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Q1 Please tell us your brief profile and working career. Why did you become designer?
DFC is the Mexico City based design duo of Tony Moxham and Mauricio Paniagua.
Moxham (from Australia) has a degree in Visual Communication and worked extensively In New York as an art director and journalist for magazines such as Andy Warhol's Interview, The Face, and Detour. He is a former World Trampolining Champion, and lived in New York City for 13 years after graduating from university. |
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His freelance art direction clients have included D&G Dolce & Gabbana, Trussardi, Versace, Levis, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, M+Co., Shahid Co., Arnell Group, and Deitch Projects Gallery (NYC). He is 36 years old. Paniagua (from Guatemala) is a painter who has studied Industrial Design. During the time he was studying he was able to broaden his experience in media through internships in fields as diverse as carpentry, mass-produced furniture, and screen-printing. He moved to NY in 1996 to attend painting classes at New School, and subsequently had two successful painting shows in Guatemala, at Museo Ixchel and at El Centro Cultural Santo Tomas de Aquino. The pair met while working and living in NYC, and moved to Mexico City in July of 2005.
Q2 What is your greatest inspiration?
Mexico, Myths and Magic, Pretty Things, Big Things, Bright Things, Shiny Things, Animals and Flowers, Families, Working with artisans, artists, and friends, The absence of Minimalism |
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Q6 What do you think about design industry in your country?
Because we are relatively new to Mexico and have only been here a little over 2 years, we are still learning a lot about the Mexican design industry and the country's rich design heritage. We find the folks we have met in the design industry here to be supportive, innovative, and dazzling. |
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The contacts we have made with Mexican artisans have also blown us away, and we cannot praise more highly the level of skill, knowlege, respect for history, and ability to make things that surprise one on so many levels.
Q7 Currently which stores carry your pieces in the world? Price range?
DFC Mexico City is currently stocked in many of the world’s greatest museum stores, including MOCA LA, The MCA Chicago, El Museo del Barrio, The American Museum of Folk Art, The Walker Art Museum, and also in high-end design stores such as The Future Perfect in Brooklyn, Base in Miami, Show LA, Propeller Modern San Francisco, Cibone Tokyo, arenot Tokyo, Wonderland NYC, Galeria Mexicana de Diseno Mexico City, and MOB Mexico City, among many others. |
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Q11 Are there any people who inspired you? Who do you respect?
Our own families and friends, plus:
Franscisco Toledo (artist), Mae West, Hector Cortes (the artist who creates many of the models for DFC ceramics), Mexico . . . visually, socially, historically. , Michael Jackson, Nancy Reagan, Grace Jones
Margaret Albright, Alan Greenspan, Tom of Finland, Jeremy Scott, Alexander McQueen, Tetsuya Wakuda, Carlos Slim |
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Q12 When is the most important time of your day?
Mauricio and I make it a point to sleep 12hrs a day whenever possible. Generally, we rise early, work as hard and fast as we can, and then are able to devote time to "comida" (which is lunch, and Mexico's most important meal), and also to our love of television, music, online information/style/trend/news research, and relaxation. DFC initially rose from our joint love of our slightly unorthodox home-life and interest in all visual and cultural stimulai, and we are very happy when we have no need to leave the house on most days. We also have a Xolo (a native Mexican hairless dog who behaves more like a deer than a dog) who occupies a lot of our time, along with our 4 turtles and our Axolotl (another Mexican native, they are amphibious lizard-like creatures originally from the lakes and canals of Xochimilco in Mexico City). Our newest turtle, Leona, was named just yesterday in tribute to Grand Hotelier Leona Helmsley. |
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DFC is the Mexico City baced design duo of Tony Moxham and Mauricio Paniagua. Moxham (from Australia) has a degree in Visual Communication and worked extensively In New York as an art director and journalist for magazines such as Andy Warhol's "Interview", The "Face", and "Detour". Paniagua (from Guatemala) is a painter who studied Industrial Design. The pair met while working and living in NYC, and moved to Mexico City in 2005.
