Why they chose to call themselves Texelse Boys is a long confusing story. It involves an athletic bag bought at a trunk sale for five Euros, a Catholic soccer team named Texelse Boys and several Dutch musician's desire for collaboration. Their project on the other hand makes a little more sense. It started when a handful of internet savvy Dutch musicians created an online network for exchanging samples, beats and remixes. They then began to generate corresponding videos for their sounds and the project grew.

Since their conception in 2002, the Texelse Boys project has grown immensely. Their online space, www.texelseboys.nl, serves as a collective for creative people from all over the world. Members vary in trade; from designers and illustrators, to animators, programmers, musicians, art directors, photographers and even an architect.

The experience is enlightening. Visitors to the site enjoy the sounds of the newest Texelse' remixes as they browse through member contributions, profiles and personal site links. Contributions vary in form. Members post exclusive Texelse' poster designs and illustrations, CD sleeve designs, video, animations and photography. The concept is brilliant. Texelse Boys have created an online space that not only promotes creativity and inspiration, but also serves as a platform for international networking. This is something very rare and extremely valuable in todays ever changing creative market. By visiting the site a user can look at work thats being generated all over the world. This is an invaluable tool for being competitive and sizing oneself up to international talent.

Who is at the helm of this project and what are they planning next?

Responsible for most of the project related design, Marcel Kampman is the key figure and primary idea generator in the Texelse story. Currently working for Mattmo concept and design in Amsterdam, his dreams of a global Texelse network are only beginning. With team members Elout, Lodewijk and Takashi, Marcel is presently reconstructing the Texelse site. "The website will become fully community-based. More than ever before, it will be an open stage for all Texelse Boys members, where they will be able to freely exchange information, knowledge, interactivity and ideas. And of course it will contain new work, made exclusively for the project."

A new online look is not the only update Texelse has in mind. In addition, they are branching into television and print. Texelse Boys TV premiered at midnight on October 3rd, 2004 on the VPRO, the most culturally involved broadcasting corporation in The Netherlands. Embedded within Nachtpodium (Night-stage), a show all about creativity: (short) filmmakers are invited to submit their - previously unpublished - material which has a chance to be aired in NP.

The theme for Texelse TV changes with each broadcast. "For this first edition the theme is public signs, like traffic signs. You can alter the meaning of them having instant effect on the place where they are located, make ones up yourself and place them in public areas and film the effect of it, build your own areas, or whatever you feel like. As long signs play a key role in it". Submissions were allowed a time frame of no more than five minutes and were accepted in a variety of formats. After each broadcast a DVD is made of the airing and received by each participant. The show is then available for viewing at the VPRO website and of course, online at: www.texelseboys.nl

MeanWhile is the name of Texelse' print venture. Why a magazine? "Each and every medium has its own specific rules. A printed image is totally something else than an image shown online. Because it is in a physical form, people will spend more time with the printed image. The placing of the image on the page (composition) also affects the way you look at it. Similarly, television is also a very different medium. We want to create something that will have more of a physical presence".

What does it mean? "'Meanwhile' is a nice time-based reference and it also makes it very clear that while something very cool is happening somewhere, there is something just as cool happening elsewhere". Although still in the process of production proposals, the Texelse team hopes to convey their international concept in physical form sometime in the near future.

Texelse Boys is a busy project. It will never stop, it's continuos and ongoing. Simultaneously, members from all over the world are working together, promoting each others work and helping one another with creative ideas and solutions. Like all creative thinkers, they might get entangled within their own dreams once in a while and name themselves after a soccer bag that they wear on their heads. But nonetheless, the Texelse project is an example of the power of creativity. The foundation for all creativity lies in dreams and aspirations. When these things are communicated and networked goals are achieved, ideas become inspired and what was once a vague concept becomes a creative product.