About us
We, Stephanie (Belgian) and Lucienne (Dutch) founded Khaya. One of the reasons we brought to life this sustainable brand is because of an undeniable love for nature, art and sustainability.
As former colleagues we were travelling in Asia for renewable wind energy projects and we visited at a local wood workshop. Their artful woodware and craftmanship touched our heart. We immediately fell in love with their beautiful wood species.
All items were handturned from Khaya, a sustainably sourced wood. We were not familiair with this specie, but the Khaya-tree is originally a species of tree native to Africa - well known as African Mahogany. However, this fast growing tree is also a locally planted and harvested tree by Vietnamese.
We loved the characteristic and aesthetic appealing in each wooden item so much - along with its handmade nature - that we decided on our return, to creating tableware from this red brown colored wood and bringing it to a wider audience under the brand name Khaya.
Some of Khaya´s collection pieces are designed by our Dutch team, but most items are designed by talented Vietnamese artisans. That means that we are able to provide you the best of both worlds.
Lucienne & Stephanie
Our belief
Our Story
We have a background in 'renewable energy', for us green is not a trend it's an ongoing mission. Our goal is to unite sustainability, functionality and aesthetics to a beautiful design with a purpose. While our collection has featured renewable woods and sustainable materials, we are continuing to explore and introduce important initiatives that will help make our homes more thoughtful environments.
Our Mission
Our image of an ideal world revolves around minimizing our ecological footprint and pursuing a sustainable lifestyle. We created our all-natural handcrafted wooden tableware collection for those with a conscience about the environment and a sense for minimalistic and artful beauty. On top, there is no better place to live a ‘pure’ lifestyle than right at the dinner table of your own home.
Our Wood
We acquire our wood from sustainable resources - local planted forests in Vietnam - and each piece is given a clear lacquer finish to bring out the wood's warm color and individual markings and make it food safe. Khaya wood has a rich reddish mahogany brown appearance and the wood's natural softness ensure easy turning and processing, its hardness ensure long-lasting use.
Our designs
Artful background
We design some collection pieces ourselves, because creativity runs in the family. Our grandfather was carpenter and made beautiful furniture and home decoration objects. The other one was architect and artist making watercolour paintings and he was also co-founder of the first Art School in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Inspired by nature
We were often inspired by nature, when designing our tableware. Like during a walk into the woods, we discoverd an aesthetic multi-colored leaf of a beech tree and during a vacation on the seaside we found a unique seashell on the beach. These natural objects gave us the idea for the design of the Leaf serving platter and the Seashell platter.
Pureness, quality, artisanship
We absolutely love nature and we have a fascination for artful design. There is a vain of creativity running throught the family, wich is shaped in our genes, and on top of that, sustainability is stored in our DNA. We have tried to put these elements together in an artful wooden tableware collection. Each unique collection piece represents pureness, quality and artisanship. We love the character in each item, the handmade nature of our products and the aesthetic appealing, that is what we believe sets us apart.
100 ideas for using Khaya woodware!
Live your life more sustainable and intertwined with nature with our wooden bowls, plates, trays and cups.
