KONSTANTIN: To me, Mattiazzi is not a craft shop; they are an
industry. They are manufacturers who have their own factory and
great expertise. Working with them is very direct because they
have machines, skills and knowledge that is theirs. When I work
with Mattiazzi, I work with experts. We have a very personal
relationship and I respect what they have done with this small
group of designers over ten years – each piece special.
I have a history in wood-work, and therefore enjoy the great
opportunity to work with Mattiazzi. But also I am not looking at
wood for organic shapes, even though it is what they can do so
well. I think of wood as it comes cut, in boards. This is my start-
ing point. Wood for me is the cut tree, not the tree as it grows.
I have thought always about Cugino in natural oak which I think
is a very ‘woody’ wood. When I look at the first prototype
from Mattiazzi, it is a curious thing and I like the weight of it, the
solidity and the openness.
KIM: What is Cugino’s relationship to Clerici and Medici for
Mattiazzi?
KONSTANTIN: Of course this sequence of projects relate to
each other. Cugino relates to what I have done before but is a
deliberate departure. If I am being provocative, it’s in that
Mattiazzi has a lot of technology and I ask them not to use it,
because I don’t think it’s always necessary. To see what we can
achieve without all the technology is important, as it lets
Mattiazzi show their skill in the making of it. It’s not uncom-
plicated, the way the legs come together and how the void is
made. It takes their expertise to do it properly. But it also takes
them being brave to make it, not knowing exactly what it is.
