'Surround yourself with things and people that inspire and enable you to live your dream life.'
 
Rianne Hottinga
 
The story of keychain | the breeze
 
In 2017 Rianne & Gerben started doing this very consciously. And surprisingly it was only two things that made the difference.
 
A journal and a funny little keychain.
 
A journal they always kept next to their bed or under the mattress in the roof tent of their Defender. To write down their thoughts and reflect on a daily basis on their empowering and disempowering beliefs & habits.
 
The funny little keychain was actually made by themselves in 2017 from the cork of a champagne bottle they got as a present from a friend. At that time they were financially rock bottom and had no pennies to spend. They rented out Rianne her apartment in Amsterdam for extra income and spend most days and some nights in their car.
 
Those days were definitely not their best times. So they wanted something that would remind them daily to never stop pursuing their dream life, no matter how bad it would get.
 
And as they were mostly in their car they made a keychain and with not having any money they needed to be creative and turned the cork of the champagne bottle into one.
 
The keychain turned out to be totally unpractical and ended up next to the gearbox but always in sight. When they would leave the car, Rianne would put the funny little keychain in her bag, so it would always be with them.
 
With having that little keychain for years, they came to understand that one item just as simple as a self-made keychain could symbolize their dream life.
 
They made sure that they would be reminded of their dreams when things got tough. And even when they weren’t that aware of it, seeing that funny little thing dozens of times a day, ignited their unconscious mind to never give up.
 
The funny little keychain became a daily reminder and motivation to never stop pursuing their dreams. All because they choose to give that item a meaning.
 
So when they started building their Feel the Breeze brand, which is all about inspiring and enabling others to create their best life too, they decide to share this habit and symbol with others.
 
A keychain that actually would be practical, last a lifetime, and age beautifully.
 
There and then 'the breeze' was born.
 
PS: You can find a picture of the original funny little keychain and the first sketch as part of the product photos.