OKA started small, with three women bringing unique designs from around the world to shoppers in the UK. Lady Annabel Astor, a serial entrepreneur on a mission to find special items with which to decorate her vacation home, invited two friends along—her sister-in-law Sue Jones, whose decorating pedigree included stints at Jasper Conran and Colefax and Fowler, and Lucinda Waterhouse, a skilled horticulturist whose company made exquisite faux flowers. Together they set out to create a catalogue of charming home upgrades.