About Us
Canopi is an emerging platform for hand recrafted furniture and objects - made exclusively from salvaged materials by exceptional British contemporary Designers, Makers and Craftspeople.
Conception
Canopi is born from the challenge of scouting for characterful, solid-wood furniture in Luxembourg, during covid, as an expat - very quickly! Sarah sifted through all the second-hand furniture shops in Luxembourg and furnished her entire apartment with unique handmade pieces. She was also thrilled to evade fast furniture! She is inspired by the biblical ethic to gather the fragments (repair, refurbish and reuse) and to cherish local craftsmanship.
Sarah now lives London and is developing Canopi in the UK.
Our Team
Canopi today is a three-legged stool of a team; Sarah (Foundress), her brother Patrick based in London (Tech and Sustainability) and Alain (Operations and Translator ++). Patrick is a circular economy enthusiast with a background in Sustainable Energy. He is based in London and helps with calculating environmental impacts, the website and all things relating to tech. Alain, is a quad-lingual Luxembourger, DIY enthusiast and a Bio-Chemist. He takes care of logistics and operations. Canopi aspires to contribute to no person being left behind in the Just Transition to a Circular Economy.
Our Purpose
We want to showcase hand recrafted objects, place a spotlight on the Designers who make them and tell the stories of salvage and transformation to restore things.
Our Ethos
Curate
We scout for exceptional Designers and Craftspeople who can create contemporary objects from waste materials with virtuosity and originality.
Circularity
We are grounded in the founding lesson that nature doesn't do waste, but recirculates and feeds other organisms. We champion circularity in the design industry by making it easier to find salvaged design made of high-quality natural materials, that were once heading for landfill or incineration.
Copy Nature Creatively: Biomimicry
We are driven by the profound lessons nature offers to solve today’s complex problems. We want to collaborate with designers who masterfully observe these natural patterns and integrate them into innovative designs. Our showcase features products crafted primarily from natural and reclaimed materials, including wood, wool, food waste, and beyond.
Cultivate the Indoors: Biophilic Design
We wholeheartedly champion Biophilic Design, advocating for a deeper connection with nature inside your space. We find objects so you can curate the interiors—beautiful, healthy spaces free from the toxic emissions often found in synthetic, fossil fuel-derived materials.
Cherish
We encourage the salvage of waste materials by showcasing expertly repurposed objects. We deeply value the cutting-edge recraftsmanship and ingenuity evolving to meet our contemporary needs whilst saving fabulous endowment of natural materials already in circulation.
Celebrate
We showcase recrafted furniture, homewares and art with joy and spotlight the skilful craftsmanship of Designers and Makers.
Conscious
We think contemporary design can be regenerative by avoiding the unnecessary extraction of virgin materials, using natural materials already in circulation and natural non toxic finishes and preservatives. For us, objects that are bio-degradeable are wholesome for nature because they can become food for local habitats.
We are working to reduce, record and reveal the ecological impacts of sourcing recrafted objects compared to brand new pieces in our carbon saved calculator.
Recraft your nest sustainably
I started The Canopi from a desire to salvage the solid wood passed down to us and to furnish my home resourcefully, making as little waste as possible.
I never met my paternal grandfather, he passed away in tragic circumstances in Uganda in the 1980s. Back in the 1960s, he studied for a Law diploma in Luxembourg and qualified as a barrister. Having never met him, my fascination for the 'clog shaped' Grand Duchy is part of a deeper longing to connect with my own family history.
I think our grandparents' generation would be shocked at our throwaway society - that the furniture they have handed down is ending up in landfill or being incinerated. My hope is that Canopi will help us discover the Designers who can salvage materials and make new objects that we can be proud of.