The awards season is kicking off, and two of GAN's new launches for 2025 have already been recognized at the NYCxDesign Awards. These accolades are presented by Interior Design magazine for the year's most outstanding new products, in collaboration with New York's ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair).
On one hand, the MOMOS collection, designed by José A. Gandía-Blasco Canales, won in the Greater Good + Environmental Impact category. On the other hand, the new BOTANICA rugs, designed by Bodo Sperlein, received an Honoree distinction in the Residential Flooring category.
MOMOS: Three-Dimensional Embroidery by GAN Women Unit
The MOMOS collection is a true global collaboration, with its inspiration rooted in Brazil, its design conceived in Spain, and its intricate execution carried out in India. The seed for its design was planted over twenty years ago during a trip to northern Brazil, when José A. Gandía-Blasco Canales was captivated by a unique local textile craft in the state of Maranhão, whose aesthetic remarkably resembled butterfly eggs.
That singular fabric lingered in his memory until, through the experience and embroidery skill of the artisans at the GAN Women Unit, he managed to reinterpret it and translate it into the design of the rugs, poufs, and cushions that make up the MOMOS collection. The hypnotic aesthetic of MOMOS's surfaces, with their fractal structure and three-dimensional texture, also offers an exceptional sensory experience, both visually and to the touch, thanks to its lightweight felted wool fabric.
The women artisans of the GAN Women Unit are highly skilled in embroidery. Their experience and dexterity allowed them to perfectly understand the design vision José A. Gandía-Blasco Canales sought for the MOMOS collection, achieving a very precise reproduction and reinterpretation of traditional Brazilian embroidery.
The wool GAN uses in its creation is 100% natural, a sustainable and renewable resource (unlike synthetic fibers), which is also a very durable material and provides excellent insulation. Furthermore, the GAN Women Unit is the social mission of the company, providing work to women in India who specialize in embroidery. Their activity not only provides them with a fair wage and economic independence but also a dedicated workspace in a predominantly rural area with scarce development resources, where they learn to work in structured environments. Both of these aspects underpin the NYCxDesign Award that the MOMOS collection received in the Greater Good + Environmental Impact category.
BOTANICA: Organicism, Movement, and the Expressiveness of Nature
The BOTANICA collection is the result of the first collaboration between GAN and the London-based German designer, Bodo Sperlein. Known for his lush and sensory approach to integrating artisanal crafting processes with organic and contemporary designs, the surfaces of the BOTANICA rugs possess a strong biophilic character, establishing a direct connection between the spaces they inhabit and nature.
Its intricate structures, soft curves, and layered elements form the foundation of this rug collection's aesthetic. With it, the designer has sought to reflect the beauty and complexity of the natural world, drawing inspiration from organic forms and textures found in flora and fungi.
Bodo Sperlein achieved the volumetric effect and realistic depiction of the BOTANICA rugs' patterns through a careful selection of each color's nuances and the introduction of varying pile heights. By utilizing gradients and calculated changes in shade, BOTANICA rugs create an illusion of depth and dynamism that enhances their organicism and three-dimensional quality.
The combination of two artisanal techniques, hand-tufting and carving, allows for the creation of their intricate details and dynamically textured appearance. This method enables different elevations within the same design, mimicking the undulations and organic contours of the botanical universe. Their spectacular design and manufacturing complexity underpin the Honoree recognition of the BOTANICA collection in the Residential Flooring category of the NYCxDesign Awards.
