Interview with Albamatilde

Interview with Alba Caruso, the winner of the Formex Design Talents first prize “Best in Show” Fall 2024

Alba describes her experience with great enthusiasm and gratitude. For her, it has been a transformative journey, which has given her contacts for life.
– Just to win has been incredible. People have come by and been amazing, showing genuine interest and opening doors for different collaborations. It’s been scary but fun,” says Alba.

The walls of the stand are adorned with several different colorful textile pieces, Alba’s degree project from the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås. A project that meant a lot to her personally even before it made her a winner in the design competition.
– It’s a declaration of love and a tribute to my grandmother and grandmother, and the design work they did in the 60s and 70s,” she says.

“I have made contacts for life!”

The thesis work consists mainly of tufting, a technique in which Alba has mixed in plenty of color work and patterns. She describes her work as color-centric, with inspiration coming from many different sources.
– I get my inspiration from nature, everyday life and generally everything that is color. I love color! Everything and nothing can inspire.

Alba’s win has brought many new contacts, but it is the stand neighbors who have left the deepest mark so far.
– The most important thing about the fair is all the contacts I’ve made here in Design Talents. Finding like-minded people among the stand mates has been a fantastic support. I have made contacts for life!

 

The win has also given Alba a boost in confidence and a burning motivation to develop her brand further.
– Of course, it gives a “swing” in self-confidence to get all this confirmation. It’s given me more meat on my bones to start my own brand and believe in it. I have also discovered a wider world for my brand that I would not have known about otherwise,” says Alba.

She looks to the future with confidence but also with some caution.
– For the time being, I’ll take it one day at a time and hope to hear from people after the fair is over, but I’m so happy to have been there. I’ve had a lot of fun,” says Alba.

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