A Belgian furniture house built on a single conviction: that solid wood, worked with care, makes pieces that gain character with every passing year.
The maker
Where the material comes first
Ethnicraft began in 1995 with a single shipping container. Antwerp friends Philippe Delaisse and Benoit Loos brought home furniture and objects discovered on Philippe's travels through Indonesia, and sold them at home. Within a year there were clients waiting at the docks, and the two entrepreneurs decided to design and make their own.
Beautiful, authentic, functional furniture, designed to age gracefully alongside you.
Wood has been the defining material from the very start. Solid oak, teak and walnut, chosen for the way each piece reveals the grain, nuance and texture of the timber it is cut from. Nothing veneered, nothing pretending to be something it is not.
Ethnicraft controls the full life of what it makes, from design and prototyping in Belgium through production in its own workshops, to refurbishment and recycling. Offcuts are reused, sawdust fuels the ovens that dry the timber and every tree is selected with care. It is craft and responsibility held in the same hand.
Founded
1995
Home
Antwerp, Belgium
Material
Solid oak, teak & walnut
Approach
Craft-led, made responsibly
The designers
The hands behind Ethnicraft
Alongside our main designer, Alain van Havre, we collaborate with a close community recognised for their distinct design aesthetic and use of both current and traditional techniques. This process contributes to the unique quality and authenticity of each Ethnicraft piece.
Alain van Havre
Antwerp, Belgium · In-house designer
I'm obsessed with the freedom of movement in general, which is why I strive to escape the static in my designs and add dynamism to compositions.
For Alain van Havre, inspiration is everything. Deeply connected to his environment and passionate about natural materials, he has developed an exceptional expertise for woodworking. Over the years, he has created his own visual language centred around form, a translation best described in collections such as the Bok, Graphic, PI and Stairs.
He believes that for someone to connect with a design, it is important to bring it closer to nature. Over the past 20 years Alain has played a pivotal role in influencing the Ethnicraft designs we know and love today.
Jacques Deneef
Antwerp, Belgium · Material & furniture design
Jacques Deneef is an Antwerp-based designer with a fascination for basic materials such as glass, wood, leather, paper and wax. After entering the world of art via his talents in oil and acrylic painting, he now focuses his time giving used objects new leases of life, alongside design development in sectors such as jewellery, lighting, textile, furniture and decoration.
In offering objects a new existence, Jacques believes they are transformed into something new, made useful in some other way, ultimately resolving into their final destination: a work of art.
Dawn Sweitzer
North Carolina, USA · Artist & maker
An overflow of creative energy and a profound interest in the world of craftsmanship is what jump-started Dawn Sweitzer's journey as an artist. Her works are expressions based on travel, enriching cultures, textures within the landscape, photography, food and fashion.
There is no fixed formula to how her designs are conceived. They blend ideas, they reference vintage with modern. Within her North Carolina studio, Dawn works, plays and discovers across a variety of media: paint, woven textile, mirror and glass, home accessories and decoration.
Paul Delaisse
Belgium · Furniture & upholstery design
The reward lies in the process of creation.
For Paul Delaisse, design is a balance of form, function and materiality. With over 25 years of experience, his work is deeply rooted in a dedication to the creative process, spanning from the initial concept to intricate craftsmanship and the meticulous production of each piece.
Exploring the dynamic relationship between form, space and perception, Paul embraces the unique qualities of each material, whether by accepting its inherent nature or challenging its potential. A good day is with sawdust in my boots at the end of it, he says, reflecting his passion for hands-on creation. His enthusiasm spans case goods and upholstered pieces, and he has collaborated with high-end brands and architects.
Selected pieces
A few pieces from the house
A small edit of Ethnicraft designs carried at Loom, in solid oak, teak and walnut. A sense of the range, from the everyday table to the quiet sculptural detail.
Product image Bok dining tableiBok dining tableDesigned by Alain van Havre
An icon of the house. Solid oak with softly turned, organic legs that gather around the table like a small landscape.
Product image Mikado dining tableiiMikado dining tableDesigned by Alain van Havre
Brushed solid oak on a set of angled legs that cross like the sticks of the game it is named after.
Product image N701 sofaiiiN701 sofaDesigned by Jacques Deneef
A modular seat of clean lines and gentle proportions, built to be configured around the way a room is really lived in.
Product image Oak Stairs cabinetivOak Stairs cabinetDesigned by Alain van Havre
Storage with stepped, sculptural fronts in solid oak, where a functional cabinet becomes a quiet piece of architecture.
Product image Torsion dining tablevTorsion dining tableDesigned by Alain van Havre
A solid oak base that twists through space, holding the top on a single, fluid gesture of timber.
Product image Graphic sideboardviGraphic sideboardDesigned by Alain van Havre
Geometric oak fronts in light and dark, a composition of squares that turns storage into a graphic study.
