PHILIA MAGAZINE

Matteo Ferrari is an Italian architect based in Madrid and founder of Matteo Ferrari Studio. Since establishing the practice in 2015, he has worked internationally across retail, hospitality and residential projects, collaborating with both global brands and independent clients. His experience across different contexts and scales has shaped an approach grounded in sensitivity to place, material and the particular requirements of each project.

His work is defined by a continuous dialogue between international perspectives and local craftsmanship, rather than by a fixed or recognisable aesthetic. For Ferrari, architecture begins with an attentive reading of its context and brief, allowing each project to develop its own identity in response to its surroundings, purpose and circumstances.

Adrian Bursell is a Stockholm-based Swedish designer whose practice explores furniture through material, craft, memory and place. Trained in fine art at HDK-Valand before studying Interior Architecture and Furniture Design at Konstfack, where he graduated in 2020, his work combines a sculptural approach with an interest in traditional techniques and locally rooted materials. His graduation project, Sticks and Stones: Souvenirs from Öland, transformed limestone, juniper and ash into furniture informed by his childhood connection to the Swedish island of Öland; the project’s Lilla Alvaret side table subsequently entered the collection of Möbeldesignmuseum.

Alongside his independent practice, Bursell collaborates with designer Siri Svedborg. Their Burn & Turn series brings together turned wood with materials including hand-worked glass, ceramic and cast aluminium, emphasizing variation, tactility and the presence of the maker. The collection received Sight Unseen’s Best in Show award at Greenhouse during Stockholm Furniture Fair in 2024, and the pair were later awarded an IKEA scholarship through Young Swedish Design for the project. Across his work, Bursell approaches furniture as a meeting point between functional object, craftsmanship and material experimentation.

Hugo Toro is a French-Mexican architect and multidisciplinary creative whose practice spans architecture, interiors, design, and art. Originally from eastern France, he graduated with a Master’s degree in Interior Architecture from Penninghen in Paris before completing a second Master’s degree in Architecture between Vienna and Los Angeles. From his Paris-based studio, Toro has built an international portfolio including the atelier of Villa Albertine in New York, the Michelin-starred restaurant PUR’ on Place Vendôme, JP at Louis Vuitton in Seoul, and the Orient Express La Minerva in Rome. His work is distinguished by a strong attention to atmosphere, materials, and craftsmanship.

Alongside his architectural practice, Toro works across furniture, drawing, painting, and sculpture. He unveiled his first furniture collection at Christie’s in 2022 and presented Aguas que murmuran at the Institut Culturel du Mexique in Paris in 2025. In 2026, his first solo exhibition in the United States, Ojo de Agua, was presented at Perrotin in New York, bringing together paintings, bronze sculptures, ceramics, and installation. Today, his architectural and artistic practices continue to explore the relationships between space, material, memory, and emotion.

Didi Ng Wing Yin is a Hong Kong-born, Helsinki-based wood artist whose practice moves between sculpture, design and craft. Distinguished by his approach to carving, his work explores the intrinsic qualities of wood through a balance of material sensitivity, intuitive craftsmanship and conceptual inquiry. Central to his practice is the idea of “Naturalness,” allowing the individual characteristics of each piece of wood to guide the making process while preserving its original qualities and exploring new possibilities for carving.

Ng holds an MA in Interior Architecture from Aalto University in Finland. His work has received international recognition, including being named a finalist for the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2025, receiving the Rising Star of the Year Award at the Scandinavian Design Awards 2024, and winning Dezeen’s Emerging Designer of the Year Award 2024. His sculpture Pleats Vase No. 11 is part of the permanent collection of the Röhsska Museum in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Dimitrih Correa is a Brazilian multidisciplinary artist and designer based in Rio de Janeiro. Working at the intersection of collectible design and sculpture, his practice explores the relationship between material, memory, and time, with a particular focus on reclaimed hardwood and traditional craftsmanship.

Correa’s connection to materials began during his childhood in the mountains of the Atlantic Forest and later developed through his studies in Industrial Design and his experience at Oficinaethos, where he encountered the conceptual possibilities of authorial design. After a period in Dublin collaborating with design and art studios, he returned to Brazil and established his own atelier in Rio de Janeiro’s historic city centre in 2020. His works move between functional objects and sculpture, transforming reclaimed materials into pieces that combine structural precision with expressive form while reflecting on permanence, consumption and the relationship between people and the natural world. His work has received recognition, including First Place at the Salão Design Award and an Honorable Mention at the Prêmio Design MCB, and has been exhibited internationally in cities including Milan, Paris, New York, Brussels, and Antwerp.

Kansai Noguchi is a Japanese sculptor and ceramic artist whose practice brings together influences from different cultures, histories, and artistic traditions. Born in Fukuoka in 1982, Noguchi began his creative career as a professional musician before moving to the United States in 2013. An encounter with the work of Isamu Noguchi the following year became a defining moment, prompting him to leave music behind, return to Japan, and pursue sculpture and pottery.

Drawing from the simplicity of Japanese Jomon pottery, Korean Yi Dynasty ceramics, and ancient Greek sculpture, Noguchi explores their relationship with abstract expression through a process rooted in experimentation, intuition, and precision. His background in music continues to inform the way he works, approaching composition through combinations of form and material while allowing moments of improvisation and physical sensibility to guide the process. Moving between cultural references rather than adhering to a singular tradition, his work reflects an ongoing exploration of the connections between culture, history, and contemporary expression.

