Made Studio was born in 2017 in Valencia, as a result of the evolution and professional growth of Borja Garcia and Laura Ros. The studio reflects the experience of its founders in product design and architecture through work carried out with extreme care from the initial concept to detail. It is composed of a team that combines professionals in industrial design and architecture who join forces to offer a panoramic view of projects. The result is extensive and proven experience with designs for firms such as Gandía Blasco, Diabla, Ondarreta, Mad Lab, Bormioli, Rocco and Nomess Copenhagen. This is paired with numerous national and international awards, such as the Red Dot Design Awards, the Delta awards or the ADCV awards, along with a prolific activity in exhibitions and publications around the world.
We interviewed Borja García and discussed the career and evolution of its founders, their work, team and design projects:
Interiors from Spain: Tell us about your personal career in design and architecture before founding the studio.
Made Studio: Laura finished her architecture degree in 2010 and then jumped to an international career that developed in Holland, Austria and later Germany through major studios such as Inbo and Baumschlager-Eberle. Later, once she returned to Spain we started to collaborate together and this ended up leading to a common project which is Made Studio.
In my case, I studied industrial design and later architecture, and after a brief stint in Milan at the beginning of my career, I have been developing as a professional in both fields independently. I’ve been doing this in Spain since 2002 until the moment that, in 2017, Laura and I made our professional relationship official through the Made Studio brand.
Interiors from Spain: How did you meet each other? When did the idea of creating the studio occur to you, and what were your goals?
Made Studio: We met at university while we were both studying architecture. And practically from the moment we finished our studies, we have been collaborating with each other. After a few years working together, we decided to create a brand that would make sense of the reality we had and which could represent the values we wanted to convey: a close relationship, honesty, quality and a very conscious approach to our environment. We wanted a medium that would be able to represent our work and outline our future goals.
Interiors from Spain: How has your way of designing evolved over the last few years?
Made Studio: We have always wanted to approach each project with a fresh and clear perspective, trying to provide design solutions that are coherent, provide solutions, and add value. And to do so, every product we develop or every space we approach provides us with something as well. In recent years, we have been able to learn, solve new problems and gain experience and maturity. This doesn’t mean that when a new project arrives, we stop seeing it as a challenge. We approach it with the same freshness as we did years ago, but with the guarantee that each line we add represents the sum of our experience and knowledge.
Interiors from Spain: How would you define your work? What do you want to convey?
Made Studio: We want to make products that improve our environment and integrate solutions to complex problems with simple gestures that bring together, in a single act, a sustainable and profitable production. We also want our products to contribute value and beauty to the developed object.
We want to transmit timelessness, awareness and coherence; we want to be silent but very expressive to the eyes of the good observer. We want to take a step forward, understanding the importance of each step.
Interiors from Spain: What importance do you give to observation in your creative process?
Made Studio: Observation is everything! Without observation there is no criticism, and without criticism there is no progress. It is necessary to rethink everything. Every decision we make regarding a product has consequences related to industry, economy, use... It is essential to always maintain an eye active to be able to contribute as much as possible to the next project.
Interiors from Spain: And what does the team provide you with?
Made Studio: We have been convinced for years of how essential it is to share this profession with other people, either within the studio—which is obviously a part of us—or through occasional collaborations with other professionals (illustrators, craftsmen, industrialists, etc.). And what can we say about our team: they are our family, excellent professionals and, what is much more important, extraordinary people with whom we approach each project as if we were a single entity.
Interiors from Spain: Of the awards received, is there one that has brought you particular satisfaction? Why?
Made Studio: It’s always a joy to receive an award, of course. The last one we received, though, was to transform a house into a co-living space for Elvira, an 81-year-old lady who trusted in us and in our design as a tool for change, adaptation and transformation to give new life to that space. The prize was not the award itself, but Elvira's trust.
Interiors from Spain: Tell us about your product design, interior design and architecture projects. What would you highlight in these projects? What have you learned from your customers?
Made Studio: For us, every project is a learning opportunity. The universes of product and architecture are parallel, but they are not the same. In the case of products, each sector has its idiosyncrasies and, above all, its technology. And a new project is always a space for reflection regarding the footprint we will leave with this piece, how it will be used, who will use it, etc. This is enriching in all its dimension, we are equipping the future!!!! About architecture on the other hand, it is the place that brings us the most. Entering a specific space, new and unique, in all its dimensions, allows us to reflect on aspects more closely linked to the territory, the climate, etc.
Interiors from Spain: By the way, have you carried out projects outside Spain? What stage is your firm at in the internationalization process?
Made Studio: Yes, of course! We have worked for companies in Denmark, Italy, Indonesia... Design has no borders, fortunately. It is a subject that interests us a lot, and though we have already done so, it is true that this is something we need to consider with greater intensity.
Interiors from Spain: Can you give us a preview of the new projects and collaborations you have in the works?
Made Studio: As you know, this is something about which we can say very little for obvious reasons. But I can tell you that we have several products that we have been waiting for a long time and that we are very much looking forward to launching.
