EWE is a design studio based in Mexico City, devoted to the preservation and advancement of Mexico’s rich artisan heritage, while embracing new mediums and languages for the execution of limited-edition sculptural and functional objects. With a desire to reflect tradition as part of the natural flow of design, EWE praises diverse techniques, blends primitive roughness with pristine surfaces, and uses natural empathic materials that appeal to the senses. Mexican history is EWE’s inspiration for forging new ideas that have substance and meaning.

EWE Studio was founded in 2017 by gallerist and curator Age Salajõe, and designers Manuel Bañó and Héctor Esrawe, whose varied backgrounds and expertise allow for their creative approach. Although EWE is still quite a young studio, it quickly presented its designs at various art and design fairs including Zona Maco Art Fair (2018 and 2019), Design Miami, Basel, Switzerland (2018) and Abierto Mexicano de Diseño. During the latter in Mexico City in 2018 they held their solo exhibition 'Masa Critica' with which they received international recognition and were catapulted into the design world.

Their work falls somewhere between furniture and sculpture; beautifully-crafted objects that are also technically functional. By amplifying the skill of craftsmanship and the craftsman, their work is inherently collaborative – working with Mexican specialists to create ornate, yet organic, objects. The forms, shapes, colours and textures of their pieces recall the natural elements, something that is reflected in the studio’s approach to using four main processes – glass, stone, foundry work and wood. EWE Studio’s limited-edition collections are part of a move in recent years to put Mexico on the world stage of design. Here, they explain how their process works and the inspirations that inform the studio’s approach to craft, heritage and their objects.