Milano Design Week 2024 
Design Duo Double Feature

Federica Sala is an independent curator and design advisor. She has been formed in the design department of Centre Pompidou. She collaborated with Fabrica, miart, 5VIE Art+Design, Airbnb, Vogue Italia, Cassina, Buccellati... In 2018 she curated, with Patricia Urquiola, the exhibition A Castiglioni at Triennale di Milano and she’s been part of the curatorial team for the newborn ADI Design Museum with the exhibition about Giulio Castelli. She has an ongoing collaboration with Rizzoli International and since July 2023 she’s the Editor-in-chief of The Good Life Italia, a magazine about business&lifestyle.

Studioboom is an Architecture firm based in Milan, born from an idea of Fabrizio Piras and Flaminia Ratto. They work in different branches of Architecture and Design: new constructions, renovations, design of luxury retail spaces, set design and fashion show setups. They coordinate international and local high level professional figures in the management of each project. The firm nourish itself with a continuous exchange of views between people with different backgrounds and cultures, setting this diversity as the basis for their research. Studioboom aims to absorb different influences from distant semantic spheres and translate them into unique technical solutions specifically tailored for each project.

CARA \ DAVIDE, multidisciplinary design studio based in Milan, is a collaboration between Cara Judd (South Africa) and Davide Gramatica (Italy). Their works are characterised by an ongoing research in material, territory and perception. They produce their own personal projects working closely with artisans in Italy and South Africa. Their collections are represented by galleries in Europe and USA. They work with brands to produce furniture collections and design interiors such as retail and residential spaces as well as exhibition scenographies. Cara and Davide both lecture in the Product Design Department at IED Milan and Como. Their clients include Aybar Gallery, Mint Gallery, Galerie Philia, Coulisse Gallery, Rinascente, Medulum, Uniqka, Portego, Muuto, Vero, Moose Knuckles, Tooy.

DWA Design Studio was founded by Frederik De Wachter and Alberto Artesani in 2005 in Milan, driven by the idea that two – though very different – heads can lead through unexpected paths. Today, their office relies on a few more heads and hands, but the basic is there, turned into a multidisciplinary reality. Their aim is to intertwine the world of design with fashion, and lifestyle: from interiors to exhibitions, from retail to art direction, up to product research. Their projects cover public spaces (in which to live, relax, and share), concept stores, or shop windows. They also create sets, installations, and site-specific works for temporary exhibitions, turning them into creative solutions to avail their customers’ needs.

MARTINELLI VENEZIA is a design studio based in Milan and Palermo, founded in 2015 by the architects Carolina Martinelli and Vittorio Venezia. The studio deals with furniture design, exhibition design, architecture and interior design, exploring issues concerning the relationship between tradition and local culture, the material properties and the technical possibilities of manufacturing processes. Their work has been exhibited in galleries and museums such as Musée du Louvre in Paris, MAXXI Rome and Triennale Design Museum in Milan. They collaborate with several Italian and international brands, including Alcantara, Colé Italian Design Label, DeCastelli, Falper, InternoItaliano, Jannelli & Volpi, Lithea, Luce5, Martinelli Luce, Meritalia, Mingardo, Moleskine, Premax, Slide.

Næssi is a design studio based in Rome and founded by Eleonora Carbone and Alessandro D’Angeli in 2020. The fluid nature of the studio allows Eleonora and Alessandro to explore the transversal connections of objects, concepts and spaces with a hybrid approach based on multidisciplinary research and their experience of manufacturing techniques. Næssi’s works are projects commissioned by brands and collectible design represented by galleries.

mist-o is an Italian/Japanese design studio. Established in 2012 by Noa Ikeuchi and Tommaso Nani, is based in Tokyo and Milan. The studio works ranges from the design of furniture and small objects to spatial arrangements, from limited editions to industrial scale. Tommaso and Noa divide their lives between Japan and Italy working between the two countries. Even if their background is different, they found a common ground in the constant research to simplify the expression, combining a spontaneous approach with a rigorous and logic methodology. Amongst their clients are Arflex Japan, Cappellini, Ichendorf, Living Divani and Zanotta. 

In 2013, after having completed their degrees at the IUAV University in Venice and the ECAL in Lausanne, Giorgia Zanellato and Daniele Bortotto founded the Zanellato/Bortotto studio, based in Treviso. In the same year, they presented their first project at the Salone Satellite in Milan. The collection, going by the name of “Acqua Alta," pays homage to Venice. This moment marked the beginning of their longstanding, constant research into the relationship between places and the passing of time, a connection analysed through the reinterpretation of traditional artisanal techniques. The studio’s works include product design, limited editions for galleries, art direction and interior design projects.