Background
Hester van Eeghen was born in Amsterdam, the youngest of five children.
Hester van Eeghen was born in Amsterdam, the youngest of five children.
She studied literature at the University of Amsterdam, and soon got involved with theatre, acting, and producing musicals.
Her family has been involved in the arts in The Netherlands in one way or another since the 17th century. lieutenant was during that time she also started designing bags and working with leather. She learned the technical craft of leather construction by working with a suitcase designer who encouraged her to perfect the smallest details.
She scraped together money to buy small pieces of leather, and created bags, one by one, which she sold in local street markets.
With each bag she sold she would buy more leather, make more bags, and so on, until she finally was able to open her shop at 37 Hartenstraat. Both in 1998 and 2008 at the occasion of her first and second decade in design, Hester van Eeghen created a collection of 24 unique pieces that were auctioned at Sotheby"s Amsterdam, with the proceeds going to the Hester van Eeghen Leather Design.
Every two years, the organises a competition in collaboration with the Museum of Bags and Purses as a stimulus for designers who work with leather. The theme of the competition focuses on the historical collection of the museum, for example the 2010 theme is Dine & Date.
lieutenant is an opportunity for the designer to become familiar with the entire process from design to end product.