Our mission
Inspire to consciously choose eco-friendly products and prove that design, aesthetics and sustainability go hand in hand.
Our story
Lucienne, passionated about interior design, she always uses natural materials such as linen, marble and wood to decorate. For a pure natural table setting, she was looking for wooden tableware that was food-safe. In shops she found various woodware, but it was only suitable for dry food, and that did not meet her demands in terms of appearance, quality and durability. Soon the idea crossed her mind to create herself a stylish, practical and sustainable solution. In her search to find the right species of wood - together with a friend who lived in Asia - she selected Khaya mahogany, which is aesthetically pleasing hardwood, food-friendly and on top of that sourced from sustainably managed forests in Vietnam.
More about us
I have a background in marketing & communication and I love the outdoors. I often get inspired by nature: the organic shapes, its beautiful colors and the silentness gives me renewed energy. Speaking of which, my experience in the wind energy industry has taught me a lot about sustainable solutions, the importance of minimizing CO2 emissions, climate change and its impact on our planet. The idea of building my own business, with ecological products, has been on my mind ever since. I believe that if you make environmentally conscious choices every day, you can help to preserve our planet for future generations. That's the reason why I'm proud of Khaya, to the fact that I have been able to realize a sustainable business together with my son and daughter, and it's also lot's of fun to do so!
When my mother brought up her idea of making wooden tableware, and she showed me the first samples which were handcrafted in Vietnam, I immediately was enthusiastic. She asked me to develop her idea, from scratch, into a conceptual design and a plan for how it will be expressed visually. I really can immerse myself in the process of designing and besides that, I love building the brand Khaya, together with my mother and sister. As a curious and wanderlust entrepreneur/designer, I also love modern and contemporary art, and have a passion for nature, just like my mother. It's nice to see how our shared passion for nature, design and sustainability come together in Khaya.
Within Khaya I can perfectly combine my love for nature, food design and photography. When my mom showed me the wooden dinner plates, I immediately got inspiration for delicious recipes and I wanted to capture them in a photo. While studying Future Planet Studies I introduced the Imperfection Box for Khaya, from a sustainable point of view. Now, actually all our products will be used and nothing will be wasted. When I returned from my trip across Vietnam, I felt even more inspired than before. Because I have met our producers, and all Vietnamese people are so kind and loving, they felt like friends. Beside that, it's always so much fun to work together as family.
Inspired by nature, crafted in minimalist design, made from sustainable Khaya wood.
