D for design, A for art. In short: Draga & Aurel, a quite unusual presence on the international furniture scene, that has brought colour and transparency to domestic interiors. She is Serbian (her surname is Obradović), he is German (Basedow). They met in Como some 30 years ago, both having graduated in Fine Arts in Italy. At the time, Draga was designing textiles, while Aurel was trying to figure out what he wanted to do in life (“I could do a bit of everything from woodworking and painting to playing percussion, but I hadn’t yet decided where my focus should be”). They share the same tastes and have similar perceptions; they are critical of each other, but understand one another: it is no coincidence that Symbiosis was the first name of their venture. Draga had developed a technique for painting on fabric, Aurel was fascinated by resin and both loved hunting for things in flea markets. They were upcycling before the term even existed: they salvaged chairs and tables, reupholstered them and applied resin. These were the beginnings of the Heritage collection, still in the catalogue today.

When they made their debut at Milan Design Week in 2009, they rose up and joined the industry’s elite. The first collaborations with companies followed (Baxter, Wall&Decò, Visionnaire, then Gallotti & Radice, Poltrona Frau, Giorgetti…) and the studio was renamed. “We were looking for a logo,” Aurel explains, “and we played graphically with our first names.” “But then we realised,” Draga notes, “that we were contributing to someone else’s story, so we reclaimed our creative space and in 2019 launched our capsule collection Transparency Matters.” Tables, side tables, lamps, consoles, screens and even armchairs testify to Draga and Aurel’s mastery of materials. Alongside their beloved resin, processed in the Como workshop adjoining the studio, they introduced lucite: “In this case,” they point out, “we are helped by a specialist who we work closely alongside. We are artists, so we can’t just hand over a drawing and walk away. We need to see and adjust the cutting, gluing and insertion processes as the work progresses.” Transparency Matters also provided an opportunity to experiment with material pairings, from concrete (treated with sea salt to induce erosion) to brass. Once they had found the right balance, they built an archive of their ‘recipes’, enabling them to delegate work to their collaborators (now around 30) generating a turnover of approximately five million euros. The majority of their works are destined for overseas markets (Europe and the United States) through galleries – Nilufar, Rossana Orlandi and Todd Merrill Studio being the main ones – while the remainder of the production is sold directly through their Como showroom, by appointment.

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