Bio/Works In Focus

COLECCIÓN ESTUDIO

IN FOCUS

Colección Estudio is the result of a collaboration between three talented industrial designers: Daniel Martinez, Manuel López, and Andrés Cacho. This creative partnership thrives on the combination of individual insights and collective brainstorming, resulting in sleek and focused designs that are rich in conceptual depth and crafted with care. Operating from Mexico City, London, and Querétaro , the studio doesn’t have a traditional physical location; and instead thrives as a shared creative language between the three designers.

With their roots firmly embedded in Mexico’s storied traditions of art, design, and craftsmanship, Colección Estudio aims to champion and safeguard the country’s artisanal practices.

Colección Estudio’s inaugural collection resulted from the studio’s exploration of the cultural importance of craftsmanship in Mexico. Repetition was deliberately integrated into the design as an essential aesthetic element.

This collection featured tables with multiple legs, crafted through a meticulous woodturning technique. Each leg’s shape was achieved by shaving wood on a lathe. The inspiration for the leg’s design came from the Molinillo, a common Mexican tool used for blending chocolate into milk. The studio simplified its silhouette, retaining only its basic elements.

The long, elegantly designed legs gathered beneath the tabletop, evoking animal-like qualities and suggesting movement. The legs were charred for a rich black finish and paired with an ebonized wooden tabletop, providing a textural contrast. An alternative version in natural oak presented a mid-century Scandinavian influence.

The studio’s preference for wood as a primary material allowed for the expression of each wood’s unique characteristics in the final product.

Since its initial introduction, the Molinillo’s design has been continually reinvented, adhering to the same fundamental elements while exploring new compositions and establishing fresh connections. One of these changes was the exploration with glass and its relationship with wood. The decision to employ transparent glass was deliberate, as it was essential to showcase the legs, the primary focal point of the piece.

Extending beyond the underside of the table, the legs appear to break through the glass, resembling rocks breaking the surface of water. The designers employed caps that fit over the top of the legs, secured in place with brass screws, effectively sandwiching the glass. Although it retains the same core design, this reinterpretation results in a distinctly different piece.

Conceived in 2020 amidst the backdrop of the global pandemic, Colección Estudio’s second collection, aptly named «Perspective,» draws its inspiration from the newfound ways they related to the spaces they inhabited. This collection is a sculptural ensemble, skillfully uniting various shapes and materials to create harmonious combinations of form, color, and texture.

Within this collection, table surfaces are adorned with mirrors and embroidered felt, nestled within protective wooden frames that extend gracefully toward the ground. These frames serve both functional and decorative purposes. The design approach for this collection is unique, taking cues from Japanese bathtubs constructed from multiple small wooden pieces connected by metal rings. The exterior panels are meticulously hand-sanded using a Japanese wood plane to create a soft, perfectly rounded appearance on the outside while preserving the flat wooden faces on the inside.

The mirrored inserts within the tables emulate the depth of water in a bathtub, emphasizing the volume and solidity of the wooden structure. In contrast, the wool felt introduces warmth and comfort to the pieces, serving as a counterpoint to the cool, reflective nature of the mirrors. Manuel emphasizes the tactile value of wool felt, stating that even without physical contact, its texture can be intuitively appreciated, offering a sensory experience through sight alone.

The designers draw inspiration from the approach of Ilse Crawford, who places strong emphasis on the emotional relationship individuals develop with a space, encouraging engagement of all the senses in the experience of a space. In their work, they aim to create these transitions and interactions to enable a holistic and multisensory connection with their designs.

Colección Estudio has also worked on a number of other projects surrounding the materiality and relationships wood can have. They are a studio that redefines the concept of craft by blending traditional Mexican values with contemporary design principles. They approach their work with patience, much like the gradual evolution of traditional crafts over time. Each piece is meticulously crafted by hand, reflecting the essence of generations of craftsmen.

In essence, their creations stand as a testament to their dedication to preserving and evolving craft traditions, bridging the past and present with timeless craftsmanship reimagined in a modern context.