CARA / DAVIDE is a design studio based in Milan that comes from the collaboration of South African Cara Judd and the Italian Davide Gramatica, a duo in life and work.

Graduates in product design at the IED in Milan, the department in which they both teach today, began their professional career in 2011, working in different fields: from large industrial companies to artisans’ workshops, and then decided to combine their mutual experiences in 2016. Specifically, they deal with product design, event management and offer creative advice to studios and individuals.

The project they will present at the London Design Festival will be Territorio. Starting from the idea that each object reflects the habitat in which this collection is created, it tries to translate the approach with which the African people create objects, relating it to our contemporary culture and therefore to a more industrial context. To do so, the designers/artists have collected and cataloged numerous photographs of objects of use, architecture, and masks to extrapolate some significant features: thicknesses, proportions, irregular surfaces and synthetic geometries.

Go and visit this collection at the Mint Gallery in the Brompton Design District from September 15th to 23rd.

Where did you meet and what was your path?

We met in Milan while studying industrial design at the European Institute of Design (IED), immediately after the studies we have made very different professional experiences, from an internship in a design studio to work in the company up to an artisan laboratory and learn how to work with our hands. In 2016 we thought it was time to try and so we started working as CARA \ DAVIDE.

How would you define your design style?

Difficult to talk about style, our approach is constantly evolving, always on the move, we dedicate a lot of time to the research phase and to the elaboration of the stimuli we receive. We really like to look at art and industrial culture and develop the work of the studio in these two areas where we can range from the pure expressiveness of the single piece to the complexity of a series production.

What do you have in common and what differentiates you in life and work?

We share the intellectual attraction that we feel for each other that is triggered by a substantial divergence of points of view on many things, it is not always easy to understand but is an important feature of Cara and Davide and CARA \ DAVIDE.

What are the strengths of your different cultures?

At a cultural level, South Africa is one of the strongest examples of melting pots, creating awareness of being part of not just one culture but of many cultures and this daily relationship to diversity is one of the strongest aspects of South Africa contemporary.

On the other hand, a characteristic of Italian culture is the strong link with the many traditions present in the area that has led to preserving in many areas different ancient knowledge that constitute the backbone of a country that is based on work and beauty that this can to produce.

Tell us about the projects you will present at the London Design Festival this year

We will present the Territorio collection, it is a research we have conducted on the artifacts of sub-Saharan African cultures, it was a work of deduction where we tried to capture the most interesting formal aspects and to understand the stylistic and constructive characteristics that they are developed in that geographical area. The Rest Chair and the Chief Chair will be exhibited at Mint gallery in the Brompton Design District.

” To do list ” to ” Place to be ” of the next London design week according to your point of view

London is a fantastic city, every time we go somehow inspires us, between a fish and chips from Poppies and a nice pint at Ten Bells the stages that we recommend because we seem to promise well are:

– Lee Broom Observatory in Shoreditch Design Triangle
– Brompton Design District whose theme is Material Consequence
– Common Senses by viaduct at Clerkenwell Design Quarter
– Enlightened Design at Olympia London
– London Design Fair at the Old Truman Brewery in Shoreditch Design Triangle
– A World of Ordinary Things by SCP in Shoreditch Design Triangle

This year there will also be the London Design Biennale that will address the Emotional States theme.

Which personalities in today’s design world inspire you the most? And which of the past?

Among today’s, brothers Bouroullec and Faye Toogood. Among the masters, Ettore Sottsass, Enzo Mari, the Castiglioni brothers and we could go on for a long time…