São Paulo – A furniture design company established two years ago by Sidnei Santos in Taubaté, São Paulo is looking to branch out into the Arab world.
Santos’ auto repair center Total Oficina has been in business for seven years now in Taubaté, doing maintenance, bodywork and painting on cars, farming machinery and trucks. That’s where Total Design Art came from. “A customer showed up at the shop with a wrecked 1960s VW Beetle. The car’s side had been bashed in and he didn’t want to fix it, just replace the bumper. I did the job and kept the original bumper. Later on, I restored it and created the Beetle-Couch. It went viral and that’s when I realized there was a market here,” he said.
Ever since, he’s been keeping throwaway car, truck, motorcycle, yacht, airplane and NASCAR race car parts in a warehouse – the raw material for high-end furniture items. Santos and his 10-strong staff make tables, chairs, armchairs, sofas, lighting fixtures, chandeliers and décor items.
According to him, the target demographics include the upper-middle class, artists, musicians, politicians, footballers, and car, motorcycle, plane and yachting fans.
A coffee table built from a tree trunk slice and a yacht rudder goes for BRL 12,000. A pyramid made from electronic circuits that lights up at night costs BRL 15,000. An automated home theater built from the hood of a 1970s Ford Landau will run you BRL 70,000.
Santos is producing a reality show about the project – Do Lixo ao Luxo (or From Trash to Luxury) –, which he’s trying to pitch to the likes of History Channel, Discovery and Netflix. The show portrays the whole process of refurbishing the materials and stresses the sustainability of making furniture with salvaged vehicle parts. “I shot for the moon with this project. I want to reach the highest peak. If I make it to the stars, I’m fine with it,” he said.
Santos became an Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce member to tap into the international market. He’s planning on spending some time in Dubai to explore its luxury car cemeteries. “There’s this car cemetery in Dubai with thousands of cars like Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porsches and Maseratis formerly owned by businesspeople who went bankrupt and left the country. Some of the cars go on auction, but most just rust away out in the weather. I want to slice a Ferrari in half and turn it into art, make furniture and décor items for the sheikhs,” said Santos.
He said he’s aware that this is an ambitious project. “But it’s what I want and I’m going for it,” he stressed. Santos plans on opening an art gallery in Dubai. As for São Paulo, where he lives and has his office, he wants to work with unused parts from Mercedes-Benz – another Arab Chamber member. “I want to bring my collection to Dubai and create more pieces out there. I’d like to film my reality show there as well. I believe one to two months will be enough,” he said.
Santos also plans on opening an art gallery in Miami, USA. Total Design Art has sold some 40 items to customers in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais; another 70 pieces are ready to go, and production is still ongoing.
As for his export plans, he’s got his eyes set on the Arab countries. As for his Chamber membership, Santos said he hopes it will open doors into the Arab world more easily. “May the [Arab Brazilian] Chamber give me the support to showcase and do my work out there,” he said. ANBA inquired Santos whether he dreams of selling to someone specific. “Yes. I’d like to sell to a sheikh. Any sheikh will do; I have no restrictions,” he joked.
Quick facts
Total Design Art
+55 12 99121 4482
Email: sidneicoordenadordeobras@gmail.com
Instagram: @totaldesignart
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Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
