A tailor-made dress is thought, designed and then sewn to perfectly fit the person who requested it.
This also works for an environment, for furniture or for an object.
Sometimes a serialized piece is not the best choice, because for measurements or aesthetics it does not respond to the effect I want to achieve.
In this case I let my imagination run free and something that did not exist takes shape, first as an idea, then as a project and finally it becomes reality.
As long as the process has not ended, I'm not sure of the final result.
And here is the beauty, the difficulty in convincing the customer that what is only in my mind will give a good result.
The creative process starts from an intuition or a thought that often comes to me without effort or without looking for it. Then slowly it takes shape, with doodles, with scribbles and pouring thought into it. From here we move on to a design that must give a clear idea to the customer and only at the end to a real executive, which is more useful for those who have to build the piece of furniture or the object.
Sometimes the client is not convinced, the fears of not being able to imagine the end result and sometimes my tenacity in wanting to convince that it is the best choice because designing something new is like a child for me, I feel totally invested in the "creature" ; at other times the frustration of not being able to persuade arrives.
It is exhilarating and a great satisfaction if the project becomes reality.
We have forgotten what it means to dream, what it means to think that something that does not exist can become reality. It is easier and more reassuring to choose something that we see, something that it standardized, that is recognizable and has already been tested or that we have already seen set.
I really like to mix design objects (where no sensible designer would dream of redesigning to make a craftsman do) with customized pieces or details. It can also be the choice of a special fabric to cover a standard armchair or a particular material detail to be included in it. This way of approaching the project means that the final result is unique and not replicable.
In the study, which you can see below, I inserted the "Tattomi" sofa bed by De Padova, upholstered in precious green bottle-colored velvet. Instead of the usual wallpaper, I asked my decorator friend Franca Bragagnolo to realize a wall made of lime putty and natural clay, embellished in some places with details in gold leaf.
The bookcase with desk in natural oak is my design.
To dare, to try, to experiment ... maybe these are my favourite verbs. I do not know why, but I feel extremely free when a client understands and supports me!
Take the furniture in the picture. I started with the idea that it should have been a single piece, to be inserted in the entrance of a beautiful house that I had already furnished with a table, sofas and standard furniture.
I wanted it to be like a sculpture, a precious element that had a distinctive mark and stood out against the corten-colored wall of the entrance.
I initially thought of a piece of furniture covered in brass, but had to scrap that idea because too costly so I moved onto wood with a gold finish. I had imagined the work of the doors in relief and after discussing ideas with the carpenter we arrived, after various tests, to have the wood engraved with a machine with numerical control to have a perfect sequence of squares. The chosen wood was the okumè which is without particular ribbing and does not fear humidity (wood used for boats). The stability of the wood gave us peace of mind for the finishing work in precious gold / silver foil that the decorator would have made .
I designed the kitchen cupboard as a thick deck and suspended the four-door part. The idea was to recall the gold of the lamp of "Catellani & Smith" that stood above the table, but at the same time creating a piece of furniture that would not remind the home of some Arab sheik.
Everyone was surprised by the refined and elegant results.
The approach to the optical store is rather different, where everything has been designed following a formal cleaning thought. The materials used were the white glossy lacquered wood for the furniture, the etched and silk-screened sliding windows for the windows, the steel, the amber mosaic and the dove-gray resin to cover the existing floor. The design here was detailed, from the pulleys that held the sliding window panes to the asymmetric counters, the diamond-shaped displays, the mirrors and the Bisazza mosaic tiles in the display and floor surfaces.
Other times, furnishing accessories must be designed and customized.
Like the planters with bench at the entrance of this company. Here the need was to have flower tubs that served as a divider for the disabled ramp.The metal of construction has been galvanized, in order to be exposed to the weather and then painted with company’s colors. For the front paneling I chose a stretched metal. All made by the blacksmith.
The examples are so many that it is difficult to list them all.
What I hope to have made clear is that there are no limits to creativity and that you can customize an environment or a piece of furniture to the point that it becomes absolutely unique and exclusive.
If the project works, all the pieces fit perfectly. Sometimes there are drawbacks, because the materials respond differently from how I imagined or because the customer has second thoughts. In the end, however, we come to a result, and then my anxiety goes away to make room for joy and satisfaction!
nb. Special thanks to:
Franca Bragagnolo decorator- Castelfranco V.to
Joinery Onisto Renato - Asolo
Blacksmith Forme snc di Stefano Marin - Cittadella
Upholsterer Dal Bello Amedeo - Asolo
Glassmaker Romagna srl - Malo
Joinery Marogna -Zane'
Resin floor Vsa srl - Piovene
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