Philia
Magazine

KASANAI is a Belgian design studio founded by Virginie Steeland, whose practice explores the relationship between materiality, form, and craftsmanship through contemporary furniture and collectible objects. Rooted in a minimalist sensibility, the studio creates sculptural pieces defined by refined proportions, tactile surfaces, and a quiet sense of balance. Each work reflects a careful dialogue between function and artistic expression, transforming everyday objects into timeless design statements.

Working with materials such as hand-finished microcement, stainless steel, and burl wood, KASANAI celebrates the intrinsic qualities of each medium while embracing a restrained and enduring aesthetic. Through both standalone works and cohesive collections, the studio develops objects that combine material richness with understated elegance, creating designs that invite contemplation as much as everyday use.

Gisela Simas is a Brazilian designer whose work is guided by a quiet restlessness, an innate sense of play, and a deep connection to the legacy of Brazilian modernism. Drawing from lived experience, personal encounters, and the places she has inhabited, her designs emerge from an emotional and intuitive process before being shaped by rigorous thought and craft. Sustainability is central to her practice, informing both material choices and production methods. Through emblematic works such as the Bar Milan, the Lucrécia table, and the Congonhas lamp, Simas explores balance, generosity of form, and functional elegance, while celebrating the richness of Brazilian design on an international stage. Alongside her creative work, she leads her namesake studio with a holistic vision, uniting creation, production, and delivery into a single ecosystem rooted in ethics, beauty, and long-term collaboration.

Heakyoung Jang is a South Korean designer and the founder of FICT STUDIO, an independent practice established in 2016. Inspired by the phrase “From Craft to Industry,” the studio explores the relationship between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design, examining how craft can evolve within modern society.

With a background in industrial design, Jang approaches craft as more than a collection of materials and techniques, viewing it as a vessel for culture, memory, and human connection. Through material experimentation and process-based research, her work translates the essential values of craft into a contemporary language, creating objects that explore the intersections of tradition, materiality, technology, and time.

Hugo França is a Brazilian artist and designer whose practice centers on transforming discarded tree trunks, roots, and fragments into sculptural works and functional objects. Working from his studio in Trancoso, França begins each project by carefully selecting raw wood based on its texture, organic form, and the marks shaped by time and nature.

His creative process is rooted in an ongoing dialogue with the material itself. Drawing directly onto the wood, França follows the natural paths, cracks, and curves formed by the tree, allowing nature to guide the final form. Through a reinterpreted use of the chainsaw, tree trunks and roots are sculpted rather than cut away, resulting in works that are both expressive and sustainable.

Blending craftsmanship, environmental awareness, and sculptural presence, França’s work celebrates the inherent beauty and life embedded within reclaimed natural materials.

Grzegorz Majka is a self-taught Polish artist who explores the concepts of modularity, sculptural form, and artisanal processes in the design of furniture and lighting. His work seamlessly blends craft and contemporary design, incorporating high-quality noble materials like natural stone, wood, metals, and hand-blown glass. Guided by a deep respect for the inherent character of materials, Grzegorz highlights natural irregularities, textures, and patterns – veins in stone, the living patina of untreated metals, the organic feel of brushed surfaces. These elements are not hidden but embraced, inviting collectors on a sensory journey through touch and time.

His studio practice focuses on handcrafted limited-edition furniture that is not only functional, but also living, authentic, and collectible art.

Ransom & Dunn is a lifestyle and interiors brand founded by American-born, London-based designers Julia Ransom and Johanna Dunn. Established with a commitment to balance, the studio explores the intersection of aesthetic and function, classic and contemporary, strength and sensuality.

Drawing from backgrounds in fashion, retail, and finance, Ransom and Dunn bring a considered, curatorial approach to furniture and objects designed as enduring cornerstones of the home. Their debut collection reflects a dialogue between neoclassical references and 20th-century design, realised through tactile materials such as marble, stone, wood, and rich textiles. United by a shared vision of timeless living, the duo creates refined pieces shaped by both visual restraint and purposeful design.