How it all started
The Early years
Botas grew up in the seventies. He spent most of his childhood in solitude. Both his parents were traumatized by the 2nd World War. His father, as a young English lad, survived the horrors of a German concentration camp. His mother, as a young girl, lost everything she had during the bombings around Arnhem.
Even though the War was over his parents still lived with fears and traumas. That's why his parents, mainly isolated themselves from the world outside. Growing up, Botas was never allowed to take friends home, having a birthday party or other normal children's activities.
He spent his childhood mainly in solitude. Unknowingly, Botas didn't want to be part of all of this and started to shut himself off from all the fears and traumas around him. He began to lock himself up in his room, his closet. Because he was not allowed the freedom he needed, he secretly began to build his own ideal world inside that closet; A world with his own imaginary friends. Friends that lived in a loving, caring and happy family. He used materials he found daily on his way towards school and back; lollipop sticks, pieces of wood, cardboard, etc. He discovered how to create something from scratch. In retrospect, this creative journey inside that closet, became his preservation of his free spirit.
Let's call them Spooney's
Over the years he has given his friends a collective name "The Spooney’s", mainly because he used a lot of cuterly to create them. And as it was becoming a world, they should live in SpooneyWorld. Now, many years later, Botas has made his "salvation" into his life's work. He is creating new Spooney’s every day. The closet has since been replaced by a large studio with professional tools. But despite all that space, the real magic happens ( just like the old days) in the smallest room in his Artstudio. The Spooney’s are literally brought to life in a small room filled with all kinds of materials. They have evolved enormously since his youth, his figures almost have human characteristics.
The real world
The “real world” has also discovered SpooneyWorld and many people throughout the world find it special to be part of Botas his world and ‘adopt’ one of its citizens. If you are considering purchasing an original Spooney, please realize that you will not only receive just a statue. You also receive a bit of the spark from its creator; the creative, loving and caring Botas. Botas finds it important that he creates every Spooney from A to Z himself, only that way he is sure that you receive a Spooney that carries a part of his positive spark.