About Atelier LUZ
Goldsmith in Amsterdam since 2000
Marike Hauser
Goldsmith | Designer | Founder
Not just any job, but pure luck
I knew it from the moment I made my first handmade necklace. I want to do this every day. I was about thirteen years old. Not long after, I took an evening goldsmithing class for adults. Then I went to the professional training for goldsmith in Schoonhoven and I never stopped making jewelry.
Goldsmithing is a kind of meditation for me. My hands bend, mold and forge. I enjoy that immensely. My head almost bursts at times from everything I see. All the impressions I get, the inspiration I get from just looking at what’s going on around me. But as soon as I crawl behind my workbench and start working on a piece of jewelry, I can convert the inspiration in my head into something tangible. I make little treasures to love and my work is worn daily with love. It’s not just a job, it’s pure luck!
made with love
Sustainable entrepreneurship is more than Fair trade gold
It’s a lifestyle. I know very well that love and passion for my work starts much earlier than in my studio. As soon as I realized that, my search for better, more sustainable and fairer raw materials began. But it goes beyond that. I do so in every area that I can choose sustainably. For example, I regularly buy my tools second-hand. I work as much as possible with conscious entrepreneurs and I have my accounts with a sustainable bank. That quest for better is permanent. Every day I learn things that shine a new light on my choices. That is perhaps the best thing about sustainable entrepreneurship, it is never boring.
A handmade piece of jewelry is more
As soon as you walk into my shop you will see that work is being done here. You see us forging, you see the machines and tools. There’s a good chance I’ll welcome you with black hands, apron on the front and dirty smudges on my face. I like to show that contrast. The contrast between my workshop and the shiny jewelry.
The feeling when I see a piece of jewelry created from scratch under my hands is so nice. First the pure gold grains, which I pour into a rod or plate. I build the piece of jewelry piece by piece until I know it’s finished. It is special to work with techniques that are sometimes centuries old.
The result of traditional work cannot therefore be compared with the dullness of factory products. A handmade piece of jewelry is alive. The human hand makes the jewelry unique and special. Even though I strive for perfection and high quality, it is precisely the human imperfection that provides an extra dimension.
Christie Schellings
Goldsmith
Marike Hauser
Goldsmith | Designer | Founder
Vannesa Montoya Lopera
Goldsmith
Secrets of the Goldsmith.
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“Marike is a very nice person, flexible and very knowledgeable. Nothing but praise. The rings are really our taste and meet all our wishes. Perfect communication too. In short, absolutely fantastic!”
– Christa –