fiberglass RAL 7006

Slate Grey Marble

Slate Grey marble is characterized by the black background color crossed by veins with gray shades. Thanks to its dark color is the ideal marble for combinations with other materials such as metal, glass and wood.

Slate Grey marble slab

One stone connects Italy; from counter tops to wash basins, chopping blocks to side units. Marble. Marble is the chosen material of the artisan.

It is its naturalness that makes it unique. From colouring to density, no one piece is the same making it a material that only experts should touch. They select slates that capture how a mountain has evolved over time. A colour scheme giving a depth that man made stone can’t capture, one that we can build into our other experiences. Each vein that runs through the stone is a story; like the life lines that run over the palm of your hands, marble that is masoned to your experience represents your story.

«A depth that man made stone can’t capture.»

For the correct maintenance of all marble surfaces, it is recommended to use neutral detergents and no degreasers nor corrosive detergents. Acid substances may spoil the polished marble surface. It is also recommended to avoid contact with liquids and acid food and to remove immediately these substances if they accidentally come in contact with the surface.

Breathe the Character of the Design

Defining the modern space is the challenge every designer goes through. Creating harmony and adding character to a living area which is devoid of any requires “the eye” that you so often hear about. So how do you match “the eye” with the perfect products?

Unify colours

Colour is king in any space, old or modern, but colour is essential to add gravitas to a piece as well. In this apartment, there is a lot going on with just a small selection. Brass detailing weaves between living spaces, uniquely tying in an industrial whilst chic feeling from both within the rooms and those of the bronze rooftops that the open glass facades view from every living quarter.

Black stone paneling covers the walls, again contrasting with the bronze reflections from the rooftops facing the space, and the almost white wood flooring gives an earth like tone and feel bringing high octane design back to earth.

But it is the colour, blue, that requires a formal introduction. Giuseppe Viganò Auto-Reverse cuts a bold figure in the space. It is not afraid to proudly sit whilst the rest of Vilnius busily works in the streets surrounding this luxury apartment. Cutting through the modern and sometimes unforgiving hardness of stone and metal, the crushed velvet sofa brings softness to the space, shaping the room to be inviting and comfortable. It is contrasted with the reverse colour, a cream that allows the floor and the walls to blend into the structure, making the blue pop and stand out even more in this luxury setting.

A theme that runs throughout

Modern design is then subjected to unwritten rules, ones that make a space grand and unique yet with fluid interpretations adding personal touches along the way.

The floor to ceiling windows cascades light throughout this project in Vilnius, and the bedroom is the second setting where a common theme can be again seen between living spaces. Bronze reflections from the outside, brass in the ceiling lights and paneling, black on the walls and near white wood on the floors. It is a continuation of the theme from the living space downstairs, and it is heightened again, by the choice of furniture.

Auto-Reverse Dream continues the theme like few other pieces could dare to capture. The minimal structure, the hand-crafted materials, the reversible cushions, and the limitless opportunities to create something unique with stitchings, zips, colour and material choices has been captured in placing the bed firmly in the middle of the room. The contrast of again, a blue, as seen downstairs with this time, purple, unifies and adds to the theme already clearly established.

When you bring together every aspect of the apartment, what makes it stand out from other modern interpretations? Colours? Space? Single touches of elegance from the brass, black and even white? It is in the levity that the space brings that defines this apartment. It is in choosing the right objects and materials that can truly unify all of the things above and beyond. Auto-Reverse just happens to do it all.

Thanks to:

Prusta LTD – www.prusta.lt – Ieva.prusta@gmail.com

Location: Vilnius
Other participants: architect Ieva Prunskaite
Photo credits:Leonas Garbačiauskas

Arketipo Firenze | VIDEO CORPORATE

2021 Closeup

Flamingo Quartz Marble

Flamingo Quartz is a quartzite which crystals are characterized by a mix of pale rose, purple red with intrusions of white-grey.

Flamingo quartz marble

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the word, flamingo? Hold that thought. For us, the flamingo is more than just a beautiful creature, it’s a showcase of colour and a unique sense of being. It reminds us that different is just that, different.

And like the flamingo’s home in Miami, this marble reflects a vision that the city has. Warmth, filled with character and a softness that sits atop years of growth and change. Mother nature has shaped this material to reflect something unique, something that takes time to create. This stone has been exposed to the most extreme temperatures and in doing so it has formed a material that is unique; a quartz that is translucent and impactful from the very first time you see it.

So when you think of the word Flamingo now, what are you thinking about?

Tangerine Onyx Marble

Tangerine Onyx is a multi-coloured onyx, one of the most spectacular ones for its incredible colouring.

Each slab is unique and unrepeatable, its vivid colours change from one slab to another and vary from white to bright orange and from red to green.

Tangerine Onyx

From the first written words of the bible to the ancient Indian and Persian scriptures, Onyx has been omnipresent in cultures all over the world. And yet, when you think of onyx, what comes to mind? Is it a stone that “transforms negative energy into positive” or is it something that represents a culture, a people like the ancient greeks?

There is something prophetic about choosing a stone that represents all of the above and more. The warm tangerine effect that weaves and blends into every aspect of the stone is nature in full design and the contrasting cream, grey, and even hints of green show just what Mother Nature is capable of in her grandeur. This is a stone that has been exposed to the most complex of changes and in doing so, creates something beautiful and distinctly uncommon.

Onyx has a rare power and beauty; it is not a coincidence that we have chosen this for our designs.

Zebrano

The rules of feng shui state that wood is the element of yin and yang; a balance of masculine and feminine, a material that combines strength and flexibility representing “beginnings, new life, and new growth.” In furniture design, never has a material had such a unique application and understanding; whether you are an artisan crafting with hand tools or a factory that manipulates with heat and stain, wood is a universal element understood by everyone that comes into contact with it.
There is a sensory appreciation that we all feel; wood is one of the first materials that humans come into contact with. Think back to your favourite childhood toys, those passed through generations, found in storage” “boxes and shown in old family photos. They all contain a relationship with the basic material that we have spent years reconnecting through our designs and focus.
For us, wood is about the connection between past and present. We feel it every time we use it, we understand its power and fragility, we know that we must champion what wood can do to any design of any living space.
Wood is what connects to the earth, a feeling that we must embrace, respect and rejoice.

«We have spent years reconnecting through our designs and focus.»

Eucalyptus

«We have spent years reconnecting through our designs and focus.»

An Arketipo Story

We have something that runs through our business. It is a thing that is obsessed with a culture that champions quality and emphasizes experience not objects, design not furniture.

It is Perfection Compulsive Disorder

This is not a trivial play on words, nor a lightly taken statement about health. We believe that perfection is “a journey, not a destination.” A journey that is grounded in not only creating products of quality, but one that understands the past and sees clearly into the future. Every product, every design and every part of our production is researched to ensure we deliver perfection. Nothing is taken for granted.

We learn from the beauty of world around us. Take Luciano, our thread specialist who uses a book of different tree barks to inspire the colours of our material. “I use chemicals to colour, but the perfect colour combination is created by nature.” It is like this with every material, we do the most minimal of interventions to understand how they behave, and what we can learn from them.

