Tell me about your relationship with LZF. What does LZF mean to you?

LZF has always been for us the kind of brand we look up to because it literally started from nothing and became the great quality reference it is today. It made us really happy that we finally got to work with them. These two lamps, LENS and LOOPS are our first collaboration with LZF and although we stuck to their philosophy, we kind of hope these two new products are going to sort of rev up their catalogue. LZF is renowned for using veneer as its main material: Wood touched by light. They have always stayed true to this motto and we kept this in mind when conceiving both projects, but taking it up a notch and giving it an even more contemporary look. I guess we have achieved something really different, very simple but with a strong personality. We have also integrated new materials but I think we have stayed true and honest to the brand’s essence.

MUT has designed two new lamps for LZF. I’m curious about the design process—how did you come up with these particular models?

If you go through our work from the very beginning, circular shapes have been a consistent pattern. It is part of our DNA, as you can see in other projects such as the Beetle acoustic panels for Sancal, Twins armchair for Expormim or Arco collection for ex.t. We knew before even starting that one of the projects would be born from this inspiring shape that has worked so fine for us in the past. Taking the circle as a matrix, we draw secondary oval shapes in different sizes inspired by peepholes, portholes or photographic lenses. In this project, particularly, we wanted to avoid the characteristic folding and pleating in most of LZF’s products and come up with a lamp really showing off the main material, veneer, at its purest form. Different shades of wood veneer are combined with metal sheets in golden, copper and silver finishes. Thanks to this it is possible to obtain a highly versatile family product. Only floor and table lamps to begin with, but we are already thinking of growing the family with the suspension and wall versions.

As for the other lamp, LOOP, we turned to jewelry for inspiration. We wanted to deliver a piece with a strong personality. Similarly to LENS, we tried to lay bare the material. LOOP combines a series of concentric veneer circles (circles, again) with an illuminated cylinder. It is a portable lamp. One of the concentric circles, made of metal, functions as a handle, so you can easily carry it just like a lantern, which was precisely the object that gave us the idea in the first place.

You describe MUT’s values as being based on the principle of emotive design. Could you say more about this.

If our design weren’t emotional, it simply wouldn’t exist. Our designs are always inspired by emotions, sensations, special moments, curious anecdotes… Even the most apparently insignificant event in our daily lives could trigger the design process. Those little big emotions that are a fundamental part of our everyday life constitute the germ of the idea, they lay beneath every single product and seek to awake that very same feeling in the user or the observer. It is a non-negotiable premise for it is intrinsic to our way of embracing design.

Valencia has announced its campaign for World Design Capital 2022. It may be Spain’s third largest city, but Valencia is very much a centre of creativity. In your view, what lies behind the city’s great design potential?

I think sometimes being small boosts inventiveness. Maybe because of this, Valencia has slowly grown as a centre of creativity. When we founded our studio, the financial crisis was hitting hard every single sector and design was no exception. Many factories closed, Habitat Fair declined, many young people left. But some others, just like us, chose to stay and use our imagination to tray and fix the situation and consolidate the city as the design reference we believed it could be. And it seems is finally producing results. This candidacy, all this design boom we are living is a sign that we have been doing things right. We are really glad and we hope this is just the beginning of a story with a happy ending.

What are your thoughts on Spanish design and its place in the wider design world?

There are many tiny studios that have been working relentlessly in the past years to make a name for themselves in and outside our country. Bit by bit, just like us. We believe this is partly due to the fact that Spanish companies have trusted us in the first place. Some of our oldest clients are national brands such as Sancal, Peronda, Expormim and Missana. We now can add LZF to the list. And they also happen to be the firms that entrust us with the more projects even after all these years. Obviously, as they grow, they also try to incorporate renowned designers and studios from other countries, but they have never forgotten about us. We can’t relax, though, for there’s still a long way to go. From our own experience, we know it is not easy to come this far and it is even more difficult to go further, think big, push your limits. But now that Spanish brands seem to have recovered from the crisis, it looks like there is more space for young talents to emerge and a whole world of possibilities to work here and not being forced to flee abroad searching for better chances. We are optimists, we’ve always been, and we truly believe that the design scene is improving: our job is finally being valued and accordingly rewarded and this improvement in the national panorama will definitely help our country find the place it deserves by right in the map of the design world.