‘Fibra’ by Colección Estudio is an elegant blend of culture, materiality, and modernity

As one ambles across the tapestry of the diverse world, a corresponding change in fundamentals and definitions becomes noticeable. The cultural value of craft and artisanship, for instance, differs from one region to another in extraordinary ways. In a country like Japan, craft resides in the very heart of the cultural fabric; pursuing an education in craft—a master’s degree or even a PhD—is fairly common. The scenario is very different if we pan to another geography such as Mexico, where, although significant, craft is thought to be repetitive—you do not think about making it, you just do it. Under the umbrella of craftsmanship lie numerous such perceptions unique in their nuances and approaches. In light of these irregularities and deviations, what is craft in its essence?

This very question alongside the research that fuels the pursuit of its plausible answers constitute the ethos of Colección Estudio, a design practice based in Mexico City, London, and Queretaro. A collaboration between three Mexican designers, Andrés Cacho, Manuel López and Daniel Martínez, the studio takes cues from Mexican culture and translates them into limited-edition furniture designs, accessories, and collectable designs. Expanding their distinctive oeuvre, the designers launch a fluid lighting design dubbed 'Fibra.' “We believe that there is a gap in the revaluation of crafts and how it relates to the concert of art and design,” says Andrés Cacho. “What would be the process to follow in order for the craftsmanship to reach the next level?” he questions.

Through individual ideas and collective dialogue between the three industrial designers, Coleccion Estudio breathes life into clean and concise, hand-crafted designs that are highly conceptual. The studio exists as a collaborative language between the three designers, with their pieces evolving layer by layer through various stages and conversations. “We all have experience in different fields—me (Manuel) in textiles, Andrès in art and Daniel in marketing—but we always come back to our (shared) knowledge as industrial designers,” shares López. While each brings respective characteristic flairs to the table, an interest in Mexican culture ties the designers together, as a reference point for their joint design ventures.

“Mexico is a very artisanal country—our craft is very iconic; but when we would go abroad, we noticed that in other countries, the craft seemed different than in Mexico,” Cacho notes. “We wanted to challenge that idea—this conception of craft in our country (as being mindlessly repetitive)—and so, the repetition in our designs is an aesthetic choice, it is an important part of the composition,” he adds. Ergo, repetition has been a constant element in the studio’s creations. Their debut furniture ensemble Molinillos featured table designs with multiple legs—delving into the notions of craft, iteration, and a quest of perfection. The deliberate insertion of an element more than once in a composition can be observed in 'Fibra' as well.

'Fibra' marks the studio’s foray into the sphere of lighting design; their language and tenets stay uncompromised despite stepping into a territory uncharted for them. Vertical wooden components race down the wall, alternatingly breaking into small waves to accommodate a circular light source. The luminous spheres appear to be rolling down to the ground from beneath a fluid wooden veil. 'Fibra' experiments with a solid material such as wood fibres, and plays with its limits. When conceptualising the product design, the creators contemplated, “How can such fibres function as energy? How could this fibre inspire lines and create softness and flexibility? How could fibre work as an ideal life conduct?”

The product designers are committed to handcrafting each of their designs themselves, an act they also view as 'a political position to go against how things are done.' Since the products are sculpted by hand, each one is slightly different and inimitable—rendering the repeated elements subtly unique. “We believe that it is important to craft them ourselves because, with this, we enrich the offer of products made by designers,” Cacho states. 'Fibra' thus, embodies clean geometry and meticulous craftsmanship, all the while being a design that refuses to be addressed as ‘ordinary.’ The wooden lighting piece is available in four finishes: red oak, black oak, walnut and resin. “We love the expressivity of each wood. We mostly work with wood and we love that each one has a different expression—in the wood itself, and also as the finished product,” explains Martínez.

“We are always looking for all these cultural and artisan elements to differentiate ourselves within the sea of design that exists in Mexico today,” the makers point out. Colección Estudio, through their creative troupes, reiterates an inclination towards design being more conceptual and abstract, as opposed to being straight-forward. By pushing the endless possibilities of materials and techniques, the studio seeks a balance between something uber conceptual, very artistic, and something that the masses can buy. Traditional crafts evolve at a slow pace over decades and centuries, a pace that Coleccion Estudio embraces through their production process. Rooted in tradition, Colección Estudio reinterprets Mexican craft through an amalgamation of the new and old, remaining true to the crafts of their native country, while injecting a layer of refinement.