Our Story
The KHAMAMA Inspiration
KHAMAMA we pride ourselves to be a family-owned company. Our story begins with a little mystery:
The grandfather of the founders was a draper traveling through Europe from Milan to Paris and everywhere in between. On a hot summer day when their mother was 9 years old, their grandfather took her to a business meeting. It was a stuffy room in an old building where his private client had an office. Nobody remembers who he was, but one thing: The entire wall was covered with framed butterflies - something their mother had never seen before. Calmly sitting in a chair she studied all the wonderful specimen. As the meeting commenced, the mysterious man thanked their mother for her patience and asked her to choose the most beautiful butterfly as a gift for herself. There was one butterfly majestically shimmering as the afternoon sun stroke its wings. Awed by the beauty of the exceptional gift she hid it well and kept it as a surreal childhood memory.
Decades later, when her three sons were exploring the attic they rediscovered this butterfly. They identified the specimen as a gorgeous Rajah Brooke which was worth a fortune at the time their mother received it: About 13.000 DM (German Mark or an estimated $34.000 in today’s money).
This butterfly sparked the idea of KHAMAMA.
Fascinated by the beauty and exclusiveness of precious butterflies we aim to bring stunningly beautiful artifacts to the world. Our creations withstand time for generations to come and indulge on the artefacts iridescence every time they look at it.
Enjoy exploring our KHAMAMA universe, get inspired and feel free to share your thoughts with us.We would love to hear from you.
Amos & Nathan Hornstein
contact@khamama.com
Inspired by Contrasts
The inspiration of KHAMAMA emerges out of the wondrous unification of two universes: The man-made 21st century avant-garde universe with minimalistic lines, architectural designs and artificial creations and the lustrous, baroque and florid universe of nature creating inimitable forms and patterns.
21st Century and Nature
The splendid merger of universes profoundly affects every facet of KHAMAMA and our pursuit to be at the forefront of sustainable luxury innovation. We are a brand of the 21st century, deeply rooted in the beauty of nature, driven to preserve.
Beauty of Nature
Against all efforts the real beauty of butterflies as the most beautiful animal in the world remains unmatched. In our quest to create exquisite artefacts, we have sourced the most beautiful real butterfly wings from around the world in a sustainable and ethical manner.
Inherent Sustainability
Flourishing nature and human progress are not mutually exclusive; they strongly depend upon each other. Sustainability is inherent in the nature of butterfly farming and a prerequisite for our locally sourced butterfly wings. Discover KHAMAMA’s impact on our sustainability pages:
Paris Designs
The concepts for KHAMAMA’s contemporary artefacts are created in Paris by designers with valuable experience from working at Maisons like Louis Vuitton, Lorenz Bäumer and Van Cleef & Arpels. Their artistic savoir faire enables KHAMAMA’s avant-garde creations to flourish with the Parisian expertise of Haute Joallerie.
English Craftmanship
La Maison KHAMAMA is based in the United Kingdom where our craftsmen and artisans create the magnificent artefacts with utmost dedication to detail. Every KHAMAMA iPhone case is hand made with precision. We strongly believe both in sustainability and local manufacturing in Cheshire, England.
The Word KHAMAMA
“KHAMAMA” is the Cherokee word for “butterfly.” For the Cherokee Native Americans, butterflies are the connection between the human world and the world of their gods.
The first time a Cherokee, hundreds of years ago, created this mellifluous word to describe butterflies as the epitome of freedom, elegance and unmatchable natural beauty captures our core essence – the positive connection between humanity and nature - KHAMAMA.
The KHAMAMA Monogramm
Our monogram illustrates the two M’s of the word KHAMAMA. It can also be seen as the mirrored sigma sign associated with mathematical sums. We interpret this symbol as the accumulation of natural beauty.
By merging the natural and artificial beauty, our monogram captures the symmetrical form, which is a symbolic depiction of a butterfly. The sum of symmetry and balance creates perfection in nature. It is our mission to preserve the allure of nature through each of our artefacts.