Irene Goldberg has built a practice that crosses architecture, interiors and collectible design, moving between the conception of spaces and the creation of objects. Born in Venezuela in 1970, she relocated to Israel in 1983 and later studied at the Mackintosh School of Architecture in Glasgow, graduating in 1997. This ability to work across different scales has become integral to her approach, in which architecture and object-making are understood as part of a continuous creative language shaped by simplicity, materiality and emotional experience.

Goldberg co-founded Baranowitz & Goldberg Architects in 2017 before establishing her independent studio in 2025. Today, she works from the heart of Tel Aviv, where she shares a design gallery with her partner in life, Gal Gaon. The space provides a setting for her evolving collections of collectible design while remaining connected to her ongoing architectural and interior projects, allowing the different aspects of her practice to develop alongside one another.

Josephine and Christoffer Du Rietz are the founders of Durietz Design & Development, a Mallorca-based architecture and interior design practice dedicated to restoring and reimagining distinctive properties.

After working on projects in Gothenburg and Stockholm, the pair left Sweden for Mallorca in 2016, where they began restoring historic homes while developing their multidisciplinary practice. Josephine brings a background in industrial and automotive design, architecture, interiors, and art, while Christoffer’s background in digital design informs his work across architectural drawings, furniture design, and project management.

Together, they approach each project with a shared interest in preserving the character of existing buildings while creating thoughtful, contemporary spaces shaped by materiality, craftsmanship, and their Mallorcan surroundings.

Kieu Tran is a Vietnamese American artist based in New York City whose sculptural practice explores the relationship between form, emotion, and material. Working primarily with ceramics, she creates biomorphic works that move between abstraction and figuration, translating internal and psychological experiences into physical form.

Tran studied art history at UCLA before building a career in software engineering in Silicon Valley, while developing her ceramics practice alongside it. A residency at La Meridiana in Tuscany in 2019 marked a turning point, and in 2021 she left the technology industry to dedicate herself fully to art.

Her work has been exhibited at the Bakersfield Museum of Art, Art Miami, and Art Market San Francisco, and featured in Interior Design, Surface, Sight Unseen, EST Living, and Design Anthology Asia. Her sculptures are held in private collections internationally.

Jacob Brinth is a France-based photographer, videographer, and art director whose work explores the intersection of design, interiors, and visual storytelling. Born in Copenhagen in 1990, he graduated with a Master’s degree in Design from the Royal Danish Academy in 2018. Combining his background in design with a longstanding passion for photography, Brinth has developed a distinctive approach to capturing interiors, objects, and spaces.

Since 2021, he has worked independently under Studio Brinth, specialising in photography, videography, and art direction. His visual language is characterised by dark, atmospheric imagery, restrained compositions, and a distinctly pictorial quality.

Working internationally, Brinth collaborates with design galleries, interior designers, artisans, and creatives across the fields of art and design. His work has appeared in publications including AD, Milk, Vogue Living, and Wallpaper*.

Mikel Welch is an American interior designer, television personality, author, and creative director known for creating interiors that balance timeless character with the realities of everyday living. His distinctive approach, often described as “primitive modern,” brings together antiques, collected objects, natural textures, and contemporary elements to create spaces that feel layered, personal, and enduring.

Welch first gained national attention through HGTV’s Design Star and has since appeared across numerous design programs, including Trading Spaces, Murder House Flip, and Netflix’s Emmy Award-winning Hack My Home. He currently serves as a design expert on The Drew Barrymore Show and a monthly contributor to The Today Show. His career also extends beyond television into residential interiors, set design, and creative direction.

In 2024, Welch participated in the Kips Bay Decorator Show House in New York. The following year, he published his first book, The Forever Home, exploring an accessible and practical approach to creating character-filled spaces designed to evolve over time. Based in Los Angeles, Welch continues to work across interior design, television, publishing, and product collaborations.

Six Dots Design is an East London-based furniture and homeware studio founded by British designer Joseph Ellwood in 2020. With a background in architecture, Ellwood studied at the University of Bath before completing his master’s degree at the Royal College of Art, while an early period working alongside a cabinet designer and maker brought him closer to the process of furniture making. These experiences eventually led to Six Dots Design, where architecture, craft and experimentation come together in a distinctly playful and unconventional approach to furniture.

Since presenting its first collection, Contemporary Vanity, Six Dots Design has developed an increasingly recognisable presence within contemporary British design. Ellwood’s work embraces individuality and the imperfections of the making process, creating objects with a sense of character that often sit somewhere between the functional and the expressive. Alongside independent collections and exhibitions, the studio has collaborated with brands including Rimowa, H&M, IKEA, Maison Margiela and CUPRA, while its work has been presented at Collectible in Brussels and recognised by Wallpaper, which named Six Dots among its “Future Icons” in 2022 and awarded the studio a Wallpaper Design Award in 2026.

Sérgio Rebelo is a Portuguese architect and designer and the founder of Sérgio Rebelo Atelier, an independent architecture and design practice established in Porto in 2018. He studied architecture at the University of Porto in Portugal and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, developing an international perspective that would continue to shape his professional trajectory. In 2010, Rebelo also served as a thesis reviewer at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) in New York.

Prior to founding his own atelier, Rebelo was Design Director at FR-EE (Fernando Romero Enterprise) in New York City, where he contributed to major architectural projects on an international scale. During his tenure, he played a leading role in projects including the construction of the Soumaya Museum and the winning competition proposal for Mexico City’s New International Airport. Through Sérgio Rebelo Atelier, he has since developed an independent practice spanning architecture and design, building on the experience gained through his work across Portugal, Switzerland, Mexico and the United States.