About me

Photo by Bart Kools

Who am I?
My name is Koen, at the moment I'm writing this, I'm 39 years old, and I live in Belgium with my lovely wife and our two adorable cats Muffin and Mira.

How did I get started?
It all started when I went to a Halloween party some years ago. The crew was always looking for volunteers to help organising it and build props and decorations, and it seemed like a fun thing to do. The next year, I built my first props. At the time, I was living in a small apartment and barely had any space, and even less tools.
And then I met my wife. She liked horror movies, fantasy and other geeky stuff as much as I did. I started going to conventions with her, and through one of her friends who worked at a local zoo, we got more into Halloween. Organising the Halloween party that started it all wasn't fun anymore, and we dedicated ourselves completely to the Halloween event at the zoo.
In the meantime, we moved out of the apartment, into a house, and we finally had a garage and dedicated craft room!

Where does my name come from?
One of the very first props I built was a jar full of eyeballs. The eyeballs were made of ping pong balls, filled with water and the contents of a green fluorescent marker. They are the only surviving prop from the beginning I have left, and it still gets used every year.
The first time I showed this prop to people, everybody was impressed (even though it looks like something from a B-movie), and everyone at the Halloween party got to know me as the "eyeballs guy".

What other hobbies do I have?
My wife and me love playing board games. A long time ago, I also was into video games (I played World of Warcraft up to the release of Cataclysm), but this has completely ended. My favourite board games are Arkham Horror and Zombicide. I also play the guitar a bit, although I don't practice nearly enough as I should to get good at it.

Where else on the internet can you find me?
Besides this blog, you can check me out on my Facebook and Instagram pages. I also have a Youtube channel, an Etsy store where you can buy my stuff, a Flickr page, a Tindie store for my electronic stuff and also a page on Github for the software that goes with the electronics.

Do I take commissions?
If you're interested, you can contact me for custom sketchbooks or props. Keep in mind that I have a full time day job and a personal life, so I can't promise anything in advance. All depends on how busy I am at the moment.