Antoni Arola was born in Tarragona in 1960. He studied at the Eina School in Barcelona until 1984, after which he started working in prestigious professional studios. He stayed for five years at the Lievore and Pensi studio, and four more at the Associate Designers, AD, a leading firm in technological design, directed by Ramón Bigas and Pep Sant. In 1994, Antoni Arola left AD and set up his own studio, Estudi Arola. Antoni Arola first began designing lighting in 1994, when he designed a series of lamps. In 1997, he designed the Nimba for Santa & Cole, a lamp with a shape of a light halo that received the ADI-FAD Award. Since receiving the Spanish Design Prize in 2003, Antoni Arola has achieved creative maturity, as can be seen in his outstanding designs for Santa & Cole. According to Antoni Arola, "Designers are only catalysts, mediators, filters. Everything is in the air; it only has to be brought to real life, by turning ideas into objects that will improve everyone's life".
