Fils Unique was founded by Nicolas van Heule, an ex-lawyer passionate about design, craftsmanship and above everything else, beautiful objects that last.
Born in Brussels Belgium to an architect Dad, Nicolas grew up in an environment of creativity and design. With his natural curiosity and candor, a path to a creative life was obvious. However, his fascination for words and their power led him onto a legal path.
Starting out as an M&A lawyer felt rewarding. In between the structure of the corporate world and tailoring, small accessories were his creative outlet. Expressing his style through bespoke suits, hand stitched details, colored socks and... cufflinks.
In 2014, he moved to New York to represent his law firm in the US. With endless creative opportunities that New York had to offer, Nicolas decided to reignite his creativity that felt drained in the legal field with a jewelry making class in Brooklyn. He learned each and every step of the process and all traditional techniques and started to handcraft his very own cufflinks. Then... some friends wanted a pair of their own. Not one for the idea of a half-hearted hobby he went on to dedicate time to creating a full line of cufflinks.
When the law firm asked him to return to Europe, he turned down the opportunity and, instead took on a new risk: Fils Unique was born with a mission to create beautiful and thought-provoking objects with a subtle touch of elegant rebellion.