Hul le Kes

Production locations

• Design, head office, production & shop: Arnhem, the Netherlands
• Jersey knitwear manufacturer: Portugal

All items from the Hul le Kes designer collection are made in the company’s own Hul le Kes Manufacturing Studio. In this studio, permanent employees work together with students and people distanced from the labour market to make unique and upcycled garments. The studio, formerly under the name Studio Ryn, was founded by Sjaak Hullekes and Sebastiaan Kramer in cooperation with education institute Rijn IJssel.

The brand also has its own Recovery Studio, a repair atelier for people and textiles. Here, discarded garments are hand-dyed and repaired. The recovery studio exists not only to give textiles a second life, but also to provide a safe environment that helps people recover from the high demands and expectations imposed by society. Everyone receives personal guidance there, with the meditative aspect and focus of crafts helping to unwind. The studio does not work with deadlines, but helps people develop and recover at their own pace.

Finally, Hul le Kes is collaborating with a Portuguese producer to produce some garments. This is because jersey textiles are often no longer possible to upcycle into something new. Therefore, the jersey designs are made by a specialised knitwear manufacturer in Portugal that Hul le Kes has direct contact with.

Working Conditions & living wages

The Hul le kes studios focus on working conditions, where the work is adapted to the person performing it. Both studios are based in Arnhem, and are recognised as a Social Enterprise in The Netherlands. This means that the studios offer social employment for people with a distance to the labour market.

Visit the shop in Arnhem yourself to take a look behind the scenes!

Materials

More than 95% of the materials used in Hul le Kes collections were originally made for another purpose. The brand collects its own old textiles, such as antique tablecloths from France, table linens and discarded clothing. Materials in the collection are mostly natural, such as cotton, linen, wool and hemp.

The brand also uses deadstock fabrics or production remnants in it’s designs, sourced from producers in the Netherlands and Germany. Hul le Kes, for example, partnered up with Yumeko, a bed linen company. Hul le Kes uses Yumeko’s production remnants and surpluses as raw materials for their unique collections.

Packaging

For all packaging, Hul le Kes avoids plastic as much as possible and works with existing materials as much as possible. For example, the clothes hangers in the shop are always second-hand, the hang tags in the clothes are sourced from flea markets and the packaging boxes for shipments are made from cardboard cutting waste.

Water usage & chemicals

Textiles are dyed at the Hul le Kes Recovery Studio using natural dyes and processed into new clothes by the Manufacturing Studio. At the Recovery Studio, garments are also hand-repaired to give a new life. The brand also collaborates with various organisations such as ReShare to dye, restore and process collected clothes into new designs. 

Circular product design

Circularity is embedded in the very heart of Hul le Kes! Materials are given a new life thanks to dyeing, restoring and processing existing textiles and deadstock fabrics. Hul le Kes’ unique dyeing techniques are perfect for covering up stains in clothes or curtains. Moreover, the dyes are all-natural, often made with plant and food residues from catering and other organisations.

Circular business models

Hul le Kes also works with circular business models, such as recovery services and a take-back service. The Recovery Studio offers 3 types of repair services:

• Regular repair services: ideal for repairing small cracks and holes
• Boro and Jogakbo Services: suitable for larger surfaces
• Mending Services: good for covering stains, cracks, wear and tear and more

Do you have a Hul le Kes item you no longer wear? You can return the garment, with its unique passport, to give it a new life. Moreover, you can also donate other textiles yourself, find out more on the Hul le Kes website.

Distance & complexity of the supply chain

• Production ateliers: Arnhem, the Netherlands
• Production of jersey items: Portugal

The collections are designed and made in Arnhem, where Hul le Kes’ shop and headquarters are also located. Materials are sourced locally, at neighbouring flea markets, or through collaborations with organisations and textile producers in the Netherlands and Germany.

Trans­portation

Most of the collection hardly needs any transport, as the locally sourced materials are processed in Arnhem and then sold locally in the shop afterwards. 

Only the jersey products travel a slightly longer distance, as they are produced in Portugal after which they are transported to the Netherlands.

• Recycled wool blankets
• GOTS-certified organic silk

The Hul le Kes collection is not entirely vegan, although several designs are. Dyeing the textiles naturally, the brand always favours natural materials, including wool and sometimes silk.

The wool comes from antique woollen blankets, which the brand turns into fashionable jackets. The textiles thus get a second life, avoiding the need for new wool. 

Some designs are made of silk. GOTS-certified, organic silk is used for these. 

Product design

Hul le Kes follows the seasons in their own way. In fact, the natural and plant-based dyes the brand uses are seasonal, which helps determine the colours in the collection. In spring-summer, the brand may dye with flowers and give cheerful, fresh colours to the textiles. In autumn, these are more likely to be autumnal shades, thanks to dyes made from chestnuts and walnuts.

Interested in doing this yourself? Hul le Kes organises its own workshops to learn natural dyeing!

Slow fashion processes

Hul le Kes always works with one permanent and seasonless collection. In this, a new design is occasionally added. Still, you are sure to find a unique garment there every time, as the brand works with upcycled materials that are available in small quantities. The material determines what kind of garment or product is made with it. 

Some jackets can be ordered as made-to-order. This means that the jacket is produced only after you order it. So you can choose which colour style you want it in, and you can even have your own wool blanket made into a unique jacket!

Transparency on product

Each Hul le Kes garment has its own unique code. Using this code, the brand can keep track of all information about each garment.

In addition, each garment (with retail price of +€200) has its own passport. This little book is delivered along with the garment. You will find all the information about who made the garment, when it was finished, when you bought it and the materials. 
You are also encouraged to add to this passport yourself with all the information about the life of your garment. Every occasion on which you wear it, every stain or repair is an anecdote in the story of your clothing. This way, you increase your connection with your clothing and it will enjoy a longer life.

Still want to pass on or resell your Hul le Kes item? Then the new owner can read all about it in the passport!

Transparency on processes

Hul le Kes gets a monster score for transparency thanks to the wealth of information available on their website. You can read all about the two production workshops and the materials in the collections.