Over the summer, I have had the pleasure of welcoming two new fantastic designers to LAMA. Based in Santiago, Chile, Rina and Pamela are the graphic design duo behind the up and coming design studio Grafíkk. They’re incredible warm personalities and adorable handmade products had me drawn in immediately. Recently I did an interview with both ladies to find out more about what inspires them to do what they love. I hope you enjoy their answers as much as I did!

LAMA: Tell us about the independent design scene in Santiago.

Rina + Pamela: The design scene in Santiago is growing and growing every day. There’s a lot of talented designers and very good manufacturers. Also it helps that there’s emerging neighborhoods with young design studios and shops. In six years, everything changed a lot, with the emerging Chilean economy (despite of the latest world economy crisis), design has found its place.

LAMA: Who are some of your favorite artists and/or designers and what inspires you?

Rina: I love art, music, literature and design, everything inspires me a lot. Ella Fitzgerald, Pollock, Klimt, Julio Cortazar, Borges, Mozart, Alexander McQueen, Carolina Herrera, Arne Jacobsen, Tom Dixon, and the creative spirit of Lotta Jansdotter!

Pamela: I would happily have my whole apartment furnished by the work of industrial designer Konstantin Grcic. Im absoloultly moved by Chagall paintings and his life. One of my favorite movies is “el lado oscuro del corazón.” It’s magical because of the poems of recently deceased poet Mario Benedetti as the script of the movie, amazing story, soundtrack and actors. Although i have a deep appreciation for latin american design I  have to admit my heart is with scandinavian object and graphic design like Marimekko and Ittala, and scandinavian architecture.

LAMA: What are your some of your favorite blogs and/or magazines?

Rina: I like swissmiss very much, and Bloesem (and of course I can’t name all my favorite blogs, because the list is very very long.) As for magazines, my favorites are Vogue, Living etc, Elle, Hint, Wallpaper, Flaunt, Print.

Pamela: Uf! so many options, i really like El beso, Rina’s blog, and Lama! Print magazine is my favorite.

Baby bibs found here! …

LAMA: What is your dream for Grafíkk?

Rina: I think still growing, but keep our independence. Oh! I want to work and design for graphic I hope all my life, It makes me really happy, and of course working with Pamela is very nice too.

Pamela: Grafíkk is a joint project with Rina but it’s also my own dream come true. To be able to do what I really like with total freedom is a gift, every task i make for Grafíkk motivates me more then any other job I ever had. I guess in terms of what i want Grafíkk to became is a more organizad and stable version of what it already is.

… and here!

LAMA: What is your favorite thing to do in Santiago?

Rina: Santiago is an amazing and modern city. I love reading a book in the beautiful cafes of Santiago and walking around the city with my camera.

Pamela: Walking around it’s different neighborhoods, especially mine! It’s sorrounded by lots of museums, little shops, restaurants and cute cafés. Also riding my bicycle to my office by the park.

Tea Towels found here!

Muchos Gracias Rina and Pamela for sharing your thoughts with us! LAMA couldn’t be happier to work with both of you! To check out more information about information about Grafíkk, please click here. To check out their blog, click here.

Posted on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 11:53 am / Category: LAMA News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.