Luxury with a capital “L” this week on my blog as I am pleased to welcome the delightful Janet Morais, founder of luxury bespoke furniture brand KOKET. Each piece is lovingly handmade and to order – sumptuous velvets, luxury metallics, vibrant jewel colours, exotic peacock feathers, sensual shapes – every design caters for fulfilling the wildest desires for the home. Janet is comfortable with taking risks and turning heads, like her pieces of furniture and she has uniqueness down to an art form. I caught up with Janet recently to find out more… Hi Janet!
Hello! My name is Janet Morais and I am the founder and CEO of the luxury decor brand KOKET, along with a luxury lifestyle magazine called Love Happens and the brand agency DeMorais International.
KOKET’s designs are empowering statement pieces that are handcrafted by master artisans in Portugal. Our collections consist of dramatic case goods, luscious upholstery, exquisite lighting, and decadent furs. Our pieces often incorporate exotic and bold materials such as gemstones, metallics, and natural feathers. Each piece is meant to lure in the viewer and seduce with its beauty.
What inspired the founding of the brand, Koket?
I began my career in the design world as an interior designer and have always had a passion for beautiful home décor products. Working as a designer I found I was constantly challenged in finding décor pieces that truly spoke to me. So in 2010 as I sat in a New York City lounge a chair sketch came about and I instantly wanted to bring it to life. This moment and desire to possess that chair and create more pieces with the same empowerment began my journey.
Mandy Sofa
I am particularly fond of your furniture pieces – the Mandy Sofa is gorgeous.To date, what has been the most popular furniture item or product from your range?
The Chandra Chair.
What’s your most favourite item in your collection?
The Divine Armoire – I love everything about this piece, from the pull inspired by a little girl’s ribbon, to the exotic feathers and the antique mirror interior!
The Divine Armoire
When picking items to add to your collections, do you select by what has proved popular in the past, current trends, customer requests, personal preferences or all of those things?
KOKET’s designs are rooted in my love for taking risks and turning heads. Our designs are not about trends or fulfilling design voids. They are rather a highly edited curation of décor inspired by experiences, simple pleasures, passions and life events that have shaped me.
I love that you are using textures, such as velvet, as well as using vibrant colours, pattern & shapes – and using materials such as exotic peacock feathers. As all your pieces are made to order, what was the hardest or the most unusual bespoke item to create?
The hardest piece for us to create was our Tabu cocktail table. It needed to match the curves of the client who had accentuated hips and a very distinct derriere.
Tabu Cocktail Table
Can you tell us more about the more unusual materials you have sourced and used?
I love finding unusual materials! The more unusual the better. The natural feathers have been one of my favorites. But I love our use of mother of pearl on the Camila and the agate stones in our Vivre and Brlliance lighting.
As Koket is based in the USA, are your products available to purchase and order worldwide?
Yes, our HQ’s are in the USA, however, our products are made in Portugal and we ship all over the world.
Hypothetically speaking, if you were able to visit any place in the world to get inspiration for a new design collection, where would you go and why?
India, for the exceptional details in the jewelry, metalwork, and architecture.
Have you always wanted to be a furniture designer, or did you have ambitions elsewhere?
I have always loved beautiful things and in particular the world of furniture and interior design. However, in college, I studied foreign languages. I always loved fashion so I worked as a personal shopper for some time. I then decided to follow my passion for interior design and furniture, returning to school and working in the profession. I quickly learned sourcing for truly unique designs was hard, so this is when I began to imagine having my own furniture line. Once I began this venture I fell in love with it!
Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?
Leather, fur and show-stopping shoes.
Do you have any favourite shops or online sites?
Love Net-a-Porter.
What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?
100% as many shoes as I can get from Luis Onofre’s FW2019 collection.
Boots or Shoes?
Over-the-knee boots. Love the look and that they keep my legs warm.
For Pinning Later
Links you would like to share e.g. website/facebook etc so that readers can find out more about Koket.
Thanks for talking to us Janet – I adore your exquisite designs especially the colours and the sumptuous velvets. The Tabu table is amazing and I do need the Divine Armoire in my life too….
Linda x
All photographs have been published with kind permission of Janet Morais/KOKET.
Established in 1974 by Tony & Angie, Village Leathers is a small family-based business based in London that specialises in a wide range of belts, bags and accessories for both men and women. They began as street traders, growing to stores in Covent Garden, now online too. Although a lot of their styles are classics, their latest accessory ranges are very colourful and very much on trend. I caught up with Verity, part of “Team Village Leathers” to find out more about the very swish bags that she and the team make! Hi Verity!
