Lillemor Franzén and her colleagues found themselves sitting in the homes of these weavers, listening to stories about how SOARÉ has made a positive impact. “One woman told us that thanks to SOARÉ her daughter is now training to become a teacher,” she says. Usually, two or three weavers gather in one of their homes to work together. They chat, laugh, keep an eye on the farms and look after the children who are too young for school. “I feel so proud working at IKEA when I see this,” says Lillemor, “It gets to your heart, really.”
SOARÉ Place mat, water hyacinth, 37 cm
Price £ 4
How to get it
Available services
Just as welcoming on casual summer evenings as in the winter. It’s handmade from water hyacinth – a plant that is harvested in tropical waterways to control its growth so it doesn’t clog the water flow.
Article Number400.825.36
Product details
Every product is handmade and therefore unique.
Designer
Sandra Kragnert
Good to know
IKEA of Sweden AB SE-343 81 Älmhult, IKEA.com
Materials and care
Material
Water hyacinth, Clear acrylic lacquer
Care
Wipe clean with a damp cloth.
Weight & measurements
- Diameter: 37 cm
Package details
SOARÉ
Article Number400.825.36- Height: 1 cm
- Weight: 0.26 kg
- Diameter: 38 cm
- Package(s): 1
Reviews
Place matAnonymous reviewerGood product
Good QualityAnonymous reviewerNice place mat.
Smells lovelyAnonymous reviewerGreat product
Great natural looking productAnonymous reviewerLove these. Great quality and look fab on the dining table.
Attractive matsAnonymous reviewerThese are great for placemats as well as hot mats for large serving dishes, so very versatile. I love this natural look, they go well with any interior.
Placemat Anonymous reviewerBeautiful and good quality
Soare place matAnonymous reviewerVery good quality and price is good .
Table matAnonymous reviewerGood
PlacematsAnonymous reviewerGood quality. Perfect for my needs
Nice productAnonymous reviewerNice product, quite thick compared to others on the market. Looks nice on the table.
will buy moreAnonymous reviewerPleased with them, good size,good quality and not expensive. Will buy more.
Great matsAnonymous reviewerlovely looking mats. been after these for a long time. going to get some more
Looks greatAnonymous reviewerGot this to put my fruit bowl on. It looks great. Protects my table and was a fantastic price. Can't go wrong
Beautiful colour and texture.Anonymous reviewerLooks beautiful on my acacia coffee table. The colour and pattern is spot on. A lovely natural, sustainable, and very good value product.
Lovely table mat, great sizeAnonymous reviewerLovely table mat, great size and makes a lovely centre piece.
Place matAnonymous reviewerGot pack of these to go with several I have had for many years. They are as good but are much larger in size. I can say after researching table mats it is impossible to get this type of mat in smaller size not mug size.
I decided to go for the larger size and mix them in with my older ones. Looks good.
About the prices it's goodAnonymous reviewerAbout the prices it's good one
Perfect for tableAnonymous reviewerAnother lovely place mat for the table Lovely.
Large placematsAnonymous reviewerJust what I needed for my table
Lovely MatAnonymous reviewerI bought this to go on the Gladom table. It fits perfectly and has negated the need for coasters now
Customer reviews
4.9Average rating
22Reviews
As seen on Instagram
Story
Making business decisions that empower women
The SOARÉ placemat is so popular it nearly disappeared. Why? Sales were approaching the impossible when it comes to delivering quality, handmade, natural fibre products. The team responsible for SOARÉ was preparing to replace it with a machine-made alternative. But before they did, they took a trip that changed everything.
The Vietnamese waterway Mekong is teeming with water hyacinth, the vibrantly green plant SOARÉ is made from. It grows incredibly fast, making it a valuable renewable resource, but also a potential hazard that can clog the river. People living by the river, mainly women, harvest water hyacinth and weave the stalks together. This keeps the river passable, preserves the tradition and earns them extra money.
Empowering women
Making better business decisions
The team decided the solution to meeting growing customer demands for natural fibre placemats is to introduce more of them, but machine-made. Customers get a wider selection to choose from and sales pressure is taken off SOARÉ. Machine-made placemats can be produced in higher quantities than handmade, and SOARÉ production can continue as it is. “We always have the intention here to do good business, and we are,” says Lillemor. “And on my trip to Vietnam I found that SOARÉ has a purpose greater than business.”
Material
Set the table with a little help from nature
SOARÉ place mats are woven from water hyacinth, a beautiful and fast-growing plant. Harvesting, drying and weaving it keeps waterways free, preserves traditions and earns the weavers money that can pay for opportunities like schooling.