And what does the Perfection Compulsive Disorder business strive for? Sustainability. It understands how materials need to be sourced, it identifies with designers who not only champion ideas of valuing a product but withstand the test of time in every conceivable aspect. As Giuseppe Viganò says, “our heritage and culture guide us to a new age, it is the combination of the old and the new that creates our unique voice.”

When you take every element of the material and the design and place it in the hands of our master craftsman, you have the closing of the circle in Perfection Compulsive Disorder. Because ours is a culture of the artisan, the one who understands what it means to treasure something of beauty and of great quality – and then create it, the way it is meant to be.

An Arketipo product is a journey. An understanding of our cultural history and a clear eye into the future, one that does not hide from the challenges we all face and one that champions a way to do things differently, and better!

PCD Video

Perfection Compulsive Disorder

We suffer from perfection compulsive disorder.

A culture that is reflected in our nature, our passion, our identity. It has helped us to create a sophisticated, high quality and beautifully crafted collection of home furnishings.

But it has not been done alone. It has only been achievable when people – not ideas, machines, nor a slogan – have come together. It is a core belief of our organisation; aim for perfection, we will know when we reach it – if we ever reach it.

Because it is a team of people that create great things.

Our team is made up of believers and dreamers. It’s the Florentine artisan, the artist and craftsman, the worker and ideologue. From the very top to the bottom, there is no distinction of what the sum of each part makes; a unified squad, pulling together to make something magical. We place our faith in each component, each worker’s hands and vision to say, “let’s bring this home”.

We can talk about our products, we can spend hours telling you the provenance of each material, the importance of colour and even selecting the correct grain of marble. Our search for perfection starts with our team.

This is our team. Not all of them, but some. Our leader, our creators, our thinkers and our artisans. They have Perfection Compulsive Disorder. Discover how much.

A Coffee Table Evolution

We have described small tables as “supporting acts” and dining tables as “a study of community” yet, when we develop a table of any size or shape, are we really doing them a disservice when we use these terms?

Take a space, fill it with the objects you love, the objects that bring the room together and you start to create a personality; or you reflect your own. But in every room, there is a space for bridging identity, culture and design. Small tables have the unique power of letting other objects take a room on and simultaneously making them functional and beautiful when selected with style at the front of the mind.

Small tables thus, are “balance” in a world of imbalance.

Low tables

Take the greatest living rooms in history, pop culture… your own life. What do they have in common? A place to rest your remote controls, books, a drink at the end of a hard day or just a place to simply put a beautiful bowl of flowers. They are the ubiquitous feature of a living room all over the world and yet, they do not ask for our direct attention, they just have it.

It is within designs like Mauro Lipparini’s, Final Cut and Douglas that we see beauty is enshrined in function. These are simply not tables; they are statements of individual creativity. Douglas asks us all to take a step back and understand how angles, materials and combinations can work together in a room whilst Final Cut is a masterpiece of engineering; calling it a low table is a disservice to something uniquely individual in design and execution.

Seeing through the simple

If we search for elegance and equal doses of sobriety, glass is the material of choice in a living space. Used as part of a design in furniture making, they add gravitas to interior design whilst providing a light touch to a room. For the curious consumer, glass gives us a clear view into how something is made.

Chimera is the epitome of glass construction. Dainelli Studio has taken a material that can be fragile and made it into something solid; a construct of engineering and design which appreciates the raw material and transforms it into a showcase of sinuous lines, and light absorbing beauty.

Whilst the glass constructs of Rebus (silk screened) and Odissey (laser cut) are uniquely positioned, Mauro Lipparini has used these constructs of glass engineering to highlight the other facets of these individual tables, their forms. Without glass, you could not appreciate the geometric styling of Rebus nor the subtle elegance of Odissey. They need glass to show you how design is the star of a room and how materials can combine to elevate every aspect of one.

Living with marble

Marble is so intrinsically woven into Italian culture that we sometimes forget just how precious it is; that is why our designers take a step back to showcase that even through the smallest iterations, like a small table, we can create something that screams, artisan ingenuity.

Marble’s beauty is that every slab can be different in colours & shades, different harmonies created through veining, and that no two tables (or creations) will ever be alike.

Marble is a natural material that truly is individual, refining a space and gracing interiors for centuries as a point of beauty.

Gino Carollo’s Moon Invaders understands this unique material better than most. He created something that is “a welcoming embrace of the nuanced isometric American art movement of the 80s and 90s” over anything from the 1890s. Enshrined in vegetable tanned leather, this future looking concept is meant to make you admire marble for its natural beauty and how we can emotionally connect to something so ingeniously creative.

Connecting with earth

When we can bring what is outside in, when we can have a spiritual connection with the ground we walk on, when we can meditate and mindfully bathe amongst nature, we become better. Wood is the primary encounter in our interior lives and the artisan, the designer and the creator all have a connection with wood unlike few other materials.

Wood connects our past, present, and future. Wood is warm and connects us to the cold, sometimes harsh materials used in design. Wood can be finished to match different environments.

Take one look at Gordon Guillaumier’s, Armonia and you instantly appreciate how wood captures everything we have described. Wood is the counterpoint to the metallic geometric structure, softening the piece whilst elevating its intrinsic simplicity.

Mauro Lipparini’s Noth on the other hand is a measure of wood’s flexibility to appear light and equally sturdy. Wood shouldn’t “float”, but this structure purposely challenges our assumptions, it asks us to look at how this design can be a centerpiece or smaller incarnation to marry any room filled with a connection to the outside world.

A set

When we take a design and create a series of smaller or larger iterations, what are we really doing? The artisan is testing their skills, the designer is questioning interior balance but when they combine, they create something that enriches any interior space.

Look at Bartoli Design, Petra. Three distinct forms of imbalance thanks to the marble being offset and yet, their different heights and shapes and even materials make them distinctly different. A large space would hold all of them, yet a smaller space, with two pieces would showcase just how unique a design can be.

And Dainelli Studio understood that with Chimera. The overlapping structures mean that individually, these pieces stand the test of time but combined, they can turn any room into something that yearns to be seen, design that rightly craves attention.

New Collection 2021

An Arketipo Story

We have something that runs through our business. It is a thing that is obsessed with a culture that champions quality and emphasizes experience not objects, design not furniture.

It is Perfection Compulsive Disorder

Pacific Blue Glass

Smoked Glass

2021 YEARBOOK

We sometimes forget to take a moment to cherish what makes our past collections so special. It is why in our new catalogue we have gone one step further.

We have cast a new eye, dusted off the lens, and gone all out to capture our timeless classics in two different surroundings.

In these locations we re-discovered how our pieces can co-exist in different environments; a testament that our craftsmanship and design principles can belong anywhere.

It was in the Italy of Nature where we focused on the mountains and the forests and where we found inspiration from Nordic design discipline yet, an appreciation of our own ideas and vision. Our classic furniture reflected a style that was minimal whilst warm, subtle whilst welcoming. We played with contrasts of materials and creative thinking to highlight the artisan and personalities. Our pieces reflect Italy but relate to the modernist design values of the world we live in today.

And it was in the Italy of Industry where that versatility saw us capture a zen-inspired living philosophy, formally acknowledging the design doctrine of the East. Our timeless classics punched through the precision-led ambiance to bring warmth and softness, a subtle design ethos backed by industrious concepts.

