Written by Mattie Crombez
Posted on 16/06/2022
Handmade in Brugge launches new website & digital hub for makers
Handmade in Brugge is a non-profit organisation that promotes Bruges as a city of inspiring creators.
Last night, the launch event for the Handmade in Brugge website took place at De Republiek in Bruges. During this event, the organisation announced 6 makers who qualified for the 2022 ‘Handmade in Brugge’ label, and unveiled their brand new visual identity and website.
The blueprint
Handmade in Brugge aims to be the face for all ‘makers’ in Bruges. Bruges has a vast history of local craft, as well as a long-standing, rock-solid reputation in the field of traditional craftsmanship. Handmade in Brugge’s mission is to bring local makers together, make their offerings known to the general public, and introduce tourists to our craft.
At the height of the pandemic, it wasn’t easy for local artisans to get their products out there. To give them a helping hand, by providing more opportunities and the much-needed support after a difficult year, we set up our first Christmas web pop-up store in late 2020. (For more on this, check out our previous articles from 2020 and 2021.)
With this launch, we’ve now expanded on this webshop significantly and added a lot more content to the platform. Makers are now able to have a permanent digital home base where they can promote themselves, their process, and their products – all on an easy-to-use & highly presentable platform.
In addition to this registry of ‘label holders’, the website also showcases news, events, and projects related to local artisanship. The site uses an immensely user-friendly CMS, where both content and products in the shop can be combined very easily.
The way in which Handmade in Brugge operates is extremely versatile. There are projects, collaborations, a web shop, an annually published city guide… Within all of these different parts, we mainly want to place the focus on our network of 92 Bruges-based artisans, as they’re at the centre of everything we do. The most difficult challenge was finding the right balance in our website. With it, we mostly wanted to let these makers shine, as well as point our visitors to our content offerings in a clear and easy way. Thanks to Bits of Love’s UX & UI expertise, we were able to make this happen!
Evelyne Demey,
Project Coordinator
“What a pleasant collaboration! We were immediately on the same wavelength. The speed with which this project came about really stuck with us.”
Evelyne Demey,
Project Coordinator – Handmade in Brugge
A real team effort
We feel that local craft is important and makes a tangible difference in our local community, which is why we gladly took on this project.
The website was made in collaboration with Bruges-based design agency Bloudruk, who designed and created Handmade in Brugge’s new visual identity. (more on this later)
This means that every aspect of this project truly was a Bruges endeavour. We asked the Handmade in Brugge team how they experienced taking on this project:
“A huge advantage was that Bits of Love already knows our organisation well. To support our local makers, we developed the Handmade in Brugge Christmas webshop together during the corona period. This was a clear precursor to our new website, in which this shop is now permanently integrated.”
Throughout its creation, coordinating the project felt like a breeze thanks to the great partnership with Evelyne Demey, Sofie Keersebilck, and Leslie Steen from the Handmade in Brugge team.
A fresh coat of paint
To bring their new branding to life, this colourful and creative visual identity was created by Bloudruk.
We converted these brand guidelines into a fully fledged design system and created a web design that’s fit for any device.
“From the start, the Bits of Love team wants to set the right tone by getting a feel for your brand and committing to it 200% – resulting in a perfectly customised website.”
Femke Vanbelle,
Creative Art Director – Bloudruk
Discover what creativity Bruges has in store
Interested in what local artisans are up to? Looking for a few unique gift ideas? Check out what Handmade in Brugge has to offer at handmadeinbrugge.be!
