The Artisans

An artisan and designer, Marco Ripa crafts bespoke furnishings in iron and steel in his workshop in Porto San Giorgio, Province of Fermo. Marco was born in 1977. At the age of 15, he began working as an apprentice in a workshop where he discovered his passion for iron, which became his material of choice.Inspired by American sculptor Calder, Marco Ripa shapes and colors metals to create vases, lamps, bookshelves, side tables and accessories, each entirely original and impossible to reproduce.

Freaklab is a contemporary atelier, a creative workshop producing majolica terracotta pieces, established in Palermo by Antonio Sunseri in 2016. Freaklab serves up original pieces that draw inspiration from the relationship between man and nature, featuring animals and monstrous creatures. To convey his ideas, Antonio uses a paintbrush to represent the world of painting, a pencil, the symbol of drawing, and a scalpelto shape his materials.

Tecno Spa, founded in 1953 by Osvaldo and Fulgenzio Borsani, is a historic furnishing company based in the heart of Milan, with every collection based on quality design, materials, and artisanal tradition. The brand boasts an innovative approach, 47 patents, 5 Compassi d’Oro, and numerous recognitions, allowing them to launch their products around the world, creating prestigious works and true design icons. Today, Tecno Spa defines themselves as a design factory.

Founded in 1915 by Roberto Gambella, today, Ebanisteria Roberto Gambella is led by its third generation. The company is proud of its century of woodworking mastery and continues to use traditional techniques while incorporating the latest technology in terms of accessories and tools. The company works exclusively with prestigious solid woods to create modern and exclusive products with Scandinavian inspiration, designed by Erika Gambella. The company has now been officially included in the official register of historic Italian businesses.

Marsica Fossati is an interior and product designer known for her eclectic creativity and meticulous attention to detail. She’s specialized in luxury hospitality and residential interiors, with a particular interest in bespoke furniture. In her interiors and through her products, she always tries to include elements from the past, often mixing contemporary design with natural and rough materials, such as wood, glass, brass, and marble.

Luce di Carrara was established in Querceta, outside of Lucca, to pair the beauty of natural stone, particularly white Carrara marble, with Italy’s great design and manufacturing history to create furnishings and home accessories that are both aesthetically pleasing and functional. In 2013, Luce di Carrara became part of Henraux, allowing them to collaborate with noted designers who work to interpret the stone while respecting its historic value and bring out its expressive abilities.

Kreo Arte, a Macomer brand from Nuoro, Sardinia, creating wall art, high design lamps, and mirrors, is the brainchild of designer Francesca Fiori and her experience in the world of graphic design and communication. The star of all Kreo Arte products is the material, defining new shapes and chiaroscuro with every product. The subjects, colors, and fabrics are inspired by the Sardinian tradition, presented in a new language that brings the island’s iconography to life.

Harnessing years of experience in creating skis using the traditional sandwich technique, Zero was established in 2011. A new concept of skis developed in a workshop in the heart of the Alps, Zero combines technology and style in unique objects with stand-out designs crafted with unique materials. A fully personalized and customizable product in both design and structure, made in quality materials to stand the test of time.

Founded in Meda, Brianza in 2012, the artisanal workshop Impagliando Design is heir to a centennial family chair-making tradition. A hotbed of ideas, projects, and products made using historic weaving techniques, the company produces chairs, armchairs, sofas, stools, room dividers, chaise lounges, all masterfully woven pieces that become the absolute centerpiece in an all-new way of experiencing home living.

A designer with Venetian roots, Monica Madotto combines her passion for art and design with a background in business and marketing. Having worked with important luxury companies worldwide, she has also collaborated on projects for hotels, public spaces, and luxury homes in the USA and Latin America. In 2016, she founded her own line and collaborates with hotel chains as a design curator. All of her products are one of a kind and are testimony to the best of Italian artisanal tradition.

