Alejandro Gomez Stubbs is a dedicated and celebrated young designer. This native Colombian began his study of architecture at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogota. In 2001 he moved to Miami, Florida where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Florida International University in 2003. Having decided to continue pursuing his passion for industrial design, he moved to New York, where he received a Master’s degree in Industrial Design from the PRATT Institute in Brooklyn in 2007.
After graduation, he began his career as a furniture and product designer working at the world-renowned design studio, Clodagh Design. At Clodagh, he was able to utilize his skills for clients such as W Hotels Worldwide (a division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.), Clodagh Collection, Ann Sacks, and Asiaphile. In 2008 Alejandro was named a winner of Design within Reach’s Design+Modern+Function award in New York.
In 2009, he decided to open his own studio, Malagana Design, which draws inspiration from Latin American culture. Distinctive designs and vibrantly bold colors meet in elegant high-end furniture. The studio started off designing custom furniture, and launched the Equilibrium bookcase in the fall of 2010. Rapidly catching the attention of the public and the media, the innovative designs gave the young studio an opportunity to create its own design language among the international design community.
In three short years, Malagana Design has garnered impressive press and award coverage. The studio has been featured in over forty international publications, including two books, and the Equilibrium bookcase has been nominated for the Lapiz de Acero Award (Colombia), the WAN Award (UK) and the Bienal Iberoamericana de Diseño (Spain). Malagana was recently invited to launch its newest balanced system, Equity at Tendence, in Germany as well as at Tokyo’s Designers Week in Japan. Alejandro was featured in the May 2013 edition of Dwell magazine’s second Annual Young Guns roundup, a review of over seventy of the best and brightest emerging international designers.
Click here to read more about this inspirational FIU alum.