The Artisans

Born in Cava de Tirreni near Salerno in 1959, Matteo Salsano is the epitome of the modern homo-faber, a craftsman combining love for century-old traditions with passion for experimentation. A self-taught artist, he started painting early on, worked as a ceramist, and moved to Milan where he became interested in holistic disciplines, specifically biotransenergetics. In 2002, he returned to his hometown and opened his own ceramic laboratory, L’Alchimia del Lustro Persiano, where he crafts unique artworks inspired by nature using a traditional Persian luster technique.

Forging metal is Stefano Robiglio’s great passion. A self-taught blacksmith, Robiglio was born in Acqui Terme, Piedmont in 1988 and is currently based in Visone, where he forges his unique and exclusive creations in his studio, from traditional gates and railings to sculptures and décor pieces. Nature and the female figure are his main inspirations: fixed in iron, a material associated with stability, each piece is shaped with fire to make it flexible and dynamic, thus giving life to volumes and lines that convey a sense of movement and balance in a three-dimensional form.

Located in the magnificent village of Positano on the Amalfi Coast, l’Arte della Ceramica is a quaint pottery shop where artist Lisa Cinque creates and sells her exclusive pieces. Tradition and innovation coexist in her collections, which marry the classical elements of Cilento pottery with the ancient Japanese raku and Italian colombino techniques. Studying at the Art Institute of Sorrento, the Center for Art Studies in Vietri, and with master potters Alfonso Cassetta and Erika Rossi, Cinque’s diverse influences have shaped her distinctive style and artistic approach.

Renato Olivastri began working as an apprentice in his native Bergamo when he was just 14 years old. After studying at the Istituto per l’Arte e il Restauro “Palazzo Spinelli” in Florence, he established his bottega “Olivastri Restauri Firenze” in the Oltrarno quarter in 1988, where he teaches restoration and traditional marquetry inlay techniques to students from all over the world. He specializes in the restoration of Boulle furniture, whereby wood inlays are replaced by prized woods and other prized materials such as brass, tortoiseshell, copper, pewter and silver.

A sublime union of Mesoamerican symbolism and Italian ceramic tradition, Zuma Ceramiche is the brainchild of Salerno-born ceramist Lucia Carpentieri. Carpentieri was exposed to painting and ceramics as a child in her mentor-father’s workshop; over the years, she’s worked on fresco restorations and wall decorations in homes and public places all the while experimenting with her personal aesthetic. In 2009, she opened Zuma Ceramiche in Avellino’s historic district and then moved to Vietri, where she creates pieces, from plates to jewelry, whose elegance sublimates their ordinary nature.

The brainchild of Donatella Casiraghi, Laab is a brand defined by a singular mix of Western and Eastern stylistic influences. A trained architect with over a decade of experience, Casiraghi obtained her Master in Feng Shui in Bangkok, an ancient Chinese art that she applies to both her interior design ensembles and Raku ceramics. Inspired by the Tao concept of ”the void inside defines the essence”, her sublime creations emerge from purity of forms and effortlessly exude energy and expressiveness. Laab is located in Monza, Lombardy.

Edoardo Eusebi is a creative mind, a designer whose illustrious career spans Milan, London, and Madrid. Inspired by different cultures, traditions, and aesthetics, his creative process has a cosmopolitan identity resulting in bold designs with strong yet essential lines. Manfredi Living’s latest collection of vases, Scar & Punch, translates the emotions and feelings of our lives and experiences - Punch symbolizing strength and Scar trauma - and captures the beauty of perfection in all its imperfections.

Showcased in international design and art magazines, Le Meduse is an exclusive brand founded by Gianfranco Coltella in 1993, who was inspired by the ethereal quality and sinuous shapes of jellyfish (“meduse” in Italian). Coltella initially worked for architecture and industrial design firms in Milan, where he consolidated his concept of functional and sustainable designs, favoring natural, recycled materials and finishes. All products are handcrafted in a laboratory located in Saluzzo (Cuneo) using specially designed tools for glass to obtain original shapes and effects.

Based in Bologna, Officine Foletti is a family-run company that has been a leader in metalworking since 1980. Passion and know-how form the foundation of the company that have allowed it to carve out a niche in the luxury furniture sector thanks to collaborations with prestigious architecture and design firms. Under the direction of Davide Foletti, the company has recently embarked on a more artistic approach, designing and producing unique pieces and collections that elevate interior decors

Alberta Carandente is born in the suburbs of Naples in 1993, works as Interior and Retail Architect and Designer between Naples and Milan. She has a studio/lab called Atelier Interna in her hometown in which she has started a self production. Her design is a mix of Mediterranean and Scandinavian cultures, made of organic shapes, objects and materials with a tactile experience

Chicago-born, trained-architect Felicia Ferrone’s style bridges the gap between the minimalistic and the whimsical, the everyday and the remarkable. Based in both Chicago and Milan, her international eponymous brand is known for its minimalist aesthetic and innovative use of materials and production techniques. Her contemporary glassware and tableware collections created in collaborations with master artisans combine delicately fluted borosilicate glass and Nero Marquina and Carrara marbles to bring a stylish element to both luxury and everyday tables.

