Eco-friendly furniture from reclaimed materials

Katrin

Today, I interview a very special guest – Jani Lemit. He is the founder of Tomas & Jani, an eco-friendly furniture company in the UK. Tomas & Jani produce their furniture using a “closed-loop production” system they are transforming waste into sustainable furniture.

Thank you Jani for joining the Being magazine project and for sharing your story with all of us. can you, please, introduce yourself? 

Jani

Jani Lemut, furniture maker, designer, and founder of Tomas & Jani, Slovenian born, raised, and educated. Living in the UK since 1992.

Katrin

How did the idea of creating Tomas and Jani come to you? What was your inspiration? 

Jani

I wanted to translate my passion for working with discarded materials and recycling into a brand, a go-to place for fresh designs, and produce eco-friendly furniture made with waste materials. 

Our furniture contains organic matter, it’s plastic-free and vegan friendly.  

Katrin

Tell us 3 interesting, curious facts about your brand.

Jani

Our furniture contains organic matter, it’s plastic-free and vegan friendly. 

Katrin

What is your company vision? Which place does sustainability play in it?

Jani

Sustainability is the ONLY way forward in any walk of life. We aim to create a circular economy business, operating within the local community. We hope to raise awareness and educate others about how we can all contribute to recycling and sustainability. 

Katrin

I love the way you communicate:  “We’re constantly inventing and designing, and finding new ways of using waste.” Which exact materials do you use for your products? 

We hope to change the way that people think about furniture in their home

Jani

Discarded wood from building sites and old buildings, pallet wood, recycled wood from old furniture, paper, old textile fabrics, and used coffee granules.

Katrin

I am curious to know more about the manufacturing process too.

Jani

We select materials, clean them, and dry them before we start production. We process materials mainly manually, with no automated machinery. Then assemble individual pieces. So all in all, hand-built furniture, in short.

Katrin

A lot of people face the problem. What to do with the old furniture, what furniture recycling looks like, and who I can call to get help. Can you advise people who want to do it the right way? 

Jani

…At the moment, the best way is to take it to a local recycling waste depot. In the Tomas & Jani future, we aim to have collection points from where we can take the furniture from T&J back. We also offer an upgraded design version of your existing T&J furniture, every two years, so you will always have a fresh design and hassle-free disposal of the old piece. 

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Katrin

 I want to ask a personal question. Which profession did you dream about when you were a kid?

Jani

For as far as I remember I always wanted to be a furniture maker and designer. I made my first piece when I was 12 years old.  

Katrin

 I believe together we can change the world for the better. Do you?:) What is your personal view on the future of our planet? 

Jani

There is no other way but to work together. We all need to change our attitude towards the way of life we lead. We need to build a suitable infrastructure for 100% recycling and learn how to use materials more efficiently. No globalization, but more local, close loop, circular system living. We do have a future as long we adapt accordingly.