For Wallpaper*s 2024 Next Generation issue, we have rounded-up a hotlist of emerging design talent from around the world, shining a light on the newcomers paving the present and forging the future.
Join us on our journey to meet ten emerging designers from Adelaide, Tokyo, London, Lagos, Guatemala City, Mexico City, Loch Lomond, New York and Paris. Welcome to our ascending stars of 2024.
Emerging designer Agnes Studio
Estefania de Ros, who studied interior design, and Gustavo Quintana-Kennedy, who studied architecture, first met in 2010, before founding Agnes Studio in Guatemala City in 2017. ‘We started collaborating informally on interior projects for friends, just for fun,’ says Quintana-Kennedy. This has since turned into an ongoing research and anthropological project intent on bringing Guatemalan craft traditions into the realm of contemporary design.
Wallpaper*: How did you settle on design as your calling?
Agnes Studio: In 2016, we were invited to participate in a project for a non-profit organisation programme with a focus on empowering artisan communities to live off their craft. We successfully pitched the idea of design activation to develop symbiotic relationships between designers and artisans. It was a year-long project that was both enjoyable and meaningful, so it felt natural to keep this as the focus of our day-to-day practice.
W*: What motivates your work?
AS: A big part is the dialogue with the artisans we collaborate with. There is such historical cultural richness, interesting symbolism and amazing skills. We are very interested in human behaviour, cultural processes and philosophy, understanding how things evolve and why. Coming from Guatemala, which is not particularly known for design, we’re excited that there is so much to discover and share.
W*: How do you describe your work?
AS: We are keen to revitalise interest in our craft communities and find ways to keep them alive and resilient. Take the community we collaborated with on our ‘Lana’ series: they work with wool on rugs and quilts, but many had migrated to the US, leaving just three artisans when we started working together. Six years later, the coop has grown – it’s still small, but growth rather than decline is a significant trajectory.
W*: What has been a career highlight?
AS: Doing our first solo show in Mexico City in February.
W*: What do you believe is the power of design?
AS: Design is, and can be, a very powerful motivating force. It is rational and functional, but in the end, for us, what matters is the emotional part: how you connect with design and designed objects. Good design has the power to touch people’s lives positively. It can make people happier, can make life more enjoyable, both in small and big ways.
