Thank you – 2019

The year 2019 is ending tomorrow. In the spirit of releasing the old and embracing the new, I believe its good to look back at the last year and highlight the special moments — not only as a Rafa-kids brand but also as a family.

Let’s look back together at 2019 and see some of Rafa-kids’ favorite moments.

In February, we moved to our new home. We’ve been looking for a new space for our family for a long time, I think about three years. I lost my faith that we will ever find it. I wanted an open floor plan home, with high ceilings and a lot of light, and most importantly, staying in the city. It’s still hard to believe that we finally found it, and therefore, 2019 was a great year just because of that.

I started a new Instagram account called Rafainteriors. I would like to share with you there the design process of decorating our home. This is going to be an exiting projected for 2020. Watch the space!

In Spring 2019, we launched Rafa-kids New Designs – H dresser and H wardrobe. Hip hip, hurray!

We couldn’t watch the ugly, enormous wardrobes without any character available on the market. It’s such a dominant element in every child’s room, so it was time to bring something unique to the market. Our customers asked us for storage furniture for so long, and we finally did it! The new wardrobe and dresser are not only functional but also playful and beautiful to look at. You can read a Blog Post about Making Off the Rafa-kids H wardrobe here.

It’s not a surprise that many orders for H wardrobe flowed straight in! Thank you for that!
Of course, not everything went without problems. The new storage furniture weights over 100 kilograms. How are we going to pack it so it can be shipped ever to other continents? How to make an assembly that will be easy for our customers? I can tell you it’s a long process of learning, changing, and improving. We are very thankful for our customer’s trust and understanding. Your feedback is always taken into consideration.

We do everything we can to make Rafa-kids furniture better.

In 2019 we had a chance to present Rafa-kids range for the first time in Germany at KIND+JUGEND COLOGNE. You can read the entire Blog Post about it here. It was great to find new partners, but even more so, to meet other creatives and share experiences.

We are always excited to find in our e-mail box pictures from our customers. Or to discover children’s rooms with Rafa-kids furniture on Instagram. That’s what makes us proud, and we are so happy to see that our work is appreciated.
I wanted to get to know better the people who choose our design. That’s why I started a new blog series called -Q&A, where I invite moms for a little chat. I ask them about their lifestyle, family, and shopping decisions.

I hope to continue this series in 2020. If you missed it, here are the first interviews:

Q&A – ANDREA MOM OF THREE FROM GALICIA, SPAIN
Q&A – VICTORIA MOM OF THREE FROM BERLIN, GERMANY
Q&A – SLADJANA MOM OF EZRA FROM AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS

To see Rafa-kids design in magazines is always a lovely feeling. We are very thankful to all who featured our brand in 2019. Newspapers, Blogs, and Instagram Creative Moms.

Thank you for spreading beauty and passion for good design.

Below you can see one of our favorite publication in Australia’s Adore Magazine.

Rafa-kids F bunk bed shined over there! Thank you, Sarah, from @thebearcubclub for your creativity.

In Autumn, we were invited to the most prominent bookstore in the Netherlands. Along with several other Rotterdam creatives, we were selected to take part in a book that was presented in the new Donner. Habitat Rotterdam – by Priscilla de Putter en Nicotine Rodenburg.

In this publication, you will find designers, artists, architects, choreographers, and writers living in Rotterdam. Some of them are Susan Bijl, Richard Hutten, Raoul de Jong, Joline Jolink, and many more. Eighteen years ago, we chose this city as our place to live and work. Rotterdam is an exciting, fast, and constantly evolving city. The people portrayed in this book are often idealists and dreamers, also entrepreneurs who follow their hearts. It was so cool to be part of that project!
Available here – in Dutch and English.

Our sons, Franek and Robert, which are now 13 and 9 years old, told us that we need to make more videos for our brand. They are a new generation of kids, and we often get good tips from them. It’s hard for them to imagine that their parents grew up without smartphones or the internet. But we love the new technology that allows us to talk to so many of you worldwide. That’s why we dived deep and got busy on our new Youtube channel. To be honest, we still look for the best way to communicate with you, so If you have any tips, send them our way!

Please find us here and subscribe! – Rafa-kids Youtube.

What we have for you in 2020? 

We sincerely believe that this year will be about change. Sometimes another person can say better what you feel and think. This article: ‘Kid’s brands you need to know in 2020‘ is so worth reading here. It’s not only about inspiring ideas and the top kid’s brands that will be relevant is the season ahead. 

“Once the kingdom of consumerist practices producing a devastating amount of waste, baby and children’s market is now turning to a more considered and conscious approach. Sustainability becomes the number one priority when it comes to kids’ design (…)

 ” More than ever before, design for kids is now appealing to both adults and their little ones, allowing products to blend seamlessly into the rest of the home. ” 

Last but not least, we would like to thank all of our customers for their trust and support.

We are ready to bring you so much more! We wish you all the best, entering the new decade.

THANK YOU blog posts over the years –  please have a look if you are interested :

Looking back at 2016

Looking back at  2015

Looking back at  2014

Looking back at 2013

a year when Rafa-kids was born – 2012