At the beginning of 1985 the 37-year-old Nico Claasen decides to start his own business at Westzanerdijk. Claasen is a toolmaker by trade but, after 17 years of precision work, it is time to set his eye for traditional detail to work in a different discipline: The restoration of antique furniture purchased by his wife, Anneke. The storeroom at the back of their home becomes his workshop.