After being a freelance eyewear designer since 1999, TEF founder Maarten Weidema now solely writes about his fellow designers in the optical industry. His passionate mission is to promote independent eyewear to the international optical arena, backed up by a large group of bloggers and journalists from the optical industry.
Here is a small peek into his journies, covering amazing eyewear at shows all over the globe:
For his efforts to promote independent eyewear to a community of 317.000 eyecare professionals, he has been awarded the following trophies:
- International Optical Personality of the Year 2019 – 2022
- Leading Innovator in Optical Social Media Marketing 2021
- Social Media Marketing Company of the Year 2021
- Best Niche Eyewear Blog – Global Excellence Awards 2022
- Safest Content website award 2022
- Various Best international eyewear blog awards
While normally using influencers from the optical industry to promote independent eyewear, every now and then, he uses his own face to show off the styles he truly adores:
Maarten is an international speaker who gets invited by international optical shows and hosts his own eyewear awards in collaboration with the LOFT Eyewear Shows in New York. He has also become a familiar face to the industry through his TEFtalk videos where he talks to eyewear designers from all over the world.
In his personal life, he lives on the Dutch coast near Amsterdam, where he enjoys life with his friends. He is the proud father of two amazing rockstars, his teenage daughter Zoe who lives with him in The Netherlands and his infant son Sawyer who lives in The United States.