Federica Biasi is a designer with an essential and poetic style. Inspiring her are Nordic aesthetics and the approach to design typical of the oriental world, which considers the emotions aroused by objects as an integral part of the design itself. Interested in Italian craft culture and its many expressions, Federica Biasi shared with us a research on rattan processing.
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Your path in the world of design began in Italy, took you to Amsterdam, then back to Italy. When did you decide to open your studio in Milan and why?
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I opened my studio in Milan in 2015, but the real question is why I left. I lived in the Netherlands for about two years after working in an architecture studio in Milan. I felt it was time to figure out what I really wanted to do, what I was passionate about, and what I wasn't. I majored in interior design, but while working I had realized that I liked to deal more with product, with details. In Amsterdam I had the opportunity to work primarily on myself, to better define my aesthetic and the kind of work I wanted to do. As a freelancer, my clients were mostly in Italy, so I decided to come back. I opened my studio with some recklessness, but it was the right choice.

What remains of the experience in Northern Europe in your design?
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A lot, especially in the approach. I won't go so far as to say that aesthetics comes before design, but it's certainly not secondary. When I design a product, or a space, I always think about the experience, the feeling that will be created with those who will use it. In Northern Europe, as well as in Japan, they are very attentive to this. Italy has a heritage of industrial design, and sometimes I feel the need to break out of this school of thought, to make design more holistic. For example, I like to work on colors, on the quality of lighting. And my house is never short of flowers.

How has your sign evolved over time?
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It has completely changed. When you decide to go into a profession like design, as in all professions, you start out not really knowing who you are and gradually you discover yourself. Every year is an evolution, a discovery. Perhaps the most interesting thing in the last few years is having put aside the world of industrial design to do research. This helps me a lot in my work, because in the company I don't just bring a shape, a color, a material, but a different way of doing something that has already been done, and therefore new starting point: a research.

There is a lot of East in your design, even in the project developed with Incalmi. What attracts you, what aspects do you try to tell?
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First I like the approach to the product, the special attention to detail. And then I find the artisanal dimension, which coexists with technology, interesting. Japan, and Asia in general, does not forget its artisan roots, it tries to bring them with it, to turn them into added value. This is something we have lost in Italy. Although we are excellent in craftsmanship, in heritage, in history, when we make an industrial product we tend to always look to the future. Which is not wrong, but I feel that it does not belong to me completely, I miss the human aspect, the knowing how to do with hands.

How did the project you worked on with Incalmi come about?
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I met Patrizia from Incalmi while I was working on a personal project for an ADI Design Museum exhibition. I was looking for someone who had the desire and time to do, more than just a product, an experimentation on art glass. Incalmi turned out to be the perfect partner, I immediately sensed their willingness to do research, to go beyond the limits, to try and try again. Chatting, we discovered that we had a passion for natural fiber weaves. I had been working on it for a few years, they also, and so we started a project together, involving one of their suppliers who is an heir to the Barbisano School. By the way, I became very passionate about it!

How did you come up with Koya?
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To be honest, I didn't think I would design an object, for me it was pure experimentation. The need to ground the research was more of Incalmi, and so I envisioned a chest, which later turned into a coffee table. But you can also read it as a sculpture, I mean it doesn't necessarily have to have a functional connotation.

You work with many companies on industrial design projects. Was it different working on a project with such a strong artisanal component?
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Yes. Incalmi has been exceptional. On the one hand Patrizia, who always says yes and knows how to make people work together. On the other Gianluca, who has a great passion for research, like me: when I had an idea, he would take it and take it beyond the limits of what I could imagine. And where he didn't reach, I would reach, one little piece at a time, four hands.

It was very nice to collaborate with them. Especially at a time when, and those who work in industrial design know this well, the research and development phase in companies is increasingly short, if not nonexistent. This applies to all fields, not just design. Research is never seen as something concrete, because it is not useful in the immediate term.

Why did you choose cathedral glass for the top, and not recycled glass, which would have added additional meaning to the project?
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Because not overloading the object with meaning is as important as giving it meaning. The focus of the project for me is the woven natural fiber, and talking about the glass would have diverted attention. I think it's important to choose what to value.

And what about the theme of color? You had red in mind from the beginning...
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Yes, it was a hunch. When I started thinking about a natural fiber object, I definitely didn't want it to look like a big basket. Because the attention would have been caught by the image we all have of the wicker, bamboo basket. I wanted something less handcrafted and more precious, a color that could dialogue with the art world. Then when we experimented that there was a resin made from the rattan plant itself and it was red, we sensed that it was the perfect conclusion for the project.