Leibal Volumes 01: Do You Know Leo Lei?

Meet our founder: Steal his taste.

May 13, 2025

It’s been a long time coming, but here we are with the inaugural issue of Leibal Volumes. We’ve been quietly building Leibal as both a store and a blog for over fifteen years (!) and, until now, we’ve never put ourselves out there beyond the occasional Instagram post to let our followers know what’s happening on the site. We decided it was time to get a little more personal - starting with an introduction to our founder and a deeper look into the Leibal World.

Leo Lei started Leibal in 2010 just out of college, as a way to learn about minimalism through the lens of architecture and design. As it tends to go when you figure out your dream it has a way of unfolding in amazing ways. Today, Leo is a journalist covering both design and hospitality for Leibal and Design Milk, traveling the world to visit the latest hotel openings and creating video content for Leibal’s YouTube channel.

In the last month, he traveled from Seoul, Sao Paulo, Dubai, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Mexico. No one ever knows where Leo is, and because he’s always on the go, he low-key knows the best places to visit in almost every major city but keeps it to himself. Selfish! So I (Julia, Leibal’s director, and Leo’s The Design Release co-founder) decided it’s time to share more with our readers, get a bit more personal, and give the designers from Leibal’s store a platform to share their own stories, too. So we would love it if you’d join us on this next journey, and forward this along to anyone you think would enjoy it - except anyone at DWR, thank you!

Do you know Leo Lei?

Leo grew up in New Jersey and lives in NYC - in the Upper West Side, in a very Leibal-ish apartment near Central Park. His day-to-day life can be described as “ocd” or “psychotic” but it’s a good lesson in the founder mentality of focus and discipline. Leo is super funny, thoughtful, and is a man of Excellent Taste. I am thrilled to introduce him to our readers.

Keep reading to get to know Leo better, as well as his NYC city guide, favorite products from Leibal (that he actually owns), and some of his picks for what to see during design week.

What’s an average day for you, Leo?

I wake up, make my bed, 10 minutes of breathwork, then meditate, work out, have an early lunch, journal, read a passage from The Daily Stoic, check emails and take meetings, and work on all things Leibal which includes the publishing side (2 articles per day + all social media), adding products to the store, and Leibal videos. Then The Design Release side which right now is designing websites for our clients, and updating TDR’s website. Afterwards, I'll prepare dinner, I have to read for 30 minutes, I visualize for 20 minutes, stretch for 10, and then prepare for bed.

[ed. note: keep in mind when Leo and I met in our mid-twenties and when we started to build TDR we would start our days at noon and thought we were the most productive people on earth. Everyone changes!]

How did you get into design initially?

Through a study exchange program in Australia. It opened up my mind outside of the bubble I grew up in. I gained the confidence there to pursue what I loved instead of what other people expected of me.

I grew up with strict parents who had a path set for me before I was even born. I didn't think much about what I could or couldn't do, I didn't really even know who I was upon graduating high school. Being in a country as far away from home as possible forced me to confront my fears, and myself. I chose my own path, as scary as it was, and I have never looked back.

How did you get into traveling for hospitality and how did that develop into video content?

As the store developed into a bigger thing, I started selling furniture and decor to hotel designers and started featuring them editorially. While traveling to different Design Weeks for my other company (TDR), I realized I could be staying at hotels and developing the hospitality content for Leibal’s editorial.

Video content was starting to be an obvious transition point for social media, and I always like to learn new skills. I started my YouTube video series to continue to stretch my creative muscles and try to capture the feeling of a place through my personal lens (literally). I want to bring a slow-luxury feeling to travel, so viewers can get an authentic sense of the environment I am presenting to them.

What do you like about living in NYC?

NYC brings the best of the best of all fields into one place. I've never met so many incredible people in a single room like I do in NYC. It's hard not to create while living here, everyone you meet is an inspiration.

What don’t you like about living in NYC?

The corruption and inefficiencies happening throughout all layers of government within NYC. I've experienced it firsthand, it's worse than you think.

What is your favorite city you’ve visited and why?

Kyoto. There is something profoundly spiritual about that place. So much care is put into the smallest details, even more so than normal Japanese standards. My latest video of Park Hyatt Kyoto tries to capture some of that magic through the lens. Everything is thoughtfully considered, everything.

