São Paulo – Established in 2002, Desfiacoco Design has a history that may be envied by sector companies. In 2009, the company won the iF Design Awards, in Germany, one of the most prestigious awards in design in the world. In the same year, the company had one of its items chosen to be included in collection "Destination: Brazil", which showed 75 national products for house, jewellery and decoration in the New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMa). With this, the company won the foreign market, getting clients in the United States and in countries in Europe, like Austria, Germany, England and Denmark.
The main Desfiacoco item, which took the company to the foreign market, is a fruit basket named Centopeia (Centipede), due to its winding shape. It may be produced in wood, coconut or sugarcane fibre. The creation is by designers Gustavo Engelhardt, Daniel Castelo and Diego Costi. Engelhardt, who runs the company, explains that the prominence on the foreign market brought the piece to the attention of shops in the United States. According to him, however, exports are small as the company is not interested in selling on large scale. "The idea is not to make seasonal products, it is to make strong products, to have a long commercial life,” he explained.
Established by a group of designers who joined forces to study sustainability and the part played by design within society, Desfiacoco is based on eco-design, which Works with material like fibre, forestry wood, metals and even industrial residues. "The product must have aesthetic appeal, but always thinking on the lifecycle of the product,” said Engelhardt. Apart from the fruit dish, the company also produces furniture and functional decoration objects, like lighting fixtures and clothes trees.
Centopeia, however, managed to surpass its original function as a fruit basket. "People like to use it as a decoration. You may join two [items] and some architects put it on the wall,” said Engelhardt. In November this year, Centopeia should participate in another international exhibition, "Design Contemporâneo Brasileiro – Alegria" (Brazilian Contemporary Design – Joy), to be promoted within fair Design Vlaanderen, in Brussels, Belgium.
Headquartered in Curitiba, Desfiacoco sales are through the company site and also through decoration shops throughout Brazil. In the fruit baskets alone, average production is 80 items a month. The company has four employees and over 90% of activities are outsourced. Monthly revenues are 50,000 Brazilian reals (US$ 28,000).
Service
Desfiacoco
Tel.: (+55 41) 3027-5239
E-mail: desfiacoco@desfiacoco.com
Site: www.centopeia.desfiacoco.com
*Translated by Mark Ament
