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Turin | Le Papille
When three smart and determined women get together to fulfil a dream, it's going to work. These particular three, Letizia, Rossella and Valentina, opened their Turin kitchen and shop with the aim of providing good cooking and healthy food, sustainably and affordably, in a laid-back, ... More
Noviglio | The Culture of Plastics
The night before last I was at a party in Noviglio, just outside Milan, where the Luti family had invited a few people over to present a book: Kartell - The Culture of Plastics. Their book, given that the Lutis are Kartell, ... More
Rome | Mikiway Concept Store
If I happened to have a shop in Rome, it would definitely be a lot like Mikiway. Let me explain. Meet the people: the store is run by Angelo, a Roman gentleman of charm and distinction, and his fabulously creative Romanian wife of many years, Mihaela. ... More
Rome | Established 1938
There's not many people know this, but bang in the centre of today's Rome there's still a tiny workshop where the same family has been plying the same skills for nearly 85 years. Only since 1961 at their present address in ... More
Cesena | Staying on the Treadmill
In a country where everyone's talking about wellness , few know that one of the top-ranking fitness-equipment manufacturers in the world is based in Emilia Romagna, in Cesena to be precise, about an hour down the road from Bologna. Technogym is the ... More
Salerno | Marsia
Having studied ceramics myself way back in another life in Cape Town, I'm partial to potters. Marsia is one of my latest finds. I stumbled on the studio quite by chance one steamy afternoon last summer, in the laid-back seaside city ... More
Sesto Fiorentino | On the Shelf
We don't usually go in for sad news on UI, but the imminent closure of Tuscany's own Richard Ginori warrants an exception. Makers of majolica and fine china since 1735 in Doccia and later in nearby Sesto Fiorentino, Richard Ginori attracted some of the best designers, ... More
Turin | This is not an Optional!
When some new technogadget boasts a list of functions as long as your arm, over here they say it even makes the coffee. Well, the new Fiat 500L does just that. Presented in Turin at the beginning of the month, the little ... More
Cattolica | Fast Flowers
Where do Italians go to beat the heat? To the seaside, of course: it's a no-brainer on this thigh-high boot of a peninsula with fully 7,666 kilometres of coastline if you include Sicily and Sardinia. Well, Frida's has gone to the seaside ... More
Milan | G.A.B.
Sourcing and selecting only superlative Italian products, G.A.B. is a new Milanese boutique-showroom for clothing and accessories, leather goods and interior design, with a concept all its own. Patrizia Campagnari and Claudio Alghisi pooled their business experiences and their faith in the ... More
Grottaglie | Giovanna Alò
We're back in Apulia and hot on the heels of a young ceramics designer whose first, innovative tableware line is as striking as it is inspired. Giovanna Alò hails from a dynasty of master potters in Grottaglie and modelled clay before she ... More
Milan | Design Week Appetizer
Just a tiny morsel, a mere soupçon, a humble titbit from the new products on show at the 2012 Saloni and Fuorisalone, hardly scratching the surface of the immense international display of irrepressible creativity and implausible diversity which started today. Serralunga of Biella, of ... More
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