Rick Verloop says furniture making was always the career itch he wanted to scratch.
A mature-aged learner, Rick’s journey to a furniture course at Holmesglen arrived against the backdrop of an interesting career path.
Pursuing architecture following his secondary education, Rick then decided to transition into information technology where he spent three decades growing a successful IT business.
However, his passion for furniture design never ebbed.
“The bit I enjoyed the most about working in IT was the design process – that was something that made me realise I wanted to get into design, but in a different field.
“It was a realisation that if I never did furniture design now, I’d never be able to do it.
“I sold the majority stake of my IT company to a private equity firm, with the aim to build it up for a stock exchange listing.”