MAVRO// LEFÉVRE
AWARD-WINNING PARTNERSHIP
Zone Denmark’s design partner Sofie Lefèvre is not much of a fan of trivialities or in fact any other reminders of hamster wheel living. Her way out of all that is her extreme curiosity and bold courage to pursue her creative impulses. This has taken Sofie far and wide in her life as a designer and most recently to the top of the podium at the acclaimed Red Dot Design Awards with a ‘Best of the Best’ distinction.
Sofie is behind the MAVRO//LEFÈVRE design brand.
She and Zone have been working together for more
than a handful of years. It started with a watering can,
but since then several designs have followed,
spreading smiles and joy wherever they go.
I love the fact that we work both closely and strategically. Sometimes we work with the direction of the brand at the highest level, and other times with individual collections and products.”
Outdoor elegance
Indoor charm.
One outcome of her collaboration with Zone is the award-winning furniture series DISC. Under the heading ‘Urban Spaces’, the idea was to create a furniture series that could entice more people to make the most of and enjoy all the little outdoor spaces found in the city. This called for intuitive ease of handling as well as a high degree of flexibility in use. The result was the patented DISC outdoor foldable furniture concept.
People first
Sofie’s childhood home was full of art and culture. Born to a father who worked in the museum world and a schoolteacher mother, she grew up in an inspired home environment with plenty of scope for creative pursuits. Sofie’s life motto as a child was: “I’m just going to try!” Sofie’s innovative confidence and great curiosity are intact to this day. In addition, she has developed a keen interest in history, culture, architecture and not least for people in the middle of it all. She puts all this to active use in her work:
“I spend a lot of time analysing human
behaviour. How do we interact with a
product? Where is it going to live?
Understanding our patterns of thought and
action is key to producing good design.”
Sofie’s style
Sofie holds an MSc in Design and Communication from Copenhagen Business School and a double master’s degree in Innovation Design and Engineering from the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London. We ask her, as a highly educated designer, to name her personal favourite designs.
Apart from DISC, it must be the TIME series. The design idiom balances beautifully between past and present, which was the intention. The relatively strict design idiom and graphic simplicity, without being too ‘hard’, probably encapsulates my style pretty well.”
MAKE ROOM FOR ROCKS