ALVA DESIGN is a Brazilian furniture and object design studio founded in 2012 by siblings Marcelo Alvarenga and Susana Bastos, whose multidisciplinary backgrounds in architecture, fine arts, and fashion converge in a distinctly poetic approach to contemporary design. Rooted in their early exposure to craft and artistry in Minas Gerais, the duo’s work bridges structure and fluidity, functionality and emotion. Marcelo’s architectural precision and Susana’s artistic sensibility result in creations that feel both grounded and expressive. Since debuting at MADE – Mercado, Arte, Design in 2013, ALVA has become a defining presence in Brazil’s design scene, collaborating with heritage institutions such as ETEL and earning recognition from Casa Vogue Design Awards and Elle Deco Brasil Design Awards. Beyond furniture, their creative vision extends to costume design, notably for Grupo Corpo’s 50th-anniversary ballet Piracema. In 2025, they opened Galeria ALVA, a permanent space showcasing their universe of furniture, art, and objects. Each piece embodies ALVA’s commitment to timeless materiality, intimacy, and atmosphere—celebrating the poetry of living.

1. Where were you born and where are you from ?

Marcelo: I was born in João Monlevade, Minas Gerais, and grew up in Lavras.

Susana: I was born in Lavras, Minas Gerais, and work and live in Belo Horizonte MG.

2. What is your first memory connected to the art world ?

Marcelo: Our mother. She was a painter and pianist.

Susana: Our mom was a painting teacher, and in her classes, you always had to start on a small canvas, and I remember that I wanted to paint in large formats. My drawings always bled out of the paper. Years later, my own mom went to a painting class, this time as a student, and took me with her, and I could finally paint larger pictures.

3. Have you always worked in the art/design field, and what led you to the design creation ?

Marcelo: Always.

Susana: Yes.

4. What led you to the design creation ?

Marcelo: I studied Architecture and Urban Studies in college, and have worked as an architect since the nineties and the smaller, more intimate scale of design has always interested me.

Susana: I always wanted to work in an inventive way. I even thought about becoming a scientist, and realized I could fulfill this creative compulsion through art in a way that felt less constricted by reality.

5. How would you describe your creative process and it influences ?

Marcelo: Chaotic. We start from a desire or a need, work through sketches and drawings and then I’m occasionally fed related content through social media algorithms, and I’m always exchanging ideas and concepts with Susana.

Susana: Inspiration can come from anywhere. Sometimes I am more attuned to visual arts, or fashion, or literature, or cinema, these are all forms of expression that interest me and add to my repertoire. I believe true inspiration is a state of attentiveness, of enchantment, that we often find in our day to day lives, the things that surround us, people, materials, nature and the city. Like the title of a Paul Smith book I own: “You can find inspiration in everything, if you can’t, look again”.

6. Could you describe a typical day of your work ?

Marcelo: It varies. I split my time between PLAY – my architecture studio -, Alva, and now Galeria Alva, the space we have opened this year to showcase our work. I try to remain attentive to everything, although sometimes I need to focus on specific demands.

Susana: I split my time between our studio/workshop with day to day tasks and creation, and now Galeria Alva. Sometimes my work requires me to spend time elsewhere. We designed the costumes for the 50th anniversary of Grupo Corpo, one of Brazil’s most respected dance companies, and that requires a lot of dedication. I also try to squeeze as much time as possible with my daughter. I make sure to pick her up and take her to school every day, and we always have lunch together.

7. Why did you choose the specific materials you work with ?

Marcelo: Being from Minas Gerais, it felt natural to work with soapstone, given how abundant it is in our state and our rich tradition of craftsmanship. Regarding the wood we use, we choose to only work with Brazilian species that have been harvested sustainably, like freijó or jequitibá, or sourced from demolition sites, like braúna.

