House / 2012–Now
Design begins where disciplines meet.
KORVAE is a Rotterdam-based furniture house working with independent designers, engineers, upholsterers, metalworkers, cabinetmakers, and stone specialists.
THE HOUSE
A publisher with a workshop mind
2012 / ROTTERDAM / ONGOING
KORVAE began in 2012 as a shared table between an industrial designer, a cabinetmaker, and an exhibition editor. The first prototypes were not planned as a collection; they were attempts to resolve the recurring objects of a compact harbour apartment with unusual structural clarity.
Those experiments established the house’s method. A designer brings a question, the workshop challenges its assumptions, and a full-scale prototype is used until construction, comfort, and maintenance agree. Only then is a piece documented for production.
Today the collection serves private homes, galleries, hotels, restaurants, and workplaces. Production remains distributed among specialist workshops, while development, specification, and final approval are coordinated from Rotterdam.
OUR POSITION
Not minimal. Exact.
We remove what obscures an object’s use or structure, but retain grain, casting, weave, patina, and the small evidence of making. Precision is a way to give material more presence, not less.
PEOPLE / DISCIPLINES
Designers and editors
01
Mara Venn
Design Director
Develops large-scale furniture through structure, proportion, and cast metal.
02
Noa Serrin
Industrial Designer
Works with sheet, extrusion, mechanisms, and the changing equipment of work.
03
Ilan Roe
Material Designer
Explores transparency, patina, and the visual depth of glass and metal.
04
Ari Bell
Furniture Designer
Focuses on repairable seating, timber frames, and tensioned upholstery.
05
Sena Orre
Materials Lead
Coordinates finish development, stone selection, care, and conservation records.
06
Edda Vale
Editorial Director
Builds the cultural context around collections, interiors, and exhibitions.
ARCHIVE
Selected milestones
2012
KORVAE is founded around three full-scale prototypes in Rotterdam.
2015
The first made-to-order collection enters production with four specialist workshops.
2019
A dedicated materials archive and repair register are established.
2023
KORVAE opens its appointment-only Object Room beside the Wijnhaven.
2026
Signal Works extends the collection into focused work and hospitality environments.
RESPONSIBILITY
Long use is the first measure
We favour renewable finishes, separable assemblies, replaceable upholstery, documented materials, responsible timber sources, recycled metals where technically suitable, and project packaging that can be consolidated or reused. No object is impact-free; our responsibility is to make choices legible and improve them with each production run.