CYPRAEA: Cedric Lincoln Showcases the Natural Wonders of Mauritius with an Exclusive Furniture Brand

One of the most distinctive brands that caught our attention during Milan Design Week was CYPRAEA, a Mauritius-based company that reflects the country’s tropical environment, aiming to become the first ambassador of Mauritian Luxury Style that blends design with nature in perfect harmony. Founded in 1974, the company - the oldest furniture manufacturer in Mauritius –  was rebranded in 2016 to Mavenci (“Maven” meaning timber experts, and “Chi” being the Chinese word for energy) by Cedric Lincoln who took the helm two years earlier. In 2017, Cedric started contemplating an export line with the vision of bringing Mauritian Soul to the international stage but to do so he needed to find an open-minded designer who would bring a different perspective to the table. Enter Italian architect & designer Francesco Maria Messina who joined the company in 2018 and together with Cedric created CYPRAEA as a unique and exclusive brand exporting and introducing Mauritius’ ‘best of’ to the rest of the world. Cedric recently talked to Yatzer about the brand’s naturalistic vision, his drive for sustainability, and how Francesco’s architectural sensibility has influenced the current collection.

(Answers have been condensed and edited for clarity.)

What was the inspiration behind Cypraea?

We knew that the Ocean, where all life began, had to be the starting point for our journey. That’s where the shell, i.e. Cypraea is found. Mauritius is a small island that is comparable to a beautiful shell, which, despite being small, possesses a rarity and charm that enables it to be cherished and preserved like a treasure. As a brand, Cypraea seeks to convey the preciousness and inimitable uniqueness of the land through innovative and original designs.

You’ve said that the brand was born from a desire to connect people to nature. What do you hope will come out of this connection?

I feel that nature with its positive energy carries every answer, hence the reason why today you see more and more natural therapies. Cypraea’s desire is to surprise and astound, create feelings through materials and design one-of-a-kind works of art that evoke timeless beauty - like the rarest of treasures found in the ocean.

We are moving against the tide, moving from the southern to the northern hemisphere where most of the brands come from to sell their furniture. And while most of them are using [artificial] materials that imitate real materials, we use only real materials. We don’t want our furniture to become obsolete in a few years nor do we want it to be associated with fashion or trends. I would love to know that one day parents will pass on our furniture to their children as people used to do in the past.

The pieces are photographed in the settings that inspired them, perfectly blending into their “natural habitat”. Is the juxtaposition that will inevitably arise when they are placed in an urban environment, let's say in a New York loft, part of your motivation when designing?

By bringing particular fragments of this tropical island into people’s homes, Cypraea aims to stimulate the senses. From the porosity of lava stone and coral sand, to the solidity of wood, the natural materials we have used are high in complexity—a testament to the intricacies of our natural heritage. This is also the reason why the pieces are designed in a very literal way so as to imitate natural forms – or, as in the case of Odyssey , to reflect the surrounding environment, not so much recreating nature, but conversing with it. By placing our pieces in an urban environment, they become the natural ambassadors of our island and its nature. The resulting contrast is meant to surprise and create a similar dialogue between the natural world they represent and the urban environment.

What’s next for Cypraea?

Mauritius offers an infinite source of inspiration and we intend to keep exploring and reinterpreting its wonders. We want to propose many new models every year, introduce new collections and to continue evolving the already existing ones.

Limiting our furniture to only 9 pieces will challenge us to always innovate and be ahead of design trends. In the near future, we will also partner with Mauritian Designers to promote local talents through our international network. This should also help Cypraea offer diversity through its designs.