DFC is dedicated to the marrying of traditional Mexican techniques and styles with modern design to create objects for home and commercial use. The are currently working with artisans from across Mexico in materials ranging from aluminum, hand - blown and scientific - grade glass, traditionally - cast ceramics, to fiberglass, silver, and fur. DFC is proud to collabrate with artisans utlilizing techniques that in many cases have remained unchanged for millenia, and with families whose expertise often dates back through generations. |
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Q3 What is the concept of your products?
DFC is dedicated to the marrying of traditional Mexican techniques and styles with modern design to create objects for home and commercial use. They are currently working with artisans from across Mexico in materials ranging from aluminum, hand-blown and scientific-grade glasses, traditionally-cast ceramics, to fiberglass, silver, and fur. DFC is proud to collaborate with artisans utlilizing techniques that in many cases have remained unchanged for millenia, and with families whose expertise often dates back through generations.
Q4 What would you be if you weren't a designer?
Mauricio: A florist who only works with paper flowers, an airbrush landscape artist, or a hardware store owner.
Tony: A chef, a pornographer, or a pet-store owner. |
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Q5 Could you tell us the work you enjoyed so far?
Our biggest thrill is in coming up with new ideas. We are brainstorming every waking moment, and both feel so full of ideas . . . to put a design into production is one of our greatest joys. Every DFC design is something we both love and would both want to be surrounded by. |
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Q8 Who is your dream collaborator?
DFC is super-excited about any collaborative project. We love the cross-polination that is possible between design and other creative, social, emotional, historical, and technological worlds. Some DFC idols include Blenko Glass, Jaime Hayon, artists including Fred Tomaselli and Paul Pope, Baccarat Glass, Nouvel Glass Studios, photographers such as Pierre and Gilles or Steven Meisel, movie directors like Tim Burton, actors from Mischa Barton to Faye Dunawaye, fashion legends like Karl Lagerfeld or Carolina Herrera, and a lot inbetween.
Q9 Is there any event that are you going to this year?
DFC has no plans to attend any other design-world events this year, but Mauricio and I are planning installations and parties with Galeria Mexicana de Diseno in Mexico City, Wonderland in NYC, and The Future Perfect in Brooklyn. We love bringing our various families and friends together and the surprises this can result in. As former New Yorkers, we love a good party :) |
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Q10 Could you tell us anything what you think it’s cool at the moment?
DFC loves:
Fantastic Man Magazine, Pan's Labyrinth (the movie), The movies of Marco Ovando, Julieta Venegas, Sexy Robots, Domino Magazine, TV chef Anthony Bourdain, Regoberta Menchu (who we think should be Guatemala’s next President, and first indigenous woman), TV Crime drama shows, The secret beauty of Moths |
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Q13 Are there any places or countries you would like to visit?
DFC is fascinated by the world. Some places we are intrigued or dazzled by right now include Guatemala (especially Lake Atitlan), China (especially Shanghai), Tokyo, NYC (always), Istanbul, Haiti, Bombay, Beirut, Damascus, Berlin, Lisbon, Lord Howe Island, The Galapagos Islands, Machu Pichu, Big
Sur, Los Gatos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Dubai, New Orleans, Quito, Los Angeles, Seoul, St. Petersburg, Santiago . . . and then everywhere else!!
Q14 Do you have any advice for the young people?
DFC hopes that all young people have the opportunity to do what they want, the luxury of enough time to figure out what that may be, and the support of all around them and the resources to bring their dreams to reality. We both believe that knowlege is power, and that choice is a basic right in most cases. We also very firmly believe in being nice and the everyday use of courtesy and respect to others. |
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Q15 What do you want to achieve in your career? What is your goal?
DFC Mexico City is an evolving project and partnership between both Mauricio, myself, and all of the magical folks we are surrounded by. Where it may lead even we don’t know, but in the immediate future we're exploring interior design projects, fine-art collaborations, and the thrill of exploring even further the doors we have already opened. |
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