Ten years is a strange thing to measure. It's not long enough to call yourself old, but it's long enough to look back and realise you've built something that actually means something. That's where we are right now. Ten years since Urban Nature Culture first opened its doors with one simple idea: a home shouldn't feel perfect, it should feel like you.
So how do you celebrate a decade without it feeling like just another marketing moment? You don't throw a party. You go find the people who've been doing this far longer than you, and you learn from them. That's exactly what happened when we sat down with Royal Goedewaagen, a Dutch ceramics house that makes our ten years look like a warm-up act.
A Meeting Of Two Crafts, Four Centuries Apart
Here's the part that still gives us chills. Royal Goedewaagen's story doesn't start in this century, or even the last one. It starts in 1610, in Gouda, in a small pottery workshop where someone first sat down and shaped clay by hand. Four hundred years later, that same craft is still going. Still Dutch. Still made by hand. Still one of the oldest ceramics houses in Europe.
Put ten years next to four hundred and you start to see things differently. This wasn't about us borrowing their history for a good story. It was about sitting with a craft that's outlived generations and asking what we could actually learn from it. Every curve, every glaze, every slightly uneven edge in this collection carries a bit of that conversation.
Kalin & Elin: Our Anniversary Pieces
Two vases came out of this. We called them Kalin and Elin.
Both share one unmistakable shape: a neck that flares outward before it meets a wide collar, almost like a nod back to Goedewaagen's early days shaping pipes, before dropping into a rounded, grounded body. Kalin keeps that shape low and wide. Elin takes the same line and stretches it upward, taller, more upright, a little more dramatic.
You can find them in warm, saturated tones, Kalin in Olive or Kalin in Brandy, and Elin in Mayfly or Elin in Adobe. Every piece is finished entirely by hand, which means no two are ever exactly alike. We think that's the whole point.
These vases aren't just something to sell for an anniversary. They're a thank you. To Royal Goedewaagen, for letting us borrow four centuries of skill. And to everyone who's brought a piece of Urban Nature Culture into their home over the past ten years.
"Good design deserves good history behind it," our team keeps saying. "Kalin and Elin carry both."
Looking back, and ahead
Ten years feels like a lot until you sit next to four hundred. But maybe that's the whole lesson here. Design and heritage were never really opposites. They're just two ways of caring about the same thing, one of them just got started a little earlier.
Want to know how to actually style Kalin and Elin once they're home? We put together a full guide for exactly that: The Art of the Vase: How to Style Our Anniversary Collection.
About Urban Nature Culture
Urban Nature Culture was founded in Amsterdam in 2016, with a love for design, nature and the different cultures that inspire us along the way. Ten years later, those influences are still at the heart of what we do.
We're always looking at how things are made and what they're made from. That means exploring materials like recycled glass and ceramics, natural fibres and responsibly sourced wood, while working with makers who bring their own craft and character to a piece.
You'll often see small differences in colour, texture or finish in our collections. We like that. It's part of working with natural materials and handmade techniques, and it means that pieces don't always look or feel exactly the same.
Our approach keeps evolving, as we continue to look for better materials, thoughtful ways of making, and designs that feel at home in everyday life.
If you'd like to see where it all began and where we're headed next, visit us at Urban Nature Culture. Have a question about this collection, or need help finding the right piece? Contact us anytime.
FAQ
What inspired the Kalin and Elin collection?
Our 10th anniversary, and a wish to mark it with something more lasting than a sale. We wanted a piece that carried real history, so we partnered with Royal Goedewaagen to bring that heritage into a new shape.
How long has Royal Goedewaagen actually been making ceramics?
Since 1610. That's over four hundred years of continuous ceramic craftsmanship, making them one of the oldest ceramics manufacturers still operating in Europe.
Are Kalin and Elin a limited collection?
Yes. They were created specifically for this anniversary and won't be part of our permanent collection, so once they're gone, they're gone.
What are Kalin and Elin made from, and where?
Both are hand-finished ceramic vases, crafted in the Netherlands as part of our collaboration with Royal Goedewaagen.
Do Kalin and Elin come in more than one colour?
Yes. Kalin is available in Olive Yellow and Brandy Red, while Elin comes in Mayfly Green and Adobe Brown.
Where is Urban Nature Culture based?
We're based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where the brand was founded in 2016.