Mattec Interiors, which brings the Fashion Media Awards to life by manufacturing the honorees statuettes, has emerged as a major player in the design space. Leah S. Blank, the firm’s director of business development, USA, explains.
Vivienne Westwood Store in Milan
Tell us about the company.
Mattec Interiors works alongside architects, interior designers, developers, and owners to realize, manufacture, and install custom-made projects and furnishings for high-end retail stores, hospitality projects, private homes, and commercial spaces.
What do you focus on in your position?
Since 2014, Mattec Interiors has dominated the retail world; designing, manufacturing, and installing interiors for stores across the globe. These past two years, Mattec has taken this knowledge and grown into the hospitality industry, completing more than a dozen projects for well-known brands, such as Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and others. As director of business development, I maintain those relationships and grow our business in the United States.
How do Mattec founders Astrid Von Liechtenstein and Cristian Matteazzi complement each other in terms of design experience and aesthetics?
Astrid and Cristian are the perfect match! Their background, experience, and aspirations complement each other; this is the reason that Mattec Interiors has grown so quickly. Astrid’s passion for luxury interiors and her strong network of contacts, alongside Cristian’s love for interior design and manufacturing experience create a strong backbone for the company.
How have their backgrounds in other fields been translated to the designs?
Mattec was born from Astrid’s strong passion for luxury furnishings and years of design experience. Partnering with Vicenza native Cristian, the two quickly began to enrich the retail industry with beautiful high-quality interiors. Cristian’s family has owned and operated two millwork factories in the hills of Verona since 1950, alongside Astrid’s family’s factories. Mattec is the story of two families producing Italian-made interiors embodied with both history and love.
Vivienne Westwood Store in Milan
How did Mattec end up focusing largely on retail design?
Each retail store is unique to that brand. All our product is high-end Italian-made furnishings with competitive pricing, which is the perfect fit for store designs. The materials we have access to in Northern Italy, paired with our craftsmanship and drive for excellence, garnered trust from major retail brands. It’s important to note that our factories, unlike others, handle all aspects of a project. We complete millwork, metal work, upholstery, painting, and more. This allows for a seamless project from beginning to end, so the client can feel confident about the final product.
Are there any particular design signatures that Mattec utilizes for retail/fashion projects?
We don’t have a design signature because each project is custom. We work with architects, designers, developers, and owners to help them realize their specific dream.
You also design The Daily’s Fashion Media Awards.
Eleonora Turco, Mattec Interiors project manager, designed the first award four years ago with direction from the publication. The Daily required that the award be shaped like the letter “D,” preferably from a material that was see-through. Eleonora proposed four options with different materials, sizes, and proportions. The current version, made from plexiglass, was the winner!
How does designing an award statuette differ from Mattec’s typical work?
Designing an award is a lot like designing an accessory for an interior project. Awards should be a piece of art that lives for years on a bookshelf. We love the opportunity to design something that will enhance someone’s interior space. We also love the symbolism of an award; it’s the one physical item that a winner can take with them to remember their accomplishment.
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