Taller en Identidad: announcing the 8 finalists
tei - taller en identidad
Says the Nasa community: “the future lies in the past”,
because yesterday are the keys to understanding who we are and where we are going.
lee este post en español.
Rugs by Begüm Cânâ Özgür.
After years working within the context of Colombia’s design landscape, local designer Francisco Jaramillo noted a lack of unique value propositions in the country's design culture. "Colombia’s designers are not making use of their context and their own personalities to find traits that define their creative identity and generate a conscious and lasting design over time," says Jaramillo.
As a result, the designer created the Taller en Identidad (Tei), an initiative that seeks to start a creative exchange and allow young designers to find their own voice within a design world saturated with voices that often resort to imitation and copying.
Design by Loïc Bard.
Tei’s newest edition links young Colombian creatives (between 24 and 30 years old) from different design disciplines with an international mentor in order to create a narrative object to be exhibited and commercialized during La Rambla Artists Exhibition in October of 2021.
As media partner, we are pleased to announce the 8 finalists that will work hand in hand with each international mentor to develop a project over the next five months.
Tei 2021 finalists
Fernando Laposse | María Alejandra Monroy
Begüm Cânâ Özgür | Sofía Cerón
Simón Ballen | Daniela Gómez Pineda
Loïc Bard | Melchor Peralta
Jordi López Aguiló (Kutarq) | Estefanía Agudelo Peláez
Jenna Kaës | Carol Pinzón Ardila
Dach & Zephir | Daniel Ramos
Elisa Padrón | Milciades Castro Vásquez
mentor | fernando laposse (Mexico)
finalist: María Alejandra Monroy
Fernando Laposse.
Fernando Laposse is a London-based Mexican designer who specializes in transforming common natural materials into refined design pieces. He has worked with fibers such as sisal, loofah and corn husks.
He generally works with indigenous communities in his native country of Mexico, generating employment opportunities and raising awareness of the challenges these populations face in a globalized world.
His projects are informative and educational, addressing issues such as the environmental crisis, the loss of biodiversity, the disintegration of communities, emigration, and the negative impacts of global trade on local agriculture and food culture. His work reaches possible solutions through the transformative value of design.
His work has been exhibited at the Triennale di Milano, the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, the London Design Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the World Economic Forum, and Art Basel Miami, and some of his work makes up part of the permanent collections at the V&A and San Francisco MOMA. fernandolaposse.com
Mentor | Begüm Cânâ Özgür (turkey)
finalist: Sofía Cerón
Begüm Cânâ Özgür.
Begüm Cânâ Özgür is a studio located between Istanbul and New York that is dedicated to the design of products and textile pieces. With experience in interior architecture, this designer with a master's degree in 3D design from Cranbrook Academy of Art started her own studio in 2014 in Istanbul, inspired by the cultural richness of the territory and ancient artisan techniques.
Cânâ's work integrates design, art and crafts. Her entire design process is carried out by hand, and she plays with common materials and existing techniques while developing new, contemporary pieces. begumcanaozgur.com
Designs by Begüm Cânâ Özgür.
mentor | SIMÓN BALLEN (Colombia)
Simón Ballen.
finalist: Daniela Gómez Pineda
Simón Ballen is a product designer that is passionate about local crafts and traditions. His work resonates with the fields of anthropology and material culture, and he investigates issues related to identity and heritage. Simón sees design as a bearer of cultural codes and as a tool for empowerment, dialogue and development. He has developed a body of work focused on the use of natural resources and local materials to create products that tell stories and propose sustainable solutions for the areas where he works.
He was selected as one of the finalists in Design Parade Villa Noailles in France in 2019 and received the special award from Eyes on Talent and Frame Magazine. His work has been exhibited at Dutch Design Week, Milan Design Week and at the Scottsdale Museum in the United States. He has also exhibited together with other design galleries such as Frozen Fountain in Amsterdam, Kazerne in Eindhoven and Nilufar Gallery in Milan.
Currently, Simón is based in Amsterdam where he works as a designer at Studio Formafantasma and continues to carry out design projects and collaborations. simonballen.com
mentor | LOÏC BARD (Canada)
Loïc Bard.
finalist: Melchor Peralta
Loïc Bard is a designer specializing in the art of woodworking. His work is very personal and each piece is inspired by familiar people and places.
Loïc's work begins with the drawing of sketches and the free carving of their shapes. The organic forms that emerge from this process are framed by his childhood and Japanese handicraft philosophies. He seeks to represent simplicity and strength in his objects. loicbard.com
mentor | Jordi López Aguiló - kutarq (spain)
Architect Jordi López Aguiló of Kutarq.
finalist: Estefanía Agudelo Peláez
Architect Jordi López Aguiló is the leader behind KUTARQ studio, a lighting, object and furniture design studio with a unique and practical perspective on design.
Each project involves a methodical process where López emphasizes the material and narrative. He offers his users not only an aesthetic piece but also a functional design with personality and a life of its own. After spending time abroad collaborating with prestigious architecture firms in Paris and Copenhagen, he has worked from his hometown of Valencia since 2012.
His work has been exhibited internationally at Milan Design Week, Light + Building in Frankfurt, Neocon Chicago, Tokyo Design Week, Stockholm Furniture Fair, and Maison & Objet in Paris. kutarq.com
mentor | Jenna KaËs (france)
Jenna Kaës.
finalist: Carol Pinzón Ardila
Jenna Kaës is a French product designer dedicated to creating designs that illustrate everyday mysticism. Her objects are inspired by the subconscious of people: their love, their fears and how they celebrate death in a contemporary way.
Her work also includes collaborations with companies that make use of traditional artisanal techniques, designing objects that perpetuate arcane techniques. jennakaes.com
mentor | DACH & ZEPHIR (france)
The duo behind Dach & Zephir.
finalist: Daniel Ramos
Graduates of the National School of Decorative Arts in Paris, Dimitri Zephir and Florian Dach created their creative studio Dach & Zephir in 2016.
They mix passion and poetry; their projects echo the reflections of Martinique poet Edourd Glissant who celebrates the urgency and need for a diverse world.
For this duo, stories and the past are the starting point for the design process, and objects are the means to remember, so we cannot move on without recognizing the past and history. The cultural and historical specifications of the territories which they investigate are what they transmit through the creation of their objects. dachzephir.com
Mentor | ELISA PADRÓN (spain)
finalist: Milciades Castro Vásquez
Elisa Padrón Olivé is a Canarian designer based in Barcelona. Passionate about durable products, she celebrates simplicity, quality, and functionality.
She currently leads the editorial team of Nanimarquina, working hand in hand with artisans and striving to honor the beautiful traditions of Spanish weaving. elisapadron.com
