Melanie Liaw & Micaela Nardella
Co-Founders, Duelle
Duelle co-founders, Micaela Nardella (left) and Melanie Liaw
When design duo Melanie Liaw and Micaela Nardella launched their interior-design studio, Duelle, they did so in the midst of a pandemic and 800 miles apart. The pair, based in London and Milan respectively, have more than 20 years of combined interiors experience. Born of their reverence for artfully curated spaces coupled with their international outlook, these are just some of the underpinnings of Duelle. With their understanding of how bold interiors can be catalysts for a rich, full life and their keen business minds, they’ve merged their creative and pragmatic skills enabling them to push their craft forward. Since launching, Duelle has been firmly on the ascent.
Read on to learn more about the genesis of Duelle and what’s to come.
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Reassess and go for it
Melanie Liaw: “We met when I first moved to London six years ago. We were working at the same hospitality design firm, leading the design on a number of projects. We had this amazing experience working under pressure [together] at luxurious properties. We kept in touch over the years, going to galleries together and talking about all things design. When COVID hit London, as hospitality designers it really changed things. At the time, so many people were reassessing their lives and decisions. Micaela and her husband felt it was time to return to Milan. It was her husband who suggested that we start our own design firm. It seemed like a bad time to start a business but after thinking about it, we decided to go for it. We always say we started when Micaela moved to Milan.”
Micaela Nardella: “[My husband] knew we wanted to do things our way and to have a new perspective, and we just felt that ultimately it was the perfect time. Melanie and I work in similar ways but also have different perspectives about design - the North American versus European view, which is great! It was the way to do London and Milan together - a great synergy.”
Lean into your challenges
ML: “One of the challenges we circle back to is admitting you can’t do everything yourself. Micaela and I were used to taking on a lot. When you’re running a small business, everyone knows you wear many hats. We’re at a point now where in order to grow, we need to bring in and trust other experts to help us scale in the ways we want to and within the timeframe we want.”
Embrace your differences
MN: “We are trying to merge interests in Duelle and make it become part of the company. For example, Melanie is interested in art work and the art scene. [So, she naturally] pushes to have more collaborations on that side. For me, I love and get inspiration from traveling so we [incorporate] a lot of that in design. We try to bring ourselves into the company, but ultimately blend it and incorporate it into the company as a whole.”
Create connections
ML: “The first project we launched, A. Gallo, was a really beautiful project. The fine artist [Alina Gallo] owns this all natural watercolor brand. She got this historical shop front [in Assisi], a medieval town [in Umbria]. To be able to work on that brought together all the aspects we had hoped to embody in a Duelle project. It had travel, history, art, and because [Alina] is an artist herself, she was keen to collaborate with other artists. We met ceramic artist Enrico Donadello, and collaborated with him to make light fixtures and vessels for the shop. It was just a really beautiful story and we were so happy to be a part of it. We had to design that all remotely in the beginning, which was wild because you couldn’t travel at the time. We finally got to visit when they opened and it was surreal to see how it turned out, exactly as we had imagined and designed it. I think people really connected with it.
Recently, having Milk café open [in south London] was such a pleasure. This brand has grown in 10 years, [becoming] one of London’s top brunch destinations but [the restaurant] had never been renovated. It [started as] a humble workers’ cafe and it’s evolved into this really vibrant, young neighborhood spot but it had been very simple and cobbled together over the years. So, we worked with the founder, [Ugur Dogusoy], to bring together a cohesive vision for the space. He wanted harmony for the space and now that it’s open it’s so lovely to see families, young groups of friends and older couples using the space. It feels considered, comfortable and on brand for them.”
MN: “It’s always a really proud moment for us to be involved in a hospitality project because it adds to the community and we feel our work is experienced by the public. If you bring back great design to the community, it’s such a nice added value.”
Look ahead
MN: “We’re quite busy with a few residential projects which are very exciting and will come together in the first half of 2024. These are all house renovations, from full renovations to light touches to art selections. We’re also working hard to try to establish our name more in the Italian and U.S. markets, so we have some strong collaborations coming up in the next year with agencies that can help us with that. And because we love hospitality and it makes us proud, we’re pushing to expand and bring back our strong expertise in hospitality, food and beverage design.”
Be patient and creative
ML: “The name Duelle comes from a 1970s french film. Micaela’s friend is a film curator and when we were ideating in the beginning about what our studio would be called, we gave her some ideas on how we wanted the brand to feel. She reacted with a list of films and after I watched that one, the story and aesthetic of that film checked all the boxes. [Duelle] is not a real word, it’s a play on two women. In the film it relates to two women dueling, with a woman who owns the day and a woman who owns the night. We found the ‘dueling’ theme interesting for its dynamism, and the spontaneity of collaboration when two forces come together (rather than opposing forces trying to win!). So, we thought there was something really playful in that.”
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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