Hi! I’m Verity from Village Leathers, I’ve been working here for years and I’m part of the team who hand make our leather goods. Village Leathers is a family owned business which started out by selling handmade leather belts from a suitcase on the streets of London in 1974. Since then we’ve grown to have two small shops in Covent Garden’s Jubilee Market and more recently set up a website too. We’re still a small team with just 10 of us in total split between the shops and the studio where we produce leathers belts and accessories in small batches by hand.
Starting life as street traders, progressing to shops in London’s Covent Garden (one of my favourite London spots) and now online – what challenges have you had to face (business or personal) in each selling arena, eg adapting to selling from a market stall to a shop environment or adapting to online technology etc?
When we started selling online it was a big learning curve for us. We do all the photography and website maintenance in house so we had to learn a whole new skillset as well as keep up with the production of goods. It was challenging but such a brilliant experience. The other issue we face, which I know many small independent business’ struggle with, is online exposure. We’re a small fish in a big pond so competing with bigger brands was a little tricky at first, luckily our customers soon found us and valued our ethos. They recognise the craftsmanship and quality of materials we’ve sourced for our range of handmade goods. This means our customers can buy better products, fewer times, supporting the growing number of people trying to reign in overconsuming tendencies.
As for our shops we’re having lots of fun at the moment redesigning the layout ready for a refit next year. As we are based in small shops offering a wide range of products and colourways showcasing all our designs is really important for us but can look a bit overwhelming to shop visitors. To make it a pleasure to shop with us we’ll be implementing sections and adding much more signage throughout the shop that communicates everything you’ll need to know about our leathers, sizing and collections. It’s quite an undertaking but it will make such a difference as I think it’s been about 15 years since the last one!
I love the brightly coloured Leather Belt Bag – a sophisticated version of the bumbag/fanny pack! Your latest ranges, Chroma and Roam collections, are available in a stunning range of bright colours- Yellow, Red, Green, Sky Blue, Tangerine Orange – they are all simply gorgeous! However, what bags are proving popular amongst your customers so far this season? Is there a difference between the popularity stakes of items purchased from your shop and those purchased online?
I’m so glad you like the Belt Bag, it’s new territory for us as we haven’t entered that market before but it was so nice to design such a contemporary product and the response so far has been really positive. Over this season we’ve definitely seen customers both instore and online being drawn to the more fruity and vibrant colours like the sunny yellow of the Chroma Shoulder Bag, zesty Orange Roam Clutch Bag and now that we’re entering Autumn we’re seeing the Tan, Olive and Grey colourways come into their own. In terms of bag design I think the Chroma Shoulder Bag has pipped it this season, it’s such a nifty little bag, ideal for days out and it looks stunning. With a simple silhouette and secure turnlock it means you can pair it with every outfit effortlessly.
In the shops we have a lot of people come in looking for a special gift to take back from London for their friends and family at home, that usually takes the form of something like a Roam Clutch Bag and matching zip purse. It’s so nice to see people really thinking about which colour or design their loved one will treasure the most. It’s only right they treat themselves to something as well for being so considerate!
Have you got any personal favourites?
So, one of my favourite products we make sounds so basic but I get really excited telling people about it so here goes. It’s our Classic Black 1 1/4 Belt, the reason I love it is because it is the epitome of a wardrobe staple. I think everyone should own one. It’s made from delicious, thick Italian vegetable tanned leather. This kind of leather is made in the most eco friendly and natural ways by using tannins found in some plants and bark. It’s a very old artisanal process and only a small percentage of leather goods produced worldwide use veg tanned leather because it is slow to produce, therefore more expensive per foot. But, the quality of the leather is so high, rich in colour, supple and ages beautifully. We actually guarantee our Classic belts for 25 years, that’s how good it is, and what’s more is that at the end of it’s like the leather is biodegradable! The other great thing about this belt is that you can swap the buckles really easily to suit your outfit. And yes I have a favourite buckle – Westend Silver, its solid brass!
Your company also offers a bespoke service. Have you had any bizarre bespoke requests?
That’s such a great question! We’re often asked to tweak designs or emboss a meaningful date or name onto pieces to make them extra special. We once individually monogrammed some belts for a group of Groomsmen and one of their nicknames was ‘Snake’, I didn’t ask how he got that!
We work closely with the theatre a lot too and we once had a project that required us to make a bumbag which could hold a cabbage…
As you are based in London, are your products available to purchase overseas?
