The Artisans

Sergio Fiorentino was born in 1973 in Catania, where studied art and antique restoration at the Abadir Academy of Fine Arts in Catania; in 2012 founded his studio in Noto where he lives and works. In his artworks, faces and bodies of water and stone rise and disappear. A contemporary classicism that sometimes flakes off. Divers, saints, twins, and portraits remain motionless wrapped in ultramarine blue. A beauty revealed but protected by schools of tuna and garfish, leaves and plants, scratches, drips, and abrasions.

Somma 1867 is a historic wool mill with an entirely Italian supply chain and more than 150 years of manufacturing experience, rooted in the Lake Como Region. The company creates fabrics and furnishing accessories in its factories using unique and unrepeatable yarns and finishes. Attention to detail generates unique and precious products, the production of excellence transforms them into sartorial masterpieces.

A delicate and sophisticated, raw and natural shade of beige characterizes Pimar Limestone’s designs. The brand is a magnificent tribute to the century-old tradition of Lecce limestone, a worldwide sought-after source of inspiration for architects, designers, and artists. Based in the heart of Salento, Pimar does everything in-house, from the extraction of stone to processing, creating exclusive interior design projects and extraordinary collections of versatile and modern designs.

Alberto Alicata (b. 1983) is a Milan-based photographer and artist. Whether behind fashion shoot or in art project, his work is marked by his unique perspective on art and style, driven by a sensitivity to the personal essence of his subjects or the creative vision of the art. His works have appeared in such publications as Elle Italia, Vogue China, D-laRepubblica, Vanity Fair, Wired, theGuardian, Telegraph, L'Oeil De La Photographie, among others. Has won, in 2016, the Sony World Photography Awards and, in 2022, the Duane Michals MA-g Awards.

Living between India, Thailand, and Austria as a child, Maria Christina Hamel moved to Milan at the end of the 1970s where she studied Industrial Design at the Scuola Politecnica di Design. Starting off her career alongside designers such as Andries van Onck, Ugo La Pietra, and Ambrogio Rossari, she was Alessandro Mendini’s assistant in Vienna for over ten years. Her unique style captures influences of her multicultural background, handcrafted in historic traditional places. She also teaches and her works are part of the permanent collection of the Triennale di Milano.

Inspired by the natural world, Cristina Cavallari creates timeless pieces that transcend trends, shaped through continuous research, experimentation, and a deeply tactile approach to making. Viewing each work as a unique dialogue between hand and material, she explores clay as a medium for translating emotion into form. Organic silhouettes, textured surfaces, and celebrated imperfections define her aesthetic, evoking the beauty of plants, weathered stone, and nature’s quiet transformations.

DMG Fiesole was established by brothers Mario and Ferdinando Modi in the 1960s in a small workshop in Fiesole, an ancient Etruscan-origin hamlet on the hills just outside Florence. In 1982, Luigi Giannelli took the company, propelling the brand to national and international recognition. Currently run by Mario Barbari and his son Damiano, generation after generation DMGF is a specialist in wrought iron processing, using a traditional forge and mallet to make every piece. DMGF's elegant furniture collections are designed by architect Pietro Porcinai to last a lifetime.

At Dolomitisch, art and topography merge in iconic furniture pieces encapsulating majestic mountain landscapes. Based in Bozen, Dolomitisch offers breathtaking orographic landscapes minutely carved from solid wood by combining satellite technology, CNC machinery, and artisan mastery together with fine metallic finishes. Thanks to its top-notch customizing process, customers can request the mountain range they desire, which will add to all other unique pieces contributing to the reforestation of Dolomites' forests.

A precious family heritage of drawings, samples, and more than 1300 designs handed down for three generations is the driving force behind Vangelista 1960. Specialized in furniture collections reflecting the distinctive traits that earned Italian design global plaudit, the company exclusively uses 16th- and 17th-century techniques executed by master craftsmen. Customers cannot help but be seduced by the one-off furniture pieces, captivating with their unique shapes, finishes, and colors.

