ITNEA studio is a homeware design and manufacturing brand created in Hong Kong by the Basque origin designer Imanol Urizar, @be_kurious. ITNEA aims to fight against the mass produced and unoriginal looking items society is purchasing nowadays. The intention is to slow down, observe and interact with the culture and heritage of the local communities. The brand is mainly inspired in eastern Asian cultures but will develop to receive influence from many more areas in the region. Putting together these societies traditionally key elements through a new perspective and reinvent them in more modern and up to date objects. This way, giving a hand to modern societies to reconnect with their ancestors and traditions. The materials that once used to be key in the objects around us, are now relegated to a second level and substituted by plastics that cannot give us the warmth and natural connection humans need. ITNEA is focused on the use of more natural looking and feeling materials to put in contact the user with the natural environment, key elements are the wood and bamboo, fabrics, leather, bronze…

MANIFESTO

ITNEA was born with the purpose of providing an alternative to current consumption models based on the compulsive purchase of short-life products due to both their low quality and their dependence on trends. In urbanized environments with individualistic and anonymous life models, it’s easy to forget where we come from and what futures we want to trace. ITNEA aims to reconnect us with our environment and history through elements that have been part of the daily life of our ancestors. In a context linked to, but not limited to, East Asia (mainly Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea…) the visual codes and materials that used to be part of everyday life are today in danger of falling into oblivion. At the same time, it does not ignore the new spaces we inhabit and the visual expectations they arise, seeking a balance between tradition and avant-garde. That is what inspires ITNEA to create new life and functions, reinterpreting their old roles and creating unique elements. For example, this is the case of our best-known artifacts, the «Cantonese Totem» series, where an original series of lamps has been created from the classic bamboo steamer used for Dim Sum cuisine, giving a new perspective and elegance to this everyday object of Asian culture.

The idea is that the objects handcrafted in our studio become part of people’s lives and serve as a bridge to the traditions, values, materials and elements part of previous times. Quality products that with a special bond and a timeless aesthetic can remain by our side for a long time.

We invite you to join us on this path in the creation of artefacts capable of telling stories and adding value to the spaces and the objects with which we surround ourselves.

Imanol Urizar, known also by his photography projects as @be_kurious is the product designer and creative director behind ITNEA Studio. After several years travelling and living in Southeast Asia he stablished himself in Hong Kong where he develop a deeper interest for the local and regional visual and handcraft culture. His aim is to promote a different consumer attitude where we show a higher respect and love for the objects we surround ourselves with. With the brand ITNEA the aim is to offer unique objects that reflect on traditional Asian crafts on future living environments.