Based in London, Matteo Fogale specialises in furniture and product design, as well as interiors, installations, creative and strategic consultancy. Driven by an approach that favours honest and premium materials, functionality, and longevity, his work is a combination of everyday objects reinterpreted with a strong iconic character.
In 2021, Matteo was awarded a Design Guild Mark for his flatpack side table Cruz Del Sur x Disegno. Here Matteo gives us a glimpse into where he calls home and what interests he has outside of work.
Matteo, what’s your favourite space at home?
This is the cosiest corner of our flat. It’s a rental so we can’t do as much work as we would like. It’s our dining table but we often use it to work, mostly to sketch ideas and do research. I love to look at books when I’m designing something. The furniture is really a mix-match of new designer pieces, like the lamps from &Tradition, lots of salvaged finds saved from the bin, like the Tizio Lamp by Artemide and the Knoll chair. When I see something out on the streets that I know can be rescued, I just can’t resist bringing it home. My girlfriend is a stylist and also sells secondhand accessories/ refurbished furniture, so we have lots of that too, alongside some of my own designs and unique pieces I made for our flat.
When you’re not designing, what do you like to do?
I started skateboarding again during last year’s lockdown. A crew of volunteers restored an old skatepark five minutes from our old place in Hackney, so I went there now and then and loved it. Now I try to go to the skatepark two or three times a week before work. I only skated briefly when I was a teenager with my brother who went on to become a surf and skate instructor in Spain. So it’s been amazing to reconnect with a part of me that I thought was long gone and I love the community around it. It just clears my mind and for a couple of hours I manage to get completely lost. It has been incredibly helpful for my mental health and wellbeing. It’s been hard during winter with the long rainy days so I’m very happy to be able to return to the skatepark more frequently now that summer has finally arrived in London.
For more information, go to https://www.matteofogale.com/
