The Artisans

Visual artist and novelist Gabriele Picco was born in Brescia in 1974. His drawings, paintings, and sculptures have been hosted in museums and private galleries worldwide, namely Eutopia in Shanghai and the Biennial Art exhibitions in Tirana, Prague, and Milan. Most notably, seventeen of his drawings have been included in the New York MoMA. In 2021, he participated in the “Imagination is a magic carpet” exhibition for the Turin ATP finals.

A visual artist, designer, and artisan from Rome, Cristiana Vignatelli Bruni has exhibited her works in renowned art galleries and museums in Italy, the Netherlands, and South Korea. Based in the idyllic Roman countryside, her work is interdisciplinary and is rooted in an unconventional definition of luxury, wherein art is present in everyday life in playful ways. Vignatelli Bruni creatively experiments with shapes and colors that do not conform to mainstream beauty standards to awaken our senses, brighten our relationships, and turn a simple gesture into something special.

Born in Rome in 1984 and raised between Argentina and Italy, Ilaria Facci is a contemporary artist and photographer whose stunning works explore a difficult existence, scarred by a retinoblastoma diagnosis when she was only two years of age. In 2014, her series of photographs ‘Autoscatti Sbagliati’ (wrong self-portraits) were showcased in renowned magazines, notably Inside Art and Vanity Fair. She published a book of poetry and photographs titled "Blu" in 2018, with a foreword by Italian art critic and curator Vittorio Sgarbi, who later curated other books and exhibitions for her.

Founded in Milan during the 1950s by designer Piero Fornasetti, the Fornasetti brand is today an internationally recognized name in the furniture sector, specializing in the creation of hand-decorated furniture and home accessories. All creations are characterized by an imaginative, ironic and sophisticated visual language, in a balance of art and design. From porcelain to furniture to accessories, everything is handmade in the Milan studio. The decorations and the manual production techniques make each object unique.

Playfully named after the rolling of drums played during the historic Palio di Siena bareback horse race, it is no wonder that Tatamama was founded right in the heart of Tuscany. Here, artful glass pieces reflect the personality of their designers and the expertise of the master glassmakers behind them, revealing timeless collections where poetic reflections intertwine with lively inspirations. The Sienese’s rolling hills and colorful landscapes are a limitless source of inspiration, just like the limitless transformative potential of glass.

Established by Viola Stancati in 2021, Casa Parini is an eco-friendly and socially-conscious brand specializing in soft bedding made of hemp. Hemp is a superbly sustainable raw material as it does not require pesticides, is not water-intensive, and provides detoxifying and nourishing properties for soil. Every piece of cloth featured in Casa Parini products is entirely handwoven in the brand’s atelier on Via Parini, Turin - where Viola’s grandfather once ran a textile business - by the seamstresses of Colori Vivi, a social enterprise led by professional tailors who employ migrant women.

Founded in 2008 by Andrea and Luca Ponsi, Studio Ponsi is a Florentine workshop that blends elements of architecture and interior design to explore the relationship between form and feeling. Linear and clean in aesthetic, its unique pieces are crafted with particular attention to texture, the sensory aspect of material, and the principles of proportion and harmony.

Paolo Anselmo is an illustrious ceramist from Albisola, Liguria. After many years running a gallery where he exhibited his first personal collection, he moved to Biot, France in 1998 where he showcases his oeuvres on the French coast and his Biot gallery. His style can be characterized as primordial and archetypical, bringing to life mythological and hybrid shapes that combine irony with sensuality and a dreamlike appearance.

Imbued with fascinating mythological meanings, Leonardo Dini’s ceramic sculptures are distinguished by a shared allegorical interpretation of the dove, a symbol of peace and freedom, and more deeply, representative of a vivid sense of life. Minutely handcrafted and painted by hand, Dini’s creations invite reflection upon the Self in relation to the planet, and to others.

Villa Como is a home luxury brand specializing in fine yarn blankets and decorative pillows, drawing inspiration from the colors of the Lario and the villas overlooking it. Founded by a group of Como entrepreneurs in fashion and design, it seeks to promote and support local craftsmanship and artisans. Production is entrusted to local historic weaving mills, which have established a reputation for sophisticated and innovative workmanship. Top-quality yarns and traditional dyeing methods are used to bring their piece to life.

