It starts with an idea– this was the driving creative force behind the collaboration. What happens when you bring two Dutch masters together and give them a blank canvas to work on? In Vincent Van Gogh’s case, one of the world’s great masterpieces – Sunflowers (1889). In Gerard Adriaan Heineken’s case, one of the world’s most admired beers, Heineken lager (1873). Our point of departure was the moment of creative inception: the empty bottle and the blank canvas. The box’s exterior featured Van Gogh’s famous painting interrupted by six white bottle silhouettes, as if absorbed into the painting. Inside, the sections of the painting missing on the cover return on the bottles themselves – indeed as if they’d melted through the canvas. The design communicated two kindred souls closely tied to the same nation, the same city and the time period in history. We called it, logically, The Sunflower Collection.

The Sunflower Collection consisted of two sizes: 1) an XL Box containing 6 limited-edition bottles, a show piece that is a probably the most desirable 6-pack people have ever seen. It also became a business gift for senior management of both institutions. And 2) a Small Box containing just two bottles. Easy for travellers and toursits to take home, and for a very accessible prize it’s one of the best Amsterdam souvenirs.

A true material connection between two Amsterdam icons.

Another proof point of the creativity of both.

Long queues in front of the Van Gogh Museum, incl the not-typical museum go-ers.