The world’s obsessed with fast — fast fashion, fast content, fast everything. Gaman does the opposite.
Inspired by the Japanese philosophy of 我慢 — gaman, we design and curate pieces that are built to endure — emotionally and physically. They’re made to serve quietly, age beautifully, and bring a sense of balance back into daily life. It’s patience, turned into product.
All just to remind you that strength can be still.
我慢リビング
I’ve always been sensitive — to people, to silence, to the space between things.
Growing up in a small Dutch town that preferred sameness over curiosity, that sensitivity felt misplaced. Later, it became the foundation of my taste: the way I see design, mood, and meaning.
Modeling took me around the world. Ten years of airports, studios, faces, and constant motion. Beautiful, but loud. Success on the outside, noise on the inside.
Somewhere around thirty — after losing my sense of smell, quitting drinking, and getting Bob — the volume finally dropped. And in that silence, I realised I’d been carrying a brand inside me for years.
A moment in New York stayed with me: a small Japanese store in Williamsburg. I bought a simple bar of soap — nothing dramatic — yet it moved me. The stillness of the space, the precision, the scent that didn’t shout. It proved something I’d always felt: calm can be designed.
That idea became Gaman.
Not a brand built overnight, but a practice shaped by patience, restraint, and clarity.
I’m still learning to live by it. Every day tests it — a delayed email, a restless mind, a world that never stops refreshing. But slowing down isn’t retreating; it’s meeting life properly.
If you’ve made it this far, breathe before you scroll.
You’re already practicing it.
With appreciation,
Sjak
Founder at Gaman Living