Adding value by subtraction

interview with Sonia Magistro, Rubinetterie QD Magistro Lab
text by Davide Cattaneo
photo by Lorenzo Pennati

Respect for water, with control and conscientious use; consistency putting forms and technologies at its service, enriched with a touch of colour wherever possible. Sonia Magistro, Manager of QD Magistro Lab, tells us how the Hoop collection of taps originated.

Davide Cattaneo: What are Hoop’s aesthetic features, and how did you decide on the shapes and sizes of the tap elements?
Sonia Magistro: Every QD Magistro Lab aims to improve the experience of water in our everyday lives, and offer a new answer to the increasingly demanding habits of today’s lifestyle? With Hoop in particular, we worked through subtraction, on the basis of the idea that less is more. The challenge was to free ourselves of all superfluous elements while managing not to sacrifice the warmth that every product with a handcrafted background ought to convey. We began a process that led us to the very essence of things, to a minimalism that clearly reveals its function. The gesture must be simple, but never without personality. And Hoop’s character is defined precisely by the basic idea that determined all the choices in the creative process: a complete, highly functional object which stands out for its brilliance and elegance.
D.C.: In technological terms, what materials did you use, and what components are included in the tap?
S.M.: We stand out for our combination of a handcrafted approach with advanced technologies. The majority of the procedures we perform, including cleaning, chrome-plating and assembly, are still performed by hand. In this sense, the Hoop collection is the result of many years of experimentation in search of an aesthetic synthesis, and a stubborn obsession with saving water. The all-brass body, the invisible adjustable aerator and smaller cartridge permit clean design, a minimalist synthesis with a touch of colour to complete its personality.
D.C.: Colour is the key to the collection. What finishes and colours are available? And what possibile combinations?
S.M.: Hoop is available in monochrome or two-tone versions, offering a choice of several customised combinations. A chrome, brushed black chrome, black tar or brushed nickel body may be combined with a handle in a variety of different finishes, or new colours such as paris green, astral night or tuscan sun yellow, inspired by primary colours reinterpreted with an unexpected fresh touch. The vast choice of available colours offers something for all requirements and desires, for today’s refined bathrooms.
D.C.: Colour is also a distinguishing feature of other QD Rubinetterie proposals. How do you think colour affects our perception of objects?
S.M.: Colours are frequencies; they create a mood and open up paths that take us elsewhere, just like music. This is a metaphor that works, because every colour has an effect not only on the eye, but in terms with interaction with its surroundings. It is true that we stand out for our careful study of colour, and at times our inspiration may begin precisely with an unexpected hue capable of opening up a whole new world.