Marco Costa was born in 1987, just south of Porto, Portugal; He is now a product designer who drew international recognition for his Pixel cabinet, produced by Boca do Lobo Design Studio, in 2010.

Boca do Lobo is designed to evoke emotion in its admirers. The sensational collections of furniture pass on uniqueness and exclusivity. They never cease to surprise, and surely never go unnoticed.  Each piece is handcrafted in Portugal with the finest materials by a team of talented artisans who have a passion to deliver only the highest quality furnishings.  All of the items are fully customizable and the designer always loves a challenge!

Always at the forefront of reinterpretation and upscale design, NYC’s Soho takes center stage in Boca do Lobo first Collection. The power of color is a cool phenomenon that has inspired the creation of Coolors collection. Boca do Lobo’s innate desire to create exclusive emotional furniture, as art, is perfectly illustrated in our LIMITED EDITION Collection – Large Emotion. In the words of the head design Marco Costa: “I must admit that we possess an undeniable talent for designing pieces, which stir emotion in their admirers.” Twenty-eight pieces with distinct and exclusive personalities complete this edition. Each fusion of art and design is presented in a limited series of 20 pieces that are handcrafted by a single master artisan.

Marco Costa graduated at Arts and Design University, at Coimbra, Portugal, in 2009. During his last year of studies, in March, he did an internship at Boca do Lobo Studio and seven months later, in October, he was promoted to Creative Director of the successful design label. Marco Costa is now ubiquitous, designing for the Portuguese exclusive design brand. Additionally, Marco Costa works on architectural and interior design projects, as private residences in Oporto, Lisbon and Algarve.

* See our interview where he reveals a bit more about he last project, The Emporium Chair.

A. Could you share with us your design philosophy?
Early in my student times that I have been fascinated for emotional design, I even wrote about that in college. Boca do Lobo was the perfect place for me to explore this subject, the concept and the mixture between past arts and contemporary techniques were perfect for me to continue excited about emotional design. Working directly with master artisans full of knowledge is very important for me. It allows me to combine this ancient knowledge with contemporary design. Besides, as I love a great challenge, working with these forgotten techniques excites me every day of my life.
I believe that society is getting tired of the industrial processes for masses and in a time were design takes a short time in people life, my fight is to change this “way of living”. At Boca do Lobo, we work passionately everyday to offer exclusive and emotional experiences. At Boca do Lobo, we get inspired by timeless skills and exceptionally craftsmanship. At Boca do Lobo, we try to make this sensual and poetic experience last forever. We want to turn our pieces into family jewels, with an ephemeral character. We are fighting against the massive production referred before.
More than an object to satisfy a need, we want to make something that will make part of people’s life. People who buy Boca do Lobo, are also buying an experience capable to inspire generations.

B. Could you tell us about furniture design in Portugal and why it is so unique?
Portuguese design is evolving. But unfortunately Portugal is not fairly recognized for its great design and production. At this moment, we are striving for more courageous design, initiative and identity from our country. However, Boca do Lobo is a successful example in Portugal because we passionately fight every day for a mission that we want to see complete. We want to elevate Portuguese design to the highest level, and I have no doubt on our capacities in design, creativity and production. Portugal has an excellent industry, but designers and companies need to be braver.
Art schools are getting better everyday and recently graduating new designers that are starting have strong relations with industry.
New brands and new designers are presenting their works and initiatives are growing as well as design events. It is a great sign, and I am starting to feel that the Portuguese design is achieving a better place in the world.

C. Could you share your inspiration for the newest release you have designed?
I design Emporium Chair by questioning the notion of space, experimenting the material, and playing with colors. Emporium is a chair made in aluminum with a particular detail: it rises with only three legs. It’s something very unusual and I love to play with pieces that surround us in our daily life. It’s about trying to visualise the relative importance of something real and have an opinion about it and then I try to find a way to express my point of view.

My creative freedom is about what I see, what surrounds me. At Boca do Lobo Design Studio we operate in the design world but we are more or less artists in the way we work and think. Everyone says there is an art and design crossover and I can’t agreed more.

I really love to try new experiences, new materials, new techniques.

Emporium has a sense of fun and frivolity at the same time, but it also manages to be sophisticated, thought provoking.
My approach with this piece of Art & Design is to explore the fragility of our humanity by revealing the beauty in imperfection. I think this is the perfect time to design a piece that made justice to the weakness that humankind is experiencing today.

I am very happy with the work Boca do Lobo have done and I have a feeling that there are many things yet to come. It’s a ‘learning by doing’ process.

D. What is your design philosophy and what are your plans for the future?
About design Philosophy, as I told you previously, I love to design pieces that are provocative and, at the same time, that make people have an emotional connection with the object, making them feel a big desire for that object. At the moment, I’m searching for new techniques, new materials and new styles. I am 26 years old, and I am looking for adventure; I want to do all the kind of projects related with art and design. Design world is changing and I want be part of it. Functional design will always be a reality, but it will not make sense if it is not bringing something with it…EMOTION. Emotion is the key figure of our daily life. Evoke positive emotions and give a good-feeling to those who look for us is my biggest objective.

Marco designed a piece so eloquently because the focus of his approach is to explore the fragility of our humanity by revealing the beauty in imperfection. Marco felt it was about time to design a piece that made justice to the weakness that humankind is experiencing today. In addtion to this conceptual project Marco designed The Emporium Chair in two different versions: finished in gold plated or copper plated, both with four legs. See them at Boca do Lobo’s website.