After studying architecture in Gaza, the Palestinian designers formed a studio to make furniture that expresses a contemporary vision of Arab culture.
Rejo launched its first collection in 2017 on Instagram with a series of renderings for a chair and floor lamp. The pieces weren’t fabricated yet, but requests for prices started to come in. For that reason the studio’s founders describe its success as “a backwards process.”
Palestinian designers Reem Olyan and Jumana Qasem met in the architecture and engineering program at the Islamic University of Gaza, a program they both chose because there was no option to study interior design. The course provided many of the necessary skills and some of the bigger-picture knowledge that was useful when they transitioned to furniture.
The pair collaborated at university, but after graduation, Olyan returned to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she was raised, and Qasem remained in Gaza. The duo formed their studio in Riyadh and Istanbul because they saw that there wasn’t much furniture that expressed a contemporary vision of Arab culture.
Their first launch with completed furniture was in 2018 at Dubai Design Week, where they showed the Sheba cabinet, Rudo stool, and Aliaa table. In 2022, the pair produced a collection of ceramic housewares. Since the events of October 7, 2023, they have largely paused work. Despite this, Rejo’s designs are continuing to get attention.
You can learn more about Rejo by visiting the studio’s website or on Instagram.
Top image courtesy Rejo
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