Honoring the long tradition of great Belgian design (furniture, products, architecture) Design By Mai products are 100% Made In Belgium. Some of our products are still handmade by experienced specialists using their unique skills. Responsible energy-consumption and low emission production techniques are an important part of the production chain. Wherever possible, a green option is considered and implemented. Design By Mai is based in Gent, Belgium.

Mai Waelkens (°Gent, 1984) studied interior design at Hoger Sint-Lucas Instituut Gent, Belgium and got a degree in Interior Design in 2007. Following an internship at a design company in Cape Town, South Africa, Waelkens conceptualized lofts, houses, hotels and apartments. Upon her return to Belgium Mai Waelkens founded her own interior design company. After 7 years of interior architecture her unmasterable desire to create design products resulted in a first series of carefully crafted design products: the CARVE YOUR WORLD- collection.

Elegance, minimalism, sensuality, inspiration drawn from nature and a boost of expressionism are Waelkens' main tools to create design products. On the one hand mesmeric, on the other hand straightforward, Waelkens' design is captivating through sober shapes and minimalist forms on which she grafts an imagery. The approach is ascetical but there's always a twist, stemming from the visual or the demonstrative.