Coveted Magazine was with Zanine de Zanine at Maison &Objet Americas today. Zanini was elected as designer of the year by Maison&Objet and what an inspiring one he is!

Zanine de Zanine grew up amongst legends of Brasilian Design, such as his own father, the famous brazilian architect José Zanini Caldas. He spent his days in his father’s workshop and became familiar with craftmanship. In his own words, “I love the smell of wood, it’s texture, it’s all very familiar to me”.

For Zanini it was a great honor to have won the Maison&Objet prize that was already gave to great names such as Tom Dixon, Philippe Starck or Campana. Zanini thinks that the prize can be an opportunity to make some new projects that will challenge him in the interior design field.

Becoming a designer was a natural process for him, and the environment in which he grew up continues to inspire him in one of his most recent projects: the reedition of iconic pieces   of midcentury modern brazilian influential designers.

The designer lived in France and made a retrospective exhibition with his father work at the Louvre. Zanini studied in a French school, his mother studied cinema and he loves French culture.

Zanini Told Coveted that Brazilian manufacturers give the opportunity to designers do new things and that Amilcar Castro, an important sculptor and friends with Zanini father, inspired the creation of a stool of his collection. Another inspiration is the vintage office chairs that his father draw in the 50’s and that chairs can be found at Espasso gallery. His father also had an important role in the Brazilian industrialization process.  Some of those pieces are now sold for Sothebies e Christies. Besides his father Aida Buau and Jaime Lernio are other Brazilian designers from the 70’s and the 80’s that also inspire him.

At Studio Zanini  they are also working on some interior design projects, for example, a 20’s palace in Brazil, a project that will be finished in 2016.

The awarded designer talked about Gustavo Betencour and Rodrigo Ambrosio has an example in the new generation of Brazilian designers. Zanini thinks that is necessary to have the eternal need to do better and that his father always taught him to leave the comfort zone.

“These days people want to see the individuality of things. Seek your own identity, locally” Zanini said.

About Zanini de Zanine

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1978 (36 years-old), Zanini de Zanine grew up surrounded by the fine architecture and designs of his famous father, José Zanine Caldas. When it came time for university, Zanini pursued a Masters in industrial design, all while apprenticing with furniture-design-legend Sergio Rodrigues who describes Zanini de Zanine as a great talent from the start… “Zanini de Zanine inherited all the artistic and artisanal qualities in addition to his moral and ethical virtues from his father. Zanininho, as I call him, served as an apprentice but collaborated with me like a veteran designer in my studio. All of his… designs contrasted with his humility.”

Following graduation in 2002, Zanini established his own Studio Zanini where he combined his technical expertise with age-old techniques to create solid wood furnishings, using pieces of reclaimed demolition – often painstakingly sourcing and extracting large columns, beams and posts from old houses. While he continues to work with an ecological conscience in an array of native-Brazilian woods, by 2005 he began exploring alternate materials such as metal and plastics… From there his designs took off, winning him some of the most prestigious awards in Brazil and abroad, including the IF Award, IDEA/Brasil, and recently, Designer of the Year for Maison&Objet Americas. Today, Zanini de Zanine boasts past and present partnerships with some of the world’s most renowned design brands including Cappellini, Tolix, ESPASSO, and Poltrona Frau.

Don´t forget to leave a comment about Zanini work!

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