An only child and daughter of two creative entrepreneurs, Ceci spent much of her childhood surrounded by a unique amalgamation of art and design objects. Her parents would take her along to galleries, art fairs, buying trips and travels where she would experience the best of design. Often left to translate the world through her own lens, Ceci devoured the travel and home periodicals left on the coffee table and when not daydreaming, sketched and sculpted. In her youth, she explored a range of styles and mediums – jewellry design, printmaking, ceramics and painting.
The recognition and support of her talent led to a merit scholarship at the lauded Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). While developing her foundation at RISD, Ceci found she was most interested in and challenged by three-dimensional mediums. She tossed around focusing on interior architecture or industrial design and was drawn to sculpture but her strongest interest lay in furniture design. It was at RISD that she learned the hands-on skills of furniture building, cutting joints and sharpening chisels. Making pieces in the shop gave Ceci the foundation from which to articulate the design ideas brimming inside her. Eager to get to closer to the heart of the design industry, Ceci transferred to Parsons School of Design in New York where she completed her education in Product and Furniture Design.
The best ideas seem to come when I’ve been sketching long enough to stop paying too much attention and the pencil starts to work on its own.
While attaining her education, Ceci was introduced to the trade working in the studios of furniture designers Lloyd Schwan and Karim Rashid. From her base in New York, she went on to design homewares, retail fixtures and environments for a multitude of international brands. Ceci was readily fed by the endless opportunities for fulfilment offered by this mecca of culture. Be it a Sunday stroll through one of the many art museums or seeking out the obscure hole-in-the-wall restaurant that could momentarily transport her across the globe, she was always keen to experience something that would expand her view. Whenever she could Ceci was off – Morocco, Japan, Spain, India and Argentina were favourite destinations.
Having digested a lifetime worth of experiences, it was when she took a moment to reconnect with her personal design interests that Ceci came into her own. Creating without a brief, Ceci followed her instincts and put together a handful of furniture concepts. These pieces were hastily acquired and produced.
Shortly thereafter, Ceci’s husband-to-be, product designer and engineer Aydin Keyvanloo introduced her to Australia and she fell in love. They moved to Melbourne where she now resides with Aydin and their two young children. She often touts the merits the cultural capital she calls home and credits its warm and kind people and awe-inspiring nature as fuel for her creativity.
What started as a personal project designing a few pieces evolved into a thriving design studio with a focus on furniture, lighting and accessories. Ceci’s passion for discovery and creation informs every project she undertakes and is the source of the seemingly endless flow of ideas.
Pont Credenza
