The Campana brothers find their inspiration in the darkest suburbs and street corners.

In a city not known for its attractive qualities, two Brazilian brothers have found their life’s work in the most doubtful places.

A veritable “melting pot of races”, São Paulo has been the source of much inspiration for Brazilian designers Fernando and Humberto Campana.

“Living in São Paulo, which is not a beautiful city, we have to find beauty in hidden corners every day,” they say.  “Sao Paolo is not a city like Rio de Janeiro [for example], you have to educate your eyes to see beauty where it doesn’t exist.”

Doing just this, the Campana brothers have designed an internationally acclaimed collection, picked up by the equally visionary Massimo Morozzi, director of Italian furniture manufacturer Edra.

Among this adventurous and humorous collection is the ‘Favela’ chair, a collection of woodchips, miraculously drawn together to form a life-sized furniture piece.

In creating ‘Favele’, the Campanas have turned their attention away from the globalised side of the city, to concentrate on the every-day aspects of shantytown living.

“We focus our eyes on not only people’s poverty, but their nature. The way they organise and construct their lives. Those people, by necessity, gather everything in the street- cardboard, cans- and bring it to life. Theirs is the design of the discarded.”

You can also find many other examples of the Campanas’ work – from intriguing rope-woven seats to armchairs, draped in tanned leather hides – at Space Furniture in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

The Campana brothers were in Australia this month, to launch their collection with Edra.  For more information visit spacefurniture.com.au or edra.com

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