About me
De jaren 70
In the late 1970s, I was in high school, initially attending the Willem de Zwijgerschool in Papendrecht. I found the lessons at that school incredibly boring and monotonous, which made this period difficult and unpleasant for me.
However, one bright spot during this time was the photography club, which I joined and gained access to the darkroom. I spent countless hours developing my exposed film rolls and printing photos, artistic or otherwise. Working with shapes and images really appealed to me, and it was something I could spend a lot of time doing.
The creative classmates, musicians, artists, and all the other unique "outsiders" at school made this period much more bearable.
Eventually, due to my poor academic performance, I had to leave Willem de Zwijgerschool. I continued my education at a Retail School in Dordrecht. This time was much more enjoyable: I could focus on drawing, handicrafts, window dressing, and brainstorming creative concepts for advertising. My dream was to become a photographer. Unfortunately, by the end of this course, I realized I should have worked harder at my previous school if I wanted to be admitted to the photography school.
After the Retail School, I decided to carve my own path without set plans. It was a time of discovery and experimentation, where I had the space to figure out what I truly wanted to do and explore new possibilities.
1977 – 1982 Punk Rules OK!
The late 1970s was a period marked by economic crises, high unemployment, fear of the arms race, and a stifling, boring culture. For many, a hopeful future seemed distant. The punk movement provided an escape. Despite increasing unemployment, punk inspired me to pursue my dreams and take action. This led to playing in a punk band, illustrating fanzines, designing concert posters, and creating street art. My first artistic expressions on the street involved leaving band names and punk messages on walls with thick black markers and spray cans.
Stencil Art
The punk movement played a key role in the rise of stencil art. Inspired by stencil graffiti in Dutch and British punk zines, magazines, and on the streets, I made my first stencil in 1978. I used images and letters from newspapers and magazines to create single-color designs.
Together with friends, I sprayed these stencils on walls, clothes, and whatever we could find. It was the ultimate way for me to release my creative energy and express myself. Unfortunately, as far as I know, no work from that time has survived. If anything ever surfaces, I will gladly share it here. Creating and cutting stencils brought me great satisfaction and joy, but in 1982, my stencil graffiti phase came to an end.
Punk is Dead
The punk period wasn’t only a time of creativity and fun, but it was also marked by excessive alcohol and drug use, which led to self-destructive consequences. Friends died from overdoses or suffered mental breakdowns. After balancing on the edge of death myself a few times, I decided to leave the scene in 1983.
Falling and Rising
In the first years, I reached great heights and found happiness, but after some time, I made poor decisions that led me into deep, dark valleys. Not only was I lacking the resources and opportunity for creativity, but the inner spark that fueled my ideas and expression seemed completely extinguished.
The road back up required a lot of self-reflection and patience. After making good decisions, I learned to live again. Step by step, I found balance, strength, and meaning, and I rediscovered my way to happiness. The ability to express myself creatively was never truly lost; it just waited for the moment I decided to start over.
Heikens Design
Due to a difficult home situation, I was housebound for many years. I learned to create websites online and eventually worked as a freelance web designer and content manager. In 2015, I decided to change direction. Although I enjoyed designing on the computer, I realized that succeeding in web design was more than just making websites. It involved business solutions needed to survive. While I had artistic success, I found the business aspects of the work frustrating.
I realized I had lost touch with my creative core and the joy of working with colors and shapes. This realization brought me back to the time when I found the most pleasure in releasing my creativity. I bought an X-acto knife, paper, and spray paint cans.
Hooray!
The first stencil artwork I made after 33 years was a birthday gift for my mother-in-law. I cut four stencils based on a childhood photo of my late father-in-law and created a clean portrait on a 50 x 30 cm canvas, using black and three shades of gray.
After all those years, I found that designing and cutting stencils was still second nature to me, and more importantly, I enjoyed it again. Since then, I’ve created several commissioned works, but currently, I’m focusing on my own ideas, dedicating all my available time to them.
Art and Vintage
As a passionate lover of vintage, I’m constantly searching for special items from the 1930s to 1990s. Finding and collecting these unique pieces is not only a joy but also an addiction—each discovery feels like a small celebration. Together with my wife Daniëlle, who shares the same passion, we’ve run our business, Heikens Habitat, since 2016. Our journey started with selling on Etsy, where we’ve provided thousands of collectors and enthusiasts worldwide with unique and special items from times past.
This year, we’ve taken the next step and launched our own vintage online shop, offering a broader selection of vintage items so our customers can discover even more unique and special pieces.