Mayice Studio is dedicated to product design and architecture. From the first sketch to the final result, our essence is based in a respect for materials, including their history and functionality. We carefully study each of our designs, presenting them as projects with their own personality. We work globally with our clients, as a collective. In Mayice Studio, we respect the soul of materials.
Throughout the objects and spaces designed by Mayice Studio, there is an intelligent relationship between craft and technology. Can you describe the value of this relationship in your design process?
Out of pure necessity, craft has been present in our work since the beginning. When we started to build our own furniture, the industry demanded a minimum of production. Everything we design requires many prototypes and changes, until reaching a specific result. We always say that craft allows improvisation, but not perfection. The imperfection that comes with craftsmanship is something we consider to be a great virtue, making each piece unique and unrepeatable.
Craft and technology have always been in dialogue in our work. In processes, we have used various technologies, from numerical control machines to lighting technology. For example, we find it magical that the intensity of light can be controlled from our smartphones. It is obvious that technology is present in our lives. We choose to use it responsibly, where it facilitates and helps us control energy. When used with care, craft and technology make spaces and products more human.
As designers, you place an emphasis on respecting the soul of a material. Can you say more about this?
It is hard to explain. We spend many hours with master craftsmen in their workshops, watching how they handle a material with such dedication. We believe, in the end, that a part of each craftsman remains in a piece of work, perhaps giving soul to the material.
Every material used by Mayice has soul. We like to work with both the master craftsmen who manipulate a material, and the material itself.
In the glass we work with, in its transparency and light refraction, we sometimes reach the extreme. Filamento Verticale is a single piece, measuring 2.4 meters in length. The light aluminium in BUIT for Gandia Blasco is worked to the limit, and its Kvadrat-Febrik textile, reminiscent of wool, has been built exclusively for outdoor use.
The wood veneer from LZF is a tension cylinder, built with two pieces of glass that almost touch each other, resulting in a thin wood sheet encapsulated within the glass.
We are currently working with silk embroidery for one of the oldest museums in the world, based in Suzhou, China. Their embroideries are perfect, made in silk, with both sides the same. In the project we are working on, the embroideries become suits for a volume of glass, and we see the work in three dimensions.
Tell me about your relationship with LZF—what does LZF mean to you?
For us, LZF is a very personal brand. It is imbued with the essence, personality and values of co-founders Mariví and Sandro. LZF’s work with sustainability, innovation and nature is present in each and every piece. The team at LZF breathes humanity and it shows in its results.
Dune and Eris, your new designs for LZF, mark the first time LZF has combined wood and glass in its collection. What inspired these designs?
We always thought about encapsulating LZF’s natural wood veneer in glass. In this way, the glass protects the wood and changes its appearance, through transparency, refraction and reflection. Both Dune and Eris follow the guidelines set out by LZF.
Eris is a piece that has feminine lines. It is a versatile light, working as a table, suspension, wall and floor lamp. Eris is the name of a planet, and when you see the wood veneer through the glass, it produces an effect that works like a magnifying glass.
Dune is a piece of tubular glass with a deformation in the middle of its length. The base is always the same, however the deformations that distort the light are always unique. Dune is on the line between art and design, or at least we see it that way.
Both Eris and Dune are very special to us. We hope that LZF receives a great reception from its followers and those people who don't yet know the brand.
You are both Madrid-based designers, working globally with clients. What are your distinguishing characteristics—what sets you apart?
We always explain that our job is to solve problems. We give these problems aesthetic solutions, while preserving the soul of materials in both spaces and objects. We listen to our clients and the people who collaborate with us, in order to offer solutions that work globally. We deal with many abstract concepts, and creative processes are the same for both spaces and objects. Everyone involved in these processes with us—the master craftsmen, industrialists, engineers, clients—is very important.
What excites you most about Spanish design today?
Creativity and the desire to work. In Madrid, we are meeting very capable, interesting designers. Many of them are young, with great aspirations, and they are an example to follow. There is a contagious environment in our country, with the need to continually create and innovate. New generations of designers have a healthy competitiveness and are eager to share. These things help us all to grow more and better.