About Us
We create housewares that connect people with the brands, characters and artists they love.
After 20+ years of delivering Magenta magic at every step of the process, we know exactly how to achieve commercial success, consistently.
If you’re an ambitious creative, retailer or brand searching for a housewares partner that will match your passion and standards, you’ve found us.
Today, Magenta partners with leading retailers and global licensors to bring thoughtfully designed products to millions of homes.
Since the day we opened our doors, we’ve never settled for doing things the way they’ve always been done.
In fact, as a constant reminder of that approach, we named our business after the hardest color to fire in the kiln.
A color that requires you to solve challenges with innovation and intuition if you want to get it right. Which we have.
And it’s that approach that guides us in everything we do, still. Never content with being a one-dimensional supplier, we’ve developed an end-to-end housewares production offering.
Unsatisfied by short-term engagements, we prefer long-term relationships whether you’re a globally recognized licensor or an emerging artist. So today, having proven for more than two decades that we consistently design and deliver retail success, we’ll continue to push ourselves further, and challenge our capabilities.
With storytelling that engages on a deeper level. Entertains on an emotional level. And rings true on a rational level. Allowing more people to connect with the brands, personalities and artists they love.
Quietly confident, in the knowledge that if we can master magenta the color, we can most certainly master your biggest challenge.
Our Timeline
The story of Magenta
2002
Magenta is founded in Berkeley, CA, with a focus on design-led ceramics and scalable craftsmanship.
2004
First major retail placement, proving Magenta can perform at retail scale.
2013
Magenta scales a breakout ceramic program with Rae Dunn that becomes a long-running retail engine.
2010s
Cultural “collector” momentum takes off, with Rae pieces appearing in major moments and celebrity visibility, including the Kardashians and People magazine — raising awareness for Magenta as the manufacturing + brand partner.
2010s
Mainstream press accelerates visibility, including features tied to Rae Dunn in outlets like Martha Stewart, San Francisco Chronicle, and The New York Times.
2010s
Retail footprint expands across premium and specialty partners including Nordstrom, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel, William Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Tommy Bahama, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, alongside strong off-price velocity including HomeGoods, T.J. Maxx, and Marshalls.
2015–2020
Category expansion strengthens Magenta’s versatility across the home, including Kitchen Textiles, Pet, and Desk, alongside core tabletop/ceramics.
October 2020
Magenta enters global entertaining licensing by launching with Disney, expanding IP-led programs.
2021–2024
Licensing momentum continues including Peanuts, Miffy, and Harry Potter. Meanwhile, Citrine is named one of Oprah’s Favorite Things in 2022.
2025
Lifestyle licensing expands into creator-led demand, signaling a new era where audience-driven brands and personalities shape the next wave of product collaborations.
2026
Major brand refresh + next-wave launch year with new IPs, creator collabs, and new innovation-forward lines including singing ceramics.
Our Values
Relationships
As a group of authentically relatable people, we approach every partnership with long-term, mutually beneficial outcomes in mind. Always starting by building trust, balancing that with plenty of warmth, and above all, only presenting what we truly believe in ourselves.
Innovation
We innovate with purpose. Often taking what’s familiar and elevating it with unexpected materials, thoughtful details or a sensory twist. Ceramics with embedded music chips? We’ve made them. Classic silhouettes reimagined with new functionality? You betcha! We think of innovation as a chance to delight.
Design
We believe creativity is our secret sauce and the amplifier to commercial success. Thoughtful, trend-aware and commercially grounded, our design approach doesn’t just follow the market, it shapes it. We elevate the standard for both our brand partners and the retailers we serve.
Integrity
Underpinning everything we do is a deep desire to do what’s right. We’re a family business, built on family values, so acting in good faith and keeping the best interests of our partners in mind is always a priority.
Scale
With products stocked in over 16,000 retail doors and over 40 million mugs sold, scale is a good friend of ours. And while we’re proud of the reach we’ve been able to unlock for our customers, we’re just getting started.
Our People
We’re creatives.
We’re master storytellers.
We’re humble overachievers.
We’re confident, but never cocky. We’re a rare blend of perfectionism and art. We’re a market leader, with a challenger mindset. We take our craft seriously, but have a lot of fun doing so. We’re thoroughly established, but eternally entrepreneurial. We’re in it for the long term, only ever painting the bigger picture. We’re proud of our family values and foster long-term relationships. We’ll happily lead a design project or bring someone else’s vision to life. We’re excellent collaborators, but expect everyone to meet our standard. We’re never intimidated by the impossible, the uncharted or the uncertain. We’re Magenta.
Meet Some of the Team Behind the Magenta Magic
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ABBY CHENG
Principal
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EMILY SCHULZE
Head of Creative
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AHNA ARNOLD
Head of Sourcing & Product Development
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ESTHER PARKHURST
Creative Director
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LAURA ZHU
Head of Supply Chain
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BELINDA CHENG
Head of Sales & Operations
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ALEXANDER JAIMES
Sales Operations & Project Management
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BARBARA FIORENTINO
Sales and Business Development
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Careers at Magenta
A home for thinkers, makers and doers.
Whether you're a designer, production lead, admin professional or operations expert, you'll find a home here. We're a close-knit team always looking for people who love what they do and love to do it well.