Our story
Three generations of design
The SENCE lighting family is a continuation of an iconic line of lights designed in the early 1960s by a young couple of architects. She was a sculptor's daughter, he a carpenter's son, both deeply influenced by Scandinavian design. Shortly after graduating, Nives and Franci Vehovar created an iconic family of wooden veneer lights. The lights drew significant attention from industry professionals and in 1964 earned both the Prešeren Fund Award and an honourable mention at the first Ljubljana Biennial of Industrial Design. All models were entirely handmade and never went into serial production.
Half a century later, with the help of new technology, the original collection has been refreshed and adapted for contemporary use and expanded with new forms and wood types. The shades are crafted from carefully selected, processed natural wood veneers. Laser-cut pieces are assembled by hand into the brand's distinctive final form.
In 2018, the original Muna light was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, as part of the exhibition Toward a Concrete Utopia.
The Founders
Nives Kalin Vehovar & Franci Vehovar
In the early 1960s, as young architects, they began exploring the possibilities of natural veneer as a lighting material. Their original Muna lamp was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York in 2018.
Second generation
Arne Vehovar & Kaja Lipnik Vehovar
Kaja Lipnik Vehovar and Arne Vehovar brought Sence back to life in 2014, a husband-and-wife duo carrying the brand into its second generation. They stayed true to the original design heritage while pushing it forward with contemporary techniques.
Today - third generation
Maruša Vehovar
Maruša Vehovar is taking the family’s design legacy beyond Slovenia, bringing Sence to new audiences across Europe. She shapes the brand’s identity and visual direction, while remaining closely connected to the craft itself, assembling the lamps by hand and carrying the family tradition into its next chapter.