Henk Leppink, Jewelry Designer

To commemorate and celebrate the life and work of Henk Leppink, who tragically died five years ago this April, some of his close friends decided to make a book about him and the wonderful things he made. It was published at the end of 2013, and now an English summary had been added.
Henk Leppink started out as a fine artist, but in the early nineties, driven by his fascination for buttons, he found himself gravitating towards jewelry making. He acquired hundreds of thousands of old buttons through a simple ad in the local newspaper: ‘Artist looking for buttons.’ He always collected them in person, because the humble button is a part of the details that make up people's lives, and Henk wanted to hear the stories about those details. He gave the old buttons a new life as jewelry, in an oeuvre that expanded over the years and became surprisingly diverse.

This richly illustrated book (with many photo’s by Eddo Hartmann a.o.) tells the story of the life of Henk Leppink and of the development of his work. Marjan Unger wrote a chapter about the meaning of his work in the community of jewelry designers and –makers. Furthermore it contains some early drawings by Henk, and a handful of the hundreds of letters he wrote about his work and daily life. It is a true gem of a book for anyone who is interested in jewelry and art.


Graphic Design: Bas Oudt