Bodema: Timeless Design and Artisanal Traditions

Bodema’s history begins in the 1960s when Giulio De Mango opened the brand after working as an upholsterer in a factory in the heart of Brianza. He transferred all the knowledge he acquired to the newly formed company and adopted a holistic approach where a product is built from start to finish, countering the prevalent trend of fragmented production. This comprehensive understanding of the product in its entirety distinguishes Bodema and results is a collection of products that cater to style-conscious individuals, preserving Brianza’s woodworking and upholstery traditions while crafting stunning and modern designs.

Bodema’s designs are sophisticated, warm, and personal. How do you manage to incorporate all these elements into each of your products?

All of our pieces must fulfill multiple demands and characteristics; a purely “beautiful” piece in the conventional sense of ten does not sell, because it may not be functional and/or sufficiently competitive from a price standpoint. Therefore, our mission has always been to leverage our skills and acquired know-how to “create” products that must follow a clear and defined direction in terms of style and taste, but also fulfill concrete functions and needs. Technology and continuous modernization of production techniques allow us to set the most accessible prices for our target clientele.

“Staying true to your values while striving to evolve” encapsulates your strength. What are your core values? And how do you stay loyal to them despite the drive towards evolution?

Products must remain the true star: that is the only way the evolutionary process of any production and sales activity can align with the historical authenticity of the company. This means remaining rooted in clear and transparent concepts of products’ durability and reliability, along with increasingly meticulous and sophisticated production processes, sales activities, and customer service. That is because nowadays, even if successful, the product still needs “the whole package” to be marketable.

Your collection combines artisanal savoir-faire with sophisticated design. How did you successfully maintain such high craftsmanship standards despite your company's significant growth?

Products must have more and more distinctive, original characteristics, richness and purity of details, and - last but not least - display sophisticated technical solutions and workmanship that keep up with the times. This means constantly “raising the bar”, always moving the goalpost, and evolving together alongside the products. Achieving this requires starting with a solid company culture married to a strong network of suppliers. The more products abide by these characteristics, the more state-of-the-art machines are needed to perform never-before-explored processes that cannot be performed by hand. This is the new concept of craftsmanship.