Interviews met Giuseppe Santacroce

The idea was to capture the moments spent today in the kitchen. Every day life pushes us to live with frenzy the common areas of private life. This furniture wants to tell how we live our life. The legs of the sideboard simulate a frenetic movement, almost running.

When I started designing this product, I thought of something that could characterize my kitchen, without upsetting it. My goal was to tell a fundamental moment in our life. Rediscovering the values ​​and importance of living our homes. Do not run away from the common areas of the house to take refuge in solitude, but use the kitchen as a sharing environment.

This element is a starting point, to rediscover the beauty of living our homes. I would like to continue promoting this concept, through this product and with subsequent collections.

When you have a clear idea or feeling, it doesn't take long to bring it to life. I drew a lot to find a unique, particular and delicate feature. I always draw with the pen so that I cannot erase errors and corrections and I always keep the initial drawing in mind to simplify it more and more. After studying form and function, I went in search of the material that most could give life and poetry to my concept, working it by hand.

It was the result of my inspiration, I wanted to tell a fragment of life to which we must pay attention.

Surely the desire to rediscover the beauty of our homes, the most intimate place in our life. This is a unique piece, it tells a moment in life that affects all of us, our frenzy.

Without a doubt the material is a fundamental characteristic. This product is made of centenary olive wood, a wood that has many stories to tell, and which can now express its beauty through my ideas of form.

The name is a clear provocation as opposed to the function of the product. Here you can find what you need in your kitchen, but the movement of the legs wants to simulate a run. So what do you do? Do you prefer to enjoy your home and your kitchen, or do you prefer to run away?

I always start by listening to music, it helps the mind to relax. Then I start drawing in pen, trying to give shape to my ideas. After some functional analyzes I transported the project into the various 2D and 3D modeling software. Finally, after selecting the material, I went to the laboratory to develop the project.

The main feature is the material: it is made entirely of centenary olive tree. The timber was obtained from some specimens felled due to a land deficit, which brought these trees to the end of their life cycle. This project has a linear and clean design, it wants to make your space unique, and another interesting feature is that there will not be two of them the same, since the veins change from sample to sample. The project was made entirely by hand, aware of working one of the most precious woods in the world.

The whole project is the result of my idea, then, together with a skilled craftsman, I worked the wood to obtain the product.

The role of technology in the design phase is fundamental because it allows you not to waste material. For the rest, the hand work did everything.

The difficult challenge was to give shape and meaning to the movement of the legs of the sideboard, and at the same time to make the product stable and resistant.

The decision was almost random, but the product wanted to tell its story, and I thought it was the right time for me to participate in this competition, and as a first experience I am really satisfied. I hope to do better in the future.

I decided to become a designer when I was 18, when I realized that I could shape my imagination and at the same time allow people to use my ideas in everyday life. I come from a small province of Southern Italy, a country in Calabria, a place of sea, fishing and wonderful landscapes. I spent most of my life in close contact with the sea until I decided to move to Milan to study design. In my homeland there are many good craftsmen, so I thought of combining craftsmanship with the experience I gained studying in Milan. I have never lacked fantasy, and after deepening my studies first in the IED university, and then at the Accademia Di Belle Arti in Brera, I decided to start my career by creating customized products and unique handmade pieces. I hope to grow my studio following this philosophy.

Currently I also work in the family business, a coffee company, and I deal with the whole Design sector. This allows me to have funds to invest in my creations. I think that through hard work I will be able to put my mark. I currently live in Milan, but I hope to be able to be appreciated in other states, transporting my ideas and the craftsmanship of my works, which are the result of a long thought, and of noble and eternal materials such as olive wood.

I've always dreamed of leaving my mark on the world around me, without limiting my expressive stamp. As I said before I decided to become a designer when I was 18, I'm passionate about sculpture, and when I realized that I could shape my imagination and at the same time allow people to use my ideas in everyday life, I decided to study Design. I love design because it is the means of expression that can best tell a story and a function. I always thought that "only through craftsmanship can we bridge the distance between Art and Design. If you don't live the essence of your materials, you will end up becoming an artist without a canvas or a designer without sincerity".

I hope to develop a communication skill that can give any type of emotion to those who touch my products.

Obviously it was my choice, a choice that allowed me to travel between art and function. I love materials, nature and technology, and Design allows you to do all this.

