Marrakech-Based LRNCE: Crafting Meaning in Contemporary Design

Decorex Africa proudly announces LRNCE as its 2026 Designer of the Year, honouring a brand that has been shaping the conversation around design for over a decade through time-honoured, artisanal creation processes.

Founded in 2013 by Laurence Leenaert, and now run alongside her husband Ayoub Boualam, Morocco-based LRNCEhas evolved from a modest ceramics project into an internationally acclaimed multidisciplinary design practice, seamlessly navigating objects, interiors, and experiential spaces. The brand’s influence extends to collaborations with Maison D’ORSAY, Parīlio Hotel, and their own Rosemary Riad in Marrakech.

LRNCE’s aesthetic celebrates Moroccan soul within contemporary design, using iron, clay, plaster, wood, and other raw materials that preserve the visible touch of the maker. It’s this commitment to the hand of the artisan that has propelled LRNCE to slow but steady international acclaim.

“In a world saturated with fast, mass-produced objects, people are searching for something that carries meaning, a human hand, a story, a place,” says Leenaert. “LRNCE is deeply and unapologetically rooted in Morocco and its artisan traditions. That rootedness is precisely what travels.”

This ethos positions LRNCE at the heart of the craft renaissance, reshaping the landscape of contemporary interiors. Their deliberate, thoughtful approach aligns perfectly with Decorex Africa’s 2026 theme, The Soft Life, which explores the shift toward balance, intentional living, and restorative spaces.

“LRNCE was born as a very personal, almost quiet project, rooted in a deep love for craft and material. To have that work seen and celebrated on a stage like Decorex tells us that slow, intentional making still has a powerful place in the global conversation,” says Laurence Leenaert.

In recognition of their continental reach and impact on the design industry, LRNCE will exhibit at both Decorex Cape Town (Cape Town International Convention Centre, 25–28 June 2026) and Decorex Joburg (Sandton Convention Centre, 30 July–2 August 2026).

“This year, we focused on one designer across both cities and across both events, simply because of the scale of what they do and the impact they’ve had on the industry,” notes Decorex Executive Creative Director Garreth van Niekerk. “LRNCE is a name you can’t escape when talking about design in Africa. They really are defining what the future looks like.”

Visitors to these events will experience LRNCE’s unique furniture and lifestyle pieces firsthand – a rare opportunity to witness how centuries-old artisan techniques can elevate modern forms and infuse interiors with stories, soul, and substance.