Founder & Owner
Meet
Salomi Kotecha
What started as a casual conversation quickly turned into one of the most inspiring encounters I’ve had. When I first spoke with Salomi Kotecha, I was immediately struck by the sheer depth of her entrepreneurial journey. She is a powerhouse in every sense, unwaveringly disciplined in her fitness, sharply driven in business, and above all, a woman guided by deep-rooted principles. Having had the privilege of working closely with her on HNOWW Luxury, I discovered what makes collaborating with Salomi so uniquely special. She possesses a clear vision and knows precisely what she wants, yet she approaches collaboration with genuine respect and trust for outside expertise. For Salomi, luxury isn’t about fleeting trends; it’s about timeless craftsmanship, intentionality, and creating meaningful objects that honor human relationships. Here is an inside look into the mind of a founder who is redefining elegance, holding onto what truly matters, and building an enduring legacy with grace.
By Jessica Asher, Founder Socioholics
Aug 2026
5 min read
01
The Essence
How would your closest friends describe your “aesthetic”?
Considered. I notice the room before the people in it the light, the way a chair is angled, the object someone has placed on a table without thinking about it.
I dress sharply and I make my own choices. I have never been interested in trends. That same sensibility shapes how I work, how I host, and how I build HNOWW. Choose carefully. Stay with what you choose.
02
The Origin Story
How did your upbringing or travels shape the way you see the world?
The way I see the world was shaped by my mother and my grandmother before any travel. They use to host dinners and lunches for big extended family members every year, made by hand, from scratch. They knew everyone’s favourite dish so no one felt left out. I learned from them that the work of a host is to make every person in the room feel they have been thought of.
Singapore added the discipline of restraint. Twelve years in fashion and design taught me that elegance is the presence of judgment, not the absence of effort.
Dubai, where we moved in July 2024, taught me that a city can be built on relationships. Almost everything that has happened with HNOWW has come from a room, a dinner, a careful introduction.
So three lessons. Relationships are the inheritance. Restraint is the discipline. Rooms are where the work happens.
The Takeaway
Anna proves that incredible catering is all about convenience, aesthetics, and incredible flavor in bite-sized packages. My promise to you is that after reading her story, you’ll look at your next event’s menu through a whole new lens, where a single bite can set the mood for the entire room.
03
The Craft
Why was it important for you to build this specific brand?
I had been hosting and giving carefully chosen objects long before HNOWW had a name.
What I noticed in this market was that most luxury gifting is occasion-driven and forgettable. The relationships these gifts are meant to mark deserve better.
HNOWW makes architectural objects in stone, brass, and silver, pieces designed to stay. The position is simple: HNOWW is the House that holds the relationships that matter.
04
The Quiet Wins
What is a moment of success that no one saw on social media?
A few months after we moved to Dubai, I hosted a Diwali for thirty-five people. Most of the guests had only met briefly, or not at all. I was nervous. I had not been in the city long, and I did not know if a room of strangers would settle.
By the end of the evening, several of them said the same thing: thank you for thinking of us.
That stayed with me.
05
The Horizon
What does “purpose” look like for you in this next chapter?
Three things, all of which extend the same practice.
First: the Continuing Gift. A service for fifteen clients in year one, capped. A year of considered objects placed on the calendar of the people who matter to them. Most people do not have time to remember everyone they love. HNOWW will hold that calendar for them.
Second: The Salon. The women’s circles I have hosted in Dubai for two years are becoming a formalised arm of HNOWW. Themed evenings, monthly, around the rituals of contemporary life. The Kintsugi evening I hosted recently with my friends was the prototype.
Third: the international move. By next year, HNOWW Wedding Vaults should be travelling beyond the Gulf. Indian weddings happen everywhere. The work translates.
The horizon I am walking toward is a house and not a brand.
The Curator’s Choice:
- A “hidden gem” location that inspires you?
- The corner of my own library. I curated the entire first HNOWW Diwali collection sitting there, late at night, looking through the websites of small workshops in India. The most useful place is sometimes the one you already have.
- One object or piece of art you’ll never get rid of?
- The silver glasses and jug my mother gave me at my wedding. I have kept them at my bedside table ever since. Whatever else moves with us, those stay.
- The one person you’re dying to “Konnect” with next?
- Honestly, I am more interested in deepening the connections I already have than in adding new ones. The most meaningful work of HNOWW happens with people I have known for years. That said, anyone working seriously on the future of the home in the Gulf like interior architects, design editors, family office principals thinking about legacy, I would always love to connect.
- What business network helped you to navigate in Dubai?
- BNI. I joined seven months ago. The structure of weekly meetings and the discipline of one-on-ones taught me how this city does business. The earliest revenue HNOWW saw came from that room. More importantly, the relationships I built there are the foundation of much of what is coming next.
