Born to challenge the design era, with a fresh, appealing, artistic, and unique aesthetic, MainGUILTY emerged in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. Resulting from the fusion between art and design, and with a bold, striking, spicy, provoking, and pragmatic character, this brand promises to be the missing key to today’s design. 

We interviewed the brand’s founders, Luís Leão, Founder and CEO of MainGUILTY, and Carlos Mello, Creative Director and Founder of the brand, who revealed to us the secrets of this company that is taking its first steps towards a presentation to the public. After ten months of hard work, the brand’s collections are based on the personal experiences of the creators and their perception of the world.

MainGUILTY brings together two design, fashion, and art lovers, united by a passion for traveling and experiencing new cultures. “We want to create pieces with history, pieces that leave a legacy and that can offer a unique identity to any environment” said Luís Leão. Mello is passionate about design, he loves redesigning the world and showing his vision, ”I see design more as a new way to interpret the unknown,” he said.

The brand will be shown to the world for the first time at the ExpoCoruña Design Fair between December 3 and 8, with the showcase of the first pieces.

MainGUILTY Collections and Details

“The name we chose for the brand reveals how it all started. The need to assume ourselves as the main culprits for the change in the way people look at furniture and interior decoration. We intend to get away from what is common and create pieces of pure design.” said Luís Leão.

“MainGUILTY aims to create new consumer experiences, and anyone who has an initial impact with any of our pieces creates that stimulus. All the pieces can be applied in any environment, and be the highlight, they have that weight and personality. Above all, MainGUILTY has its personality,” concluded Mello.

With an unusual collection, without limits and filled with history, the brand is unusual, and enters the market with a product that makes the difference in a space. What distinguishes it from all the others is its stamp, the sculptural part, “all the pieces are handmade with extensive techniques, able to transform and have their own identity. And that’s what we want as a brand,” explained the brand’s creative director, Carlos Mello. 

For Luís Leão, ”there’s no doubt that there’s a lot of talent in Portugal, and that we have some of the best craftsman and the best furniture production in the world and the world’s architects and interior designers are beginning to recognize our quality. One of our main goals is to take beyond borders the stamp ‘Made in Portugal’ and be a reference in the international market”, he explained. 

Against concerns and restrictions, the brand was born during the Pandemic. “Early on, it was a huge challenge that we were willing to face. There were limitations and difficulties derived from the pandemic, but we tried to take something positive from the time we spent at home with our families. We realized that there was an opportunity to enter the market and that people started to value their homes more and felt more than ever the need to have unique spaces that they could identify with,” began to explain Luís Leão, CEO of the brand.

“We took advantage of the whole pandemic to activate the machine and create this project. We applied for the STARTUP voucher, and we are being funded, and after that approval, our strength began, the catapult to what has always been our greatest dream: to create a brand that would distinguish itself in the market,” concluded Carlos Mello. 

With a strong and exclusive identity, MainGUILTY is a furniture and interior design brand that combines quality, eccentricity, and sensuality in each piece, providing a unique identity to any environment. “The brand creation process was joint, and the design process was inspired by small objects, small experiences, living abroad, contact with new cultures, and world history. A concept we like a lot is READY MADE decontextualize what is banal, take something simple and maximize it turning it into something megalomaniac. Exchange of ideas, impressions that help defragment and make our vision real.” explained Mello.

”We present 4 different collections: The ‘Nº1 Collection’ which is the main one, is iconic, unforgettable, and striking. Like a book, it was created to be passed on from generation to generation, as a legacy. The ‘Spectrum Collection’ takes color to the limit, bringing chameleonic hues and their gradients into the world of decoration. The ‘Champagne Collection’ has a remarkable ability to fit into any interior style, with its light colors capable of transmitting tranquility and harmony. And finally, ‘The Legends’, a limited collection that aims to honor artists who have inspired generations. All pieces are accompanied by storytelling that tells their inspiration”. Luís Leão explained.

“What is to come is a breath of fresh air, a new reality, in the fusion between art and design.”

Are you GUILTY or Innocent? That’s the question the founders ask. 

“What is to come is a breath of fresh air, a new reality, in the fusion between art and design,” explained the creators of the brand that promise to have many secrets to unveil.

Written by Margarida Gonçalves – Senior Editor