ITALIAN DESIGN HERITAGE

Italian culture is built on the principles of beauty and design. Six year old children learn about Leonardo da Vinci - the mathematician AND artist - in school. Builders will find the perfect coloured stone to build a wall and will discuss its beauty at length alongside function and form before embarking on the job. Beauty is not an abstract concept, rather it is an inherent part of life itself. 

The Italian language is premised on beauty - everything is ‘bella’ or ‘bello’ (or not) whether it is a sidewalk, a parking ticket, a work of art, or a pretty child. Art is everywhere - every building and wall, every church, every market. Unesco estimates that 60% of all of the world’s art is in Italy. It is therefore not surprising that throughout modern history such spectacular design has originated here. 

This appreciation for art and design is coupled with a strong pride in Italian craftsmanship. It is a key consideration for any Italian, buying anything, whether it was ‘Made in Italy’. Craftsmen have honed their skills for thousands of years; crafts are kept in families - be it restoration, upholstery, glass blowing. The hours, years, centuries which go into perfecting a craft are clearly visible in the end result. Small workshops still scatter the landscape with the highly-skilled expertise that it is so difficult to find elsewhere. 

From the late 1920s through to the mid century, Italian designers became recognised artists. Throughout the global design community, the Italians set the trends that ruled the world. In our first collection, we are lucky enough to have found pieces by renowned furniture and glass designers, Flavio Poli, Giovanni Cenedese, Guido Andlowitz, Mandruzzato, Romeo Rega and more.