PHILIA MAGAZINE

Grzegorz Majka is a self-taught Polish artist who explores the concepts of modularity, sculptural form, and artisanal processes in the design of furniture and lighting. His work seamlessly blends craft and contemporary design, incorporating high-quality noble materials like natural stone, wood, metals, and hand-blown glass. Guided by a deep respect for the inherent character of materials, Grzegorz highlights natural irregularities, textures, and patterns – veins in stone, the living patina of untreated metals, the organic feel of brushed surfaces. These elements are not hidden but embraced, inviting collectors on a sensory journey through touch and time. His studio practice focuses on handcrafted limited-edition furniture that is not only functional, but also living, authentic, and collectible art.

Founded in 2005 by Belgian architect Wendy Saunders and Dutch architect Vincent de Graaf, AIM Architecture is an international design studio working across architecture, interior design, and product design. Headquartered in Shanghai, with offices in Antwerp and Chicago, AIM operates globally while maintaining a strong sensitivity to local context.

AIM’s practice is rooted in a deliberate, project-specific approach, pairing concept with context and balancing vision with practicality. Their work is characterized by bold narratives, refined detailing, and a deep respect for materials and place. Through an integrated design methodology, AIM creates distinctive spaces that are both expressive and rigorously built, driven by a belief in design’s ability to generate positive impact on cities and everyday life.

Founded by the Portuguese designer Nelson de Araújo, Nelson de Araújo Design is a conscious luxury furniture label born out of the passion for creating inspiring pieces that seamlessly blend beauty, comfort and functionality.

Designed and handcrafted in Portugal by local artisans, the label prioritizes exceptional craftsmanship and high-quality materials for timeless furniture that stands the test of time.

Federico Stefanovich is a Mexican designer based in Mexico City. His practice focuses on collectible design and the creation of sculptural lighting and objects that explore the interplay between form, light, and materiality. With a visual language that moves between the organic and the geometric, Stefanovich combines digital processes with the mastery of local workshops, celebrating imperfection and the human character of handcraft.

His work is defined by meticulous attention to detail, a constant pursuit of balance, and a deep interest in fostering emotional dialogue between object and user. Each piece reveals layers of process, cultural memory, and collaboration, challenging folkloric clichés to propose a contemporary vision of Mexican design.

Stefanovich’s work has been exhibited at international fairs and galleries, including FOG Design+Art in San Francisco, the Triennale di Milano during Milan Design Week, and 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen, as well as in a solo exhibition at AGO Projects in Mexico City.

In 2025, he was named one of Wallpaper Magazine’s “10 Stars Ascending” and received the People’s Choice Award at the AZ Awards—distinctions that establish him as one of the most relevant emerging voices in today’s global collectible design scene.

McLean Quinlan is a family-led architectural studio with over four decades of experience creating carefully crafted homes and retreats across towns and countryside in the UK and internationally. Working from studios in London and Winchester, the practice undertakes a limited number of projects, each receiving close attention from a tight-knit team of architects and designers, supported by a trusted network of specialist professionals and craftspeople.

The studio is recognised for its sensitive approach to material, light, scale, and texture, creating spaces defined by warmth, atmosphere, and a strong sense of place. Rooted in traditional processes and natural materials, yet expressed through a contemporary and highly crafted language, McLean Quinlan’s work is both tactile and enduring. Their award-winning buildings are designed to age with grace and are intended to inspire beyond their lifetime.

KASANAI is a Belgian design studio founded by Virginie Steeland, whose practice explores the relationship between materiality, form, and craftsmanship through contemporary furniture and collectible objects. Rooted in a minimalist sensibility, the studio creates sculptural pieces defined by refined proportions, tactile surfaces, and a quiet sense of balance. Each work reflects a careful dialogue between function and artistic expression, transforming everyday objects into timeless design statements.

