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Furnishing quality
Small and medium-sized enterprises form the core of Italy’s manufacturing industry, which has always been appreciated internationally because of its flexible structure and intrinsic creativity. If this is generally true across all sectors, it is especially so in the case of the furniture industry, where these qualities are the key to the success of Italian furnishing and design companies. Location is also a fundamental factor, as the history of Fratelli Boffi demonstrates: the industrious district of Brianza, north of Milan, is renowned for its small and specialised businesses run by meticulous, imaginative and hard-working artisan-entrepreneurs who are open to collaborations with architects and designers (amidst the dust
“We are a family business, but we have embraced new technologies through innovative woodworking machinery and continuous research into finishing processes”
This page, the seat of the “Daina” chair by Nigel Coates is up-holstered in leather, while the grain of the ziricote wood reveals the intricate carpentry work. The chair is part of the “Animalia” collection, inspired by mid20th-century design. Opposite page, master craftsmen carefully follow every step of the production process.
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and noise of their workshops) to create innovative home environments. Over the years, Fratelli Boffi (a third-generation family-run business) has succeeded in evolving and transforming itself without betraying its roots, as architect Alberto Boffi explains. QUESTION. What are the characteristics that best describe the type of company you manage? Do “family ownership”, “artisanal production” and “period furniture” still fully represent your business? ANSWER. Yes, these traits are always part of our DNA. Over time, we have managed to project artisan knowhow into the future: we have given a contemporary twist to our classic-style furniture with the ironic elements that we have come to be known for. At the same time, we have embraced new technologies through innovative woodworking machinery and with our continuous research into finishing processes. We are definitely a family-run business: we were established in 1928 by Carlo Boffi, who started out as an artisan and earned his reputation as one of the best wooden chair carvers. After the war, his sons had the idea to expand beyond Brianza, into international markets, starting with American and English department stores. Q. When did your international expansion reach its peak? For several years, your furniture occupied entire floors at Harrods in London. Do you still work with them and other international department stores? A. The greatest period of expansion was in the eighties and nineties, when we started to work with major department stores like Harrods in London, Lane Crawford in Hong Kong and, before them, Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s in the United States. Unfortunately, we are no longer supplying these stores. The world of furniture has changed and today we work with high-quality retailers across the globe and, in particular, with acclaimed architects and interior decorators of international fame. Q. Your contract division represents a substantial share of your output. Which countries do you mainly focus your attention on? A. Contract furniture represent around 70% of our output. In fact, our contract division develops and creates large-scale
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