The Hawk-eye from Schooneman Design

Who is Han Schooneman?

Although Han Schooneman has lived in Amstelveen for about twenty-five years, he has remained an Amsterdammer at heart. “I was born in Utrechtsedwarsstraat. André Hazes was my neighbor on Albert Cuypstraat. My father was a painter, but to earn a living he worked as a window dresser at the Bijenkorf and later started a decoration studio. As a family we moved every two to three years with his work. We ended up living near the RAI in Ferdinand Bolstraat. I continued this moving habit, even when I was already living with Marja, whom I met in Amstelveen. We also thoroughly renovated each house. But we have lived in our current house for more than twenty-five years. Everything that is possible has been renovated and added.” Han and Marja have three daughters. Han attended Mulo and HBS-A at Roelof Hartplein and the Graphic Academy at Dintelstraat in Amsterdam. After his military service, he took up his career as a graphic designer seriously. “During the day I worked as a 'young creative visualiser' at a well-known Amsterdam advertising agency and in the evenings (five evenings a week!) I followed an interior design course at the Rietveld Academy. My father always built tables and other furniture at home himself. I liked that. Still is by the way! I later specialized in designing office furnishings, in particular coming up with concepts for receptions/reception desks.” After working as a designer in the advertising world for several years, the plan developed to start their own business together with a colleague.

What do you have with sports and tennis in particular?

From the age of nine I played ice hockey at a decent level for Amstel Tijgers. Because professional ice hockey in the Netherlands was nothing, I even spent a few winters as a professional in Germany. I only started playing tennis at a later age, first at Fairsport on the Startbaan, later at Amstelland and now after the merger with Meerlanden at LTC Startbaan. During the summer season I usually play tennis 3 evenings a week. In the winter I have been playing tennis on Wednesday evenings for many years with a regular group. I have been a member of LTC Startbaan for 25 years, where I have held various positions, including 5 years as Tournament Director of the OST and now for the Startbaan Tennis Park Foundation. My favorite tennis player of all-time is without a doubt Roger Federer, what an artist on the court and what a sporty person and he also does a lot of good work for the less fortunate among us.

Who is SchoonemanDesign?

It ended up (in 1987) that I took over my father's company. He tried to convince me for a year and a half. Finally I agreed on the condition that he would withdraw as soon as possible! That happened, after which he was very active as a painter again until his death 2 years ago. Yes Expo-Styling grew from twenty people to sixty employees in two years. Over the years, that number has fluctuated with the economy. I sold the company in 2012, after which I started again in August 2013 as SchoonemanDesign, with a largely new network. SchoonemanDesign is a design studio. We provide advice and design stands, interiors and pop-up shops for successful business meetings and product presentations. We think from the perspective of marketing communication and develop tailor-made, with an eye for 'return on investment'. I am gradually becoming more international than national. I know about 90 percent of the European stock exchanges. I work on the basis of advice and evaluation: is or was this fair or exhibition useful to the customer. Did it yield enough? My advice is based on that. If a customer asks me to develop a stand for a trade fair, I will always first assess whether it makes sense for this customer to be present at that fair. In addition to stands and business interiors, Schooneman Design produces graphic work, such as designing logos and brochures. I work a lot for and together with young, starting entrepreneurs. Han Schooneman likes to advise entrepreneurs about an optimal environment for successful business meetings. Han has also been active within the Amstelveen Entrepreneurs Association for 14 years, especially within the Communications Committee.

Why did SchoonemanDesign choose LTC Startbaan?

From my field of expertise, sponsorship is also a subject that I do not shy away from and that made me decide two years ago to give my “kluppie” LTC Startbaan a substantial donation. Apart from the other forms of sponsorship 'in kind' that I have been doing for the club for many years.

What could be done differently and/or better at our club?

I try to make a concrete contribution to this myself. I am also very busy making plans in the building committee for the improvement and upgrading of the park and I have taken a seat in the Communication Committee of the Foundation to publicize the park more.

What would you prefer to see your sponsorship contribution spent on?

We prefer to see SchoonemanDesign's sponsorship contribution benefit the youth academy and not be given away as cash prizes during tournaments, which is not what the sponsorship contribution is intended for.

What can SchoonemanDesign do for the members and/or vice versa?

If, as a member of the park or the clubs in the park, you need good advice about trade fair participation and/or the design of your business environment/office, then Han Schooneman is the right place for you.

Finally, do you have anything to add?

Continue to play tennis, laugh, have fun and improve the world after the match while enjoying a snack and a drink!