Dovain Studio
Dovain Studio is a Lisbon-based design studio founded by Sergio Prieto and Tiago De Lima. Working across collectible furniture and lighting, the studio creates sculptural pieces that balance artistic expression with functional design.
Drawing inspiration from architecture, travel, and everyday experiences, Dovain Studio is known for its bold use of color, geometric forms, and refined material palette. Collaborating closely with local artisans and manufacturers, the studio combines traditional craftsmanship with a contemporary design language, producing works that blur the boundaries between art and design.
Interview
I was born in Talavera de la Reina (Spain), and I’m Spanish through and through. Talavera is world-renowned for its hand-painted ceramics, a tradition that dates back centuries.
It’s hard to recall a single memory from my childhood where I wasn’t painting or creating spaces using materials I found around me, especially at my grandparents’ countryside home. I even painted “frescos” on my bedroom walls during sleepless nights.
Since finishing university, I started an internship at a company in Lisbon. Just two weeks in, the director asked me to join the team, and from that moment on, I’ve never stopped creating furniture and design projects.
Life itself. Since I was a child, I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of creating — solving problems through creativity and making pieces that make others feel something. The only difference back then was that I didn’t know the word “designer” existed. I used to gift drawings and paintings to friends and family for birthdays and special occasions (I started painting on canvas when I was 9). I still do that today.
It’s an emotional explosion — sometimes even I don’t fully understand it. It goes through phases and isn’t always easy to control, but eventually, the right piece comes through. There’s often a tension between what I want and what makes sense, and that inner conflict is vital in design, where functionality must never be lost.
The only way to describe it is by adding an “a” to “typical.” Every day is a new world, a game with no set rules. The goal is to begin, but you never know where it’ll take you. Being a designer, artist, and entrepreneur (all at once) means constantly adapting and prioritizing whatever the moment demands.
From the beginning of Dovain Studio, which I co-founded with Tiago De Lima, the goal was to use local materials. It’s essential to consider where our products come from and where they’re going — and since we can only control the first part, we make sure it’s done well.
Working with wood, marble, and metal crafted by local artisans is challenging but incredibly rewarding.
Dovain’s pieces — and my designs in general — are like ballet: they may appear simple at first glance, but there’s great structural complexity underneath. Take the Meco chair, for example. Beyond technique, what stands out is the bold use of color and the distinctive forms that reflect my inner world.
My creations are a mirror of what one might see if there were a window into my inner world — a glimpse of how I see life and what I wish the world could be. Each piece I create is a small window into my soul.
Each person is a world of their own. Today, when everything seems to already exist, the most important thing is to create your own image and stay true to it. Passion is intangible, but people feel it. Know where you want to go — and why. The path may change, but the intention should stay clear.
None, specifically. I’m proud to say my work doesn’t fit neatly into any category. It’s a fusion of many things at once. It’s simply Sergio Prieto.
Both the well-known icons and the lesser-known friends and peers do extraordinary work. Even those whose work I don’t admire have shaped me in some way. But above all, I’m influenced by emotions and environments more than by objects.
I admire those who’ve built their own world and swam against the current to achieve it. Designers like Ana Rod, Jaime Hayon, and Studio Shamshiri come to mind.
Those I just mentioned, plus Alice Neel, Albert Madaula, Silvana Estrada, and Slim Aarons, among many others.
Creative freedom expressed through color and flying forms.
“The most important thing is to create your own image and stay true to it.”
The Questions
(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…)
Calm and flowers.
Regretting not doing what I truly wanted.
My tendency to complicate everything.
Letting life pass by without embracing it.
My partner, Tiago De Lima, for many reasons.
Giving myself the time I need, whenever I need it. Nothing is more valuable.
A creative storm — with a dash of anxiety and pleasure.
Fitting into the norms of society.
Creativity (in all its forms) and respect for everything around him.
Creativity (in all its forms) and respect for everything around her.
“I don’t know.”
To sing like heaven.
Nothing.
Being myself — even when they said I was nobody — and continuing on my path.
A bird.
Japan.
The people I’ve chosen to have around me — and a pair of Prada shoes!
I haven’t been there (yet).
Painting on canvas and reading outside.
Persistence.
Their authenticity and love.
Satoshi Yagisawa and a few others.
Jane Fonda?
Antonio Gaudí.
Anyone who fights for their dreams.
Frida, Hortensia, and Diego.
Olives — and unnecessary conversations.
None! I did what I felt was right in each moment.
Gently… or after fighting a lion. Definitely.
Let it flow until you feel it.
“Passion is intangible, but people feel it.”
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