Malibu Market & Design owner Eytan Levin migrated from South Africa to the United States in 1983 to pursue an education in nutrition and exercise. Little did he know that he would be the proud owner of one of the most successful design centers in Malibu with 2 acres of showroom buildings and gardens overlooking the beautiful Malibu ocean.
“I owe my success to my parents and my upbringing,” Levin said. “Learning how to work and the importance of work. Enjoying what you do and having good ethics in life. Those are things you can’t learn. It’s instilled in you by your parents.”
Levin’s first job was as a nutrition counselor at the age of 21 before he left that to pursue business with his father. They started a wholesale baby furniture company in 1987 in downtown Los Angeles.
He sold the company in 1998 and moved to Malibu where he worked in real estate and built homes until he got in touch “with his feminine side” and got into interior design.
Levin started Malibu Market & Design in 2005 with two partners, but ended up buying out both partners shortly after. He’s been the sole owner ever since and will be expanding soon by opening another center in Carpinteria in November.
“The Malibu community has been absolutely incredible,” Levin said. “There’s nothing like getting to an end of a project and your client being extremely happy with it. They step back and say we exceeded their expectations. That’s a very gratifying feeling.”
Malibu Market & Design has a unique approach to its showroom. Clients can walk through outdoor living rooms and see a variety of pots and planters, modern circular metal fire pits, Teak tree roots used for coffee tables, Indonesian sofas and iron sculptures. They offer a unique collection of furniture, kitchen and bath cabinetry, wood flooring, lighting and accessories.
In addition to unique international product, Malibu Market & Design also offers personalized interior design service and design build solutions.
“It’s a very unique experience,” Levin said. “It’s outdoor and indoor mixed together. It’s an amazing space. It was an old nursery and we turned it into something really cool that nobody really has. And we carry the product in stock so that customers don’t have to wait.”
Levin, who just celebrated turning 50, also owns a home and a resort on the Fiji Islands called Tides Reach Resort. The resort offers beachfront suites and villas where each guest is assigned a personal staff member to assist them 24/7.
“If I wasn’t running Malibu Market & Design, I’d be hanging out there taking people fishing,” Levin said. “But I can’t do that because I have four beautiful children to take care of.”
Levin loves anything that has to do with the water. His hobbies include speardiving and fishing. “When I’m not at the store, I’m out on my boat,” he said.
As far as recent home decorating trends, Levin said, “People are looking for more open spaces, more minimal open spaces and a mix of modern yet rustic. And that’s what we do.”
Malibu Market & Design is located on 25001 Pacific Coast Highway.
For more information on Malibu Market & Design, visit www.MalibuMarketDesign.com
