MEET TERESE, OUR FOUNDER

OUR FOUNDER

Meet our founder, Terese Hoffeldt, who started HEVEA shortly after becoming a mother, wishing to make a difference in the world. Here she shares her personal story and how it has been intertwined with the story of HEVEA.


HEVEA BEGAN AS A QUESTION

Sometimes the biggest changes in life lead to the smallest questions becoming the most important ones. HEVEA was born out of such a change. I became a mother, and like most mothers, I started asking myself if I was doing the very best for my child. The care, the nurturing, the love I gave her I felt certain about, but I started questioning if the things I was surrounding her with were the right ones.

I found myself looking for an alternative to the many plastic things I was giving her. Plastic was everywhere! In toys, dummies and many other things I was handing to my daughter during the day. And here this little question took shape: is there no alternative?

When I saw the endless possibilities that natural rubber has to offer, I knew I had found my alternative, and the vision of HEVEA took shape. Back then, the potential of natural rubber, or Hevea Brasiliensis, was not very well known. As the possibilities of this unique material became apparent to us, we found we could create something that was not only unique but also long-lasting, sustainable – and visionary, in every sense of the word. Something I could hand to my daughter with an easy conscience.

HEVEA is growing now, and has changed into something much bigger than my initial question. To put it simply: HEVEA is now an answer.

HEVEA IS NOW AN ANSWER

Not only to my worry, but to that of many, many mothers, fathers and concerned grandparents. HEVEA eases the worry that we all feel in the pit of our stomachs, and makes us even better at choosing for our children.

But we had more questions. How can we unite curiosity, Scandinavian simplicity, love of nature and the pure joy of Danish design? We are still working on that, and every product we decide to introduce to the markets all over the world, where HEVEA is now available as a sustainable choice, answers these questions. If it didn’t, we would never sell it. This might be the real key to HEVEA: we still keep it simple, asking questions, seeking the answers, and sharing those answers with everyone.

HEVEA COMES WITH A LIMITATION:

HEVEA comes with a limitation: we stick to what we now know, and that is Hevea Brasiliensis. The rubber and the wood from this beautiful tree. Within these limits, we want to show that sustainability is not just an alternative but the obvious choice. To share the deeply felt notion and the experience we now have that great design and natural materials can easily go hand in hand for those everyday necessities that each of us – babies, adults or even puppies – need.

In every aspect of our work at HEVEA, I see it as our mission to develop our standards for what can be created using natural rubber and rubber wood, and to put our sustainable fingerprint on the planet. That is the only mark that truly matters. Not only for this generation but also for all future generations, and for all the questions we still need to find a sustainable answer to.

Terese Hoffeldt, Founder