Designers Huda Baroudi and Maria Hibri cofounded Bokja in Lebanon in 2000. The Beirut-based design and craft studio produces handmade furniture and accessories that combine classic midcentury forms with patchwork upholstery composed of vintage and new textile remnants sourced in the Middle East. Bokja works with a network of local artisans, carpenters, and designers to create each piece. In addition to its design goals, Bokja sees social engagement as a pillar of its practice; this extends not only to the craftsmen and materials they work with, but also into events such as fundraisers for local education and other causes important to its founders.
Baroudi (born in Sidon, Lebanon) and Hibri (born in Beirut) met in the early 2000s through a mutual friend, who recognized their shared passion for textiles and unique, secondhand furniture pieces.Bokja began life in a neglected mansion in Beirut, which they referred to as “the Palace.” In 2008, the atelier expanded to include a second space in the same neighborhood.
Bokja pieces have been included in numerous exhibitions, including And Then There Were None at Cuadro Fine Art Gallery, Dubai (2013), Arabic Seasons at the Institut de Monde Arabe, Paris (2012), as well as Talking Textiles, curated by Li Edelkoort, at Spazio Gianfranco Ferré, Milan (2011).
