Bloc Studios was established in Carrara in 2014 with the aim of transforming raw, natural stones into everyday objects while preserving the inherent qualities of marble. Studio Bloc’s philosophy is based on the idea that every piece of marble has a story that needs to be told. That’s why every product is an exclusive one-off piece.

At Milan Design Week 2018 in the new Alcova space, Bloc Studios – that always collaborates with international designers to create its collections based on an innovative vision of marble that rethinks functional design beyond industrial applications – presented three new series of objects created in collaboration with designers Valentina Cameranesi and Nick Ross, and design studio Objects of Common Interest.

For the first time, these objects combine marble with new hues, which range from the Portugal pink and jade green of the accessories by Nick Ross, to the pietra serena, white arabesque, and noir antique of the vases by Valentina Cameranesi, with which marble takes on a more organic, anthropomorphic shape. In addition to all this, thanks to the collaboration with Objects of Common Interest, research and experimentation give life to a series of colourful sculptural totems.

The Avalon series consists of three sculptural vases made of white arabesque marble and various versions of coloured marble designed by Valentina Cameranesi Sgroi, a Milan-based independent creative director and set designer working both with the physical objects design and their presentation, through spaces or images. “How soft is marble?The idea is to create distinctive vases investigating the use of marble in Baroque churches, as well as the drapery and anatomy of classical sculptures, rethinking the contemporary approach to perfection and clean-cut shapes” she stated. “We have used complex rounded shapes with a certain formal ambiguity to obtain objects in which the veining and different shades of the stones used seem to move and come to life.” Since 2012 Valentina Cameranesi works in association with Enrico Pompili: the Cameranesi/Pompili studio develops concepts and projects both for commissioned and self-initiated projects as set designers, interior designers and creative directors according to each case.

The Inlay Series collection designed by Nick Ross, based in Stockholm, Sweden, includes a chair, a coffee table and two side tables in a stripped down minimal style. As every, his project comes from the desire to create ideal or real bridges between the present society and that of the past. “The Inlay collection for Bloc Studios is inspired by the coloured marble inlaying technique popularised by the Romans in the ‘opus sectile’ style, and later reintroduced during the Italian Renaissance in the form of ‘pietra dura’ work. One source of inspiration, in particular, was the graphic marble floor of the Pantheon in Rome. The objects in the collection are created by taking what is usually a 2D pattern and then stretching it to create 3D shapes. Each item is made from water-jet cut sheets of marble which slot into each other and are then glued in place, creating seamless joins where one marble magically goes into the other. Patterns by mode of construction. One of the key elements of the collection is the ability to change the intersecting marbles to create different colours and pattern combinations.” says Ross. His research focuses on the complex repertoire of history, particularly ancient history, where he finds the factors with which to interpret the relationship between the user and contemporary design. Using storytelling as a pretext and applying an always critical approach, Nick Ross is interested in investigating facts and happenings that have determined specific cultural balances.

The Totem series is composed of stackable, vertically interchangeable marble elements that create different variations for a centrepiece tray element in the form of a sculptural totem designed by the design studio based in New York and in Greece Objects of Common Interest. Formed by Eleni Petaloti and Leonidas Trampoukis, founding partners of LOT office for architecture creates objects and still life installations in search of inspirational moments in materiality, process and concept. “Elements touching and being helped by their weight, but not being permanently attached, contrasting materials being seen together in seemingly non-matching combinations.In this case, the concept derives from composing basic volumetric shapes by stacking, seemingly balancing, carefully calibrated, delicate looking but invisibly held together by a thin marble rod. The concept is further expanded vertically and geometrically to create larger compositions, transforming an everyday object used for holding elements, into a sculptural centrepiece.” Eleni Petaloti stated.

Bloc Studios was also in Poliform and Minotti booths at Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Rho and in the window installation at Paola Grande Gioielli in via Fiori Chiari 16 (Brera Design District).