. Add to this store manager Remco Moonen‑Emmerink’s enthusiasm for records and music and you end up with a new hotspot.

“The Urban Shopper was looking for new shops to broaden its range. I kind of wanted to start a record shop, but that was going to be quite tricky on my own. Arend van Maaren from Velvet Breda felt like starting a second store. Two units were available and there were different contenders with a good chance. We were the lucky ones, partly because a record store attracts visitors. Velvet Eindhoven opened 25 March of this year.”

A lot of young people

“We consciously chose Strijp‑S. It’s a fun and hip area with a lot of young people living and working here. They want a story that’s different from in the centre. And apart from that, it’s affordable too, which is nice. The only thing I miss here, is a supermarket. Supermarkets get people moving about, because everyone has to do their shopping. This will cause even more liveliness, I think. Although De Vershal is great, and beautiful too, I can’t do all my shopping there.”

Local talent

“I’m very aware of the band line‑ups in Eindhoven, so I take this into account in my range. I would also like to work with PopEi: an instore gig with local up‑and‑coming talent with us and a pop‑up vinyl market with them for instance. Music that was brought out locally can’t be bought at every street corner. I recently sold a single by Eindhoven Komatsu to an Australian guy. He liked the cover and I played the record for him. He loved it.”

New music

“I was doing something completely different before this. I worked in administration for 10 years. I had a burn‑out two years ago and I gradually realized I had to do something that captured my heart. Here I can play all the records I want every day. There’s nothing I enjoy as much as introducing people to music. When customers come in and I play a particular record, there is a good chance they’ll come to like it and maybe even buy it. Which is also why they come back. We aren’t super well‑known in Eindhoven yet, but we’re doing everything we can to make sure this will happen!”