Award-winning pieces by Episode Studio
Episode Studio is a young product design studio created in 2018 by Nathan Baraness and Marina Daguet. It is based between Milan and Paris. After graduating from ECAL (École cantonale d'art de Lausanne) and learning from their respective experiences at Sebastian Bergne, Bower Studios, Federico Peri and Elena Salmistraro, they have learnt to sharpen their look, and they have developed a personal approach to design. Episode's driving force is curiosity, and its goal is to cultivate its multifaceted eclecticism.
I reached out to Nathan and Marina with some interview questions in order to get a better insight of their creative world. Here’s what they had to say.
Object of Reference: What’s in the core of your designs?
Episode Studio: " We personify our objects a lot - we like them to have attitude. We want that people see their personalities. In our opinion, this is a way for them to get attached to our objects. A small and chubby chair, a haughty and slender leather lamp or a round and cute lantern. All these descriptive terms question our relationship with objects. We also attach great importance to the stories our objects tell. Sometimes we think almost like film directors! Everything works as a system: we choose the shapes, details and colours in a global way to create a certain atmosphere. Like a movie set if you want, that would define the mood, we think about what our objects will evoke to people."
OoR: Tell me a little bit about yourselves. What is your background and have you always wanted to be designers?
ES: " We are both Parisians but we met at the ECAL design school in Switzerland. Both of us didn’t always wanted to be designers but we always had an overwhelming curiosity, (too) much imagination and the desire to create things! That's what got us closer and made us want to create our own design studio: Episode"
OoR: What is your source of inspiration
ES: "More or less everything can be a source of inspiration, there are no boundaries. But if we had to precise some of ours we are in love with flea markets and antique objects. We love to hunt for curiosities, revisit iconic objects or bring back to life forgotten objects. We are also passionate about Cinema. Sets and film atmospheres are also great source of inspiration. We like our objects to have strong identities. And of course our travels feed us, they are always rich in discoveries. New forms, new cultures, new crafts, new ways of seeing things that make us reconsider what we do."
OoR: Do you believe in following rules when it comes to design, and if so, what are these rules in your designs?
ES: " Yes, nowadays some rules are important and should be for everybody. We pay attention to the way we design objects, we want to think and to take care about the global cycle. Which means to think about the production, the use of the object but also the “after life”. Be aware that we are making the objects of tomorrow and therefore that we have a responsibility - which involves choosing carefully materials, companies and processes."
OoR: What would be your dream project to work on ?
ES: " If we talk about one project, a dream would be to make a « Grand Hotel ». From the furnitures to the architecture, the concept, the atmosphere, the gardens. To design cinema sets would be great too. Other than that, the brands we would love to work with would probably be Flos, Wittmann or Hay."
OoR: What are you working on at the moment, and what are your creative plans for the future?
ES: "We recently won a prize at the Cinna Design Contest and our the lamp we designed is currently in prototyping phase. We are looking forward to see what will happen next. About the rest, we can't say more at the moment, it's secret. But some other projects should come soon."
For more amazing designs visit www.episode-studio.com or follow Episode Design Studio on Instagram @ episode.designstudio .