'Markies Marac' (Olidin #5, 1960).
Niek Hiemstra was a Dutch graphic designer, illustrator and painter. In the 1960s and 1970s he worked in a steady collaboration with the designers Jacques Bouthoorn and Jan Mulder through their HBM Design studio. The three men and their staff specialized in illustration, typography and photography, and operated from Amsterdam, Paris and Tel Aviv. Hiemstra and Bouthoorn were also responsible for the comic strip 'Markies Marac' (1960), which appeared on the front page of the Dutch children's magazine Olidin.
Early life and career
Nicolaas Johan Hiemstra was born in 1932 in The Hague. His talent was already noted when he was invited at age 14 to study sculpting at the Royal Academy in that city. After five years, he continued his studies at the Art Academy of Amsterdam, where he also specialized in Art History. In the same period he was nominated for the Prix de Rome and lived in Italy for one year. However, Hiemstra coped with a foot problem since childhood, which made sculpting increasingly difficult. He therefore switched to graphic design, illustration and painting.
'Markies Marac' from Olidin #2, 1960. The second panel has the signature "Niek" and the Swan Features imprint.
Markies Marac
By the late 1950s, Hiemstra started working with Jacques Bouthoorn. One of their first assignments was the comic strip 'Markies Marac', distributed through Ton de Zwaan's Swan Features Syndicate to Olidin, the children's magazine of the Shell Junior Club. The comic is about a nobleman who heads for the Dutch Indies (nowadays Indonesia) with a prospector called Cules, in search of a substance with which they can make gold. Shell's promotional comic magazine ran the story in the first 19 issues of 1960. Most pages had the byline "Hiemstra & Bouthoorn", so the comic was apparently teamwork. However, some panels have the signature "Niek", which leads to believe that Hiemstra was the main illustrator. Other important contributors to Olidin were Emile Brumsteede, Wim Giesbers, Frits Godhelp, Friso Henstra, Hans G. Kresse, Jan Kruis, Ted Mathijsen, Joost Rietveld, Chris Roodbeen, Jan van der Voo, P. Visser, Dick Vlottes, Carol Voges, Joop Wiggers and Piet Wijn.
Book covers
In the 1960-1961 period, Hiemstra and Bouthoorn designed covers for pocket books published by Meulenhoff (a.o. 'Telemachus In Het Dorp' by Marnix Gijsen and 'Het Kamp Allerheiligen' by Tadeusz Nowakowski). Another of Hiemstra's early designs was a floor lamp for Evolux.
'Markies Marac' from Olidin #18, 1960, with the "Hiemstra & Bouthoorn" credit.
Ontwerpstudio HBM
In 1962, Hiemstra and Jacques Bouthoorn were joined by Jan Th. Mulder and the trio started working under the banner of "Ontwerpstudio HBM" (Hiemstra, Bouthoorn, Mulder), which later became HBM Design. Bouthoorn headed for Paris shortly afterwards, where he eventually set up a French division of the studio. Hiemstra started working more closely with Mulder in Amsterdam and by 1967, about 18 people were employed by their studio. One of them, David Arnon, later opened another HBM division in Tel Aviv. The studio worked mainly on designs for advertisements and other commercial clients. In 1974, they designed fourteen covers for the sci-fi pocketbook collection Poche 2000 of the French publisher Marabout-Gérard. These included five books starring the German hero 'Perry Rhodan'. Hiemstra and Mulder were also involved in the lay-out of a supplement for newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.
'Telemachus In Het Dorp' (Marnix Gijsen) and 'Een Bos Vol Dieren' (Hans Andreus): book cover designs by Hiemstra/Bouthoorn (1961) and by Hiemstra/Mulder (1965).
An exhibition of design work by Hiemstra, Bouthoorn and Mulder traveled through Germany (Frankfurt and Bremen) and then from France to Israel in the summer of 1967. In January 1982, HBM Studio was the victim of a misunderstanding. Squatters were protesting against the construction of a hotel. They mistook the HBM Design studio at the Leliegracht for the office of the contractor, the Hollandse Beton Maatschappij (HBM). The protesters stormed the office and wreaked havoc. In that same year, Hiemstra and Mulder had to file for bankruptcy and their partnership was dissolved.
Later years
Niek Hiemstra eventually focused on painting. He has painted and exhibited in many countries around the world. In 1999, he first traveled to South Africa, and worked every half year in Gonubie, just outside East London. In 2006, he moved to the country permanently, where he and his wife Judy ran their own small gallery for twenty paintings. He passed away in Gonubie on 25 June 2013. Jacques Bouthoorn continued to work as a cartoonist and illustrator until his death in Uzès, France, on 29 March 2009.
The HBM Studio in 1967 with Hiemstra on the left (Algemeen Handelsblad, 24 June 1967).