Philia
Magazine
Ido Yoshimoto
Ido Yoshimoto is a California-based artist whose practice is deeply shaped by the forests and landscapes of West Marin. After more than two decades working as an arborist, he turned to art, bringing with him an intimate understanding of trees, their structures, and their natural life cycles. Working primarily with salvaged and locally sourced wood, Yoshimoto creates sculptural and functional pieces that preserve the character and history of their material while introducing deliberate geometric interventions.
Through an intuitive and material-led approach, Yoshimoto explores the dialogue between natural growth and human intention, allowing the irregularities, textures, and forms of the wood to guide each work. Balancing raw organic expression with precise craftsmanship, his practice reflects on transformation, impermanence, and the passage of time, revealing new possibilities within materials that might otherwise be overlooked.
Henry D’Ath
Henry D’Ath is a New Zealand–born artist and architect based in Hong Kong. Drawing from both his architectural background and agricultural upbringing, his practice explores the relationship between perception, place, and material through furniture and sculpture. Working primarily with salvaged and hand-worked materials, D’Ath creates pieces that balance utility with a distinctly sculptural presence.
Rooted in a process of making and material experimentation, his work investigates the tensions between rural memory and contemporary experience. Through carefully crafted forms and a deep engagement with materiality, D’Ath develops objects that blur the boundaries between art, design, and architecture, revealing unexpected narratives embedded within everyday materials and forms.
Sizar Alexis Picks From Philia Collection
Sizar Alexis is a Swedish-Iraqi designer whose practice explores the relationship between material, identity, and cultural memory. Working with natural materials, he creates collectible furniture and objects defined by geometric forms, sculptural restraint, and a quiet sense of stillness. His work balances raw materiality with refined craftsmanship, resulting in pieces of enduring presence.
Drawing inspiration from Brutalist aesthetics and the architectural heritage of ancient Mesopotamia, Alexis weaves personal and cultural narratives into his designs. Through this material-driven approach, he investigates his own identity within the Chaldean diaspora while creating timeless objects that bridge history and contemporary design.
Buket Hoşcan Bazman
Buket Hoşcan Bazman is a Turkish designer based between Istanbul and Izmir whose practice explores the relationship between natural materials, craftsmanship, and contemporary collectible design. Trained in industrial design, she founded her first brand, Marbleous, in 2015 before establishing her independent design studio in 2018.
Working across furniture, objects, and collectible pieces, Bazman develops works that emphasize material authenticity and artisanal production. Rooted in a deep appreciation for natural materials such as stone, wood, and metal, her creations balance geometric clarity with increasingly organic forms, reflecting her ongoing exploration of craftsmanship, material expression, and timeless design.
Alice Lahana Picks From Philia Collection
Alice Lahana is a French artist and designer whose practice explores the intersection of sculpture, craftsmanship, and functional design. Based near Paris, she creates furniture, lighting, and objects that blur the boundaries between art and everyday use, developing a distinctive language shaped by organic forms, material experimentation, and handcraft.
Originally trained in fine arts, Lahana approaches design through a deeply intuitive and tactile process. Working primarily with wood, ceramics, and natural materials, she creates pieces that celebrate irregularity, texture, and the traces of making. Rooted in a dialogue between materiality and emotion, her work reflects a sculptural sensibility that transforms functional objects into expressive and poetic forms.
Humberto da Mata
Humberto da Mata is a Brazilian designer based in São Paulo, where he founded his studio in 2012. Trained in architecture and urbanism, his practice is dedicated to the exploration of contemporary furniture, objects, papier-mâché, and ceramics through a process deeply rooted in material research and manual craftsmanship. Working closely with local artisans and small-scale industries, he develops pieces that balance experimentation with a strong sense of tactility and construction.
Driven by an ongoing investigation into materials and making techniques, da Mata creates works that blur the boundaries between design, sculpture, and craft. His collections often combine traditional handwork with contemporary forms, transforming materials such as fabric, paper pulp, ceramic, wood, and metal into expressive objects distinguished by their texture, organic presence, and playful character. Through this multidisciplinary approach, he continues to expand the possibilities of Brazilian collectible design.
Lucas & Tyra Morten Picks From Philia Collection
Lucas and Tyra Morten are a multidisciplinary artist duo whose practice exists at the intersection of art and collectible design. Through their atelier, they create handmade furniture, objects, and sculptural works in limited editions, embracing craftsmanship as an essential part of the creative process. Their work explores the beauty of impermanence, celebrating the subtle traces of the maker’s hand and the quiet fragility inherent in materials and time.
In contrast to the precision and efficiency of industrial production, the Mortens cultivate an intuitive approach to making, where each piece carries an experiential and deeply human quality. Rooted in material experimentation and thoughtful craftsmanship, their creations invite a contemplative dialogue between object, process, and the passage of time.
