The Artisans

Born and raised in Milan, Valentina Sommariva is a multi-hyphenate photographer. After receiving her Architecture Degree and studying Design at Brunel University in London, she attended the Contemporary Image master's course at Fondazione Fotografia Modena (2012-2014). She is also a member of the Italian Chartered Institute of Journalists, specializing in portraits, catalogs, interior design, and ad campaigns. She has exhibited her works worldwide and has been published by The Guardian, AD Italia, Financial Times, Elle Decor Italia, Holland, and Russia.

Giuseppe Lo Schiavo is an award-winning visual artist currently living and working between London and Milan. AI, machine learning, infrared systems, and virtual reality are all featured in his works, which are often focused on creation-destruction, past-future, and analog-digital. Winner of the European project BioArt Challenge, his current research on art and synthetic biology is supported by MUSE, Cardiff, and Zurich Universities. Museums and galleries worldwide hosted his works, also published on BBC, Vice, Inside Art, and Elle Decor, among others.

Giulio Boem is an Italian photographer who documents art, design, and architecture with impressive style. After graduating from the DAMS in Bologna specializing in public photographic archives, he began collaborating with numerous public and private institutions on editorial projects and digital fine-art printing. His collections have been acquired by Goldman Sachs, Unipol, and Ferragamo Lungarno Collections, among others.

A contemporary artist and painter from the Italian province of Como, Ilaria Franza graduated in Experimental Arts at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. Renowned for her deft use of color, she works alongside interior and product designers to create exclusive paintings for modern decors. Her artworks offer a different perspective on the outer and inner worlds, leading the audience to an unexplored area of the mind that draws inspiration from Romanticism.

On the scene since 1967, Santi Caleca worked as a photojournalist for the Palermitan newspaper “L’Ora” before moving to Milan for work. A fortuitous meeting with Casa Vogue’s former editor Isa Vercelloni in 1976 paved the way for a professional evolution, adapting the language of photography to interior design and architecture. His encounter with Ettore Sottsass in 1977 earned him a friendship and collaboration that lasted for over 30 years. Santi Caleca creates press campaigns and catalogs for renowned architecture firms, galleries, and museums worldwide.

Born in Naples and currently based in Milan, Adriano Annino is a prolific, all-around artist whose vision is best expressed through the convergence and blend of diverse artistic languages. His degrees in Music Theory and Trumpet from the Conservatory preceded and inspired his experimentation with painting to explore contemporary approaches to art. His artworks have been showcased in solo exhibits and major exhibitions such as the 2019 “Corpi Eloquenti” in Monza, “Eléphant Paname” in Paris, and “Angry Boys” at the Det Ny Kastet Museum in Thisted, Denmark.

Documentary photographer Michela Benaglia’s career is marked by unexpected twists and turns. After completing her undergraduate degree in Industrial Design, she embarked on a ten-year-long stint as an Art Director. She then pursued a Master’s in Reportage, allowing her passion to become her full-time job. Documenting scenes of human life, her photographs are exceptionally powerful in narrative and visual impact.

Massimo Siragusa is a professor at the IED of Rome, a photographer, and an editorial director of Phaos Edizioni. He has exhibited his works in the permanent collections of the Vatican Museums and the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome, among others, and has been published internationally in magazines such as New York Times Magazine, Le Monde, and Marie Claire. He has worked with the most prestigious Italian companies, telling their identity with a singular clean aesthetic.

UNESCO, the Italian Ministry of Cultural Assets and Activities, and the Bangkok Embassy are just a handful of the well-known institutions photographer Luca Capuano has worked with. His projects range from photo essays documenting Italian cultural heritage to shoots and ad campaigns for designer brands such as Artemide, Flos, Piquadro, and Bulgari. His photos have been exhibited at the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, Abu Dhabi Nyuad Art Gallery, and Berlin Institut für Architektur, among others. He teaches photography at the Isia Institute of Urbino.

Born in Pescara in 1980, Claudia Ferri views photography as the most sincere lens through which to explore man and places. After many years in Rome, she moved to Milan where she works as a freelancer. Her portraits investigate the physiognomic change from puberty to adolescence, while her contextual photography is focused on how environments change depending on the people who live in them. Gucci, Missoni, Fondazione Prada, Nike, and X Factor are among her clients. Her works were published in Monocle, Konfekt, Esquire, Hunter Magazine, and Vogue, to name a few.

