From sculpted candles to textile designs: MONOMIO’s objects are eclectic, unique and now shoppable

Exploring the possibilities within colours and materials, MONOMIO creates beautifully crafted collections available on the newly launched marketplace.

Founded in Milan back in 2013, MONOMIO started out as a design practice researching the versatilities of objects within different materials.

Leveraging on a solid Instagram follower base, in July 2020 MONOMIO launches its curated multi-brand marketplace, where collections are also developed in close collaboration with artisans and designers from all parts of the world.

MONOMIO’s objects are made of refined materials including glass, ceramics and textiles, all distinguished by classy shapes silently thriving for an original and contemporary look.

DesignWanted had the chance to interview the founders of MONOMIO Sara Peluso and Martina Caiazzo to discover more about their story and plans to develop this promising platform.

Who are Sara and Martina? How did the journey for MONOMIO begin? 

MONOMIO: “MONOMIO was born in 2013 as a design studio, color and trim laboratory and trend forecaster consultancy. In 2015 we decided to focus our attention on the digital path to be an inspiration channel for designers and art enthusiasts. 

MONOMIO is the result of our personalities, Sara who is more focused on research and CMF (color, materials and finishes) whilst Martina is more on communication strategy and lifestyle. 

In the last few months, during the lockdown we decided to push forward MONOMIO business, and in July 2020 we launched our multi seller and multi category marketplace. This digital design boutique merges our know-how with the designers’ in order to create unique objects.“

Why MONOMIO, why focusing on eclectic products, handmade objects and unique limited edition collections?

MONOMIO: “Our community loves the idea of owning beautiful and curated objects, they want products that are environmentally conscious and fairly produced too. We are all bored with mainstream products that you can find everywhere… How many mugs or pots from Ikea can we find in a flat in Copenhagen or in one in Naples at the same time, huh? 

So the idea became clear: creating a collection of objects produced in small batches, limited editions and through special collaborations, often made by hand by our designer partners and contemporary artisans.”

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The curated selection of Monomio features pieces made in collaboration with talented designers around the globe. How do you select the objects to be part of MONOMIO?

MONOMIO: “During these past years we had the opportunity of getting in touch with many creative and talented minds around the globe thanks to our Instagram page, so we started to search, and we immediately found our partners.

The scouting was very easy actually, we knew that the guys from our community embrace our idea of aesthetic and the same philosophy.”

Can you tell us how the collections are developed? Are they based on trends or specific colours or are they seasonal?

MONOMIO: “We’ve decided to focus initially on furnishing accessories for every room in the home/office and then expand our offer in the future. A touch of MONOMIO everywhere.

The objects have been chosen, designed and developed not to follow the seasonality or trends of the moment but to last over time. For this reason we rely on craftsmanship and quality in creating unique and meaningful projects to share with our community of design lovers.”

Which are the main values, core concepts or style inclinations that, above all, will always represent MONOMIO? 

MONOMIO: “Great passion and love for innovative projects, art, design, fashion and the continuous research of shapes and different kinds of aesthetics, as well as the color and materials exploration.

We want to propose impactful and timeless pieces which can last over time, it’s a huge challenge we know, but we love the idea that one day someone can say “this is definitively a MONOMIO product” just by looking at it.” 

With more than 80.7k followers on Instagram, what is your relationship with social media? What is the impact of social media on your work as compared to the “real” world?

MONOMIO: “Social media is our window to the world. It is a powerful tool of knowledge and without it, we would never have the opportunity to meet talented people from all over the world. We are glad to have this opportunity and privilege.

We’ll always prefer physical interconnections because nothing can ever replace a chat over a coffee. But above all, in this historical moment without social networks we would not have been able to work together with the designers, launching our online shop and selling their beautiful products.”

Continuously collaborating with designers from around the globe, what should we expect to see next from MONOMIO?

MONOMIO: “We don’t really want to reveal too much because otherwise it wouldn’t be a surprise.

We’ll give you a little clue anyway… We’re working on a brand new collection of objects branded by MONOMIO. We can’t wait to reveal you more at the right time… so stay tuned and support slow businesses.”

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