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TALKING OF COOPERATION HANDMADE DESIGN
A few years ago , Dr . Uta Meeder founded the sustainable design label MAOMI in Mannheim . What originally started as a studio for renovation and interior consulting has developed into a successful and award-winning label for furniture and home accessories .
How did you go from studying at a business school to working with design ?
In school already , I was mainly interested in art , photography and graphics . I tried out a lot and after graduating from high school I did an internship with a well-known people photographer and one in graphic design .
At the same time , I was also passionate about mathematics .
In the end , I didn ’ t study design , but business administration , and yet , for my work I have circled back to the core field of design . The fact that I didn ’ t study design allows me to be free of rules in my head when designing . I don ’ t follow rules because I don ’ t know them : this makes me flexible in my designs - independent . Working without rules and learning by doing ; initially my work was a long series of experiments .
Can you recall a key moment when the foundation for MAOMI was laid ?
The name MAOMI was born by chance in 2001 during my PhD . It was a fancy word that I liked so much that I reserved the associated domain . The company came about many years later . With the birth of my fifth child , I left management consulting and explored new fields . Among other things , I bought a small apartment , gutted it and completely redesigned it . The result was a full-fledged alternative to a hotel . This was at a time when Airbnb didn ’ t exist as today . Working with the space and optimizing the living functions as well as the visual and haptic quality flashed me in a way that I didn ’ t want to do anything else . After a few more projects I started my own business .
How do your ideas come about ? What inspires you the most ?
The feel of a material , the energy of a piece of art , or the grace of a time-honored craft technique . The velvety character of a matte glaze , 16th century celadon vessels or their modern interpretation by a contemporary artist . The craft of barrel making , perfected over centuries of practice in winemaking .