An exclusive interview with Ngo Quoc Hoang, Founder & CEO of Viendor by Martin Seidler
INTRODUCTION
If you have been part of the Book Nook community for some time, you have almost certainly come across Viendor products.
Today, Viendor is known for its architectural designs, immersive storytelling, and continuously improving build quality. However, very few people know the remarkable story behind the company.
From a tiny workshop in Vietnam to becoming one of the most innovative original Book Nook brands, the journey has been anything but straightforward.
BookNookWorkshop.com had the opportunity to speak directly with Ngo Quoc Hoang, founder and CEO of Viendor, who openly shared the story behind the company, its philosophy, challenges, and future ambitions.
This article is based entirely on information provided directly by Hoang.
MEET NGO QUOC HOANG
Quick Facts
Name: Ngo Quoc Hoang
Position: Founder & CEO of Viendor
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Profession: Designer, entrepreneur and product visionary
Previous brands: Polywoods, BookNook.vn, Book Nook Global
Current brand: Viendor
Mission: To create immersive, intuitive and story-driven Book Nook experiences.
A VERY HUMBLE BEGINNING
Viendor did not start in a large factory.
It started in a tiny workshop of approximately 10 square meters.
There were only two people.
One boss.
One employee.
Two computers.
One laser cutter.
Like many startups, resources were extremely limited.
At that time, nobody was thinking about building a global brand.
The goal was simply to survive.
THE FIRST MAJOR CHALLENGE: FINDING SUITABLE MATERIALS
One of the biggest problems was finding proper plywood.
Most MDF and plywood available in Vietnam were intended for construction rather than precision products.
Laser cutting produced:
- excessive burning
- heavy carbon residue
- high formaldehyde emissions
Eventually, Hoang discovered a suitable material supplier from China.
Unfortunately, they could only afford extremely small quantities.
Every week, Hoang would ride his motorbike 17 kilometers to purchase just ten plywood sheets.
Those ten sheets were enough to manufacture approximately twelve kits.
Most of them would sell within the following week.
LEARNING ABOUT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
In the early years, the company created several Harry Potter-inspired products.
That quickly attracted the attention of Warner Bros.
For Hoang, this became an important lesson.
“It taught me that creativity and business must always go hand in hand with respect for intellectual property.”
Today, original design has become one of Viendor’s fundamental principles.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE COMPANY
After the COVID pandemic, the original business was discontinued.
Hoang decided to continue independently.
His former boss retained ownership of the original Polywoods domain.
Hoang then created BookNook.vn.
As international sales grew, BookNookGlobal.com was added.
However, another challenge emerged.
The term “Book Nook” itself cannot be effectively protected as a trademark in many countries because it has become a generic product category.
That eventually led to a complete rebranding.
Viendor was born.
WHY THE NAME “VIENDOR”?
The explanation is surprisingly simple.
VI = Vietnam
Vendor = Global supplier
Together they represent:
“A Vietnamese brand with global ambitions.”
The company also adopted a chameleon as its mascot.
Why?
Because, according to Hoang, the company has constantly adapted and evolved in order to survive.
Just like a chameleon.
HOW VIENDOR DISCOVERED THE GLOBAL MARKET
Interestingly, international expansion happened almost by accident.
Hoang joined a local football team.
Several members were operating businesses that sold products overseas.
Through them, he learned that affordable international shipping existed.
Around the same time, he discovered Etsy.
He was surprised to see Book Nooks selling for $150-$200.
At that moment, everything changed.
For the first time, he realized the market was much larger than Vietnam.
THE VIENDOR – ANAVRIN STORY
This is one of the most discussed topics in the Book Nook community.
According to Hoang, Anavrin discovered them through English SEO.
At that time, Anavrin was a young company primarily focused on sales and branding.
The partnership was straightforward:
Viendor would design and manufacture products.
Anavrin would handle sales.
The collaboration worked well initially.
Eventually, the partnership ended because Viendor was unable to provide enough production capacity and could not improve quality quickly enough to meet Anavrin’s expectations.
Afterward, Viendor started selling directly to retail customers and rapidly improved thanks to direct customer feedback.
During our conversation, Hoang also confirmed that many products sold during the Anavrin partnership period were originally Viendor designs.
Editorial note
This section reflects information provided directly by Ngo Quoc Hoang and represents Viendor’s perspective on the historical relationship between the two companies.
THE VIENDOR DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
This may be the most fascinating part of the entire interview.
Viendor is not only trying to create beautiful products.
The company wants customers to intuitively understand them.
Their philosophy can be summarized in three principles:
Story First
Customers should instantly recognize the story behind a product.
If they have visited a location, they should immediately feel connected to it.
Intuitive Building
Customers should spend less time struggling and more time enjoying the process.
Logical Assembly
Parts should naturally guide the builder.
To understand the Viendors design philosophy in detail Hoang explains:
“We follow a design philosophy that I like to describe as: “A good design is an invisible design.” From a visual perspective, we want customers to immediately recognize the theme and story behind a product without needing to read a description. If someone has a personal connection to that place or story—for example, if they grew up in Jiufen or have visited it while traveling—we want them to instantly feel a sense of familiarity. From a user experience perspective, our products are often highly detailed, take many hours to assemble, and can sometimes be challenging. However, our goal is to make the assembly process feel as intuitive as possible. We want customers to spend less time struggling and more time enjoying the experience. When you pick up a part, ideally you should already have a good idea of where it belongs before opening the instruction manual, simply because of its logical relationship to the space, the structure, and the story being built. Believe it or not, we once experimented with designing a model kit that could be assembled without any instructions at all. This philosophy is something that will become increasingly visible in our newer products. With each release, we continue to refine not only how our models look, but also how naturally they guide customers through the building experience.”
WHERE DOES INSPIRATION COME FROM?
According to Hoang:
“Inspiration can come from anywhere.”
Traveling.
Browsing online.
Community discussions.
Customer suggestions.
Many future products are already inspired by real locations.
HOANG’S FAVORITE KIT
The reason is very simple.
He spent an enormous amount of time designing it.
FIVE SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT VIENDOR
The company started in a 10 m² workshop.
The CEO still personally reads customer emails.
Viendor experimented with instruction-free kits.
Every product starts with a story.
The company evolved through four different identities.
A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM HOANG
Perhaps the most surprising fact is how personal Viendor still remains.
According to Hoang:
“If you send us an email, the first person who reads it is always me.”
Even today, he still writes most customer responses himself.
He wants to hear directly from customers and plans to continue doing so for as long as possible.
FINAL THOUGHTS
After speaking with Hoang, one thing became very clear.
Viendor is not simply another manufacturer.
It is a company built by enthusiasts who learned through trial and error, continuously improved their products, and developed a unique philosophy centred around storytelling, architecture, intuitive building and customer relationships.
Understanding this story adds a completely new dimension to every Viendor kit we build.
Special Thanks
BookNookWorkshop.com would like to sincerely thank Ngo Quoc Hoang, Founder and CEO of Viendor, for openly sharing his story and allowing us to publish this exclusive interview.
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