A needle weaving in and out to craft singular wefts is what artist Giuseppina Maurizi considers her wand. Currently based in Milan, she was born and raised in Viterbo, where she attended the Art High School and the Academy of Fine Arts. After working as a costume and scenic designer for theatres and advertising agencies for over twenty years, in 2018 she turned her focus to sewing and embroidery. The fierce revival of ancient techniques and memories intertwine with delicate gestures, in a masterful celebration of care and sacrifice.

Born in 1980, artist Nicola Felice Torcoli was born and raised in Lumezzane, a small town in the Brescian hills where he nurtured his passion for painting. After high school, he moved to Milan to attend the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, where he graduated in 2005. While focused on painting, photography and installations often emerged in his artistic research, reflecting the impact of the modern shift between analog and digital media in his work. In 2010, he began experimenting and working with the Defrag technique, which he aptly named after the defragmentation of canvases.

UTILE4 is the new fashion brand launched by Walking Sticks, an artisan company with more than fifty years of experience in crafting luxury accessories. Entirely Made in Italy, Utile4 produces fashionable collections of shoe horns that reimagine classic accessories with contemporary exclusivity. The brand's trendsetting spirit, tireless commitment to innovation, and high-quality material sourcing have made it a leader in the luxe accessory market worldwide.

“Uncalculated curves are our nature." Born in 1992, Isato Prugger grew up immersed in Italian, Japanese, and Ladin cultural backgrounds. Trained in Industrial Design, he has been a part of Nèo Design Italiano since 2019, a selection of young professionals operating in the new Italian design scene. He exhibited the FLAI portable lamp with Diomede Light at the Salone del Mobile - Euroluce 2019, one of the youngest designers to participate. Isato currently works as an independent creative in Milan, exploring his artistic vision through novel projects and collaborations.

Born in Empoli in 1955 and now based in Castelfiorentino, Antonio D’Ambrosio has been capturing fragments of space and time through his photographs since 1978. In 1982, he joined the “Giglio Rosso '' photography club in Castelfiorentino, which he presided over between 1984 and 2007. He collaborates with both private and public institutions on catalogs, books, and documents celebrating local architectural-environmental heritage. French critic J.C. Lemagny selected some of his photos and registered them in the prints and photography sections at the National Library of France.

Mauro Martinuzzi is the founder of his namesake design brand established in 2010 and based in Amsterdam. Born in 1986 in Maniago (Friuli Venezia Giulia), he moved to Milan to study at the European Design Institute. Following his studies, he collaborated with glassmaker Emmanuel Babled from 2007-2013 and worked with Studio Marcel Wanders from 2013-2020. Martinuzzi and his partner Giulia Zia founded the Desainisti cultural movement and opened studio ZAZI in Treviso. He has exhibited his works at the Galleria Blanchaert, Salone del mobile, Dutch Design Week, and Venice Glass Week.

Painter Alessandro Florio, who was born in Taormina, Sicily, first got in touch with the artistic environment through the world of tattoos, which he is very passionate about. The connection between painting and tattooing lies in his necessity for expression, the most intimate one, that allows him to describe how he feels. The switch from his activity as a tattoo artist to a painter came while he was visiting the Louvre in Paris, and by seeing the works of the Old Masters, he felt the necessity of working on bigger subjects and not just small ones like those that are typical in tattoos. In his works, there are elements that recall both his Sicilian roots, and are also influenced by Oriental art and the respect for nature.

Gülden Demir is an accomplished glassmaker and artist renowned for her iconic sculptures and interior design pieces. Beginning her career in glassmaking studying at Vetroricerca Glas&Modern in Bolzano, she specialized in kiln forming and glass fusing techniques. Demir believes in the importance of technique and storytelling, hence each piece is meticulously crafted and finished to reveal captivating works of art that awaken the senses and create cozy living spaces.

Marco Gaviraghi Calloni is an artist with a passion for the artisanal tradition of industrial design. His objects are meticulously hand made in raw iron and corten steel and the various colors and irregularity of their surface change in time in a constant transformation process. These are everyday objects seen through the eyes of an artist and rigorously built around the fundamentals of geometry.

Painter and visual artist Samantha Torrisi lives and works on the foothills of Sicily’s Etna volcano. After graduating from Catania’s Academy of Fine Arts, she directed her research into multi-media art, resulting in a series of original paintings inspired by cinema, video clips, and personal footage. Environmental issues and transformative human nature are recurring themes in her pieces. She has showcased her art at the Riso - Contemporary Art Museum of Sicily, The Project Gallery Athens, and the Italian Cultural Institute of Paris, to name a few.