Philia
Magazine

Elisa Uberti is a French artist and designer based in Roubaix. After more than fifteen years in the fashion industry, she turned to ceramics, embracing craftsmanship as a way to reconnect with material, gesture, and time. Since founding her studio in 2018, she has developed a body of work that exists at the intersection of art and design, creating sculptural objects in stoneware distinguished by their soft, organic forms and quiet presence.

Guided by a pursuit of refined, timeless beauty, Uberti explores the delicate balance between technical precision and the spontaneity of hand-making. Rooted in an ancestral manual practice, her work celebrates the expressive qualities of clay, where each gesture leaves a visible trace of the making process. Through vessels, lighting, and sculptural pieces, she creates contemplative forms that evoke warmth, simplicity, and a profound connection between material, craftsmanship, and everyday life.

Hamed Ouattara is a multidisciplinary artist and designer based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. For more than three decades, he has transformed reclaimed industrial oil drums into sculptural furniture and objects that reinterpret the architectural and cultural heritage of the Sahel through a contemporary lens. Working alongside a workshop of skilled artisans, Ouattara combines traditional craftsmanship with material innovation, creating distinctive works defined by intricate textures, rhythmic forms, and a deep connection to place and history.

His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in the permanent collections of several leading museums and cultural institutions. Through a practice rooted in sustainability, craftsmanship, and storytelling, Ouattara continues to expand the dialogue between African artistic traditions and contemporary collectible design, creating works that celebrate material transformation, cultural identity, and enduring craftsmanship.

Kaori Akiyama is a Japanese designer and the founder of STUDIO BYCOLOR, a Tokyo-based design practice established in 2013. Working across product, furniture, interior, exhibition, and branding design, she explores the expressive relationship between colour, material, and form, seeking to uncover the essential character of an object while questioning conventional perceptions of the everyday.

Driven by a process of observation and material experimentation, Akiyama creates works that balance functionality with a refined sensitivity to colour and texture. Her practice has received international recognition, including the iF Design Award Gold, iF Design Award, DFA Gold Award, DIA Top 100, and Good Design Award, reflecting an ongoing commitment to thoughtful, research-led design.

Louise Liljencrantz is a Swedish interior and furniture designer based in Stockholm and co-founder of Veermakers, whose practice explores the relationship between sculptural form, natural materials, and enduring craftsmanship. Since founding her interior design studio in 2009, she has become known for creating refined, bespoke interiors distinguished by timeless elegance, tactile materiality, and meticulous attention to detail.

In 2017, Liljencrantz co-founded Veermakers in collaboration with KFK Cabinet Makers, extending her design philosophy into a collection of collectible furniture, lighting, and objects. Working closely with master cabinetmakers and artisans, she creates pieces defined by honest materials, balanced proportions, and uncompromising craftsmanship, resulting in works that celebrate permanence, sustainability, and the enduring beauty of Scandinavian design.

Arthur Bitsch is a French artist and designer based in Strasbourg. Working across collectible design, sculpture, scenography, and artistic direction, he develops a multidisciplinary practice that explores the relationship between function, symbolism, and narrative. Rooted in both design and visual arts, his work challenges conventional typologies through a distinctive sculptural language that balances conceptual inquiry with material experimentation.

Drawing inspiration from mythology, ritual, architecture, and cultural memory, Bitsch creates objects that blur the boundaries between art and design. Combining handcrafted processes with contemporary production techniques, he develops works distinguished by bold forms and expressive materiality, transforming everyday objects into evocative vessels for stories, emotions, and collective memory.