About
Made slowly, by hand, to be lived with.
A small studio for making things that last a lifetime.
Hero photograph
What is Keoni Studio?
Keoni Studio is a practice for exploring objects that benefit our everyday lives through design. I focus on traditional practices and examine each project through a philosophical lens, studying our assumptions, limitations, and the possibilities present in our lives.
The goal isn't to add more product to the world. It's to find objects that can become partners with us through life, then refine them until they're sustainable, long-lasting, and able to grow with us through the years, even as we change.
Keoni Studio makes things that travel with us as we make our journey through life.
Principles
Question first
Every project starts by asking what an object is really for. Looking at our assumptions, limits, and habits matters more than adding a new feature.
Learn from tradition
Traditional crafts carry generations of hard-won knowledge. The studio starts there, then lets the material, the process, and constant iteration shape what each piece becomes.
Made to be lived with
The aim isn’t more things. It’s fewer, better ones: objects sturdy enough to last, honest enough to repair, and simple enough to grow with us as we change.
A letter from Keoni
I’m Keoni, a self-taught maker with a background in industrial design, writing, philosophy, and graphic design. I was the kid who took things apart to see how they worked, and that curiosity has followed me through fifteen years of engineering, branding, textiles, print, and digital work.
Keoni is my middle name. The studio carries it because the work is personal: a record of what I’m learning, made by hand at a single table in my home workshop in Anderson, South Carolina.
Thank you for being here.
— Keoni
The workshop
Workshop photo
Questions
Frequently asked
Is your work for sale?
Yes. Available notebooks can be bought here on the site, and a few local shops carry them in person. See Stockists for where to find them.
Do you take commissions?
Yes, in seasonal batches. Choose your leather, size, hardware, and elastic, then send a request through the Contact page.
How did you start working in craft?
I was a curious kid who took things apart to see how they worked. Years later that curiosity turned into hobbies like making bowties, and eventually into Keoni Studio as a way to focus it.
What inspires your work?
Philosophy, traditional craftsmanship, the natural world, and small things: textures, materials, and ways of living.
How do I care for the leather?
Vachetta needs very little. Wipe it with a soft, dry cloth, and if it gets wet, let it air dry away from heat. Most small scratches rub out with a fingertip. Every six months to a year, rub a thin layer of natural leather balm, then buff it out with a soft cloth. Keep it out of hot cars and long direct sunlight, and let the patina darken with time.