"What I love about my job? That we can create something new and special from existing materials."
Nikky talks about her growth within Zwartwoud, her work as a Product Engineer, and how creativity and circularity come together in product development.
With every design, we seek the balance between creativity, circularity, and feasibility.
I've already held several roles at Zwartwoud. This summer marks my fifth year here, and during that time, I've grown from a project assistant to a work planner, and eventually to my current position as Product Engineer. It's precisely this opportunity for continuous development that makes working at Zwartwoud so enjoyable for me.
I started as a project assistant within the ABN AMRO team. There, I gained a lot of exposure to work planning and discovered how dynamic the work truly is. Since I'd always been interested in product design, I first wanted to thoroughly understand how products are technically constructed and produced. In work planning, I therefore learned an immense amount about manufacturability, materials, and processes. When a position eventually opened up in product development, it felt like the perfect next step.
It's precisely the combination of creativity and circularity that makes my work so enjoyable.
What I find so great about Zwartwoud is that your starting point here doesn't automatically have to be your end point. They truly look at what energizes you and how you want to develop yourself further. When the product development vacancy came up, colleagues actively pointed it out to me. After that, things moved quite quickly. I applied internally and was immediately given the opportunity to make that move.
In my current role, I'm much more on the creative side of the process, and that really suits me better. Where work planning primarily revolved around scheduling, procurement, and time pressure, I now have the space to think about solutions, designs, and details. Drawing and developing new ideas, in particular, gives me a lot of energy.
What's especially great about it is that circularity plays a major role in my work. In product development, we continuously look at materials, connections, and reuse. We collaborate closely with our circular expert and critically examine which suppliers and solutions are truly sustainable. Additionally, we frequently brainstorm with architects to combine creative designs with circular choices.
My starting point at Zwartwoud certainly turned out not to be my end point.
It's precisely this combination of creativity and sustainability that makes the work challenging. Many of our clients have high demands regarding circularity and reuse. Yet, there's always room for creative thinking. For example, we sometimes find materials or furniture in existing harvest lists that can be perfectly repurposed within a new design. That requires a different way of looking at things, and that's precisely what I find interesting.
If I were to give advice to someone who wants to work at Zwartwoud, I would say: be open, optimistic, and adaptable. It's a dynamic organization where a lot happens, and you need to be able to switch gears quickly. No client, project, or day is the same. Furthermore, Zwartwoud truly feels like a close-knit team to me. You can easily build a rapport with colleagues here, and that makes the work even more enjoyable.
What I'm personally proud of is how much I've developed myself over the past few years. For example, in the past year, I learned two new 3D drawing programs. That kind of growth motivates me enormously because you notice that you're constantly improving and can create increasingly beautiful things.
Gerelateerde vacatures
Mechanic
- You ensure the placement of sustainable and circular interior elements
- You see the preconceived product coming to life so slowly
- You are a face for the customer who is happy with the end result
Get in touch with [name visible on live site]
We'd love to tell you more about how we work. Schedule an appointment with us right away or leave your details. Then we will contact you as soon as possible.
