Special corners: Art Objects for the Home
EDUARDO POMBAL Anyone who follows Eduardo Pombal's Instagram account saw that he spent the last few months posting photos of very specific references – with sinuous clothes, corsets and boots full of laces , from the time he was creative director of the Tufi Duek brand . The mysterious research took shape in a new project that takes his fashion vision to other paths: the stylist signs a series of vases in partnership with the atelier of ceramist Paula Sousa. The meeting took place in the middle of quarantine, when Pombal was divided between the capital and Avaré, in the interior of São Paulo. After leaving Tufi, as a result of his desire to work on a new material, Paula was invited to open a workshop in Itaí, a municipality with less than 30,000 inhabitants in the region. “She urged me to create a collection in partnership and now I'm getting my hands dirty and doing something for the first time. I'm having fun like when I used to do a fashion show”, she says. “Just like the fashion I believe in, there is this desire to value things that are manual and made on a small scale, not industrialized. Not to mention the current moment, in which our home has gained renewed attention.” Working alongside a specialized potter, the new ceramist's hand created dents and cutouts in the vases, which are sewn with leather cords. With ten models, created one by one, the collection has a limited edition – but the partnership doesn't intend to end anytime soon. The duo is already preparing a second entry with kitchen items, such as plates and glasses, and is taking advantage of the excitement of the novelty to imagine other projects using clay.
BIA DAIDONE She is in tune with a universe of her own – and that includes her home, thought out in detail. From this process, the jeweler expanded its possibilities and created a metal and marble table. “Initially, it was a drawing for me. I felt like it, I needed a table. Afterward, people started looking and it ended up becoming a line within the brand”, he recalls. "My main focus is still jewelry, but I don't consider myself a creator of just one thing." After her debut furniture, Bia created a series of handles with rough stones, always following the clean design of her jewelry. The story changes a little in the latest release, which maintains the designer's geometric shapes, but gains a robust presence in the environment. Designed as a side table that can also be used as a bench, GEO mixes the natural nobility of the imbuia with the shine of the sanded brass top. Made to order, the furniture is 53 centimeters high. “It's my first time working with wood, a challenge. I'm very interested in this contrast between her and metal”, he says, believing that, today, the line makes more sense than ever. “People have realized how important it is for you to feel good at home. It's not vanity, it's a process of well-being.” Just like your jewelry, released without a calendar, the pieces for the home will follow a rhythm of their own. Now, Bia has been thinking about utilities, such as cutlery for snacks, which will come into the world when the time is right. “I always have something in mind, but I don't force creation time. It's the secret to come out with a better and well-developed product.”
CARLOS PENNA Based in Belo Horizonte, accessories designer Carlos Penna completed five years with the brand in 2020. If the desire for celebrations was slowed down due to the quarantine, the break at home made him take from his mind an already old desire to create objects to dress environments. “It's a longing that comes from a lot of people, of things I wanted for my house. Now, with time to work without the pressure of launching, this idea paid off”, he says. “I've been wanting for years to create bigger objects, pieces that go beyond the limits of the body. It's a return to the origins of the brand when we had a more experimental footprint.”
The first tests appeared in the hands of close friends, transforming well-known curves from the brand's accessories into utilitarian ones, such as chopstick holders and remote control fittings – always with the industrial face of Penna's design, very much based on the conversation between metal and other materials, organic and minimalist forms. Now, with an official launch, the Home line becomes a parallel that dialogues with the main creations. The new napkin holders, for example, carry sinuosities and gemstones from the brand's latest drop, called Perime - tria – advantages of having its own production. “We take new pieces or pieces from previous lines and, in the studio, we see how far we can transform them. One of the objects came from a bracelet, another idea came from a ring. It is also a freedom to create forms that are utilitarian, but without the need for ergonomics”, explains Penna. The experimentation, at a slow pace, has plans for bigger pieces and collaborations: “I want to take the opportunity to work with other people I know during my trips to research new raw materials. We will gradually increase the range until we reach large objects for decoration”.