From materials to colours, philosophies to visions we understand that our pieces are more than just where they end up living, they become the personality of the home that you are creating. We endeavour to make products that look beyond what is present and give an idea into the sustainability of not only the materials we choose but also a design ideology that will stand the test of time.

Download the Catalogue

Picking the Right Colour

Picking the right colour

Picking the right colour has always been a subtle yet important art form. From the renaissance masters to the interior designers of today, having a colour palette can fundamentally change every aspect of a room and the furniture we covet.

Colour must be seen as a way to accent a room or make it truly stand out for something different. Like choosing makeup to highlight your eyes and cheeks or picking the right pocket square for a suit, colour matters.

Pink, when used in the smallest doses can add a touch of glamour to any room. Contrasted with grey and blue tones, you are left with what is a stylish and accentuated tone that doesn’t try to hide – if anything, it is calling you to see the room for what it is.

Designer Frida Ramstedt famously quipped, “Some like white, gray and neutral colors, because they make them feel good. Others choose them because they are a winning bet if you can’t decide on something alternative.”

Smooth Operator in this context stands proudly in a room that is focused on contrasts of neutral tones and materials. The grey marble floor, the dark chocolate walls and the metallic gold piece together a colour palette that screams of glamour and yet it is subtly done.

Blue and brown are a must in many a designer’s colour palette choice. They are the perfect contrast colour, the incredible accent and even an emotive colour providing movement and grounding to any room.

This delicious palette contrast of grays, black, cream and brown perfectly highlights where earth tones can live in a modern space. Starman in this environment would have been out of place had another colour been selected. Warm and welcoming, the contrast with neutral tones and the designers favourite, dove gray accents makes this set-up one of the most desired.

Auto-Reverse comes in many selections, but when you want to stand away from a neutral palette, it is a piece that understands boldness is a weapon. Blue with cream in the delicate construction and cushioning makes this a piece that fears no room. Combined in a set up that uses browns, dove gray, mottled marble and yellow hues, it helps tone down what is a colour that is a star in its own right.

Again, blue is the colour of choice for the Freedom armchair whilst the sofa uses dove gray in this design focus. When contrasted with warm wood tones, hard marble and cement textures, it acutely underlines the essence of what blue can achieve, an understated softness and a sense of movement in this stylish, modern room.

But what if you were to bring the outside, in? Rust and turquoise would be your starting palette. They are reminiscent of the desert. Bringing together a mixture of metals, such as copper, or natural textures and patterns, such as wood and stone, for an even more authentic feel would be the starting point.

This stunning setup combines both rust and turquoise in materials displayed across the room. The doors bring the yellow golden brown that we identify so easily with rust whilst the couch, Ego is beautifully finished in a soft turquoise colour that contrasts with the gray floor, the black piano and even the purple rug. An ensemble of colour that manages to bring warmth yet leave space for a minimalist vision of colour.

Understanding this colour palette is about understanding textures and the materials that can make it feel more in tune with the world we live in. Like Starman in this set-up. It is neither rust coloured or turquoise, but the materials around the article subtly are. Look at Jupiter‘s golden frame. Pay attention to the geometric rust coloured shape on the floor and even the hints of blue in the marble on the table.

With a few pieces, this palette is brought to life in what, at first glance may seem like an ode to cream and gray.

Colour is important but knowing how to use colour in a room is equally the difference between having a vision or having just an item to admire. Choose wisely and you will have a room that speaks for your own style and tastes.

Think, Escape and Living

If you were to think of the word, chalet, what would be your first thought? The mountains? The skiing/hiking? The vast expanse of nature and how, when staring into the distance we realize just how little we really are? How has James Bond managed to find himself in so many different ones?

For some, that may be where their minds are transported. For others, it is about the chalet. It is about the days and nights spent in what is constructed coziness. Think, wooden walls, log fires, blankets and scenery pouring in from the outside. Think, escape and living.

It is in this reality that we have wanted to showcase something different. That not all chalets need to feel the same, that a chalet can be contemporary and still respect the things that make them special.

Finding the right character actors

The story we tell ourselves about a chalet is that it is a location away from our day-to-day life, yet, people live in the mountains, they live in these wooden constructions that have become synonymous with their own style. A style that is thought of for living, rarely design and yet, there is so much inspiration we can take.

It is in wood and glass where we have become inspired. Because these are materials used daily to customize walls, coverings, and floors, creating a pleasant alternation between rustic and modern style; in a chalet, they are the essential character actors.

Pleasant alternation between rustic and modern style

The outside world needs to be viewed from within a chalet, that is why in our vision of a modern chalet construct, glass allows the world to pour in, “creating a relaxing and exclusive environment”

Filling the space

Amongst the warmth of the wood and stillness of the glass, there is a space that needs filling. Contrasting these two materials requires a subtle touch.

Let us start with the couch, no ordinary example either. This is Night Fever by Giuseppe Viganò, a couch that lives to tell a story that is different – like this chalet. A contemporary design that makes you the master of how you want to sit thanks to cushions that can be placed in any arrangement. This really is a sofa that screams of individuality in a set-up that promotes a different way of doing things.

A sofa that screams of individuality

We have chosen chenille blue, a color of great depth, the color of calm, infinity and harmony that blends with the relaxing tones of the earth found in the wood and the outside world that comes through the large glass panes.

A balancing act

Throughout the design our team has thought of creating balance. Balance of old and new, balance of contemporary and classical, and it is here where Oracle, as a dining set, matches the ambiance created by this interior design.

Balance of old and new

Because the base is about balance – those three circles pushing boundaries in physics and design, and the glass top is a reflection of the materials purposely used in the room. The chairs, Emily, a wide seamless construction finished in a soft blue vegetable tanned leather.

Together they bring the design concept into one unified space. Warm wood colours, soft calming blue tones and glass that opens spaces and creates a flow that other materials cannot compete with.

Capturing Zen, Italian style

Every angle of this house has been thought of, every angle. There is a creative interdependence that moves from one room to another, enshrining the ideas that beauty and form can co-exist in a modern, yet soft environment.

This stunning house in Vicenza, a city known for industrious execution whilst balancing a subtle creative theology is the perfect canvas for capturing Zen design.

We chose a colour palette that struck a chord with oriental influences but anchored in Italian principles; grey, white and black. Two contrasts and one unifier, bringing together a design philosophy of east meets west, but with an Italian twist.

Bringing together a design philosophy

Jupiter and Auto-reverse soften and delight the open plan lounge; the mixture of soft fabrics and leather add a layer of comfort that juxtapose with the hard, yet warm walls. Chimera with its smoked glass and never-ending sweeping of lines perfectly sits in this Zen oasis.

Understanding our history

Where would Italy be without the dining table? In this oriental inspiration, our team has cemented every little detail when adding Prince into the dining area. The contrast of the Moon Grey marble with the modern room is auto-reflective; it’s a statement of design in a singular space.

It’s a statement of design

The bedrooms reflect more of what it means to combine soft and hard. Glass, often allowing us to look from the outside is reversed to make us look inwards. Starman Dream & Windsor Dream are enveloped by the vitro-perspective yet, their soft luxury calms the opposing emotions.

