Santa & Cole

Heritage

Santa & Cole was founded in Barcelona in 1985 by Javier Nieto Santa, Gabriel Ordeig Cole and Nina Masó — Javier as president, Gabriel as editor and Nina as stage director — with a logo, a manifesto and a way of being: design editors. The first editions (Carlos Riart, Gabriel Ordeig, Pete Sans) were launched at La Sala Vinçon. In 1987 the TMM lamp entered the catalogue, beginning a lasting relationship with Miguel Milá.

Philosophy

The company calls itself a publishing house for manufactured goods: an independent editor of lighting, furniture, art and books. Its manifesto favours restraint over ostentation and judgment over passing trends, and describes the catalogue as an opera aperta of “slow-cooked products”, made with a sense of permanence and meant to be passed down between generations, balancing craftsmanship and industry.

Iconic Works

• Miguel Milá's TMM, TMC and the Cesta family
• Antoni Arola's Nimba (first edition 1997)
• André Ricard's Tatu (re-edited 2017)
• The Design Classics book series, begun in 1991

Today

Since 2003 Santa & Cole has been based at Parc de Belloch, 30 km north of Barcelona, part of the Intramundana group with Urbidermis and Belloch Forestal. Recent milestones include the Art Division (2020), Contemporary, Museum and Archive Neoseries, and Galería Santa & Cole spaces in Belloch, New York and Mexico City.