Janet Morais

In 2010 she launched KOKET, and under her leadership, the brand has garnered recognition at prestigious industry events such as Salone del Mobile (Milan), the Architectural Digest Design Show (New York), Maison & Objet (Paris), and Decorex (London) and through projects with set designers for Universal, Fox, and Paramount. KOKET has also collaborated with esteemed luxury brands, including Saks Fifth Avenue and Fendi, and has been coined by the press as “The Female Monarch of Design.”

MONARCH: Where are you from?

JANET MORAIS: I was born in the United States in New York and spent a couple years there before moving to Portugal. Living there, I studied for about five years and returned to the U.S. to finish my secondary school. Then I bounced around all over Europe throughout my college years, spending some time in France, in Spain, and in Lisbon, and right now I currently live between Lisbon and just outside of Washington, DC.

MONARCH: When did you realize that you have a gift for design?

JANET MORAIS: I can remember always feeling very uncomfortable in a space that wasn’t well designed. When I was young, I would go into people’s homes and actually move things around, and I am talking as early as ten years of age. And I’m still that way today. If the space isn’t right, I just don’t feel right.

MONARCH: Please share the mission behind your brand, KOKET.

JANET MORAIS: My nickname was Janet la Coquette, and it was for my playful personality. When it came time to give a name to my brand, I felt it was fit to call it Coquette, and I spelled it K-O-K-E-T because it was more commercial. The meaning is the same as the playful, flirtatious little girl. The tagline is “Love Happens” because either you love it or you don’t. You should never have to convince yourself of anything. Either you feel it or you don’t, whether it’s with a friend, a lover, a pair of shoes, or a dress. Especially in the home, it must make you feel good. So when I launched the brand, the idea was to empower other women through design.

MONARCH: How are you empowering through design?

JANET MORAIS: The best way I can explain this is let’s say you have a great pair of shoes. When you walk in those shoes—the way you stand, the way you pose, the way you stop, the way you pivot—you exude a different level of confidence. Or another example, a great dress—if you feel good in a great dress, you show the confidence; you feel empowered. I wanted my pieces to have that same effect. Every chair is designed to fit a woman’s body, and so when you sit, your elbows will never be too high or too low. They’ll never be too deep, where your feet are dangling off the floor. You will always look beautiful and graceful. When I’m in my production facility, located in Portugal, when a chair is about to be introduced into the collection, I will have several different women sit in the chair, and she must always look beautiful and elegant in any position. She should be able to get up off the chair and not struggle and not be all over the place, where you’re just a big mess getting out of the chair. So we empower through design because if you feel good, you are empowered.

Then we took our message to empower through content. So I launched the magazine, Love Happens, and through our articles and through our interviews, we empower our audience. We continue spreading this message through our events. We talk to interior designers or homeowners about their needs, about their desires, about what makes them feel good in the home, and help bring that to life for them. We are not just another furniture brand. There are many, many furniture brands. KOKET is a furniture brand that builds a community and brings women together that are looking for a place to feel stronger, to empower each other, and to just be our very best selves.

MONARCH: I absolutely love that. What should a client expect to receive when working with the amazing Janet Morais?

JANET MORAIS: A bespoke experience, customizable luxury. My team and myself are experts in luxury design, trained in interior design, architecture, or decorating. We are your designers. If we do not have what you are looking for, our team will source it. We source in Paris and in Milan, and we go out there several times a year and will source specific fabrics and materials for our clients. Most of what we do is one of a kind, so our clientele will ask us to sign agreements that we will never produce the piece again. It is specifically for them, and if that is the case, then we will actually engrave the piece with their name.

MONARCH: What are the steps taken when transforming someone’s home or office?

JANET MORAIS: The first step is an interview so we can see if we can actually work together because it’s not just about whether or not you like my pieces. When I’m coming into someone’s home, there has to be this incredible level of trust. Because when I’m in your home, I’m in your most intimate space. I’m exposed to your family, so you must trust me to see how you live. And we ask questions because we need to know the family dynamics. We need to know, how often do you use your family room? Do your children use the family room, or do they have a playroom? So I must come in and see if we’re actually compatible. This relationship could go on for years because no one comes in and does a home all at once.