Konstantin Grcic trained as a cabinet maker in England — the Crown noticed

Before the fame, there was sawdust: Konstantin Grcic trained as a cabinet maker at The John Makepeace School for Craftsmen in Wood, then studied design at the Royal College of Art. Britain eventually returned the compliment: in 2009 the RSA named him Honorary Royal Designer for Industry. In between, a practice founded in 1991, producers from Vitra to Magis and Flos, a Compasso d'Oro, and work collected by the MoMA.

He belongs to the Mutina ceramic roster we carry: through La Mercanti, the joiner-turned-industrial-master ends up underfoot in British offices — where his rigour belongs.