Born in Parma in 1986 - where she currently lives and works - painter Carlo Alberto Rastelli embraces an exquisitely contemporary vision of art, ranging from eclectic to macabre. In 2010, he participated in an Erasmus exchange at the LMA (Latvijas Makslas akademija) in Riga, Latvia, which was followed by a Master's Degree in Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in 2012. His experience in Latvia later inspired the desolate landscapes in his Pet Sematary Collection. He did art residencies at Glo' Art in Belgium and SIM in Iceland, where he further nurtured his craft.

A timeless testament to Italian craftsmanship, Alabastro Italiano is a contemporary design brand established by Riccardo and Alberto Ongarato. Taking on the family’s tradition of lighting design, the Ongarato brothers offer clean and original pieces handmade of refined materials such as alabaster, brass, leather, and blown glass, driven by an innovative and constantly-evolving artistic philosophy.

Raised between Rome and Florence in the 1970s and ‘80s, Lorenzo Castore is an Italian photographer who fell in love with the craft after taking photos in the streets of New York City when he moved there in 1992. A trained lawyer, in 1999 he decided to leave his career to become a war photographer in Albania and Kosovo. Later on, his work shifted from in-the-field to slower, long-form photographic narratives, mainly drawing on his personal experience, memory, and the relation between individual stories. His photographs have been exhibited and published internationally.

Carlotta Oddone decided to forgo her flourishing career as a reporter to become an interior decorator. She spent five years in Rio de Janeiro immersed in local culture, paving the way for interior design consultancies and collaborations with prestigious firms in the Italian textile industry. Today, her own textile design brand mainly focuses on colorful prints on velvet, and her spaces are decorated to reflect the personality of those who inhabit them.

A world traveler and photographer, Dariusz Jasak is based in Florence, where he finds inspiration in the ever-flourishing artistic and architectural environment. Featured in Vogue, AD Italia, and Wallpaper, he collaborates with leading book publishers around the world. Capturing the fascinating essence of urban landscapes, streets, and their inhabitants, his works have been showcased in solo exhibitions in Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Stuttgart.

An unconventional embodiment of a dynamic and fast-paced reality, DalMoto is a design brand based near the majestic Lake Como inspired by Futurist Italian architect Antonio Sant’Elia. Creating contemporary pieces following traditional crafting techniques combined with new technologies, each design is distinguished by meticulously handmade details that enhance their durability and comfort.

Creating timeless pieces that go beyond classic and contemporary paradigms, Pietrachiara is a Milan-based design studio that draws inspiration from artisan traditions, expressed in innovative colors, lines, and textures using refined and up-to-date materials. Particularly attentive to the sustainability of their pieces, Pietrachiara’s designs will accompany present and future generations and contribute to the creation of homey and singular decors.

Just like every person is unique, each pot by Pot à Porter is carefully handcrafted by master artisans and distills a signature contemporary spirit. The brand's expertise is consolidated in five generations in the terracotta industry in a close-knit team of designers and passionate craftsmen. High-quality clays and colors mixed by hand in the in-house laboratory seal that uniqueness defining each pot as an authentic objet d’art.

A contemporary take on the timeless tradition, Atelier Taftique is the Florence-based studio of Dutch artist Jules Vissers where she designs and creates hand-tufted and embroidered tapestries using personally selected high-quality Italian yarns. Taking part in art and design events such as the Milan Design Week, Dubai Design Week, and Florence Biennale, her oeuvres are like paintings: “To me, my yarns are like my painting colors. With this manual technique, I can make specific scenes and patterns come to life”.

Past fashion and Venetian tradition are in Manù Brunello’s DNA. Born in Venice, where she is still based in an atelier near Palazzo Grassi, she started making jewels with Murano glass beads and sea stones before turning to painting in 2008. Her attendance at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice sparked the idea of painting what she previously used to craft. Her detailed portraits - echoing realist and hyperrealist influences - reveal an eternal bond with fashion ever-present in her art.

Dante Negro has been developing sophisticated and bespoke indoor and outdoor designs since 1964, forging metal into chairs, tables, loungers, and sofas. Based in northern Italy and now run by Dante’s son Elia, and guided by the creative direction of Margherita Rui, it explores the soul of metal in its potential forms, creating new scenarios of elegant style, developed around skillful, intergenerational craftsmanship enhanced with unique finishes. The brand is now in its second generation, run by Dante’s son, Elia.