It’s impossible to create quality products without quality materials, which is why our makers are so considerate about the materials (or ingredients) they use. For example, are they sustainable, durable, high-quality, innovative, organic, renewable, beautiful, functional, time-tested, healthy, delicious, or locally sourced? For this series we asked our Bay Area Made companies to tell us about the materials they use and why. Because materials matter!
JOHI is a product and interior design studio founded in 2019 by partners Holly Apau Badr-El-Din and Raja Badr-El-Din. From their coastal workshop in Santa Cruz County, the studio crafts premium furniture and decorative home accents. JOHI is on a mission to shape inviting, healthy environments. The brand’s growing catalog and portfolio of work embraces intergenerational values and multicultural spirit, reflecting their family roots in Jordan, Hawaii, and the UK.
The Fundamentals Collection 2025
This collection strips back designer fanfare to focus on essential function and celebrate the beauty of our medium. The collection brings premium domestic hardwoods together with quality steel connectors for easy shipping and reassembly over its lifetime of use.
Younger homeowners who want to begin investing in quality furniture are often deterred by the weight of quality pieces. Through this collection, we aimed to design easy to own pieces that have the quality and longevity of our more luxury products. For starters, we have introduced a desk and bench to the Fundamentals. Each is available in a host of common sizes in either solid Walnut or Ash.
The Fundamentals Collection is all about bringing domestic hardwoods back into the home. Crafted from either USA White Ash or Eastern Walnut, these pieces put a focus on the durability and uniqueness of each species. For each bench and every desk, we select boards with attention to natural grain and color variation for a cohesive and bespoke result.
The finishes we use are vegetable based hardwax oils that provide a satin protection, while keeping the feel of natural wood close at hand. Designed for longevity, the desk and bench both utilize high quality steel connectors that can be used for the lifetime of the piece without wearing out. Both products ship disassembled in a protected carton lined with Cruz Foam, a pea-based compostable foam developed down the road from us in Santa Cruz.
See their furniture and products in person at the new JOHI Showroom located in the Westside neighborhood of Santa Cruz at 719 Swift Street #62.
View the JOHI profile.
