From a leather goods brand making custom bags and luggage, Niyona has converted into a studio that has grown over the course of its encounters with its clients. These clients swiftly became companies from the fields of fashion and design that wanted to entrust us with the production of small and exclusive series. We were then faced with a choice, which we never regretted: devote all our time and skills to serving our commissioning clients. Ever since, we count ourselves lucky to work every day on inspiring projects which have taught us so much.

From leather goods we entered the world of gastronomy, with a shared taste for simplicity and well-crafted work. Chef Jeremy Girvan (GJ Cook) believed in us from the very beginning. Then, the famous butcher Dierendonck and the restaurant Bon-Bon** opened the doors of their Michelin-starred restaurants to our leather aprons and table accessories. We pulled out all the stops to design a whole series of tableware accessories with leather as the main ingredient. Tablecloths, bells, card holders, bread baskets, blade guards and sets of cutlery of a whole new kind designed to awaken the taste buds and make the tasting experience last!

These collaborations marked the beginning of projects combining design, scenography and artistic intervention. We went on to have the privilege of redesigning the winter garden at the Bozar* restaurant in Brussels, the table scenography of the Castor** restaurant or decorating the walls of the FRED** restaurant in Rotterdam with a mural decorated with leather and gold leaf. All these projects led us to travel and to collaborate with the best restaurants in France, the Netherlands, England, Spain…

The encounter with designer Isaac Reina and architect Bernard Dubois confirmed us in our journey along this path, revealing our chosen affinities with contemporary design. The rigour of the forms and the purity of the lines of the resulting furniture – Maniera 21 – force us to take minute detail to new heights. This modus operandi is closely related to the concept of Galerie Maniera, the instigator of the project.

In constant emulation, we still manage to save some space in which to develop our own products, among which are bespoke trunks and boxes under the name Bodenhorst, and the exclusive series of decorative objects with versatile functionalities – Ukiyo -. The alchemy of this studio comes down to drawing together everything we love.

2022 will mark a decisive step for us in work initiated with Kvadrat and Raf Simons two years ago. This is a first for us and it will be the opportunity to leave our display window, the city centre shop-workshop which made our name, for a workshop nestled in the family house in the municipality of Anderlecht, not far from there, with the utmost respect for the confidentiality of the work entrusted to us.

Nina Bodenhorst & Jonathan Wieme.