5 Italian brands you need to know
Studio Pepe
STUDIOPEPE is a design studio founded in Milan in 2006. Arianna Lelli Mami and Chiara Di Pinto, the founders and art directors of Studiopepe, are both graduates from the Politecnico di Milano.
Beginning from solid interior design experience and the strong emotional value of eclectic design research, Studiopepe has carried out styling projects and iconographic shoot concepts for major international magazines.
For each client Studiopepe develops a made-to-measure approach based on observation, analysis, and intuition, taking care over every aspect of the project: from developing the image to advising on the concept and catalog style, and designing showrooms, site-specific installations, and design events.
“Our philosophy is based on a conceptual approach inspired by the unexpected, and on an extensive iconographic and visionary background, generating results that are unique of their kind. Our attention to details, and the emotion they can generate in people, is fundamental in our projects. “
The work of the creative duo Studiopepe focuses on design and research, and they do so with a multidisciplinary approach. The design language is layered and eclectic. It combines poetic vision and rigor. Art, installations, study of formal archetypes, experimentation on matter and dialogue between opposites are some of the themes developed by the Studio. Studiopepe’s projects are recognized for their strong iconographic identity, based on experimentation, constant research on color and materials and on the contamination between the different languages of the contemporary. Result: projects that are unique and special each time that respect the individuality of each client.
cpm design
Michele Cazzaniga, Simone Mandelli and Antonio Pagliarulo, are a trio of designers based in Como. Starting from training at the Politecnico di Milano, they have developed their own design method based on dialogue. Starting from a careful and shared research, they reach the design solution through dialogue and cordial discussions with all the players in the production process: workers, technicians, end users, entrepreneurs, but especially the artisans of manufacturing. Good design consists in the concert of the many voices involved in production, and the designer must be able to question their ideas and at the same time involve everyone in the realization of a poetic idea, of a new beauty.
The friendly relationship with these artisans is fundamental to the life of the studio, which often moves in their workshops to manufacture models, prototypes, or simply exchange ideas and learn.
meridiani
MERIDIANI was born in 1996 from a simple yet passionate idea of Laura Ferraro Crosti, wife of Renato Crosti, founder of the company: a new home collection characterized by a recognizable lifestyle, timeless yet always up to date, able to keep an eye open for trends but with deep roots in the past.
After researches driven by passion and expertise the first collection was born in spring 1996 and it was entirely manufactured in Italy thanks to the existing industrial facilities owned by the family; it was the result of the enthusiasm and collaboration between Laura and the designer Andrea Parisio, art director of the brand.
In 2016 the company joined IDB – Italian Design Brands S.p.A. – with the goal of strengthening an already important presence of its brand on international markets and developing synergies in innovative areas through digital transformation processes, shared commercial strategies and new distribution channels.
A collection that, over the years, has expanded and consolidated, while maintaining a clear direction: the desire to create a range of contemporary products which did not betray the lesson of the past and could give rise to a ‘timeless’ collection, able to assimilate the new trends and transcend the whims of the more extreme design. As an artistic director Parisio coordinates the brand image, designs the corporate showrooms and stores and the exhibition settings at the international furniture shows.
Timeless collections, elegant and without frills, essential but still vivacious, modern but with no compromises with temporary trends. A distinguished style, an inspiring new classic that leaves space for personal interpretation.
Furnishings for the living room, the bedroom, the dining area, the library and the outdoor: meticulous signs, precise proportions, essential volumes. Indoor and outdoor collections recall each other also in the details, the precious materials and in the crafts. It’s about the need to feel that the indoor space becomes one with the outdoor one and that elegance, continuity and a thread bind them forever in time.
Each original MERIDIANI product is the result of the use of the best materials and careful quality controls: expertise and attention to detailing are carried out by artisans who perfectly complement the mechanized processes.
A love for handcrafted furniture, legacy of the region in which the company was born and works, which has been conveyed to industrial production. Each authentic MERIDIANI product is supplied with an Authenticity and Warranty Certificate.
Vincenzo De Cotiis
Born in 1958 in Gonzaga, Vincenzo De Cotiis is an Italian architect and designer considered by all to be one of the pioneers in the international design scene. His unique designs and products, mostly made in limited editions, make him one of the most eclectic and sophisticated designers around. De Cotiis’ works oscillate on the border between art and architecture where the dialogue between the old and the new is always present and evident.
He graduated in architecture from the Polytechnic of Milan and in 1997 he founded his design studio. Here he will have the opportunity to experiment and implement that research and abstraction that will characterize and still characterize his creations. His contribution to Italian craftsmanship was extremely important, so much so that it was compared to that of great masters such as Gio Ponti and Carlo Scarpa.
De Cotiis is a designer who loves playing with refined and precious materials, treating them as much as possible within production processes that make manpower and craftsmanship their prerogatives. In fact, during his career Vincenzo De Cotiis has had the opportunity to collaborate with companies that make these aspects their strengths; among these we find Baxter, Ceccotti Collezioni, Busnelli and several others.
Some of his creations, on the border between design and works of art, are exhibited in his personal gallery in Milan as well as being presented at the most important trade fairs in the world.
Under the Progetto Domestico label, De Cotiis designs and manufactures unique products, in limited editions which, as in architecture, incorporate recycled and recycled materials. Highly collectible, the work is sold through its gallery in Milan and exhibited in the most important world-class design fairs such as Design Miami / Basel, PAD London, Design Dubai and Art Paris.
Bonacina
The Bonacina company was founded in Lurago d’Erba (Brianza) in 1889 by Giovanni Bonacina. He started his business using wicker as the main material, using local and Southeast Asian reeds and reeds. Giovanni Bonaccina will then pass on the business to his son Vittorio and his nephew Mario, who will reprint historical pieces underlining the eco-sustainability of raw materials. In 2012 Elia Bonacina consolidated the brand at an international level, already a leader in the sector, creating pieces made by hand by skilled craftsmen, combining raw and synthetic materials in sculptural masterpieces.
The extreme specialization of Bonacina 1889 made it an almost obligatory crossroads for all designers who wanted to try their hand at making rattan furniture. Throughout its history it has therefore had the opportunity to work with names of the caliber of Gae Aulenti, Gio Ponti, Franco Albini, Tito Agnoli, Joe Colombo, Piero Lissoni and Carlo Colombo. The collaboration with Renzo Mongiardino, an eclectic architect and set designer was also particularly fruitful.
