Creative Spirits Series
With Rafael Prieto & Megumi Shauna Arai
NYC-based artists and friends Rafael Prieto and Megumi Shauna Arai are celebrated for reworking traditions in a new way. Rafael is the founder of architecture- and design-focused Savvy Studio and Mexico City’s Casa Bosques Chocolate, while Megumi is a renowned textile artist who hand-stitches her Japanese-influenced pieces in Brooklyn. The two collaborated on a limited-edition batch of chocolate bars, using the same botanicals to flavor the chocolate and dye the cloth covering.
Shop now
Shop now
“I work in a very singular way—textiles are my thing—so I’m thinking of many ideas to express in one medium. I like people who flip my thinking around. Rafa is a Renaissance man, and his signature ties everything together.”
—Megumi
“
I find Rafa to be a very inspiring individual. He moved here from Mexico, so his work is a dialogue of places and cultures. I’m drawn to individuals who do that because it’s something I’ve done as well.
„
—Megumi
SHOP RAFAEL’S LOOK
“
I like the natural, emotional and cultural approach Megumi takes—it doesn’t need explanation. Just appreciation of beauty, natural dyes, quality of fabrics and the elements that surround this in harmony.
„
—Rafael
Shop now
“We share a consideration for materials, thoughtfulness and intention. This is tied to our appreciation for the poetic side of life. When you are looking for poetry in life, it reflects with a care for everything. It’s a way of being.”
—Megumi
SHOP MEGUMI’S LOOK
Q&A
How did this chocolate collaboration come to be?
RP: The main thing was translating a set of materials into many senses. Visually, the chocolate is like a sculpture with the patchwork wrapping. It’s an alchemy between taste and ingredients. Saffron is infused, so you taste and smell it, but it’s not visible. The apple you see, but you don’t taste. So there are all of these different layers—some you see, some you smell and taste.
MSA: The idea of having a patchwork that wraps the chocolate, a marriage of materials layered in the same way Rafa describes the taste profile, seemed very natural. The beauty and tradition of wrapping in Japan—this is a nod to that, but in a nontraditional way.
RP: I’m happy we can have a conversation about chocolate—it’s the ingredients and substance, but also abstract—something to be eaten and enjoyed that’s also lasting. The editions she did are beautiful, something you can taste, and a part of it remains in an ephemeral way.
SHOP THEIR LOOKS
Follow @oneflewup and @rafaelsavvy on Instagram
