The Artisans

The passion shared by three generations of Fratelli Levaggi is pure and simple: shaping wood with their own hands. Young creativity is channeled by the experience and knowledge of the elders, who guide the process from the cutting of the tree to the assembling and painting of individual components. They work with a variety of woods that are part of the time-honored Chiavari chair tradition and leave very few steps of the process up to modern machinery, favoring a human assessment and manual approach to ensure high quality and attention to detail.

This brand creates tailor-made solutions for customers who look for elegant furnishings with strong character and a perfect balance between art and design. In the heart of Brianza, a district near Milan famous for the high-quality production of furniture made in an artisanal way, skillful designers and craftsmen combine the finest wood, glass, marble and metals to fashion pieces that effortlessly blend art, design, and architecture.

ColleVilca is the result of a merger of two historical crystal workshops occurred 50 years ago. The atelier is based at Colle di Val d'Elsa in Tuscany - between Florence, Siena and San Gimignano - where glass and crystal have been produced for over 800 years. Specializing in the art of working with lead crystal, with percentages up to an astonishing 24%, ColleVilca boasts a history of collaborations with important designers and architects. The selection of crystals sets for the table is of unique brilliance and quality making the art of drinking a truly luxury experience.

The Locchis have been restoring, grinding and carving crystal objects back since the nineteenth century, when the family was commissioned work by the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Since then, the skilled craftsmanship of these master grinders has brought back to their original condition goblets, bowls, cruets, salt-cellars, precious Murano-glass chandeliers. Situated in the heart of Oltrarno, the florentine southbank, the atelier is now famous all over the world for the quality of its restoration on glass and precious crystal items.

Milano based artist Carla Milesi experimented with concrete since the eighties. In 1987, she established Concreta, a research laboratory within her family’s concrete company. Starck, Ron Arad, Mendini, Sottsass, Citterio, Fiorucci and Anna Mari all collaborated with Concreta sharing their collective know-how. Among her works, Milesi presented 22 light weight concrete silhouettes representing real-life-scale lovers, in Paris, at the Place du Louvre.

In an old kiln of Murano, in 1966, a young boy set to work the glass. That boy, Gabriele Urban, has now forty-years of experience in glass blowing and is the master of La Fornasotta, that is, "the furnace" in the Venetian language. The homely cooperative environment enriches the creative development of each collection, resulting in amazing combinations of reflections and colors. The creations of La Fornasotta are the result of a wise and skillful use of ancient techniques: from the classic manufacture of glasses and murrine to mosaic tiles and intricate pieces.

Oscar Zanetti was born in Murano in 1961. One of his ancestors, Abbott Zanetti, was the founder of the Museo del Vetro (Museum of Glass) and opened the Scuola del Vetro (Glass School) in the 19th Century. Oscar began working with glass at the age of 14 while attending the local art high school. He started out as an assistant or "serventino" and perfected his technique at some of the most prestigious Murano glass ateliers, including Venini and La Murrina, before joining the family workshop. His preference for natural subjects is reflected in his collection.

Founded in 1993, Nuove Forme follows on the footsteps of Alvino Bagni, an expert in Art History and Italian Design, who founded the previous ceramic atelier in 1946. Together with Gianfranco Ghiretti, Paolo Nerucci, and Maria Chiara Ghiretti, he creates beautiful ceramic pieces using techniques honed with passion and decades of practice. Nuove Forme owns several historical designs, carefully kept in the archives, that are constantly developed through new experiments and collaborations with artists, designers, and architects.

Ceramic artist Roberto Cambi is a name of reference in contemporary Italian ceramic art. He has been exhibiting successfully since the late 1970s, after obtaining his diploma at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna. Cambi's practice is very eclectic and delves in different techniques, but is often referred to as "pop and humoristic". His playful works are created focusing on the interaction of ceramics with their surrounding space. Yet, although his installations are mainly site-specific, due to their flexible nature they can easily adapt to any dimension and space.

Simone Crestani is a young luminary when it comes to glass. His aesthetic tends toward time-honored artistic values – balance, elegance, grace – yet his creations are complete novelties in the glassart world. Simone had the privilege of growing up close to Venice and doing his apprenticeship with expert glassmith Massimo Lunardon. Many of his creations can be considered part of a contemporary “Cabinet of Curiosity” where nature is not defaced but respected by reproducing its essence in fragile transparent shapes.

One of the youngest master glassmiths on the Venetian island of Murano, Alberto Striulli dedicates himself to continuing the city's 700 years of glass blowing history. His prowess spans from classic chandeliers to a wide range of contemporary tableware and "glassart" pieces. His signature design is probably the "rigadin", a straight ribbed pattern achieved by blowing incandescent glass into a rudimentary mold called "bronzin". Striulli's creations are certified by Promovetro Consortium, the Murano glass authority ensuring that artisans follow traditional techniques.

