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hile working in Deia, he got to know the architect and interior designer, Oro del Negro, who was just starting his career, before he became a co-founder with Manuel Villanueva of Moredesign Architects. Del Negro was working on the interiors of Alexandre de Betak’s house in Deia and commissioned Casanova to create some stools, benches, tables and a bed. The house, which is an early example of the rugged yet refined relationship between dwelling and nature that Moredesign has excelled at over the last decade, was featured in the New York Times Style Magazine in 2011. The article would be a pivotal moment for Casanova, who began getting calls from around the world for commissions, leading him to establish his studio and devote himself full-time to working with wood. 

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Casanova’s style is about letting the wood be revealed in the best way possible. He works with olive, pine and oak, mostly from the island but also, occasionally with wood from northern Spain. You get the feeling that Casanova sees the wood in a way most do not, and his practice is slow and considered, letting it evolve with time. “It’s a long process,” he explains. “I am working with it, touching it all the time to find the right shape and texture.” Walking around the studio, slabs, sticks and pieces of wood in various states can be found propped against a wall or stacked outside in bundles, awaiting their time to be transformed. Some of his pieces can appear fragile, the legs on a small stool or side table might have a slight twist or bend in them, or the surface not quite even, but they are super solid and steady. This is Casanova’s personality coming through, the sense of play that he brings to his work. “Each wood has its own aesthetic and qualities,” he reveals. “Wild olive, oak or pine, each has so much character, different colours, swirls, cracks and fissures,” all of which are points of departure for the artist as he begins a new piece. He cites George Nakashima as one influence, and some of his larger dining tables have that same wild, pure quality that was captured by the legendary American woodworker and architect.