It is in the detail

All of these rooms do not lack detail; they thrive on it. The use of Stijl, a mixture of materials that rewards wood – important in both cultures; Freedom that takes the idea of floating structures and pairs it with soft, Italian leather – again, a mixture of culture by sheer coincidence or is it design?

The straight, contoured lines of the walls, the piercing dark paint that breaks up each room, the use of textures to break up monotony; we have created something that is a new philosophy, Italian meets Orient. Two design concepts that play on each other’s strengths.

Italian meets Orient

A Bedtime Story…

We spend one third of our life in our beds. That is roughly 229,961 hours – on average. There are some who famously spend less, world leaders spring to mind. Then there are those who consider sleep to be the most important asset our bodies require.

It is the latter that we must learn from. Because it is in sleep, that we become the people that we are. We dream. We dream of places we have been, and those we want to discover. We dream of people in our past and to mysterious beings which inhabit our subconscious.

It is in sleep that Paul McCartney heard the chords to, Yesterday. It was in his bedroom that Einstein coined the Theory of Relativity and it was in his feverish dream that James Cameron created the iconic, Terminator.

Sleep is then important, and how we sleep, and where we sleep has become more of an art and science than it has ever been. So, what makes a bedroom stand out?

It starts with a bed

The bed is arguably the most important part of any bedroom. It is here we rest our bodies, peacefully and sometimes, not so. Style is essential, we will spend a third of our lives here remember; our bedrooms have got to look special.

Style is essential

Style is something that Ludovica + Roberto Palomba know. They did not idly wait for inspiration when they created this beautiful Starman Dream in grey aniline leather. Its imposing shape, its ability to disturb the natural order stand out in a room that is punctuated with contrasts of gray, white and purple.

The soft leather, the mottled gray effect, the two-tone pillows in both colour and size; this is a bed that is screaming, “here you can dream”.

It is the delicate touches though…

When we take a bedroom and think about the things that can add a sense of style freedom, we need to consider the delicate touches.

Firstly, we need light. We need something that provides a unitary element of warmth into a room when the night closes in. This room is the perfect location for Képi. Its sober and classical interpretation sits in this neo-contemporary room. The contrast of colour and shapes match with the ambiance and its understated presence sits amongst the other stars in this living space.

Its sober and classical interpretation

Marble need not be cold

It is in the final pieces of the room that we discover where marble has a place in the bedroom. From the console to the side table, Douglas does not hold back in its contemporary style. Finished in Niveo White, it displays a versatility that few could hold in this room.

The mixture of metal and marble could seem cold but here, amongst the white and gray finishes, they sit in complete unity, enriching the environments and making us consider the space we live in with practicality and nuance.

Consider the space we live

This bedroom is a nod to a time before our memories could serve, where elegance was soft and understated. Everything from materials, texture and colour has been given a contemporary lift.

It is in the bedroom we dream, so why not dream of a bedroom where we can tell our own stories when we sleep.

Movement – A Design Theory

We are forever in movement. Physically and philosophically – but in design – we turn to movement when we are approached with revelation over evolution; this is however, sometimes but not always the case.

Where we unwind

Changeability of style and ideas, functions and form are met with the design for Loft. A furniture piece by Adriano Piazzesi which answers the question, “what is design if it cannot be considered fluid?”

We have become used to the normality of furniture; their function and style that we forget we can make changes to enhance both areas. Loft manipulates angles and degrees, it works with engineered mechanisms turning the sofa into a chaise lounge, turning comfort into a creative and designed purpose. Patented technology that requires no formal introduction, because it is thanks to its simplicity that we can see how a backrest can be more than currently known. Two levels of comfort, two distinct heights, or one unified form.

«A purely geometric form, which is articulated through a simple movement.» A.Piazzesi

Dainelli Studio interprets movement as something that should have uniformity in application; both design and function at every stage of movement. That is how Mayfair encapsulates this ethos, by providing contrasting ideas into one solid structure.

Mayfair can be considered a statement of movement, that the archilevered engineering on the backrest provides superior comfort, and yet when in it is in standard position, it showcases the thought-out unilateral design and exceptional finishes that only an Arketipo product can master. It is style & function behaving as one.

“Design & architecture needs to rethink how we live and work in a social space. Homes need to be an easily transformable place between work and non-work life.” Dainelli Studio

Giuseppe Viganò understands these theories so well that his own creative vision for Smooth Operator blends the lines of beauty and craftsmanship, creating a system where the cushions accompany the movements of the body thanks to thought out mechanical engineering. Each cushion is engineered to move, position and reposition itself to enable maximum comfort, and as the designer says,

“We have created a movement that supports the body in different positions.” A.Viganò

Viganò himself has carefully thought about this detail of movement in another iconic design; Crazy Diamond. Much like the Floyd song which emphasizes space between notes, this sofa stands out as a furniture design that has thought through what modern living should be, re-shaping our comfort when required by using a system that raises or drops the backrest in an everflowing style and unity.

Where we rest

It is with that same principle that Crazy Dream by Viganò uses the idea of style and function as a unison design between sofa and bed. The bed, where we rest overnight is often overlooked as a mechanical function, and when it is considered, it feels more clinical and design orientated.

That’s why Crazy Dream focuses its attention on the mechanical aspect of design. Retro-chic is only possible when combining both ideas into one space. Crazy Dream may hide cushions and provide visual pleasure, but deep down like its sister, it’s an engineering marvel.

It is in function over theatrics where Mayfair Dream delivers. Like its sister sofa, haute couture is upended by an unwavering concept of design, engineering and of course, artisan mastery. The headrest, an area of the bed where we constantly look to for design and relaxation reasons is the area where Dainelli has mastered something different. Applying engineering, like the sofa, the continuation of design and form to create staggered levels of height and movement single out what is a unique bed design.

It is in engineering where design can come to find new solutions, new impulses and improvements. Arketipo has always been about the artisan working with new ideas to create a vision of furniture making, different to what our societal norms have always considered, safe.

In movement we find our outlet to grow our capabilities and in return, we find new ways to push the boundaries of design and function.

Nordic Philosophy in the Italian Mountains

“Rigour & Purity” is how our design team understood the brief. Their vision has been an exemplary execution of what it means to create something that rewards nature and the meeting of modern Scandi design with Florentine artisan craftsmanship

Bringing the outside in

Scandi design has been a principle of modernity since the 1970s, pioneering what is the basic form with intriguing break ups of colour and material. The walls, a beautiful warm oak veneer that cover every aspect of the rooms are also asking us to bring the outside in. Nature has a place in this house, and as a design team, we wanted to honour these principles with our own unique twist.

Nature has a place in this house

Starman in the lounge is where we can take the design philosophy of scandi culture, and make it Florentine with our own important ideas; colour. Brown, like the earth where oak sits, brings grounding to a room and it’s geometric forming adds to the modern inspiration that this Bolzano house absorbs with aplomb.

Contrasted with Chimera, a strong glass form; Italian identity punches through the soft scandi voicings to bring us something that is truly a focal point amidst the warm earth tones. And what about the armchair you ask? Bond is intentionally white; like scandi design to make us consider what this house trend is really trying to say, “Scandinavian design can learn from Italian savoir-faire”

Warm colours, the Florentine twist

The mountainous range, the scandinavian geometric inspiration, the rigorous & cultured yet cold nature of this design philosophy and thus, rooms, benefit with Florentine craftsmanship. A theology of design that has always been cultured yet warm with a greater ambiance of eclectic colours and shapes.

