Yves Casteels, General Manager, speaking about the MM. Editions by Machado Muñoz for Authentage

How do you guys know Machado Muñoz?

Casa Muñoz (with art gallery Machado Muñoz) was already included in our customer base when I met Gonzalo and Mafalda during one of the first trade fairs I visited with Authentage. From that contact, I remember their keen interest in our products and the possibilities of customisation.

After visiting them in 2019 in Madrid, the exchanges intensified. What started as a client relationship gradually developed into a strong creative connection that made us reflect on opportunities to bring our areas of expertise together.

Why did you specifically choose Machado Muñoz?

An enriching collaboration with an external designer had been on our radar for some time. Above all, we were looking for a partner with a refreshing outlook, who would share our passion for quality and craftsmanship. Machado Muñoz fitted the bill perfectly. Their clear vision on interior design and lighting is completely in line with our philosophy, which made the cooperation very natural. Moreover, it clicked particularly well with our own designer Vincent, which led to a very successful cross-pollination.

The collection, which we designed together, fits seamlessly with our existing products, but at the same time has its own character thanks to the collaboration with Machado Muñoz. The refined details reflected in all products give the designs a luxurious feel.

Are you using the same production process for this collection?

Production is largely as we are used to: some parts are produced externally, but assembly takes place entirely at our premises in Antwerp. This local approach ensures that we can carefully monitor quality and make adjustments where necessary.

What is special about this collection is that the unique designs required technical adjustments to some aspects of our production method. This brought additional challenges, but resulted in a unique collection that excels in both beauty and functionality

What did you learn from this collaboration?

This partnership illustrates how valuable adding external creative input to our own technical expertise can be. Machado Muñoz's clear vision combined with their focus on perfection and innovation worked inspiring and challenging. We were compelled to explore new techniques and raise the bar even higher. In addition, the importance of mutual flexibility also emerged strongly in this joint development process.

What does this collaboration mean for the future?

This project forced us to partly abandon our familiar ways of working, by looking at lighting out-of-the box and with fresh eyes. The associated learning process was challenging but also provided us with many new insights. We are therefore definitely open to similar collaborations in the future. 

When can we expect the collection?

The official launch of the first part of the collection is scheduled in March at Machado Muñoz's art gallery, and is obviously a special milestone for our company. The launch of the full collection will happen in several phases. We are aiming for June and autumn for the other products. We already showed a teaser of the collection during Maison et Objet in Paris and the reactions of visitors were promising. We can hardly wait to share this collection with the general public.

Read more about the design duo Gonzalo Machado and Mafalda Munoz.