About Mokay Labs

Honest materials, made by hand, kept for years

We work with small workshops that shape wood, throw clay and weave fibre the way their families always have. Every piece arrives a little different from the photograph, because every piece is.

What we do

Small workshops, small batches, nothing hurried

The pieces are made in small runs and finished by hand, a few dozen at a time, in workshops that have been doing it the same way for a long while.

That is slower and less predictable than buying from a catalogue, and it is the only way to end up with objects that look like they were made by somebody rather than printed by something.

Mokay Labs is run by Diego, from Madrid. He chooses the pieces, writes these pages and answers the email himself.

How we choose

What earns a place in the catalogue

Four tests. A piece has to pass all of them before we put it on the site.

Made by hand

Finished by a person, not a production line. The last pass of sanding, glazing or polishing is done by hand, which is where the small differences come from.

In small batches

A few dozen at a time, which is why runs sell out and why no two ever leave exactly alike.

A material that ages

Solid wood, stoneware and travertine. Jute, seagrass and cotton. Steel and iron. Materials chosen for how they wear, not for how they photograph on day one.

Repairable

If it cannot be oiled, sanded or mended back to itself, it does not go in the catalogue.

The photograph shows one piece. Yours is its sibling.

Why no two are alike

The variation

Grain, glaze and fibre never repeat

Grain runs differently through every plank, clay takes glaze in its own way, and fibre is never spun twice the same. Expect a family resemblance rather than a copy, and expect the colour to deepen over the years.

A fine line along the grain, a darker knot, a rim that wanders half a millimetre: that is the material behaving as it should, not a fault. We only turn a piece away when a crack runs through it or the finish is broken.

What you can count on

The boring part, in writing

01Free shipping, everywhere. No minimum and no handling fee at checkout. Orders leave the workshop within 1–3 business days.
0214 days to change your mind. Write to us first and we'll send you the return address in Spain. Return shipping is paid by the customer, unless the piece arrived damaged or isn't what you ordered.
03A person answers the email. Usually within one working day, and they know which workshop made your piece.