Schitterend news

I haven't posted a newsletter for a while, even though we make the most beautiful, unique and wonderful objects every day, I still wanted to mention this one.We at Schitterend have won first place in the worldwide election of the most beautiful Sign at the International Fespa Award 2020 for the next two years! read more

I recently came to the conclusion that no item was ever written about the 3D sign that we made for Ferry Winkler. This is quite a shame as it is a real hit on Youtube and is used by many professionals around the world as an online course on how to make an eyecatching 3D signage out of wood. read more

In this news item I will show how we convert the flat Affligem beer logo into a 3D design which we later mill into a 3D sign. We prime this 3D sign, after which we paint it with different paint techniques and gild it with real gold leaf. read more

In this news item I show how we paint a wood imitation of Palisander wood.The imitation can be seen here on a test panel, but of course on any other surface and also on columns, tables or reception desks.The imitation of palisander wood starts just like any other type of wood that we imitate with a well-chosen color surface.On this surface we draw the wood grain divided into the various 'planks' where the panel should consist of. read more

For years now Erik Winkler of the craft company Schitterend has been the only one in the Netherlands who makes handmade antique mirrors. read more

In this page I show a number of recent assignments of gilding that we have executed in Amsterdam and other cities. read more

Recently I had to reproduce an Art Nouveau acid etched glass window that was broken. Here a short briefing how it was made. read more

For the new restaurant of Sergio Herman in the Haque the Frite Atelier Amsterdam I made these antique mirrors wich were later placed in stained glass windows. read more

I was asked to do the glass gilding for Sergio Herman Frites Atelier Amsterdam in the Haque with their logo in real gold leaf. Glass gilding on location. read more

For the newly opened and decorated bar Weesper Amsterdam I handpainted and gilded the Hertog Jan logo with gold leaf on some large pub mirrors. read more

A very nice project that was prompted to carry out the icing on the cake of this long boat restoration. The original Hacker-Craft boats were equipped with a boat name executed in gilding with gold leaf. read more

Channel letters are called incorrectly 3d letters in the Netherlands. Prismatic bronze 3d box letters, wherein the front side of the characters really have a 3D shape such as round or prismatic make the letters actually 3d. read more

The lodge of the Freemasons had a closet an half destroyed stained glass window located where what they wanted to join . This stained glass window she wanted made in an oak frame with LED lights have so it could be hung featured in beautiful corridor. Stained glass in oak frame with led lights. read more

This time I had to make antique mirrors wich will be used as antique mirrors for a bathroom wall. read more

A customer had a broken original acid etching Art Deco design in glass. He asked me if i could reproduce the design onto a new piece of glass. Ofcourse no problem. read more

The TAO Group gave me to order to produce some antique mirrors with handdrawn design and some goldleaf gilding. The making of these antique mirrors for restaurant Nacional at the Leidseplein in Amsterdam was a little complex job because they all had to be made in a tight timeframe. read more

A proud house owner gave me the assignment to design and produce a new 3d stone tablet for an house with a Finch and a text in a Dutch font of around of 1930. read more

A bar owner asked me if i could patina his new copper bar. The bar at the moment was so newly build that it lacked the authentick atmosphere the client wanted in his bar. read more

I had to make several antique mirrors for a new restaurant and bar concept. Copper antique mirrors. Now, most of the mirrors on the basis of silver are weathered, thus making a copper weathered mirror is something new read more

In september 2015 Schitterend gave an gilding demonstration workshop on National Monuments day at Coster Diamonds read more

12 & 13 september there will be two National Open Monument Days in the Netherlands. To celebrate this event a book about art & craftmanship has been published. I was honoured to be 1 of the 10 artists to be interviewed and featured in this beautiful book. Erik Winkler from Schitterend featured in the Dutch Unesco book Arts and Crafts read more

During my glass study in the Czech Republic I learned the art of glass blowing and casting. In my quest for these techniques, I made a piece of art that includes chipping the glass in the inside of the mouthblown teardrop and silvering combined . The result is a very beautiful silvered glass art. read more

Recently I was handlettering the facade of a shop right next to the Central Station in the city of Haarlem. read more

