Q&A: Wood Couture brings a fresh approach to bespoke furniture

A newly formed venture in the FF&E sector is aiming to bring a fresh approach to bespoke furniture supply, with the launch of an end-to-end service for residential and hospitality projects. Founded by Paolo Della Casa and Filippo Sona, Wood Couture manages all phases of sourcing, manufacturing, and delivery of furniture, artwork, and decorative accessories, building on the combined experience of its team of experts to meet the needs of owners, operators, and designers.

Having vetted several facilities, the founders have partnered with key manufacturers to establish a total-quality management system that produces furniture for all hotel classes. Sleeper caught up with Wood Couture to discover more about the brand.

Could you start by giving us an overview of the aims of the new business?

Wood Couture is a 30-year-old business which has recently undergone a restructuring and rebranding. This move aims to bring the business into the 21st century by focusing on creating value for our clients through our key expertise. The new approach aims to enhance the planning phase with in-depth analysis to study each piece of furniture produced, as well as to align Wood Couture more to the project schedule.

Can you talk us through the materials that are used at Wood Couture?

Most of the materials we use are wood, metal, fabrics, and leather. Artwork and decorative objects are mainly made in wood carving, glass, crystal, brass, resin, ceramic, or porcelain. Most of our raw materials are sourced in China close to the factory premises and if needed we go to the international markets for particular items. Through our team’s efforts, we get the right materials for the appropriate application at a fair price. This, together with our custom technology handled by our technical team, ensures the project follows through as planned.

How do you work with clients to create bespoke work?

At Wood Couture, we highly emphasise collaboration with everyone involved in the project. We always maintain a three-dimensional view of things. What this means is that we operate in such a way that we are in tune with what each stakeholder cares about: the interior designer’s artistic vision, the operator’s brand standard and ways of working, and, most importantly, the owner’s investment of time and money.

What can Wood Couture bring to hotel environments?

Experience, trust, reliability, and versatility. The brand is not just a traditional supplier, we manufacturing experts that have mastered the art of creating furniture for the hospitality industry and high-end residential sector. This means that we go beyond material and manufacturing knowledge; we can foresee how each piece will impact hotel operations and potential issues with safety. Furthermore, Wood Couture goes beyond the usual supplier role, and we are there to consult and advise after the project is finished and items are delivered. We are interested in extending the life of our clients’ assets so they can continue to rely on these items throughout running their businesses.

Can you name some of the hotel projects that Wood Couture is proud to have worked on?

We’ve worked on hotels for Four Seasons in Miami and Bahrain (decorative accessories only for the suites); Kempinski Summerland Beirut; Pullman in Kaifeng; Hyatt in St Kitts; Taj in Jumeirah Lake Towers Dubai; and Waldorf Astoria Dubai DIFC to name a few. Additionally, we have worked on some high-rise residential projects for Ritz-Carlton Massachusetts, and Florida in the States. Currently, we have work going on with Marriott Bangalore, Waldorf Astoria Kuwait, and SLS Dubai.

What’s next for the brand?

This year we acquired our certificates for copyright and trademarked our logo and brand name. This is very exciting as we are coming to shake the industry globally, and intellectual property helps us do this. We have a good presence in the Middle East and the States and we recently signed a collaboration to increase our presence in India and other parts of Asia; meanwhile, we are also working on getting more footing in the European and African markets.

Take a look at Wood Couture’s brochure here and watch the video below to hear more about the brand’s vision.