'Things I Used To Have That Made Me Really Happy': 'The 'Wordt Vervolgd' TV show (13 April 2023).
Esther van der Krol is a Dutch writer, cartoonist and visual columnist, whose work is characterized by witty observations of everyday life and a strong 1980s/1990s nostalgia. Since 2025, her cartoons have appeared regularly in the The Hague edition of the AD newspaper. As a self-proclaimed "historyfluencer" on Instagram, Van der Krol has been posting drawings of items from her childhood, accompanied by comical, recognizable descriptions.
Early life
Esther van der Krol was born in 1978 in Leidschendam, but raised in the nearby city of Zoetermeer. As a child, she was an avid doodler, creating comics with a fictionalized version of herself. She also enjoyed reading the girls' magazines of the time, largely filled with melodramatic serials of British origins, such as Tina, Debbie, Peggy and Mariska. During the 1990s, Van der Krol began her working life with several odd jobs, from au pair in England to receptionist and secretary positions in The Hague and Enschede.
Nostalgic comic strip from 2021.
Between 2005 and 2009, Krol studied for her Bachelor of Education at the Saxion University of Applied Sciences in Deventer, and followed this up with a Master of Special Educational Needs at the Fontys University of Applied Sciences. Since 2008, she has worked as a visual arts teacher at several primary schools. Later in life, she spent nine years in Amsterdam, and since 2024, she is based in Rijswijk.
Playwright
In 2014, the ambition to write urged Esther van der Krol to enroll at a playwriting course at the Schrijversvakschool in Amsterdam. In 2017, her first play, 'Vuile Was en Witte Lakens' ("Dirty Laundry and White Sheets"), was published through De Nieuwe Toneelbibliotheek. Telling the story of a woman at the end of the twentieth century reflecting on her childhood, the play explored how parents handle the responsibility for their children, dealing with questions like "how far do you go to protect your child?" and "when does caring turn into overprotection, or neglect?". One particular scene won the 2017 Editio Debutant Writing Competition, and was published in the literary magazine Editio. Another was nominated for the 2017 International Literature Festival Utrecht.
Comic created in 2021.
Cartoonist
Still, Van der Krol felt her writing career stagnated, and she was more and more drawn into the power of visuals. Switching to drawing, she began exploring cartoons, comics and graphic novels. In 2022, she self-published her first comic story collection, 'Laat Het Maar Gaan'. In the following year, she created the comic zines 'Zomeren' and 'Handboek voor Psychologen', as well as a book with visual columns, 'Zorgwekkend Bejaarde Dingen Die Ik Mijzelf Hoor Zeggen' ("Worrying Elderly Things I Hear Myself Say"). Coached by comic creator Barbara Stok, she also began working on an unpublished graphic novel about the life and death of her father ('En Toen Was Hij Dood').
At the time based in the Staatsliedenbuurt neighborhood in Amsterdam-West, she began contributing her cartoon series 'Dingen Die ik Leuk Vind In Amsterdam-West' (2023-2024) to the free local monthly newspaper De Staatskrant. Since 5 January 2025, she has had a weekly visual column in the Haagsche Courant edition of the AD newspaper, called 'De Week van Esther'. Traveling with her sketchbook through all the municipalities within the newspaper's distribution area, she observes and captures everyday life and the people around her.
'Les 1 Van Onze Cursus Westlands' ("Lesson 1 of our Westland course"), spoofing regional dialect (AD/Haagsche Courant, 25 July 2025).
Historyfluencer
As an artist, Van der Krol truly found her niche on Instagram. Starting in August 2020, she began posting reflective pictures from her past, as well as funny infographics about everyday annoyances and reflections ("Things that NO ONE is looking forward to this summer", "Things in life that I have found very difficult"). This eventually evolved into her ongoing cartoon series with witty 1980s/1990s nostalgia. On 18 September 2022, the first episode of her series 'Dingen Die Ik Vroeger Had Waar Ik Heel Blij Van Werd' ("Things I Used To Have That Made Me Really Happy") was posted. In each cartoon, Van der Krol highlights a treasured item from her childhood, varying from vintage toys and clothing to outdated products like cassette tapes and defunct media, as well as classic TV shows and pop culture items. A basic drawing of the particular item is accompanied by several funny captions, that highlight its use, charm and downsides. Van der Krol's work as self-proclaimed "historyfluencer" caught on: within a year, she had acquired 15K of Instagram followers, an amount that quickly expanded.
"Things I Used To Have That Made Me Really Happy" (5 February 2022 & 23 March 2025).
Besides offering recognizable childhood nostalgia, Van der Krol has mentioned that creating these cartoons with "cheerful melancholy" has been therapeutic. By highlighting these items from the recent past, she has been able to transform her memories of her childhood, a period filled with insecurities, into something positive. For Kosmos Publishers, she also began working on a graphic novel that highlights five different teenagers who try to navigate through life. Largely inspired by her own teenage years, Van der Krol's book 'Dingen Die Gebeuren Als Je Erachter Komt Dat Het Leven Best Ingewikkeld Is' ("Things That Happen When You Find Out Life Is Complicated") uses humor and honesty to showcase how difficult everyday life can be for adolescents.
Esther van der Krol is a cousin of illustrator and live cartoonist Jeannet van der Krol.
Self-portrait.