Our history is a long and winding path that makes little sense unless you know where we come from.
We are Cynthia Nau and Victor Zambon, architects living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We met while studying, we were classmates and became friends, and then we started dating. Today we are a husband and wife business team.
In 2000, we created Qm Digital Agency, helping our clients reach their digital audiences, empathize with their target audiences and increase their digital sales.
Inspired by these two passions, design and the digital world, one day we started thinking about how to combine all our knowledge and experience into a product of our own making.
That’s how this ambitious project came about, bringing together the tail ends of ideas that began to take on a new meaning: creating furniture and objects inspired by our homeland using a new contemporary language that we could show to the whole world on digital platforms.
Patagonia trip
During the pandemic, as was the case with so many, we took stock of our professional and personal goals and although we had more work than ever at the agency—unlike other industries—we felt the need to create something new.
During a long stay in Patagonia, we decided to start designing a swing according to contemporary guidelines, showcasing the excellent quality of local materials.
First sketches
We started the first sketches and quickly came up with the design for our swing: using a bold, linear and minimalist concept, with no chains or ropes, featuring quality finishes and noble materials. Reminiscent of the typical Argentine saddle used by the gauchos who just toss a thick blanket and sheepskin over a wooden mount, adjusted with a girth.
THE MOST SOUTHERN WOOD
We had the idea, but first we had to put everything into place...
We contacted a Patagonian carpenter who helped us design and make the prototype of our first versions of the seat.
We chose lenga, a semi-hard and resistant wood because the seat fulfills a mechanical function. Lenga, Nothofagus pumilio also known as Tierra del Fuego oak, southern beech or white oak. It’s a renewable wood, similar to the cherry tree, native to Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost province of Argentina, the tip of Patagonia which borders Chile, at the ends of the American continent.
Since our swing was—quite literally—conceived of in Patagonia, what could be better than making our first collection with a wood native to these lands, exclusive to the southernmost region in the world?
To create!
Once back from our trip, we contacted the best craftsmen and suppliers in Argentina to build the rest of the product. We found the best leather goods manufacturers, carpenters, polishers, hardware and metal workers, textiles and tanneries, and worked with them all in combination to create one of the best indoor swings of its kind.
After almost two years of discarded ideas and frustrations, trial, error and dead ends, we managed to consolidate a stable professional team under our supervision that worked according to our design and quality guidelines. They were able to bring to market a product unique as much for the quality of its design as for its superior standard of manufacturing and materials.
This is an exclusive, handmade product, not a mass-produced one. It’s handcrafted, not industrially manufactured, showcasing outstanding workmanship and finishes. Its high mechanical resistance has been certified by the National Institute of Industrial Technology.
All this, added to impeccable user experience and ease of hanging, makes our Sway, Unique Contemporary Swings, the best expression of luxury indoor swings.