Italian furniture's leading edges

Design industry energized by the emergence of lesser known companies

Followers of Italian design are familiar with the big manufacturing names such as B&B Italia, Cassina, and Kartell, but many believe it is the many small and medium-sized furniture companies that form the backbone of the Italian sector due to those companies' particular attention to materials and new product development. As design legend Gaetano Pesce has noted, "The owners of (smaller) companies fuel the progress of design through research, experimentation, and the use of new materials."
One such company is Pordenone-based Horm, specialists in wood furniture. The small manufacturer created an industry buzz when it enlisted the talents of acclaimed Japanese architect Toyo Ito. The collaboration yielded designs such as the Ripples bench, a striking limited edition consisting of five woods: beech, cherry, mahogany, oak and walnut. The Italian company, established in 1989, also sources talent closer to home. The Rome design studio Gruppo Grafite (Laura De Lorenzo, Luca Leonori and Stefano Stefani) conceived Horm's elegant Astor table, which features alternating strips of aluminum and wood on its distinctive tabletop. Most recently, Horm collaborated with leading American architect Steven Holl, who Time magazine once cited for buildings "that satisfy the spirit as well as the eye." For Horm, Holl designed the intricately-patterned Riddled table.
Another young Pordenone area furniture company is Kristalia. Founded in 1994, the manufacturer produces contemporary designs such as the Boum stacking chair, designed by Monica Graffeo and Ruggero Magrini. Boum's organic shape is a combination of a polypropylene seat and back with a choice of an aluminum or steel frame. A round cut-out handle in the chair's back adds a whimsical element. Boum earned top honours for its designers in a young designer competition at the Milan furniture fair.
Joe Colombo's classic designs of the 1960s have a new lease on life thanks to Vicenza furniture manufacturer B-Line. The seven year old firm has marketing rights to Colombo's original designs, which were considered far out even in the Swinging Sixties. B-Line's Colombo line includes the Italian designer's famous Boby all-purpose plastic trolley, an industrial design icon honoured in the permanent collections of both the Milan Triennale and New York's Museum of Modern Art.
Harry Bertoia's famous Diamond chair is echoed in the recent Leaf chair by Treviso furniture manufacturer Arper. Designed by Spanish firm Lievore Altherr Molina, the chair takes its inspiration from nature and presents a leaf motif in an all-steel construction with finishing options including chrome or matte green. The Spanish design team also created Arper's popular Catifa series of seating, a product line that defines modern design with its minimalist use of polypropylene and steel.
Bergamo-based Baleri Italia recently produced the unique Littlebig chair, a design by New York's Jeff Miller. The chair frame is oversized and a plywood seat and back are cantilevered from the frame's front edge. Littlebig appears as a modern version of a very traditional chair type. Another innovative chair from a small manufacturer is the Trace chair by Desalto. Created by London-based designer Shin Azumi, the recent Desalto model features a minimalist seat and back of engineered polymer supported on a stainless steel frame.
Although these smaller Italian furniture companies are less known outside industry circles, their innovative work can challenge the major players and strengthen the sector as a whole. For consumers, the benefits may be design solutions that get ever closer to reconciling form with function.

Publication Date: 2006-12-31
Story Location: http://www.tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=6900