The Artisans

Patrizio Montemurro studied restoration and worked with luxury brands before he decided to open M’art Penne in Rome, along with his two daughters Cristiana and Emanuela, both architects. M’art creates wooden pens and pencils using the most valued woods from around the world and high-quality mechanisms. The results are reliable, sophisticated, and unique writing tools that are entirely hand-made in every phase of production.

This workshop opened in 1981 in Samugheo, Sardinia, and since then has been creating textiles with striking patterns, many passed down for generations. Each piece is manufactured using long-established techniques, including some that were almost forgotten. While rediscovering tradition, the brand constantly focuses on reinventing the ancient art of making fabric with an innovative and modern approach.

With her background in furniture and interior design, Italian craftsmanship has always played a central role in the visions of Fausta Gaetani. She had created numerous pieces for luxurious homes and five-star hotels in Italy as well as abroad. Her natural evolution into her most recent collection of fine ceramic plates was inspired by the alluring locations of the Almafi coast, and the Neapolitan Baroque period. Guided by the material, she creates a bridge between the memories of a strong local culture and the contemporary world, designing objects with a universal appeal.

For more than two decades, Valentina has been creating limited edition pieces of furniture and home décor entirely by hand with artisanal methods in her workshop in Sarzana. Her fascinating creations, with their unique point of view on lifestyle and design, combine the use of the finest fabrics with brass, iron, crystals, metal sheets, and fiberglass to evoke a distinct and alluring world.

Isabella Costantini, interior designer, has been designing high-end residential and hospitality spaces for the last 20 years. Over time, she has also specialized in furniture design, product development, styling and creative consultation. The years spent traveling throughout Europe to study the art and design, give various styles to her furniture pieces: not only she extracts the very best of it, but she brings a personal new perspective, inspired by the timeless designs of the 20th century.

The architect Luca Pizzolorusso and the multi-media artist Marina De Pedro created Acanthus in Rome, combining grace and rigor in a constant balance between classic shapes and contemporary minimalism. Expert craftsmen use marble, brass, and steel according to the finest Italian artisanal traditions to create unique, handmade, timeless pieces that can be customized upon request.

Mario Milana was born in Milan. After graduating from the European Institute of Design, he moved to New York City where he worked with Karim Rashid for eight years, collaborating with prestigious brands. In 2014 he founded his own eponymous studio based in New York and Milan. His collections of furniture are all handmade in and around Milan by expert craftsmen who hand-weld the steel and iron structures. The fine leather upholsteries are hand-stitched by a family of artisans. Artisanal methods, functionality, and simplicity are the staples of Milana’s sophisticated pieces.

Giampaolo Barbini belongs to one of the most ancient families manufacturing Murano glass artifacts since the 17th century. With I Muranesi, he collaborates with some of the best designers in the field and in this collection he teams up with legendary master glassmaker Paolo Crepax. Each object in these limited series of mouth-blown vases and bottles is functional and decorative at the same time, featuring modern design, a sophisticated color palette, and harmony in each detail.

Created in 1966 in the Veneto region, MM Lampadari has grown to be one of the most important interior lighting companies in the world. Its timeless pieces feature different materials such as Murano glass, all crafted using traditional methods, of which the most characteristic is iron, still hand-worked by expert artisans. Classic forms and modern allure coexist in these lamps that are unique and elegant works of art.

Founded in 2013, Michelangelo Style is a Carrara-based workshop that merges craftsmanship and engineering to celebrate marble and natural stone. Founders Gianni and Stefano, a lifelong craftsman and quality-control engineer respectively, collaborate with artisans all over the world to enrich their collections and approaches to molding marble. Like Michelangelo released the soul of marble, so to do they by crafting pieces that speak to the essence of tradition, material, and modern design. Meticulous material selection, workmanship, and packaging are their trademark qualities.

The history of this company started in the 19th century with masters Domenico Agostinelli and Giuseppe Dal Prà in Nove, a town renowned for the production of artistic ceramic. Today, the rich patrimony of artisanal techniques passed from generation to generation and the treasure of 19th and 20th century sketches and molds make Ceramiche Dal Prà a place where tradition and artisanal excellence coexist, and where elegant and unique creations harmoniously mix classic aesthetic and modern appeal.

