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Interview with Sander Minco
the origins of 'Morph design'
Following in the footsteps of father Victor's progressive ideas about sleep comfort, Sander Minco and the Morph Design styling team are once again taking sleep comfort to a higher level. They don't just design comfortable beds; they also revamp the rest of the space. This results not in spaces that are merely a repetition of the recognizable Morph Design signature, but in places that reflect the spirit of their inhabitants. And where, above all, it is very pleasant to spend time.
Morph Design originated, and forgive us this pun, from a dream of having our own design studio. Perhaps about furnishing a hotel… To celebrate the launch of our new website, we asked Sander Minco about the story behind Morph Design. About inspiration, creativity, and about dreams coming true through hard work and being stubborn.
Hi Sander! First of all, tell us, how did Morph Design come about?
At its core, Morph Design existed long before I took over Morpheus in 2003. I furnished the shops and bedrooms, designed my own models in collaboration with manufacturers, but never felt distinctly like a designer. I have a sense of what is beautiful, and that feeling goes beyond a fashion trend. This is part of who I am and feels so natural that taking a new direction with Morpheus became a logical consequence. As a result, the idea was never explicitly stated. Morph Design came into being after I had to map out my dreams, among other things, at the Identity Matching Academy. For instance, I had harbored the wish for some time to furnish an entire hotel. By articulating that and more, I was not only able to give my dreams a place, but the added value also became clear to me. In fact, nothing changed, but at the same time, a tremendous sense of awareness emerged. By founding Morph Design, we could make this better known to the world. This soon led to us and the design team being given the opportunity to furnish a hotel—a 13th-century building—in Utrecht. With the nice detail that my father worked there when he was 17 in the mattress factory that was located there at the time. With that project, we were really able to make a name for ourselves. It was as if people thought afterwards: Hey, they can really do that! Since then, we have had the opportunity to furnish several hotels and restaurants, and people are knocking at the door more and more often.
After all, a hotel is a series of bedrooms, and that just happens to be something we are very good at… We create wonderful places with a story and an experience. That is what it is all about: special memories that make it more than worth staying there.
Has that recognizable Morpheus style always been there?
I have always had a fondness for “authenticity” and for things with a rugged edge. For Morph Design, we have indeed defined 6 diverse style themes to serve a broader audience, but the aforementioned loves somehow often reappear in our designs.
I don't have much affinity for most so-called designer furniture. For many people, design seems to be more of a crutch. Like: “Oh, that’s called design, so it must be good.” Whereas I believe that you can't simply copy one particular style one-to-one and paste it into someone's home. With Morph Design, we take people on that journey to a beautiful new interior and explain to them why things do or don't fit together. In this way, an interior design becomes much more personal and lasts much longer, because it was created in consultation with the user.
How do you reflect someone's personality in their interior?
A house should tell the story of its inhabitants, what they have collected in their lives, heirlooms. That old cabinet from Grandma, a relic that reminds them of a beautiful trip, photos on the wall… we cherish personal items, but often with a new twist, so that it becomes a cohesive whole again. The property and the interior must also be cohesive. When the residents come home, they shouldn't think: “Hey, that’s a nice Morph house!”.
It's a bit cliché, but we are curious nonetheless. What inspires you?
Some fairs, some cities… Ibiza. The latter especially because of the mindset I have there and the combination of style and tranquility that prevails. I have a kind of mixer in my head. In Milan, I see a sofa with a fun fabric. In Cologne, beautiful stitching, and in Culemborg, a leg… while designing, those drawers of memories open and a very tasty soup can emerge.
When are you at your most creative?
When I have absolutely nothing practical on my mind. That is often quite difficult, because for my daily work I mostly rely on my structured, solution-oriented, and organized side. Creativity easily takes a back seat to that, so I really have to make time and space for it. That is why a studio is high on my wish list.
What is the most beautiful place on earth?
(Silence…)
Mauritius.
There are also beautiful places in Vietnam.
And in South Africa too.
Formentera with its blue water…
What a horrible question, actually.
Sweden, then. I went there a few times as a child, and when friends got married there, I caught the bug again. It is beautiful and rugged. My youngest son recently told me that when he grows up, he is going to live in Sweden. He’ll get a pickup truck and two huskies. Touching….
Take a look at the Morph Design website!
Morph Design
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