My design includes different sectors (hospitality, residences, offices, yachts, product design), I don't have a real priority, each of my creations has my own state of mind, or a situation that I am currently experiencing. If I had to choose, I would like to devote a little more time to the design of yachts, this would combine design and sea, two worlds that I love.

Well to become a legend I still have to go a long way, my fortune is to have started studying design early, so I'm still young. And to young people like me I would say to always express their idea, without being conditioned by social media.

"Following a word is copying, listening and understanding many words is research".

I think there are two fundamental aspects.

One is the ability to help, help the environment or people in life, therefore a more "scientific" design.

The second is the ability to tell something, tell it in a unique and exciting way, then an "artistic" design.

To evaluate this many factors come into play. We need to understand what that particular product leaves to the world, and what that product conveys. It can convey beauty, emotion, or even contempt, hatred and anger. The difference in my opinion lies in time, a perfect design is a design that lasts over time, which becomes "eternal". It is beautiful and exciting today, and it will be in 50 years. So, for me a winning design must keep its characteristics unchanged over time. It must be useful today and tomorrow, exciting today and tomorrow.

Because design has to excite you, it has to make life better, to the point that you can't do without it.

There are two environments that I would like to know better and maybe work on. I know one and it's yacht design, here I could combine my passion for the sea with my work as a designer, it would therefore be a perfect environment for me.

Another truly amazing field is that of motoring. I love the automotive design of the past years (50s/60s/70s), it fascinates me a lot and as an Italian I am passionate about motors. Just think of the history of Ferrari or Lamborghini, stories of shapes and innovations that come to life through design.

The dream project must remain a dream, I think, so that we can always pursue it.

This allows you to never stop, to not settle for something well done, but to seek more and more.

Here's how you can achieve ever higher goals.

I think that in this work you never end, your style and your ideas grow and change with you, and consequently also your goals and your dreams.

The secret recipe is made from the union of many small ingredients.

Emotions, and ideas and materials, through these elements you can let anyone touch your soul.

The great masters have shaped the past, but we must shape our present, we must study the masters of the past, but be inspired by our present to make the right Design.

There are really many, and it would take a long time to describe everyone. But in the last period I have been passionate about the history of a great designer, namely Horacio Pagani, the creator of the famous Pagani car manufacturer. I'm very passionate about the way he followed his dream, creating his shapes and making them become a brand of great prestige worldwide.

There cannot be a project better than another. Each work has an importance for that historical moment and for the destination for which it was conceived.

The ways to improve are endless.

I like to think a lot and travel.

Knowing other cultures allows you to be more careful even with your own culture, and to appreciate design in the world in many forms.

Probably I would have tried to make my way in two opposite worlds, if I speak of dreams, I would have tried to make a career as a race car driver, but I would also love to make a career and know the world of agriculture well. Nature always offers great emotions.

For me, design is an art that must touch the heart, eyes and hands.

The hands because the design must allow to live the works daily.

All the people who love or hate you help to shape your personality. But of all the people from whom I drew inspiration to form my person, the one who most supported me in my choices, is my mother. I could say that the last revision of each of my projects, I leave it to her, from her reactions I understand the validity of my ideas.

Everyone's ability to grow up is directly proportional to the ambitions. The bigger the ambitions, the more difficult it is to become a great designer. But what if you reach the goal? Well at that point you will understand that there are no limits, and you'll be a great designer.

Maybe the biggest obstacle was starting from scratch, that is, building an experience that begins with studies and that perhaps will never end, and that changes every time.

I always say a joke for this, "if your project is clear even to grandmother then you have expressed yourself well".

In addition to the joke, obviously a project must respect all the presentation quality necessary to make your idea and the function of your product understood, giving clear guidelines to the customer so that he already has the most realistic idea.

I'm working on a project that I hope will help everyday life now and in the future. A product born after the latest emergencies of the COVID-19.

I really like making works that are or become necessities for others, sometimes you realize you need something only after seeing it, or you need something that has not exist yet, it's the right time. I think there isn't a final goal in this job, but a continuous maturation.

Certainly something original, each piece of my collections becomes original through the materials, and I think people love to feel unique, and that's what I try to do, making each project unique.

Design changes as society changes, so it is important to have solid roots, the future is built on the past, and this is what I try to do using materials and craftsmanship in my creations.

I'm working on a project that I hope will help everyday life now and in the future. A product born after the latest emergencies of the COVID-19.

All projects that help the people or the environment can give satisfaction. Just think of the umbrella, one of the greatest inventions in history, in its simplicity it will remain a useful object forever.

