Philia
Magazine

Verónica Mar is a Spanish artist and designer whose work explores the relationship between nature, energy, and human emotion. Working across collectible furniture and sculptural objects, she creates refined forms that express balance, harmony, and simplicity, distilling the essence of the natural world through a minimalist visual language.

Trained in both fine arts and interior design, Mar approaches each creation as an object with its own presence and emotional resonance. Her work is distinguished by its sculptural purity, quiet elegance, and enduring connection to nature.

Franklin Azzi is a French architect and designer whose multidisciplinary practice, founded in 2006, works across architecture, interior architecture, design, and contemporary art. Through projects ranging from urban interventions and adaptive reuse to large-scale towers and cultural spaces, Azzi has developed an approach grounded in sustainability, flexibility, and the intelligent transformation of existing structures.

Known for an architecture that is minimalist in expression yet highly attentive to functionality and environmental quality, his work explores how spaces can evolve alongside contemporary ways of living and working. Rather than pursuing a fixed formal style, Franklin Azzi emphasizes context, materiality, and long-term adaptability as central elements of the design process.

His projects include the rehabilitation of the Alstom halls in Nantes, Beaupassage in Paris, Tour d’Argent, and the transformation of the Montparnasse Tower alongside Nouvelle AOM. Working with a multidisciplinary team, Azzi continues to develop architecture that balances innovation, sustainability, and human experience across all scales.

Pani Jurek is the creative practice of Polish artist and designer Magda Jurek, whose work exists at the intersection of art, craftsmanship, and collectible design. Trained as a painter, she approaches furniture, lighting, and objects as sculptural compositions, exploring colour, material, and interaction while challenging conventional notions of function.

Working on an artisanal scale alongside Michał Borecki, Pani Jurek creates pieces that evolve through their relationship with space and the people who use them. Guided by experimentation and a painter’s sensitivity to composition, the studio transforms everyday objects into expressive works that blur the boundaries between fine art and design.

Sander Bottinga is a Dutch designer whose work explores the relationship between light, form, colour, and authentic materials. After more than two decades working across interior and design studios, he established his own practice to create collectible furniture and objects distinguished by refined craftsmanship and understated elegance.

Produced in limited editions and often handcrafted in collaboration with artisan workshops, Bottinga’s creations balance sculptural simplicity with material honesty. His work reflects a deep appreciation for handmade processes, resulting in timeless objects defined by individuality, warmth, and enduring character.

Melissa Lee founded her multidisciplinary design firm, Bespoke Only, in 2012. Bringing both her multicultural upbringing and academic background in psychology, along with a former career in luxury goods, Lee’s personal and professional experiences enrich and set apart Bespoke Only’s practice, resulting in work with an exceptionally layered quality and depth. These experiences now shape the way she works with clients at Bespoke Only, which is based in Brooklyn, New York. Lee’s ability to bridge the realms of the human psyche and the world of design on an emotional level within spaces is evident through her work. Her design ethos lies in a firm curiosity about human experiences with their environments, while acting as a custodian to the dwelling with a timeless touch. A Parsons School of Design alum, Lee has an affinity for elevating architectural elements and integrates her modernist aesthetic with a quiet yet strong sensibility. 

Lee perceives each space as a living, evolving entity shaped and transformed through intimate interactions over time. As an immigrant and first-generation American herself, there’s an earnest sense of belonging and acceptance Lee creates in her work.

Umberto Bellardi Ricci is a German-Italian architect, sculptor, and designer based in New York, where he founded UBR Studio in 2019. Working across collectible furniture, lighting, sculpture, and interiors, his practice explores the dialogue between architecture and sculpture through a distinctive language of form, scale, and materiality. Drawing on his architectural background and years of teaching, he creates works that balance industrial elements with refined natural materials, blurring the boundaries between functional design and sculptural expression.

Characterized by geometric clarity, meticulous craftsmanship, and a fascination with contrast, Bellardi Ricci’s work juxtaposes aluminum, steel, bronze, and stone with glass and textiles to create sculptural compositions that investigate the spatial qualities of architecture. Through UBR Studio, he develops collectible objects and interiors distinguished by their material richness, structural precision, and contemporary architectural vocabulary.