The Artisans

Braganti was created in the 60s as a small workshop in Florence’s artisanal district of San Frediano. The workshop grew but it remained there to this day, continuing to produce exquisite sterling silver artifacts, following the ancient Florentine tradition. Care for details, perfect finishes, and sophisticated style characterize the traditional pieces, such as silverware and home decorations, and also the collections added after the acquisition of the Del Conte company in 2010. Braganti collaborates with several luxury brands, interior designers and renowned architects.

Luigi Billiani established his eponymous workshop in 1911 in Manzano, a town near Udine. After World War II, Billiani Bros grew due to the entrepreneurial vision of Luigi's sons. Luigi Billiani represents the third generation of this family business, opening the brand to the international market. Today, Billiani preserves its legacy and identity while exploring future horizons through continuous artistic research.

At the end of the 80s, Rudy Marinotto started Siru in the striking location of Lido in Venice, creating a world suspended between the timeless tradition of Murano mouth-blown glass and a modern and elegant sensibility. Here the masterful art of making Venetian lanterns that has been passed down for centuries meets a contemporary approach to create one-of-a-kind, exquisite, precious objects that keep a glorious past alive while being utterly modern.

Giuseppe Bucco and Flavio Cavalli founded Lineasette in 1977, focusing their research on innovating ceramic techniques and contemporary design. Their creations, pure and essential, are exclusively crafted using artisanal methods. The high-quality material they use is porcelain stoneware, handcrafted with an engobe coating to enhance the surface's depth, and fired at high temperatures (1200°C). The company site and showroom with the historical archive of artworks are located in Marostica (near Vicenza) in a building designed by architect Sergio Los, while the factory is located in the nearby Ceramic City of Nove.

The creations produced at Berdondini, founded by Antonio Berdondini in 1926, have been characterized by their timeless and exclusive designs demonstrating Italian excellence and creativity. Each piece is the result of a lengthy sequence of delicate, precise and rigorous steps, combined with the use of the most valuable materials. Expert artisans, knowledge of history and traditions, and exemplary designs are what make Berdondini’s creations unique and unrepeatable.

With a background in media arts and interactive installations, Silvio Mondino started combining digital technologies with handmade objects. This process of exploration allows this Milan-based artist to experiment, specializing in handcrafted lighting fixtures that are functional pieces of sculptural art. Each piece is assembled by hand and can be customized to fit the client’s needs.

Created in 2003, Superego has collaborated with some of the most important designers worldwide (like Alessandro Mendini and Andrea Branzi), producing limited collections made of exclusive pieces in ceramic with great attention to craftsmanship. Loving and breathing design, the team at Superego is also the protagonist of the Designer Toy Movement, distinctive for combining the emotional effects of toys with design elements and pop culture to create limited editions of objects in ceramic that become art pieces.

Meccani Design, created in the 50s, designs and produces home décor objects crafted using artisanal techniques that are the result of three generations of artisans at work in Cascina, by Pisa, Tuscany. These modern pieces of furniture express their strong link with tradition, combined with a contemporary style. Innovation and tradition meet in these objects that are built with great respect for nature, in a sustainable way, and with natural, non-toxic materials, using solid wood: a warm, scented, alive and renewable, solid resource.

Sbigoli Terrecotte was founded in 1857 by the Sbigoli family in the district of Sant'Ambrogio, in Florence, where their workshop was known for its expertise and high quality products, specializing in the production of tableware and furniture. In the 1920’s they moved to the area of Sant’Egidio, where the workshop is today. Still operating according to the traditional Tuscan craftsmanship of Majolica, all pieces bear a Florentine style and a one-of-a-kind flair making them irreplaceable works of art

Marco Pollice, the art director of his namesake brand, specialized in lighting engineering at the Politecnico in Milan and worked for many years in his family business. He represents the fourth generation of a family that has made invaluable contributions to the world of lighting in Italy since 1908. Focusing on design and custom-made lighting, his award winning projects include public and private illuminations. He also teams up with some of the most renowned designers to create exquisite and timeless pieces.

