How it all began!

This is so exciting, my first blog entry! I am brimming with ideas and stories but first a little bit about myself and how it all began…

I grew up in Greece, in a manic house with my parents, 2 sisters, a dog and a canary, and amidst stacks and stacks of interior magazines, architect plans and antiques & paintings filling every corner… with an interior designer uncle, a mum who spent all her weekends at auctions and flee markets accumulating just about anything you can imagine, and a dad who imported stone and marble from places such as Libya and Pakistan, I guess it’s no wonder that I acquired a taste and passion for beautiful interiors!

But it was only when my boyfriend and I bought our first flat in Holland Park a few years ago that my passion really grew… Whilst there was an abundance of home accessories shops out there, everything seemed mass produced and each shop concentrated only on a specific style; there was no single shop that did both minimalistic and country or both African and Asian for example… As we wanted to create a home that would be testament to all our travels, we had to search hard to find all our furniture and home accessories and often ended up ordering from abroad.

Hence the concept for Coco Målé was born. Armed with just enough courage and determination, much- needed capital and of course my love for interiors, I kicked-off my dream! For 6 long months, I worked hard, still as an investment banker selling derivatives and issuing bonds by day, then sourcing products and preparing our website at night (!) until Coco Målé was eventually launched in July 2007!

Our aim was to create a one­­- stop shop that would bridge the gap in interior design between countries and continents. We wanted to create a unique fusion of styles that would reflect today’s globalised and diverse society and would represent the new generation of people who love discovering new places and cultures or who just like us, are from one country, grew up in another and live in another… and I feel we have certainly achieved this… we refuse to be pigeon- holed to a specific style; whether ethnic, designer, antique, country or minimalistic, we welcome all styles into our collection though without compromising on excellent design and quality… and that’s what ultimately differentiates us from the pack. Our products could look equally beautiful in a modern city flat, a rural cottage or a villa in Mykonos. Successful interiors are all about mix-and- matching styles. In fact, one of the most beautiful homes I have ever seen combined modern minimalistic furniture with art deco mirrors and chandeliers, rich coloured cushions from Marrakech and Turkish kilim rugs!

In the few months since our launch, we have seen Coco Målé grow into a fantastic little company, having been featured in various interior publications! Although our success is also due to our hard work & genuine commitment to provide a fantastic online shopping experience, excellent customer service and unique, quality products, we owe a huge thanks to all our friends, customers, journalists, suppliers & designers who have trusted us and helped make Coco Målé into the company it is today!

We sincerely hope you will continue enjoying our products in the future and as we are always looking for ways to improve, we would love to hear your feedback, criticisms or any ideas you may have! We will regularly post our news, design tips and favourite products here, so make sure you visit us regularly.

Katie