My Story

Who Am I?

I always love writing these statements of self, but it's incredibly important for you to get to know the name and the face behind your current or future favorite brand KHOI.
I was born and raised in Accra, Ghana to a Ghanaian mother and Lebanese-Ghanaian father. They named me Hayet (hah-yeTTTTT), the Arabic word for Life and a testament to the hopes they had for who I would become.

Growing up, I always had a love of art and spent countless hours reading African literature (Chinuah Achebe, Sembene Ousmana to name a few). My mother, an interior designer by trade, was an avid art collector and I spent many days learning and observing some of Ghana’s greatest artists first hand. I ended up dedicating the final years of high school to Art and Literature before moving to Ohio to study communications and photography at The College of Wooster.

When I graduated, I began my deep love for brand storytelling and strategy by diving right into the energetic advertising industry where I stayed for 8 years before switching gears entirely into the tech world as a creative strategist.

How did I end up starting a brand named KHOI?

My journey into KHOI was one I coined as unintentional intentionality. I never called myself a jewelry designer, as a matter of fact I still do not. I am an artist, and have been for as long as I can remember. I am expressive and see the world and its objects as a multi-layered reality.

With KHOI, I tell stories of my journey through a different medium, with our customers as the canvas of my ever changing expression.

Many people know me as a content creator and creative strategist. This constant duality over a 15 year career nurtured my ability to take some of life’s biggest leaps. Years ago, I found myself exploring a potential kapsule collection with a jewelry brand. They wanted me to design a small collection of luxury Jewelry (think solid gold and diamonds). My team at the time convinced me to give it a chance but I refused unless the brand would allow me to name it something else, design the packaging and have full creative control of all the campaigns. I decided to take on self funding the design and production on luxury velvet jewelry bags. When the deal fell through I was left with these thousands of jewelry bags and decided to take a chance and create my own pieces— at least until the jewelry bags ran out.

Two years later, we have a store in Chicago and lots and lots of KHOI babes! What ended up being over-luxurious packaging became the ethos of the brand experience. Always over-delivering with excellence as the bare…bare minimum,

But wait, I skipped over how I got the name…

I could spend a lot of words telling you, but I would rather you hear me say it with this video.

What Inspires the pieces?

The short answer.. EVERYTHING and anything. When I decided to take a leap into this brand, I promised myself to approach it how I knew best…as art, and to dedicate myself to telling the brand and product story in a way that created a deeper connection with customers.

With each collection, I start with a reflection of who I am, what I am going through and my outlook of the world at that given time. Each technique has a deeper meaning than just a material choice, and each product becomes art.
I invite you to learn more by checking out my sketchbook, a dedicated collection of my inspo and thought process that will make you love your KHOI even more.

My dreams for the brand…

It feels weird to write out my dreams on a brand website, but this brand is more than just jewelry. This brand is about taking big leaps and making your mark. I pray that this brand lives beyond me, that the women and men who wear KHOI become bolder, louder and more confident with each collection.

I may be the founder but there is a POWERHOUSE of strong women who keep the brand going and help make each of you feel even more special. From our operations and finance leaders to the fulfilment team, to the retail team, from the comms team to the social team, from the customer service team to the design team, from our manufacturing team to the engineers that turn my ideas into reality. KHOI does not exist without each and every one of them. I pray that you feel all their hard work and sacrifices in every single package you receive and at every touchpoint of the brand.

I love you all and thank you for diving deep into this beautiful journey that is ours.

With love,