Mario Milana

Mario Milana was born in Milan, Italy in 1981. He was immersed in the world of art and design from a young age, thanks to his father, Dario Milana, an exhibition designer and sculptor. Milana graduated with a degree in Industrial Design from the Instituto Europeo del Design di Milano in 2003. His first job out of school was in the Milan studio of Denis Santachiara. In 2005 he moved to New York where he worked with Karim Rashid for 8 years. As a Senior Designer at Rashid’s studio, Milana had the opportunity to work with clients like Alessi, Artemide, Corian, Gufram, Meritalia, Riva1920, Samsung, Slide, Tonelli and Zanotta.

In 2014 Milana founded his own eponymous studio based in New York and Milan. His first collection of furniture, all handmade in Milan, is being launched in April during the 2014 Salone del Mobile and in New York during the Design Week 2014 at the Sight Unseen OFFSITE.

In his design practice and philosophy Milana is interested in exploring craft, functionality and simplicity, and in merging the worlds of the artisan and technology.

The thought process behind my design is rooted in functionality and the relationship between the user and the object. This first collection of seating that I have presented is called "The Spring Collection" and is founded on the idea of dynamism. Every piece in the collection has some element of "spring" to it; moving with and adapting to the user rather than the other way around. I tried in my design process to strip down the chair to only its most essential elements. What makes a chair comfortable? In the end I hope people find the result to be playful, geometric and sculptural but moreover functional and ergonomic. This idea of balance is also reflected in the chosen materials: the rawness and coolness of the hand-welded iron is combined with the refined elegance and warmth of the Italian leather.

The artisans of Italy are a big source of inspiration in my designs. All of the chairs are handmade in and just outside of Milan, my hometown, and I have a great respect for the work of these craftsmen. The iron is hand-welded and I have purposely left the weld marks to tell the story of the production behind the object. The highest quality Italian leather is all hand stitched and upholstered by a small family owned operation in Seregno that has been in business for generations. I truly believe that you can create innovative designs using traditional production technologies and that we must support and uphold these artisans and their know-how.