A Life in Craft, Chords, and Currents: Pepijn’s Story

I’ve always believed that the grain of a piece of wood and the vibration of a guitar string tell the same kind of story. My own story began with both, back in a workshop near the Haagse Golf and Country Club.

Roots in the Workshop

My father was a pilot with a soul captured by flight—specifically, the avian kind. As the head of the bird commission at the golf club next door, he turned our workshop into a factory for birdhouses. Under his guidance, I didn't just learn to build; I learned to respect the material. I began to understand the endless possibilities hidden within a simple plank of wood.

The Spark of the Blues

Music was the constant backdrop of my youth. My father lived by Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue, an album that still holds a permanent spot in my heart. But the real "aha!" moment came in 1978. The Rolling Stones released Some Girls, and that raw, gritty guitar work on tracks like "Shattered" and "When the Whip Comes Down" hit me like a lightning bolt.

I knew right then: that was it. I spent a summer caddying on the golf course, saving every guilder until I could afford a second-hand Fender Bullet Deluxe. That guitar is leaning against the wall next to me as I write this today—it’s a piece of my soul I’ll never part with.

The Call of the East

In 1977, at twelve years old, my world expanded. My Uncle Herman was stationed in Jakarta and invited my brother and me for an epic Jeep expedition across Java to Bali. We saw it all: the majesty of Borobudur, the volcanic peaks of Bromo, and the wilds of the Sukamade Nature Reserve.

Back then, Bali only had two hotels. It was a world of warm people, incredible food, and a sense of freedom I hadn't felt in Holland. I remember thinking, this is where I want to be.

From Garage Bands to Island Life

Returning to the Netherlands, school felt like a cage. My mind was elsewhere. I soon joined Lancaster as a rhythm guitarist and singer. We were a classic garage band, fueled by the talents of:

• Jaapie de Vries (Solo Guitar)

• Vinnie Vince (Bass)

• Lippy Goodpeople (Drums)

• Mark Snijders (Keys) – our musical brain who is still a successful Sony artist today.

Eventually, the road called again. My friend Eric Bosma, a fashion designer, sent me to Mauritius to scout the knitwear industry. I spent two years there, ostensibly learning manufacturing, but mostly diving, water skiing, and fishing. I fell in love with Sega music—that African-influenced, reggae-infused rhythm. Those nights on the beach with campfires and guitars are some of my fondest memories.

The Journey Home

After a stint in Hong Kong and Macau, destiny finally circled back to my childhood dream. In 1992, a Dutch-Hong Kong textile firm—led by the legendary "Rogue of Hong Kong," Mr. Mak van Waay—offered me a position managing a production office in Bandung.

I arrived in Indonesia thirty-four years ago. I never looked back