This is a really good question, I would like very much if more attention was given to the word "design", nowadays this word is abused, diminishing the value of the studies and the work of those who really do design, of those who create something with commitment and feeling from scratch.

To became a designer needs: study, sacrifice, idea and soul.

Design in all its forms dictates the rules of trends. We have to look to the future, and the Design with awareness must look to the future, where production processes must not destabilize the world but educate it. Here is the direction of design in my opinion, that is education. Help the world or the next, and do it in style, what more can you ask for?

More or less 3 weeks, research, drawing and various tests are needed.

It all starts from an idea. I always draw by hand and pen, I don't use a pencil because the mistakes I can make by drawing must be visible to improve myself. Later I transfer my idea to the software. Technology helps you avoid material waste and speed up production times. I divide my time in blocks of 2 hours, at the end of every two hours I make a small revision.

The designing takes a long time, but "thinking" is everything in life.

So it is right to devote as much time as possible to the design, hours, days and sometimes even months. But during the designing you are facing the most beautiful and most difficult phase. After elaborating the design I contact the best craftsmen for the realization of my projects.

"Only through craftsmanship can we bridge the distance between Art and Design. If you don't live the essence of your materials you will end up becoming an artist without a canvas or a designer without sincerity".

Design in all its forms dictates the rules of trends. We have to look to the future, and the Design with awareness must look to the future, where production processes must not destabilize the world but educate it. Here is the direction of design in my opinion, that is education. Help the world or the next, and do it in style, what more can you ask for?

Technology helps you avoid material waste and speed up production times.

Absolute simplicity: Feelings, pen and sheet, cad and 3ds, then, go to the lab.

the material is a fundamental aspect for me.

In fact, I often use olive wood, a wood typical of my region. It is a very resistant wood with wonderful veins, which almost look like paintings. A few years ago a soil deficit led to many specimens dying, so I decided to give these over one hundred year old trees new life, creating natural olive wood products.

I would say "trust".

The confidence to be carried away by my ideas

I think: what led the designer to think about that thing, and why he thought it that way.

I've never had a partner, because I often go into conflict when someone intervenes on my idea. This is probably it's my defect, but I prefer to learn from mistakes, and not to wonder how I would have done that thing if I had worked on it according to my philosophy.

In 2025 I had the pleasure of meeting Fabio Novembre, a famous Italian designer, who made a beautiful quote comparing my work to that of the great Ettore Sottsass.

Scritto di Notte by Ettore Sottsass, Paul Smith by Tony Chambers, I talenti italiani - mente, mano, macchina by Alba Cappellieri e Matteo Pirola

I think a lot about my choices, because I don't want anyone to be disappointed by my design.

This makes me work very carefully. Before submitting a project, I must be sure of what I am promoting, because if my project does not have a story, then it will remain cold. Nobody would spend more than five seconds looking at him, and this would be a defeat.

I would probably like to speak to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

Some of his quotes suggest the interpretation that a master gave to his ideas.

"My thoughts guide the hand and the hand shows if the thought is right."

"In its simplest form, architecture is anchored in absolutely functional considerations, but it can ascend through all levels of consideration to the highest sphere of spiritual existence, in the realm of pure art."

However, it would be nice to be able to talk to many artists who formed our world, to know what Basquiat thought, to deal with the tenacity of Enzo Ferrari, there are many fun personalities to know.

I have never focused on the various recognitions and/or goals achieved, but I must admit that sometimes an important recognition can be a stimulus to try to give even more, and at the same time gives the joy of being understood and appreciated.

Definitely summer.

The colors, scents and flavors of summer convey joy. Sunrise and sunset over the sea, is there anything more beautiful?

I feel the sea in my heart and summer is the best time to live it. There are so many brands that I love, but I'd like to mention one in particular, Versace. It is a worldwide brand and to think that everything started a few meters from my home in Calabria, in southern Italy, makes me very proud. The Versace brand is an excellent model for us (in southern Italy) to follow.

Well, a funny thing (maybe), is the fact that often while I drink coffee to the bar, I get ideas or reflections on my works, and therefore I start taking notes on napkins. And sometimes I look everywhere while I think, and people who look at me think that I have something to say to them. Over the years I have accumulated quarrels, smiles and dating for this.

The desire to become a recognized brand, I would like people to think of relying on me to always have something exceptional.

I don't know, but I have always shown great creativity and a strong personality. Even when I was playing with Lego, I always tried to customize the various elements, defending my idea with anyone.

