Expert Ease: Più Design

Living-Room-YanaiHow does a furniture company located in South America have an Italian name? The answer to this question is ingrained in the creation of Più Design.

At the age of 16, the Colombian-born Fabian Hernandez created furniture in Ecuador. He then studied furniture production and design in Italy at Salice, and specialized in industrial design at the Metropolitan Institute of Design in Ecuador. Then, in 2007, Hernandez founded the company we know today.

Due to the success of our products in the Ecuadorian market, the idea of a multinational approach has expanded nationally and internationally as a mark of unique products and high quality.


CACHO FICHA•What is the mission of Più Design, and from where do your designers draw their inspiration?
Our main mission is to reach the customer through the feeling and the added value brought by our natural exotic materials. When someone buys our furniture, we want them to understand that they are special pieces, with unique and excellent finishes, and that they are built to endure time while still being fashionable.

We find inspiration in art and culture from around the world. We believe that there are very important artistic, cultural and ethnic events, and we apply these ideas to our products to create art for all countries and continents. For example, “Asiri,” one of the pieces in our upcoming collection, was inspired by indigenous manufacturing methods – interlacing palm wood and bamboo strips. The joy that characterized the working days of the people of the Ecuadorian Amazon inspired the name “Asiri,” which means “smile.”

•What materials do you use to set your products apart from the rest of the market?
Our furniture is manufactured with Ecuadorian Amazonian timber, which has been specifically planted for timber production. The lacquers, dyes and fittings we use are European, while the fabrics are American and Canadian. For our high-quality finishes, we use natural exotic materials, such as cattle horn, cattle bone, bamboo, chonta (palm wood), totumo (wild dried fruit) and coconut. The materials that come from recycled organic waste are carefully selected before going through several intense cleaning and sterilization processes to be reused for the manufacture of furniture.

•Più Design prides itself on being eco-friendly. How do you achieve this?
It’s our policy to promote the use of timber from replanted forests, so we work with companies that specialize in reforestation and planting trees that are beneficial to the future of manufacturing high-end wood furniture. When collecting materials, our goal is to help low-income communities who work in collection and recycling so that we can create a working alliance for the benefit of the ecosystem.

•How does Più Design function as an international company?
I act as the international sales manager for clients outside of Ecuador. Our central team is located in Ecuador, where we have all of the necessary departments: design, production, administration and quality control. The international teams are based in Panama and the U.S.

Beyond that, we are proud to have participated in several major projects for a host of international clients. Our pieces can be seen at the Israeli, French and Brazilian embassies in Ecuador. We have also supplied pieces for hotels in Ecuador and Colombia, and have participated in other government projects with the state.

•What’s next?
We’ll continue to explore new world markets. By 2016, we plan to launch a new collection called “Destinations.” You’ll be able to find it in cities in New York, New Jersey and Texas.

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