Coffee Time with Kristel Schoeman founder of Wood Factory

Wood Factory was launched by long-term resident of Marbella, Dutch born Kristel Schoeman. Kristel wanted to bring the best of Dutch design and quality to the Costa del Sol. Kristel´s success speaks volumes in the number of establishments across the coast that she has furnished. Here Kristel talks about business and how it goes being a mother of four.

Can you tell us the story of how Wood Factory came about?

When I was pregnant with my fourth child I decided to leave my job and take a sabbatical. During my sabbatical I came up with a new business idea which was inspired from Holland. Wood furniture at that time was very popular in Holland, in Marbella if you wanted to have furniture of wood you couldn’t find anything nice, it was dark colored wood or antique wood but not the bohemian light wood that I was looking for. So I made a business plan and shortly after the birth of my daughter, I found myself full of energy; I hired a carpenter, I rented a warehouse and I started to make furniture designs and by end of that summer, my children went back to school, my daughter started nursery and I opened my showroom with my designs.

What products do you offer and what are the current trends?

We make furniture of wood, the designs I make myself and I look at current trends, I look what kind of designs are popular at the moment and we make the furniture ourselves locally. I take a design and I make my own version, we use different material not PVC or aluminum. Our wood is recycled, strong due to its thickness of 3 cm and is suitable for exterior use. The treatments we use are oils available in different colours, the most popular are white, grey and natural. We make dining tables, coffee tables, lounger sets, doors, floors, indoor and out door kitchens. Cushions for our lounge sets we make made to measure, in fabrics suitable for exterior use and in many colours, shapes and patterns. I like to look in the trendy magazines and I always try to get new designs based on the current trends.

Can you tell us about any of the projects you are currently working on?

Currently I´m working on a very big project in Copenhagen, Denmark.  We are furnishing a huge restaurant that is part of a chain all over Denmark. The client has been sat on my furniture in different restaurants here on the coast  and looked up our brand, came to our showroom and said this is what I want for my restaurants in Denmark. So we are starting to do the first restaurant in his chain and delivery is mid/end April. I´m also working on a project for detox hotel in Portugal, we are custom making all their exterior terrace furniture and other custom made pieces like bathroom tops and mirrors for inside the rooms. These are the two biggest projects Iam working on at the moment. I always have little restaurant projects like a new golf restaurant opening, a new cafeteria opening in Estepona and private residential projects.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of setting up a business in Marbella?

Just do it! I think it is important to know the Spanish language. Try to make good calculations especially if you need to rent premises the prices can be extremely high. Don’t make a mistake in having too high overheads in the beginning because it will always take some time to start up the business. Try to search for a good location and not too expensive. If you believe in your concept go for it, I think in Marbella we have a really big market, international and Spanish, so if the product is good or the service is good what you have to offer and your overheads are not too high it should work.

Which area do you live in and what do you like about it?

I live in Nueva Andalucía walking distance to Puerto Banus, close to the boulevard. I´ve lived there since 2004, a long time. I love the area a lot because it´s very international and what I like is we are walking distance to the beach and the paseo. We can take the bikes and cycle to Marbella, to San Pedro or we walk. I don’t have to take my car to go to the sea. I don’t go into Puerto Banus itself  that much but its handy to be close to El Corte Ingles and we enjoy going to Picasso´s with the children. Mainly what I like is being close to the Paseo.

How do you like to spend your free time?

Free time at the moment there is not a lot of free time, last weekend I was in Malaga with my third boy, he had a basketball match, then my oldest boy had a football match in Torremolinos so that´s a how my weekends look at the moment. I like to go walking and have a family lunch on a Sunday. I like to make little road trips. I go with my daughter to the Saturday market at Centro Plaza. But there´s not a lot of free time at the moment.

How would you describe Marbella to an outsider?

Living in Marbella for 22 years I have seen Marbella growing from a small village, well I don’t think it´s a small village anymore. I think we are blessed to live here, because first of all I think we have the best climate of Europe. Secondly the international community. To be surrounded by many different nationalities is enriching especially for the children. I think Marbella has a lot of opportunities. Well it is seasonal and in the high season of course there´s more demand than the low season, but still the whole year round there is movement, there is a huge residential community living here. Marbella is multicultural there is something for all styles. To summarize I think Marbella is the best place to live in Europe.

How can people find out more about Wood Factory?

You can go around Marbella having dinners or drinks in places and you will see the furniture; we have furnished many places. You can find inspiration on our website and some of our designs are on Instagram. At our showroom in San Pedro where we also make our furniture, we have many of our products on display. Poligono San Pedro de Alcántara, Calle Budapest 16 ES – 29670 San Pedro de Alcántara. https://www.woodfactory.es/es/