What if a brand could feel like a home?
In many ways House of Bahel has lived in me for as long as I can remember. Since my first trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the age of five, culture and tradition have never been abstract ideas. They have always been the foundation of my life, shaping how I see the world and how I move through it.
Even now, I carry those moments with me. The smell of incense before the buna (traditional Ethiopian coffee) ceremony. The sound of laughter spilling from a kitchen where injera (spongy flatbread) is poured and flipped. The comfort of my Adey’s (grandmother’s) ambasha bread, dense and simple, always shared by hand. These are memories, yes, but they are also present moments. They’re not only what I grew up with, they are what continue to ground me today.
That is why I chose the name House of Bahel. In Amharic, Bahelmeans culture or way of life, a reminder of the roots I carry. The word House opens the door wider, inviting many traditions to live side by side, shaped by the people and places that gave them life.
Most of what you’ll find here wasn’t sought out, it was stumbled upon. Found while wandering through new cities, quiet markets, and unexpected corners of the world. Some came through the eyes of friends who share that same spirit of curiosity. Each one arrived not by plan but by presence, and that is what makes it a treasure to me.
The logo you see today carries a key. That key is a symbol of welcome, an invitation to step inside. It unlocks the treasures I’ve collected on my travels, garments and objects that tell stories of where they come from and the hands that made them. It is also a reminder that House of Bahel is not only mine, but a place for all who value culture, craftsmanship, and heritage to feel at home.
It feels right that this first chapter begins with Ethiopia and Mexico, the two countries I’ve traveled to more than anywhere else. Ethiopia, my ancestral home, where family and tradition are inseparable. And Mexico, where I have always felt welcomed, where gatherings spill into food, music, and color, and where family is a heartbeat you can feel everywhere. Different histories, different landscapes, yet somehow alike in the way culture is lived, not just remembered.
This is just the beginning. I will keep returning here, sharing stories as they come, some old, some new, each one a doorway into the House of Bahel.
So this is where House of Bahel begins—with memory and with the present, with Ethiopia and Mexico, with what has always been and what continues to be. It is the beginning, yes, but really, it is a continuation.
In my next letter I’ll share the original muse who first taught me that tradition is never still, it’s something we carry forward.
With love,
Hayat Adem
House of Bahel
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