Chanel Kapitanj founded her eponymous design and ironwork studio in 2017, with minimalism as its motto. A work approach that she was delighted to present at Saloneellite – Salone del Mobile Milano 2020, finally canceled due to the Covid-19 health crisis.
Chanel Kapitanj is now a metalworker and welder, a profession in which she is “ fallen in love ”. After a master’s degree in industrial design, the young Belgian started training at the IEPSCF Blegny-Visé in Liège. It affects all welding processes, including TIG which allows “ a fine and aesthetic result ”.
The designer founded her studio in 2017 with the desire to work with cold materials and metal only, because “ it allows combinations of endless possibilities ”. She also admits being attracted to this subject since her childhood. Daughter of a milling worker, she spent her time in the workshop of the one who is now her technical advisor.
The resistance of metal pleases the young woman: “ this allows me to imagine thin and less massive projects than with another material . ” As evidenced by its Moon shelf, which combines 2mm thick tops and 20mm diameter tube uprights, “ which remains very thin for a shelf with a bichromate zinc finish . ”
The young woman’s projects have one thing in common: minimalism. Partisan of “ less is more ”, Chanel Kapitanj endeavors to highlight metallic materials without overloading the structures of her projects. It is this vision of the economy of materials that she wanted to show at Saloneellite – Salone del Mobile Milano 2020. Unfortunately she will not have the opportunity. The 11th edition of this event dedicated to designers under 35 had to be canceled due to the health crisis currently affecting Europe.
The Belgian designer planned to present three projects at the Milan show. The Blow shelf plays on the contrast of materials: the structure is in blown reflective stainless steel while the shelves are in raw stainless steel. The Doll shelf consists of two simple brass shapes, a circle and a cone, which give the illusion of floating when hung on the wall. The last project is the Dressing Table. The very definition of minimalism, it combines a tray and a drilled cylinder to store its beauty accessories.
This missed opportunity does not stop Chanel Kapitanj, who is currently working on her furniture Stone of Steel. The engraving will give the steel of the structure a rendering close to that of stone.
