Meet Marcel Herms

We were lucky to catch up with Marcel Herms recently and have shared our conversation below.

Marcel, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

What helps is getting older. Then you (at least I do) become less concerned about what others think of you. And that’s a good thing. You can’t please everyone.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am an artist (paintings, drawings, sculptures and sound art) and I have, together with a friend (Martin Knaapen), a publishing house: uitgeverij petrichor.

Freedom is very important in my work. In my work I can express who I really am in complete freedom. Without the social barriers of everyday life.
There is a strong relationship with music. Like music, my art is about autonomy, freedom, passion, color and rhythm.

I like to collaborate with many different authors, poets, visual artists and audio artists from around the world. My most recent publication is called Kopwolven. A collaboration with poet Martin Knaapen.
Everyone knows them: annoyances. Often, they’re about nothing, or your head is simply wrong, and usually they disappear a moment later or the next day. It seems that as you get older, the annoyances increase. You see all sorts of inaccuracies that haven’t been resolved in all those years, and what you were actually right about becomes increasingly true. But when irritations escalate into a growl, they start to affect the atmosphere, the environment, or yourself. And sometimes they even bite. You get sick, your body aches, your heart resists, your head explodes, and your productivity and new initiatives decline. You become an old grouch. Kopwolven explores that attitude and behavior, the other way, and resignation. Stoic philosophers helped with this. It resulted in a book in four parts, or four phases: growl, growth, realization, and being. These aren’t truths, but rather meandering thoughts, memories, pictures, sketches, and the bitter realization of a man finally growing up. I illustrated the theme, and designer Steven Oost turned it into a beautiful book with hand-torn pages, a hardcover with embossing, and a Coptic binding. We’re also bringing Kopwolven to the stage. Martin will recite his poetry, and I’ll provide a live electronic soundtrack.

Our publishing house is called petrichor, a small-scale underground publishing house of poetry, visual art and other fine items that we present in beautiful books, zines, papers and LP’s. We also regularly organize a festival featuring exciting poetry and music called Zondvloed (Deluge). We’re currently preparing for the fourth edition in 2026, and it’s getting bigger every year.

Petrichor wants to offer a stage to artists and writers who are less likely to appeal to the masses but who deserve the attention. They are often less commercially interesting, but more so in terms of content. Quality before quantity. The aim is not to generate as much income as possible, but to produce high-quality publications and activities.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Believe in yourself. Be honest with yourself. Don’t let hype get in the way.

Collaborating with others can be inspiring.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I’m always interested in collaborating with inspiring people.

For example, I’ve illustrated many books and designed book and CD/LP covers. It’s fun to do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://uitgeverijpetrichor.nl/
• Instagram: marcelhermsart
• Facebook: marcel herms