Shining a Light on Female Designers

Patricia Urquiola was born in Oviedo in Spain and was interested in design from a young age. She says that 'when I was little I've always been inclined to take things apart and rebuild them', and so at 18 she decided to become an architect and studied architecture at university in Madrid. However, it was not until she moved to Milan that her true passion for design was ignited.

Urquiola decided to study design at the Politecnico di Milano where she was mentored by the iconic Achille Castiglioni. To this day, Patricia Urquiola believes that working alongside Castiglioni was fundamental to her development as a designer.

'Castiglioni taught me the value of design back when I still believed that architecture was a superior art – as well as the pleasure of envisioning an object. The irony, the fun, not taking yourself so seriously, even when you take what you’re doing very seriously.' - Patricia Urquiola.

Copenhagen-based design duo Isabel Ahm and Signe Lund have a shared belief that craft and design should work as one to create long-lasting sustainable products. This Danish duo demonstrates classic Danish design through quality craftsmanship and meticulous planning. They work as a team to combine each other's skillsets, creating functional, original, and high-quality designs.

The duo first met and worked together on a Danish television show called 'Denmark's Next Classic' in which designers compete to have their designs showcased at the Skud på Stammen 2016 exhibition. The pair decided to join forces as they understood the value of each other's passions and skills.

Signe Lund is a highly qualified and hardworking cabinet maker who, from a young age, saw the beauty of well-crafted materials. Lund's passion for material and craftsmanship results in a hands-on approach to design in which she works closely with the materials and the user experience.

Born in 1906 in a small coastal town in Sweden, Greta Grossman was raised in a cabinet-making family that valued materials, craftsmanship, and design skills very highly. In this environment, Grossman became familiar with the feeling of being the only woman in a male-dominated field. However, this feeling never stopped Greta from excelling within the industry. She used her background and 'can do' attitude to harness her passion for design and studied Craft and Design at the University of Arts in Stockholm.

This period of her life was embellished with awards and achievements. She was given the Swedish Society of Industrial Design award and was the first woman to receive this acknowledgment, boosting her already shining reputation. As her popularity grew, so did her clientele base. She was even honoured by Swedish royalty as she was asked to design the Swedish princess's bed.

After this request, Grossman founded her own company named 'Studio' in 1933. Due to the popularity of her designs, her company grew which urged her to relocate to California to bring Swedish design to the American modernist movement.

Cecilie Manz was born in Denmark in 1972 where she was brought up by her parents who were artists. A passion for design was instilled in Manz from a young age as she spent a lot of her childhood in her parent's workshop, with her own career starting in 1997 after graduating from the School of Design with a degree in Fine Art. She then went on to set up her own company, and this has been her focus ever since.

Cecilie is known for working alone, creating and manifesting ideas and designs by herself in the basement of her studio. She will create a design and then form a physical version of it out of scrap wood and foam patched together. This method gives Manz a direct, hands-on approach to each and every design from start to finish. This direct approach has resulted in Cecilie winning multiple awards for her designs and has been described as the 'master of modern minimalism'.

After winning several prestigious awards, Cecilie Manz's designs have been used in permanent collections in museums across the globe, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Design Museum Denmark, both of which honour Manz's attention to detail and respect for simplicity.

Carlotta de Bevilacqua is incredibly passionate and strong-willed. She describes herself as a 'businesswoman, architect, vegetarian, environmentalist, twin and left-handed' and is highly passionate about them all. After graduating from Politecnico di Milano with a degree in architecture, Carlotta de Bevilacqua became the president and CEO of the iconic design brand Artemide where she uses her love of research to create initiative designs.

After winning multiple design awards and lecturing at the Design Faculty of the Milan Polytechnic, Carlotta de Bevilacqua has aimed her passions and focus on solving environmental issues. By combining her skills in lighting design and her determination for change, she has launched a campaign within Artemide called GenerAction that pushes young geniuses to the forefront. Carlotta is a strong believer that the key to solving environmental issues is within the minds of generation Z and she is also seen frequently at campaigns and protests for animal rights, a cause that is close to her heart.