From an early age, I’ve been involved in making clothes. I sat for hours next to my mum, cleaning out her sewing basket, until I craved more and started making clothes on my own.

With my mother's help and using patterns from Knip (a Dutch magazine) or Burda, I started making dresses for my Barbie dolls. But soon, I started sewing clothes for myself too. So, after high school, I chose to learn how to make 'real' patterns for my own designs. At St.-Agnes and St.-Maria, I mastered all the tricks of the trade. Meanwhile, it was my turn to pass on my knowledge and skills to mum, because 'basting and tailor's tacking are old school, after all!' 😊

Much of what hangs in my closet today comes from under my sewing machine. At home, I’m always working on something, or something is 'maturing.' A new piece of clothing, patterns for something new, knitting, crochet... something I can fiddle with. Sometimes, the pieces end up in every corner of the room because they don’t work out, or they get set aside while another idea takes priority.

And so, it gradually began to itch to start something for myself: in late 2020, Atelier Leontine was born, an amalgamation of Leon (my grandfather, who was a tailor) and my first name, Tine.