Dezeen Magazine

Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young

Estudio Persona's furniture collection channels "Hispanic rock 'n' roll"

Design duo Estudio Persona has based this range of furniture on the aesthetic of their native Uruguay, which they describe as "far from the exuberantly colourful Latino cliché".

Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young

Estudio Persona was founded by industrial designer Emiliana Gonzalez and artist Jessie Young, who moved to Los Angeles in 2014 and set up their studio in the arts district.

Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young

"Their two separate visions of the object happily contend with each other on a daily basis," said a statement from the studio titled Hispanic Rock N Roll.

"A discussion flows between functionality and sculpture, product and narrative, in order to create furniture that speaks both to space and to the body."

Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young

The objects in their current collection intentionally deviate from the bright hues typically associated with design from Latin America.

Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young

"Montevideo is a grey and melancholic city, perfectly suited to writers and poets," they said. "Our culture is above all rural and European, inherited from our Italian and Spanish forebears. With very British winters."

Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young

The duo therefore chose a palette of muted colours, natural materials and matte finishes for the designs.

These include the Una set, comprising a large wooden dining table with thick cylindrical legs and an accompanying chair, in either all-black or maple.

Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young

The chair's backrest matches the form of the table legs, but flipped 90 degrees and upholstered in leather. It is propped up on a wooden dowel, forming a T above the horseshoe-shaped seat.

Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young

A cylinder also features in the Puru side table, joining the ends of a folded, stainless steel section. The support comes with a burgundy lacquer, left as untreated wood, or as a limited-edition marbled peach resin finish.

Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young

Also among the designs is the Nido chair, available in several colours. A curved leather-upholstered shell creates both seat and back, placed on a base made up of two timber panels intersected as a cross.

Completing the set, the Totem trio of side tables in black-stained wood, maple, and concrete can be used individually or stacked into a tower to save space.

Photography is by Estudio Persona.

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Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
Estudio Persona by Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young