The PARLOUR, a music and community space in Amsterdam, needs your help! We’re seeking to raise €25,000 to pay back outstanding loans incurred from constructing the space and purchasing the initial inventory of key equipment, and to cover much needed maintenance of the space itself.

Hello! My name is Lincoln Lim, and I'm the co-founder of PARLOUR Amsterdam , a music & creative space in De Pijp, Amsterdam. Since our opening in August 2024, we have given a home to more than 20 different music teachers from the Netherlands and around the world, and have played host to over 300 music, art, and community events, all while keeping our ethos of “Music. Community. Empathy.” at the forefront of everything we do.

It’s been an adventure and a service that I’m incredibly grateful for, but as with every music business in today’s environment, we’re in trouble and we need help to continue supporting the teachers that rely on us to earn a living and the many community leaders, organisers, and musicians that use our space on a regular basis to have a platform to perform and grow their communities and audiences. We’re a true community space, and now we’re calling on our community to help give back, either by sharing this fundraiser with their network or donating themselves! Help us keep the PARLOUR open!

How the PARLOUR Began

After a year of searching constantly for a suitable location, when we finally found a rare space of a good size that was zoned correctly for both social purposes and music education in a good location, we knew we had quite the construction job on our hands.

The building we’re in was constructed in 1923, and the detailed building plans were not given to us by the building management, Cocon Vastgoed. Prior to us renting the space, it was originally an office with minimal sound isolation, so it was a monumental task to build good teaching rooms while needing to guess the actual load the floor can actually take.

Still, I decided that this was the right move, signed the lease, and paid the deposit— taking the leap on the opportunity to try and create something that I felt Amsterdam really needed. We found Hollandse Stijl, a construction firm that seemed confident in building the rooms, and after the building management approved the plan, we went ahead—creating an ambitious plan to build three studios for vocal/guitar lessons, and one studio with double doors and a floating floor intended for drum lessons. Over a two week period, we built them to spec, and on the 1st of August, we opened our doors for the first time.

The Big Bumps in the Road

As with starting any business (especially an arts-centric business), it was hard at the beginning, especially in an old neighbourhood like De Pijp that isn’t used to a new music business opening their doors. However I did my best, going over to neighbouring businesses (NL Film Fonds, Loetje, Breakfast Club De Pijp, and Brouwerij Troost) with letters, bottles of wine, discounts for colleagues, friends, and family on all music lessons, and giving them my personal mobile number for easy contacting in case of any noise complaints or issues caused by our patrons. I also reached out to residents nearby, inviting them for coffee inside the space and sharing with them my vision for the PARLOUR—and to my knowledge, it was seemingly well accepted! However, noise complaints soon started flooding in, not directly to us as requested, but straight to our landlord.

This, combined with continued refusals to allow me to measure the noise in decibels or even meet me in person, started a landslide of issues with the building management where I offered and applied solutions and they routinely ignored or turned them down without consideration, culminating in them sending me a formal legal letter from Dentons, a reputed law firm, stating that I have been uncooperative for months. To fight this off, I’ve had to get high quality legal help for the PARLOUR, on top of all the massive extra costs of improving the soundproofing in a very old building with no clear goal in mind—if they speak to me at all. They have since gone quiet, but have also been unresponsive in fixing or maintaining the space for over a year. Despite this, we’ve pushed on, bringing in more teachers who need space and maintaining a busy weekly program of events (over 300 now!), all while employing new measures to control noise while maintaining the space ourselves.

All in all, regardless of the financial and emotional burden of keeping the space open and alive, it has been truly beautiful to see the difference we’ve made to the arts scene of Amsterdam, shining on the faces of all the people who come through our space—from the over 15 music teachers that use us weekly to communities like Jam With Humans, the Cauldron Performing Arts Foundation, the Sorry For My Accent Choir and many more! I only hope that with your help, that I will be able to cover some of my personal debts and to provide some return to my partner Jaye, who lives in Singapore, and who invested the money required to make the PARLOUR a possibility in the first place—and hence make this community sustainable for the future.

What We Need Help With

We’re looking for aid to partially pay back loans that were taken by me for the building of the PARLOUR itself, loans that have made it less and less viable for both me and my business partner to keep the PARLOUR alive, especially with the cost of our rental as a 240 square meter space in the heart of De Pijp. We also need help in order to do key repairs and maintenance for the space, like fixing the doors, plumbing, the awning (to block the intense summer sun), not to mention the maintenance of our equipment like the projectors, amplifiers, and instruments. These costs were borne purely by myself and my partner, and I’ve never asked any of the teachers or organisers to pay for them—all part of trying to keep the space community-minded and affordable for all.

Some of our itemised costs:

More about PARLOUR Amsterdam

Founded on the ethos of ‘Music. Community. Empathy.’, PARLOUR Amsterdam is an inclusive, LGBTQIA-friendly space that enables creatives and event organisers to work and grow in a safe environment. Featuring 6 different teaching studios, 1 drum studio, and a large event space, the PARLOUR financial model is a hybrid of incubation spaces and event rentals, where we allow for a very low barrier to entry for teachers and event organisers alike.

We’ve also run initiatives like WE@PARLOUR (a female led event series), a Special Arts Organisation Scheme (extra low cost rentals for arts organisations and communities to do consistent, weekly events and grow their communities at a sustainable price), ticket split schemes (giving a €0 start up cost for young bands to put on their very first shows), and more!

Essentially, the PARLOUR strives to give everyone a chance to find and build their niche in the arts, from students to teachers, from community leaders to event organisers—and through this mission stay sustainable and move forward together, as an arts-loving, people-centric, and above all, empathetic community.