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Go to shop28 February 2025
Draga Obradovic and Aurel K. Basedow are a couple in life and work that they carry forward without creative compromises.
Draga&Aurel debuted at the Milan design week in 2009 and since then they have always stood out for their ability to impose their personal vision and their creative method on projects and collaborations. We are talking about a vision in which uniqueness is a distinctive element, expressed by an artistic approach to design that includes customization, research and limited editions.
The marriage between this magic touch and high-level industrial production is a winning one and the collaborations with selected companies give life to innovative and enchanting collections. On the stage of of niche exhibitions dedicated to collecting such as Design Miami and Nomad, guests of prestigious galleries such as Nilufar and Rossana Orlandi, they collaborate with high-profile companies including Baxter, Wall&Decò and Giorgetti, whose high-profile craftsmanship they have married adding a pinch of their contemporary creative verve.
In your works, the choice of materials and colors, as well as processes, always follows very refined paths. Where does this creative approach come from and how does it develop?
Our creative approach is based on observation and experimentation. We dedicate a lot of time to the research of materials, colors and processes that can give voice to our ideas. It is a long and complex process, which we experience as a true team game: we start by developing the products with our team of designers and then we move on to manual work in our laboratory in Como, where, together with the artisans, we give shape to our creations. Here the process is constantly evolving: we observe the objects taking shape through the use of the material and complex color recipes; sometimes, we intervene during the work, refining details that enhance the beauty and uniqueness of each product to the maximum.
In 2024 you presented Scirocco, your first work for Giorgetti, how did you synchronize your approach with the philosophy of this company?
Giorgetti is an excellence of Made in Italy, synonymous with craftsmanship, research and attention to detail, values that perfectly reflect our approach to design.
We wanted Scirocco to express this harmony and, at the same time, to tell our expressive language. The sideboard, entirely made of hand-worked ash wood – Giorgetti’s material of choice – stands out for its doors reinterpreted with resin – our signature material – and worked directly in our atelier in Como. A Ton sur Ton touch that gives the object elegance and shine, enhancing its materiality.
Is there anything new that we can anticipate, especially in anticipation of Design Week?
We are working hard on several projects, but we can’t reveal much! You will find us at Rossana Orlandi, this year with a more “intimate” project.
Working as a couple is more like a dance or a fight?
We are extremely close, both in life and at work, and this harmony allows us to face everything with great enthusiasm. We trust each other and we constantly compare ourselves on many aspects. We share our visions that come from different thoughts and experiences, but also our uncertainties or perplexities. We can define it as a creative symbiosis, in which art and design intertwine and contaminate each other, enriching each other. For this reason I would say that our work as a couple is more like a dance, where one accompanies the other in the next step.