Schitterend is asked to make a series of antique mirrors for the new luxury Hilton hotel at Schiphol. read more

After a long time of research and development Schitterend brings its own unique metallic coatings and patinas on the market. Coating an object with a layer of metal ? Transforming a buste of clay in no time into a bronze statue ? Make a round bar of plywood and spray it with a coating developed by Schitterend so that it becomes a copper bar instantly? read more

A tradition which mainly is seen on the luxury boats and is often the crown of the hard work of getting your ship. In this article I will talk about how I gilded this a cobalt blue boat with gold leafed engine turned letters. read more

Recently the Kustom Magazine published an article about Erik Winkler. Edition april-may 2015 on pages 24 and 24. Here the complete text. read more

Worldwide shops adorned with luxurious canopies and awnings. Usually, these are also used as advertising material by letter painting the name or logo of the store. Erik Winkler now has developed a technique in which the handlettering and gilding with gold leaf of a marquis or shop canopy can be brought to an even better result. read more

A few days ago a signmaker in facade letters asked me if i could reproduce antique 3D shop facade letters. Production of 3D golden letters. Ofcourse that is possible, how do the nostalgic three dimensional letters look like?  read more

An old process in a new tight fitting jacket.... Wooden name plates in 5 layers of varnish which I hand-carved and gilded. read more

Today I restored and gilded a gold painted lion-ornament and a flagpole (wich was covered with patches of imitation leaf) with real gold leaf. read more

An Amsterdam based upcoming micro-craft brewery with the ambition to own and operate their own kettles, along with a brew pub, within two years…. That’s Amsterdam Brewboys. Since original, pure and hand crafted are important issues for the Brewboys, it was actually quite natural that they came into contact with Schitterend. The result? A beautiful 3D sign. read more

Schitterend fights for Dutch cultural heritage. Walk through any Dutch street and all facade advertising billboards looks the same: box letters, light boxes and plastic panels. In other words: advertising in modern times. What the majority of people do not know is that behind that modern advertisement often beauties of antique facade billboards are to be found. Hidden to the eye. If they are still there, because unfortunately many were killed during alterations and renovations. Or even worse, they are removed and replaced without looking back. "A disgrace, an eternal sin and a loss of our cultural heritage!" says Erik Winkler, sign maker and art historian from Diemen in the Netherlands. read more

Last week I was commissioned by painting company Groenewegen to gild different architectural ornaments for a beautiful stately home in Wassenaar (in the west of The Netherlands). read more

“Can you re-decorate our lodge?” the Amsterdam Freemasons asked me. “Of course. What exactly do you want me to do?” I replied. “Well, gilding 800 stars on the ceiling.”... read more

After lots of studying and experimenting I can finally introduce my own developed metal coatings to you. These metal coatings are based on pure metals in ultrafine powder form. read more

Today I hand painted these original old cycle delivery boxes with curly letters. For a more weathered effect I added some antiquating to the black painted lettering. The boxes are being used for outdoor decorations. But where.....? read more

This was a great project I recently finished: hand lettering the front window for the Sawyer Family Artistic Tattooing shop, in the traditional Amsterdam script style. read more

Happy to introduce a new product! 3D signs which can be custom-made to your wishes; your sign, your logo and decorated in the way you want. read more

The "Tulip Island Experience" in the Vondelpark is one of Amsterdam’s newest touristic hotspots. During summertime people can visit the idyllic ‘Tulip Island’ and pick their own bouquet of tulips and learn about the history of the tulip. Schitterend was asked to decorate several objects, amongst them an auction clock. read more

Recently a window of “Café in 't Aepjen” (translated: Café in the Monkey) on the Zeedijk in Amsterdam was unfortunately broken down. This was a window that had been painted at least 30 years ago with the typical Amsterdam Curl Letter. Erik Winkler, of Schitterend, has taken up the brush to paint the original text on a replaced window and this way he restored history. read more

It happens quite a bit; original antique etched ensuite windows which are destroyed by imprudent behavior or draught. Can you restore it? And where can you restore it? Or actually…where can you replicate it, since restoring 1000 of pieces of broken glass is practically impossible. read more