Working with materials such as hand-finished microcement, stainless steel, and burl wood, KASANAI celebrates the intrinsic qualities of each medium while embracing a restrained and enduring aesthetic. Through both standalone works and cohesive collections, the studio develops objects that combine material richness with understated elegance, creating designs that invite contemplation as much as everyday use.

Gisela Simas is a Brazilian designer whose work is guided by a quiet restlessness, an innate sense of play, and a deep connection to the legacy of Brazilian modernism. Drawing from lived experience, personal encounters, and the places she has inhabited, her designs emerge from an emotional and intuitive process before being shaped by rigorous thought and craft. Sustainability is central to her practice, informing both material choices and production methods. Through emblematic works such as the Bar Milan, the Lucrécia table, and the Congonhas lamp, Simas explores balance, generosity of form, and functional elegance, while celebrating the richness of Brazilian design on an international stage. Alongside her creative work, she leads her namesake studio with a holistic vision, uniting creation, production, and delivery into a single ecosystem rooted in ethics, beauty, and long-term collaboration.

Stratton Andrews is the owner and lead architect of Stratton Architects LLC. Originally from the East Coast, he brings a blend of regional perspective and innovative design to his practice. Stratton earned his architectural education at the University of Arizona, where he developed his passion for context-driven, landscape-centered design. Today, he leads his firm with a commitment to thoughtful craftsmanship, creative problem-solving, and enduring architectural vision.

Heakyoung Jang is a South Korean designer and the founder of FICT STUDIO, an independent practice established in 2016. Inspired by the phrase “From Craft to Industry,” the studio explores the relationship between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design, examining how craft can evolve within modern society.

With a background in industrial design, Jang approaches craft as more than a collection of materials and techniques, viewing it as a vessel for culture, memory, and human connection. Through material experimentation and process-based research, her work translates the essential values of craft into a contemporary language, creating objects that explore the intersections of tradition, materiality, technology, and time.

Hugo França is a Brazilian artist and designer whose practice centers on transforming discarded tree trunks, roots, and fragments into sculptural works and functional objects. Working from his studio in Trancoso, França begins each project by carefully selecting raw wood based on its texture, organic form, and the marks shaped by time and nature.

His creative process is rooted in an ongoing dialogue with the material itself. Drawing directly onto the wood, França follows the natural paths, cracks, and curves formed by the tree, allowing nature to guide the final form. Through a reinterpreted use of the chainsaw, tree trunks and roots are sculpted rather than cut away, resulting in works that are both expressive and sustainable.

Blending craftsmanship, environmental awareness, and sculptural presence, França’s work celebrates the inherent beauty and life embedded within reclaimed natural materials.

HCCH was founded by Hao Chen and Chenchen Hu in Shanghai in 2018. The studio observes, understands, and responds to its surroundings with boldness and imagination. By mediating and challenging existing paradigms of type, scale, material, and codes, HCCH seeks to explore and amplify the utmost character of each specific project.

Both Hao and Chenchen studied in Shanghai, Vienna, and Boston. They hold Bachelor’s degrees in Architecture from Tongji University and Master’s degrees in Architecture and Urban Design from Harvard GSD.

Grzegorz Majka is a self-taught Polish artist who explores the concepts of modularity, sculptural form, and artisanal processes in the design of furniture and lighting. His work seamlessly blends craft and contemporary design, incorporating high-quality noble materials like natural stone, wood, metals, and hand-blown glass. Guided by a deep respect for the inherent character of materials, Grzegorz highlights natural irregularities, textures, and patterns – veins in stone, the living patina of untreated metals, the organic feel of brushed surfaces. These elements are not hidden but embraced, inviting collectors on a sensory journey through touch and time.

His studio practice focuses on handcrafted limited-edition furniture that is not only functional, but also living, authentic, and collectible art.

Lu Yun is the founder and principal architect of MUDA-Architects, an international practice he established in 2015 in Beijing and Boston, later expanding with a Chengdu office in 2017. With a Bachelor of Architecture rooted in traditional domestic architectural education, his work is guided by an ongoing pursuit of metaphysical reflection within practical design processes.

