A company of three generations

The family business Brink & van Keulen has passed on all the knowledge and skills of making and restoring brass chandeliers for three generations.

It started with Egbert Brink and Marinus Leendert van Keulen after the second world war. Together with their brother Anton Brink, who was already a foundryman, the firm specialised in the production of brass chandeliers. A strong impetus for the manufacture of replicas of old Dutch crowns and the restoration of old crowns was given by Mr Canneman, the chief architect at the National Monuments Service. During restorations, he was repeatedly confronted with the lack of knowledge and skills of the old brass casting trade. At his request, the firm started specialising in this field in 1950.

In 1964, a limited liability company was finally established.

For a long time, the production was done in a building at Koudehorn in Haarlem.
Willem Brink, the second generation, learned all the tricks of the trade from his father. Within the production process, he went through all trades; from foundryman to polisher, and from turner to board member. Through the years he put his heart and soul into the craft.

He then passed on this passion to the next generation; his daughter, Sabine, who became involved in the business aspects of the company.

After very successful years, Brink & van Keulen faced hard times. Church building in the Netherlands stagnated and church attendance declined, for years

The restoration and casting of church crowns have been the core business of the firm.
For some time now the company has been relaunched and the production moved to Generatorstraat in Amsterdam. Thus, the beautiful craft of "brass casting" has fortunately not become extinct in the Netherlands.
Besides casting replicas also restoration and making modern brass crowns
Brink & van Keulen is not only engaged in the manufacture of chandeliers, but also in their restoration. A restoration can vary from small maintenance to a large restoration, in which parts are replaced, repaired, or remanufactured. In some cases, it is impossible to restore the crown. A replica of the old crown can then be made.

Different Stages of the Restoration of Chandeliers
An image of the different stages of restoration of the chandeliers of the Stevenskerk in Nijmegen. The arm on the right shows the unrestored state. In the middle is an arm where the corrosion has been removed. On the left, the arm is fully polished.

 

Mr. Willem Brink (second generation) with his daughter Sabine (third generation)
Mr. Willem Brink (second generation) with his daughter Sabine (third generation)