In the photo slider on the left side of this page you will see pictures of a huge factory in Haarlem from the 1940’s. This building is being renovated and the old lettering on the outside wall had to be repainted by me. Size per letter: 400 cm wide and 40 cm high. read more

In Diemen, home town of Schitterend, there is an old wooden WWII memorial cross which had to be restorated after many, many years in the field. The city council of Diemen requested Schitterend to restore this cross and to add v-carved lettering (for more depth) in white paint. read more

A few weeks ago I was approached to restore and gild an antique sundial. The sundial had been outside for decades, after which at first the gold leaf and then later the paint and even the ground layers were flaked off. The little 3D ornament of a unicorn, on top of the sundial, had been mounted by a previous restorer in not such a sophisticated way, and had fallen off because due to years of weather influences. read more

"I want some light in the darkness" a Belgian customer started a recent conversation. The good man was a passionate collector of art nouveau street furniture. In his collection, he had three original 120 year old Parisian art nouveau streetlights. The inside of the lamps were fitted with spherical glass elements, which were supposed to be silvered on the outside to give an optimal light reflection. Were supposed yes, because the silver layer had virtually disappeared after 120 years of exposure to the elements. My client wanted the streetlights to - literally - shine again on his estate and asked Schitterend if restoration was possible. read more

"Help! Can you gild 22 big boxed letters for one of our clients? And could you do that for next Monday morning?!" It's Friday afternoon. Two hours and then weekend starts. At Schitterend we always try to help our clients and that is why we accepted this challenge. The question was, of course, "Why are you calling me so late?! Barely two days to gild 22 boxed letters with gold leaf is almost a 'mission impossible’!" It turned out that the contract had initially been given to a recognized restorer, who had miscalculated the size and complexity of the project and therefore had returned it halfway. So… panic. read more

I recently received from an Amsterdam based construction company the question whether I could restore or reproduce a broken glass panel from 1925. "Yes, of course" was my reply. "The glass does have a specific design and special form for it is triangle-shaped" the construction company said. At Schitterend we love a challenge when it comes to restoring glass. Either by the sandblasting or etching technique of glass. A few days later the construction company delivered a box with a some pieces of broken glass... read more

Last Sunday I gilded a window on the premises of the University of Leiden. The client (facility manager of the university) asked me to gild the word 'Welcome' in an old Amsterdam styled font. Location: the window above the entrance of the University cafe. read more

Schitterend was invited by the Dutch Centre for Folk Culture & Intangible Heritage (VIE) to exhibit during the Dutch Design Week 2013 in Eindhoven (from 19 to 27 October). In the Clock Building, part of the famous Philips premises, some of Schitterend’s artwork and samples will be shown during the special exhibition '9 days, 9 crafts’. read more

For several years Schitteren has been a loyal visitor of the 'Hinterglaskunst' (reversed glass art) conference in Germany. Art lovers, collectors, artists, restorers, curators and museum directors are listening to lectures for two days. The lectures are given by experts from various countries. Last year, Erik Winkler was asked for his expertise on decorative (reversed) glass techniques. 4 and 5 October last Schitterend gave the kick-off lecture in the Schloss Murnau, this year’s host. read more

I am proud to announce that Schitterend is included, as a flat glass artist and master gilder, in the (Dutch) national book on crafts 'Golden Hands. This book is an initiative of the Dutch Centre for Folk Culture and Intangible Heritage ( VIE ) and is published on the occasion of the Year of Crafts 2013-2014. The book is connects with the UNESCO Convention for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. ‘Crafts’ is one of the five domains for which this organization demands worldwide attention. read more

It’s back: opaque black glass. And Erik Winkler from Schitterend is one of the few in The Netherlands, if not the only one, who works with this material. Erik uses the exclusive opaque black glass to make beautiful signs, billboards, wall decorations, grave monuments and art. For you as well! read more

In the summer edition 2013 of Audi Magazine a portrait article about Erik Winkler was published. read more

"Could you silver my spheres?" someone recently asked Erik from Schitterend. The applicant, a Dutch artist, had three hand blown glass spheres, in three different sizes and shapes. They were all hollow on the inside. As the only in The Netherlands Erik can manually silver, whether it is a sphere, cube, pyramid or flat object. So the answer to the question was "Yes, I can". read more