A theology of design that has always been cultured yet warm

Look no further than the dark, imposing blue material that we have used on Freedom in the other lounge area. It’s geometry is modern, scandi some would say yet it’s personality, that’s all Florentine. Contrasted with the light grey of Malta, the scandinavian vibe of the room is brought to life with interplay of imposing, warm colours.

Hygge, Italian Style

Ask any student of nordic language and hygge is a word that is used often. “A quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.” Think of it as the scandinavian secret of happiness.

What would Italians use for that word? Maybe there just isn’t one; because Italian Hygge is about the form.

An indulgence of style, colour and shape; we find comfort in the imperfect transience of nature, we worship at the temple of natural stone; like that of Prince’s marble top. The contrast with the other natural materials and geometric shape is Italian Hygge; finding a place to put together and enjoy eclectic forms and colour.

Find comfort in the imperfect transience of nature

NATURAL STORYTELLING BY, MARBLE

What material connects your living space? What stands out to your primeval senses through touch, sight or even, smell?

Marble, it’s the one stone that connects Italy; from counter tops to wash basins, chopping blocks to side units. Marble is the treasured stone of an Italian house; it’s our daily connection with something glamorous yet functional, beautiful yet having a place.

Our passion with marble cannot be understated, neither as a company or as a people. We have artisans that connect the old traditions to new methodologies, it is strictly an Italian art form.

Table top mastery

Mauro Lipparini plays with our emotive sense for this stone with his design for Icon. Rendering homage to materials, Mauro doesn’t hide what is for him, the most emotive experience one can create with natural stone. “Moon Grey” marble fills the space, bringing a contrasting experience to a living environment.

Then there is marble as seen by Giuseppe Viganò. Prince, an interplay of solid structure and delicate refinement doesn’t shirk from its bold choice of colour. Waves, a dark and swooping colour palette that makes you look in astonishment at what nature can produce.

Astonishment at what nature can produce

Marble is nature’s gift. Sit with, beside or against and you are surrounded by nature. It speaks through touch and pierces through sight. Gino Carollo’s, Oracle is arguably the best example of this. It’s beauty personified. Whilst it’s highly intricate and engineered base is something to admire, it’s white marble top punches through the noise of any contrasting room.

Each vein that runs through the stone is a story; like the life lines that run over the palm of your hands, marble that is masoned to your experience represents your story, that is marble!

Each vein that runs through the stone is a story

Re-visioning marble’s use

We have to stop when we talk about, Aura. Yes, it is a sideboard but Viganò’s vision is design defying. Aura is a vision that understands what it means to create personality through design and carefully selected materials whilst playing with the visual and connecting the emotional dots at the same time. Moon Grey or Niveo White, Aura uses this material as an accent… that’s right, an accent. Because this design is about function, but marble makes it something much more aligned to our creative visions.

And what is that in the corner? Bolide by Mauro Lipparini is again a play on form, angular sharpness and contrasted softness in play. Marble is then a way to highlight the form rather than be an accent it screams, “let nature be at one”. Stone meets wood, and the two connect to a world that we take our minds to when we cannot escape our modern world.

Let nature be at one

Even in small details

Even when we use marble for the small details, it connects our culture, design and material usage in ways, few others can contemplate. Take Moon Invaders by Gino Carollo. Yes, you think of the moon, the stars, the vast emptiness of space and you can only do that when you see how the Arabesque stone projects that feeling. This noble natural material adorns homes but few can conjure the magic that this small item does.

Noble natural material

And what about Lipparini’s vision of Arabesque? How can the same material for Moon Invaders space odyssey be used in a different context? The answer is Final Cut. It’s more than a table, to call it so would be a disservice. It’s an expression of engineering, like many of Lipparini’s ideas. Marble is the anchor, a grounding for the rest of the piece to come to life; few could have thought it, that’s what makes it special.

Then there was Lith. A table set that honours marble, because without it, it wouldn’t be as special. It wouldn’t showcase what this one natural stone can do to and for a room.

Marble is nature’s way of telling a story a vein that represents life, history and to us, a future. We find it rarely in the materials that surround us. The imperfections are its war scars, the contrasts are its beauty. You can’t imitate this, you should never try to imitate what nature has given us; that’s the story of marble.

Sitting Easy: the Art of Humble Armchair

Why a armchair is more than just a chair.

Think about your living space for a moment and take everything in. What are the items that are used the most? What is the piece that signifies a spirit or an identity to you? If I had to guess, it would be the armchair.

Even though we have found ourselves spending more time in our armchairs & sofas, how many of us have noticed that we slowly, over time, become like them; and vice-versa.

That’s not to say that we become physically like these creations, no, they capture a bit of everything we are and the moments we share.

As light as a feather

Look at Jupiter. Isn’t she beautiful? From its metal arch to fiberglass shell, feather blocks to soft leather; this is really capturing new age, space age even, design. Should we notice this at first? Probably not, what we notice is just how beautiful this piece is but when you combine it with the material play that it has, it becomes something else. Something you want to live with.

And what’s that you see, sat in the corner, imposing itself the way an armchair can? Sin Seaty with its acute homage to the graphic design era and its harmonious design that picks up on the female silhouette, a quilted back that can be made in fabric or leather and a development of slim lines running throughout the design.

They use feathers to cushion their perfect forms, yet their geometry commands the space with their tall backs and imposing lines. This is how comfort can look when you blend creativity and acute engineering.

Put your feet up

An armchair should also welcome you and any guest to, as the English would say “put your feet up”. It’s informal yet remaining firmly, gentlemanly.

Just one look at Belair and the foot pouf and everything about that warm welcome makes sense. The metal frame cradles you, the intelligently crafted cushions, hand stitched and cared for invite you to take a moment and appreciate its beauty before appreciating how you are at ease with its presence; this is comfort, and then the pouf; it’s like resting your feet on a cloud. Suddenly you are lost, bathing in a feeling of weightlessness.

Jupiter again is asking you to look at her. Just look, because now, with this pouf, you have relaxed levels turned to eleven. Could that feeling of weightlessness be achieved with just this one addition? Yes, yes it can.

Bond oozes refinement, basques in cool and wants to be noted. A statement of minimalist design and sartorial elegance. The lower back makes you take note, but your feet rest in a position of quiet ambiguity. Yes, take one look and picture yourself there with a martini… you can, can’t you? An armchair should also be what you desire

Be Brave, Be Bold

Statements. That’s what interiors can, or rather should be. They should be a place where we get to show the world who we are, and embrace what we want to be. Roxy, is then your companion for the bold and the brave in you.

Take its high, regal back, the cradle like structure which wants you to melt in its hand stitched fabric and pause… You’re enjoying that aren’t you? Now, place your head comfortably in the resting spot, a pinch quilted upholstery that screams, “LOOK AT ME”. This is not a wallflower of a chair, this is audacity, a perfectly balanced alternative.

What does an armchair mean to you? For us, it means finding the balance between design, craftsmanship and engineering; for us, its comfort without compromise.

Perfection Compulsive Disorder

Perfection is boring

Perfection is boring.

