Maria Ruiz and her business partner Roberto Molinos founded Atelier MEL in 2014. The pair met while studying architecture at Barcelona University and had long wished to work together when an event at the glass workshop in Roberto’s home town of Cartagena gave them the direction and purpose they were searching for.
“When we visited the workshop we had the chance to see our friends performing what seemed a carefully studied choreography to fabricate some colorful vases,” Maria explains.
“It was the Museum’s Night, an event celebrated annually in the whole Spain. We knew that the tradition of artisan glass was being lost in our country and we felt that we had to do something to contribute to the preservation of those magic techniques. We had to rethink them to bring them closer to the actual art trends.”
At times it feels as if the notion of ‘craft’ is overused within the design industry, divorced from its true sense and gradually becoming a kind of catchword that belies varying degrees of authenticity. In Atelier MEL’s case, however, there is no such exaggeration or deception.
The Glass Craftsmen Association in Cartagena, with whom Atelier MEL works hand in hand from its central Barcelona office, is made up of fourth generation artisans that are reinventing the trade, while ensuring the longheld techniques of their forebears are kept alive.
During my visit to the workshop, I was treated to a demonstration of the painstaking glassblowing process, and taken through the journey of the individual components, from the moment they start to take shape in the team’s custom-designed moulds, through to the intricate assembly of the final piece.
Despite the fluid, seemingly effortless motions of these experienced craftsmen, there was no mistaking the skill, physicality and attention to detail required. Not only this, but the shared respect, affection and passion of the two sections of the team – craftsmen and architects alike – was infectious.
The preservation of traditional craft is at the very heart of Atelier MEL’s identity, but their use of modern digital design tools at every level of the design process elevates the scope, adaptability and functionality of their creations.
The team works closely with Modelical – a cutting-edge design agency which develops technological solutions to transform designs into reality by integrating, adapting and developing the most advanced 3D tools.
Rather than creating finished designs, Atelier MEL deals in concepts, shaping and honing via sophisticated software in order to adapt existing designs, or indeed create new ones from scratch.
“Technology is present in every step of our work,” affirms Maria. “Using it to design the glass shapes, we can previsualise and study them carefully before investing in the prototype.
“The most modern digital design tools break the limits of artistic creation – the latest contribution of technology to our glass art pieces has been the introduction of lighting motion and interactivity.”
Aside from the desirable savings on time and cost that this approach brings, Atelier MEL’s clients can participate in the creative process through an online tool which allows them to experiment with and customise their own designs. Designers can trial the form, colour combinations, positioning and intensity of a piece, with the software recalculating and adjusting the visual of the design automatically.
“When we work with a new client they usually come to us with an idea based on one of our previous projects,” says Maria. “With that reference as a starting point we develop a bespoke design for their projects, working hand in hand with their design team.
“Once our clients understand all the possibilities of our methodology, they usually come back to us to develop totally bespoke projects that might not have anything to do with what we had previously done for them.”
Atelier MEL has four base modular collections which can be adapted to a client’s bespoke requirements – DUNA, LOTO, PÉTALO and HIEDRA, as well as a brand new collection of suspended lamps soon to be launched at the time of going to press. This latest addition will be the first mouth blown collection by Atelier MEL, and will be composed of a series of complementary pieces that come from a single mould, which was designed and fabricated digitally.
Whether free-standing, or mounted on walls or ceilings, these designs are incredibly versatile in their impact. The softly curved form of the DUNA system, for example, has been employed to create a striking wall art piece at the new Hyatt Place in Long Island, NYC. Making a centrepiece of the 6m high wall behind the hotel’s reception desk, the piece features glass components distributed on a gradient composition, on top of a geometrical metallic frame.
The brand’s LOTO collection of elegant flower-shaped pieces, meanwhile, has created a bold, fresh look in the breakfast room of Room Mate Valeria, Spain. Mirroring the striking black and white flooring, and picking out the vibrant aqua shade of the banquette seating beneath, the installation brings all the various visual strands of the space together without overshadowing any one aspect.
With high profile projects such as these complete and underway across the globe, from Europe to the Middle East, it would seem Atelier MEL is already in great demand despite its relevant infancy. But the brand is keen to maintain this momentum, developing their portfolio and reach further in the years to come.
“We would like to be referenced as a studio in the world of bespoke installations for the high end market,” says Maria. “Glass and technology are the two ingredients that define or work and we would like to be able to develop the two jointly, and also independently.
“We have already designed sculptures or interactive installations that have no glass, and bespoke artisan glass pieces with almost no technology involved.”
Perhaps it is Atelier MEL’s two fold approach to lighting design that is at the heart of its success. The brand captures both our shared love of craft and the elevated functionality that can be achieved through technology. Yet, all importantly, it does not believe that one must eclipse the other; each has its own place and worth.
