Interview with lighting company Parachilna, awarded ‘Best New Brand 2015’ prize by Wallpaper* magazine

Román Riera is one of the founders of new lighting brand Parachilna, which has started the year with a prestigious award from Wallpaper magazine. He talks to Abby Trow about taking risks and working with top designers.
 

 *The following article is an excerpt from Design in/from Spain magazine for smartphones and tablets.
 
Starting a new company is always a risk, but some might say launching a new designer lighting brand in a country that has a wealth of established, diverse and respected competitors is taking a gamble too far.
 
Román Riera, one of founding partners of Parachilna, doesn't share that view. And given the success of Parachilna's inaugural and stunning collections by Jaime Hayón, Jordi Veciana and Stephen Burks, not to mention it's Wallpaper 'Best New Brand 2015' award, he feels the truth will out; which is that there is always demand for originality, quality and vision.
 
On the issue of timing, Riera, who has worked in the lighting sector for 30 years, says while it may be counterintuitive, it can make sense to start a business during an economic downturn: 'The crisis that shook us in 2008 made me refocus and think about starting a lighting brand from scratch without being encumbered by the weight of the past or of expectation, and of not being stuck with having to do things in a certain way because that was the way they'd always been done’.

'So with Parachilna, we wanted to start from the principle of being a brand of high quality and range, working with top designers to offer products that are beautifully made and which are distinct from the established brands that have to produce in high volumes’.
 
'When you're starting out in a recession, you have to be much more rigorous and focused on everything you do and the way you do it – from the designers you choose to work with, to product design, company structure and administration, financial management and distribution',  says Riera.
 
But what about the fact that Spain has a lot of firmly established modern lighting brands that customers around the world know and like. What distinguishes Parachilna?

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