MEET THE FOUNDERS
DOMINIKA PIEKUTOWSKA-SWED
Central Saint Martins–trained fashion designer. After graduating from the world-renowned womenswear course—and already working for Loewe in Paris—she joined the CSM Innovation Centre in 2016 as a design consultant. Her work took her from London to China, tackling cross-disciplinary design projects and teaching along the way. In 2019, she joined Ferragamo in Italy as Research and Design Curator across womenswear, menswear, and accessories.
Post-COVID, she left fashion to focus on her growing obsession with rare tropical plants. She founded Begonia Takeaway, a niche store for serious collectors—and later founded XSITU: the cabinet she couldn’t find but knew collectors needed.
RENÉ LANGE
Canadian naval architect and engineer with over two decades of experience designing luxury yachts, high-performance sailboats, and advanced marine systems. He’s worked with global leaders like Thomas Coville in Australia, Ron Holland in Canada, Persico in Italy, and Morrelli & Melvin in California.
In 2022, he founded Shortack, a naval architecture studio serving clients worldwide. Now, he applies that expertise to XSITU—building watertight cabinets as reliable as any vessel he has ever put to sea.
OUR STORY
Rare tropical plants aren’t random purchases. Collectors choose them for exact traits—whether it’s their deep shade, variegation, leaf shape, or an exciting newbie on the market. But most indoor setups don’t reflect even a fraction of that precision.
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XSITU was built as the alternative.
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During the pandemic, Dominika Piekutowska-Swed found herself surrounded by hundreds of South Asian begonias—species she collected and sold through her plant store, Begonia Takeaway. But no setup combined function and aesthetics—or let her travel for more than a week without risking her collection.
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So she partnered with René Lange, a naval architect specializing in advanced marine systems, to design a sealed, water-recycling system tailored to tropical plants. Jean, a systems engineer with a PhD in mathematics, developed the app-connected control system that manages climate remotely. And Andrzej, a greenhouse manufacturing expert, ensured the cabinet was built with precision to match the vision.
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The XSITU Cabinet is the first indoor greenhouse made specifically for tropical species. Built in the EU from sustainable, recycled materials, it combines a watertight metal frame with tempered glass and app-controlled systems for light, humidity and airflow. Automated watering, water purification, and a sealed, closed-loop environment keep your plants thriving—even when you're away.
It delivers the stability rare species need, while displaying them as a proud statement of plant obsession—not hidden behind Mylar film or shoved into makeshift setups.
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Because your plants deserve better. And so do you.
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When your plants aren’t average, your setup shouldn’t be either.
We are trusted by:
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