Doubie’s rents hundreds of folk games in the high season of the parties: « We get customers from Middelkerke to Maastricht over the floor » (inland)
Bart Meskens is not ready for his test piece in the event sector. About thirty years ago he took his first steps as DJ. From that, Doubie’s grew: a rental company for everything you could wish for on your party, family celebration or event – from tents to playing boxes, from children’s shows to folk games.
Bianca tests Bart’s reflexes during a game of stick catcher in their studio in Sint-Amands (Puurs-Sint-Amands). – © Joris Herregods
« During the Covid Pandemie I built my first folk game, a classic shuffleboard, » says Bart in his studio in Sint-Amands. « The event sector was flat then, of course. But I am someone who gets a burnout from doing nothing. »
I am someone who gets a burnout from doing nothing
Bart Meskens
Doubie’s
Today Doubie’s has around 200 folk games on offer. Most of the most bart himself. Classics such as four-on-a-row in the large, seed box, nagel knock or a large wheel of fortune are on the menu, but also new creations. « I regularly foam the internet for inspiration, » Bart explains. « The shooting game tap ‘n Eike, Kjir e Ki Were, our version of stick catcher and many other games can only be found with us. »
High season
Bart and his wife Bianca are bracing for the high season, which runs from mid -April to the end of June. « This period last year we rented around 1,300 folk games, » says Bart. « The year before there were ‘only’ 500. This is really the high season, and our games are becoming increasingly popular. »
Bianca and Bart in their studio in Sint-Amands (Puurs-Sint-Amands). – © Joris Herregods
Bianca, half of the two -headed team of Doubie’s, tests one of the games. – © Joris Herregods
Bart regularly foams the internet in search of inspiration for an original game that he is working together. – © Joris Herregods
Doubie’s offers both classics and unknown folk games. – © Joris Herregods
In a year, Doubie’s almost saw her rental in Volks Games tripled. – © Joris Herregods
« We get customers from Middelkerke to Maastricht. They take the trouble to spend hours in the car to pick up and bring back their material in Sint-Amands. In the meantime we have been working with Planckendael, the Zoo of Antwerp and Studio 100 for a while now. »
We get customers from Middelkerke to Maastricht: they take the trouble to sit in the car for hours to pick up and bring back their material in Sint-Amands
Bart Meskens
Doubie’s
Doubie’s also rents bouncy castles for children’s parties, although Bart and Bianca see that parents are increasingly opting for folk games as entertainment. « A bouncy castle provides a certain gap between generations, » explains Bart. « The children are a bit separate. With the folk games you really address everyone. Grandparents can discover them together with their grandchildren. And they stay away from their tablets. »
Over generations
Large distributors of folk games and rental material for parties have received strong blows in recent years. Doubie’s flourishes in that vacuum. « People also like to work with us because we offer democratic prices. Sometimes you see companies that ask for more than 100 euros for one installation. I don’t understand that, » says Bart.
Volks Games ensure entertainment over generations, they notice at Doubie’s. – © Joris Herregods
« Of course it is also because we have no staff. Bianca and I do everything ourselves. We also try to offer excellent service. For example, we give free positions so that people do not have to rent tables to set up the folk games. That is why customers return every summer. »More info via www.doubies.be
