With a short trajectory (the studio was founded in Valencia in 2010) MUT design is the upcoming design. The future arrives with strength and proving its value honestly. Since its inception this study has been based on the principles of emotional design, seeking to redefine everyday objects with a great deal of experimentation.
They are defined as fools of blank paper continuously searching for inspiration in every trip, at every corner. This is MUT.
MUST Design. The first question is unavoidable. How did you get your name?
We choose a short name with meaning in our language. MUT, in Valencian means “silence” and it is also used to ask somebody to be quiet. Then we realised that it also has meaning in German: “strength, bravery, courage”. We liked the contrast of meaning because we think we are a mix of all of them.
Tell us a little about your background and beginning.
We started working together in 2009 and it was the year after when we decided to officially introduce the studio in Milan in the Salone Satellite 2010. From the beginning we received a warm welcome form the professional audience and the media. In 2012 the magazine Wallpaper* classified us among the most representative studios of the new wave of Spanish design. This is a support that has helped us to consolidate our position of study and that has given high visibility to our projects. This has allowed us to collaborate with different companies from various fields such as the Spanish Expormim, Miras Editions, Peronda, Entic Designs or the Italian Plust Collection, and also it has allowed us towards the recognition of our work as in 2014 we were awarded with Red Dot award.
Is there any project that involved a change in your career?
Obviously NAUTICA marked a turning point, both before and after and also there are other projects that have been a challenge first and a great satisfaction after such as the FLOAT Kitchen that we designed for Miras Editions or the SCALES tiles, which represented a revolution in the ceramic sector. We actually have a lot of affection towards all of our projects and all of them are special for one reason or another.
In 2014 you won a Red Dot with a piece made of rattan wood. Why did you opt for this material? Which qualities did this material provide you?
Although it may seem strange, it was one of the easier projects to design because from the beginning we could envision it very clearly. Perhaps it was because we were feeling very close to both the material and to the craft production system. The truth is that Expormim gave us the opportunity to work with this raw material for the first time and because of this the company was recently reiterated with its commitment, and from its proposal came NAUTICA that takes maximum advantage of the qualities of rattan. This material, once entered in the boilers, becomes very malleable, and this allow us to capture the idea of a shell covered by a pattern of endless curves.
If you had to choose a single material to develop your work. Which material would it be?
Choosing a single material is not part of the principles of MUT. This would conflict with our essence. We would not renounce, of course, to natural materials such as wood, the already mentioned rattan or ceramic. They are part of our DNA.
What is your main resource of inspiration?
Many times it is nature, the organic shapes that appear in nature, the feeling that transmits light of a sunrise or the evening breeze, the sea… and also the most common or unexpected objects. Anything, however insignificant, could start a new idea.
And finally, can you give us any small exclusive?
We are currently conducting new projects in Japan, China and United States, which will soon be released and we expect that they will be a success and liked as much or even more than the previous projects.
One material: Rattan
One colour: Terra cotta
One city: New York
One piece of reference: Tea Trolley – Alvar Aalto
One pending Project: Lighting
