Hugo França

In the early 1980s, Hugo França abandoned his previous career as an Industrial engineer in São Paulo to be closer to nature, moving to Trancoso, Bahia. Witnessing from up-close the rampant destruction of the local Atlantic Forest greatly impacted him, motivating his current work as a designer. França reverences the very trees salvaged by him as his main inspiration; he works intuitively, allowing his creative process to be guided by each tree’s organic natural forms, valuing their particular character and history through minimal intervention to its features. The designer only uses debris of condemned trees, either naturally or by human activity; through his hands, overlooked trunks, unearthed roots, and hollow logs are converted into unique sculptural furniture. Remarkably, França’s pieces, stemmed from the Atlantic Forest's demise, are a statement of nature’s undeniable genius, endurance and grandiosity.