The Unconventionals / Gisela Simas

Published in

AWAYTOMARS journal

5 min readApr 12, 2017

Meeting incredible people with inspiring stories

Gisela Simas is a London-based Brazilian designer and founder of Original Practical Design Limited (OPD). One of the few designers chosen to represent Brazil at the Rio+ Design pavilion at Milan Design Week 2017, Gisela gives us an insight into Fuorisaloni and Salone del Mobile and shares some facts about her story and passion for designing lamps, objects and furniture.

Gisela focuses on putting quality first through interactive design. As a designer, she promotes co-creation as an essential part of her work and tells us “The work of uniting everyone is the future”.

Gisela’s Pick for Rio+Design was the DADA Coffee Table. Drawing inspiration from traditional designs from the fifties but asserting itself with a craft aesthetic, the item brings style to a functional piece of furniture.

When asked about what motivates her, Gisela says she would like to try, more and more, to inspire young people and keep on learning from that exchange: “That’s what drives me forward in my career.”

Coffee Table DADA — Gisela’s pick for Rio+ Design.

What makes your work unconventional?

I think it’s by using utility to fuel our senses. Normally, objects just want to be useful — sometimes practical, often beautiful. Using a material of the highest quality, manufactured with the latest technology — which is the soul of OPD — we invite the user to touch, to experiment, to know the piece.

At AWAYTOMARS we believe in the principles of co-creation and that the creative process should be opened rather than closed, since the final product can benefit so much from community insights. How do you feel about sharing your ideas and do you believe co-creation is beneficial for the creative industries?

In my work as a designer, I use co-creation for everything. The factory where I seek to produce a piece adds much of engineering and existing production method. So co-creation is a key part of my work. And the more we can cooperate and do interactive and useful things for the community, the more unified the world will be. I know that the trend today seems to be the reverse, but the world is globalised. The work of uniting everyone is the future.

Why did you choose to work with wood? Is there something special about wood for the meaning of your work?

I’ve always been fascinated by wood. When you cut the tree, the wood is alive. And it never loses its beauty or usefulness. It never loses its roots, its history. So my attachment to wood is that. A piece, though cut, is still alive. And this is how we have to be. Life cuts and prunes us but we need to keep ourselves alive, like wood.

What made you want to pursue this career? Was it a moment of change in your life?

The development of my career is closely linked to my pleasure in transforming and in adding something that can brighten people’s lives. With sensitivity, I would like to try, more and more, to inspire young people. Every exchange is positive. That’s what drives me forward in my career. It’s not wealth. I need to have a brand that inspires, that makes people look beyond their daily rushes and stresses, and to think with their souls. This is an important moment of change for me because when you mature you realise the potential you have to change people’s lives. I am in this moment now. I believe in my work and I’m sure that, through it, I can inspire people to make a better world. Doing my part, for the world.

You have been selected to be part of the Rio+ Design in Milan for this year’s Design Week. What does this mean for you?

Both being chosen by Rio+ Design and selling my pieces to design curators was a result of a choice I made a few years ago: choosing to believe in my design and having confidence that good things would happen. I had patience despite receiving many ‘no’s. I still get rejections. But the difference is that I’ve matured and I believe in my work . Rio+ Design is very important, the people involved are brilliant. Dulce Angela, Development Secretary of the State of Rio, had the ability to gather and bring to Milan a bunch of good, competent designers. I am very proud to have been included. I’d also like to thank Elon Design, our partner here who, I am sure, will continue to be our partner for a long time because we have the same approach: putting quality above all and aiming to inspire people.