CHILIM Collection – Chests of Drawers-Nightstands-Trunks by Matteo Cetinski from MIRKO DI MATTEO DESIGNS (2012)
The CHILIM Collection was designed in 2012 by Croatian designer Matteo Mirko Cetinski and is available through his own design brand MIRKO DI MATTEO DESIGNS. The Collection includes Chests of Drawers-Dressers-Commodes, Nightstands-Night Tables and Storage Chests-Trunks which can also serve as Side Tables or Coffee Tables.
The CHILIM Collection was created using upcycled old vintage rugs from Bosnia which are approximately 100 years old. These original furniture pieces are unique (each piece is different), environmentally friendly (made with repurposed rugs) and socially responsible (they preserve the old weavers’ tradition). By combining the rugs with framings of “flight case metal hardware”, the designer has created indestructible pieces that will preserve the otherwise lost vintage rugs virtually forever as functional display items in our homes (a more detailed description of the pieces, the materials/techniques used to produce them and the history behind them can be found here).
On this Collection, Matteo Mirko Cetinski notes: “Each time I see an old distressed kilim rug that is thought of as “finished”, I take it as my personal mission to reinvent a new life for it.
When I bought my first antique kilim rug and put it in my living room I found myself sitting alone staring at it thinking about where this rug could have been before arriving to me. It is a fascinating thing, if you think about it.
Each of these 90-100 years-old rugs have such a fantastic story to tell. Think about how many generations of families have sat around them and how many important family moments these rugs have been a part of.”
“If I succeed in prolonging a rug‘s life for another generation, I know I have done a great thing … and if I have to change its appearance to make it fashionable again, so be it!”
In fact, Matteo Cetinski himself has also had a brief career in the singing industry in the 1990s. Below you can watch a video of him singing the song “Baby”:
and the song “Hvala Ti”:
Matteo Mirko Cetinski, however, describes himself as “Designer, TV Producer, Globe Trotter & Seeker.”
He holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Mass Communication from the University of Bologna (1996-2000) and a Master’s degree in Media Management/Media Studies (2000-2003) from theNew School University in New York.
In 2000 he founded his own media productions agency (MEDIA COM D.O.O.) which he used as a vehicle to work as TV producer, Creative Director, Brand manager and Marketing Manager.
A bit later he entered the world of design, experimenting as an interior designer on his friend’s houses. Fairly recently (2011), Matteo Mirko Cetinski took his design career one step further by designing a furniture line and establishing his own design brand, MIRKO DI MATTEO DESIGNS.
His view on design and the way he works: “First and foremost I am an end-user of the product, never only the designer. My main perspective is from the recipients’ point of view. Designs that are focused purely on design are oxymoronic and will eventually implode into their own vanity.”
In his furniture collections, Matteo Mirko Cetinski combines diverse materials, such as kilim rugs, shags, stainless steel and mother of pearl, with flight case metal framings to create beautiful handmade pieces.
We find his creations original, elegant and beautiful and we definitely plan to present more of them to you in the near future !
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