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This month we bring you Laxmi and Lucas, the creators of MUKA DESIGN LAB and our stool Hodei. They are the personified fusion of the art and the industry, as she is a graduate in Fine Arts and he is an industrial design engineer, a certainly fitting combination.
Their paths crossed in 2004, when they decided to pursue a master’s degree in Design and Product at Coventry University in the UK. Ever since they have not separated from each other. They started to collaborate in different projects and contests until they decided to take the leap and create their own design studio: Muka Design Lab.
Beyond something beautiful and well composed, the product must cause surprise, it must transmit something.
“When we develop a product, we always look for an idea or concept upon which it will be based. This helps a lot when it comes to communicating and explaining the product, and it also facilitates its developing, since the concept is like an argumentative line that englobes all the ensemble, every form and colour that is part of the product. Without a previous idea, we feel naked, as if what we were creating did not have a soul and it was only based in pure styling”.
How has the cooperation with Akaba developed?
“Our cooperation took off with an innovation project for the seat of a stool. Akaba’s creative team liked the idea of working with local designers, and they positively valued that part of us is a female component. For these reasons, when they saw the necessity of completing their product collection, they did not hesitate to collaborate with us. Working with Akaba has been very easy, we have made all the necessary prototypes until we have been satisfied with the forms and details, aspects that we value so much from a design perspective”.
How was the stool Hodei born? For which places?
“Hodei emerges from a very clear brief: to create a light, subtle and low-volume stool, by using the company’s own resources and its Know How. It also had to have a strong character in order to be an attractive stool in the market. Hence, Hodei has very soft forms and extremely refined curves, while maintaining the character of a company like Akaba, a referent in the interiors industry. It is a piece designed for placing a touch of colour and personality in contract spaces such as hotels, hospitality and working spaces. They are perfect for small meetings or for rest and leisure area in tall and low tables. Moreover, its lightness makes of it a very versatile object".
HODEI has turned out to be a polyvalent stool. Thanks to its flexibility, it adapts to any kind of environment.
“It is perfect for projects where one wishes to personalize the furniture, since it is possible to paint the legs and to upholster the seat with the desired textile. It wonderfully fits in interior design projects where we look for harmonious combinations. A design in which none of the pieces stands out over the others, as the style of these stools aligns with any ensemble".
3 words that define HODEI.
“Lightness, subtleness and versatility”.