Since the 19th century, in Florence, the Mangani family has been sculpting and passing down their knowledge from father to son. In 1958, Alfiero Mangani opened a workshop where he restored porcelain, along with his sons. The small workshop attracted the interest of Tiffany, whose buyers noticed the exquisite quality of a porcelain demi-cup made by Ivan. They started a collaboration that lasted decades and lead to the creation of superb objects and lamps. Now, the new generation continues the family tradition of creating unique pieces of timeless allure and great quality.

Servomuto is a lighting design brand based in Milan. Since 2010 it has been pursuing an ambitious goal: to revisit a classic object such as the lampshade with a contemporary and sophisticated twist. The study and research behind each creation are visible in the continuous stylistic references to the world of architecture and distant places. Prestigious materials and fabrics are skillfully combined, experimenting with unusual colors and textures. The “Haute Couture” production deliberately contrasts with the mechanization of large-scale manufacturing processes. The playful and dreamy gaze with which Servomuto has always looked at light embraces the sartorial precision.

Nicola Falcone is an Italian architect and designer born in Basilicata who studied architecture in Florence. He designs his line of contemporary furniture along with Ludwig Hartmann, a German and Ecuadorian designer who also studied in Florence. Their collections are handmade by skilled Tuscan craftsmen and sold throughout the world. These limited-edition pieces are made in materials (such as brass, iron, marble, alabaster, leather, and glass) that are strictly linked to the history of Florence, but their design is contemporary and their allure is timeless.

For the past 40 years, brothers Alessandro and Nicola Zanin have managed the artistic heritage of one of the most venerable Venetian ateliers, merging the tradition of working Murano glass with contemporary trends. By incorporating materials such as wood and marble and collaborating with important designers, their master craftsmen produce exquisite furniture collections tailor-made for the most exclusive private residences and luxury hotels. Light, reflections and sophisticated decorations distinguish these works of art that effortlessly combine classic and modern appeal.

Immediately following his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in Milan, Gio Minelli has dedicated himself to design. He began creating his first collections collaborating with highly renowned craftsmen from the Lombardy territory. Since then his work has made an evolution, taking on a poetic form and evoking experiences of travel and soul searching, while always keeping a steady balance of three components: art, design and dialogue. He currently has ongoing collaborations with international galleries while simultaneously designing for major Italian design brands.

The brainchild of design aficionado and founder of Moltoitaliano Lorenzo Bassetti, Molto Collectibles has its roots in the finest Italian artisan tradition. The brand defies mass production in favor of singular, often custom-made, projects painstakingly handcrafted by master artisans who infuse charming antique details. Embracing Massimo Vignelli’s philosophy that “good design is visually powerful, intellectually elegant and, above all, timeless”, each piece is infused with the poetry of local crafting tradition that will never go out of style.

After studying production design in Milan and working abroad, Sara opened her workshop in Milan where, collaborating with Italian artisans, she creates evocative objects that have a dramatic effect on their environment. She works in product design and social design and her powerful pieces have been displayed in exhibitions and used in performances. Her constant research draws inspiration from life and nature around her and from the beauty of materials and their colors.

A unique artist who lives and works in Milan, Giovanna la Falce started as a painter more than 20 years ago. Inspired by movement and the human body, she ventured into three-dimensionality with sculpture, using bronze and iron, till she started using clay and exploring the Raku technique. Her works have been exhibited in Italy and across Europe. Her strongly expressive collections featured here are entirely decorated by hand, with each piece being a one-of-a-kind handmade object.

An independent designer based in Milano, Serena Confalonieri was born in 1980 and obtained a Master Degree in Interior Design. She started her career working in architecture and design firms in Milano, Barcelona, and Berlin. Her works on product, graphic and textile projects have been featured in important publications and exhibitions worldwide, earning her prizes such as special mentions at the Young&Design Awards 2014 and at the German Design Awards 2016. Her attention to texture makes her pieces sophisticated and contemporary, with a timeless allure.