o.k. history

Lukas Plum founded o.k.-Versand in 1997 (Versand means mailorder); first selling via printed catalogue, the o.k. shop has been online since 1998. Also in 1998 the first real store opened in Cologne, in 2001 the Berlin store followed.

Since late 2022 we renamed in o.k.-international. From 2014 on our wholesale name was already o.k.-international, as the expression Versand nobody understands. Due to the confusion then, we decided to use o.k.-International for the whole shop now.

o.k. concept

Those who love strolling through department stores abroad and browsing through the local variety of goods, will appreciate the concept of o.k.-international / previous o.k.-Versand (mail-order): here, objects of everyday’s life are presented which might not compete with common german product quality standards, but which fascinate by means of design and creativity. Whether handcrafted or industrially mass produced, all items are originally produced for their local markets. None of the producers intended to export these goods to the West. Thus, production conditions and prices are defined by their home markets. Which trade could be fairer, than to support these individual markets by demand for their authentic products? However, our selection is mainly motivated by aesthetic aspects: we look out for articles which are exceptional in shape and colour but can equally be applied in our households and are hardly availible on the european market.

Buying

About 90% of our items we import ourselves, other parts we find at european traders. Mainly in the beginning years we bought by friends in NL, FR etc.

pict1: 1998, buying in europe

pict2: 2006, choosing tyre baskets in Seyun (east of Yemen)

pict3: 2006, engine trouble near Bayt al-Faqih (west of Yemen)

pict4: 2014, buying truck decoration between Delhi and Jaipur

Outer storage

pict5/6: since ca. 2020 we have an external storage in Köln Ehrenfeld.

Picture gallery

more pictures from travelling and o.k. history, see retail site: gallery.

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