Joel Escalona

Joel Escalona is a Mexican designer born in Mexico City in 1986, whose practice spans furniture, sculpture, product design, and creative direction. He studied industrial design at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Azcapotzalco, later completing a master’s degree in Contemporary Art, Markets, and Business. His work combines technical knowledge with an interest in the emotional presence of objects, exploring how form, proportion, and material can influence the experience of everyday spaces.

Working through his studio and NONO, the furniture brand he founded and creatively directs, Escalona develops pieces produced in Mexico through traditional craftsmanship and contemporary manufacturing. His approach gives particular attention to touch, allowing curved edges, textured surfaces, and organic volumes to invite physical interaction. Made-to-order furniture, small production runs, and limited editions provide different settings for this research, connecting practical use with the expressive possibilities of sculptural form.

Laws of Motion, his first collectible design collection for BREUER, explores gravity, force, and movement through mirrors, tables, and seating. Presented at ZONAMACO in 2019, the collection brings oak, marble, and metal into compositions that examine the relationship between strength and fragility. Structural elements become part of the narrative, while changing viewpoints reveal different readings of each object. These investigations connect physical principles with more personal questions about balance, vulnerability, and perception.

His collections for NONO develop this vocabulary through distinct references. Elefante draws on the architecture of Luis Barragán and Ricardo Legorreta, translating ideas of mass, geometry, and balance into furniture. Solace takes inspiration from Isamu Noguchi’s Pigeon sculpture, using solid wood to explore fluid contours and sculptural supports. The Still Stand series extends his practice into freestanding wooden sculptures, where flowing curves and the natural variations of oak and walnut shape each work’s individual character.

Escalona’s collaborations include Roche Bobois, BD Barcelona, TANE, Taller Maya, and Nouvel, reflecting a practice that moves across furniture, decorative objects, and craft traditions. His work has been presented at ICFF in New York, Maison&Objet in Paris, Salone del Mobile in Milan, and ZONAMACO in Mexico City. Publications including Architectural Digest, Domus, and Design Milk have featured his work, documenting the connection between material experimentation, skilled production, and artistic expression throughout his practice.

Joel Escalona’s complete catalog available upon request.