Johanna van der Drift and Daan van Luijn are the founders of HEIGS—short for Heidi Goes Safari—shaped by travel, craftsmanship, and a shared creative vision.

Johanna van der Drift lives and works between Paris and Bern. Before founding HEIGS, she created and ran boutique hotels in the Swiss Alps, all personally designed and curated by her. Those years—deeply connected to landscape, rhythm, and daily use—continue to inform her approach to design today.

For HEIGS, Johanna develops the handbags in close collaboration with an atelier in the heart of France, working to the standards of French haute maroquinerie. The shapes and proportions of the bags are informed by Swiss design principles and translated from her long-standing observation of the Alpine landscape—clarity, restraint, and a quiet sense of strength.

Daan van Luijn is based in New York. Raised in an environment shaped by making and craftsmanship, he developed an early sensitivity to quality, detail, and construction. His professional path has been closely connected to the international luxury and fashion world, where he built extensive knowledge of contemporary luxury culture, branding, and positioning. From New York, he brings a global perspective to HEIGS, shaping how the brand is situated within a wider cultural and industry context.

Central to their shared philosophy is a strong belief in the made-to-order movement. For Johanna, this was the starting point when creating HEIGS: the idea that pleasure lies in waiting, and that true value is found in anticipation rather than immediacy. They believe that one thoughtfully made bag should be enough, an object designed to accompany its owner for a lifetime, growing more meaningful with time.

Together, Johanna and Daan define a way of working rooted in narrative rather than trend, in restraint rather than excess. Their work reflects a belief in longevity, intention, and objects that gain character through use—shaped as much by the lives they accompany as by the people who create them.