Fefostudio fuses gastronomy and weaving to create sculptural ottomans in wool felt

Fefostudio brings together its latest collection of sculptural ottomans inspired from the Brooklyn-based designer Fernando Aciar’s tryst with the gastronomical world. Made of wool felt, CÓMEME constitutes a series of handmade voluminous sculptures, in vibrant colours, and made up of shapes that are in the form of food ingredients. From bananas to sardines and spinach, an array of culinary cues were fused with artisanal weaving techniques for the collection. The products have been realised through a close collaboration with Dejate Querer—a Mexican workshop that transforms felt into evocative nomadic textile objects of woven assemblages. CÓMEME marks the second collaboration between the two practices, a collection converging functionality and aesthetics, culinary and weaving arts.

When STIR asked Aciar to let us in on the driving inspiration behind CÓMEME, the Argentinian artist and designer attributes it to his background as a chef and his involvement in the hospitality industry. Wearing multiple hats, Acair also trained for six years under Argentinian chef Francis Mallmann and further explored a tryst at the Chez Panisse in California—referred to as one of the originators of California cuisine—before opening his first café in Rio de Janeiro, and subsequently, the OCAFE in two nearby locations in New York, in 2011 and 2014 respectively.

The collection, he says, reminds him of walking through the fruit markets of Mexico City, and to discover the sensorial experience of its vibrant scenery. The designer tells STIR, “Being able to combine my passion for the culinary arts with the art of weaving has brought me a deep sense of joy, as well as being able to bring to life something I had been conceptualizing for so long. This is what has felt most special about this project, being able to bring functional sculpture pieces into living spaces.”

“I had collaborated with Dejate Querer before and I was so excited to discover the use of felt wool through my experience working with them. I wanted to explore their weaving process into a structure, a sculpture, a piece of furniture piece. This led me to bring the idea to them with drawings and designs of the ottomans based on their waving method,” he continues.

Founded in 2015, Fefostudio—born of the designer’s nickname—embodies a multiplicity of values, just as he nurtures in his own life. From bowls, cups, plates, and table clothes, to sconce lamps, rugs, and table designs, the studio’s breadth of work is expansive and includes customisable objects for domestic interior design and hospitality spaces. Simple yet artistic, and crafted from a holistic reverence for the wabi-sabi philosophy, Fefostudio’s designs embody ‘beauty without losing sophistication’ and foster artisanal collaborations that consider ‘craftsmanship as the ultimate luxury.'

Touching upon the roadblocks that the studio encountered while putting CÓMEME together, Aciar says, “We encountered challenges when we were making the shape of the bananas and sardines. They were too long and would hang over the floor, losing the elegance and purpose of the shape. So we came up with the idea of wooden bases in the same colour as the wool.” The intervention pushed the studio to make a chrome base to “create a contrast and elevate the product,” he tells STIR. Providing a range of customising options for the collection, the studio offers bases in both wooden tones and chrome. CÓMEME was recently showcased at the Mexico City Art Week 2024.