Brands ETEL

ETEL is the preeminent handcrafted furniture maker of Modern and Contemporary Brazilian design. ETEL is known for their sophisticated wood construction, sustainable techniques, and thoughtfully curated designer selection. Through its richness of material and sleek, elegant design, an ETEL piece goes beyond the mere functional to become an engaging design experience. Founded in 1985 by designer Etel Carmona to realize her own creations, the workshop’s careful attention to details and highly skilled craftmanship quickly gathered respect and admiration from other designers. Soon, Etel was being asked to take one special projects by other artists. Her namesake business quickly became the main resource for both up- and-coming and well-established professionals seeking to produce their visions under exacting quality control standards. While working with a veritable who-is-who of design in Brazil, ETEL went from simply manufacturing to becoming an important platform for Brazilian design. Today, ETEL’s Design Collection covers over 100 years of Modern furniture design in Brazil, bringing back to life important historic creations by some of Brazil’s most iconic designers while also launching new talents into the scene. All the furniture is made with ETEL’s trademark skilled craftmanship and exquisite, eco-friendly materials. The philosophy behind the craftmanship of an ETEL piece is based in celebrating not just the uniqueness of the design, but the also the individuality of each piece itself. From the wood grain pattern to the cut and polishing, each piece is thought of as an original creation, with its own personality and DNA. And in the end of the process, every piece receives its own identifying number. ETEL works in close collaboration with designers, or in some cases their estates, following strict methodology and faithfulness to the originals. Through this process, ETEL has been able to rescue and bring to the spotlight important parts of Brazilian Modern design history. That heritage is today recognized worldwide and has become an important reference in the international market. Thanks to ETEL, pieces by masters such as Oscar Niemeyer, Lina Bo Bardi, Jorge Zalszupin, Sergio Rodrigues, Oswaldo Bratke, Branco & Preto and Giuseppe Scapinelli have reached a broader audience outside of Brazil and are now part of the universal design lexicon. ETEL also partners with contemporary Brazilian design luminaires such as Claudia Moreira Salles, Carlos Motta, Isay Weinfeld, Arthur de Mattos Casas, Lia Siqueira, and Dado Castello Branco. All these designers share common ground with ETEL when it comes to their Modern roots and the materiality of their work. More recently, ETEL began branching out towards a new generation of designers, developing projects with architects Domingos Pascali, Sarkis Semerdjian, and Osvaldo Tenório. With such a comprehensive group of designers from yesterday, today, and tomorrow, ETEL’s Design Collection is unparalleled in its showcase of the evolving timeline of Brazilian design. The year 2020 marks another important chapter at the brand’s history with the launch of ETEL International; a third parallel besides ETEL’s Modern and Contemporary collections, an opening towards international designers. This new chapter aims to make ETEL’s expertise of high craftsmanship and its pioneering respectful and ethical use of materials available to a broader design scene. For the debut of ETEL International, the company has worked with Patricia Urquiola sharing her similar affinity towards the innovative research on materials, passion for challenge, sensibility on sustainability while exalting high craftsmanship. ETEL puts just as much focus on sustainability as they do on fabrication refinement. From rotating tree harvest to zero wood waste, wood is treated as gold and every piece, no matter how diminutive in size, is put to good use. A pioneer in sustainability awareness, ETEL was the first Brazilian manufacturer to receive the prestigious seal of the Forest Stewardship Council. This recognition goes beyond environmental protection to also include the right of workers, community development, and the protection of endangered species. Guiding ETEL’s direction since 2008, Etel’s daughter Lissa Carmona has been overseeing a global expansion of the business. She has expanded the company’s footprint and brought further awareness of Brazilian design abroad. Beyond the flagship main showroom in São Paulo, ETEL now also has showrooms in Milan and Houston and they’re represented in most world capitals.