When I first discovered the work of Patricia Urquiola, I felt like someone had opened a window in a room I didn’t realize had grown stuffy. Her designs didn’t just speak to me—they sang in a language of elegance, emotion, and experimentation. It was as if she gave me permission to see beauty not as something static or polished, but as something that could be fluid, sensual, and deeply human.
Patricia Urquiola‘s Nuez chairs in our kitchen after our rennovation. Look how lovely they are!
In an interview Patricia Urquiola explained that Nuez starts from “the idea of creating a seat that folds like a sheet of paper”. The folds and curves of the seat designed by Patricia Urquiola convey softness and materiality.
Urquiola’s work exists in that rare space between the artistic and the practical. She blurs boundaries—between form and function, softness and structure, masculine and feminine. Every piece she touches tells a story, and I find myself returning to her furniture and spaces not just to study them, but to feel them. There is a tactile, emotional intelligence to what she creates. She designs not only with her mind but also with her heart—and that inspires me to do the same.
What moves me most is her fearlessness. Patricia Urquiola doesn’t seem to design for trends. She designs for truth—her truth, and the truth of how people want to live, feel, and connect. Whether it’s her layered textures, her subtle use of color, or the way she transforms traditional forms into something utterly new, her work is both familiar and surprising. She respects history but isn’t bound by it. That balance gives me courage to trust my instincts, to honor my creative lineage while also stepping boldly into the unknown.
Her collaborations—especially with brands like Moroso, Cassina, and Kartell—have taught me so much about the power of partnership. She shows that collaboration doesn’t have to dilute your vision; it can amplify it. Her ability to maintain her voice while adapting to different contexts is something I strive to emulate in my own creative work.
And then there’s her process. I admire how deeply research-based it is, how rooted in curiosity and the user experience. She often begins with empathy—asking not just what the object should be, but who it is for, how it will be used, and how it will make people feel. That reminds me that good design, at its core, is an act of generosity. A gift.
Urquiola also inspires me as a woman navigating a creative field. Her presence is powerful, but never performative. She’s unapologetically herself—intellectual, passionate, playful, and strong. In a world that still too often asks women to shrink, she expands. That, too, is a lesson: to take up space, both physically and emotionally, and to create with conviction.
Whenever I feel stuck, I return to her work not just for aesthetic inspiration, but for spiritual uplift. Her designs whisper, “Be braver. Be softer. Be more of who you already are.” And that is, perhaps, the greatest creative gift of all.
These quotes reflect Patricia Urquiola’s philosophy on design, emphasizing experimentation, problem-solving, and the emotional connection between objects and their users.
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