Bottega Intreccio was founded in 2014 in the village of Mogliano, nestled in the hills of Macerata and famous for its cabinetmaking tradition. These unique pieces stand out for their weaving (“intreccio”), used since the Renaissance and carried out by expert craftsmen with dedication over the centuries. Wicker, cord, and leather are worked by hand to bring to life innovative designs of captivating modernity, while also preserving this historic crafting method.

At the beginning of 1900, Vetrerie di Empoli added an artistic collection to their production of traditional bottles and jugs, receiving great success that lead to the opening of their flagship stores in Roma, Torino, and Milano, in the famous via Montenapoleone. With time, these creations became less and less rustic and their elegance is now cherished by an international and sophisticated clientele that appreciate these precious and unique objects, which are products of expertise that has been running in the family for more than a century.

Since Cleto Munari encountered architect Carlo Scarpa in 1973, he has directed all his research and activities towards industrial design, working for important companies around the world, continuously searching for inspiration, ideas and original projects. Cleto Munari is open to analysis and experimentation of forms and materials. His objects, specifically those made of gold and silver, are present in the permanent collections of many important museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Francesco Giannini and Gianni Parenti created the company Il Papiro in Florence in 1976, inspired by their passion for the tradition of decorated paper of their native city and the ancient techniques used to produce it. The high quality of the materials and the excellent manufacturing of each piece makes Il Papiro successful around the world. Using hand marbling, lithography, letterpress, and hand engraving, these artisans create exquisite objects to pass down for generations.

Born near Portofino, Adriano Garbarino graduated from the University of Fine Arts in Florence in 1968, after training as a sculptor. A passionate traveler and art collector, he established his eponymous brand in the late ‘70s in Monaco (Monte Carlo), producing high-end furniture distinguished by an unconventional and eclectic style. His collections include pieces of timeless elegance inspired by the four elements of nature: earth, fire, wind, and air. Design, colors, and noble materials coexist harmoniously in Garbarino’s unique pieces handcrafted exclusively in Italy.

Pino Vismara is a skilled woodworking artisan born in Brianza, the heart of the cabinetmaking district near Milan. His father, a skilled ebony-carpenter, established Vismara Design in1953 alongside his two brothers, one inlayer and one cabinetmaker. Now under the guidance of Pino, this workshop and its skilled artisan craft pool tables, fully equipped game rooms, and private home theaters. These sophisticated creations are distinctive for their attention to detail, the use of innovative technologies, and research on ways to enjoy leisure time in the privacy of one’s home.

Giovanni Dalla Fina, working from his youth in the Murano glass business, opened his own company in the early of 1970s, following his philosophy of “The perfection is an imperative”. The Giovanni Dalla Fina company is specialized in the restoration of antique Murano chandeliers, and in the best production of his own particular models of chandeliers invented by his renowned artist soul, that given the opportunity to working with best international company and private collectors.

Eredi Marelli is the evolution of an original artisanal workshop founded in 1934 in Cantù, the heart of the famous furniture-making district by Milan. Specialized in contemporary and vintage furniture, this innovative brand mixes exquisite artisanal craftsmanship, design, and masterful handmade techniques. Using the finest woods, these artisans create elegant pieces distinctive for their wood inlays, brass details, and the utmost attention to every detail.

Maurizio Navone was born in Turin and studied architecture at the Politecnico in Turin and design at the Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan. After working at the office of Corporate Identity Olivetti in his formative years, he started his own brand, specializing in corporate and product design. In 2001 he created Restart, a brand that produces sustainable objects in limited series. His pieces are minimalist and sophisticated for a contemporary home.

Design Center’s first prototypes by Nino Basso made their debut at the end of the 1980s: home and office accessories defined by formal simplicity and elegant craftsmanship. Already art director of an international fashion brand, Basso established a small artisan firm in Spilimbergo, a town between Venice and Trieste. In 1991, his niece, graphic designer and photographer Cristina Colonnello, joined the brand, expanding to interior furnishings and industrial designs. Basso continues creating numbered series and single pieces that lie at the intersection of art and design.