I think we have created something special.
We have spent years and countless hours creating the company that is, Arketipo.
We have Perfection Compulsive Disorder; a culture that is reflected in our nature, our passion, our identity. It has helped us to create a sophisticated, high quality and beautifully crafted collection of home furnishings, all proudly made in Italy.

Lorenzo Cattelan CEO

What do you do and how long have you been working with Arketipo?
In the last decade I have been responsible in developing the products, from the sketch stage through to thinking about materials, possible developments and how they all combine to make a product that we can call an Arketipo product. Thinking about how we can do things better and managing the team to think about new challenges is a cornerstone of what I do.

What is Arketipo for you?
Ours is a business that plays with emotive connections, we are possibly best perceived as the classic corner shop tailor with a difference; we must make you curious enough to enter and fascinated by what you see and find.

When thinking about your craft, what do you obsess about?
Details. The absence of detail is sometimes detail in itself, and there is no diktat to the process. It’s something you feel, you see, you breathe, you live.

What is an excellent product made of?
There are so many components to the ‘perfect’ product. An original design and the best materials are tangible, they make sense to our literal universe and space. The intangible, things like comfort and modality, they too occupy a space in overall finish. A mixture of colour, shades, light reflections and emotional connections to the product make the difference. When we pull this together, we know we’ve made an excellent product and that we’ve done our job.

«The signs of a truly handmade creation tell you a greater story than the final product ever will»

How do you achieve perfection?
Perfection is boring. We should be excited by the chase, not the goal, only then can you view the product with different eyes, another point of view. Perfection can then not exist in the real world, we can get close and that is satisfaction for me, but seeing the signs of a truly handmade creation tells you a greater story than the final product ever will.

Perfectionists

The people in the search of perfection.

Perfection Compulsive Disorder

We suffer from perfection compulsive disorder.

A culture that is reflected in our nature, our passion, our identity. It has helped us to create a sophisticated, high quality and beautifully crafted collection of…

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Andrea | Production Manager

«Is it achievable? Probably not, but perseverance, passion and one crazy idea could get you pretty close»

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Monica | Customer Care

«Practice makes perfect»

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Martina | Stylist

«It’s the number of options and the deliberate choice to treat everything like a custom project.»

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Lucia | Sewing Artist

«Is this up to Arketipo’s standards?»

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Roberto | Leather Specialist

«Mistakes, humility and a lot of work make an excellent product.»

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Alberto | Fiberglass Maestro

«Time and the weather. My enemies and my friends.»

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Perfectionists

We’ve not built Arketipo, we have built people. Our people have then go on to build Arketipo. With their knowledge, expertise and ambition to chase perfection we wanted to show you what makes them tick. Our interviews are an insight into the mind of a perfection compulsive person.

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Alberto | Fiberglass Maestro

What do you do and how long have you been working with Arketipo?
Six years. I make everything fiberglass. From RV’s to armchairs.

What is Arketipo for you?
A family unit. I’ve known Lorenzo since we were five years old. It’s only recently that I started working with him and the team at Arketipo. The work I do symbolises Arketipo; a different kind of thinking – I was approached to do something no one else was able to, six years later, I’m still doing it.

When thinking about your craft, what do you obsess about?
Time and the weather. It’s my enemy and my friend. Fiberglass is a very sensitive material. It’s something you don’t see in furniture often, if at all, maybe there’s a reason for it. The weather plays a factor, and I’m obsessed with humidity. It can affect the final product in so many ways.

«When the product is ready,
you can smell it»

What is an excellent product made of?
It depends what you are looking for. The product I mentioned before, the one nobody was able to make, has a surface finish that for a fiberglass technician is classified as ‘mistake’. In Lorenzo’s eyes it is a sophisticated aesthetic solution.

How do you achieve perfection?
With practice. Sometimes also by looking at things differently, like in the example I mentioned before. To have the courage and boldness to change perspective is a gift. It might often lead you to mistakes but when you get it right, that is as close to perfect as I can imagine.

«Time and the weather. My enemies and my friends»

Roberto | Leather Specialist

What do you do and how long have you been working with Arketipo?
Thirty years. Well, I’ve been working with Lorenzo’s family businesses for that long, there is a friendship there, I guess they must like me as well. I specialize in custom leather trimmings and special products. If you need to do a very complex leather product, I am your man.

What is Arketipo for you?
A family of har working people with a passion for beautiful, well-crafted product. A company that celebrates the work of simple and passionate people like me; a business that understands there is still plenty of people interested in spending money in long-lasting and love-filled products.

«The only perfect thing I know is Love »

When thinking about your craft, what do you obsess about?
Not much. I am a pretty chilled guy. I do what I love with a lot of passion.

What is an excellent product made of?
Mistakes, humility and pride. Also a lot of work.

How do you achieve perfection?
Don’t know. You are asking the wrong person. The only perfect thing I know is Love.

«Mistakes, humility and a lot of work make an excellent product»

Lucia | Sewing Artist

What do you do and how long have you been working with Arketipo?
Fourteen years. I am a trained seamstress and my main responsibility is making sure we continue to deliver outstanding upholstered products.

What is Arketipo for you?
It’s a place of work, one where people are granted the freedom to try things, are encouraged and supported. All of the work is appreciated, it’s something that makes this company truly special.

When thinking about your craft, what do you obsess about?
Consistency and focus. We are working with natural materials; small variations in texture, colour, feel, each with a different impact. We’re crafting experiences, we’re doing it by hand, it requires attention and obsession, a higher standard across multiple pieces to bring these works to life. It plays on my mind daily, how can I make the process better?

«Is this up to Arketipo’s Standard »

What is an excellent product made of?
Great materials, great craftsmanship and a lot of passion.

How do you achieve perfection?
I don’t know. Probably through repetition, perseverance and a little stubbornness. I am good at that.

«All of the work is appreciated, that makes this company truly special»

Martina | Stylist

What do you do and how long have you been working with Arketipo?
Twenty years. Our products are pushing boundaries, disrupting the interior furniture business, my job is to give it a platform, both internally and externally.

What is Arketipo for you?
It’s a business that never stops innovating yet, it’s a business that isn’t scared to look at what makes us unique; we’re a family. I’ve worked with people that are passionate about their craft every single day it means we never stop learning, never stop growing. It’s a beating pulse that runs through this business.

When thinking about your craft, what do you obsess about?
How to make products stand out and tell their own story. Materials and colours do this for me. I can’t stop learning and understanding what makes a different thread combination work compared to another. Now, we can choose our own bespoke colour combinations, how can I not obsess over the possibilities this brings?

«Products don’t make themselves»

What is an excellent product made of?
Products don’t make themselves yet it is essential that internal stakeholders understand the limits we go to as a business and as a family to make our products unique. This book is another way of showing our team those efforts, the work that everyone does to render us who we are.

How do you achieve perfection?
Working hard, never losing focus and really believing in your own and your colleagues work.
In order to discover where we can go, where we can push our creative limits, we must experiment. Experimenting means opening ourselves to new.
So, what is new? New is an idea. It’s a foundation to what we cherish and what we crave. It’s design that advances, but makes us feel like we already know it. New is research and patience, new is what we had but more in different ways, new is finding inspiration in everything and making it ours.

