The Grand Hall of a private palace in the desert of Qatar
Frank Sinatra and these guys were driving these cars . For me , it ’ s a time of nostalgia . Today , you see an Audi , a Mercedes , a BMW on the road and you ask yourself , ‘ Is that a Mercedes or an Audi ? No , it ’ s a VW ,’ it ’ s all the same . In the 50 ’ s each car had character , people had character , there was respect . If you look at these cars , they bring me the memory of that time . I believe that ’ s where it comes from . And of course , I love cars . I ’ m completely crazy about cars . In front of the Hôtel de Paris , you see twenty Rolls Royces , Bentleys , Ferraris , but when I show up with my Ford Thunderbird from 1950 everyone has a smile . Why is that ? Because it brings so much happiness and good memories to people .
: Do you have any other hobbies ?
Marieux van den Broek : I ’ m a family man at heart . I don ’ t see my children often , that ’ s a big bother . I have five children . I ’ m extremely proud of all of them . For me , I dream of possessing a beautiful historical house in Tuscany , or in Italy somewhere . I dream of having olive trees or a vineyard and a huge table with the whole family . If I could achieve that , that would be a dream for me . And I must say , I was always driven by success and passion for my work . At the time , you don ’ t realize that your children need their father during their difficulties while they are growing up . You ’ re just part of it , you don ’ t really realize the importance of it . That ’ s why grandfathers and grandmothers have more
fun with their grandchildren and I hope that I will have the same .
: Your current profession was not your first choice . Tell me how that happened , how did you change your mind ?
Marieux van den Broek : I was very sportive , sports was everything for me . I did competition swimming , basketball , many sports . That was my passion and I wanted
To create the impossible , that ’ s really a challenge . I ’ ve done that many times .
to be a sports teacher . But I had a hobby , decorating glass . I remember very well , I was at school , and in Holland , there are more bicycles than cars . So , Friday night after school , from 5 – 7pm we would bicycle five or six kilometers to the nearest pub . We were about ten or twelve people , always fun , fun , fun . We sat on the terrace , the weather was very nice . I remember it like it was yesterday . I had to go to the restroom in this bar and I suddenly saw these mirrors on the wall . ‘ Coca-Cola , Schweppes ,’
very kitsch , but it was new at that time in 1974 – 75 . I had a thought , ‘ Wow , you should personalize these mirrors with the name and logo of the bar ’. Then I started to create these mirrors . I learned how to sandblast and how to make them from my friends in the glass industry . I sold my first mirrors , carrying them under my arm and bicycling through the city , to all the pubs and restaurants . Everyone said , ‘ Oh , wow this is nice !’ and I started my business . Then glass became a passion for me . Glass is a fantastic material , glass can be transparent , it can say nothing , but it can also say everything . It ’ s the way you use it in an interior . So , it started slowly . Then , Holland became too small for me , and I had to find countries where people really appreciate how far you can go with your creativity . And that ’ s what I do until today .
: Which was the first country ?
Marieux van den Broek : The first country was the Emirates . I had the opportunity to work with the very best interior architects and designers who challenged me , who gave me the opportunity to grow . I was a young man and the fact that I wanted to be a sports teacher was forgotten , was gone . I saw my passion , my creativity , my design skills . And then , you have to learn , you have to go to school , and I did . But I did it at the same time , in parallel . It was not difficult . My father always said , ‘ If you find your passion , you do not have to work one day in your life .’ That ’ s absolutely true .
36 / Hello Monaco Summer — Autumn 2022 www . hellomonaco . com