Spotted at the Maison & Objet fair in Paris and at Design Blok21 in Prague, the young Czech brand Master & Master is on the rise. Their line of furniture and home accessories seduces on a daily basis thanks to a graphic and functional design.
The creators Ondřej Zita and Luděk Šteigl laid the foundations of the company Master & Master, as a publisher and manufacturer. By targeting a rather young clientele, housed in small spaces, wishing to furnish themselves without breaking the bank, they choose the resolutely design option. Their identity and their style are defined in an economy of material and form, (mainly wood and steel), while collaborating with internal and external designers such as the Czech designer Lucie Koldová for the Cocoon armchair and the Mistra chair. Neither cheap nor top-of-the-range, it is through the right price that the brand stands out, in an accessible style for the greatest number at competitive prices. Jana Pouget, sales manager, also for France, confirms “The phase of the health crisis has been rather positive, with the return to home, the cocoon that we cherish, and the acceleration of purchases on the internet. However, we have to face the considerable rise in the price of the raw materials we use, wood and steel. »
The entire production is made in Moravia (region to the east of the Czech Republic), a local workshop which proves to be effective, to develop all the phases of product design and to master the stages of manufacturing. The machines are on site for cutting, sanding or polishing wood and metal, but also for precise techniques, such as welding, thermo-lacquering. Young and dynamic, the company has turned to online sales via the e-shop, targeting border countries, Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands. 60% are standard products sold to individuals and 40% via the network of architects for specific projects. If the shows are buoyant at the commercial level, the spirit of this rational design is palpable there, extending over the collections.
Master & Master: practicality and compactness
Evidenced by the solutions of furniture and accessories, available in multiple shapes and colors. Their simplicity corresponds to the need for functionality in the home, especially for small areas. Chicken by designer Jiří Pelcl plays on the dual use of both a table and a magazine rack, which you can move around as you wish. Spaguetti, the irresistible coat rack, is completely overlooked by its discreet, slender silhouette. The first products launched by Master&Master, the Diamond trestles have become the brand’s bestseller; stackable, they are adopted for a teleworking office, a temporary table. Following this idea of modularity, the structures of the Reverse table are light and graphic, while the Fix legs play with three top finishes in a high or low version.
Basic and elementary, tubular metal is reinventing itself, in several structures and colors while lightening the interior spaces of the residential and tertiary sectors. Also acclaimed by architects, these structural elements of the Master & Master brand offer more flexible variations made to measure, for offices, restaurants, reception halls… Witness the UM stackable high chair by Jiří Pelcl and Michal Malášek, 360 of which were delivered to the Academy of Design Arts in Prague (UPRUM).
Anne Swynghedauw
