Interview with Martin Heinze 

One of our founders, Martin Heinze, recently gave an interview to Sara Amos Pedersen from the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet. In this interview, he's giving insights into his company RackBuddy and the collaboration with his partner, Lasse Nielsen.

We have translated the article in English:

"You don't have to weld anything together and are not forced to stick to one certain design"

Together with his childhood friend Lasse Nielsen, Martin Heinze is working at the furniture company RackBuddy. The former soccer players found a niche and create practical clothes racks made out of water pipes. 

They have been knowing each other for all their lives. In primary school, they have been best friends and as youths they both played soccer in Esbjerg's best clubs. Today, Martin Heinze and Lasse Nielsen are working with water pipes, which they rework to furniture sold in all of Europe. 

How is it to work together with your best friend?

- We have a good collaboration. He is having some competences I don't have and vice versa. We are completing each other really well, because Lasse is very good at everything concerning our online shop while I take care of the customers. We discuss problems openly, so that conflicts are out of the world as fast as possible. 

How did you find your niche? 

- None of us has ever expected that one day, we would live from designing furniture. I am an educated policeman and not one of these people who always knew that they would start their own business. However, I have always had an interest for design. I got the idea for our furniture, because I wanted to build a few clothes racks that are more robust and versatile as the ones you can buy in the big furniture chains! We got the inspiration for water pipes, as Lasse has previously been educated in sales for a plumbing supplier company and gained a lot of knowhow about different materials.

What kind of furniture are you creating?

- In the beginning, we only sold three different kinds of clothes racks. But we grew and developed quickly and are now selling 13 different models including smaller clothes hooks to private customers as well as shops and businesses. We further discovered, that many of our customers want to create their own walk-in closet - that is why we also customise a lot of our designs. It is about making the most out of the space that you have. And for that, our designs offer a lot of possibilities, as you can create something that perfectly uses the height of a room or fits perfectly under a sloping wall. We are designing for private customers as well as stores and restaurants and customise everything to our customers wishes and needs. Despite the raw, industrial look of our clothes racks, you can also make them look more feminine with few means - for example with interior elements in warmer color tones. 

Why are water pipes a good material? 

- Water pipes give a raw, industrial look, that is really trendy right now. They give us the possibility to create a little bit of a New York flair, for example with brick walls and other metal elements - exactly what our clients like. Additionally, it is a very cool material which is easily screwed together and apart. With pipes and fittings you can create everything you want. It reminds a little bit of lego bricks for adults, as you don't have to weld anything together and are not forced to stick to one design. This opens the possibility to our clients, to buy a clothes rack and easily change it, in case they are moving. 

Is there any progress in your business? 

- Yes, there is. Since we have sold the first furniture in 2013, much has happened. Today, we have a danish, german and english online shop and sell in all of Europe. We are further working on a French online shop and started to get requests from the US! 

 

About Martin

• Martin Heinze was born in 1983 in the Danish city Esbjerg. 
• He is educated as a policeman. He was done with his education in 2013. 
• In december 2013, he started the furniture company RackBuddy together with Lasse Nielsen. RackBuddy has its showroom in Copenhagen, where Lasse is living, and a storage in Esbjerg, where Martin is living. 
• RackBuddy has a danish, english and german online shop and is often getting requests from the US. 

 

The original article was published in the "Håndværkeren"-part of Ekstra Bladet. You can read it here: