A night filled with live music, lectures, panel discussions and plenty of opportunity to network. The event catered to the needs of indie entrepreneurs, marketeers, branding professionals, students, musicians and music lovers alike.

With seasoned professionals like Rogier Bol, Benny Sings and Farid Benmbarek (Top Notch). Inspiring brands like Knops, KOLLEKT.FM and Box of Doom. Plus live performances by Sanguita Akkrum (Actress/Singer/Songwriter) and the Smartphone Orchestra.

An Indie Brands® event devoted to the importance and relevance of craftsmanship in our modern world. Besides presentations and lectures, the event featured a Crafts Market where different makers presented their artisan products. 

The Indie Brands® Brewery Special was a spirited event of brewers, beers and brands. An evening of inspirational talks was followed by a beer tasting session, featuring 16 of the best microbreweries in the Netherlands, including: De Prael, Brouwerij 't IJ, Amsterdam Brewboys, Brouwerij Zeeburg and Oedipus.

Read a review of the night.

Independent bike brands came together in the bike capital of the world, Amsterdam, to share ideas, talk business and inspire creatives and other indie entrepreneurs in the making.

Is there room for new bike brands in the highly saturated bicycle market? How do you stand out? And who is coming out on top in the race for innovation: the corporate giants or the start ups? The Indie Brands® Supermarket was stocked with great bike accessories and the event also featured a special exhibition with designs of both established and up-and-coming bike brands.

Some of the participating brands included: Roetz-Bikes, BlackStarBikes, VANMOOF, RIH, Johnny Loco, Sandwichbikes, BRIK, Bough Bikes, van Heesch design, Soigneur, The Chopperdome, Velo Vintage, beixo, Elian Cycles, Hotelfietsbel, The Upcycle, Spiked Cycles, Amsterdamize, Batavus, Richard Mooyman, Fendor Bendor, Mybasket & Kratvast, TIMcity, TWO-O, Kazmok and more.

We also teamed up with the wonderful people of Professional Rebel for a special bicycle edition of their Startup Tour. 

Read a full review of the event here.

During the 5th edition of the Indie Brands® event we turned our attention to food & beverages: from one-man liquor brands to medium-sized corporations that are taking on the big boys in their quest to change the food industry.

We talked to newbies as well as Indie Brands® favorites like Tony Chocolonely and Mr. Jones tea about the life and times of indie food brands: from the initial idea and first kitchen experiments right down to the headaches, heartaches and hiccups that also come with running an independent brand.

Besides inspirational lectures and words of wisdom by indie food entrepreneurs, visitors could sample great food, enjoy an indie cuppa at our coffee corner or sit down at the Biergarten stacked with local beers. The Indie Brands® Supermarket was also back, stocked with delicious independent brands.

Participating brands included: Peppersmith, Tony Chocolonely, Tosti Madness, Gastrovan, Natwerk, Mister Kitchen, John Altman, Mr. Jones tea, Professor Grunschnabel, Justnuts, Donny Craves, De Kleine Keuken, Vleesch noch Visch, Oedipus Brewing, Halbe, Brouwerij Zeeburg, Moyee Coffee, Kate Mossel, Phiha Caffe, So T, Thrill Grill, Waterbobbel, Backyard coffee, Brouwerij Pampus and more.

Read a full review of the event here. 

During the 4th edition of the Indie Brands® Event we examined different indie business trends. How can you stand out as an independent brand in trying financial times? Is being independent enough? What new types of business models are indie entrepreneurs coming up with to keep their brand alive and kicking? And how are they funding these ideas?

We discussed social distribution with Works That Work magazine and looked into

social entrepreneurship with brands likes SuperKoeien, BlackStarBikes and O My Bag.

Other guests included: Ikku, Oneplanetcrowd, Alfredo Gonzales socks and Sarah Bagner from supermarketsarah.com. The Indie Brands® Supermarket also opened its temporary doors once again so visitors could stock up on their favorite independent brands.

Read a full review of the event here.

Independent  brands don’t just come up with creative products, they can also change the way business is done. During the third Indie Brands event, we highlighted brands  that have taken the idea of creative entrepreneurship to a new level by coming up with creative new ways of doing business or creating buzz. Think of Threadless the brand that made community-driven design both cool and profitable.

But creative entrepreneurship also applies to marketing and branding. Faced with a limited budget and a non-existing PR department, independent brands need to be smart when it comes to marketing and getting their name out there.

We revisited some of the brands that attended the first Indie Brands® event back in December 2011. Back then we saw young, enthusiastic entrepreneurs who seemed eager to conquer the world despite economic turbulent times. Where were these brands now? Did they survive? Or thrive? What was left of their initial ideas and ideals?

Guests included: Threadless, Oat shoes, John Altman, As Good As New, Two-O, Festina Lente Collective, Buutvrij for Life Halbe beer and many more.

Read a full review of the event here.

The theme of the second Indie Brands® event was denim, but the scope of the conversation was much broader and of interest to all those with a love for indie entrepreneurship.

Independent brands – from jeans labels to organic lifestyle brands – came together in ‘denim city’ Amsterdam to share ideas, talk business and inspire creatives and other indie entrepreneurs in the making.

It was an evening with inspirational lectures, creative entrepreneurs and plenty of eye candy from brands like Glue Jeans, Ikku, Twin Couture, Koi Jeans, Hiut Denim Co. and Fromanteel Watches. Other guests include fashion curator Ninke Bloemberg (Centraal Museum), Willa Stoutenbeek (W. Green), Sander Jongerius (KICI / Re-DENIM project) and James Veenhoff (House of Denim).

Read a full review of the event here.

On December 22, 2011, independent brands from all corners of the globe came together in Amsterdam’s Pakhuis de Zwijger to share ideas, talk business and inspire creatives and other indie entrepreneurs in the making.

What makes for an indie brand? What is the link with the music industry? How do you maintain your independent spirit when faced with commercial success? And can an independent brand ever go mainstream without selling out? These questions and many more were dealt with head on.

Indie Brands®, the event, zoomed in on The Life and Times of an Indie Brand® with lectures, presentations and discussions from indie entrepreneurs, trendwatchers, scientists and some of the corporate giants that in recent years have shown great interest in independent brands.

The book Indie Brands®, which tells the story of 30 independent brands, was officially launched during the event. There was also a special Indie Brands® Supermarket where visitors could buy products from different independent brands and labels.

Participating brands included Yellow Bird Project, KesselsKramer, 22Tracks, Etat Libre d’Orange, Tony’s Chocolonely, VANMOOF, Mr. Jones, Oggu, John Altman, Alfredo Gonzales, milque, Natwerk, Rambler, Oat Shoes and many more.

The Indie Brands® Business Cases were small-scale events catered towards the (business) needs of indie entrepreneurs. In close collaboration with Pakhuis de Zwijger we organized 5 events where entrepreneurs and industry professionals shared tips on such diverse subjects as the copycat culture and how to protect your creative property. But we also discussed the importance of packaging, branding and what steps you need to take in order to take your independent brand abroad.