A quarter of a century - filled with adventure The idea of starting RICE was founded over a long lunch in the middle of the french countryside - in 1997. I had lived on an off in Paris for 14 years - my french husband Philippe and I both had really great jobs but we travelled most of the time and often in opposite directions. We wanted a change of pace and we had a baby on the way. That became the catalyst to creating a big change. We wanted to create a life where we travelled together instead of apart and we longed for a quieter lifestyle. 3 weeks after our son was born, we moved to Denmark and into our small summerhouse near the sea. Our French friends and family were so worried about us, they all thought we were completely crazy! RICE HQ 1997 After a few months - we created the company and when our son Max was 4 months old we went to Madagascar searching for products to fit together with items from a Danish friend in Thailand. We went there looking for embroidered things and dis- covered the wonderful material RAFFIA. Since that day we have never stopped producing in Madagascar and are proud to still work with the same people after 25 years. First handmade catalogue - and first fair stand We put together a small selection of items and roamed the shops of Copenhagen with Max in a pram. Everybody wanted the baskets we brought back and we got a flying start. The small barn in our summerhouse quickly became too small - and we moved to bigger premises with more storage space. After 1 year - and a second baby on the way we had stock all over the house, and nowhere really to live. so we moved the company out. Looking back now, it was a crazy time but also super fun and full of adventure. In 2001 we started selling melamine products, and this amazing material has been an enormous part of our collection ever since. HQ today 6
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