Spanish outdoor furniture brand CALMA branches out by reinventing itself and refreshing its brand identity

With the market and innovation evolving at a very fast pace, brands need to react and infuse their business with new energy and ideas. That’s what Spanish outdoor furniture specialist CALMA has been cooking up lately using the Milan Design Week as a presentation platform of its new image and relaunch.

ALAT WOOD outdoor modular sofa. Andreu Carulla for CALMA

Founded in 2008 in the Empordà region of Spain, high-end outdoor furniture producer CALMA is led by a team of multidisciplinary professionals who are passionate about design and committed to simplicity, comfort and beauty. The brands’ products reflect the natural beauty of the Empordà region and its Mediterranean surroundings; they convey a delicate sense of balance and timelessness.

ALAT DAYBED. Andreu Carulla for CALMA

The redefinition of CALMA’s philosophy has been commissioned to award-winning Spanish designer Andreu Carulla, who was approached to become the brand’s creative director in July 2018.

MAREA outdoor chair. Andreu Carulla & Joe Doucet for CALMA

CALMA’s new focus is all about engaging the brand even more with its Empordà roots, establishing its rich cultural and manufacturing heritage as core values of the company philosophy. The name itself, which means calm, tranquility, evokes the relaxing way of life in the Costa Brava with people so keen on appreciating small daily pleasures. This is what CALMA, under the direction of Andreu Carulla, is built on. The Barcelona-based RUN Design studio has been charged to create a new identity and logo that reflect this new course of the brand.

COQUETA outdoor chair. Pete Sans for CALMA

In order to extend the brand into new offerings, markets and customer segments, the entire product range has been revised and a new catalogue edition has also been edited. A careful selection has been made dropping all plastic-based furniture and applying new colours, materials and finishes to the remaining products.

LOU daybed. Studio Inma Bermudez for CALMA

Some of Spain’s best designers have been commissioned to develop new products that instill new life and reflect the brand’s new philosophy. The team of Inma Bermúdez Studio, known for their work for IKEA and Marset, have designed LOU, an outdoor soft-seating collection. André Ricard, born in 1929 and one of Spain’s design pioneers, has worked on his first ever chair design from 1951, the BOOMERANG chair. CALMA has also recovered the COQUETA chair, a former design by Pete Sans, winner of the Gold Delta Award (1988) and an iconic furniture piece in the history of Spain’s design.

TUB outdoor lighting collection. Andreu Carulla for CALMA

Andreu Carulla himself has also designed new collections for the brand, including the MAREA armchair, co-designed with American designer Joe Doucet; TUB, a ceramic lighting collection; BOLET, a ceramic stool; TREBOL, a lightweight metal chair; ALAT DAYBED, an outdoor daybed and MALLA & TRAMA, which are original ceramic modular architectural pieces that recall the Spanish typical “celosías”.

TRAMA & MALLA outdoor modular architectural structures. Andreu Carulla for CALMA

Launched at three different locations during the Milan Design Week 2019, the entire new collection was displayed at the Salone del Mobile. Milano 2019 in a stand specifically designed by Andreu Carulla for the occasion. At the Fuorisalone, BOLET by Andreu Carulla was showcased at Rossana Orlandi (Via Matteo Bandello 14) and PEPA by the same designer was also on exhibition at BCD’s Mediterranean Design exhibition (Via Dante 14).

For more information, have a look at the company’s new web page: calmaoutdoor.com