In the Hot Seat

With ten years of running successful outdoor furniture company OHMM under his belt, we felt it was time to put owner KEVIN BOLAND in the hot seat and find out more about the man behind the brand.

- Amy Brook-Partridge

Where are you from, and how did you end up in Singapore?

I was born and raised in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, of English parents who moved there after the war. I grew up during the independence war, with Bell helicopters and Hawker Hunter jets in the skies as the norm. I still feel it was a privileged childhood growing up in Africa, with para-military discipline at school, lots of sports, and living an outdoor lifestyle.

I joined loyalty-marketing consultancy ICLP in 1996 and was brought to Asia to head up its Hong Kong office. I spent many happy years working there, with great clients such as Cathay Pacific, but after seven years I decided to take a sabbatical, and fulfill one of my life ambitions of building a villa. I managed everything from finding the raw land in Phuket, all the way to the finishing and furniture design.

Why did you set up OHMM?

This sabbatical was a step towards “sailing my own boat”, and having designed and built my villa, I realised that architecture fed my soul. I couldn’t find modern outdoor furniture in Thailand – it was all heavy teak with dated designs that didn’t fit the modern tropical look I had created. I then came across Dedon, a company that was pioneering synthetic rattan with modern and inspiring designs. Knowing I couldn’t live in Phuket full time, I placed one foot in Singapore and started up OHMM with a contract manufacturer.