Since 1985, UNO Contract has been an international reference point for interior design for luxury hotels, residences, and cruise ships. All their designs are made in Italy, near Venice, where mastery, artisanry, and design reach the highest levels of excellence. The company, now led by the second generation alongside management experts, combines tradition and innovation to respond to the needs of an international clientele.

Since the 1950s, Danese Milano has been a reference point for the Italian furnishing and design sectors. The company has been led by Carlotta de Bevilacqua since 1999, with art direction first by Ron Gilad and later by Giulio Iacchetti Danese. The company’s heritage, with work from Bruno Munari, Enzo Mari, Angelo Mangiarotti and Achille Castiglioni, continues today as the company continues to work with internationally renowned designers, artists and architects.

An economist with a life-long passion for art and design, Giulia Ligresti presented her LOVE collection at the 2018 Salone del Mobile in collaboration with the Silvia Porro Architects Studio: elegant chairs made by hand in gold-plated iron and precious velvets. Ligresti followed up with a larger collection of chairs, consoles, love seats, tables and sculptures in iron, copper, bronze, aluminum, all inspired by love. In 2020, Ligresti held her first personal exhibit at the Glauco Cavaciuti Gallery in Milan.

Founded in 1997, Getty Images Gallery is the only gallery with complete access to the Getty Images archive, the largest commercial photography collection in the world with over 80 million images. Getty Images Gallery offers exclusive access to the entire collection of Slim Aarons, whose negatives and transparencies are conserved at the Hulton Archive in London. The team of curators works incessantly to digitalize and retouch the legendary images to the highest quality using the best printing techniques.

Specialized in natural stones and marbles, Ballarini was established in 1979, but the Crystal Stone® cave in Montebello has been with the Ballarini family since 1800. In 1965, the family began extracting Crystal Stone® alabaster for decorative purposes. Until this day, the entire process, from the excavation to the final finish is performed under the Ballarini family alongside their artisans. Every piece of furnishing is made entirely by hand in Italy using artisanal techniques.

CuoreCarpenito is a ceramic studio based in Reggio Emilia founded in 2012 by Claudia Carpenito, a trained art restorer with twenty years of experience. Her knowledge of both ancient and modern art, combined with an exploration of shapes, traditional techniques, and materials, give life to collections inspired by the Mediterranean landscape with an irresistible pop twist. CuoreCarpenito was selected for the 2020 Ceramic Art London exhibition.

In 1904, a family of carpenters started a small workshop. Later in the 1950s, the know-how allowed them to become a full-fledged member of the furniture sector. Today, Fratelli Dutto is led by the fourth generation, creating both furnishings and accessories. While innovating and creating new fields within the sector, Fratelli Dutto still respects their identity and the artistic tension of creation while transforming and restoring their most precious material: wood.

Pet Therapy is a new design brand by Atelier Biagetti, home to giant, docile, lunar cats that become sculptural lamps and seats shaded by soft palm trees with crazy coconuts that double as lights. Each object is a functional sculpture conceived to activate the idea of a home without boundaries, where interior blurs into exterior and playfulness is a serious business that we just can’t do without.

Founded by potter Filippo Vento and entrepreneur Francesco Alparone, Verus encapsulates the historic ceramic patrimony of Caltagirone with innovative ideas on lustrous accents and juxtapositions of matte and glossy. The Virus team toys with details and eclectic styles, blending elements in a never-before-seen elegance, concentrating on the use of special glazes and both mono and two-toned themes. Verus is particularly renowned for its Moor’s head sculptures, popular in Italy and around the world.

Established in 2009, True can trace its roots back to TMA Treviso, Monselice, Asiago: a family company created in 1983 and specialized in office furniture. Alessandro, Lorenzo, and Francesco Maniero, the second generation, are the faces behind True, led by the internationally renowned architect Aldo Parisotto, acting as art director since 2014. Collaborating with important designers and creative talents, True furnishings, and accessories, all made in Italy, bring together design and function.