Founded in Florence in 1856, Giulio Giannini and Sons is one of the most ancient active bookbinding workshops in the world. The workshop is now run by 6th generation family members, in particular Maria, in a tiny shop near Palazzo Pitti, in the heart of the Oltrarno, Florence craftsmanship heaven. Giannini bookbinders use parchment decorated with gold leaf and hard covers in colored leather, taking inspiration from models that go back to the 14th century. Emblematic of an epoch, Giannini contributed to define the “Florentine Style” in the history of bookbinding.

Award-winning Bottega ND Dolfi specializes in maiolica pottery. Founded in 1941 by Giovanni Dolfi in a historic workshop in Montelupo, a hamlet on the Tuscan hills, the atelier continued with Silvano, who still creates internationally-acclaimed pieces, and is now run by his daughters Daria and Natalia. Master craftsmen keep traditional techniques alive while experimenting with materials and designs. Each piece is based on originals without becoming a replica, but retaining the unique quality and character of one-off productions.

Il Bronzetto, an historic Florentine company is specialized in the hand-made production of high quality furnishing, accessories and lighting in brass and bronze since 1963. Simone, Pierfrancesco and their cousin Michelangelo inherit from the founder Antonio Calcinai the knowledge of materials and their processing techniques producing with creativity and high professionalism, unique and quality artisan artefacts. Il Bronzetto offers a wide range of styles, from classic to modern up to the striking contemporary design, as the Brass Brothers & Co. collection. Il Bronzetto can also carry out custom-made projects following the client from design to creation of the final product, aided on one side by the manufacturing expertise and experience, on the other by the use of technology to create items with high quality standards.

The historic Murano glass furnace Ongaro & Fuga was founded in 1952 by Franco Fuga and his wife Tullia Ongaro,two Murano glass masters descended from a long line of prominent glassmaking families whose names were added to the Book of Murano in 1600. Presently run by their sons Giuliano and Francesco, the company is renowned worldwide for its Venetian-style glass mirrors created exclusively by hand using a perfect balance of modern and traditional techniques. The furnace also creates custom pieces in collaboration with international designers and artists to suit all decors.

Over a hundred years ago, in 1902, grandfather Pampaloni founded a workshop that would become one of the most prestigious silver factories in Florence, just a short walk from Palazzo Vecchio. Their difficult labor still achieves impressive results, thanks to innovative design and traditional techniques coupled with the skilled hands of Gianfranco and Francesco Pampaloni and their busy machines. Like their ancestors, they respect machines, maintaining that "handmade" is not better per se. Artisans achieve their best when coupling their skilled hands with the aid of machines.

Florentine Paola Staccioli is a ceramist with unique artistic abilities, maybe inspired by her literature studies. She decided to dedicate herself to pottery after some experiences within applied arts, in particular batik and glass. She creates clay objects that support decorative and pictorial elements using the luster technique. The results are unique, impossible to replicate even by the artisan herself. Her works featured in exhibitions in Japan, Germany, France, as well as notable Florentine institutions including the Uffizi Museum (2012) and Palazzo Pitti (2010).

Pagliai is a Florentine family bottega now in its third generation. This historic silversmith workshop has in fact been open since the 1950s, when it was founded by Orlando Pagliai in the basement of a famous convent. Later, the atelier moved to the current location in the Oltrarno, where many other historical silversmiths work. The perfection of Pagliai's production has earned international recognition since the 1960s, when Tiffany & Co. commissioned Orlando Pagliai the production of different silver pieces, some of which are still reproduced and are on offer here.

Giberto Arrivabene was raised by strong female figures in Palazzo Papadopoli, Venice, surrounded by frescoes of Giambattista Tiepolo and other artists. The context in which he grew up had a great impact on his unique aesthetic sense. Love for glass and craftsmanship is at the heart of his work. Giberto creates each piece starting first with a watercolor sketch and then handing it to expert glass blowers carvers from the glass capital Murano. These true artists are entrusted with the difficult work of engraving designs of any kind.

“First came the egg!” Mario Bottiglieri was born in 1964 in Naples. After starting a degree in Architecture, he quit it to pursue his two major passions, design and Naples, in a more practical way. Expressive and conceptual, Bottiglieri is a well-established interior designer. Mario experiments with furniture and decorative objects blending Neapolitan traditions and a contemporary concepts and style. His work is now a reference when it comes to home décor, the EGG being the signature object of his artistic creations.