With a catalog of almost 200 pages long, where each photo is more magnificent than the one before, in suggestive settings that can only be Puglia, Bruna Taurino is certainly one of the most inspiring and promising female entrepreneurs in Puglia.
VIA’s contributor, Tatevik Avetisyan, interviews Bruna to learn about her brand “Da…A” and the search for clues on what’s coming next.
What does it take to transform heavy engineering into furniture design? Perhaps, the ability to play with vision in reshaping forms to perfectly suit the material. The CEO and project manager of Apulian indoor and outdoor design brand Da…A, Bruna Taurino, can proudly consider herself the creative vein inside the home furnishing sector using materials typical for construction machinery. The team of professional architects and designers, under the guidance of Anna Laneve, the art director of Da…A, works on re-imagining and suggesting technical solutions for subduing the iron for home comfort.
The name, Da…A, speaks for itself, meaning “from-to” – the change of state from heavy engineering to design. But another transition of equal importance is of Bruna’s. The way she recalls her journey to Da…A tells much about her devotion and hard-work to her “little jewel” as she likes to call it.
Before Da…A, Bruna always had a thing for creativity. As a start off, while working in a family business in the food sector, food became another passion that later pushed her to attend cooking courses and do a stage at the Four Season Hotel with a famous chef, Sergio Mei. Soon the design thinking came into play as she renovated the family Country House in Salento and Palazzo Personè, a historic residence in the Baroque heart of Lecce. She also tried her hand in the fashion industry with a friend designer Tomaso Stefanelli. Finally, “joining all the dots” between her passions, all merged into Da…A.
“Watching a metal sheet come out of the laser cutter, I thought ‘this is a design already!’.”
What are the materials made of? You integrate iron, microparticles of ceramic, fossil wood, and stone powder, and antique craftsmanship methods dating back 4000 years named ‘Urushi’. How did you come across this technique?
Iron is the soul of our products, then we dress it in an evening gown, as I like to say. Iron turns from raw into something smart and sophisticated. The research and the experimental studies of our creatives allow us to have a unique finishing touch, by using natural elements bound to react with iron. This is how we create special textures able to convey always unexpected sensations to the touch and to the eye, the perfect alchemy between natural elements and skillful artisan’s hands.
Tell us about swing, Ring-O – a very playful piece. How does this piece work in an urban setting?
Ring-O is playful and cheerful with its name, to begin with. Saverio Incombenti, the designer who made it, managed to marry design, play, and extraordinary techniques. It’s made of two pure shapes, two circles crossing in the middle, hung by a cord: two iron circles curved and welded by hand to create a three-dimensional space. Ring-O has a minimalist elegance, perfect for a metropolitan loft, to add a classy touch to an outdoor space, brighten up the kids’ bedroom or make our balcony or summer patio more comfy and contemporary. Swinging light-hearted brings
us immediately back to childhood… Movement, suspension, fluctuation, the dreamy feeling of flying: this is Ring-O.
Does food influence your designs?
Food has great influence here, it is almost sacred! The dining table is a space of encounter and sharing. Our food pleases our palates and produces endorphins that influence our mood by releasing happiness hormones. I’ve always liked to think that anyone buying a piece from Da a will also be influenced by this kind of positivity.
Where can we find you on any given day?
At the beach, for sure, during summer or winter! I go there every chance I get, the sea breeze is restoring for me.
Bruna speaks of the brand’s hometown, Puglia, with great joy. After all, this land also appears to be her well of inspiration – a place that never seizes to grow. “I can’t imagine Da…A anywhere else: Da…A was probably born out of the very energy, light, colors of this place,” says Bruna. She explains the rapid development of her hometown in the design industry, by referring to the influence of studying and working abroad on acquiring a valuable appreciation for beauty and local craftsmanship.
Since 2015, the brand has already participated in Fuori Salone and Salone del Mobile – key international design fairs in Italy. Thanks to the passion, emotions, and people involved in the creative processes, the craftsmanship and know-how become more tangible. “Our team is 100% Made in Puglia, except for Nazli Birgen, our International Customer Relations Officer, but by now we consider her Apulian by adoption,” points out Bruna.
The Da…A’s schedule is full of upcoming projects, among them, moving to a new venue with a showroom of architects, interior designers, journalists, and other creatives. Meanwhile, the brand works on consolidating partnerships with China and Latin America and prepares to showcase its new collection on the 60th anniversary of Salone del Mobile.
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