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Our Story
We are böja, meaning ‘to bend’ in Swedish, which is the most celebrated property and process of our favourite material - Rattan.
Rattan
Rattan is a climbing plant, part of the palm tree family found primarily in the rainforests of Indonesia, however it can also be found in other Asian and African countries. Being a fast growing plant, rattan is an ecological and renewable material.
The vine-like plant climbs trees in the jungle to get to sunlight by attaching its thorns to the bark. They have been known to grow up to a length of 200m.
This ancient material has been used for over a millennia, being first brought to Europe around the 17th century.
Even today it is still primarily a non mechanised culture from the harvesting, processing to the final crafted hand-made piece.
First Steps
Our first design was created in 2010 with a prototype by our founder, with the goal of challenging the conventional style of rattan furniture, re-interpreting the perceived association with its exotic outdoor context and questioning its colonial aesthetic language.
The outcome was a stool with a simplified yet structural rattan frame using splice joints and triangulation. This hadn't been done before and won critical acclaim, though the design remained dormant until böja was conceived.
Sustainable
Future
We visited Indonesia in search of collaboration with local makers and to learn more about the processing of this material.
We set up and partnered only with certified producers that shared our ethical goals and sustainable objectives.
We are committed to making sure that no toxic chemicals or non recyclable materials are used in the production of our products.
Our Aim
With our Scandinavian minimalist approach, together with carefully selected producers, we intend to challenge the landscape of the rattan market, combining experimental techniques with cultural tradition, pushing the boundaries of this material to create timeless, elegant designs which have been ethically hand-made and ecologically sourced.
We are in conversations with our production partners in order to find ways of continually contributing towards a more sustainable future for this ancient material and craft.
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