In conversation with Ellen Bernhardt and Paola Vella, protagonists of two collections
“extraordinary” presented during the Milan Design Week.
WHAT ARE THE KEYWORDS OF YOUR PRODUCTIONS?
We met in 2003 while working in the same design studio in Milan. There was a great affinity right away, both from a professional and stylistic point of view and on a personal level, so in 2008 we decided to found our own studio, Bernhardt & Vella. We both share a vision of design closely connected to the individual in everyday life. The key words that describe our work are: elegance, sobriety, harmony, femininity, lightness, but also color, intimacy and contemporaneity.
In conversation with Ellen Bernhardt and Paola Vella, protagonists of two “extraordinary” collections presented during Milan Design Week.
THE BATHROOM IS WITHOUT A LIMIT ONE OF THE MOST INTIMATE ROOMS
AND PERSONAL. IN AN AGE WHEN OUR HOME IS
BECOMING MORE AND MORE A TECHNOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT,
EVEN THE BATHROOM OPENS UP TO INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS AND
FUTURISTIC: INTERACTIVE MIRRORS, LIGHTING SYSTEMS
AND HEATING CONTROLLED BY THE
SMARTPHONES… HOW DO YOU THINK THEY CAN BE ADAPTED?
YOUR DESIGN PROJECTS WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY
INTELLIGENT?
Over time we have worked with many leading companies in different furniture sectors. This has led us to repeatedly deal with innovative solutions, in search of increasingly high-performance and sustainable materials and technologies. The bathroom is certainly a very active sector from a research point of view. In the Nouveau (Milan Design Week 2019) and Origami (Milan Design Week 2023) collections designed for Ex.t, for example, the washbasins and bathtubs are made with LivingTec®, a solid-surface material with high technical performance, sustainable and extremely versatile from a design point of view.
HOW WAS IT FOR YOU TO WORK WITH EX.T?
The collaboration with Ex.t was very stimulating. It was the first time we approached the world of bathroom and we immediately felt very close to the brand's style. We share with them a decorative and recognizable but extremely geometric and graceful trait, a delicate but very tactile and sensorial approach to color, as well as a sense of admiration for the great masters of twentieth-century Italian design. The collections created for the brand embody
so our stylistic figure is very good.
TOGETHER WITH EX.T YOU HAVE CREATED TWO COLLECTIONS: NOVEAU,
AND ORIGAMI. WHAT INSPIRED YOU AND WHAT WAS
THE STARTING POINT FOR THEIR REALIZATION?
Nouveau is inspired by the Art Deco of the early twentieth century: the collection takes up the refined suggestions of the era, reworking them with the taste and sensitivity of a contemporary perspective. When we start thinking about a project,
we often take inspiration from the world of art and the masters of the past, as well as from architecture. Origami is born from the encounter between the principles of oriental art and the atmospheres of western painting. The collection recalls the lightness and delicacy of the ancient art of Origami.
EX.T PRODUCTION IS 100% LOCAL. ALL
PRODUCTS ARE IN FACT MADE IN TUSCANY BY
ARTISANS AND SMALL MANUFACTURERS. WHAT DO YOU THINK?
ABOUT THIS APPROACH AND HOW YOU FIT INTO IT
OF THIS BRAND CONNECTION WITH THEIR
LAND OF ORIGIN?
We fully share Ex.t's approach. Made in Italy is synonymous with beauty, creativity and craftsmanship. It is a value to be preserved, especially by carrying forward a local manufacturing and artisanal tradition that otherwise risks disappearing. This clearly does not mean closing the doors to innovation; on the contrary, being able to link traditional high-quality manufacturing with new technological production processes is precisely the objective that we hope will guide many of the Made in Italy companies in the coming years.
