Cokobo has grown from a dream into a boutique interior design firm and a distinguished design brand. Driven by the signature aesthetic of its creator, Kelli Ogboke, the Tampa-based company takes an all-encompassing approach to design primarily for high-end residential, luxury hotel, and commercial interiors.
Kelli Ogboke, founder and principal of Cokobo, is an American designer who creates multi-faceted, experiential residential, hospitality, commercial, and retail environments as well as artistic collections of lifestyle product designs.
Her expressive design concepts have been birthed from her international experiences. After attaining her undergraduate degree, Kelli attended the Abitare il Tempo trade show in Verona, Italy. It was there that she was introduced to the work of Spanish architectural, interior, and product designer Patricia Urquoila.
Kelli describes the moment as magical and immediately knew she wanted to give people the same experience.
She pursued her graduate studies in Milan, Italy, where she also worked as a product and interior designer. She continued gaining professional experience working in London and Dublin before she returned to Tampa, FL.
Through an exploration of materials, colors, forms, and her intuitive architectural instincts, Kelli curates a wealth of experiences into every product and space. She seeks to honor history, location, and architecture as she pushes the boundaries and challenges the rules.
“I can’t remember a time I wasn’t dreaming of designing and making things. When I was a kid, I used my graph paper in math class to draw floor plans for hours. I missed a lot of math, but I defined my passion.”
— Kelli Ogboke
Kelli studied interior design at the University of Florida and obtained her masters of Industrial Design, with a focus on furniture and lighting, from Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan, Italy. In Milan, she worked as a product and interior designer before gaining professional experience working in London and Dublin including serving as a design researcher and lecturer in Industrial Design at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland. Kelli is CIDQ certified and licensed in the state of Florida and operates Cokobo out of Tampa, FL where she lives with her husband Chris and their family.