Maybe in a thousand years we will be just a database of information, our emotions, sensations and needs will be an archive of information analyzed and regulated by technology.

I love to dream big, but dreams can only be realized through people's appreciation. I hope I can be appreciated by people, because this is the right fuel for a designer.

I've always dreamed of leaving my mark on the world around me, without limiting my expressive stamp. I love design because it is the means of expression that can best tell a story and a function. I decided to become a designer when I was 18, I am passionate about sculpture, and when I realized that I could shape my imagination and at the same time allow people to use my ideas in everyday life, I decided to study Design. I always thought that "only through craftsmanship can we bridge the distance between Art and Design. If you don't live the essence of your materials, you will end up becoming an artist without a canvas or a designer without sincerity".

I hope to develop a communication skill that can give any type of emotion to those who touch my products.

Giuseppe Santacroce Design is a design studio based in Milan. Founded in 2015, the studio embraces various sectors (hospitality, residences, offices, yachts, product design), offering unique solutions, personalized concepts and refined projects, with turnkey projects. I hope in the future to be able to invest more in my studio, in order to grow my brand.

My creations present an essential and decisive style, linking Art and Design through a fine craftsmanship.

For me, design is an art that must touch the heart, eyes and hands.

The hands because the design must allow to live the works daily.

I don't have a priority, but I would like there was always a feeling between me and my customers.

The "eternal" design. When you draw something that still excites you after years, that's good design.

I don't have a favorite one, because each one has its own history and characteristics, but I can say that of all my projects, the "Pacàma" project was the most suffered and perhaps the most satisfying afterwards. Pacàma is an Italian cafeteria. Where relaxation is the main element. Colors, shapes and materials bring peace back.

My first project was a cup of coffee, I was inspired by the snake scales to create a wonderful texture. I carried the texture of scales on the saucer that becomes more or less visible based on daylight. The whole product is white, saucer and cup, while the handle of the cup is in gold.

An object to use every day, or even to collect. In its simplicity this product has a lot of character.

The noble and eternal olive wood, typical wood from my homeland.

For me it is the first wood in the world. The olive wood is very hard, it is compact and homogeneous, and it is resistant to woodworm. It grows to about 15 meters, the trunk is twisted and often hollow. The olive tree is a very resistant and long-lived tree, and specimens over 100 years of age are often found. I always try to make my designs by hand.

During the night I have the greatest inspirations.

It's really the time to be alone and hear the ideas inside me in silence,

there are things in a silence that you never expect, and it is there that I can bring out my ideas with the right delicacy.

Each idea must have 3 fundamental aspects, functionality, aesthetic and sensorial pleasure.

I focus a lot on functionality, after which you just have to draw, by simplifying each draft until you get to the soul of the project. All is there

I feel different emotions, I don't hide from you that I often also feel anger or suffering. When a project is not linear, it creates embarrassment, annoyance. There you have to fight some worries, until you reach visual and sensory simplicity.

As I said before, once you have reached the ideal form, you have achieved peace and satisfaction. You must love every project, because those who are close to you perceive the love you put into the job.

As with art or poetry, what a designer feels makes creation successful. Moods (of any kind) are the centerpiece of a brand's personality.

Good design must have the right basic idea, but an idea remains only an idea if form and function are not combined. Good design must communicate, be useful and must have its own story.

There is only one word, respect.

Respect for the environment, respect for feelings, respect for people who invest money in your design.

Design changes as society changes, so it is important to have solid roots, the future is built on the past, and this is what I try to do using materials and craftsmanship in my creations.

A strange coincidence, my last project on display was the coffee cup mentioned above, a great satisfaction was exhibited at the "HOST" in Milan, next to the Lavazza cups.

I hope to partecipate in a new event as soon as possible.

The relationship with the beaches of my native land in southern Italy often inspires me.

I have a great feeling with the sea, the smells, the colors, the sensations that it conveys are the design of nature.

I'm probably oriented towards a minimal style, characterized by the use of olive wood.

I like to give shape to the beauty of natural wood, but without exaggerating. The material is often the protagonist. Matter takes on a function, the right function for the right place. I always try to make everything very "clean", linear and pleasant. There is no need to overdo it, just transmit your thoughts through the materials.

I live in Milan, but I come from Calabria, a land of historical and landscape beauties often unknown, which is why I hope to make my land known through my works in the future. I hope this competition could be a launching pad, to rediscover the beauty of the south.