Art runs through the veins of John Mirabel. Born in 1988 in France, he is a half-French, half-American visual artist, musician, and curator based in Milan. Polymorphous best describes his artistic language, ranging from videos to installations. In 2020, he founded “Spazio Bidet”, an artist-run space in Milan, and since 2021 he collaborates with the “Le Domaine Perdu” Gallery, Galera San Soda Art Gallery, and JFS Orchestra. Artists such as Liv Schulman, Daniel Steegman Mangrané, and Tarek Lachrissi count him among their collaborators.

The brainchild of visual artist Martina Zena, ZeNA reflects her open approach to art through home collections whose colorful, handpainted motifs synthesize all the creative influences and sparks that enriched her professional path. Authentic visual codes she describes as concerts, dances, or brushstrokes chasing each other reveal a sense of rhythm that no cup or plate from her collections ever fails to convey. Coherently with its founder’s philosophy, the brand keeps evolving and experimenting with new materials with new shapes and motifs.

Established in 2004 in Bassano Del Grappa, Real Piel designs and distributes refined upholsteries and seating solutions. Fine Italian leather is the brand’s trademark, featured in exclusive household and commercial collections. Special attention to market evolution enriched its collections with new fabrics and faux leathers to envision novel designs developed by a young and dynamic team attentive to the spirit of the times. Creativity, ergonomics, inclusion, and sustainability are the bedrock of the company’s philosophy.

Back in 1922, Agatino Maccarrone started handcrafting chairs in a small Sicilian village at the foothills of Mount Etna. His workshop has hosted five generations of cabinet makers, earning the company special recognition for over 20 years of experience in furnishing yachts, private jets, and luxury hotels. Passion, expertise, and technology are at the core of Maccarrone’s philosophy, characteristics that can be recognized and appreciated in every single watch winder, cigar humidor, bar cabinet, or any other fine case, all deftly handcrafted in Tuscany.

A century-old brand producing exceptional household embroidered linens, Jesurum Venezia 1870 was founded in Venice in 1870 by Michelangelo Jesurum. Handmade using the most precious fabrics and artisan techniques, its refined pieces interpret traditional Venetian lace and embroidery with a modern twist. Jesurum collaborates with professionals to create bespoke linens exclusively produced in a limited edition solely for the customer.

Founded by Andrea Ghisoni, studiointervallo is a furniture and interior design firm. Blending clean lines with luminous forms, it offers high-quality furnishings that embody the exclusivity of Italian craftsmanship. Research and innovation seamlessly merge with traditional artisanal methods, resulting in functional and aesthetically valuable furniture pieces. Andrea Ghisoni's vision drives studiointervallo's creative fervor, creating timeless designs that elevate spaces with sophistication and style, reflecting a commitment to excellence and craftsmanship.

Pucci Scafidi is a photographer and photojournalist. Born in Palermo, he has traveled the world for work and to display his photographs in numerous world-renowned exhibitions. He worked in Milan, Tokyo, New York, and Buenos Aires before returning to Italy, realizing that his heart still belonged to his beloved hometown. His photos portray the simplicity yet richness of life in the city and countryside.

Founded in 1983 by decorator Silvana Cattin and sculptor Maurizio Sergio Cortese, Cattin is a family-run atelier of first-rate porcelain artworks masterfully designed and handcrafted using traditional methods. Cattin’s intricate yet effortless designs weave together diverse resins, enamels, precious metals, and motifs, revealing versatile pieces that enrich interior decors with their sophisticated and exclusive Italian style.

Modesign is innovative spirit, artistic intuition, and manual experience. It was born from the desire to abandon the old conception of design and open its gaze to a new vision. Bianchini srl’s fundamental contribution to spreading the value of Made in Italy around the world began in 1968, with the opening of its first factory near Verona. In 2022 the company founded the Modesign brand, with a contemporary style that nevertheless does not abandon tradition in which wood is the real protagonist. We chose to make each piece of furniture from real wood, a natural material that is completely recyclable, reassuring to the touch, and evocative to the sense of smell.

A couple in art and in real life, Eleonora Francioni and Antonio Mastromarino have been crafting joint artworks for more than twenty years. The rich cultural roots of their native Pietrasanta, Tuscany inspired them to establish their workshop there to create contemporary art collections. Among their many works is the monumental sculpture of Leonardo Da Vinci presented at the 2019 “Arte per non dormire - Moti dell’anima” exhibit. Their most recent pieces are dedicated to exploring the horizons of women who seek to live their lives out of the box expressed in a Pop art style.