Strass-Steentjes

Strass and Glitter Rhinestones

Strass-Steentjes.nl is a shop and online shopping site where businesses and individuals can buy rhinestones. These rhinestones are stones made from cut glass or high-quality lead crystal. They come in many different qualities, types, shapes and sizes. The hotfix stones have a glue layer on the back which softens when heated to attach the stones to items such as clothes. For the more delicate fabrics or for fake nails, non-hotfix stones are used. These are stones without a layer of glue; they are attached with a separate glue. The stones are frequently used for gymnastics and dance wear, evening gowns, and wedding dresses, but also for fake nails, photo frames, mirrors, etc. In short, if you can pimp it, you can really make it sparkle with these gorgeous stones.

Start

Strass-steentjes.nl is young company, established in 2016. The Deventer online Marketing bureau VSEE Search Marketing was looking for an in-house testing ground on which to directly apply their new-found knowledge about online marketing. VSEE was previously always dependent on client cooperation and an in-house testing site made it easier to be flexible and deal with any growing pains before rolling it out to the customer.

They decided to set up an online shop selling rhinestones. The online shopping site was built and with the help of an acquaintance of VSEE, Strass-steentjes.nl appeared organically on the Google number one position for every relevant search term.

Benelux market leader

Three years after its launch, the online shop is now the market leader in the Benelux and currently has three employees. Two years ago, diamond painting was added to the range. These are canvasses on which rhinestones are applied, a type of paint-by-numbers kit but using small square or round stones instead of paint. It is also possible to convert a personal photo to a diamond painting. The photo is enlarged and completely pixeled into a grid. Each square in the grid has its own colour code and symbol. By filling all the squares with the correct colour stone, the photo comes back to life. The stones are cut, reflecting the light and giving the canvas a light shimmer. The diamond painting range continues to expand, not only with images but also with postcards, notebooks, keychains, stickers and much more.

The future

The growth of the business in the past few years was explosive but the hype around rhinestones has stabilised now. Owner Annemarieke Germeraad is now looking abroad for further growth. There is already a relatively high turn-over from Belgium, but orders also come in from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Hungary. The plan is to first explore the German market further and to take some concrete steps in that direction.