Yes! Absolutely, we send our goods worldwide. It’s amazing to think there are people all over the world enjoying our products that were made in our little workshop. Recently we had a customer send us a picture of a Bag she’d picked up from us in Covent Garden in 1988, she’s been using it daily in Australia since then!
When designing/producing products to add to your collections, do you take into account your own tastes, your customer base, current fashion trends, requests, vintage quality or bits of all those?
All our designs must first meet our values; affordability and handcrafted quality married with classic and practical design. We have a core range of products which have remained practically unchanged for years and years. The idea is they are classic wardrobe staples that can be paired with lots of outfits, the perfect balance between form and function. We make them using highly efficient, time-tested leather crafting techniques so they can last and build patina as they are worn and used, this means the designs are timeless, reasonably priced and of unparalleled quality.
Having this core range of classic products allows us to flex our creativity by designing small batches of seasonal products that consider customer needs and micro trends. A good example of this would be our Belt Bag or Hair on Hide Leopard Bag strap, as we manufacture the products ourselves we can make near instant tweaks based on customer feedback such as swapping a popper closure for a push lock on the Belt Bag. This means the customer gets exactly what they need and the design process is more collaborative.
When you are not making & selling bags and belts, what do you enjoy doing in your leisure time?
Well, as you can imagine we love to make stuff in our spare time but not always from leather. At the moment two of us are making patterns for some dungarees we’re hoping to have done by next summer if we can find the time. If we’re not working on craft projects we like to ride our bikes or enjoy some of the amazing exhibitions that are always going on in London. We love organising staff outings too as an excuse to enjoy some of the great restaurants around Covent Garden, most recently we went to Padella in London Bridge where we ordered two rounds of food.
Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?
I opt for practical shoes that will protect my toes from any dropped tools or hammers in the workshop, that being said I want to feel chic and stylish at the same time so I’m usually rocking a pair of 1461 Doc Martens. We’re all big fans of Luck and Yak trousers and dungarees which are so comfy to wear at home or work and made in an ethical way. Outside the workshop, when we’re not going to get filthy and covered in thread or leather we really like to dress up and wear our own creations. I go for minimal, comfortable silhouettes made from organic cotton and linen. At the moment my favourite colours are rust and cobalt blue, I’m lusting after a lot of L.F Markey designs at the moment. Obviously all our outfits are accessorised with Village Leathers bags and belts.
Do you have any favourite shops or online sites? (Apart from your own!)
As a fan of timeless designs I really love having a look around Labour and Wait in London. They offer amazingly curated homewares, I don’t know how they’ve found them but they stock loads of independent makers from all over who make beautiful and functional items that bring me joy. When I’m thinking of adventuring I like to browse Patagonia, I really relate to their brand values and the latest “Black Hole’ collection of bags is amazing as its made from recycled bottles. Online I love looking at CoolMachineShop for their brilliantly fun, contemporary and colourful offerings. Locally to me in Crystal Palace you’ll always find me in Lowie or Elkins for their gorgeous womenswear, books and homeware.
What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?
I’m saving up for a Rust corduroy Boilersuit I’ve got my eye on. Effortless, chic and functional, what more do you need?
Boots or Shoes?
Shoes – simply because I’m too impatient to bother undoing the laces on boots and nearly cause myself an injury pulling them on and off.
Links you would like to share e.g. website/facebook/twitter etc so that readers can find out more about Village Leathers.
Thank you Verity for your fabulous insight into the company you work for. I love the quality of your products and your small Aladdin’s Cave of a shop in Covent Garden is certainly worth checking out!
Linda x
All photographs are published with kind permission of Village Leathers.
Gracing my blog this week is award winning writer/director Jay Mullings. This man is certainly a busy bee – he is the author of The Thought Book series; founder & owner of Written Mirror Ltd – a bespoke content creation business; a fellow blogger; he writes poetry & music; and he has launched his debut feature film, The Jam. Is there simply no end to his awesome talent? Let’s find out… Hi Jay & welcome!
Hi! I’m Jay Mullings, London born Jamaican bred multiple international award winning Writer/Director. On top of that I am an author namely: The Thought Book & The Thought Book 2 and I also founded Written Mirror Ltd which is a content creation company + media publisher.
What was the inspiration behind launching Written Mirror Ltd?
Having something to call my own. A space where no one could tell me what to do and I would be allowed to fully realise my creative potential. In short it was to be a space where I could practice what I preach: Truthful Fearless Creativity…
Have you always enjoyed writing/ being a storyteller as a child? When did you discover you have a talent for writing?
