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Maybe it’s the way you pronounce your vowels, just
like your father. Perhaps it’s a certain something in
the way you bite your lip when you’re nervous – your
grandmother used to do that too.
Families create the basis of who we are, where
we grow from and how we develop. Today, those
closest to us aren’t always around the corner,
since our next of kin are often spread across
the world. And the newest ways of connect
ing might not even run into our blood, when
there’s so much else holding us together. Glued
together by these weird, inexplicable affinities,
it doesn’t matter if you’re miles away: kinship
runs deeper.
Although MATTiAzzi is built from a family in
the traditional sense, their community of col
laborators and innovators is growing, welcom
ing those who share the urge in their DNA to
produce to the highest level. The italian clan is
building the branches of its tree, based on what
they recognise from themselves in others. Cre
ative strength, persistence, and beauty in design.
Families create memories together, so we de
cided to record all the MATTiAzzi members
in their respective international homes for a
portrait of all these design relatives. Hold for
the camera and say cheese.
CHrisTopH MACk was charged with this in
ternational mission, to travel around the world
capturing the true personalities in our new
collective, as it spreads its roots from Northern
italy to an evergrowing roster of design col
lab orators, who find themselves playing the
roles of beloved relatives (Konstantin Grcic
raises an eyebrow as the family’s sharp and
winking uncle, Jasper Morrison is its refined
and elegant patriarch). in his adventure, we
brought out the designers’ affinities, the simple
and complex things that draw any communi
ty together, by asking them to place an object
that means something to them on top of their
design. An heirloom, one could say. After all,
creativity is kinship.
Photography Christoph Mack
Leon Ransmeier – New York
Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec – Paris
Konstantin Grcic – Munich
Sam Hecht & Kim Colin – London
Jasper Morrison – Berlin
Design can create
communal bonds across
huge distances.
Mattiazzi is a welcoming
home for international
pioneers, forming
kinship out of intrinsic
similarities.