«It’s the number of options and the deliberate choice to treat everything like a custom project»

Monica | Customer Care

What do you do and how long have you been working with Arketipo?
Fifteen years. I help clients getting what they want from our products, it’s relationship management from start to finish.

What is Arketipo for you?
An Italian-born, international luxury brand. One that continues to ask questions, develop new ideas, challenging the normality of the luxury furniture industry.

«Attention to the customer needs»

When thinking about your craft, what do you obsess about?
Clients and numbers. One is the emotional connection, the other is the logical, pragmatic association. Our products are outstanding, to be that way requires rigor and attention; attention to the customer needs and the service required, rigor in how we achieve it from the numbers. We are here to develop a long lasting relationship.

What is an excellent product made of?
People make the difference; our craftsmen are special, you can see it in the way they approach their jobs, it adds to the final product.

How do you achieve perfection?
They say ‘practice makes perfect’. So I guess we will keep on practicing.

«Practice makes perfect»

Andrea | Production Manager

What do you do and how long have you been working with Arketipo?
Almost fifteen years. My job, currently, is looking at product acquisitions, productions and wider business goals that as a team we have set ourselves moving forward.

What is Arketipo for you?
We’re bringing products and ideas by people who know precisely what they’re doing, to a market that is looking for something unique, original and designed to the highest standards. Arketipo’s mission is to bring experiences and I think what we’re doing is fulfilling those ‘needs and wants’ to the market.

«Is it achievable?
Probably not, but perseverance,
passion and one crazy idea could get you pretty close»

When thinking about your craft, what do you obsess about?
I’m obsessed with always bettering the way we do things. Finding new ways, new paths and working with people to push the envelope in how we deliver, especially in the production of an item.

What is an excellent product made of?
Our objective is to make an ‘excellent’ product based on design, originality, research and material quality with however a caveat; bringing the experience and knowledge of the artisan in the production process.

How do you achieve perfection?
Trying to achieve perfection is nearly impossible as much as it is subjective, but I think perfection is nearly achieved based on the customer reaction, that says more than any other observation.

Our history is our future

Our history is our future.

An Arketipo Story

We have something that runs through our business. It is a thing that is obsessed with a culture that champions quality and emphasizes experience not objects, design…

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Arketipo is Firenze

For centuries, Florence and its surroundings has a racted everything from the artisan to the grand masters of design and education…

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One size does not fit all.

We are not the Big Mac of the furniture world. Uniform, mass manufactured and dull. We are the gourmet burger experience. The essence between both burgers is the same; the difference is the execution…

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ISO 9001

Since February 2017 we have been ISO9001 certified and we constantly ensure that the company policy is understood, implemented and maintained at all levels.

Bringing it all together

Our approach is structural, our execution considered. Design, test, redesign, test, colour, cut, shape, fluff, touch, carve, admire; it’s the Arketipo way. Is it because what we do is make sense of the world around us today, future proofing our sense and sensibilities? Only our clients are the ones that can decide that. Our pursuit of perfection, the chase, is what keeps us constantly pushing the limits. That’s what makes Arketipo the perfection compulsive disorder team that we are, and that’s where we would want to be judged in years to come.

Connecting Nature

The rules of feng shui state that wood is the element of yin and yang; a balance of masculine and feminine, a material that combines strength and flexibility representing “beginnings, new life, and new growth.” In furniture design, never has a material had such a unique application and understanding; whether you are an artisan crafting with hand tools or a factory that manipulates with heat and stain, wood is a universal element understood by everyone that comes into contact with it.

There is a sensory appreciation that we all feel; wood is one of the first materials that humans come into contact with. Think back to your favourite childhood toys, those passed through generations, found in storage boxes and shown in old family photos. They all contain a relationship with the basic material that we have spent years reconnecting through our designs and focus. For us, wood is about the connection between past and present. A sensory overload of Proustian magnitude. We feel it every time we use it, we understand its power and fragility , we know that we must champion what wood can do to any design of any living space. Wood is what connects to the earth, a feeling that we must embrace, respect and rejoice.

«We have spent years reconnecting through our designs and focus»

Picking the best impurities a stone can wear

One stone connects Italy; from counter tops to wash basins, chopping blocks to side units. Marble. Marble is the treasured stone of an Italian house; it’s our daily connection with something glamorous yet functional, beautiful yet having a place. Marble is the chosen material of the artisan. A harking to traditions and natural execution. It is its naturalness that makes it unique. From colouring to density , no one piece is the same making it a material that only experts should touch.

«A depth that man made stone can’t capture»

It’s why when we visit Luca in Chiampo, we don’t expect champagne but what we get is a treasure trove of delights; our Christmas come early and our birthdays uniformly rolled into one. Theirs is a laboratory, yet still a stone masters home. They select slates that capture how a mountain has evolved over time. A colour scheme giving a depth that man made stone can’t capture, one that we can build into our other experiences. Each vein that runs through the stone is a story; like the life lines that run over the palm of your hands, marble that is masoned to your experience represents your story. Our duty at Arketipo is to make your story shine through, consistency not only in colour, but of storyline in your furniture as well.

Perfectly flawed

Perfectly Flawed

Don’t ask us how it’s done: «You can feel it when it’s ready.»

This is how we work with fiberglass; a dedication to curiosity and understanding where the outer limits of furniture design end and engineering in new elements begins.

«Never be denied the opportunity to feel something different and new»

You read that right, fiberglass. A material that is used in Formula One, Olympic Skiing and now furniture. It forms a bigger picture of the Arketipo way. Our way places experience at the heart of every customer journey. Our way means that you should never be denied the opportunity to feel something different and new. Our way which means you know a team of people have put their environment, knowledge and ideas into something that makes the world around them that little bit better.

Our way is Alberto’s way. His team develops our fiberglass constructions. He’s a modern day sculptor where his creations aren’t that of an 14th Century renaissance image, no, his are works to be experienced and touched. A signature process that leaves a textured print on his creations, all done with a delicacy that if one thing went wrong, would ruin a process. His chisel? A sandblaster. His polishing wheel? A circular saw. His filing element? An adept sensation of touch and precision. That’s why we don’t ask Alberto, his process is unique, his creations, works of art.

Nurturing the softest leather

Did you know that Italians use nearly 500 different hand signs on a daily basis? None of these include touch, and that’s probably a good thing. Touch then is the final piece of the jigsaw when it comes to experiencing, life. It allows us to make connections in ways that we can’t forget; your first kiss, the first time you ride a bike & the first time you fall. Touch connects us with moments, and moments bring experiences to life. Touch also allows us as a company to gain another level of experience and vision into our daily work. We know how important the feel and sensation of cloth is, but what about leather?

«Touch connects us with moments»

Leather evokes different emotions but it also requires a different precision to fabric. Dyeing, drying, testing, it looks the same as fabric but is different. This is a different natural material, one that requires a different expertise and knowledge. We select material that stands the test of time, that stands out for softness, colour but also what they bring to the touch sensation; a sense of belonging to a moment in time, a personal experience.

