Furniture Design Industry Energized by Lesser Known Firms

Followers of Italian design are familiar with big manufacturing names such as B&B Italia, Cappellini, Cassina and Kartell, but as the legendary designer Gaetano Pesce noted in a brief visit to Toronto late last year, it is the little-known small and medium sized furniture manufacturers which form the backbone of the Italian furniture industry.

"The owners of these companies fuel the progress of design through research, experimentation, and the use of new materials," Pesce says.

One such company is Pordenone-based Horm, specialists in wood furniture.

The small manufacturer created an industry buzz recently 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.

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