Crafting bespoke furniture since 1953, the Druetta family has been keeping alive a high-end upholstering tradition for three generations. Based in Moretta, a small town near Cuneo, the family-run company has developed into a centre for artisanal design and production, also offering all-round furniture repairing and restoration services. Strongly rooted in the local community, the company creates unique pieces using a variety of artisan and modern processing techniques, ranging from the traditional intarsia and gilding to cutting-edge leather processing and textile digital printing.

StudioNotte is a Milan-based, product design studio founded in 2019 by Luisa Alpeggiani and Camila Campos, who met while obtaining their Master’s in Product Design for Innovation at il Politecnico di Milano. Driven by a shared passion for exploring the roots of Italian craftsmanship and the possibilities offered by technology and new materials, the studio creates original designs handcrafted by local artisans in small series that combine functional aspects and refined aesthetics intended to make everyday life more enjoyable.

Established in Campodarsego, Padua, Innova has crafted upholstered furniture since 1982. Founded by Livio Moro, Innova is currently under the artistic direction of Marta and Matteo Moro, who follow in their father’s footsteps by merging technology and craftsmanship tradition with a focus on aesthetics and functionality. Customization is at the core of the company, which fosters a productive relationship between designers, artisans and customers to fashion products of unparalleled quality for all tastes and needs.

Este Ceramiche Porcellane, established in the 18th century in its present location, is one of the oldest manufacturers of ceramics in Europe. In 1953, Giovanni Battista Giorgini, already world famous as an “inventor” of the great Italian Fashion Shows in Palazzo Pitti in Florence in 1951, discovered, during one of his trips to Veneto, an old semi-abandoned ceramics factory in Este. The company is currently led by G.B. Fadigati, Giorgini’s nephew. Este Ceramiche Porcellane has created successful and fruitful collaborations with some of the greatest contemporary stylist to bestow on its new collections the “fashion content” that interpret high quality household goods and ornaments with modern trompe l’oeil technique, inspired by old eighteenth century models.

The history of Ceramiche Lega dates back to 1950, when Leandro Lega created the well-known artistic signature. Since 1975, Carla Lega has been carrying on her father's work, starting to model and decorate handmade pottery. She became part of Faenza’s heritage with her skillful manual skill, using a modern and autonomous language, brightened up by the use of “lustro in riduzione” technique. Each work represents Italian identity and is handmade in the historical workshop, where the skillful craftsmanship gives life to unique and exclusive objects.

Offering a range of bathroom products and accessories, Agapecasa celebrates 40 years of excellence marked by meticulous craftsmanship and sustainable production practices. Founded in 1973 by the Benedini family and today under the direction of brothers Giampaolo and Emanuele, the Mantua-based company has achieved renown on the international stage thanks to collaborations with acclaimed international designers. Conceptualizing the bathroom as an architectural space, Agapecasa’s collections combine functionality and style to provide distinctive solutions centered around well-being.

Based in Florence, InternoItaliano started in 2012 as a “factory network”, an equal partnership between the designer and a network of artisan workshops spread across Italy. Spearheaded by industrial designer Giulio Iacchetti, the project celebrates Italian artisan traditions realized using natural materials: contemporary sophistication retains a sense of history, with the focus on quality and durability rather than trends. Firmly established on the international design scene, Internoitaliano was acquired by MyHome Collection in 2019 with Iacchetti serving as Artistic Director.

A portmanteau of the words “picture” and “room”, Pictoom is a brand based in Zanè (Vicenza) that has been designing and manufacturing luxury furniture since the late 1920s. The company today is guided by third-generation Magda and Flavio Marogna who have consolidated the brand identity, creating innovative ways of experiencing art through a balance of technology and tradition. Neither art nor furniture, each piece is dressed in a decorative image that represents the life, passion, memories, and emotions of the individual customer, becoming the protagonist of the space.

Located in London’s Belgravia district, Maison Arabella is an architectural interior design studio founded in 2016 by Arabella Bassadone, a trained interior designer who credits her family roots and background for her sensibility and eclectic style. Believing that design should convey new meanings while also focusing on functionality and wellbeing, Maison Arabella’s pieces energize an environment in the same way a painting or sculpture does. The firm’s unique approach lies in an immersive understanding of clients’ personality and lifestyle to determine their design identity.