Before founding MUDA, he gained significant experience at MAD Architects and GMP International, contributing to major projects such as the Lianyungang Industrial Exhibition Center, Hangzhou South Railway Station, Tianjin Binhai Cultural Center, and the Beijing Central Park Complex. These formative roles strengthened his holistic understanding of large-scale design and construction.

Today, Lu Yun leads MUDA-Architects with a design philosophy grounded in locality, contemporaneity, and a Futuristic Oriental mindset. The studio has received international recognition, including the United States Residential Stadium International Competition Award and the Xinglong Lake Bookstore Competition. As principal architect, he has overseen notable projects such as the Garden Hotpot Restaurant, Xinglong Lake CITIC Bookstore, M50 Art Hotel, Haikou Xixiu Park Visitor Center, and the Tianfu Museum of Chinese Medicine—establishing MUDA-Architects as a distinctive voice in contemporary architecture.

Ransom & Dunn is a lifestyle and interiors brand founded by American-born, London-based designers Julia Ransom and Johanna Dunn. Established with a commitment to balance, the studio explores the intersection of aesthetic and function, classic and contemporary, strength and sensuality.

Drawing from backgrounds in fashion, retail, and finance, Ransom and Dunn bring a considered, curatorial approach to furniture and objects designed as enduring cornerstones of the home. Their debut collection reflects a dialogue between neoclassical references and 20th-century design, realised through tactile materials such as marble, stone, wood, and rich textiles. United by a shared vision of timeless living, the duo creates refined pieces shaped by both visual restraint and purposeful design.

Luis Gimeno is a furniture and lighting designer whose practice is guided by timeless design, craftsmanship, and sustainability. Creating made-to-order pieces, he embraces a thoughtful approach that prioritizes quality, longevity, and low-impact production over mass manufacturing. Inspired by the organic forms of 1960s and 1970s design, Gimeno works with natural materials such as wood, glass, and sand to create warm, sculptural objects that balance everyday function with enduring beauty. Rooted in material honesty and thoughtful making, his work seeks to foster a lasting connection between people and the spaces they inhabit.

Fred&Juul is the design studio of Federico Minarelli and Julie Janssen, whose practice explores the intersection of architecture, collectible design, and traditional craftsmanship. After studying architecture in Florence and founding an architectural practice specializing in residential renovations, the duo launched their first furniture collection in 2012, collaborating with local Tuscan artisans. Characterized by refined proportions, precious materials, and meticulous craftsmanship, their work balances organic elegance with geometric clarity, creating timeless pieces that bridge architecture, contemporary design, and artisanal heritage.

Jeonghoon Lee is one of Korea’s leading architects, who studied both architecture and philosophy. He later received a government scholarship to study in France, where he attended the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Nancy and the École d’Architecture de la Ville & des Territoires in Paris, earning a degree in French architectural history. He worked at the offices of world-renowned architects Zaha Hadid and Shigeru Ban before establishing JOHO Architects in Seoul in 2009.

Rooted in the humanities, he conceives spaces through thoughtful reflection and constructs forms through the logic of sensory experience and technical skill. Based on this unique approach, he has received numerous prestigious awards both in Korea and internationally, including the Today’s Young Artist Award (2021), the Kim Jong-Sung Architecture Award (2020), the Young Architect Award (2010), the Architectural Record Design Vanguard (2013, recognizing 10 emerging architects shaping the future of architecture), the Chicago Athenaeum Architecture Award (2017), and the German Iconic Award, among others.

Christian Friedl is an Austrian designer and furniture maker based in Styria whose work explores the intersection of sculptural form, craftsmanship, and materiality. Working primarily with natural materials, he creates collectible pieces distinguished by their refined simplicity, tactile presence, and timeless character.

Rooted in a deep respect for handcraft and sustainability, Friedl’s practice transforms raw materials into singular objects that balance functionality with artistic expression.