I knew I had a way with words, language and logic from an early age. I could hold my own with adults in a debate, trip up teachers if they were trying to hide that they didn’t know something and I could even prove my innocence if wrongfully accused of things at home/school etc. I knew I was made to tell stories from early. My teachers would often share some of my stories which were either rib tickling comedy or pushing the envelope in terms of what a youngster should be writing about in school. I read a lot as a child and even then I fancied myself to be able to do the same if given half a chance.
Your “The Thought Book” series is a unique self help title. The series encourages the reader to adopt the mindset necessary for realising their goals. Why did you choose to write a self-help series? Was it an easy road to write and publish your books or was it harder than you thought?
Yes… The Thought Book Series, have you read the books? What did you think? I like to think of the books as unhindered self development books. I took out my ego, my bravado or whatever which way you’d like to sum it up and allowed the reader to place themselves in the book. I don’t think too many improvement books allow that to happen. I chose this style to help people in the most uncomplicated manner possible. Anyone who follows my doings knows that the message in both books is exactly what I use to armour myself against doubt, small mindedness and fear… It wasn’t hard at all. The books were a piece of cake; it was all the red tape and pirates looking to feast on your flesh that got draining. People have tried to steal my book from under me, overcharge me only to deliver inferior results and worst of all they have tried to pass the buck whenever they could not manipulate me. The books were the best part of it but the processes of working with greedy and unscrupulous people was not rewarding at all…
What genre of books do you tend to read?
I read when I have time to. Sometimes there is a lot of reading taking place and others little to none. That is the life of a content creator unfortunately. When I do read I like books that are very well written; by that I mean I don’t like wasted pages, filler or having to feel anger at just how large the holes in terms of logic are. The main reason for that is whatever, I start reading no matter how bad I have to finish it. I only try to read books that reward my work rate. Any genre any style would interest me so long as it is written well…
Have you always wanted to be a writer/director or did you have any other career in mind?
Centre forward for the mighty Arsenal! I wanted to replace Ian Wright…
Oh Jay, things were going so well !! I’m a Spurs supporter, your rival football fan! 😂… Let’s talk music instead! What were your musical influences growing up?
I was lucky to be born in the sweet spot for music. I had the best of the old and newer school growing up. My music knowledge often surprises people as it is very eclectic. We’re talking Fleetwood Mac to Bob Marley, Bowie to Gladys Knight and so on and so forth. You name it if it sounds good or has complexity to it I’m involved!
Writing poetry or writing songs? Do you have a preference?
Poetry can feed into songs so poetry!
What genre of music do you personally listen to? What was the last concert you attended?
Dancehall/Reggae/Hip Hop/RnB/Classical and Soundtracks. The last concert I went to was in Brixton I saw Common’s band.
Imagine you are driving – what song would be top of your list to croon to whilst playing car karaoke?
Some BobMarley or Missy Elliott to be honest!
Let’s talk about your debut feature film, The JAM (2019), that has already received 9 official selections since hitting the film festival circuit in April. How exciting! Can you give my readers a little summary of what The JAM is all about?
The JAM is a feature length documentary that is centred on my life, my creative process, my family and friends’ reaction to my career choice as well as their hopes for my future. It’s the story that my community needs but not the one it has necessarily known it wanted. I wrote, edited and shot it myself. Oh yeah I wrote and recorded the Soundtrack too as Wicked Penman…
Congratulations on your latest award from the East Europe International Film Festival. Does that indicate that in 2020 you have other film plans or will you be concentrating on writing books or your music or will you be juggling all avenues? 😜
I can’t say too much but yes of course more content, more energy and more life.
Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?
I’m a practical dresser. I like being able to move and feel free. So I normally dress tactical. Joggers/Shorts Tees/Hoodies. Usually Written Mirror specials.
Do you have any favourite websites? (Apart from your own!)
Youtube! No doubt! So much helpful and funny content.
Boots or Shoes?
Boots! They’re made for walking! Seriously though I like Chelsea Boots they’re formidable and functional but very stylish simultaneously.
For Pinning Later
Links you would like to share e.g. website/facebook/twitter etc.
Jay – I’m glad I’m not the only one who has to read a book, once started until the very end, regardless of how bad it is! Well, I did break that rule once when I read a book about the solo travels of a guy who trekked the Himalayas …. Anyhow, I’m looking forward to seeing The Jam and I wish you every success in all your ventures.
Linda x
All photographs are published with kind permission of Jay Mullings.
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