PHILIA MAGAZINE

Studio Gaïa is a French design studio founded by Liza Mimouni and Deborah Elfassy in 2021. Rooted in a shared passion for craftsmanship and material exploration, the studio creates collectible furniture and objects that celebrate the natural beauty of stone, ceramic, and mineral surfaces through refined forms and meticulous detailing.

Working with exceptional materials sourced from skilled artisans, Studio Gaïa develops made-to-order pieces distinguished by timeless elegance, thoughtful craftsmanship, and a contemporary approach to natural materiality.

Estudio Orth is a multidisciplinary furniture and interior design studio based in São Paulo. Founded in 2018, it is led by the couple Seba Orth (designer) and Luísa Bianchetti (visual artist), who have been guiding the studio from its foundation.

With a maximalist palette of materials in service of a minimalist language, its work presents a sculptural approach to functional items such as lighting fixtures, seating, tables, rugs, and everyday accessory objects. Its practice engages with themes such as symbolism and brutalism, exploring forms that move between organicity and rationality.

All pieces are meticulously handcrafted by master artisans, one at a time. In the creative process, ancestral techniques such as metal casting, solid wood carpentry, and the use of exotic Brazilian stones lend material identity and maturity to the products.

Jefferson Aver is the creative force behind Aver Design, a Brazilian artist whose work is driven by continuous research and experimentation. He seeks to uncover the essence of each material, using it to express a wide interpretation through lighting and objects. The brand is dedicated to creating sculptural pieces that move between art and design, tradition and modernity, with a focus on local materials, especially Brazilian natural stones.

Marthine Spinnangr is a Norwegian designer and sculptor based in Oslo whose practice explores the relationship between sculpture, craft, and functional objects. Inspired by the quiet beauty of the coastline—weathered shells, softened stones, and the gentle movement of water—she develops intuitive forms that emerge through a tactile and contemplative making process.

Working primarily with ceramics, Spinnangr creates handcrafted sculptures and collectible objects that balance sculptural expression with everyday function. Rooted in a dialogue between art and design, her work celebrates organic forms, material sensitivity, and the subtle poetry of the natural world.

Lucy Hope is the founder and creative director of Lulu Hope Studio, a London-based practice known for creating elegant and deeply personal interiors that balance aesthetics, functionality, and well-being. With academic backgrounds in History of Art and Archaeology at SOAS University of London, Fashion at Polimoda, and Interior Design at KLC School of Design, her work is shaped by a strong sensitivity to art, craftsmanship, and cultural history.

Working across private residences and boutique commercial projects, Hope approaches interiors with a timeless and wellness-focused philosophy. Through Lulu Hope Art, she also curates and sources fine art for her projects, while her close collaborations with Murano glass artisans bring bespoke handcrafted pieces into hospitality and residential spaces internationally.

An SBID-accredited designer, Lucy Hope collaborates with artisans around the world to create interiors that feel layered, refined, and deeply connected to individuality and contemporary living.

Fernando Mendes is a Brazilian architect, designer, and woodworker born in São Paulo and based in Rio de Janeiro. Working primarily from his atelier in Vale das Videiras, he creates furniture and objects that combine traditional craftsmanship with a contemporary design sensibility. Having spent more than two decades in the field of fine woodworking, Mendes uses wood as his principal medium, balancing artisanal techniques with innovative processes.

Characterized by a deep respect for materiality, his work embraces the natural imperfections, textures, and unique qualities of wood, resulting in pieces that are both timeless and authentic. Alongside directing his atelier, Mendes serves as president of the Sergio Rodrigues Institute, continuing the legacy of the renowned Brazilian designer with whom he collaborated closely for over thirty years. His work has received numerous international accolades, including the iF Design Award, Designpreis Deutschland, and the Museu da Casa Brasileira Award.

Dust + Form is a Vermont-based design studio founded by ceramicist and designer Brielle Rovito. Working across sculptural ceramics, vessels, lighting, and functional objects, the studio explores the relationship between materiality, form, and the rhythms of the natural world.

Rooted in an appreciation for transformation and impermanence, Dust + Form creates pieces that balance rawness with refinement. Drawing inspiration from cycles of growth, decay, and renewal, the studio’s work reflects a poetic approach to craftsmanship, resulting in objects that encourage presence, reflection, and a deeper connection to everyday rituals.

Jefferson Aver is a Brazilian artist and designer, and the founder of Aver Design. Driven by continuous research and experimentation, his practice explores the expressive potential of materials through collectible lighting and sculptural objects. Working primarily with local materials, particularly Brazilian natural stones, he seeks to reveal the essence of each material while transforming it into contemporary forms.

Moving between art and design, tradition and modernity, Aver creates pieces distinguished by their sculptural presence, refined craftsmanship, and strong connection to materiality.

Karin Amdal is a Norwegian ceramic artist whose practice explores the relationship between contemporary life, personal experience, and sculptural form. Drawing inspiration from everyday observations and broader social reflections, she creates works that function as visual metaphors, translating abstract ideas into quiet, geometric compositions. Rooted in a minimalist aesthetic, her ceramics balance conceptual depth with formal clarity.

