OUR STORY
The Story of Dorina van der Graaff
ArtyGifts was founded by Dorina van der Graaff, an artist, photographer, designer, and entrepreneur whose life and career have always been shaped by art.
Today, Dorina designs and curates the ArtyGifts collections from the ArtyGifts headquarters at the historic Oranje-Nassau Kazerne in Amsterdam. A monumental building commissioned by Napoleon in 1810 and a fitting home for a brand dedicated to bringing the stories and beauty of art into contemporary life. Every collection begins with the artwork itself — the artist, the history, and the emotion it continues to evoke.
A Life Shaped by Art
Dorina grew up in Arnemuiden, Zeeland, surrounded by wide skies, open landscapes and the distinctive
light of the Dutch coast. Zeeland has attracted artists for generations, among
them Piet Mondrian, who travelled to the region to paint its landscapes, villages and coastline.
For Dorina, the fascination with art began naturally. As a child, she was always drawing and painting, spending hours outside simply observing the world around her. Colour, light, composition and the changing landscape became part of the way she learned to see.
That curiosity led her to study painting, drawing, photography and art history at the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Arnhem (HKA), now part of ArtEZ University of the Arts.
After moving to Amsterdam, her career developed across photography, fashion, design and visual communication. For decades, Dorina worked as a photographer and visual creative for designers, celebrities and internationally recognised brands, creating photography, visual branding and personal branding.
Her work appeared in leading fashion and lifestyle publications, with projects including The Intercontinational Amstel Amsterdam Hotel and Heineken.
She also founded Superlooks, her own cosmetics brand, developing the business from the ground up — from product development and packaging to branding, visual identity and store design.
ART & LIFE
The Creative Journey
Her years in photography, design and brand building gave Dorina a unique combination of perspectives: the eye of an artist, the discipline of a photographer, the instinct of a designer and the understanding of how to build a brand.
Throughout her professional career, art remained a constant. Dorina travelled extensively, visiting museums, galleries and exhibitions around the world — drawn not only by the beauty of great works, but by their stories, their cultural context, and their power to move people across generations.
Then came Covid. During this period, Dorina returned to making art herself. What began as a personal creative reconnection developed into a significant new chapter in her artistic career. It was a return to her roots — and the beginning of something new.
Her work has been exhibited internationally, collected and sold as fine art, and created on commission for private and professional clients worldwide.
Her artistic practice brings together photography, digital art, painting, collage and mixed media, continuing her lifelong exploration of colour, image and visual storytelling.
Each body of work reflects her ongoing dialogue with colour, memory and the human experience — themes that run through everything ArtyGifts creates.
At the same time, artificial intelligence was rapidly transforming photography and design — fields in which Dorina had worked for decades. It made her think about what makes art truly human. Not technique, not technology — but the emotion it carries across centuries. That realisation became the heart of ArtyGifts.
ART & GIFTS
The Moment ArtyGifts Began
There is a particular experience Dorina has encountered again and again in museums around the world: watching someone stop in front of a masterpiece and simply look.
For a moment, everything else disappears.
That connection between a person and a work of art — the feeling, memory or emotion it can awaken — is what has always fascinated her.
And it became the inspiration for ArtyGifts.
The idea was not simply to put famous paintings onto products. It was to create a bridge between the museum and everyday life, allowing people to live with the art they love.
Today, ArtyGifts creates and curates officially licensed art gifts and products in collaboration with international museums and licensing partners, bringing works by renowned artists and masterpieces from celebrated museum collections into everyday life. Each collection — whether created or carefully curated — is developed in close collaboration with internationally recognised museums and cultural institutions.
Art for Everyday Life
Every collection begins with the artwork itself: the artist, the history, the cultural significance and the emotion it continues to evoke. From there, these masterpieces are translated into thoughtfully designed objects that can be worn, used, enjoyed and given.
Because a masterpiece does not have to remain behind museum glass. It can become part of your home, your travels, your morning coffee, your wardrobe — or a meaningful gift for someone you love.
For Dorina, ArtyGifts brings together everything she has spent her life learning and creating: art, history of art, photography, design, fashion, branding, product development and entrepreneurship.
But the idea behind it is simple. Art is for everyone.
It is unisex, timeless and borderless. From Amsterdam to London, New York, Tokyo and beyond, ArtyGifts connects people with the artists and masterpieces that inspire them. Because when you know the story behind a work of art, it becomes more than an image. It becomes part of your story.
That is the heart of ArtyGifts.
