"How did pracht.nl come into being and how long have you been around?"
We are asked this question regularly. Pracht has been around for 18 years now, but our entrepreneurial adventure started long before that. We are very happy to share our story with you.
We take you with us
to the 80s
We, the sisters Corien and Barbara, are real Utrecht girls, born and raised in this beautiful city. We were brought up on entrepreneurship as our parents were also entrepreneurs. Before the opening of Pracht we were already in the same building on the Oudegracht for 21 years. Here we had our store 'Uit De Kunst'. We had a framing shop, sold greeting cards and in the beautiful cellar we sold many paintings, frames, art and posters.
Before we took over 'Uit De Kunst', Barbara already had a side job at this store. One day she came home with the story that the store was for sale. At the time, Corien had already completed her education at fashion school and had started a franchise wool store when she was 18. She did this together with her aunt in Choorstraat at number 8. Knitting, crochet and crafts were hugely popular in the early 1980s. Unfortunately, this trend slowly faded away and the wool store's sales dropped significantly.
Something had to be done!
Our parents were happy to think along with us and were completely in favor of their girls taking over 'Uit De Kunst'. Barbara still had to finish high school, but would then run the store with Corien. No sooner said than done; 'Uit De Kunst' was taken over on May 1, 1986 and Corien already started there.
After graduating, Barbara had other plans and thought about studying tourism. In the meantime, the idea of starting a gift shop had also arisen. This was a difficult choice for Barbara, who was 18 at the time.
This last plan, the gift shop, only really started to take shape when a beautiful building presented itself on Steenweg 22 in Utrecht. Barbara eventually chose entrepreneurship. The gift shop 'For You' opened its doors in 1987. At that time, the gift shop was filled with lots of fun stuff; including Garfield, Snoopy and many fun gadgets.
Doing business together, each at their own place in beautiful Utrecht.
Corien on Oudegracht and Barbara on Steenweg. Doing business together, each at their own place in beautiful Utrecht. In 1996, 9 years later, we decided to sell 'For You'. In the meantime we were married and wished for children. Continuing together in 'Uit De Kunst' was the best choice. This way we could both work three days instead of six and there was enough time for the children.
Everyone knew where to find us on the Oudegracht. People always talked about 'the little card shop' or 'the leaning building on the corner'. We specialized in all kinds of framing work and therefore had a large clientele, both individuals and companies, including the Railway Museum and the NS.
We enjoyed doing this for all those years, but after 21 years we were ready for a new challenge. Growth had stopped and there was a lot of competition. Another contributing factor was that framing large paintings, lugging them up and down stairs in our small building, as well as delivering them, was physically demanding work. So, also with a view to the future, it was a good plan to change industry.
But what are we going to do?
One thing was paramount: We stay in "Utereg ons stadsie" (Utrecht our town in dialect) and on this spot! There is a lot of hustle and bustle here, every day is different. So... the sisters started brainstorming. What would suit us and the building? What do we like? What makes us happy? All sorts of things came up; lingerie, clothes, ice creams, delicacies and chocolates. We had the greatest fun with the latter, because we would be the biggest customers ourselves. So we decided against that!
In the end, we thought jewellery and accessories were the best idea for the most beautiful and smallest premises on Oudegracht. After a year of research and preparations, we knew exactly which brands we wanted to sell and what the shop should look like. Quite a few possible names were considered, but in the end one stood out from the crowd.
"Pracht" was born!
After the closure of 'Uit De Kunst' we were closed for a month. During this period we worked very hard and the shop underwent a metamorphosis. Stylishly decorated with a beautiful interior and filled with 'beautiful' jewelry, Pracht opened its doors on September 30, 2006. A few busy years followed and we were very happy that we had made the right decision, because that was very exciting in the beginning.
Five years later, we were ready to start a webshop. This was quite a job, but we see it as a good addition to our company! During the first lockdown, we gave our website and webshop a whole new look. We are very proud of that, it looks fresh and beautiful.
A few years later, our beautiful basement also got a facelift. If you haven't been there yet, it's definitely worth taking a look! The stairs to the basement can be found in the back of our store and we sell beautiful bags, clothings, scarves and other accessories here. We also pierce ears in the basement, where we have all the space en tranquility we need.
We, Corien and Barbara, both have our qualities and complement each other well. But without the fantastic girls in our team, we would be nowhere. They always come up with good ideas, think along with us, are very committed and together we have a great time. What is particularly fun and special is that our daughters Fleur and Sophia now also work at Pracht!
Over the past 15 years we have been able to help many ladies and gentlemen from Utrecht and far beyond and make them happy with our ‘Splendid’ jewellery and accessories, Pracht.nl lives up to its name!
In the coming years too, we are happy to serve everyone at Pracht.nl and the collection will always be up-to-date. We will always surprise you with beautiful new items in the shop and online!
Very much looking forward to seeing you at Pracht aan de Gracht.
With beautiful greetings,
Corien and Barbara
