Five First Class Female Designers
Celebrating International Women’s Day on Sunday 8th March we honour the talent of five fabulous female designers, whose magnificent work is available at Viaduct.
Nani Marquina Immersed in a world of creativity from her early childhood, (her father, Rafael Marquina, was one of the pioneers of Spanish design) Nani fostered a deep conviction to follow in the family tradition of design. She founded nanimarquina in 1987, driven by the desire to create innovative rugs. Thanks to her visionary attitude, Nani Marquina collaborates with prestigious international designers including Jamie Jayon, Barber Osgerby and Mathias Hahn to create unique collections, and was the first textile designer to work on the concept of designer rugs.
Inga Sempé was born in Paris. She graduated at Les Ateliers - ENSCI in 1993 and worked with Marc Newson in Paris after her graduation, then collaborated for a couple of years with Andrée Putman. Sempé opened her own studio in 2000 and focuses on furniture design, lighting, objects and fabrics.
She has worked with manufacturers such as Luceplan, Cappellini, Edra, Ligne Roset, Moustache and Gärsnäs. She lives and works in Paris, has exhibited extensively across the world and has a number of international design awards to her name.
This visionary Dane (which we have featured previously as one of our Industry Icons) and multi-disciplinary designer was at the forefront of design innovation. Nanna studied at the Arts & Crafts School and was responsible for designer a range of products from furniture to textiles, jewellery and household objects. Her legacy is being managed by her daughters: Dennie, Lulu and Vita, with many of her designs currently inproduction with an illustrious list of manufacturers that include Frerica Furniture, Mater Design, Yamakawa and Kvadrat Textiles. One of her latest pieces to be reissued is the xx collection, now manufactured by Mater from recycled ocean plastic and known as the Ocean chair and Ocean table.
Sofie Refer is co-founder of Nuura with Nadia Lassen and Peter Østerberg. is an internationally awarded Danish lighting designer whose ethos is rooted in respect for nature and the beauty of simplicity; two of the most valuable qualities in her designs.
As a child in Denmark, Sofie was fascinated by the gorgeous wild umbellifers that grew on her grandparents' cottage grounds. The memories of the long summer evenings and the beautiful wild nature have been integrated into the design of the chandelier collection, Apiales, for Nuura. The Apiales collection is a reinterpretation of the classic chandelier that with its layers and natural shape, brings Nordic nature into the home. Apiales is designed so that it can both hang high or low from the ceiling.
Designer Cecilie Manz lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her designs are characterised by subtlety and a lightness of touch, and she has a commitment to 'form over function'. After graduation from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and additional studies at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, Cecilie Manz founded her own studio in Copenhagen in 1998.
Over the years her contribution to the Nordic design renaissance has been significant. She has worked with Lightyears, Fritz Hansen, Nikari, Fredericia and Muuto. Her designs can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Design Museum Denmark.
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