Dirk van Erp was a native of Leeuwarden in the Netherlands where he learned his craft working in the family hardware business. van Erp emigrated to the United States in 1886, traveling to San Francisco where he began working  metal forms by hand hammering vases from discarded brass military shell casings while employed at the Mare Island Naval Shipyards. He gave some pieces away to his friends but increasingly sold them at crafts fairs, creating positive word of mouth and growing success. He opened his first retail store, The Copper Shop, in Oakland, California in 1908, and he established Dirk van Erp Studios in San Francisco in 1910, producing primarily lamps with hammered copper bases and mica shades. Dirk van Erp used only the very highest quality materials and adhered to the principles of hand working with simple tools and limited production of items. These principles distinguished van Erp work from similar styles produced by Roycroft which evolved into more of a mass market operation. In addition to lamps, van Erp manufactured an assortment of hand hammered trays, bowls, candlesticks, bookends, desk accessories, and vases according to the same principles of quality and craftsmanship. Most work was in copper although brass, iron, and other metals were also used. The van Erp mark of a windmill (reminding him of his origins in Holland) over the name Dirk van Erp appears on most all Dirk van Erp Company production.

All period Dirk van Erp production is well collected today, with lamps bringing the highest values and usually considered the pinnacle of Arts and Crafts design. Most of his lamps were produced on a commission basis and represented approximately 25% - 35% of total output. Dirk van Erp lamps were expensive even at the time of their production, retailing for approximately $25 to $150. Van Erp occasionally collaborated with other top arts and crafts manufacturers such as Grueby, but for the most part van Erp Studios continued to produce finely styled and hand crafted metalwork with only the handful of skilled craftsmen he employed.

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