Hi, I’m Marianne

When people start sharing their stories, ideas and questions, something lights up in them and in me. People often tell me they feel at ease talking with me, and that something in my presence helps them open up.

I know what that kind of space can make possible because I’ve needed it myself. At different points in my life, I’ve been lucky enough to experience what it feels like when someone gives me their full attention, without trying to fix me or tell me what to do. Those conversations helped me slowly recognise myself again.

When I was 22, someone who supported me said, “You are fine exactly as you are.” In Dutch, “Je bent wie je bent. Je bent goed zoals je bent.” Those words stayed with me.

Over the years, through counselling, coaching and many conversations, I’ve come to recognise that feeling again and again. Those little moments of, “Oh, there you are. I was wondering where you had been.”

For me, coaching is about creating the kind of space where those moments can happen. A place to slow down, listen to what is already there and give it room to become clearer, more real and perhaps ready to be lived.

I especially love working with people who are finding their own way. Creative professionals, independent people and those who are building or creating something of their own. People who are curious enough to question the usual way of doing things and brave enough to explore what might work for them instead.

My own path has rarely been straight. I’ve moved more than twenty-seven times between countries, careers and different ways of life. I’ve often found myself taking the less obvious route, sometimes by choice and sometimes simply by following what felt right at the time.

Those experiences have taught me to value curiosity, independence and a slower rhythm. They’ve also taught me how much easier it can be to notice what matters when you give it some space.

These days, I call both Amsterdam and a quiet corner of the Mallorcan countryside home. Life here in Spain is simple: rainwater collected, solar panels for power, books nearby and the occasional wandering donkey. I’ve come to realise that while people aren’t usually looking for quiet, it can be what allows us to hear ourselves again.

Studio20 is a small wink to my birthday on September 20. It also reflects something I believe: when we slow down and make space, small sparks of insight have room to grow.

With care,

Marianne