Muka Design Lab is a design studio created by Laxmi Nazabal and Lucas Abajo. Laxmi’s background is in Fine Arts and Graphic Design, while Lucas trained in Industrial Design Engineering. The two met when studying for an MA in Product Design Innovation in the UK at Coventry University and, after a year working at different studios, knew that they wanted to devote themselves to product design. In 2011, they decided to set up Muka Design Lab. Today, Muka is a multidisciplinary studio whose projects range from furniture design to the design of consumer goods, and from artistic direction to interior design.
The studio, which has worked with international companies in Europe, Asia and the USA, won the Red Dot Design Award in 2015 for their Revés chair, and was nominated for the German Design Awards in 2019 for their Mindo outdoor furniture collection.
2019 saw the launch of Abana Bilbao, a contemporary furniture design studio through which they share their personal take on their ‘habitat’. Working hand in hand with local artisans who use materials such as oak, beech and red clay, Abana’s designs are streamlined, elegant and understated.
In this interview, Lucas and Laxmi tell us about their career, the way they understand design, and talk about their projects.
Interiors from Spain: What was it like when you set up your studio?
Muka Design Lab: It was really exciting at first because we had so much to discover and learn. It was great for us to exhibit at the Salón Nude and at the Salone Satellite in Milan to learn how the sector worked.
We were so impressed the first time we went to Milan Design Week, and it was thrilling to see so many creative ideas. That’s when we said to ourselves, ‘this is where we want to be’. The following year we did it and exhibited at the Salone del Mobile.
Interiors from Spain: The design of your pieces and spaces embraces the idea of ‘slow design’. What does that concept mean to you? How do you reflect that in your designs?
Muka Design Lab: For us, ‘slow design’ is all about the identity of products and the local economy. It’s a way of helping those around us while also giving products an identity of their own. For example, being Basque we identify more with Nordic design than that of the Mediterranean. We feel we have more of a link with Northern Europe; it could be because we share the same sea, or it may be due to our similar characters.
Interiors from Spain: What are your main sources of inspiration?
Muka Design Lab: Traditional objects and artisanally made ones, design classics, gastronomy... To be honest, inspiration sometimes just comes when you're relaxed, perhaps surfing, or going for a walk in the countryside.
Interiors from Spain: How does the studio benefit from working with local artisans?
Muka Design Lab: When you work with artisans, everything becomes a very powerful source of inspiration. For instance, knowledge of manufacturing techniques helps us to apply them to the sphere of our ‘habitat’. The ability to make a piece together with an artisan and see it almost finished in very little time is really exhilarating for us. We love seeing how ideas take shape; it’s the best part of this job.
Interiors from Spain: You do product design and you’re also interior designers. Which field do you feel more at home in?
Muka Design Lab: Although interior design endows us with a different kind of awareness when it comes to the needs of the market – and by what is required by the customers of furniture design companies – we see ourselves more as product designers and this is something that the manufacturers we work with appreciate a great deal.
Interiors from Spain: At the start of this year you set up Abana Bilbao, a furniture design studio. How did that come about, and what does it aim to do? Can your pieces be bought online via your website? Will other designers be able to collaborate on it?
Muka Design Lab: This is an idea we’ve been working on since the outset, and it was actually one of the things we considered setting up in 2011, but we put the idea on the back burner because we needed to get to know the sector better; in fact, our idea was to create something much more exclusive than Abana Bilbao. Now that we have more experience under our belt, we hope to make design more accessible to everyone. On the other hand, having carried out a number of our own projects with pieces we’ve made ourselves over these past seven years, and having had orders for them without even publicising them, we aspire to give customers what they want: A contemporary furniture design studio with a Scandinavian slant, mid-range prices, products made of solid wood and quality materials.
You can shop online from July. And yes, it’ll be possible for other designers to collaborate, in fact, we aim to soon launch new collections along those lines.
Interiors from Spain: Your studio is in Bilbao; what’s your take on the design in your home town and in the Basque Country in general? Do you think there are traits that are particular to Basque design?
Muka Design Lab: Yes, as we said before, we feel a connection with Nordic style; perhaps it’s the climate, or because we share the same sea, we are more plain, we use a lot of wood, and, I don’t know if this is right or not, but we consider ourselves to be the Germans of Spain. The metals industry is all around us here and that is reflected in the designs of local studios and artisans.
Identity is also forged by the use of certain materials, and these imbue designs with character.
Interiors from Spain: When it comes to the international arena: Which companies have you worked with, or are you working with now? Have you taken part in any trade fairs abroad? What was that like?
Muka Design Lab: We’ve worked for various international companies, such as: Electrolux, Fameg, OFS/Lowenestein, Gantri, Bosch, Mindo, Beko…
Actually, in hindsight, it’s surprising to see that we’ve been able to work with all these people from here in Bilbao. Sometimes it’s hard because your clients are thousands of kilometres away and ideas can get rather diluted along the way, but the upside is that it’s very enriching to meet people who are so different from us. Meetings with Asians are great fun!
As for trade fairs abroad, we’ve taken part in various exhibitions in Milan and Austria. In 2016, we took part in Salone Satellite and, to be honest, the experience was pretty good as that's where we met some of the manufacturers we work with.
Interiors from Spain: What projects are you working on at the moment?
Muka Design Lab: We’re on the way to getting a few international interior design projects, and we’re in the process of preparing more furniture designs for clients we’ve already worked with. We’re also working on a couple of projects for Basque companies, and that's something we always enjoy doing. Although it’s great working in the international arena, we love being physically close to people; communication flows much better, and you can work on projects in a more intimate and personal way.