Cacao | Democratizing Design, Mexican Pride, & Team Therapy
A furniture company, located in Puebla, Mexico, focused on promoting Mexican design & production across the country & abroad.
designcacao.mx | @designcacao.mx
Luca Mariolini, Co-Founder & General Director
“This cultural heritage, spanning the last six or seven hundred years, forms the foundation from which designers today draw inspiration”
Photo by Amy Bello
What is the origin story of Cacao, & what type of furniture do you create?
Cacao's origin story began in 2018 with the idea of creating a direct to consumer brand focused on residential furniture and decoration objects.
Our initial team of shareholders came from diverse backgrounds – I'm the only foreigner [Italy], and the other shareholders are architects and a graphic designer. After our initial founding phase, we brought in Isabella Miranda Noriega, our Chief Design Officer. She took charge of everything from the beginning, creating the visual interpretation and design language of what Cacao was meant to communicate.
Our mission is to offer our interpretation of what Mexican design means. There are countless possibilities for what Mexican design can be, and we're giving our fresh interpretation of contemporary furniture. We want to help Mexicans realize the value of Mexican design and Mexican manufacturing capabilities. There is tons of talent around the country, and sometimes we undervalue our own production. Sometimes we think what comes from outside of Mexico is better. Cacao’s mission is to ensure everyone knows there is great design and production right here in Mexico.
Photo by Amy Bello
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Could you tell us about where Cacao creates its work?
Luca: Everything we do is based in Puebla, Mexico, a city within the state of Puebla. It's about a two-hour drive from Mexico City. Most of our offices are here, and our production facilities are largely based around the Puebla city area. We have a few suppliers closer to Mexico City and the surrounding State of Mexico, but the core of our operations is here in Puebla.
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What have you learned from a busy year?
Luca: We're still learning every day. While we're not a startup, we're still a relatively young company, and as volumes increase, processes become more complicated. What I've learned is the importance of having a clear understanding of the company's needs and how to communicate effectively, both internally and externally. Internally, it means ensuring everything is aligned with our goals, communicated properly, and has a feedback loop. Externally, it's about clearly communicating our brand's message properly & carefully. Last year taught me the importance of taking the time to do things properly and creating a solid foundation for future scaling.
What do you think is unique about the design community in Mexico?
Historically, Mexico has a very wide & profound cultural heritage regarding when something is beautiful - when something has a high level of craftsmanship, design, and production.
When discussing the design community, it's impossible to ignore cultural heritage, which includes both pre-colonial influences and post-Spanish arrival. It's a rich mix of different cultures, a kind of melting pot. This cultural heritage, spanning the last six or seven hundred years, forms the foundation from which designers today draw inspiration and have this as a basis.
Today, you see many different interpretations of this heritage in contemporary products. Some designers embrace cultural symbolism head-on. Others use pre-Hispanic motifs and patterns, and there's a lot of activity in that direction, often blurring the lines between industrial design, crafted objects, and what we sometimes call collectible design. At Cacao, we are an industrial design company focused on developing a system where the industry and the design community can collaborate and create objects. We're moving a bit away from purely artisanal processes towards more industrial ones, with the aim of democratizing design and making it accessible to as many people as possible. Design can sometimes be seen as exclusive, but Caco’s idea is to close that gap and allow as many people as possible to connect with products designed and built here in Mexico.
Photo of Cacao’s work at the delicious restaurant, PLONK, in Mexico City. Obra-approved food ;)
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Rituals are a big part of Obra. Can you tell us a bit about some of your rituals within Cacao?
Luca: I have the perfect example: every Friday morning we hold "Therapy." It's a team-building exercise where we step away from our daily operations. We're fortunate to have a garden at our office, so we go outside for an hour and talk about everything that's happened that week. Not just deliverables, but what we've learned, thought about, and felt during this week of work. It's an opportunity to take a step back & realize that life is not always about the operational path. We discuss how work makes us feel, because we are all humans, and if we do not address the motives behind what we do, we are missing out on huge potential in terms of human talent. And there is so much going on everyday in the minds of people here in all aspects of our team - operations, design, administration. It’s important to give everyone a chance to channel the feelings-side of working together, and make sure we give everyone the chance to share & communicate together.
Do you have any personal rituals that are important to you, Luca?
Luca: Since the beginning of the year, I've started running again. It's something I used to do, and recently, we formed a running team within Cacao. Three times a week, at 6 PM, we get together and go for a run. It helps us clear our minds and de-stress. It's a ritual that helps me stay sane on a day-to-day basis.
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Do you have a favorite recipe that you make?
Luca: I love cooking. Last year, I started baking pizza at home. I have my own pizza oven and developed a recipe that combines Italian and Mexican cuisine. It's a traditional Italian dish, but I add Mexican ingredients, creating a fusion that reflects my own experience of living in Mexico for so many years. It has helped me become a different person - so in this recipe I integrate different parts and different ingredients which remind me of home & also embrace my new home that I’m building here in Mexico.
Photo by Amy Bello
If you were to create a restaurant, coffee shop, or bar, what would be the general energy of this space? What concept you would showcase throughout the space?
Last year, we did a coffee shop pop-up called Curioso.
Curioso is Cacao's alter-ego brand, designed to channel a completely different, yet related, idea. While designing and selling furniture is one thing, running a coffee shop is entirely different. We created this new brand to channel a different personality of Cacao. Curioso's branding was all white and light blue, a very specific color that we also used for the furniture. We had a communal table starting from the coffee area, where the barista prepared beverages. People could sit all around this space, share their thoughts, or simply enjoy their drink. We wanted to create a communal area where people could gather and share a Curioso beverage.