Susana: It depends a lot on what is available to us at the moment, what is abundant, and that we are able to find a way to work with that feels true to us, and is ethical and sustainable. We also have a strong network of partners, like carpenters, sculptors, stonemasons, and other craftsmen, relationships that we have cultivated over the years.

8. What are the technical particularities of your creations ?

Marcelo and Susana: We mix materials and techniques.

9. What advices could you give to beginning artists who would like to create sculptural design works ?

Marcelo: Find your own path, and believe in it and in yourself.

Susana: Keep going and work hard. Follow your instincts and intuition.

10. If your works had to belong to a design movement, in which one would you define it ?

Marcelo: Contemporary, but also looking at the past and the future. In tune with the present, but also connected to memories, that finds inspiration in vintage pieces and aims to reconsider the past.

Susana: I don’t know.

11. What designers and artists have influenced you ?

Marcelo: Alvar Aalto, Finn Juhl, Ricardo Fasanello, Oscar Niemeyer, Jorge Zalszupin, and Lina Bo Bardi.

Susana: Eileen Gray and the Brazilian modernists.

12. What contemporary designers do you appreciate ?

Marcelo: Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Oki Sato from Nendo, and Guilherme Wentz.

Susana: Hella Jongerius, Patricia Urquiola, Claudia Moreira Salles.

13. What contemporary artists (in any kind of art) have you been inspired by ?

Marcelo: Lucas Arruda, Solange Pessoa, Leda Catunda, and Cildo Meireles.

Susana: Maxwell Alexandre, Louise Bourgeois, Sophie Calle, Annette Messager, Wislawa Szymborska.

14. If you had to summarize your creations in one word or sentence, what would it be ?

Marcelo: The balance between utility and poetry.

Susana: Thought versus matter.

PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE
(The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust.
Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde,
Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)

11. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

Marcelo: “Can you believe it?”

Susana: “Is it?”

12. Which talent would you most like to have?

Marcelo: Entrepreneurship.

Susana: Improving my financial literacy.

13. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Marcelo: Many things.

Susana: My height.

14. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Marcelo: Balancing two passions (architecture and design), two companies (Play Arquitetura and Alva Design), and two business partners (Juliana Figueiró at Plat and Susana at Alva).

Susana: My daughter Bebel.

15. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

Marcelo: A bird.

Susana: A cat.

16. Where would you most like to live?

Marcelo: Tokyo.

Susana: Rio.

17. What is your most treasured possession?

Marcelo: My Lina Bo Bardi Bowl chair.

Susana: I don’t have any.

18. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Marcelo: Cynicism.

Susana: Self-pitying.

19. What is your favorite occupation?

Marcelo: Coloring with my niece Isabel.

Susana: Having a glass of wine.

20. What is your most marked characteristic?

Marcelo: Organization.

Susana: Spontaneity.

21. What do you most value in your friends?

Marcelo: Humor and happiness.

Susana: Being able to count on them.

22. Who are your favorite writers?

Marcelo: Roberto Bolaño, Elizabeth Bishop, Guimarães Rosa, Gertrude Stein.

Susana: Wisława Szymborska, Hilda Hilst, Edouard Louis, and Clarice Lispector.

23. Who is your hero of fiction?

Marcelo: No one.

Susana: Wonder Woman.

24. Which historical figure do you most identify with?

Marcelo: Lina Bo Bardi.

Susana: Maybe Clarice Lispector.

25. Who are your heroes in real life?

Marcelo: My mom and my grandfathers.

Susana: My family.

26. What are your favorite names?

Marcelo: Martin, Cláudia, Isabel, and Pedro.

Susana: Bebel, Gui.

27. What is it that you most dislike?

Marcelo: People asking and choosing how well done they want their meat.

Susana: Arrogance.

28. What is your greatest regret?

Marcelo: Starting to work straight out of university.

Susana: Not having more kids.

29. How would you like to die?

Marcelo: In my sleep.

Susana: Suddenly.

30. What is your motto?

Marcelo: Read a lot.

Susana: Painting.