Finally it happened…. Last May Starbucks opened the doors of a new coffee shop on the Singel 480 in Amsterdam, on the famous Flower Market right in the city center, after weeks of rebuilding and decorating. Starbucks’ design team approached Schitterend with the request to make a gold leaf text on the shop windows. read more

May the 13th last the Amstel InterContinental Hotel opened an exclusive bar called the A Bar. The official opening was performed by the famous soccer twins Frank and Ronald de Boer. The new bar of this famous five-star hotel, formerly known as business club De Amstel Club, has a fresh, simple and sleek appearance without sacrificing the warm atmosphere the hotel is known for. read more

This month an article about Schitterend was published in Mansion in Magzine (No. 3, 2013,  April / May). The article is about my work as an artist and restorer ánd the almost-forgotten decorative techniques of the painting craft, I have reintroduced in The Netherlands. Mansion Magazine is a magazine for anyone with a passion for historic buildings (housing, lifestyle, craft & restoration, history & research). Mansion has made from both text and pictures a truly wonderful article. Curious? Then read the text below and click on the left side in the photo slider to see all related photos. read more

A historical perspective of the Amsterdam Krulletter (curly script), its origin, development and continuation with Dutch brush writers and painters. Erik Winkler reveals the true and complete story. read more

At the request of Nimeto (famous institute for painters in Utrecht, The Netherlands) Erik Winkler has written a series of articles over the past year. Under the name 'Stories Behind Glass’ the first volume appeared in March 2012. Erik described in that first article the history of glass as a medium for decoration painters of ‘the old days’. In the second article (July 2012) Erik described various glass processing techniques. The technique of decorative glass gilding was explained extensively in the third article (December 2012). In the fourth and final article, Erik tells more about intensifying the gold leaf effect behind glass by using glass techniques such as etching, grinding, brilliant cutting, sandblasting, painting and various other decorations. read more

In March 2012 Schitterend described the history of glass as a decoration medium for painters in the series ‘Stories Behind Glass' for Periodiek, the magazine of Nimeto (school for painters). In the following magazine (July 2012) the second article was published: glass and grinding techniques, etching and sandblasting. In article 3 (December 2012) Schitterend told about the decorative technique of gilding behind glass. read more

Recently an article about Schitterend was published in Eisma’s Painters Magazine. This leading magazine has long been the magazine for the overall painting and maintenance industry in The Netherlands and wanted to dedicate an article wanted to my decorative painting techniques behind glass. I consider it a great compliment and a piece of recognition for my work. read more

Nowadays, you have plenty of choice in how you to decorate the windows in and around your house and how you can simultaneously protect yourself against people how look inside, because privacy is obviously very important. Muslin glass is one way to decorate. Muslin (or Mousseline) glass is decorative glass that is used for example as a fanlight, en-suite door or partition. read more

Carefully the painter gets the last step. He puts his ladder against the wall on the left side of the building. His colleague has put down another ladder on the right side. The painter steps backwards, tilts his head and looks at the glass panel that both men some minutes before attached with the utmost care to the facade, above the shop entrance. read more

A narrow corridor. A pre-etched door window. A child at play. That's not a good combination. At least, not for the etched window ..... read more

In the newsletter Linova goes on route with 'Schitterend'.Erik Winkler as specialist in reverse glas gilding with goldleaf. read more

For painting magazine 'Periodiek', Erik Winkler is writing six articles under the name 'Schitterend'. The second article describes the topic 'Glass', as carrier for glass signs and art. read more

In the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen lies the picturesque Painting Museum. During summer season master teachers of the prestigious painter school Nimeto (Utrecht, The Netherlands) give demonstrations. read more

On Saturday June 16th Schitterend successfully participated at the first National Heritage Fair on the premises of royal palace 't Loo in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. read more

This week 'Diemer News' published an article about Schitterend. read more

Schitterend will exhibit on 16 June 2012 at the first National Heritage Fair 'Living History' on the premises of royal palace 't Loo in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. read more