Nelleke made an early start in her business career, working in her parents’ pharmacy in the Netherlands. She qualified in business administration and worked in a trading company for four years. In her twenties she came to Ireland on holiday and stayed, loving every aspect of the Irish landscape. Nelleke trained as a ceramicist in Ireland. To fund her apprenticeship she worked as a maintenance gardener and also managed an historic garden restoration project. Following a period working with village potters in West Africa, Nelleke studied homeopathy, qualified and set up a Dublin practice. She also met and married Brendan and they moved to County Clare. Five years later their daughter Karina arrived. Nelleke is the practice administrator. She oversees daily operations, supervising the general administration of the office.
The practice can draw on the experience and expertise of a wide range of consultants for larger projects. For instance, the planning application for a housing scheme in Shannon Town, which received planning permission in 2022, involved Cyril O’Reilly (designer), Paddy Coleman (civil engineer), Denis McKeon (surveyor), Paul Murphy (ecologist), TVAS archaeology and Sinead Monahan (landscape architect)