Experiencing Technicolour

It would be too easy to talk about colour without taking a moment to discuss how as a sensation, as an essential element of the Arketipo way, it can’t be underestimated. Because colour is nearly everything; it is style, it is function it is almost a way of life. We embrace colour. Whether it’s the terracotta roofs to the pastel wall colours of Emilia Romagna, the emerald green that drips from the mountain side pierced with yellow and orange in Amalfi, lime and red in Sicily, blue and violet in Tuscany and Veneto. Colour isn’t just a feature, it’s what makes us human. Colour adds human-interest patina.

Telaio per la realizzazione del tessuto perfetto

«Colour isn’t just a feature,
it’s what makes us human»

But to really experience colour, you need to go beyond sight. It sounds strange and we get that, but it’s true. Because colour can be felt emotionally, but to physically experience colour, is all about material. We know this because we work with the experts that can make a thread pattern intrinsic to the way we experience our products. A team of master craftspeople where colour and material collide to provide an ever embracing sensation, one that understands the power of touch, the sensation of colour; all in one deft first impression. Ours is a hive mentality of fabric knowledge and design, tapping into individual and group elements, selecting patterns that bring pieces to life and taking instruction in the best application. This is what experiencing Technicolour is about; multi-sensory and our mission is to make you experience it, make you experience the Arketipo way.

Searching for originality and uniqueness is also something we look for in our suppliers who also look for inspiration everywhere.
From drawings of nature, we get the right mixture for our thread colour.

Sculpting the most tactile foams

On average we spend more than 9 hours a day sat down. That’s a total of 18 years of our lifetime, that’s a lot of Netflix, possibly some chill, definitely a lot of living; so why would you want to do that on the most uncomfortable furniture? Foam plays the vital role in the construction and comfort of our products. Unlike our feather and down, where a degree in ornithology may help, foam is a different beast. It’s more like the safety testing of a motor vehicle than a foray into clinically cataloging plumage. We don’t do the later.

We spend the time assessing the impact our bodies make in furniture; our engineers design solutions, our craftsman develop the material to deal with it. Whether you slump, slouch, sit rigid or melt into your furniture, ours is designed to cope. We test, we craft, we build and we test again. Our foam is multicoloured to distinguish density; it allows us to more easily assemble furniture to the clients needs and taste. We craft shapes and lines that blend into whole of the furniture line and, we test. We test how well it works, how it fits in with our product line and how we can make it better, stronger, more durable, more comfortable. Living on the couch has never been easier, you just need to understand a little more about the thing that makes it so easy. All the various levels of density and comfort defined by their colours.

«The keyword here is impact»

Obsessing over feathers & downs

Obsessing over feathers and downs.

Try explaining to someone that you’re obsessed with feathers. The reaction will tell you a lot about the person. If there is nothing, then you should be worried. We understand that being obsessed with something like feathers seems like the invisible past time, but for us, it’s another part in our pursuit of perfection that makes it become part of who we are. Yes, the chase for that perfect cushion can appear to be misplaced, but if pop culture were anything to go by then, “the cushion is the essence of the chair.”

Our feathers and downs are assorted into wooden boxes; it’s reminiscent of an apothecary, each section containing the special collection to make our cushions what they are, a blend of science and emotional connection. Size and weight differentiate each cabinet, from large to small; behind all of this lies a mechanical procedure, regulating airflow in each segment. Larger feathers succumb to bigger blasts of air while smaller varieties, the down, require gentle teasing.

«There are 200 species of goose, therefore 200 types of feather and down. We use at least 70.»

This modern artisan way of sorting and collecting means that we get a greater control over final product. We know that it takes seventy different types of goose and duck feathers to make the cushion fit to go into our furniture. We understand how the ratio changes based on the size, position and typology of cushion, we even understand the importance of treating the feathers in the right way to maintain the highest standard but is it too much? In the pursuit of perfection, the obsessive compulsive nature even determines our feather and down selection. You probably thought, a cushion is just a cushion.

Imagining the perfect product

You can spend your life searching for perfection, some find it doing the mundane, others, whilst making a sandwich; is there such a thing then as perfection? Perfection is subjective, it’s a way of thinking, it’s not as much tangible as it is an idea, but ideas lead to opportunities, and that’s what creating the perfect product provides. An opportunity to discover a moment of perfection.

The perfect product is a chase; if it were a bike ride, it would be all the Giro D’Italia’s combined and still no concrete winner, but there are moments, elements which make the chase a momentary frame in the pursuit of a perfect product. Moments.

Moments puncture the creative process. They make it possible in part, but they help form the chase for perfection. Our concepts are built on moments. Creative minds like that of Giuseppe Viganó or Mauro Lipparini have been instrumental, together with Adriano Piazzesi they capture these moments in their creative visions. Their vision has captured the Arketipo way for countless years.

The chase is far from complete, it’s a process. We go to our engineers who construct the pursuit of perfection. A technical drawing, a 3D model, a prototype, several prototypes, all tested at the same time, and then, only then, do we appreciate that we are in the midst of the pursuit. We test, we seek, we draw from the knowledge. We ask, is this feasible? Is this the perfect product? From our CEO to our collaborators, our business knows that this, is what the pursuit of the perfect product should look like.

«Materials dress the style of the product»

Leather: tactile sensations

Our hands make more than 500 gestures daily, but none of these refer to touch. It can take us back in time and make us savor intimate moments of our memories such as the first kiss or the first time we rode a bicycle. And if we talk about tactile sensations, leather certainly plays a role all its own: both in terms of value and elegance.

Over the years we as a society have understood that a sofa is one of the most important pieces of furniture that can be found in a home. It combines style and comfort. But a leather sofa, it can be a way to look backwards whilst acknowledging the modern.

Modernity in the old ways

Our partnership with expert leather tanners has led us to look at the modern in a completely different format. Vegetable tanned leather. Taking the years of experience and accumulated knowledge we have between the design of the product and the tactile sensations that only leather can bring, this raising of standards and quality is something that we pride ourselves on.

“Leather is a world to discover and it starts with the different types of conservation, transport, storage, tanning and so on.” – Paolo

Nuance. It’s a word that is used a lot in design, but when you work with leather, it is something that is understood. Knowing how leather reacts, how it works with your product, that requires nuance to the n-th degree.

Imperfect in the perfect

In our aim for perfection we have come to understand that imperfection is part of that equation. Leather is imperfect; by its pure make up, every marking, every distinctive element that separates it from linear is in its way, perfection.

Among the different types of leather, the most valuable is the one called full grain aniline. It is characterized by being devoid of covering finishes thus maintaining the original features of the mantle. Another type of equally prestigious is Nubuck leather, with a slightly rough surface and a very velvety appearance.

Paolo has spent over 25 years discovering the world of leather. His methodology is exacting, his knowledge indispensable.

“The leather selection requires a lot of experience that is acquired over time. The purchase of the raw leather to its preservation, to the purification of water, to the use of oils and how to finish the leather.”

The barrels are what Paolo calls, “the soul of the tannery”. His are lined with iroko wood, a detail that few may never know. It’s the most important element for tanning, the part which you experience when you touch the material and discover what is important in selecting the right piece.

Paolo sat down to talk to us about the art and nuance involved in leather tanning. How we are “more considerate as consumers” and the impact on “the environment” when choosing the right leather product. Let Paolo tell you more about his world and discover why Arketipó is business positioned to carry his vision alongside ours for the most desirable leather sofas.