It's important that companies rely on my creativity.

To select a good designer, a true designer, you need trust. And as for love, trust allows you to build something together.

I always draw by hand and pen, I don't use a pencil because the mistakes I can make by drawing must be visible to improve myself. Later I transfer my idea to the software. Technology helps you avoid material waste and speed up production times. After elaborating the design I contact the best craftsmen for the realization of my projects.

I often work at night. I wake up in the morning at 8 am take a shower, drink coffee and start the day from there. In the planning phase I finish working at 3 in the morning. I pause to reflect on where I go outdoors and listen to a lot of music.

The words of the writers make me think a lot about what I do.

Always say your idea, without being conditioned by social media.

Following to a word is copying, listening and understanding many words is research.

You don't have timetables and you are often forced to "suffer", but this also means that you are putting all of yourself on the sheet.

If you keep your idea, you have no rules, that's the beauty of it, you can express yourself without rules as long as what you do makes sense.

It is essential to understand the client's dreams, what he wants, what makes him (even unconsciously) happy.

The designer must be able to read people's emotions, be able to read historical moments, trends, and in all this he must be able to put his mark.

Absolute simplicity: Feelings, pen and sheet, cad and 3ds, then, go to the lab.

I divide my time in blocks of 2 hours, at the end of every two hours I make a small revision.

The designing takes a long time, but "thinking" is everything in life.

So it is right to devote as much time as possible to the design, hours, days and sometimes even months. But during the designing you are facing the most beautiful and most difficult phase.

More or less 3 weeks, research, drawing and various tests are needed.

I am often asked how I can turn an idea into reality.

The answer is simple, you have to think about what can give an emotion, and give it life.

Pacàma, the project of a cafeteria created for myself. It is the work for which I have suffered the most, and also the work most appreciated by the public.

Companies and individuals, but I work mainly for myself.

I really like making works that are or become necessities for others, sometimes you realize you need something only after seeing it, or you need something that has not exist yet, it's the right time.

As mentioned before, I am working on a project that I hope will help everyday life now and in the future. A product born after the latest emergencies of the COVID-19.

I work alone because I want to express myself freely.

The next outgoing works concern a high class home, I immediately created a feeling with the owners who like me love materials rich in history. I can't say more, hahaha!!!

Through my website: http://www.santacrocedesign.it

No thanks, you have been very precise in the questions

Of course, I wanted to crystallize the moment when I realized we were rushing too fast, when I felt like moments of sharing and conviviality were slipping away. My (already rare) moments spent joking or talking with loved ones were frozen for a moment by the image of running legs, and so I wanted to express that rush through the gestures of the sideboard's legs.

As you rightly said, it is a material with a strong history, and through its history I want to convey my Mediterranean roots, with the dream of leaving a distinctive mark with my creations.

This aspect only enhances my idea of ​​a "unique piece". Static Movement is a unique product because it was conceived by my mind and my feelings, and the grain contributes to making each piece unique even for the end customer.

The idea is to have control over the error and therefore be able to see it so I can avoid it. I replicate a drawing many times, trying to leave room for functionality by simplifying the superfluous, and I manage to do this by starting from an initial drawing that remains there with me until the end, thus having total control of the progress made.

I'm happy that the A'Design Award appreciated my concept of crystallizing that specific moment. I managed to reach that moment by almost closing my eyes and immortalizing the idea of ​​a race without a destination. It was then the intersection of multiple lines that allowed me to narrate that moment, then finalized by the processing of olive wood.

I wanted to think of a product that could also act as a link between different environments, for example by placing it between the kitchen and the living room, and this concept was summarised in the creation of a minimal aesthetic that could play multiple roles.

To do this I literally traced lines (then stylized) taken from a real video of a fast walk, a gesture that includes the rapid movement of lifting the leg and bending the knee a little.

I used this technical device precisely to make my creation comfortable as well as sculptural. I love combining art and functionality.

To explain this, we must start from the idea that olive wood is very hard to work with and, given its uneven nature, requires careful study before cutting to avoid creating excessive waste material. Another technical aspect that needed to be addressed was to lighten the two doors as much as possible, and this was achieved using several 5 mm thick sheets of olive wood which, when coupled together, allowed me to lighten the interior of the doors.

I think this creation can retain the charm of a thought, a feeling, and a moment lived. Telling in the future, this story can also be a reason to pause and think and observe the result of a feeling in that specific historical period.