APPARATU

Xavier Mañosa

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Apparatu, 100% ceramic

The son of ceramicists, Xavier Mañosa, who was born in 1981, grew up surrounded by clay, potter's wheels and kilns. After studying industrial design and graphic design at Barcelona colleges Llotja and Bau School of Design respectively, he moved to Berlin to work there. There, his roots in ceramics allowed him to blossom and, on his return to Barcelona, he opened his own ceramics studio Apparatu. Today, the creative side of the business is based in Germany, while the production side is carried out in Barcelona. Apparatu takes a fresh approach to design, based entirely on using ceramics, while its products straddle the worlds of craftsmanship, industry and fine art. Integrated as they are into everyday life, Apparatu's designs eschew the idea of bourgeois luxury goods or elitist exclusivity.
Interiors from Spain interview with Xavier Mañosa of Apparatu:

Interiors From Spain: Why does the studio have the name that it has?

Xavier Mañosa: Apparatu was born in Berlin, and it's name possibly sprang from mixing badly written Catalan and badly spoken German!

IFS: What is the best description of you - artist, craftsman or designer?

XM: Ceramicist. Being a craftsman is the most satisfying thing, I think. I'd find it daunting to be seen as an artist and I think I'm too lazy to be a designer - with all due respect to that field.

IFS: Is ceramic the only material you use? Have you tried using any others?

XM: I do try but I always end up going back to clay. But I'm not in a hurry to try out other materials as I still have a lot to learn from using clay.

IFS: Do you prefer making decorative or functional pieces? You are always shuttling back and forth between Berlin and Barcelona, so what do you think of Spanish design today?

XM: I try to do both things. Decorative work is more flexible as it allows you to bypass the prerequisites of design or the pressures of being a fine artist. In the end, I invent my own rules and everything is fair game. A year ago I went to Barcelona. My parents' studio there represents how I like to live best. And I'm lucky to have that link. As for Spanish design, I find it brilliant and very varied, ranging from the pragmatic to the idealistic. I think there's a great desire there to do things well.

Since 2007, Apparatu has taken part in various events known for spotlighting the work of emerging designers, such as the London Design Festival (in 2007), the Stockholm Furniture Fair (2008), 100% Design Tokyo (2008), Tendence in Frankfurt – in a section called Talents – and ICFF in New York, a city where Apparatu will also be exhibiting later this year with eight up-and-coming designers in a show called Noho Next.

Xavier commutes between Berlin and Barcelona and often takes part in spontaneous collaborative, highly creative projects. Recent examples include the Drift and Cococktail pieces – two quirky designs shaped like rubber rings and made of ceramic. The first is adorned with exquisite graphics designed by Alex Trochut, inspired by rubbish swept to shore by the sea, the second by graphics with a Hawaiian vibe. Its other notable collaborations include the Fractal stool, made of two parts – a foam cushion which dovetails with the chaotic-looking, polygonal contours of its ceramic seat – and the spectacular suspension lamp Scotch Club, also made of ceramic, whose multi-faceted surface reflects everything that surrounds it. Both objects were created in collaboration with the company Mashallah Design, which is based in Germany.

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