I loved wandering the streets, discovering alleyways filled with ceramic studios and matcha confections. Men and women dressed in traditional kimonos, and finding beauty in every passing building. There is a peace and serenity there that calms the soul almost immediately

What is your least favorite city you’ve visited and why?

I don’t drink or party much so New Orleans isn't my place, and I've tried many times. Also the Hard Rock building collapsed when I was there on that day, on that street, so I’m traumatized.

What was the hardest thing about building Leibal?

Leibal is product of consistency and persistence, even in the face of criticism. Dealing with negative people and negative self-talk was probably the most difficult thing. Like anything else, building a business is a mental game. I love the quote, "If you think you can or think you can't, you're right."

What is the easiest thing about building Leibal?

Collaborating with friends, working with one of my best friends (!), writing about topics, people, and places I genuinely love and am interested in learning about, and how it inspires me to keep learning and keep developing my skills.

What is your favorite Leibal store product (that you actually own / use):

Clerici Chair by Mattiazzi, designed by Konstantin Grcic. It’s both beautiful and comfortable. I think it defines the ethos of design at Leibal.

Leo’s NYC

As some of our readers may know, May means NYC Design Week aka NYCxDesign, and a lot is happening in the city. Like everything else, it used to be cooler (and last year we even hosted an event with Hank Beyer and Alex Sizemore) but it seems to be picking up again with interesting showcases and a new tradeshow that has everyone talking.

Here are Leo’s favorite spots in the city, and some of the showcases he’s looking forward to during NYC Design Week.

Favorite restaurant in NYC: Sala Thai

Best cheap-eats: New World Mall in Flushing

Best matcha: The one I make at home

Favorite place to clear your mind: Central Park

Favorite museum: The Met

Favorite hotel you recommend to friends: PUBLIC hotel

What are you looking forward to seeing at NYC Design Week:

OUTSIDE/IN by Lyle Gallery
Excited to see this tightly curated show of 12 independent designers and artists. Lyle Gallery never disappoints.

Shelter by Afternoon Light
Finally a trade show I care about seeing! Featuring some of our favorite leibal brands like Carl Hansen & Son, and USM, plus some really interesting independent design like Nader Gammas and Jonald Dudd. I am really looking forward to seeing the debuts and discovering some new brands for the store.

Lines, Squares and Painterly Light by PELLE
Good friends PELLE present their new collection. Always a fun visit to Red Hook to see their beautiful and refined (but still edgy) works.

Pratt Shows: Design by Pratt Institute
What’s better than the newest generation of designers? Super excited to see the Pratt Graduates show.

A Very Nice Interior

We recently published this project by Bureau Tempo and Thom Fougere, photographed by one of our favorites, Alex LeSage. We wanted to spotlight the gorgeous, masterful use of mixed materials and wood finishes throughout this open-plan home.

Located in Georgian Bay, Canada, the interior draws from its surroundings - most notably in the kitchen island, which was made from stones sourced directly from the nearby shore.

See more here.

Some Furniture We Want

Massproductions is a Stockholm-based furniture company founded in 2009 by Chris Martin and Magnus Elebäck - two designers with a shared belief that furniture should be functional, elegant, and made with real intention. Their work brings a modernist clarity into the post-digital era: smart, adaptable designs shaped by a deep understanding of materials, sustainability, and the realities of production.

Massproductions is probably best known for its Crown Armchair, a piece that was featured in many design projects for its versatile, fully upholstered design. This month, we’re spotlighting the award-winning 4PM Chaise — a piece that perfectly captures the brand’s precision and spirit and was awarded the Scandinavian Design Award 2023 and iF Design Award 2024.

To me, it’s an updated take on Marcel Breuer’s Isokon Long Chair, an icon of design history (and if you find yourself in London make sure to visit the Isokon flats and gallery in Hampstead Heath). The chaise gives that same sculptural structure to any space, without overtaking it.

You can see more details on the shop page here.

Thank you for taking the time to read Leibal’s first newsletter! We’re glad you’re here.

Reply to this email if you have any thoughts or suggestions. And of course, we are here for your sourcing needs. For any interior design or sales inquiries, you can email us at sales@leibal.com.

For our next June newsletter, we’ll publish Leibal’s ultimate Tokyo guide, and recap what we saw in NYC.

Take care,

J + L