The Story Behind Artishoque
Artishoque is the new name for RAF import and abstractly connects the words art, shop and chic. Some also read it as baroque, which means whimsical. Making art accessible to everyone, innovation and automation are in our DNA. It is therefore not surprising that the name was partly created thanks to AI. Artishoque is registered as "Wholesale in art" with the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP).
History of Artishoque
Formerly RAF Import
Artishoque is a company of Erik-Jan Jonkman (1971), entrepreneur since 2000 and also owns Nomadz, a cowork space, and Betaalbarekunst.nl, a webshop in art and wall decoration.
What was once called RAF import was a large metal wall decoration supplier of Betaalbarekunst.nl. During corona, hundreds of works of art moved from RAF to Betaalbarekunst.nl every month. Thanks to the many contacts and coordination of supply and demand, Betaalbarekunst.nl was the first customer to start dropshipping via RAF.
During the Corona malaise, the then owner Robert developed a new company, on which the focus increasingly shifted. In the meantime, Erik was working on ideas for his own wholesale business, partly to further develop the eternal internet promise of dropshipping, partly to reduce the many movements of stock (and money).
The takeover of RAF imports seemed like a good opportunity for Erik, but as always it was a lot of work. However, the many years of collaboration on the one hand and Erik's (digital) experience, network and having a showroom and warehouses on the other hand, made this process considerably easier, as a result of which both agreed to the takeover in 2023.
Mission
Artishoque's mission is to make art affordable and accessible. Own designs, own import, automation and dropshipping must guarantee this. The current customers in the Netherlands and Belgium should be a springboard to other countries in the EU.
Place in the market
Artishoque currently focuses mainly on metal wall decorations and is active in the Netherlands and Belgium. Many retailers are among the loyal customer base who are served from the warehouses and workshop in The Hague. Furthermore, the focus is on an efficient organization that can seamlessly serve both the traditional store and the contemporary webshop. And with Betaalbarekunst.nl as antennae to the market.