Thomas van Houtum
Product Designer & Inventor
Founder of STUDIO TOZAM
“I am a concept driven designer with a maker’s mind. I combine technical precision with intuitive and poetic thinking. I like turning ideas into buildable, meaningful products through curiosity, experimentation and craft.”
Profile
Based in Amersfoort, Utrecht, I work from my own design studio, a space where ideas move seamlessly from sketch to prototype. Surrounded by tools, materials and half-finished experiments, I design, build and refine products that connect imagination with craft. My practice is driven by a passion for turning ideas into reality while always reaching toward bigger dreams. When you sit down with me, I invite you to dream along, because a designer doesn’t just shape objects, but the day of tomorrow.
As a multidisciplinary product designer and inventor, I combine creativity, manufacturing knowledge and strategic insight to develop products from first idea to full production.
Through STUDIO TOZAM, I balance concept and craftsmanship, designing for meaning, sustainability and long-term value. My work ranges from children’s furniture and consumer products to experimental, one-off designs made in collaboration with partners and factories across Europe and Asia. I thrive where concept meets construction: transforming complex ideas into tangible, scalable results that tell a story.
PHILOSOPHY
For me, design is a verb, not a noun. It is a continuous process of creation, interaction, and reinvention. I strive to push ideas to their maximum potential while keeping them practical and manufacturable.
My work invites users to participate, to reshape, and to create their own connection with products.
I see every design as a living system. Something that tells a story, sparks curiosity, and evolves through use, recycling, or reinterpretation. Sustainability, functionality, and technical ingenuity form the foundation of my practice.
”Focus on one thing and see it become multiple.”
Usually in the studio. Always within reach.