In short
- The catalogue has one agency in Tilburg: Frisse Koppen, founded in 2016.
- It books models and actors for commercial photo and video shoots and has eight boards.
- The agency has seven staff and receives about 75 to 100 applications a week.
Frisse Koppen
Tilburg is a city in the province of North Brabant, in the south of the Netherlands. Our catalogue has one agency in the city among the country's 100 records. The catalogue lists every business that represents models; we do not vouch for them, and each profile shows what we found, good and bad.
Frisse Koppen describes itself precisely: a model and casting agency that books models, actors and actresses for video and photo shoots with a commercial purpose. The portal Tilburg.com wrote on 7 November 2016 that the agency had been started by Ileen Kersemaekers, aged 27. She wanted an agency for people the viewer can identify with, and the idea came to her in 2012 during an internship at a high-fashion agency in Barcelona. In other words, from day one the agency was built as the opposite of a fashion agency.
It has grown in a decade. The site says it has seven staff and represents models from children to seniors, as well as actors and presenters. The company Frisse Koppen B.V. is in the trade register under number 81175647, and the office is at Fabriekstraat 1A. In the catalogue the agency has eight boards, the most of any record in this region: women, men, kids, curve, senior, commercial, talent and sport.
Selection and minors
The agency says it represents the whole of society, regardless of size or age. That does not mean everyone is taken on. By its own account it receives about 75 to 100 applications a week, so you may wait for a reply, and a no says nothing about your chances elsewhere.
The application form asks whether the applicant is younger than 16 and, if so, for a parent's name. That is a sign of good order: the agency knows in advance when it has to deal with the parents. For children under 13 the Netherlands also requires an exemption from the Labour Authority, requested by the employer, a parent or the producer.
We found no fees for applicants or paid courses among this agency's facts. Nor do we have any unfavourable press reports about it.
Other markets
- Eindhoven has Cachet Models, a commercial agency active since 1989.
- Etten-Leur has DC Models, an agency with a yearly paid model course.
- Amsterdam has 50 agencies of 100, and most advertising clients work there too.
How to get started
- In the application say what you can do: act, speak on camera, play a sport. The agency looks not only for faces but for actors and presenters.
- Attach plain, unretouched photos; commercial work does not require a professional portfolio at the start.
- If the applicant is not yet 16, fill in the application together with a parent.
- When you get an offer, ask about the fee, the commission and how long the client may use your image.
- Contracts, tax and the rules on children's work are discussed in the guide Modeling agencies in the Netherlands.