My earliest memory is of my mother. I was five. Styrofoam egg cartons, cut and shaped into full flower bouquets. I helped her cut, glue, and form them. We sold them door to door. The price would change depending on who we spoke to. Sometimes she would give them away. People would stop and look twice. They saw flowers, not egg cartons. Some were surprised when we told them what they were made from.

I have worked in furniture for over thirty years, alongside factories in seven countries. I have developed products at the source, working through construction, materials, and finish with the people who build them. I know where cost is introduced, and where it is removed.

Monsoonblue was built to work this way.

We work directly with factories. We build the product with them. Machinery is used where it improves the result. Handwork remains where it cannot be replaced. Production is planned in measured runs to maintain consistency without lowering the standard.

There are no retail layers between the factory and the customer.

I remember the furniture my father brought home. We could not afford new. He would look for pieces that were well made, and when he found one, he held onto it. It became part of our home. We lived with those pieces for many years.

That is the standard I work toward. Furniture that someone chooses carefully, and lives with for a long time.

Attainable objects for a life less ordinary.

Jose Refugio
Founder, Monsoonblue