Classico Set of 5 Grey Baskets by Rosanna Contadini

In the heart of Tuscany near Florence, on the banks of the Arno lies the long-renowned town of Empoli and its industrial zone, famous for its glass and crystal furnaces. History tells us the area has been creating these products since ancient Roman times. As is always the case, the furnaces resulted in the establishment of an industry, intended to take local production as a starting point to market and embellish these products by decorating and applying other materials to them. In this context, in the 1960s, three young entrepreneurs – Natale Belli, Alfio Cinotti and Lanciotto Cappelli – set up a new company with a precise objective of marketing the prestigious local products, decorating and combining them with metals and ceramics to create items that constituted a genuine novelty at the time. The undertaking became known as CREART, from ‘creations’ and ‘art’.

In a typically classic style, the production was immediately focused on tableware and furnishings. Thanks to targeted marketing work, it soon came to the attention of the domestic and international markets.