We were lucky to catch up with Jazmin Feige & Matias Gonzalez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jazmin & Matias, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love for you to start by sharing your thoughts about the pros and cons of family businesses

Working in a family business can be both rewarding and challenging. As a design studio founded by a couple, we’ve experienced both the upsides and downsides. One major advantage is that we trust each other implicitly, and we can focus on our individual strengths to make great designs. But it can be tough to switch off at the end of the day, especially when inspiration strikes outside of normal working hours and you have to make a note in your iphone to discuss it later…

As for whether we’d want our future children to join the business, it’s not something we’ve thought about as we don’t have children at the moment. But we do have two furry assistants (our dogs) who love to hang out with us in the studio ;)

Charles and Ray Eames are a successful example of a family business that comes to mind. Together, they made significant contributions to industrial design by collaborating on furniture, architecture, photography, and film projects. Charles focused on the technical aspects of design while Ray brought an eye for aesthetics and visual communication. This partnership resulted in some of the most iconic designs of the 20th century, like the Eames Lounge Chair.
Unfortunately, Ray does not have the same fame as Charles because of the patriarchal society we live in.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Bougie Woogie is a design studio founded and run by us, Jaz and Mati. We’re based in Buenos Aires and Milan, and each of us brings a unique set of skills to the table. Mati has a strong background in technical design and materials development, while Jaz brings a creative flair with a background in retail marketing and product design. We design and manufacture our own pieces, which are featured in both retail and wholesale catalogs and we also do commissions for other businesses.

What sets us apart is our technical expertise and attention to detail. We send every piece disassembled with an easy-to-follow guide for assembly, all while minimizing our carbon footprint. We also take great care in developing new colors and lacquer techniques. We’re proud of the unique design identity that we’ve created for our projects.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

We met at university while studying industrial design. We were both attending the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) in Argentina, and we quickly became friends. Over the years, we worked on several projects together, and eventually, we became partners in both business and in life. When Jaz was sent to Paris for work, Mati began traveling between Argentina and France frequently. It was during this time that we decided to start Bougie Woogie, our design studio, to stay connected and continue working on something we were both passionate about.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

We believe that our hands-on approach and emphasis on building strong personal relationships have been essential to our success. We’re always at the forefront of our studio, and we care deeply about the quality of human interaction within our business. We also share behind-the-scenes glimpses of our studio, as well as bits and pieces about our lives, home, and personal journey. We believe that this transparency helps to create a sense of closeness and fosters trust with our clients.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bougiewoogie____/
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits
Katja StÜckrath