Ekobo

Bruno Louis, former marketing executive for L'Oreal and graduate of the London School of Economics, brought a host of ideas with him from extensive world-travel when he founded Ekobo in Paris. Appropriately styling itself as an "eco-citizen company," Ekobo works with artisans in Vietnam (where Louis's father worked for UNICEF) to import and handcraft fine house wares and accessories made from fast-growing bamboo. The results include brightly colored bowls, sleek bathroom accessories, and one-of-a-kind vases that are ecologically responsible, with a design that is simultaneously contemporary and timeless.