Andreia Matias is currently Managing Partner and Creative Director. Graduated in Architecture and Interior Design by ESAD, Andreia combines her creativity and passion for design with excellent sensitivity to understand the needs of each client, always with the right dose of pragmatism. In 2014, together with Alexandre Santos, she founded DZINE & Co, with the aim of offering truly personalized service to each client, during all phases of the project. DZINE & Co offers services of excellence in the areas of Architecture, Interior Design and Decoration for homes, hotels, offices, restaurants and shops. Their clients value their ability to combine different styles and trends in creating functional and sophisticated environments through the use of timeless and striking design.
For Andreia, design has been a lifelong passion since a young age. She has always been drawn to different areas of Design, not only Interior Design but also Graphic and Fashion Design. Andreia likes to explore “Beauty” as a concept and aesthetics, the harmony of shapes, proportion and color are present in all areas of her life. After some experiences in different areas, she found Interior Design the perfect choice, because of all the creativity involved, from creating and developing concepts to executing them and seeing them come to fruition. Furthermore, it is very gratifying to be able to make her clients’ dreams a reality.
The most challenging time of Andreia’s career was probably the beginning of DZINE when the company was not known in the market. “I think the best way to overcome any challenge is to work hard, maintain a positive attitude, believe in the quality of your work and remind yourself that every challenge can be a learning experience.” – said Andreia.
Andreia is always pursuing new goals in order to challenge herself and build her personal growth either personally and professionally. “Whenever I achieve a goal that I have set for myself, I create a new one. I think is important to challenge yourself every day. That’s how you grow personally and professionally.” – she said.
What fulfills Andreia the best about her work is seeing the satisfaction of her clients, the pleasure of not only fulfilling but exceeding their expectations. For the designer having her work recognized is very rewarding. On top of this, Andreia thinks that having a happy and cohesive team, all working with the same mindset and towards the same goals it is very important too.
PROJECTS
Explaining her relationship with her audience, Andreia told us that she and the company itself develop a very close one with them. A very important thing is to listen to what they need and what they are looking for. The goal is to bring their wishes to life. For Andreia, their main advertising is actually word of mouth. But she also uses social media to promote and show their work. Still, she defends that her clients are the best advertisers. One happy client tells another about DZINE & Co, and that’s how they get the majority of new projects.
Their most recent project is a 600m2 family home in Restelo, Lisboa. They are completely redesigning it and the main inspiration for the project is Nature. They are using a lot of natural materials like natural stone, recycled wood panels, recycled glass, different types of plaster (Venetian Plaster, Tadelakt, and Marmorino) to create different effects, and always with sustainability in mind, which has been one of their major focus for a while now.
“We see some trends like monochromatic rooms, or light and pastel shades with hints of bright colors, but I think the main trend is that people are not following any specific trend but instead are doing their own thing and being original. That’s what I try to do, not focus on trends too much and treat every project as unique and specific as the client is.” – Andreia Matias
At DZINE & Co, they work with private and corporate clients but don’t really have a client type other than their private clients are mostly businessmen or businesswomen. Their clientele is very international so besides the cultural differences, they are very different in terms of what they like or what they need from the design. Most of their collaborations are with real estate promoters. Normally, they do the interior architecture project, where they design it fully: kitchens, bathrooms, closets, rooms, etc. They also define the flooring and wall coverings, and in addition, they decorate the model apartment. At the moment, they developing a luxury brand, together with a well-known real estate promoter, specialized in luxury ventures. This brand will work as a quality seal for the buildings developed by the promoter, similar to what the major international real estate brands are doing.
TO FINALIZE
For Andreia Matias, in the world of interior design, Italy is the leader with a long tradition of high-quality craftsmanship. But there are other countries that stand out, namely Portugal, which more and more have highly qualified artisans doing beautiful work with wood, metal, leather, glass and other materials.
About the future, Andreia said it all. “I think the focus is now and will continue to be sustainability. This is something that should be in everyone’s mind. We should make more mindful choices, try to create less waste and bet on quality and durability. Strive to have a close relationship with suppliers in order to select the best ones, who then can supply you with the best materials.” – said the designer.
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