Hand-building each piece, Amdal leaves the exterior unglazed, allowing the natural colours and textures of different clays to define the character of her work. Informed by her background as an art director and designer, her practice combines graphic precision, logical thinking, and subtle wit, resulting in contemporary objects that are both contemplative and tactile.

Alexia Vela Akasaka is an interdisciplinary Brazilian designer born to a Bolivian mother and a Japanese father. Raised in São Paulo, Brazil, she moved to the UK in 2020 to pursue a foundation diploma in arts and design at Central Saint Martins. Following that, she attended the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London,  earning a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Interdisciplinary Studies in 2024.

Alexia’s mixed heritage deeply informs her design work, where she explores how different cultural and ethnic identities blend, clash, and coexist in Brazilian contemporary culture. This is often expressed in her work through shape and form as a subtle cue to explore experiences and the process of self-discovery, which are brought through quiet references to people and moments lived interwoven within fluid shapes.

Janine Stone is one of Britain’s leading interior designers and the founder of Janine Stone & Co, an internationally recognized studio specializing in luxury private residences. Supported by a multidisciplinary team of architects, designers, craftsmen, and project managers, the practice works across restoration, refurbishment, architecture, and bespoke interior design for clients around the world.

Known for an exceptional attention to detail, Janine Stone creates highly personalized homes tailored to each client’s lifestyle and vision rather than following a fixed signature style. The studio’s portfolio ranges from historic listed properties to contemporary residences incorporating the latest advances in design and technology.

Raised in a creative environment surrounded by fine furnishings, textiles, and art, Stone developed an early appreciation for craftsmanship and design. After working across Europe and building relationships with artisans and makers internationally, she founded her own practice in 1987, which has since evolved into a global multi-disciplinary design studio with offices in London, Manchester, Moscow, and Milan.

Aura Carpio (Mexico City). Mexican industrial designer graduated from the Center for Industrial Design Research (CIDI-UNAM), with an academic stay at École Bleue Global Design (Paris, 2018) and a specialty in Museography and management of exhibition spaces by the Academy of San Carlos of the Faculty of Art, Crafts and Design of the UNAM (2021).

In 2020, she created the eponymous firm Aura Carpio®, a contemporary sculptural design firm. Her work has been recognized nationally and internationally and has been exhibited in different art and design spaces.

Fabiola Laccisaglia is an Italian designer and founder of Studionudo, whose practice explores the relationship between material authenticity, craftsmanship, and everyday function. Working across furniture and objects, she creates timeless pieces that preserve the natural essence of raw materials, balancing refined simplicity with sculptural presence.

Trained in Industrial Design at the Politecnico di Milano and drawing on experience in the luxury furniture industry, Laccisaglia collaborates closely with Italian artisans to develop collectible objects distinguished by tactile materiality, understated elegance, and a deep connection between nature, design, and daily life.

dAM Atelier is an experimental design studio founded by Paolo d’Alessandro and Marco Malgarini. Working between architecture and collectible design, the duo creates sculptural furniture and objects defined by bold geometric forms, structural exploration, and a refined minimalist aesthetic. Rooted in their architectural education at the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio, their work balances technical precision with artistic expression.

Donatas Žukauskas is a Lithuanian artist and designer whose practice bridges sculpture, design, and craftsmanship. Originally trained in graphic design at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, he spent more than two decades working across animation, advertising, and interior design before turning his focus to collectible objects and sculptural works.

Creating tables, lighting, vases, and sculptures, Žukauskas explores the beauty of imperfection through expressive forms and handcrafted processes. His work reflects a balance between functionality and artistic expression, resulting in pieces that are both poetic and deeply personal.

Elena Vasilantonaki is a ceramic artist based in Athens, Greece, whose practice explores the expressive possibilities of clay through sculptural and functional forms. Guided by a sensitivity to material, texture, and process, she creates works that celebrate the quiet beauty of the handmade.

Drawing inspiration from nature, everyday rituals, and the tactile qualities of clay, Vasilantonaki develops pieces that balance simplicity with a strong sense of presence. Her work reflects a contemplative approach to making, where form, surface, and imperfection come together to create objects that feel both timeless and deeply personal.

Marion Mailaender lives and works between Paris and Marseille. After training at the École Boulle, this Marseillaise launched her interior architecture and design agency in Paris in 2004. Since then, she has created objects and scenography, as well as residential and commercial projects, such as the Hotel Tuba in Marseille and the Hotel Rosalie in Paris. Her boldness and eye for design have already won over a number of creative personalities, including Amelie Pichard, Sophie Calle, and Colombian designer Esteban Cortazar, who have entrusted her with singular projects.

Working by instinct, Marion mixes genres and eras to accompany her customers into the modern world. She establishes an essential dialogue with them so that their personality is revealed in the space created. Her creativity and sense of detail and materials flourish when she moves her cursor to the scale of the object. Marion Mailaender continues her search for new forms by associating ideas, mixing styles and eras to activate memories, often with a sense of humor. She seizes on codes of culture, fashion, usage and popular forms, bringing them together to create hybrid objects that are poetic, evocative and highly narrative. Repairing, assembling, transforming, adding and subtracting, using offcuts and artisans’ scraps are at the heart of her approach.