In March 2020, a man from Tilburg emailed the Vakvrouwen to inquire about this stepladder photo he had seen on our website:
None of my colleagues knew which of the previous Vakvrouwen had built the stepladder, so I emailed the O.G. Vakvrouw Herself, Liesbeth to ask if it would be okay to re-create the original stepladder for the client. After some sleuthing, Liesje was identified as the creator of the stepladder on our website, and said it was fine with her if I used her design.
I ended up modifying the design in a few ways, using fewer screws to join the treads and the top to the legs. I also used a pin-and-dowel hinge system, mostly because I couldn't figure out what Liesje had done with her stool, and because it was easy.
The final product was a sturdy beechwood stepladder finished in Osmo hardwax, measuring approximately 60 cm tall and 60 cm deep at its base when unfolded, 17 cm deep when folded. The treads are 45 cm wide and 8 cm deep.
I drove to Tilburg and delivered the stepladder personally to a lovely couple who invited me to sit and chat in their backyard garden before driving back to Amsterdam. They were kind enough to fill out a product evaluation form after two weeks of using the stepladder. I so enjoyed the process of making this piece that I applied their feedback toward the next stepladder I built... which I painted blue, gave fancy oak trim, and listed in my webshop.