Studio Sofa

We recently talked with Studio Sofa founders Lucrezia Cortopassi and Martina Cuonz, to find out about their experiences of recently setting up and running a design studio. We discussed the challenges they’ve faced being women in business, bringing a different approach to design to their local client base, the ethos behind the studio and where they find inspiration.

How did the two of you meet and what led you to set up your own design studio together?

That’s what happens when two creatives, who are wanting to make a difference, find themselves together in a small provincial town. We didn’t know each other well to being with, so it was a real leap into the unknown for us – it’s not easy to find a partner you work well with under pressure. Initially, we didn’t know what we were getting into, but now we feel like we’ve started a little local design revolution and are loving every minute of it!

What is the ethos behind your studio and what type of clients do you usually work with?

We consider ourselves to be different from other communication studios in our local area in Italy and we don’t like being called an agency or an office. ‘Studio’ is the word we feel represents us the best because we see ourselves as craftspeople, grappling with a new profession. We learn something new every day.

We work a lot on defining our client’s ethos, and we don’t always work with customers who know exactly what they want to begin with or straightaway understand how our process works and what value it has. We usually begin by sitting with them in our studio, make a coffee and explain our creative process (we talk a lot); the process is like having a chat with friends. This is how we build customer loyalty, using good communication, clear explanations of the value we can bring and lots of interaction with our clients.

“We consider ourselves to be different from other communication studios in our local area in Italy and we don’t like being called an agency or an office. ‘Studio’ is the word we feel represents us the best because we see ourselves as craftspeople, grappling with a new profession. We learn something new every day.”

Where did your studio name come from?

Good question! Before founding Studio Sofa, we were independent freelancers and our home office seat was the armchair or sofa, hence our name. We wanted to pay homage to our first place of work using irony and simplicity. It also goes well with our approach to working with our clients and ethos as a business, in that we aim to be welcoming and to recreate the atmosphere of being comfortable, at home, in your living room.

We love your work! Where do you usually find inspiration?

Our inspiration often comes from the curiosity to discover new places that we’ve experienced whilst traveling, learning about different styles, customs, and working/design methods. We’ve both always had a passion for art and design and love being able to create something special and unique. Getting involved in setting up our own studio is new territory for us; wanting to produce good design, make change in our local town and bring it closer to the great metropolis is what really inspires and fascinates us.

Have you faced any challenges as women in business running your own studio?

Getting into the industry wasn’t easy and it’s not easy working in it now. Locally, many people still don’t understand what we do or don’t take us seriously, simply because we are young women who have a different way of working than the standard design offices or agencies. The flip side of this is that when looking for work internationally we are just a drop in the ocean, but despite all of this, we are very determined and do not give up easily! This is what we have always wanted to do.

“Locally, many people still don’t understand what we do or don’t take us seriously, simply because we are young women who have a different way of working than the standard design offices or agencies… but despite all of this, we are very determined and do not give up easily!”

Have you got a standout project that you’ve worked on so far and why is it important to you?

We are very happy to have been involved in the realisation of the murals in the courtyard of the ‘Student Hotel Firenze’ for Pride Month 2021 – working with an all-female team! We had wanted to throw ourselves into a project of this type for some time and it was very exciting as it was our first experience working on such a large-scale project. The work will remain visible for a whole year and will be the stage for many interesting events proposed by the client. We hope that this project will open up doors to new urban art commissions related to important social issues like this one, this is very important to us.